Ok, everyone knows that in vampire stories, blood is treated as nothing more than food 80 to 90 percent of the time.
However, the remaining 10 percent treat the sight of blood as a... sexual stimulant? Or suggest that vampire saliva contains a substance that relaxes the body and intensifies physical sensations, making the act of drinking blood far more... intimate than strictly necessary.
Either way, the idea of my sister's blood being mixed into that bottle repulses me. After all, one scenario means seeing the little sister I helped raise—albeit poorly, I admit—treated like cattle; and as for the other... I'd rather not even entertain the possibility.
"Ugh..."
"Are you okay, son?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Just a shiver—nothing to worry about."
I wouldn't say a word to my parents about this, not even if my life depended on it.
"Anyway, have you decided what we're going to do?"
They exchanged a brief glance; my mother looked determined, while my father seemed somewhat apprehensive.
'They've decided on something dangerous that's going to increase my burden somehow, haven't they?😮💨'
I'm not sure I want to hear what they're about to say.
".....Ahhhh. So..." my father began, sitting down across from me with Mom right beside him. "The original plan was to take the car to your sister's place and pick her up. We hadn't even realized at the time that we'd have to make the transformation using the blood-red magic stone; that only became clear once we got stuck here."
'Is that why the office was so empty, despite the leaves scattered on the floor?'
"We had no idea how long it would take you to find it, and we were ready to go look for it ourselves—despite the sea of zombies out there."
A somewhat unnecessary comment, yet an important one; even now, the *urrrgh-urrrgh* sounds from outside were clearly audible. And the question remains: how did they plan to get out of here with those zombies around?!!!
"Your mother, specifically. The original idea was for her to fly out and search the surrounding areas—even the hardware store where people had barricaded themselves in."
My take on the first part: great idea. My take on the second part: terrible idea.
"But with the vultures and caracaras circling overhead, we didn't think it was a good idea—especially since I don't really know how to control my flight. Fighting while flying? Or trying to carry your dad while being attacked by those creatures? We decided it was better to trust you two and wait," my mother said.
That makes sense. Not so much the part about how she'd carry her father, but it was a fact that if she had to face those swift carcarás—especially when she didn't even fully grasp how to fly herself—it would be like opening the door and letting the zombies in.
Speaking of which, the way her flight works doesn't seem to be the same as how I understand my [Shadow Cloak] or Mari's Pixie form.
Well, that's another thing that can wait.
"But that doesn't mean we just sat around doing nothing. When the carcarás went to sleep, I went out at least once and flew over to your sister's house."
Whaaaat... wait?!
"If you could have done that, why didn't you just do it?!!!!!!!!"
I almost shouted, but I held myself back—again. I've really been holding back a lot lately, haven't I?
"You've seen what I look like when I spread my wings, right?"
..... Yeah... now that she mentioned it, I remembered that little detail.
When my mom took flight, a tiny but important detail almost escaped my notice. She had been enveloped in a faint, shimmering golden aura—not bright enough to be easily spotted during the day, but at night... well, it wasn't hard to see at all; in fact, it was impossible to miss.
"When I headed to her house, some *carcarás* came after me—probably because of the glow—and I'm sure they've been a headache for your sister. They were certainly a headache for me." She pulled another shirt from her item box as she said this.
It was a black T-shirt featuring a rose design and some small studs on the shoulders—or rather, what *used* to be a rose; it was completely shredded. It looked as if someone had handed the shirt to a pack of feral alley cats just to test how sharp their claws were.
Without exaggerating, what had once been a T-shirt was now just a heap of tattered strips, held together by a few stubborn threads.
'So, if that happened to the shirt?'
"Yeah, I was in rough shape when I arrived. Luckily, I already had some great recovery skills. Holy magic is excellent for both healing and defense—at least, that's what Mari explained, and what the... 'Help' tab🤔? ...said. Anyway, both sources were really useful in teaching me how to use it." She gave a sort of 'what we do?' shrug.
"But even now, I'm still recovering my mana, and the time I spent in the air maintaining that barrier didn't help matters. I probably have just enough residual mana to make it to the house on my own—provided I don't use any more to defend myself along the way."
