Chapter 3: Escape and pick up the black-haired girl

Cynthia sped through the forest path, her newfound strength propelling her forward.
It didn’t take long for her to leave the imperial court far behind.

“Huh… Oh?”

Coming to her senses, she realized the court was already a distant speck.

“I’ve come this far and still haven’t been caught. Could this be the time I actually escape?”

“Hehe, that old hag’s slipping~”

Cynthia stood on tiptoe, shading her eyes with her hand in a mock salute, muttering to herself.

She glanced back, scanning the horizon for a long moment.
Satisfied that no one was tailing her, she nodded.
“Since no one’s following, I’m outta here!”

As soon as the words left her mouth, a pair of massive black bat wings unfurled from her back, spreading wide enough to nearly envelop her.

These were the black wings unique to high-ranking vampires, a mark of her prestigious bloodline among the Blood Clan.

When they first appeared years ago, Cynthia had been so terrified she thought she’d transform into a giant bat.

But now, after years of adaptation and rigorous training, those wings felt like an extension of her body, wielded with effortless precision.

Cynthia commanded her wings, soaring swiftly into the air.
After orienting herself in the sky, she shot toward the north.

At this speed, she’d reach the empire’s border in less than a day.

“Holy Church… Let’s see what schemes you’re cooking up!”

Northern border forest of the Karmoz Empire.

“Hu… Hu…”

Heavy breaths rasped from the mouth of a black-haired girl, her simple clothes drenched in sweat.
It was clear she’d been running for a long time.

Yet, despite her face paling with exhaustion, she didn’t dare stop.

“Whoosh!”

A sharp arrow sliced through the air, grazing her ear before embedding itself deep into a nearby tree trunk.

The near-miss threw the girl, already pushed to her limit, off balance, and she collapsed to the ground.

“This little thing barely has any magic, yet she runs that fast.”

Several burly men emerged from the bushes behind her, cursing as they approached.
The leader stomped on her back without hesitation.

“Hmm!”

The force was so great that the girl couldn’t suppress a groan of pain.

“I think her name was… what was it, Yi… Yi-something?”

“Ina, boss.”

The leader struggled to recall her name, but one of his lackeys quickly chimed in.

“Oh, Ina.”

The boss licked his lips, his eyes glinting with greed.
“I was planning to nab a few orc cubs at the Karmoz border for a quick sale, but I didn’t expect to hook a prize like this.”

“Hand her over to the Holy Church, and we’re looking at hundreds of thousands of Nar, easy.”

“That’s enough for us to live like kings for a long while…”

The group erupted into coarse laughter, eyeing Ina like a stack of gold coins.

“But if you look closely, this girl’s kinda pretty—”

The boss crouched down, roughly pinching Ina’s face to inspect her.

“Pah—scum!”

Despite her exhaustion, Ina mustered enough strength to spit in his face.

“Damn it! You little wretch!”

Fury flashed in the boss’s eyes.
He stood and delivered a brutal kick to Ina’s stomach, making her feel as though her insides had been torn apart.

“Ugh… cough… cough…”

“Forget it. If I mess with the ‘Black Saint,’ I’ll be the one in trouble.”
“Let’s go. We’ll hand her over to the Holy Church later, take the money, and get out.”

“Right, boss!”

At his command, his men swiftly bound Ina with ropes.
One asked, “But boss, the Holy Church folks should already be inside the Karmoz Empire, yeah? Should we cross the border too?”

“You idiot! Get caught in there, and we’re dead!”
“We’ll head to a church in the kingdom, obviously!”

The boss smacked his subordinate’s head without hesitation.

“Hurry up, no dawdling—”

“Shhh—”

Before he could finish, a blood-red spear plunged into the ground before him with a sharp hum.

A trickle of blood ran down the tip of his nose, signaling trouble.

“Who’s there—?”

After a moment of panic, the men quickly formed a defensive circle, back-to-back, their movements practiced and precise.

“Wait, look up!”

One of the lackeys shouted, spotting something amiss.

Above them, a dark figure hovered, its gaze fixed on the group.

“What is that? A giant bat?”

As the shadow descended, they saw it clearly—a silver-haired girl.

“No, is that… a vampire?”

“Hey, friends, I overheard you mention the ‘Holy Church,’ didn’t I?”

It was Cynthia.

A smile played on her lips as she landed beside the red spear and yanked it from the ground with one hand.
“How about we have a little chat?”

“We’re not exactly… free to chat with vampires.”

The boss eyed Cynthia warily, his voice low.
“Sorry, we’ve got a mission to finish.”

“Such a pity.”

Cynthia shook her head, feigning disappointment.
“But you just said the Holy Church has already infiltrated the empire—”

“You don’t need to know that much. Get her!”

The boss had no patience for banter.
Having clashed with vampires before, he knew seizing the initiative was critical.

At his order, his men drew their weapons and lunged at Cynthia like a pack of wolves.

“Ugh… idiots.”

Cynthia didn’t even shift her stance.
With a sweep of her spear, a powerful gust of air sent the men flying backward.

Before they could hit the ground, blood-red spears materialized before each of them, piercing their bodies with lightning speed and pinning them to the earth.

“Well, that’s that. Shame no one wanted to cooperate.”

Cynthia scratched her head, retracting her spear as she surveyed the bodies around her.

“Hmm—”

A faint sound reached her ears from behind.

Ina lay on the ground, her eyes wide, staring at the scene before her.
For someone who had never taken a life, the display was overwhelming.

“Oh? Missed one.”

Cynthia turned, another spear forming in her hand, aimed at Ina.

“Wait! I… cough… I’m not with them!”

“What’s that got to do with me? I’m just cleaning up witnesses.”

The scarlet spear showed no sign of stopping, and Ina’s eyes welled with tears.

In a desperate bid for survival, she shouted with all her strength:

“I—I know where the Holy Church people are!”

“Kill me, and you’ll lose your only lead!”