3.5

Two sunsets passed after that day, and the night came when Isaac was to head out with the night patrol. The patrol, composed of Isaac, Nielson, and a few young men from the village, began searching the forest surrounding the village.  

“It’s eerily quiet tonight, not even the owls are hooting.” 

Nielson remarked.  

The young men of the village nodded in agreement, and Isaac, feeling tense, gripped the sacred sword in his hand tightly. Even the moonlight was obscured by clouds, leaving their torches as the only source of light. Despite it being a summer night, the air was strangely chilly, and the men shivered.  

“Th-there!”  

One of the young men pointed into the forest, where something began to move. Nielson, pulling the string of his crossbow already loaded with a bolt, prepared for combat, and the rest assumed battle stances. Isaac recalled the vampire-hunting techniques Johann had taught him and focused on the movement between the branches.  

The motion in the bushes was faster than that of any animal, darting here and there as if toying with them. Then, with a strange, howling sound that seemed to come from the trees themselves, all their torches were extinguished.  

At that moment,  

“Aaargh!”  

A young man holding a spear screamed, clutching his arm. His spear was thrown to the ground, rolling away, and the stench of blood filled the air. All they could see in the darkness was a faint silhouette. The other young men swung wildly at the darkness, trying to strike the figure, only to be counterattacked. Screams echoed throughout the forest.  

Nielson, a skilled hunter, remained calm, relying on his experience and instincts to avoid losing track of the creature. He released the bolt from his crossbow toward the bushes where the figure was hiding.  

“Graaaah!”  

A beast-like roar rang out as Isaac charged toward the source of the sound.  

Clang! 

The sacred sword struck what Isaac assumed was the creature’s arm, but the sound was like metal clashing against metal. As he got closer to the humanoid figure, yellow eyes glowed in the darkness. Isaac took a step back, steadying his grip on the sword.  

‘Isaac, a vampire’s skin is tougher than steel.’  

Recalling what Ippolita had once told him, Isaac began piecing together a plan.  

‘You mustn’t think of vampires as human. They’re monsters.’  

‘Do they have any weaknesses?’  

‘Weaknesses? Holy water, sacred swords, fire. Even Holy Knights know these. But there are two more things they don’t know. One is the herb incompatible with each vampire. And—’  

‘The eyes!’  

In that brief moment, Isaac remembered the fatal weakness and lunged toward the shifting figure in the darkness. The young men of the village tried to assist him, but in the pitch-blackness, where friend and foe were indistinguishable, they only got in the way.  

Clang! Clang!  

The sound of metal striking metal echoed through the darkness. Nielson focused his vision as much as possible, firing bolts at the faintly distinguishable figure whenever Isaac broke away from it. Despite the fierce battle, the creature had only sustained a few minor wounds, while Isaac, panting heavily, bore numerous injuries.  

‘It didn’t seem to have any weapons.’  

The creature’s hands were empty.  

‘Its claws…?’

The wounds on Isaac’s body were caused when the creature’s fingertips grazed him, leaving no other explanation. However, no matter how much Isaac swung the sacred sword, which was no longer than a dagger, he could not inflict any deep injuries on the creature.  

‘I have no choice but to get in close.’  

Isaac, who had created some distance between himself and the creature presumed to be a vampire, watched for an opening. As if sensing his intent, Nielson fired three bolts in rapid succession at the creature. Initially, the vampire seemed unbothered, merely letting the bolts strike its body. But after a brief shudder, it began dodging the bolts, and in its movements, a gap appeared.  

‘Now!’  

Not missing even that brief moment, Isaac rushed forward and stabbed the vampire deeply in the eye.  

“Graaaaaaah—!”  

The vampire’s scream startled the birds hiding in the forest, sending them flying into the sky. Before Isaac could celebrate his successful attack, the vampire retaliated, plunging its hand deep into Isaac’s left shoulder. Then, pulling its hand out, the vampire leapt backward.  

“Hngh… ugh…”  

Isaac groaned, retreating a few steps.  

