The Company Commander has returned

Chapter 35 - Request for Support

This time, the emphasis was on "not at all."

It was an attitude of confidence.

And it was the truth.

Up to that point, even Captain Shimenna would likely remain indifferent.

As long as they don't interfere or threaten us, whatever.

It felt like I could hear someone saying that.

But what I knew was different.

Madam Anne had joined the Demon King's army and massacred humans.

She killed and drank their blood.

Anaconda, which had struggled to coexist with humans, eventually turned to that path.

"What if this place falls?"

"This place?"

It all came down to humans.

The defeat of the Imperial Army had led to this.

"If the Demon King's army invades again, and we lose this place…"

"Then...?"

"Anaconda will collapse. The rumors about the customers of the entertainment district turning into vampires will disappear. Anaconda will become obsolete, and like buildings that have returned to the earth, you will return to your origins."

"Mago."

"What will you do then? Can you still promise that you won't harm humans and won't side with the Demon King's army?"

"I don't know."

"You trust the Imperial Army? That they will protect even the entertainment district?"

"Yeah. I trust humans."

"I can't believe that."

Anaconda will be shattered during the third invasion.

The blood supply that had been flowing smoothly when the entertainment district existed would end.

Once it was cut off, the true nature of the vampires would show.

They became part of the Demon King's army to fill their hunger.

"Stop dodging the question and answer. Faith is not the solution. What will you do if that happens?"

"Then I'll just survive on the blood of monsters or animals."

She answered nonchalantly.

"You must have a lot of questions. I know. But still, Mago, I didn't expect you to be the one investigating alone. I'm a little disappointed. I didn't expect you to be from the Imperial Army."

She looked up at the sky.

"I told you, though, nothing will change."

Everything was fine.

The entertainment district was operating smoothly.

She spoke confidently, but left out the most important part.

"The store she's preparing... the warehouse. There were humans, halfway through turning into vampires, lined up. Their hands and feet were bound."

She raised her hands, bringing her right and left hands together.

They touched at the wrists, as if handcuffed.

"Slaves are sold like that. They're bound, unable to see the sunlight, unable to eat, and when the auction starts, they're sold one by one. Do you understand?"

She knew nothing about that.

The feeling of being a lower being.

"I was locked up like that. Since I was five. I know that feeling better than anyone."

"Mago...?"

"You're all enemies. Shut up and tell me your goal. Why are you revealing everything now?"

"Madam Anne is after you. Mago, it's already over for you."

"Are you saying a lightning bolt will strike me?"

"Yeah, once you become Madam Anne's target, you can never escape. That lightning stretches all the way to hell."

Her red eyes shone brighter.

Her sharp fangs came into view.

***

"Hmmm..."

Madam Anne squatted down.

She looked up at the two men and met their eyes.

The bandit leader and his right-hand man.

"You two seem to be close with Mago, like you've known each other for a while."

They were tied up in the warehouse.

Underground, among humans who had become half-breeds.

"Tell me everything you know about Mago."

"I don't know what you mean. Why are you asking about that white-haired one?"

The leader asked, lowering his head.

"I didn't ask any questions."

"You're right, I know that white-haired one. But why does it matter?"

"Here, the iron door leading to the underground... well, maybe you think it was easy to open, but it can't be lifted with normal strength."

Madam Anne spoke in a low voice.

"A human would need at least three or four times the strength of an adult to even lift it. It's easy for vampires, but not for humans. The vampires from Anaconda couldn't have gotten in here. So, it must have been a human... and that human, with that much strength, there's only one person I know of: Mago."

Madam Anne raised her finger to the bandit leader's chin.

"I think you understand now. Your turn to answer."

***

"Madam Anne has suspended all operations in the entertainment district today."

"Her, the one who loves money so much?"

"The clerks who worked for Madam Anne are now going to be used to capture you."

Just as expected.

A full mobilization.

"It doesn't matter."

"Mago, it's not too late even now."

"It was a simple issue. You guys received blood in exchange. But then? There's nothing to get from half-breeds. Whether they become one or not, once you've drunk the blood, the transaction ends. It's just about sucking the sweet juice and throwing them away."

"Listen!"

"Suck and throw away, because you're vampires. Maybe it's only natural."

He immediately grabbed his senior's neck.

He squeezed it with all her strength, as if to crush it.

"Cough..."

"The other customers on the third floor didn't suspect anything. Just as you said, they probably thought everyone of them wanted to become vampires to escape. They likely thought most just changed into half-breeds and went far away. They never imagined they'd be tied up in the basement, waiting for their turn to die."

He slammed her senior to the ground.

"Ugh...!"

"I don't care what Madam Anne does. Let her aim for me anytime."

His senior immediately lost consciousness.

Whether she was pretending or not, he didn't care.

As he was about to turn around, he sensed movement from her.

The fallen figure slowly raised her arm.

"Such a pity, Mago."

In her hand.

There was a long firework.

The fuse was lit.

With her other hand, she grabbed my ankle.

When I tried to stomp on that hand...

The firework shot off.

A yellow flare shot high into the air.

Straight up.

The flare revealed our location.

Moments later, a thunderclap echoed.

***

It was when I was part of the 63rd Battalion.

The night we were regrouping and advancing.

The flare shot high into the sky.

The battalion commander's face turned pale.

