Moonlight cast a harsh luminescence over the village. Seated midway down the narrow alley, Semi sat beside the woman, awaiting the culprit’s arrival.
The woman, as always, offered no preamble; she insisted she could catch the culprit and had led Semi to this desolate corridor for that purpose.
Semi pressed her back against the cold stones, rising and settling repeatedly, peering past the woman’s broad shoulders down the street.
Even from behind, the silhouette seemed slightly larger than the many backs she had observed before.
“While we wait, will you tell me why you’re so sure?” Semi asked.
The woman shrouded in shadow leaned against the wall, revealing only her lips as she spoke.
“Villagers here have been eating flesh. There’s no sign of any beasts nearby.”
“Because they were eating corpses,” Semi corrected.
“Right. Then who retrieved those bodies? Who divided them, distributed them? And do you really believe one man’s kill could feed every person here?”
The woman challenged her to ponder the motive behind the consumption.
“They ate to survive. Would they devour more out of choice? Hunger drives the need, not gluttony.”
“And yet, some feed merely because they can. Not these people, perhaps. Still, every night they gather, parcel out the remains, consume them, and hide the evidence.”
Shock rippled through Semi at the woman’s revelation.
Eat when full? How…?
“All night?” she murmured. “They… they even have rice?”
“Then we find them? There’s no one to fight. Words won’t suffice.”
“Against a vampire, there’s a ritual. It takes time and preparation, but it’s certain. A spell tailored to the opponent’s nature—that’s why we need to see him first.”
“How tedious.”
“All rites are tedious.”
Semi turned her head to face the woman.
Without her wings, she was roughly the same size as any adult—but with them, her presence was imposing. Semi’s gaze shifted across the alley.
The same crowd that had gathered by day now huddled there, trembling like wounded Burdenbeasts, faces drawn and dark.
They clung together in silence, devoid of torchlight, sensing each other by breath and trembling touch.
Tonight the heavens were clear, so the cluster was visible even from this depth of the alley.
The hush shattered as they drifted apart, voices rising.
“Why are you here? Fed up with those dried fruit husks at last?”
“A merchant’s work is simple: trade goods for sustenance. I agreed to your price before I came. But perhaps I came too early.”
Through the spat, a red glimmer bled into the shadows.
“You’ve come…” a low voice breathed.
The woman tapped Semi’s shoulder twice and nodded toward the quarrel.
Semi’s fingers trembled on the hilt of her dagger. Would the culprit truly appear? All night she’d envisioned countless scenarios.
“Aren’t you scared?” the woman’s whisper brushed her ear.
Semi shook her head lightly.
“A little. But this venture is a solemn promise to me—so hesitation is a luxury I cannot afford.”
Though her voice quivered, the woman smiled.
“Well said. I applaud your courage.”
The warmth of her hand on Semi’s shoulder lent a surprising calm. For a moment, all seemed destined to resolve itself.
Darkness deepened around them as moonlight thinned; places untouched by its glow were swallowed by an ebony void.
Semi kept her senses sharp, scanning the gloom.
“Can you see anything in the shadows?” she asked.
The woman pointed into the darkness, and Semi strained her eyes but saw nothing.
“There—there,” the woman whispered, pointing again.
At last, two faintly glowing eyes flickered in the blackness, their crimson gleam slicing through the dark.
“Found him,” the woman murmured.
A shape emerged from the shadows: fur as pale as driven snow, eyes like smoldering coals, limbs thin and sinewy as deadwood. A vampire—the culprit.
Contrary to Semi’s fears, the creature did not charge the villagers en masse.
The villagers stood rigid with dread, yet held their ground.
The tableau felt endless.
“Where are the bodies… where are the bodies?” a villager stammered.
The vampire only chuckled, its voice parched and frigid.
“They stand before you already.”
Stepping into the dim light, the creature exuded a stench richer than the villagers’ own blood-scented fear.
They saw fresh stains caked at its fingertips—layers of dark, coagulated blood with no flesh attached.
“I said, the corpses lie at your feet.”
The nearest villager stumbled back, collapsing as the weight of the sentence sank in.
The vampire lunged, ripping into one victim’s throat.
It did not pause, thrusting with its slender arms, slicing, kicking, carving havoc.
In moments, it had made a lake of gore—then laughed as if it had discovered water in a desert.
Its pale form turned crimson, its black-clawed hands painted red.
“Did I not tell you? The corpses lie at your feet.”
The creature’s tone had softened from mocking to proud assertion.
Surrounded by a sea of red, the villagers froze, breath caught in their throats.
With blistering speed, the vampire aimed to pulverize the nearest man.
Semi sprang forth. Her dagger sank into its ankle as the woman shoved the target aside.
The vampire twisted the blade free, eyes cold as ice, and leaped back.
It calmly gathered the pool of blood at its feet, pouring it over its body.
As the ichor soaked into its fur, the woman said, “I told you—I’m not much use in a fight.”
“I know! Just get your precious ritual ready!”
The vampire’s expression shifted, the grin becoming more sinister.
“I have no further interest in this village, but this diversion amuses me. Will it be a feast of pleasure, or a dull banquet? Show me, child.”
“If you’re so old, why not wander the wastelands in search of yourself, or watch the sky from a hill and wait to die—instead of tormenting innocent people?”
“Your tongue is rude. And your tension has muddled your humility into confusion.”
“You bloody damn Sarkaz!” Semi spat.
“That was… intriguing,” the vampire purred.
As Semi and the woman confronted it, the villagers stirred from their stupor.
“That bastard backstabbed us!”
The crowd halted, words tumbling out.
“I told you we should have killed him!”
“We spared this lunatic for one purpose—and now he’s betrayed us?”
“We should finish him off! That damn Sarkaz brat!”
One by one, the villagers’ terror gave way to rage; they turned toward the child.
A burly man stepped forward, shouting at Semi.
“Why look at me? He’s the one who started it all! You told me to watch him, oversee him—why do you stare at me? I’m a victim too! Can’t you see that?”
The man, face contorted, punched the boy beside him. Flesh tore with a sickening rip, and his words echoed.
“You idiot—didn’t you notice until now? Stupid girl.”
The woman broke her silence.
“Everyone, calm yourselves. The culprit hunt can wait. First, let’s get out of here alive.”
The villagers turned to her, then surged for the alley entrance.
One man darting ahead had his ankle ensnared by the spreading blood as if it were living roots.
“Trying to flee? You must pay for your sins before you go anywhere.”
The vampire shrugged off Semi’s dagger strikes with languid ease.
“Now then, select today’s sacrifice with glee.”
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