Today's New Eridu was far quieter than usual.
As the clouds drifted, blue swallowed the dusk, and the last traces of gold retreated step by step under the pressure of night.
Like foxfire burning amid ruins—over time, even it would run out, unable to protect everyone.
"You go first. I'll hold off the Sacrifice behind us."
Amid the ruins, Hoshimi Miyabi cut through collapsed walls and shattered debris with a single stroke, pulling the dust-covered children and adults free. Her strength was long past its peak, yet she still urged them to leave ahead of her.
"Thank you—thank you!"
The man was overwhelmed with emotion, bowing repeatedly to Miyabi. As he turned to scoop up his child and leave, he suddenly stopped, as if something had occurred to him, and snapped back around.
"But… Void Hunter, when will you leave?"
Miyabi paused for a heartbeat, then quickened her pace instead.
In ruins where only the crackle of flames could be heard, in a world filled with children's cries and anguished wails, the blade in the girl's hand gleamed coldly. The horned, tailless companion followed at her side. Against the flow of fleeing people, she walked straight toward the shadows cast by five Sacrifice.
"I am a Void Hunter. I can't leave."
She drew her blade. The instant it slipped free of the sheath, raging foxfire ignited along its edge.
The five Sacrifices grinned savagely and raised their massive hands. This was New Eridu—not a hollow—yet the ether concentration spiked to an unimaginable level.
Thunder. Hail. Fire rain.
Like divine punishment descending, their combined might felt apocalyptic.
Towering buildings were erased in an instant under the force of lightning. The faint glow of the setting sun to the west barely had time to fall before it was drowned out by blinding hail and flame.
Thunder clustered around them, collapsing into a gigantic sphere of plasma amid earth-shaking roars. Fire and icy mist coiled around its surface as it smashed down toward Miyabi's previous position.
Miyabi flickered away, moving at a speed far beyond human limits.
Boom!
The plasma sphere detonated. Dust, bricks, and rubble were hurled skyward, only to be burned to ash by lightning arcs and stray flames before they could fall.
Solid ice tore through everything. The ground split open in every direction, the air thick with the stench of scorched ruin. On a roadside sign smashed into three pieces by hail, electric arcs crackled intermittently.
Beside it was a flowerbed. A fresh bud had just broken through the soil, only to have its body severed by flame. The broken shoot wailed in the fire, as if lamenting something unheard.
Whoosh!
Miyabi reappeared, glancing back once at the devastation before setting her jaw and pressing forward.
A jog. A run. A sprint.
In an instant, her speed surged past two hundred kilometers per hour, so fast only a streak of ghostly blue light remained.
Suddenly, the purple Sacrifice in the distance slammed a hand downward.
Countless ether crystals erupted from the ground, forming a wall in Miyabi's path.
The very next moment, a flash of blue foxfire swept through.
Every crystal was cut clean in half, collapsing to the ground in unison.
At the final instant, Miyabi leapt into the air. Her foot landed on the last remaining crystal, her calf tensing violently as she kicked off and shot straight into the sky.
[Kekeke!]
A blue Sacrifice cackled as if it had been expecting this all along, raising both hands and snapping them together.
Miyabi's pupils contracted.
She realized the river that ran through New Eridu had already surged into the air. On either side of her, two towering walls of water rose, stretching impossibly high.
Amid the blue Sacrifice's manic laughter, the twin tidal walls slammed inward.
Bang!
The walls collided, exploding into a sky-filling spray of water.
[Kekeke—kekekeke!]
The blue Sacrifice threw its head back and howled, laughter wild and unrestrained.
The other four Sacrifice showed no objection—after all, it looked like the enemy had been eliminated.
But soon, the purple Sacrifice stiffened, sensing something wrong.
It tugged at the blue Sacrifice, which brushed its hand away impatiently and turned to look ahead.
The moment it saw what lay before it, the blue Sacrifice panicked.
The two tidal walls still stood—but their surfaces now shimmered with a ghostly blue sheen that grew deeper by the second.
