Do you like heroes of justice?
Yes, right? In fact, I'm sure you'd say yes. Everyone would answer yes to a question like that.
But me?
I know they don't exist.
"Heroes of justice"… what kind of bullshit is that‽
***
It was a summer afternoon. Cicadas were singing joyfully in the tall grass of the plains.
I was chasing Lena, who was running ahead of me, laughing.
Lena and I had known each other forever. We had met for the first time on that very plain. Ever since then, we came back almost every day to play and talk together.
Lena was mischievous by nature. She always found a way to drag us into trouble, despite my attempts to dissuade her from her reckless ideas.
Suddenly, Lena's foot caught on a rock hidden among the tall grass.
I tripped over the same rock and fell, rolling after her into the grass.
Once we stopped moving, we turned our heads, our eyes meeting.
"Hahahaha!"
"Hihihihahaha!"
We burst into hysterical laughter.
I lifted my gaze toward the sky above us.
The immense horizontal wall of stone rose high over our heads, standing against the transparent artificial blue sky.
Magic truly could perform miracles.
According to ancient texts, the founding Archmages of the Tower had used all their ether, sacrificing themselves so that we would remain safe inside the Tower forever.
If the outside world was truly as terrifying as they said, then I was grateful to them.
The breeze that afternoon was gentle.
"Hey, Lena…"
"Hm?"
"Do you think there's something beyond the Tower?"
"You mean the upper floors?"
"No. I mean…" I took a deep breath. "Outside."
She didn't answer, so I turned my head toward her.
She was smiling at the sky, then let out a small giggle.
Suddenly, she turned toward me and grabbed both of my hands, clasping them tightly.
Her eyes were shining.
"What if we go find out together when we grow up‽"
As she waited for my answer, the intensity of her gaze doubled, making me blush slightly.
I nodded.
"Okay!"
The rest of the afternoon passed in the blink of an eye. Time always moved too fast when I was with Lena.
The artificial sun slowly sank behind the hills at the edge of the floor. A reddish light painted the clouds, illuminating every blade of grass in the valley.
Lena stood up.
"I should head home. It's starting to get dark."
I slowly got up as well. Now that I was no longer pressed against the warm grass, the cool breeze made me shiver.
I rubbed my arms to warm myself, then turned toward Lena, who was looking at the village in the distance.
Her golden hair was tinged with a rosy glow under the twilight.
It was true. I admired her hair more than necessary. So much so that a normal person would probably call me crazy.
But I was certain that anyone who saw Lena's hair at dusk would be unable to look away.
Yet that evening, something else caught my attention.
First, I felt a shiver run through my body.
Then sweat began to bead on my forehead.
Lena turned toward me and stared straight into my eyes.
"…"
She was trying…
"…"
…to form words, but couldn't.
Her panicked gaze searched mine, surely looking for comfort. But it was useless—I must have been wearing the same expression as her.
In the distance, in the direction Lena had been looking earlier, our village was engulfed in blazing light.
Fragments of screams and howls could be heard rising from the inferno.
What could have caused such flames? A monster attack?
Impossible. There had never been a monster incursion on the First Floor. That was precisely why most people had built their homes here. Monsters didn't appear before the 50th Floor, at least!
We had to leave. Fast.
Find somewhere to take shelter.
I grabbed Lena's hand and tried to pull her away from the village.
But when I tugged, my arm met resistance.
Lena was looking at me, tears in her eyes.
"My little brother… He stayed with my mother."
It was true.
I released her arm.
She wiped her tears with her sleeve. "We have to help them."
My mother would surely be safe with my father, a knight of the Order. But Lena's mother lived alone with her and her little brother.
I clenched my teeth.
"Let's go!"
We ran as fast as we could. The wind whistled in our ears. The icy air burned my lungs and hurt my throat with every breath.
The closer we got to the village, the clearer the screams became. The cool evening air was gradually replaced by the heat of the flames.
The village walls and main gate, made of stone, were still passable.
Once inside, the screams had become rare. As if… there was no one left alive enough to make them.
Suddenly, Lena and I turned toward a dreadful creaking sound.
No—it was more like a roar.
We stood frozen, listening to the crackling of burning wood. After a few seconds, we resumed moving toward Lena's house.
There was no longer any doubt.
Monsters had attacked the village.
That realization reassured me slightly. If monsters were involved, the Knights of the Order wouldn't take long to arrive.
When we reached Lena's house, it was completely destroyed.
Lena stopped dead in her tracks.
