Chapter 1: talks before Hiroto Part 1
— Part 1 —
In the dark forest at night, a somewhat wide cave was peeping out as if a huge toad with an opened mouth. And from that mouth groans and moans could be heard.
Inside the cave it was dark. Ceilings covered by black granite which induced despair.
As soon as the cave was entered, thirty bodies wrapped in white bandages were lined up. The dead bodies were covered in dirty bandages from head to toes. In one corner, the body of the big man could be seen, and a slightly smaller body was lying close by. The body of a smaller person had some protrusions in the chest area.
Suddenly, a smaller corpse moved.
And then it got up.
It was a group of mummies, not corpses. This weird race lived in the vicinity of the cave, away from the human villages and towns. White bandages which wrapped mummies entire bodies were like clothes for them. Even if they are not hurt, bandages were still wrapped, that’s why this race was attached a derogatory name – “Mummies”.
The petite mummy who got up had a thin waist. In contrast, the chest was big. Other small mummies also had bigger chests but not at this ratio.
It was a mummy girl.
She was called Mimia.
Mimia woke up and looked at her companions lying in the dark. Men were lying at one side and women were gathered at the other side – everyone still sleeping. It looked like Mimia was the only one awake. She woke up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. She attempted to go to sleep, but the drowsiness didn’t come.
Mimia got up slowly and went outside the cave while paying attention so as not to trample her companions.
The night-sky was littered with stars. It looked like a jewelry box full of shining gems – although, mummy’s women will never have gemstones themselves. Even cute clothes cannot be worn by them.
Mimia goes to town every now and then for an errand. Though the eyes of the people in town are cold, sometimes she encounters someone who is wearing nice clothes and she gets fascinated.
Fluffy shoulders, the skirt full of folds – she wanted to wear pretty clothes at least once. But, human clothing is too expensive for Mimia and cannot be bought.
[I wonder if I will be going out to town in a week.]
Mimia thought.
A wedding ceremony will be held in mummies group. Mimia for sure will be told to buy sake.
Suddenly, two black shadows crossed the night sky.
Was it a bat?
No.
It’s not a bat. It was bigger. Surely it’s that – ….
Vampires.
Two vampires speeded through the night sky together and then broke up and went different ways. One flew towards the village of Mora. The other came towards the city – towards Solum.
[Was human blood sucked again?]
Mimia thought.
And the mummy group will be doubted again.
Why vampires do not suck blood of mummies? Surely, they will think that mummies and vampires are accomplices.
— Part 2 —
Six unrefined towers protruded towards the dark night sky. Castle wall was old and made of rock.
There was a courtyard hidden by the wall, with one side facing the stables and with the other facing the tower house. Strangely, all the doors facing the courtyard were closed.
It was closed not to keep the wind and the cold away. It was to prevent intrusion of the vampires.
A sliding door opened wide, and two soldiers appeared.
One person was a human being.
The other one was a skeleton. With a pure white skull exposed. No, not just the skull. Shoulder bones, breast bones and waist bone were all exposed.
It was from a skeleton race. In Solum castle, not only humans but skeletons also help with defending.
“For a while, vampires have been quiet.” – said a human soldier.
“I guess they have enough food.”
“I cannot believe they can drink the blood of the wolves, and don’t drink humans blood -“
It was then, when the human man started answering, the sound of wings flapping, penetrated the silence of the night.
The two soldiers looked over the courtyard. With the big black wings spread out, the monster came down.
The body looked tough.
It was a male vampire.
“You, human beings”
The male vampire called out in a mocking voice. Human soldier prepared a bow and an arrow, and the skeleton soldier pulled out the sword.
Instantly an arrow was shot at the vampire. The arrow pierced the sliding door.
“It will be bad, if you kill me. Retaliation will be waiting – Solum’s sky will be dyed in black and those in the castle will be eaten by us and killed.”
Vampire pushed the index finger forward and shaked it left and right. Neither a human soldier nor a skeleton soldier moved.
“Do not make me angry and you will be kept alive.”
The male vampire strongly flapped its wings and flew into the air. As soon as it got over ten meters, it made a complete turn and flew into the night sky.
— Part 3 —
At the same time – another vampire was flying through the night sky. There were countless stars filling the deep blue sky. Stars were like jewels of the night sky.
It was a female vampire that was flying slowly under the stars. Her hair was crimson like a fine red wine. A plump breasts that reminded of a ripe fruit was placed in a bold high-leg costume.
It was a woman vampire.
The female vampire was named Valkyria. Valkyria was about to fly to Mora village after separating from her friends.
