Misfortune always rides a rapid current and comes crashing in like a tsunami.
Like the tsunami of misfortune that made me lose my mother and leave the village in my childhood, now too my misfortune came rushing in rapidly and relentlessly.
A cliff that looks dizzyingly high.
Below, rough waves crash violently.
And in my eyes, I see a group of fanatics gathering, shouting "Amen".
Heavy rain pours down.
The village visible below the cliff is already in a state of total destruction.
From far away, I hear screams and the sound of something collapsing.
The sound of wolves howling echoes from somewhere in the village.
A huge golden flame burns in the center of the village.
I cut down the fanatics who rush at me like mad as I stand on top of the cliff.
As if they've become moths drawn to the light, they run endlessly towards death.
I absorb all the blood they spew out.
I can't waste even a single drop.
I see the golden flames that were burning endlessly now turning towards the cliff. Slowly, very slowly, as if trying to end the gathering, it's coming towards me.
I laughed.
Though it was buried under the sound of heavy rain, I still laughed.
Laughing, I continued killing the fanatics.
It's time for the final battle.
* * *
Rewinding time to a few hours earlier.
I rested for a whole week.
I rested for so long that I wondered if I had ever rested this leisurely except in my childhood.
Recovery is finally over now.
The ugly burn scars on my body have disappeared, and thanks to the innkeeper's consideration, I was able to consume blood consistently, so my condition was quite good.
Vincent also crossed death's door several times, but in the end, he too safely entered recovery.
That was fortunate.
If he had died, I would have had to experience the death of a benefactor who saved me once again.
I didn't want to experience that a second time.
From the moment I became somewhat mobile, I wrapped my whole body in bandages and went out for walks in the village.
At first, the village elders and children looked at me curiously.
I could feel glances looking at me furtively, but since they weren't glances filled with hostility, I walked comfortably.
As I went for walks like that for a day or two, at some point children started approaching me and talking to me.
[Where did you come from?]
[Big sister, you're pretty.]
[Your face is so white.]
[What's the big city like?]
[Sister, marry me when I grow up!]
I sit on a bench with the chattering children and laugh and talk all day long.
When I'm talking with the children, adults appear, add a word or two, and then disappear.
[Oh my, such a pretty young lady in our village?]
[How about my son? Wait just 10 years! He'll become very handsome.]
[Young lady, when you're all better, come have a meal with my daughter.]
[How do you like our village? It's comfortable, right? It may be rural, but it's a good place.]
Certainly, this rural village was full of warmth.
Most were pure and without malice.
It really is a good village.
If no one comes looking.
If this tiresome fighting ends.
I imagined that it might be happiness to return here and spend a quiet retirement.
But not now.
Having finished my recovery, I entered the inn room that now felt like my own room. And somehow, in the time I had gone out and come back, several blood packs were placed on the table, and a black dress with added glamour was placed in front of the mirror.
I put on the dress and packed the blood packs, organizing my camping bag.
I felt grateful for the innkeeper's delicate consideration.
And I took out the stationery and pen I had asked for from a villager, and started writing letters to Vincent and the innkeeper.
With content expressing my gratitude with all my heart.
To Vincent, I wrote that I was worried about Michael and had an uneasy feeling that he would find me soon, and that I should leave the village now to avoid harm coming to this rural village, and that we should meet again alive.
Since his treatment wasn't completely finished yet, it seemed right to part like this.
I gently folded the stationery, packed my bag, and left the room.
Somehow...
I feel like I'll miss this room a lot.
I left the inn room and headed down to the counter.
The innkeeper was waiting for me there.
"Are you leaving now?"
"Yes, I have to go. I don't think I can stay forever."
"I see... You'll come again, won't you?"
The innkeeper asked carefully.
I spoke with a soft smile.
"Come to think of it, what's your name?"
"Huh? Ah... It's Meryl."
"That's a nice name... I'm Arian."
"I knew that, but it's nice to hear it directly."
"I'll... come again. And one is for Meryl, the other is for Vincent."
When I handed over the letters, Meryl's eyes widened as if surprised.
"Well then, take care Meryl."
"Please come again, Arian."
With a lighter heart, I stepped out of the inn door.
The midday sunlight was warm, and a pleasant breeze was blowing.
As I crossed the square towards the village entrance, the children, who must have spotted me at some point, clung to me and greeted me.
I liked the bright appearance of the children who followed me to the very end of the entrance and waved their hands.
"It really is a good village."
I waved to the children and slowly walked along the road.
* * *
Having moved quite far from the village, I left the road and entered the forest.
I was needlessly afraid of the gazes of unfamiliar people I might encounter if I walked on the road that people use.
It was because of the anxiety that they might be connected to the church in some way, and that they might be watchers.
Was it because of such anxiety?
As I entered the forest after leaving the road, an indescribable strange feeling kept approaching me.
Steadying my anxious heart, I ran through the forest path towards the train station.
At my fast running speed, 10km takes less than 20 minutes.
I frantically rushed through the forest path and reached the train station.
For a moment, I calmed my breath and slipped into the train station.