In the next instant, a colossal blade of light tore through the walls and burst forth, swallowing the vision of all five Sacrifice at once.
They tried to flee.
It was already too late.
Before any of them could even take a step, they were reduced to dust—erased by Miyabi's single strike.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Stepping across shattered ruins, Miyabi descended and landed.
She crouched low to absorb the impact, then seemed to sense something and looked up.
Golden light spilled down from the horizon, warm and gentle, soothing to the heart.
She drifted for a moment, then snapped back to herself and instinctively looked behind her.
The man and child she had rescued were gone.
Did they manage to escape?
The thought flickered through her mind, but she shook her head.
No. Now isn't the time to think about that.
She pushed the thought aside and continued forward.
What New Eridu faced now was no longer just a hollow crisis.
It was a vampire clan rebellion.
Whether for blood or to eliminate humanity's remaining strength, they would show no mercy to the city's civilians.
I have to— I have to get ahead of them and evacuate more people.
Miyabi clenched her teeth and pressed on, even though her stamina was already far from its peak.
...
The TOPS Tower.
No lights. Curtains drawn tight. In the vast room, more than a dozen elderly figures sat in a circle. The only illumination came from the faint glow of the massive screen at the far end of the conference hall.
On the screen was Miyabi's agile figure—dodging attacks, unleashing dazzling arcs of blade light.
Yet despite five immensely powerful Sacrifices being slain right before their eyes, not a single person spoke. One by one, they turned to look at the pale old man seated at the head.
At last, the pale elder lifted his eyes and took a deep drag from the pipe in his hand.
White smoke curled upward as he began coughing violently. No one showed the slightest displeasure. All listened in silence.
"Turn off the screen. There's no need to watch anymore. Soon enough, hundreds of Sacrifice will wear Miyabi down one by one. She'll be ground down until her stamina is exhausted."
"If that still isn't enough, herd stranded humans toward her and force her to keep rescuing them. Let her run herself ragged."
"Compared to that, we have more important matters to attend to…"
"Are all the Shiyu Towers in New Eridu under control?" the pale elder asked coldly.
"Reporting to Elder Bai. They are all under control. Some other Void Hunters are resisting, but Bern and Kovei are each leading the core combat forces of our vampire clan. Defeating them won't be a problem."
Beside the elder known as Elder Bai stood a woman in an aristocratic gown. Her eyes were crimson, her skin pale, her every gesture refined.
"Good," Elder Bai said around the stem of his pipe. "What about the mixed-blood vampires? Are they ready?"
"Do you mean the ones who mutinied at the barracks, or the group under Meilin…" The noblewoman hesitated. When she said Meilin's name, she could not help but frown.
"The continuation of civilization outweighs everything else. Even if she chose a different path, Meilin is still a warrior fighting for the vampire clan. Misha, don't be too harsh on your comrades."
Seeing her displeasure, Elder Bai shot her a glance and spoke calmly.
"Yes," Misha replied softly, lowering her head.
Since Elder Bai had said so, it could only refer to Meilin's side.
Suppressing her impatience, Misha steadied herself and said, "Meilin claims she has her own plans and has refused to report her actions."
"Is that so? That's fine… hm? Kovei just sent a message?"
Before he could continue, something vibrated against Elder Bai's chest.
He took out his phone. It was a message from Kovei.
Smiling, Elder Bai opened it—only for his eyes to widen the instant he read the contents.
[Kovei: Clan Elder, Meilin has led over ten thousand mixed-blood vampire soldiers to rescue Miyabi. Was this arranged by the clan?]
"Huh?"
Elder Bai froze, blinking again and again. He rubbed his eyes hard with his sleeve, then stared at the screen in disbelief.
No matter how unwilling he was to accept it, the truth was right there.
Meilin had truly taken her forces to rescue Miyabi.
"My head—my head!"
After a moment, a sharp pain stabbed deep into Elder Bai's brain, rapidly spreading through his body.
Misha panicked and rushed to support him. "Quick—call someone! Elder Bai is having a cerebral hemorrhage!"
...