"Move! Spread out...! If we stay together, we'll die, but if we scatter, some can survive!"

The order was to avoid the chain lightning.

Right after the flare burst.

A blue lightning bolt struck down.

As one of the soldiers, whose movements had been slow, was struck by the lightning, his comrades around him were also thrown into a near-death state.

"Retreat! We retreat…!"

Madam Anne not only fired the devastating lightning bolts but also constrained the Imperial army's formation.

If they stayed close together, they would experience chain electrocution.

If they scattered, their power would be diluted.

They were helplessly defeated.

"But if my hypothesis is correct…"

The next day.

I went to find the company commander.

"Mago, what is it?"

"It's about Madam Anne's magic tool. I believe it has a weakness."

"A weakness?"

I opened the notes I had written myself.

I drew Madam Anne's bow and arrows.

Next to it, I wrote densely packed words.

"A violin?"

"It's a bow and arrows."

"Where do you see that…?"

Ignoring my desperate drawing skills.

"Please, listen first. Madam Anne fired seven lightning bolts last month, in September."

"Did she?"

"Yes, indeed. Last month, in August, and the previous month in July. It was exactly seven bolts each time."

"You've been counting all of that?"

"I've been investigating magic tools."

"You've been keeping track of something like that?"

"Not just tracking. It's a form of strategic analysis…!"

"You can't just write down information without proving anything."

"If the same information repeats, it becomes a sample. Madam Anne's magic tool has fired seven bolts every month since July, up until October 20th. This month, she's fired seven bolts too. It's been four months without any variables, so the hypothesis that seven bolts is the limit is likely correct. If that's the case, she might not have any bolts left this month, so being afraid is…!"

"Then collect a little more data. Four months is not enough."

"Commander!"

"If someone else had investigated it, it might have been different. But Mago…"

"What do you mean…?"

"You can't even look at weapons properly. How can you talk about them…?"

"That's unrelated to the magic tool investigation! Commander, we shouldn't spread out the formation during this operation."

"What if we all get electrocuted and die?"

"This month, she's already used up her arrows, so it should be fine…"

"Shut up."

The commander kicked me out.

The next operation.

Company 63 advanced, trying to spread out the formation as much as possible.

That day, Madam Anne's lightning didn't strike.

There were no fireworks either.

It felt as if she had stopped paying attention.

While advancing carefully, we were pierced through by the demon army's spear soldiers who charged in tightly.

Madam Anne attacked the Imperial army without even lifting a finger.

It was the result of deeply planted fear.

Even though I had discovered her weakness, no one listened to me.

It was a war I fought alone.

***

I pressed my aching forehead tightly.

"Ugh…"

My senior crawled on the ground.

Half of her waist was gone.

The surrounding skin was blackened from burning.

Still, she was alive.

After the fireworks exploded.

I immediately lifted her up and used her as a shield.

"I thought you guys didn't know my methods."

It was different from my powerless previous life.

As much as I knew,

I could move however I wanted.

This was a solo mission.

If Madam Anne only planned to snipe from a distance, I could use that to my advantage.

Madam Anne's magic tool has a limit of seven bolts per month.

I didn't know when the last loading was, but for now…

The man who stole Anaconda's money and ran away.

The mixed-blood 3rd-floor customer who became a hybrid.

Just a moment ago, I…

Counting what I saw, that's three bolts.

I rummaged through my senior's pocket.

I pulled out the fireworks.

"M-Mago…"

Ignoring her groan, I opened the pocket.

There were three more fireworks, exactly the same as the ones she had fired.

And there were matches as well.

I transferred everything into my own pocket.

Now, I would be able to call down lightning.

"Hey, hey…!"

Soldiers stationed at the checkpoint rushed out.

They were clearly startled by the thunder.

They surrounded me in a rush.

"What's going on…?"

"Lightning came down in a diagonal line from the sky. It must be Madam Anne's…"

They glanced between me and my senior and muttered.

"Is this a trainee?"

Especially one soldier made a remark about my uniform.

The emblem sewn on the chest and shoulder of my uniform.

A sword stuck in upside down.

"Why is a trainee here…?"

I was about to argue that I wasn't a trainee when.

"He's not a trainee. He's from the special Ops."

The soldier who had delivered the letter to Commander Shimenna answered instead.

"Oh, the letter was sent."

He added.

"Thank you."

I nodded.

I stood up and matched eye level with the Imperial soldiers.

"This uniform is still from before the division assignments…"

I pulled at the collar of my dark blue uniform.

"Before the division assignments, and you're part of the special ops? I've never heard of such a case. Are you really from the special unit?"

Reluctantly, I unfolded the official document.

After confirming it, the soldiers nodded.

I had one more thing to say to them.

My senior, barely holding onto consciousness, lying on the ground.

"This person is…"

A soldier approached her.

"Don't go near her!"

I shouted loudly to stop him.

She was close enough to bite his ankle with the last of her strength.

"She's not a human."

"Excuse me…?"

"I told you I couldn't say before."

I spoke to the soldier who had delivered the letter.

"She's a vampire."

"A vampire…?"

"Madam Anne, and at the Anaconda pub. There were other pubs in the entertainment district too. Vampires were working there, hiding their identities."

"So, the mission is…"

"The final stage is to kill them all. We need help."