“Now! Throw the bullets!”  

At Nielson’s signal, the young men, who had been prepared, threw the bullets Helena had made at the vampire all at once. A thick smoke filled the air, accompanied by a sharp, acrid smell that spread through the forest. The vampire, which had been staggering, suddenly fell silent.  

Taking advantage of this brief moment, the villagers quickly moved to escape. The less injured young men carried the severely wounded, including Isaac, and hurried down to the village before the vampire could pursue them.  

“Priest Isaac…! Please don’t lose consciousness!”  

Despite the young man’s plea, Isaac’s strength was gradually drained by the pain spreading throughout his body. As his consciousness dimmed, an image surfaced in his mind—a sorrowful Helena, speaking of love with a bittersweet smile.  

‘…Dr. Helena…’  

The young men carried Isaac, whose body grew heavier as he lost consciousness, through the dreadful night.  

* * *  

“Dr. Helena…!”  

Helena, who had been pacing in front of her house, unable to sleep due to the scent of blood lingering in the air, ran down the hill when she heard someone calling her name. Seeing Isaac, carried on the back of a young man and bleeding profusely, she let out a gasp of horror.  

“Isaac…!”  

Helena could not mistake the scent of Isaac’s blood, though she had desperately hoped it wasn’t him. The distance to the young man carrying him was short enough that she could have closed it in moments, but instead, she paced anxiously beside him, unable to bear the sight. Even as unconsciousness overtook Isaac, his face twisted in pain from the relentless agony, and Helena frowned as if she could feel his suffering herself.  

“This way…!”  

The young man finally reached Helena’s house and laid Isaac on the bed. Helena tore apart his priestly robes without hesitation. Another villager had been gravely injured, but their wounds were not as severe as Isaac’s. Quickly surveying the villagers, Helena offered a suggestion that was more of a command than a request.  

“It would be better for everyone to head to the chapel’s treatment room. The necessary medicine and Priest Johann are there. And—ah.”  

Nielson, who had been watching Helena’s unusually flustered demeanor, began organizing the young men.  

“Let’s leave Priest Isaac in Dr. Helena’s care and head to the chapel.”

Thanks to Nielson’s consideration, Helena was able to fully focus on treating Isaac’s wounds. She carefully examined his injuries. Blood was gushing out from a deep stab wound inflicted by something sharp. She first poured disinfectant over the wound and applied an anesthetic herb. Then, she tried to drip painkillers into his mouth, but as they kept spilling out, Helena had no choice but to take the medicine into her own mouth.  

‘Please….’  

Fortunately, the medicine she passed through her lips successfully made its way down his throat.  

“Ha.”  

Helena briefly caught her breath after pulling her lips away, then removed the herbs from the wound and began stitching the gaping injury closed. Although the Holy Order opposed the act of stitching wounds, claiming it was a desecration of the body granted by the Goddess, physicians had only recently begun using sutures. Helena, however, utilized her precise touch to perfectly close Isaac’s wound. Judging by his now steady breathing, it seemed the anesthetic herbs and painkillers were working effectively.  

“What… am I even doing?”  

Only then did Helena take a moment to look at herself. Her chemise, soaked in blood, had lost its original color and looked grotesque. But she had no time to care about such things. She had been utterly shocked the moment she saw the injured Isaac. She leaned against the bedside and slid down to the floor in exhaustion.  

‘And if you fall in love with him, you lose, Lena.’  

Dennis’s warning echoed in her ears.  

‘This isn’t love.’  

Even a pet owner would panic if their dog was injured. It was only natural for her to be alarmed when the child she had cared for as a boy came back to her gravely injured. Mocking herself, Helena reached out and gently stroked Isaac’s cheek.  

“…Don’t die in front of me.”  

She had witnessed countless deaths over the years. Among them were humans she had grown quite fond of and others who had died because of her. But she hoped Isaac, at least, would live a long, long life. With that thought in mind, Helena closed her tired eyes, which had grown heavy with strain.