Vamp! Vol 2 Chapter 6

The Hour of Humanity Comes to an End, and...

Bats.

A flock of bats, cutting through the sky.

They flew in a perfectly organized formation, like a team of fighter planes.

‘He’ was headed for the biggest hospital on the island. Straight into a particular single room inside the ten-story building.

A second before they were flattened against the windows, the bats disintegrated like droplets of water, then turned into black fog, entering through the window.

There was not a hint of hesitation in this action. In fact, it looked more like a mix of anxiety and terrible anger.

The fog took material form inside the hospital room, becoming a teenaged boy. His handsome features were still somewhat childlike, but his expression was gravely set.

Although it was evening on a cloudy day, he had still flown here before sundown. There were burn marks all over his body, but they healed in the blink of an eye.

There was a ‘No Visitors’ sign hanging on the door, but someone was already inside.

The girl in the room very closely resembled the boy. She was wearing a ragged black dress, and her face was so pale that she looked as though she could collapse at any moment.

“...Ferret.”

“Honored Brother...”

Ferret looked slightly relieved at the arrival of her older brother. Relic von Waldstein gently put an arm around his sister’s shoulder.

It was only then that he realized that Ferret was trembling. Was it because she had lost so much blood, or because she had been so emotionally rattled?

Wrapping his arms around his trembling sister, Relic turned to the bed at the center of the room.

Medical devices and intravenous packs of all kinds were surrounding the bed. Every needle from the IV drips was connected to the arms and neck of its occupant.

A breathing tube was fixed to his face to keep his trachea clear, but his face was in much better shape than the rest of his body. Relic could still recognize the face of his friend.

“...How is he?”

Mihail’s injuries were clearly severe. Yet even if his diagnosis was nothing but hopeless, Relic wanted to know the truth.

There was a moment of silence. Ferret hung her head, and began to recount what the doctors had said earlier.

“...His life is not in danger. However... his spine was damaged in several places... And his right hand... may never regain function...”

Although there were gaps in her description, Ferret enunciated clearly with deliberate force. But Relic could feel her trembling worsen as she spoke of Mihail’s right hand.

“...This isn’t your fault, Ferret.”

“But it is, Honored Brother! If... if only I were stronger...”

“There’s no point in discussing hypotheticals. Ferret, whether you’re weak or strong doesn’t change the fact that someone poured out all this hatred towards Mihail.”

“...”

Relic gently stepped away from his silent sister, and approached Mihail’s bedside.

“Mihail...”

For some time, Relic’s gaze remained with his grievously injured childhood friend. Then, something caught his eye.

“...?”

Stuck next to one of the needles poking into his carotid artery was a rather large bandage. It was clearly of a different handiwork than the rest of his patched-up wounds, and there were two little red dots staining the gauze.

It was a familiar mark to Relic.

‘It must have been a needle.’ Relic tried to tell himself, but his sense of logic rejected the notion. Although it might have been most tactful to pretend that he never saw it, Relic was neither so foolish nor so sly that he would feign ignorance.

The mark on his childhood friend’s neck must have been left by a vampire. It was simple enough to deduce who might have been behind it.

“Ferret... Did you...?”

Relic did not try to meet her gaze. He held back his emotions from tinting his words.

“I... will make no excuses.” Ferret said, still hanging her head. Her hands curled tightly into fists.

“I... I am weak and powerless. Mihail faced down than man on my behalf, yet I could do nothing for him.”

Although her tone was little different from usual, Relic could sense the emotions that filled her words. Ferret was doing her best to remain stoic, but the effort only served to tighten her chest. Her vision grew blurry with tears.

“The werewolves who carried Mihail here told me that his life might be in danger. And at that moment, I... I...”

Her voice shook.

Because Relic’s eyes were still on the mark on Mihail’s neck, Ferret did not force herself to look at her brother, either.

Relic wanted to be beside his sister at this moment. But knowing that Ferret wouldn’t want such a thing, he remained where he was, allowing only his attention to be turned to her.

“I... before he was taken in for treatment... I... I sunk my fangs into Mihail’s neck...”

Ferret was forcibly squeezing out her voice.

Although she appeared to be quite calm, her words were full of resentment. Resentment at herself, for having been so weak.

With this, Ferret tried to end the conversation. But Relic spoke up before the room was swallowed by silence.

“It’s all right, Ferret. I don’t think he’s been turned. Although I’m not sure if it’s a blessing or a curse that you don’t have the power to turn humans...”

