When I woke, I found myself in an unfamiliar room. I felt something that was restraining my limbs, which left me perplexed. Why would I be bound like this? Wouldn't the dryads who serve me prevent this from ever happening? Sitting up, I scanned the room for various clues.
It was a rather plain room with an oak door and shabby beige walls. Its furnishings were minimalist, a wooden desk and chair, an unlit candle, and the bed I had awoken in. There were no windows nor any sign of anyone having been in here recently.
I checked my injuries from the last battle and noted that my passive regeneration skill restored my leg. My boot and stocking were gone, and my skin felt tender to the touch. I moved toward the door and checked the handle. It was locked. There was no way to unlock it on my end. Shrugging, I went back to bed and laid down. Closing my eyes, I thought about the tragedy that had unfolded the other day. Flora is gone, my mind wandered to the most difficult subject to think about; something that I hated about myself. Try as I might not to dwell on things I can't change, I just can't help it. So, I redirected my thoughts. I worry about the others, but I should probably worry about myself first. This situation doesn't look good. I could just break the door down in the worst case and kill everyone outside for attempting to trap me in a room. However, I don't really feel like it. Not after what happened at least. A bit of peace and quiet sounds like a nice little escape from the harshness of reality.
For once in my life, I was grateful for the fact that I don't need to eat if I can drink blood at least once a week. How long has it been since I last had blood now that I think about it? I think it was a few days ago. No, when was it? I can't afford to let that slip, I'll become comatose otherwise. Damn it, I guess I should break out, I don't know how long I have been here unconscious.
My mind made up, I stood back up and paced toward the door without making a sound. I pressed my ear to it and listened. Footsteps about ten meters out. There were more throughout, but my immediate concern was this person. There is a chance that there are guards standing still or sitting nearby. Keeping that in mind, I braced myself to break the door down with my vampiric might. Then, right as I rushed forward with a shoulder charge, the door opened. There stood a burly man blocking my way, but I didn't stop. If anything, the way he looked at me made me put more effort into it. I ran into him at full tilt making him cry out in surprise as he was slammed into the wall.
I left him with a parting shot as I took off running down the hall, "It's not you, It's me, sorry!"
I smirked and moved along until I found the steps. I got to get out of here and find an animal to drink from. My mind's sole focus was on finding blood that wasn't from a humanoid so that I could abide by what my mother taught me. I leaped down the steps and passed two guards who were walking down the corridor. I heard their cries for more guards and soon an alarm started ringing. I was bound to find myself in a real pickle here soon. I would prefer not to kill these humans, but I may not have a choice.
The level of technology told me that I was in one of two locations, either I was in the port city of Elysia, or I was on a ship in space. My guards and my adventurer party wouldn't be able to take on that kind of threat. I knew they didn't have regeneration. If I was on a ship in space, I would have to force the pilot to return or force a crash landing. Cause I don't have a pilot's license. Though, considering the state of that room, the rest of this place looks pretty high-tech. I don't have a clue which location is more likely with the limited information.
I grinned as I noted the sheer cacophony of footsteps behind me. "Well, well, got me quite a lot of followers." I chuckled to myself as I jumped to the wall and around another group of guards. The Pop pop pop, of gunfire made my blood pump faster as the adrenaline kicked in. "Better entertain them with a 'song and dance' for the ages," I commented to myself as I slid between the legs of another guard, while simultaneously smashing the guy's gonads. "Sit down chuckle-nuts."
I popped back to my feet and kicked a gun barrel out of my way just as it fired, then used the momentum of the recoil to spin in midair to kick two guards out of my way. "Damn, those things pack way more punch than I expected, better avoid being domed then." I kept moving down the maze of steel corridors for a while longer. Knocking out guards whenever they got in my way in similar acrobatic ways.
I should take a gun or two for myself. I just so happened to come across an armory after blasting the door down with magic. Hmm, which should I take, I wanna take the sniper, but it would be so impractical for my fighting style. So, I will take two light machine guns and, oh? Do mine eyes deceive me? A high-tech sword? Don't mind if I do. I took a few grenades off a table and pulled the pin off one. I don't really know how this works, but now it should just be tossing it right? I tossed it out the door, then counted...One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, and BOOM! I then rushed out of the room and kept moving.
Having better weapons doesn't mean jack shit if you're outclassed in stats to the degree we were. That was what I was thinking as I burst out into a wide-open courtyard. The roof(?) of the courtyard showed the inky blackness of space, with distant stars in view. It would appear it's a space cruiser. A chill went down my back like a warning of impending danger, and then my future sight caught on. A few seconds later, a hail of gunfire from all sides started raining down on me.
***
Meanwhile, back in Elysia. "How could they just kidnap our goddess like that." Sylphet's complaints have been nonstop for the last few days, ever since a mystery force stormed the scene and took Izunami's unconscious form with them. "Why didn't we stop them? You know it's our job right, Kotoha!?"