Although I moved carefully to be as inconspicuous as possible, there were no church priests in sight.
But I couldn't relax my tension as there might be hunters here.
I carefully walked to the center of the train station.
Murmur murmur
People were gathered, talking about something earnestly.
I quietly approached a nearby bench without catching the eyes of such people, put down my bag, and concentrated my hearing to listen.
[So, doesn't that mean Nuxen village is a den of monsters?]
[What? Nuxen village? That's just a small village that does farming.]
[Didn't you see earlier? The priests from the Central Church were going around digging into Nuxen village with fire in their eyes.]
[So you're saying I've been eating rice made by monsters all this time? Damn it! Am I becoming a monster too?]
[Hey you! What are you saying to make people anxious!]
[Anyway, since the Central Church priests went out in droves, it's over for Nuxen village, over.]
[I've never seen so many priests in my life, I thought it was an army.]
[Has it been over an hour since they left? With those sturdy horses, that place must be a wasteland by now.]
"!!"
I almost cried out without realizing.
Nuxen village... Right, that was the name of the village I was in.
-You'll come again, won't you...?
-Big sister! You must come back!
-I believe you'll come back!
The voices of Meryl and the children echoed in my head.
-Arian, I too won't forget that you fought for us.
-Let's try to survive.
-Yes, let's do that.
My conversation with Vincent also comes to mind.
"These damn bastards!!"
I was so angry that I forgot there were people around.
Anger? No, hatred.
These fanatic bastards I want to tear apart have invaded the village.
My power goes berserk with the hatred pouring out enough to make me lose my mind.
My eyes flash with a mad red light, and a red aura spews out around my body, causing a whirlwind.
-Kyaaaa!
-Mo-monster!!
-It's a vampire!!
-Run away!!
-Aren't there any hunters!!
-The church!!
The area around the train station instantly becomes a state of pandemonium.
But this is no time to care about such things.
Bang!
Boom!
I kick off so strongly that the ground breaks, and instantly leave the train station.
Did I go wrong when entering the forest?
Was this what the ominous feeling was talking about?
If I had left the village a little earlier, no, if I hadn't gone to the village in the first place.
Thoughts of self-blame strangle my mind.
I run and run again.
Please don't be too late, please be alive.
My speed gradually increases. At some point, dark clouds have started to thickly cover the sky in the distance.
As if predicting what's to come.
* * *
Vincent raises his body.
"Huu... Do I need to rest a bit more?"
He hasn't recovered his body yet.
He is not the legendary Original Wolf. He's just a degraded, pitiful beast unfortunately infected with the disease.
Just an old, useless, worn-out hunter.
This level of injury was the first since 'that day'.
The thought that Michael is indeed a crazy monster made Vincent shudder.
Creak
The door opens and Meryl enters.
She brought medicine for Vincent and carefully handed him the medicine bottle.
"Drink it, it's still far off, but the pain is still there, right?"
"That's right, by the way, what about Arian? Is she still resting?"
"You seem to worry about her quite a bit?"
A smile forms at the corners of Meryl's eyes.
Maybe she wanted to play a jealous joke on Vincent.
"Don't tease me, Meryl. You know what I mean."
"Tch, you should play along with this kind of joke sometimes."
"Huhu... I'm always sorry, it feels like I'm always imposing on you."
Vincent tightly grasped Meryl's hand.
The two have been together for over 10 years now. Both are infected with the cursed disease. And, those who have committed unforgivable sins.
That's why they were like trees that could lean on each other to rest.
"Take this, Arian said to give it to you before she left."
"I thought she might just leave suddenly, so it was today. But a letter? That's unexpected, it doesn't seem like her at all."
"I was a bit surprised too. She gave one to me as well."
Vincent opens his eyes wide as if even more surprised.
And then he slowly started reading the letter Arian left.
[.
.
.
.
.
We said we'd survive, didn't we? So let's definitely meet alive next time too. When that time comes, I think everyone will be able to live smiling.
—Your comrade-in-arms, Arian]
The last part of Arian's letter stayed in Vincent's heart.
In the past, he thought he no longer had the right to live because of his cursed disease.
But now, Vincent had to live for the things he needed to protect.
He carefully folded Arian's letter again and handed it to Meryl.
"Could you put this in the inside pocket of my jacket, Meryl?"
"Seems like you liked the contents of the letter quite a bit."
"It was just telling me to live well."
"She left similar content for me too."
"And she said to meet again, Arian... It reminded me of that day, what I did in the past... Maybe that's why I cared more."
Meryl gently grabbed Vincent's shoulders, laid him down on the bed, and covered him with a blanket.
"Don't worry, Vincent. You said Arian is strong. So rest well now. You need to get better soon."
"That's right... Thank you always, Meryl."
With those words, Vincent closes his eyes and falls asleep.
Meryl, who had been watching him like that for a while, closed the door without making a sound and left the room.
Some time passes like that.
In his sleep, Vincent felt like he heard some noisy sound.
That sound gradually became clearer and louder.
Bang!
"Vincent!!"
Vincent's eyes flew open.