"Just a couple of packs of crackers, three bottles of water, a bag of chips, and three Diet Cokes."
'The world has basically ended, and Mari still insists on sticking with Diet Coke whenever she can get it.'
"That should be enough; I'm not sure your sister would have much left in her house after five days."
Five days? Has she been awake since this started? Or at least since *we* think it started?
"Here's the plan: You and I will make a lot of noise with the car to draw the attention of the zombies, vultures, and so on. While that's happening, your mom will speed over to your sister's place."
"Meanwhile, we'll head back home, make any necessary adjustments, get more fuel, and then meet up with them—taking a detour to steer clear of the sea of zombies."
My dad said all of that in a single breath.
'Hmmmmmm, riiiiiiight... it's as good a plan as any we could come up with in our current situation. And honestly, as long as I don't have to smell that stench anymore, I'll agree to (almost!) anything.'
[Skill: Stench Resistance 5 —> 6]
[Experience Gained]
I knew it—Stench Resistance has become the skill that's leveled up the fastest since I first acquired it.
But putting my personal preference aside...
"Are you sure you can make it to Ju with the mana you have left?"
"Getting all the way to her house is tough, but I should at least be able to reach the neighborhood—and maybe the street, if I'm lucky. From there, it's a straight shot to her place."
My mom answered casually, unconcerned, but I was still worried. I hadn't completely run out of mana yet, so I didn't know exactly what would happen.
But if running low on mana had taught me anything, it was that you become incredibly vulnerable in that state. And my mom wanted to reach that point while still having to cover—most likely—hundreds of meters across several city blocks, with no way to defend herself?
(She wasn't good with weapons or direct combat... or at least, she hadn't been so far.)
"It's risky—really risky... Mom, I know you don't want to hear this, and I don't want to say, but wouldn't it be better to—"
"NO!!!"
Yeah, I knew she'd react like that.
"Your sister has been on her own for practically five days now—probably without food and surrounded by those creatures. Every moment we wait to help her is another moment she could end up as food for those things... or worse."
"...."
There was no arguing with that. It was a fact. The other possibility was a fact, too, but I definitely wasn't going to say it out loud, and she wouldn't have listened anyway.
But letting her go alone wasn't a good scenario either, no matter how you looked at it. If it were Mari, I might not worry as much, since she had some idea of how to defend herself thanks to the games she played. Our mom, on the other hand...
A hand rested on my shoulder while I agonized over it.
"Relax, son. It might not look like it, but your mom can definitely defend herself well now." Yeah, I know, but everything she—and you, to be honest—has done so far depends on mana. And when it runs really low, you get considerably weaker and more vulnerable. She'll be all alone in that state, so…
"Easy there, kid," he said, nearly crushing my head between his huge hands. "Do you really think we just sat here staring at the ceiling waiting for you to show up?"
'Not the whole time; I'm sure you guys did... certain things. But for the most part, yeah, I thought that was it. Obviously, I'm not going to say that out loud.'
"I get the feeling you were thinking something you shouldn't have just now." He looked at me the same way Mari did when she was practically reading my mind. "Well, I'll let that slide. The fact is, we did practice a few things, too. I still remember how you used to disarm someone with a knife back when you'd ask to spar with me. I'm showing your mom that, along with how to throw a punch or step back."
That's one of the perks of practicing martial arts from a young age and pestering your parents—or at least one of them—to help you train.
".....Are you sure?"
"Can anyone really be sure of anything these days?"
"..."
"I'm confident she can pull it off—though it might be tough for you. But could you please trust us too, just this once? Just like we trusted that you guys would manage to get here somehow?"
He said this while letting go of my head. I turned to my mom; she was still looking at me with determination. Maybe it was just my imagination, but that golden aura that had surrounded her while she was flying seemed to reappear and pulse for a brief split-second.
"Aaaahhhhhhh~~.... Okay, I still don't like the idea one bit, but if you guys are determined to do this, what can I do?"
'Seriously, what *could* I do? I'd love for someone to give me some options here!!!!'