Compared to fifty years ago, her prey – wolves have decreased. Humans have cut open the forest and made it into a field. Because of this animals disappeared and that meant less prey for wolves, so they became fewer too. A wolf is a staple food of the vampire. Attack the wolves and suck their blood.
If you starve, you have no choice but to find a substitute.
And a substitute is a human being.
Human blood is pure. Some humans taste good and some taste bad. A human being whose blood was sucked lives if it is lucky. And die if it was not so lucky. This is why the vampire tribes are feared by human beings.
[There is no fool who walks in the trail as expected.]
From the sky, Valkyria looked at the land. In the moonlit night, the hills looked like a black mounds. Several black hills were connected like big waves. It was like a dark immovable wave. And a narrow single road runs among them.
There someone strange was moving.
It was a human being.
In the moonlight, a man was going up a hill in a brisk pace. A person from Mora village. It must have been drinking and got late.
[That is a good prey ♪]
Valkyria smiled a little. Today she will be able to get a meal.
The man approached the top of a hill.
The moonlight illuminated downhill slope. Trees were scattered in the field at intervals of several meters. And if you connect the trees, it becomes a road.
[Well then, how should I attack it?]
Valkyria descended and passed by 10 meters next to the man. While drawing an arc around prey, she confirmed the weapon quickly.
None.
It was not a soldier. It was just a farmer.
A man suddenly looked left and right.
[Did it notice?]
Then, it can only mean attack.
The man began to hurry. It was not running, but it was quicker than before.
[It is useless to run away]
Valkyria quickly approached. The back of the man came closer, until his hair caught her eye. Valkyria struck a man directly from behind.
It happened in an instant.
A man was effortlessly knocked down. Vampire twisted his arms quickly and made it impossible to resist.
“Finally caught a prey after a long time.”
Valkyria approached the neck.
He got bit.
A man convulsed. He squealed silently and twitched. Fresh blood overflowed in her mouth.
The taste was not bad.
Valkyria bit his throat and sucked blood. If her sister Curele was here, she could suck blood too, but Curele was staying indoors.
A man leaked a faint sound and stopped moving.
“Oh my gosh, did you die from a shock, it’s a waste of money. If you lived, you could be attacked again.”
Valkyria slowly stood up and flew into the starry sky.
Chapter 1: talks before Hiroto Part 1
— Part 1 —
In the dark forest at night, a somewhat wide cave was peeping out as if a huge toad with an opened mouth. And from that mouth groans and moans could be heard.
Inside the cave it was dark. Ceilings covered by black granite which induced despair.
As soon as the cave was entered, thirty bodies wrapped in white bandages were lined up. The dead bodies were covered in dirty bandages from head to toes. In one corner, the body of the big man could be seen, and a slightly smaller body was lying close by. The body of a smaller person had some protrusions in the chest area.
Suddenly, a smaller corpse moved.
And then it got up.
It was a group of mummies, not corpses. This weird race lived in the vicinity of the cave, away from the human villages and towns. White bandages which wrapped mummies entire bodies were like clothes for them. Even if they are not hurt, bandages were still wrapped, that’s why this race was attached a derogatory name – “Mummies”.
The petite mummy who got up had a thin waist. In contrast, the chest was big. Other small mummies also had bigger chests but not at this ratio.
It was a mummy girl.
She was called Mimia.
Mimia woke up and looked at her companions lying in the dark. Men were lying at one side and women were gathered at the other side – everyone still sleeping. It looked like Mimia was the only one awake. She woke up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. She attempted to go to sleep, but the drowsiness didn’t come.
Mimia got up slowly and went outside the cave while paying attention so as not to trample her companions.
The night-sky was littered with stars. It looked like a jewelry box full of shining gems – although, mummy’s women will never have gemstones themselves. Even cute clothes cannot be worn by them.
Mimia goes to town every now and then for an errand. Though the eyes of the people in town are cold, sometimes she encounters someone who is wearing nice clothes and she gets fascinated.
Fluffy shoulders, the skirt full of folds – she wanted to wear pretty clothes at least once. But, human clothing is too expensive for Mimia and cannot be bought.
[I wonder if I will be going out to town in a week.]
Mimia thought.
A wedding ceremony will be held in mummies group. Mimia for sure will be told to buy sake.
Suddenly, two black shadows crossed the night sky.
Was it a bat?
No.
It’s not a bat. It was bigger. Surely it’s that – ….
Vampires.
Two vampires speeded through the night sky together and then broke up and went different ways. One flew towards the village of Mora. The other came towards the city – towards Solum.