Although Relic intended to bring Ferret some comfort with this statement, Ferret’s heart only grew heavier. The weight of her guilt had not been alleviated.

She had torn into Mihail’s neck, drinking his blood.

The memory of that sensation worsened her trembling, now clearly visible.

“Why in the world... did I do such a thing...?!”

Her pent-up emotions spilled out at once with no end in sight. Her screams were filled to the brim, and tears of anguish fell from her eyes.

“I was scared... when I thought that Mihail would die... I was so scared... I was so scared that I wanted to die! And before I knew it... I was already biting down... But I only made things worse! I left him with even more wounds! And if... if Mihail dies because I drank his blood... What if he dies?! I... I...”

It was only then that Relic finally turned towards Ferret. He held her even more tightly than before, whispering to console her.

“Don’t say stuff like that, okay? Ferret, Mihail’s not going to die. Remember what I just said about hypotheticals?”

But it was almost starting to sound like his words were directed at himself.

Embracing his sister, who had never looked so frail in her entire life, Relic lost himself in thought.

“It’ll be all right, Ferret. He’ll be okay.”

“Relic... Relic...! I...!”

Ferret buried her face into Relic’s chest, choking back tears.

And she soon burst into sobs, her emotions overflowing all at once.

Relic knew that his sister would not want him to see her cry. He did not want to see, either.

So he stood there silently, listening to the sound of Ferret crying.

On the inside, he allowed his heart nurture a certain emotion:

Soundless hatred for the Eater who had driven his sister to tears.

<=>

Once Ferret had regained some semblance of calm, Relic discussed what was going to happen next.

“I contacted Hilda, so she’ll be here soon.”

“...”

Hilda.

She was Relic’s girlfriend and Mihail’s younger sister. As soon as Relic mentioned her name, Ferret went up to the door.

“Ferret.”

“How could I face her, Honored Brother?”

“It’s okay, Ferret. You know she won’t blame you.”

“That is precisely what pains me. Yes, I understand that I am running away... but please, Honored Brother. Please... give me some time.”

Relic did not try to stop his sister. Ferret took hold of the doork.n.o.b, and without turning back, addressed her brother.

“...Until today, I had never seriously considered drinking the blood of a human. I believe... today was the first time I felt such an impulse.”

“...?”

“But... how strange. Even though I feel for that Eater the very opposite of what I feel for Mihail... I cannot help but want to drink that cursed man’s blood. I would leave not a single drop, and vomit it all into the ocean.”

Logically speaking, this was the point where he should try to dissuade Ferret, Relic thought. But he did not say anything of the sort.

He did not tell her to give up on revenge. He knew that to say such a thing would be to drive her further into a corner.

As Ferret came clean about her desire for vengeance, Relic could only answer,

“...Me too, Ferret.”

<=>

The werewolves, having returned to human form, were waiting outside Mihail’s room.

Although it would normally go against regulations for such a large group to camp out in front of a room marked ‘No Visitors’, hospital officials knew about vampires and understood their situation. So they turned a blind eye to a certain degree of rule-bending.

Ferret greeted them with a nod, and quietly walked down the hallway.

Relic watched his sister depart, and turned to the blue-haired werewolf in the hall.

“Um...”

“We know. We’ll watch over her.”

“...Thank you.”

“Heh. That’s our job, you know. We’re more than happy to help.”

The blue-haired werewolf grinned, his fangs glinting. He then followed after Ferret alongside several other werewolves.

Relic sent them off gratefully. Suddenly, a little boy from one of the werewolf families approached him.

“Relic? Is Mihail gonna be okay? He’s not gonna die, is he?”

Relic smiled kindly and gave the boy a pat on the head.

“It’s okay. You know how Ferret always. .h.i.ts Mihail, but he gets right back up? I’m sure he’s going to be fine this time, too.”

Even now, several werewolves were anxiously peeking through the door at Mihail.

Mihail seemed to be a very popular person among non-humans. His earnest sincerity, coupled with his genuine nature and the way he treated them no differently from others, had enraptured them—and even taken hold of Ferret’s heart.

Relic stepped back into the room and shut the door behind him. It was just him and Mihail.

At that moment, the supposedly unconscious Mihail suddenly spoke up.

“Relic... you lucky b.a.s.t.a.r.d... can’t believe... you got to hug Ferret...”

“You’re awake! Thank goodness. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Heh... heh... of all the luck... I was supposed to take her on a date tonight...”

Although Mihail was as cheerful as ever, his voice made it quite clear that he was exhausted.