A chill of terror ran down my spine.
Standing among the ruins was a man.
He wore a macabre black outfit, his jacket draped loosely over his shoulders. On his back and across his clothes, reddish eye-shaped symbols writhed and moved in every direction.
His face was hidden behind a round object he had brought to his mouth.
He looked toward us and lifted his head. His chin was covered in blood.
"Oh! It seems I have visitors."
He let Lena's mother's severed head fall heavily to the ground.
That man evoked only one thing in my mind.
"I'm sorry, I didn't have time to clean up. I hope you don't mind."
I had read similar stories in the epic tales of the Order that my father used to give me for my birthdays.
"I would've liked to be presentable, at least…"
Those legendary creatures I thought didn't exist.
Yet one stood right before my eyes.
"But? I haven't introduced myself—where were my manners…"
Floating in the air, a reddish grin appeared in front of his face, as if drawn by a child.
[Yes, where was your head? Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!]
He made an apologetic expression.
"I know, I know." He clasped his hands together theatrically. "Forgive me."
The smile vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.
"My name is Calamity. And I am—"
The word slipped from my mouth.
"A vampire."
In front of me, Lena stood trembling, her legs shaking.
Calamity stared at her. "You… you are—"
The eyes drawn on his clothes wriggled and shoved one another to get a better look at Lena.
"Ahahahaha!"
He burst into hysterical laughter.
"Of course. You're her daughter."
He grabbed his face with both hands, trying to contain his laughter.
"My little brother!"
"Huh?" Calamity stopped laughing and lifted his reddish eyes toward us.
"I have a little brother who lived with my mother and me. Where is he?"
Her voice, mixing sorrow and anger, rang above the crackling flames.
"Oh, you mean him…"
Calamity summoned a mass of darkness beside him and pulled out a child's body.
"Noa!" Lena's voice broke.
"Give him back to me!"
A grin spread across Calamity's face.
"If you insist."
He placed the boy on the ground. He groaned and began crawling toward us.
"Noa…" Her voice trembled with relief.
As the boy slowly crawled closer, Lena rushed forward. I tried to grab her arm to stop her, but I wasn't fast enough.
Lena took Noa into her arms, holding him tightly as tears streamed down her cheeks.
I lifted my gaze toward Calamity.
He was watching the scene.
Smiling.
He was smiling.
I looked back at Lena.
Over her shoulder, Noa's reddish eyes stared at me with a cold, empty gaze.
Time slowed.
I rushed toward Lena as fast as I could.
Fangs glinted under the moonlight above her shoulder.
Tears welled beneath my eyelids.
Calamity's grin grew more horrifying as his eyes devoured Lena.
My right arm was stretched toward her.
Noa's jaw slowly closed around Lena's bare neck.
My feet slipped on the rubble.
I fell.
When I lifted my head, Lena was lying on the ground. Noa clung to her neck, raising his head, his mouth full of blood.
I lunged toward Lena, pushing with all the strength in my legs.
I violently shoved Noa aside and slid to a stop in front of her.
Gently, I placed my hands behind her back and laid her flat so I could face her.
I could hear Calamity cackling and Noa growling to my right.
But none of that mattered.
Because Lena's beautiful, angelic hair was soaked in her blood.
Our eyes met.
She smiled.
Heavy tears streamed down my face, dripping onto her dress. My nose ran as I sobbed.
She squeezed my right hand.
Her blood slowly stained the rubble around us.
"Lena…" I whimpered.
She mouthed the words.
"I'm sorry."
I looked at her in panic.
"No. No!"
I tried to press my hand against her wound to stop the bleeding, but Lena grabbed it and placed it over her heart.
"No!" I screamed. "Lena!"
But her gaze was already empty.
I was bathing in her warm blood, which would soon turn cold and disappear, carried away by time.
I didn't want her to go.
She had no right to leave me.
She had no right.
A sharp pain formed in my chest.
Like a void.
Lena was gone.
She would never come back.
I would never hear her call me by those strange nicknames I hated.
I would never hear her laugh as I chased her through the tall grass.
I would never hear her talk about her stupid questions about the outside world.
I would never see her smile again.
I looked around me.
"Help!"
Lena's lifeless body hung in my arms.
"Someone! Help me!"
"Ahahahaha!" Calamity laughed hysterically.
No hero came.
No knight.
No one.
"Please! Help me!" My screams turned into sobs as the deafening silence answered me.
You really thought someone would come to help me?
I thought so too…