Mistaken for a Masked Munchkin

Vulgar Slaughter, Cowardly Survival (6)

After the fierce battle in the corridor.

A lull, cold and quiet.

"......"

Viktor stood in place.

Sprawled face-down before him, wretched and ruined, was a single creature. The warden he had been fighting until moments ago.

Limbs gone. Still twitching against the floor.

"Uheh... ehehe..."

Had his mind finally broken?

'Well... recovery's out of the question.'

An absolute wreck. Arms and legs carved off, burns across every inch of him, every last tooth shattered. Most of the wounds from stake fragments, on top of everything else.

Even if he managed to drink blood afterward, none of this would heal.

He'd spend the rest of his life exactly like this.

'Though before that, the New Kingdom might execute him for failing to protect the ranch.'

Not Viktor's problem.

Keeping him alive at all was already more patience than Viktor had in him.

"Bastard."

The workshop was right there.

One look had been enough to turn his stomach. Hard to tell the shapes inside had ever been human, given how thoroughly the warden had worked on them. Displayed there, each one, as his "works."

What made it worse, far worse, was that all of them were still barely breathing.

"......"

He heard it.

That faint rasp of air. Blood-froth boiling in windpipes, breaths barely pushed out. Whatever they were trying to say, it could only have meant three words: kill me, please.

Viktor pressed two fingers to his brow and crouched down.

'Wouldn't it be better if this thing just died?'

The urge rose.

But then a voice caught his sleeve.

-- Muro.

-- I want you to always believe in Muro, Teacher.

Well.

-- Anyone can live again.

Who had he caught this stubbornness from, anyway.

He pushed it back down. His killing intent.

Right. No one had the right to take another's life.

A long breath in. He got back to the remaining work.

Picked up a stake fragment from the floor.

'......Yeah. This will do.'

Grab.

He seized the warden by the hair, pressed the stake to both eyes, and burned them out. Melted the pupils so he would never see again.

He couldn't kill. But he could still punish.

The warden didn't flinch, even through the pain.

Work finished, Viktor dropped him back onto the floor.

"Hah... that was rough."

Only then did he let out a tired breath.

He'd pushed himself too hard. He'd apparently forgotten he was an overall E-grade, a body made of glass.

His lungs burned as if scorched, and his vision swam from overusing the bugs.

He sat where he was until the dizziness passed.

"Tch. Hurts."

His fist throbbed. Cracked, maybe.

The price of letting his emotions get the better of him.

Wincing, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Phew... still. This means the ranch occupation is over, at least."

The control room had been secured.

Outside, Carmilla would have handled everything on her end. Nothing but small fry left behind. She would have swept through them without trouble.

'Carmilla... hope she's okay.'

Speak of the devil.

The thought had barely finished before a figure appeared at the far end of the corridor.

"Viktor."

Silver hair, slightly disheveled. Those crimson eyes, hollowed in a way they hadn't been before.

When their eyes met, the girl's expression lifted, just a little.

Carmilla ran over and looked him over right away.

"Are you alright? You look utterly worn out..."

"I'm fine. How are things outside?"

"All taken care of."

"Good work."

"Don't say that... Viktor was the one who did all the hard work."

"None of it would have been possible without Your Highness."

A brief exchange.

"Are you doing alright?" Viktor asked, his voice quiet.

"......No issues."

Her eyes said otherwise.

Of course her feelings were tangled. The peace her father had given everything to protect, she had just watched it fail completely, crumble to nothing. The dream of reconciliation between human and vampire, gone. And she hadn't had the power to stop any of it.

"......"

How could anyone measure that kind of helplessness?

Carefully, he reached out and rested a hand on Carmilla's head.

"Viktor...?"

"You did well. Your Highness gave everything you had."

"What are you saying all of a sudden... you think I'm a child?"

"Of course not. I'm just proud of you."

"......I'm fairly certain I told you to stop patting my head. You do it every time."

She complained, but she didn't pull away.

He kept going, a few strokes more, without a word.

The restless mood settled, just a little.

"So. What comes next?"

Her voice, asking about the next step.

The ranch occupation was wrapped up. The vampires planted throughout the facility had been suppressed.

"First... let's get the survivors out."

He pushed himself to his feet. Every muscle pulled tight, but there was no time to rest. The night they had been given was short.

"Let's move."

"Alright."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!