“...Y’know... Ferret gave me a kiss... right on my neck... I’ve never been so happy... in my entire life...”

“Mihail... that’s-”

“A kiss. Yeah... That was a kiss.”

Mihail cut him off. He probably had some inkling of what had happened to him earlier.

“That’s why... I’m so full of energy... y’know? I’m... all pumped up...”

He was wearing a look of supreme satisfaction, as though he would have had no qualms about forgiving Ferret if he had been turned by her bite.

But Relic also knew that Mihail would never use this incident to take advantage of Ferret in any way. Mihail was neither strong nor weak enough for such a thing. He was nothing but innocent.

“I promise... I didn’t see a thing... I didn’t hear Ferret crying... really... I’m serious...”

“I know. Get some rest, Mihail.” Relic said, trying to be considerate. But Mihail looked more worried than anything, refusing to go to sleep without finis.h.i.+ng his conversation.

“Relic... keep an eye out on Ferret... Y’know...? She’s such a nice person... so if she hates someone... or kills someone.. because of me... she’ll only end up hurting herself...”

“I know. I won’t let my sister become a murderer. It’s going to be okay, Mihail. You should get some sleep. Rest.”

Once he was certain that Mihail had nothing more to say, Relic approached the window and watched the sun finally disappear over the horizon. The sky was already quite dark, but his skin ached as he bathed in the final vestiges of light.

But he ignored the pain as he thought about what he should do next.

‘That’s right. Ferret’s boiling over with rage right now. But I’m feeling the same way as her.

‘Whoever that b.a.s.t.a.r.d is... the b.a.s.t.a.r.d who made Ferret cry and hurt Mihail so badly...

‘I will never forgive him. I swear.’

The windowsill where his hands rested was slowly being obscured by dark fog. The shadow Relic cast in the hospital room began to writhe, slowly taking on the form of a flock of bats. The presence of wolves was being cast against the walls of the room.

And just as Relic’s power consumed the entire room, Mihail slowly addressed him, despite having his eyes closed and having no way to know that anyone was still in the room.

“Relic... you... too...”

There was a dumbfounded smile on his face. Relic found his anger subsiding at the sight, his powers rapidly being pacified.

With an astonished sigh, Relic grinned at his girlfriend’s brother and childhood friend.

“Mihail... you’re an amazing guy. I gotta hand it to you.”

And so, Mihail finally fell asleep.

Relieved by the sound of Mihail’s steady breathing, Relic once more turned this thoughts to the things to come.

‘If nothing else, I hope the Carnale Festival will turn out all right...’

But he was certain: So long as the mysterious Eater who attacked Ferret still existed, that peace he hoped for would never become a reality.

And there was one thing he had not yet realized: The island of Growerth was teetering on the verge of a commotion more ma.s.sive than he could ever have dreamed of.

<=>

At the same time, the harbor.

The ferry made port once more today, as though the disturbance from earlier had never even happened.

This was the final boat to come in before the opening ceremonies of the Carnale Festival. The excited chatter of the pa.s.sengers filled the harbor even before the ramp was lowered.

Lively tourists from abroad disembarked one after another, and the harbor was soon host to countless people of different races and ethnicities. But the stream of visitors soon slowed to a trickle, and two men stepped off the ferry at the very end.

“Maaaaaaan. Can’t believe we’re finally here.”

“For your information, little brother, there’s nothing more dull than sailing with you.”

This duo was, strangely enough, at once polar opposites and mirror images. Their features, heights, and builds were identical, but the colors of their eyes, hair, and skin were different. One was caucasian, and the other of East Asian descent.

From their conversation, the Asian man seemed to be the elder brother. But from a purely visual standpoint, it was impossible to tell which one was older.

“All right! Let’s go on and find Mr. Gerhardt.”

“The mayor comes first.”

There was a tense moment of silence.

“Let’s start by tracking down those two Eaters!”

“What are you, an idiot? Finding Sigmund comes first.”

Another moment of silence.

“Boxing: The sport of men. Am I right?”

“That would be sumo.”

“...Dinner.”

“A shower.”

“Cats.”

“Dogs.”

<=>

“For having been in a fight, you two look like you got off pretty easy. So why the h.e.l.l’d the two of you get into a scuffle on the ramp, anyway?”

One of the harbor officials was holding the two men in custody in the harbor office, keeping them for questioning.

“It was nothing more than a simple disagreement.”

“It’s a hobby of ours. And you don’t see any injuries on me ‘cause they’re already healed.”

