Reincarnated as the Vampire Princess' Familiar
Chapter 42 - 41 - Race against time

Chapter 42: 41 - Race against time

Outside the barricade, after a bloody and exhausting battle that gave the impression of never having to end, the situation finally seems to lean in our favor; the power and resilience of the strongest familiars of the Lunae Novae dormitory has far exceeded my most optimistic expectations, managing not only to contain but also to repel the assault of the winged demons, decimating them, even if not without suffering serious injuries.

Few—around a dozen, mostly the familiars on the brink of promotion to the Lunae Crescentis dormitory—came out more or less unscathed, with only superficial scratches or little more. Most of us, however, barely manage to stay on our feet, dismayed by wounds all over our bodies—some quite serious and deep—and only willpower and fear of death have given them the strength not to collapse.

Instead, i did nothing but stay safe behind the barricade, offering no contribution during the clash, and this makes me terribly ashamed of myself, so much so that I even fear lifting my gaze from the floor, afraid of meeting the resentful eyes of some wounded familiar.

I wish I had been more useful, I really do, but the truth is that I am too weak... in this state, they would kill me instantly, and I am too scared... they are right to hate me. I am a real coward, nothing like a predestined familiar. Ginevra, Luke, or even Gerard—who, from what I have been told, did not hesitate for a single moment to fight to protect the weaker familiars, despite not currently possessing great strength—would deserve the Visanguis much more than I do... I disgust myself...

Finally, the few surviving demons—now in numbers significantly lower than ours—decide to retreat, scattering everywhere and fleeing the dormitory through the windows or cracks in the walls.

A rather... suspicious behavior. They did not give me the impression of being creatures intelligent enough to understand when it is time to abandon a battle, nor did I hear any sound different from the others coming from their terrifying mouths that could represent an order of surrender. Do they communicate through ultrasounds?

Unfortunately, the truth is far worse...

A moment after the small demons flee, a deafening noise like that of massive structures collapsing echoes outside the dormitory, and shortly after, the entire building is shaken by a prolonged and alarming tremor.

We all look around with growing terror—the cracks in the walls, the ceiling, and the floor are getting wider and deeper. Terrifying noises of debris collapsing begin to roar from the upper floors, getting closer and closer.

Is the dormitory... collapsing? Could this be the reason why the small demons abandoned the battle prematurely? Probably, just like animals in the human world, they too possess a kind of sixth sense that warns them of imminent danger.

And now... what should we do?

«All of you who are still able to move, listen to me!» Ginevra’s voice echoes in the immense mess hall, now reduced to a battlefield carpeted with thousands of human and demon corpses, interrupting the spread of general panic at the sight of the imminent collapse—her leadership and the influence she exerts on the other familiars, even those stronger than her, is undeniable. «We must immediately transport all the wounded to the underground floor; there, we should be safe from the collapse. Moreover, there will be water and food for everyone. Let’s move, quickly!»

At first glance, the familiars capable of carrying out Ginevra’s orders are at most a hundred, while the severely wounded are more than a thousand... how will we manage to transport them all? It’s impossible! In any case, there are no other solutions at the moment, and we can only try to save as many lives as possible.

Once most of the barricade has been removed and those same benches have been used to build scaffolding between the first floor and the ground floor, the evacuation plan begins. Although Ginevra was opposed to me helping with the rescues—according to her, I would risk harming not only myself but also the wounded person I would be transporting—by insisting a lot, I managed to carve out a role for myself, albeit a marginal one, assisting in the transport of familiars I deemed in difficulty.

Fortunately, some of the wounded familiars were still able to reach the underground on their own feet or simply by using me for support—even though they were not particularly enthusiastic about being helped by me, in those conditions, they made the effort to put aside their resentment towards me. This drastically accelerated the rescue process, and within a few minutes, almost all the wounded familiars had been brought to safety in the underground floor, where they could drink and eat to their fill—the food supplies in the storage were probably meant to last for several days.