[Was human blood sucked again?]
Mimia thought.
And the mummy group will be doubted again.
Why vampires do not suck blood of mummies? Surely, they will think that mummies and vampires are accomplices.
— Part 2 —
Six unrefined towers protruded towards the dark night sky. Castle wall was old and made of rock.
There was a courtyard hidden by the wall, with one side facing the stables and with the other facing the tower house. Strangely, all the doors facing the courtyard were closed.
It was closed not to keep the wind and the cold away. It was to prevent intrusion of the vampires.
A sliding door opened wide, and two soldiers appeared.
One person was a human being.
The other one was a skeleton. With a pure white skull exposed. No, not just the skull. Shoulder bones, breast bones and waist bone were all exposed.
It was from a skeleton race. In Solum castle, not only humans but skeletons also help with defending.
“For a while, vampires have been quiet.” – said a human soldier.
“I guess they have enough food.”
“I cannot believe they can drink the blood of the wolves, and don’t drink humans blood -“
It was then, when the human man started answering, the sound of wings flapping, penetrated the silence of the night.
The two soldiers looked over the courtyard. With the big black wings spread out, the monster came down.
The body looked tough.
It was a male vampire.
“You, human beings”
The male vampire called out in a mocking voice. Human soldier prepared a bow and an arrow, and the skeleton soldier pulled out the sword.
Instantly an arrow was shot at the vampire. The arrow pierced the sliding door.
“It will be bad, if you kill me. Retaliation will be waiting – Solum’s sky will be dyed in black and those in the castle will be eaten by us and killed.”
Vampire pushed the index finger forward and shaked it left and right. Neither a human soldier nor a skeleton soldier moved.
“Do not make me angry and you will be kept alive.”
The male vampire strongly flapped its wings and flew into the air. As soon as it got over ten meters, it made a complete turn and flew into the night sky.
— Part 3 —
At the same time – another vampire was flying through the night sky. There were countless stars filling the deep blue sky. Stars were like jewels of the night sky.
It was a female vampire that was flying slowly under the stars. Her hair was crimson like a fine red wine. A plump breasts that reminded of a ripe fruit was placed in a bold high-leg costume.
It was a woman vampire.
The female vampire was named Valkyria. Valkyria was about to fly to Mora village after separating from her friends.
Compared to fifty years ago, her prey – wolves have decreased. Humans have cut open the forest and made it into a field. Because of this animals disappeared and that meant less prey for wolves, so they became fewer too. A wolf is a staple food of the vampire. Attack the wolves and suck their blood.
If you starve, you have no choice but to find a substitute.
And a substitute is a human being.
Human blood is pure. Some humans taste good and some taste bad. A human being whose blood was sucked lives if it is lucky. And die if it was not so lucky. This is why the vampire tribes are feared by human beings.
[There is no fool who walks in the trail as expected.]
From the sky, Valkyria looked at the land. In the moonlit night, the hills looked like a black mounds. Several black hills were connected like big waves. It was like a dark immovable wave. And a narrow single road runs among them.
There someone strange was moving.
It was a human being.
In the moonlight, a man was going up a hill in a brisk pace. A person from Mora village. It must have been drinking and got late.
[That is a good prey ♪]
Valkyria smiled a little. Today she will be able to get a meal.
The man approached the top of a hill.
The moonlight illuminated downhill slope. Trees were scattered in the field at intervals of several meters. And if you connect the trees, it becomes a road.
[Well then, how should I attack it?]
Valkyria descended and passed by 10 meters next to the man. While drawing an arc around prey, she confirmed the weapon quickly.
None.
It was not a soldier. It was just a farmer.
A man suddenly looked left and right.
[Did it notice?]
Then, it can only mean attack.
The man began to hurry. It was not running, but it was quicker than before.
[It is useless to run away]
Valkyria quickly approached. The back of the man came closer, until his hair caught her eye. Valkyria struck a man directly from behind.
It happened in an instant.
A man was effortlessly knocked down. Vampire twisted his arms quickly and made it impossible to resist.
“Finally caught a prey after a long time.”
Valkyria approached the neck.
He got bit.
A man convulsed. He squealed silently and twitched. Fresh blood overflowed in her mouth.
The taste was not bad.
Valkyria bit his throat and sucked blood. If her sister Curele was here, she could suck blood too, but Curele was staying indoors.
A man leaked a faint sound and stopped moving.
“Oh my gosh, did you die from a shock, it’s a waste of money. If you lived, you could be attacked again.”
Valkyria slowly stood up and flew into the starry sky.