Kotoha heaved a tired sigh, "Sure, then who would bury Flora? Izunami wouldn't have wanted us to abandon our dead. Besides, she can handle herself. It's only a matter of time before she returns to us. I just hope she can find blood to drink before it's too late. She hasn't had blood in four days. Including today, she has three to work with. I am more worried about those poor fools. Kidnapping a progenitor vampire is dangerous enough for those used to dealing with magic. However, unlike others, she can do an instant silent cast thanks to the blessing of her sister."
Iris of the Silver Owls chuckled at that, "Right, her magic force is absurd for someone of such a low level. She leveled up a few times from that fight, so now she is even stronger too. Want to place some bets on how long it will take her to return to the surface?"
Kelpie threw in, "I'll bet a hundred silvers on two days."
Undine shook her head, "No thank you, I don't want to bet on things like this."
Sylphet smirked, "Five hundred silvers on her making it back at the last minute then needing us to bail her out with a freshly killed animal."
Athena laughed at that, "Sure if that's what you want to bet, I'll throw in with three golds and a half gold that she will make it back today." The bets rolled in, ignorant of the hell that was about to be unleashed in the sky above.
Further away from the group, back in the forests where their fight with the Hydra was. Sat the dryad, Dryas, who was relaxing in the tree branches as she watched the sky with a pleasant smile. "She just needs a little push, then she will shine like the goddess I want to serve. Thank you for taking me up on my offer."
A mysterious man was leaning against the other side of the same tree. His face was hidden by shadows and a mask, his figure was lean but toned. He had a sniper slung across his back that he used to watch the fight and give orders from afar. The man spoke, his voice, soft as silk echoed into the trees, "It is no problem for us, every single man on that ship is a criminal who was sentenced to death anyway." He popped the top of his flask and took a swig before adding, "We will lose nothing from her lashing out, so our goals were in alignment for this. Care for a drink?"
"Thank you, but no. I hope you are willing to collaborate going forward, having your empire backing me is quite the honor."
The man laughed, "Sure, as long as our interests align, I see no issues with that." He then turned and left, vanishing into the shadows of the forest. Leaving Dryas with a sinister grin as she fixed her gaze on the sky above. "I do hope you entertain me, oh great goddess of creation. I want you to be the one to raze this world to the ground of your own will."
***
As the bullets sped toward me, I stood still and assessed my situation. Noting the trajectory of the shots, I saw that they were all aimed at my torso. So, I raised a single hand, allowing my magic to run rampant. A gale of such force erupted around me and sent every single bullet flying straight into the ground at over twice the speed that they were fired. The bullets kept coming, but sooner or later, whoever was commanding these soldiers would take notice that they were getting nowhere. I sighed and tapped my foot on the steel floor, shaping a chair for me to sit in. Then I took a seat and yawned. I looked up and watched the stars and various space debris from many battles. Whoever won those fights should really be cleaning up their messes, I swear.
I turned a sharp gaze toward the people targeting me. They must have infinite ammo, wait, no, they are alternating between people needing to reload and people who finished reloading, creating an endless cycle of gunfire. What a pain. I guess I have no choice. I stopped redirecting the bullets into the ground and then changed it to full reflection. If they're lucky, they will live. In the next few moments, the courtyard was filled with the complete, chilling silence of death. I winced as I looked at all that was left of the people. I'll spare you the details, it's too gory. I sighed again, "Just what were those bullets made of? This is sickening to look at."
My already pale features turned several shades paler as my stomach lurched, "May you rest in peace and never have to fight again, poor souls."
As I stood back up, the metal seat sank back into the floor. I turned my gaze back to the glass ceiling and made a snap decision. If anyone asks, it wasn't me who incinerated the space debris. Anyway, I made my way toward the end of the courtyard and trudged through the blood-soaked carnage. There stood an open doorway as if beckoning me into the darkness before me.
Before I went in, I turned around and took in the carnage once more. I gulped down to stifle the rising bile. I know that some planets have magic-born races, and others have non-magical beings, but I never thought it would bring such a disparity to conflict. The humans born on this planet can wield magic like anyone else here. I don't understand what makes them so different. My magic isn't even that strong, I am still just a C-rank adventurer. Anyway, these guns are useless, I don't need them. I threw the guns to the side but kept the sword and grenades.
Moving on, I headed down the dark hall, it was so much darker than my family's escape route. Even I couldn't see through it. I had to feel my way through and eventually, I found a door and opened it. Inside I found the pilot's cabin and saw that it was on autopilot. Well great, looks like crash landing it is. I raised my hand and launched ice spears to destroy the system and let gravity take over. I wasn't smart enough to deactivate the autopilot and I knew it.
I watched the planet get closer and closer, slowly inch by inch. Though in reality, it was much faster. At around the third hour, we began entering the atmosphere. The fireball that engulfed the ship was visible from the cockpit as the shields kept it from burning up. As soon as I saw the ground getting closer at a rapid rate, I used my magic to blow the cockpit up and leap into the sky using a combination of a wind barrier and my omnidirectional movement skill. I watched the fireball tear into the inside of the ship and with a loud crash, it landed in the forest with a large explosion. The shockwave threatened to knock me out of the air, but I used my unique skill to support my back with a magic wall. I breathed a sigh of relief as I turned toward town and raced back to Elysia.