The official questioning the men seemed to be having a hard time dealing with their particular brand of eccentricity.

“Names?”

“Yellow Bridgestone!”

“My name is Is.h.i.+bas.h.i.+ Aiji.”

Any speakers of English and j.a.panese would instantly know that these names were fake; but the official was a German speaker. He noted down the men’s names without a second thought.

“Pa.s.sports?”

“C’mon, now! We’re totally Germans, born and raised.”

“We were abandoned at a young age and forced to fend for ourselves, so I’m afraid we have no official records.”

At this point, it was quite clear that the men were lying. But the official decided to save the detailed investigation for later and instead continued his questioning.

“Occupation?”

“Gunman!”

“A ninja. Although, for your information, I don’t live in hiding.”

The official finally put down his pen and put two objects onto the desk—the objects that had been found among the men’s belongings.

One was a plastic handgun. The other was a bamboo sword. They were both quite obviously children’s toys.

“Would those occupations by any chance involve making money with these toys?”

“It’s not a toy. My gun shoots silver bullets, you know?”

“This sword is called a s.h.i.+nai. And for your information, we have no income.”

The official decided that the black-haired man was the more reasonable of the two, and turned his attention towards him.

“I see. So how d’you feed yourselves?”

But this time, the two men answered in unison.

“We moonlight as—”

“Hah! Can’t believe we finally agreed on something, big brother. Like one big happy family.”

“But it’s hard to believe all we had to do was show the man a couple of bats in order to be released. Sir Gerhardt and Watt seem to be quite influential in these parts.”

“Tch. If we were gonna prove we’re vampires, I could’ve just shown the guy my sharpshooting skills.”

“You’d have destroyed buildings that way.”

Because they had spent too much time being questioned in the office, the brothers had no choice but to go to the opening ceremony in order to meet with both the mayor and the viscount.

Yellow and Indigo climbed the hill together, surrounded by countless festival-goers.

“So who else is comin’ besides us?”

“Hm... Miss Dorothy should be here already. And I believe Romans the Dark Grey elected to stay behind this time; he claims to dislike crowds.”

“Yeah, he’d send everyone running with that look of his. And who else?”

“Everyone will probably make their own decisions. We’ve contacted the officers who weren’t present—Black, Mirror, Gold, Silver, Pearl, and Orange. But most answered that they would only come if they had the time. Although Garde the Black seemed to be intent on beating down Caldimir before coming to the island.” The elder brother replied stoically. Yellow shook his head.

“So teamwork’s still a foreign concept to everybody... Anyway, you said Miss Dorothy’s already here?”

“Yeah. It’s almost sundown, so she should be just about... Ah. Now.”

Is.h.i.+bas.h.i.+ looked up at the sky over the castle and smiled like a man who had just won the lottery.

<=>

At that very moment, most of those who had been looking up at the sky over the hill realized that something was wrong.

“Oh? Was Miss Dorothy supposed to join us today?” Theresia wondered as she headed for her next destination.

“...Miss Dorothy, huh. But I don’t have time for her... I have to find that vampire girl... No. Finding Theresia comes first...”

After a brief moment of rest, Rudy got up from his shelter in the rocks.

“...Hm? I hadn’t heard a thing about Dorothy coming to the island today. What is Caldimir up to?” The black bat that had been flying over the castle mumbled, watching the sky around him.

<=>

And as for the master of that very castle:

[My word! So many visitors to entertain today. Ah, it seems there is only an hour to go before the opening ceremony begins...]

As the viscount wondered where he should station himself for the best view of the ceremony, one of the maids spoke up nervously.

“Um... Master?”

[Yes? Might you have found a most perfect vantage point for tonight’s festivities?]

“No, sir. There was something very important we had to report to you, but we could not interrupt your meetings with your guests...”

[And what might that be?] The viscount asked firmly, detecting the gravity with which the maid spoke.

“We were contacted by Grandmother Job not very long ago. It was at the harbor, sir, this afternoon—”

“Master Gerhardt! The window! Outside!”

The sudden exclamation cut off the maid’s report. Stumbling into the room with this cry was a j.a.panese man wearing a suit—a vampire stage magician affectionately known as ‘Mage’.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Cried the maid who had been reporting to the viscount, but everyone else in the room, including the viscount, took one glance out the window and realized that something was wrong.

“...Is this... snow?”

Clumps of white were falling from the sky in ma.s.sive quant.i.ties.

“But... it’s not even winter!”