One last transport, and we’re done.

Only three familiars remain to be saved, including Gerard. He insisted on being left for last; that big guy’s spirit of sacrifice is truly admirable.

That’s why only I, Ginevra, two other high-level and still strong familiars, and Luke are outside the underground—despite his serious injuries, Luke said he couldn’t stand the idea of watching while I was helping, so he too was assigned a support role.

Meanwhile, chunks of concrete and debris fall from the ceiling with increasing frequency, and a huge chasm has also opened in the center of the mess hall, forcing us to navigate a rather challenging path to transport the wounded from one side of the hall to the other, slowing us down worryingly.

«Come on, one last effort and we’re done!» Ginevra encourages us, now voiceless and breathing heavily, carrying Gerard—the heaviest of the rescued familiars—on her back.

Then, a tremor stronger than the previous ones announces the imminent tragedy; the cracks in the walls and ceiling widen until they become real chasms, and the entire building crumples in on itself, collapsing all at once like an exhausted body. As if—it too—had done everything to hold on as long as possible.

One minute... just one more minute, and we would all have been safe... Damn it!

The heavy, small basement door is too far to think about reaching it, but the glass window, or rather, what was once a large glass window, is only a few steps away and represents the closest escape route.

One last, superhuman effort, drawing on energy we didn’t even think we possessed, allows us to throw ourselves out of the building an instant before the complete collapse, accompanied by a deafening roar and raising a thick cloud of dust and debris all around us.

When the cloud dissipates, however, the sight is terrible; beyond the dormitory’s perimeter walls, which had already completely collapsed some time ago, the Scarlet Army’s ranks have been reduced to a handful of soldiers—no more than a hundred, when they were originally at least five times as many. The monstrous creatures, on the other hand, although they too have suffered countless losses, remain far more numerous, not to mention that among them there are still numerous members of the Crimson Requiem—the true architects of this disaster.

«Anyone capable of using photon displacement magic is immediately requested at the Temple of Lucypher as support for Commander Clotilde Valakys! I repeat: anyone capable of using lightning displacement magic is immediately requested at the Temple of Lucypher as support for Commander Clotilde Valakys!»

The order, relayed by one of the soldiers, echoes beyond any scream and explosion, as if it had been amplified by the same magic similar to that used by the combat chronicler among familiars.

A direct order from... Clotilde Valakys?! How is this possible...?! She should be busy training Ayra to master her Innatus, not on a battlefield...

No! I don’t want to think that it ended like this... Ayra... where are you? You promised me you would come back... you swore it to me! So then... why aren’t you here...?

I collapse to my knees, emotionally shattered, the final blow to my already broken soul.

Inside me, the growing awareness that the kiss on the shores of the lake she held so dear was nothing more than a farewell kiss, and that Ayra was fully aware of it... the sudden closeness from Daphne in these last few days... I’m certain that Ayra asked her beloved big sister to take care of me, to prevent me from falling into the hands of some sadistic and ruthless master. That stupid mistress of mine worried about me until the very end...

Tears won’t stop streaming from my eyes—reddened by crying and dust—while, with desperate force, I strike the ground with my fists, one after another, overwhelmed by uncontrollable despair.

I really was a fool to believe she would truly return...

The situation, after that sudden retreat order, only worsens, now becoming tragic. Of the hundred vampires defending us, nearly half vanish, darting into the sky in a flash of red energy.

It’s not the first time I’ve witnessed this kind of magic; Clotilde often moves this way, as I’ve always seen her arrive preceded by a red energy flash descending from the sky, rather than through conventional teleportation. It’s probably a spell that only extremely powerful vampires can use and that, unlike teleportation magic, isn’t affected by the presence of other energy sources that could compromise its effectiveness.

Losing a significant number of soldiers, the small group left to defend us is now unable to effectively counter the enemy’s advance, which—before our terrified and powerless eyes—begins cutting through the ranks of the Crimson Army.