Because it was in the oceanic climate zone, Northern Germany was relatively warm even in winter. This also meant that summers were quite cool and p.r.o.ne to storms, but in spite of it all, Growerth had never once received snowfall in the summertime. At least, that was what logic dictated.

But at this very moment, logic was dead. Perhaps it would have been more realistic for snow to be falling now, instead of what was actually happening over the castle.

To be specific, the clumps of white falling from the sky were not snowflakes.

The moment each clump neared the ground, it rose into the air like a bird riding the winds, repeatedly ascending and descending as though it had a mind of its own.

And those in the parlor with particularly good eyesight finally managed to capture the ident.i.ty of the ma.s.ses of white.

“Those are... white bats...?” Someone muttered. At that very moment, one of the bats glanced over at the viscount inside the room.

Then, the millions of white bats flying outside rushed in through the window, as though in an attempt to fill the castle.

“Master!” The maids cried, attempting to protect the viscount, but the viscount scrawled in extremely large letters:

[There is no need for panic!]

“?!”

[This visitor is no stranger, I a.s.sure you.]

The bats congregated at unthinkable speeds, combining together at a single point. And for some reason, ever since the bats first entered the room, the parlor seemed to feel colder.

Finally, the gusts left in the wake of the bats settled. The occupants of the parlor turned to the point at which they had been gathering.

Standing there was not the flock of bats from earlier, but a woman.

She had white skin, white hair, and white eyes, and wore a white dress. The woman, who looked rather like the personification of snow, smiled nostalgically as she caught sight of the viscount.

“It’s been much too long, Viscount Gerhardt.”

[Indeed it has, my dear Dorothy.]

It was clear that they two of them were at least acquainted with one another, but the maids and the werewolves did not let their guard down for even a moment. Mage, who had alone been pacing back and forth, nervously spoke up.

“Um... Master Gerhardt? This would be...?”

[Ah, yes. This is Dorothy, a fellow member of the Organization I discussed earlier. It has indeed been a very long time. What brings you all the way to Growerth, Dorothy? It would be nothing short of delightful to hear that you came to visit for my sake, although I am unsure as to whether this is the case today.]

The second part of his words was directed at Dorothy. She smiled pleasantly.

“I’m afraid not, Gerhardt. I’ve come today to protect your adopted son Relic.”

[Oh?]

“Melhilm and Caldimir are both after him, Gerhardt! And seeing as he is to one day become my son, I thought that I should try and act as a mother to him while I had the chance.”

Everyone but Dorothy and the viscount froze.

A moment later, all eyes were on the viscount as though demanding an explanation.

The pool of blood did not hesitate to give them an answer.

[Is there something the matter, my friends? Dorothy is my most lovely fiancee.]

<=>

Underground, Waldstein Castle. The laboratory.

“...”

In utter silence, Doctor watched the footage recorded through the harbor’s security cameras.

He had installed these cameras in many places around the island, particularly in locations where vampires tended to gather. He had the footage directed to his laboratory, where he could observe them from the comfort of his chair.

Normally, the harbor camera went completely neglected.

But when he heard the rumors about the commotion that took place there today, Doctor decided to take a look at it once Val had left the lab.

“Hm? Ah, Professor. Perfect timing.”

Doctor turned to face Professor, wearing an unnecessarily bright smile.

“No, it’s only... I’d just remembered that it has been quite a long time since we began working together.”

“Idle thoughts, Professor, nothing more... But to be perfectly honest, I really must thank you for everything. How you brought such healing to my lonesome heart...”

Though Professor was bemused by Doctor’s sudden show of sentimentality, she twisted her body round and round in embarra.s.sment.

“Would you, now? Then... I have a request.”

Professor folded back her arms in a motion of readiness. Doctor leaned in close to her, a smile fixed on his face.

“Then... I want you to listen, okay? Please, listen to my name. I can’t ask anyone but you...”

Professor’s soul was struck by an ominous feeling.

She had lived with Doctor all this time, but never before had he spoken this way—in a way that was a perfect match for his childlike appearance.

As Professor stood there in confusion, Doctor put a hand on the lid of her coffin.

And in a quiet voice, so low that only she could hear, he whispered to her his true name.

“Theodosius... My real name is Theodosius M. Waldstein.”

And before Professor could even react, he quickly flipped open the lid of the coffin.

Her arms, caterpillar tracks, and her voice generator all ceased to function. Professor could no longer move.

But Doctor—Theodosius M. Waldstein—smiled sadly at the ‘soul’ that surely existed before him.

“I’m sorry. Just get some rest here, so you won’t get involved. I didn’t think it would happen so soon, but... there’s something I have to do.”

Each and every word uttered by that beautiful face was filled with pathos, like the lines of a hero straight out of a tragedy.

“Thank you. You... Brought me salvation.”

With that, Doctor recalled the images he saw on the monitor earlier.

Theresia—one of the two children he met many years ago.

And the man in the suit of armor, who stepped out of the crate next to her. In all likelihood, her other half.

Recalling the two faces, Theo whispered to himself:

“But you know, I’m not worthy of salvation. Not now, not ever.”

<=>

Pasts and presents of all kinds collided together upon the island.

Enlivened by the lights and the crowds, the festival embraced the collision—

And the moment it finally began, the hour of humanity came to an end.

The darkness of the night began to stir, led by the lights of the festival.

Little by little,

Without so much as a sound...

Extra Chapter - The Gravekeeper Approaches Without a Sound, and...

There was a moment of silence, followed by the sound of the parlor at Waldstein Castle turning upside-down.

At that very moment, in the place where the Organization’s vampires had gathered for their meeting, a man was laughing to himself.

“Hahaha... Mwahahahahahahaha! I’ve fooled them! I’ve fooled them all!”

The vampire was rolling on the floor of the great empty hall, laughing like a hyena.

“Oh man, that feels great! Stupendous! I’ve never felt so good in my entire life! Hah! How you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds sneered at me all these years... But enjoy it while you can! Yes! We vampires are all about power. But guess what? I’ve got more than that. I’ve also gotwisdom!”

Caldimir reveled in his victory as he lay in a fetal position on the floor. He had been beaten senseless by the other vampires earlier and left unconscious, but as soon as he awoke, he knew that he had managed to hide the truth from his fellow officers.

The true reason for dispatching Sigmund to Growerth.

“Those fools! I bet they’re scrambling to protect Relic right about now! But Once Rudy and Theresia get wind of the fact that he’s one of the Waldsteins, they’ll take care of him without me having to get my hands dirty! And in the meantime, we get our hands on yet another product of Melhilm’s research!”

Caldimir remembered the watermelon to whom he had given some of his own blood.

“And so! I will become greater than humans! Greater than vampires! I will become a G.o.d!”

“Who’s becoming a G.o.d? Who?”

“Heh... Who do you thin-”

Caldimir was partway through his reply when he finally realized that he was not alone. He looked around, left and right, to find the owner of the voice.

But there really was nothing he had to look for.

A gender-ambiguous figure was crouching on one of the chairs, dressed in strange clothing.

The figure’s face was wrapped up in layers upon layers of black bandages, their wide-open right eye being the only feature exposed to the world. The rest of their body was also wrapped up in bandages, making them look very much like a black mummy. The only exposed parts of their body was their shoulder-length hair, which stuck straight into the air, and the area around their neck and bellyb.u.t.ton.

This strange being spoke once more in a voice that did not sound particularly masculine or feminine.

“What’re you doing? Say, what’re you doing?”

“Grr... Garde the Black! Garde Ritzberg?!”

‘Wh-what?! I didn’t even contact Garde! So why is the Black Gravekeeper-’

“There was a conference. A conference! Why didn’t you call me? Well? Why didn’t you?”

“It can’t be... How did you find out about... Urgh... Agh...!”

Garde leapt into the air as Caldimir stuttered, landing atop the latter’s stomach.

Caldimir’s organs and ribs were badly injured by the blow. He wanted to roll around on the floor again, for a different reason from before, but Garde remained standing atop him, preventing even that.

“Ignoring me, are you? Ignoring me?”

“D-don’t...”

“I’m angry. I’m really really really really angry. I am. Yes! I am!”

A fist mercilessly drove itself into Caldimir’s face with astounding force.

“Argh...! But... You would side with Gerhardt! Unconditionally!”

“Mister Gerhardt. Right? Mister Gerhardt.” Garde spat coldly, pulling back their fist little by little. With that, the curtains rose on the one-man ma.s.sacre in the conference hall.

“I should tell everyone what this idiot’s planning. Tell everyone.”

Garde glanced at Caldimir, now a pile of half-ground meat on the floor, and took out their cell phone.

They then realized that there was a problem.

“I don’t know! Hm? I don’t know their numbers! Their emails are on my computer back home! On my computer!”

Garde put their hand to their temples, wondering what they should do.

A moment later, Garde’s eye widened as they came to a simple conclusion.

“I’ll have to go. No other choice! I’ll have to go!”