“I see,”

Alice Simply said, as she drew out her blade and tossed the sheath to the side.

Her time had been squandered. She finally realized why her master and all the other members of the order had told her that vampires were not amenable to reason. She had assumed that the reason they didn't try to listen to the vampires was because of their hatred and resentment. No, it was because vampires were fundamentally evil. Talking was no longer necessary; the only thing left to do was get rid of the evil that existed in the world.

Arc shrugged his shoulders and sighed, sensing that the "Order knight girl" was done playing his game. He was a fan of fighting as well, which is why he initially followed them in hopes of facing her again. He detested losing and losing to food made it even worse. He was going to fight her again, and he wasn't going to underestimate her this time.

Arc took advantage of the girl's lack of preparation and smiled as he closed the distance. She had not projected an aura around herself, so any attack he launched at this point would not be as gentle as a tap. First, he ought to break her legs. She wouldn't be able to jump around like she did the previous time.

He desired to enjoy himself by playing with the girl and tasting her blood. If he felt really generous, he could even turn her into his minion. He found killing her immediately to be too boring. Arc executed a sideways kick.

Alice stepped back and avoided it with ease, her expression unfazed.

When it came to self-defense, Alice didn't really need to use her mana. She felt Liz's technique pulsing through her body. Any knight would have taken extra precautions, such as armoring oneself with mana, in case they were struck or grabbed. However, she believed that action was unnecessary and that using it too soon would ultimately lead to her downfall. Although this may have come across as haughty to some, she was certain that the vampire wouldn't be able to touch her at any point during the conflict.

The vampire gave her a jab that veered into a head swipe. Alice turned her head and moved away, handling it. She moved with grace and efficiency.

Arc pushed her with a variety of blows, including punches, and clearing, and even tried to grab her, but she evaded him with flawless, waste-free movement.

Smiling slightly, Arc launched a more forceful attack, but...

After she dodged, the knight’s hand moved, and Arc's arm was severed from the elbow by that basic sword swing.

Holding his blistering stump from the silver that had injured him, Arc groaned in agony.

His face twitched as he leaped backward.

“Is that the most you were able to do?” Alice questioned with a neutral tone.

"You bitch…. don't get cocky!" Arc spat, but he managed to catch himself. This was how she'd riled him up the last time. He had to remain composed.

Had she gained strength, though?

Excitement surged through him as he thought, well, this was going to be interesting. He focused his attention on the severed arm, staring at it until it burst into bats. The tiny swarm circled in his direction, stuck to his stump, and grew into an arm.

She was stronger than she had been before. Arc questioned when she could keep up with his speed. He had thought that all she could do was fire off that destructive light and was a bit agile for a human, but it seemed he was wrong, she could increase her strength and speed as well.

He charged, moving with everything he had this time, worries of killing her no longer in his mind. All that was left in his mind was the thrill of battle, which all vampires loved.

Alice angled her sword ready to slash, but the moment he reached within sword distance, his body burst apart into bats.

Surprisingly, Alice became hesitant for a second but immediately understood what the vampire was trying to do.

She backstepped, preventing the bats from swarming her, but as they followed. The knight captain swung her sword, cutting down the dark shadows that resembled bats.

Her sword moved with blinding speed. It moved so fast that one could compare it to a hummingbird's wings in flight, by how her arm and the blade became a blur.

The bats, unable to reach her, spread out and flew in a circle around her.

Alice looked around waiting for an attack, but nothing came as of yet.

Most knights in the order thought it was suicide to fight a vampire alone. Vampires were very difficult to kill without a barrier, and even with barrier magic, you still needed someone else to deliver the final strike.

The bats spread out as they formed a dome around her, entrapping her. Alice looked around, not sure as to what the vampire was trying to achieve. She tightened her hand on the mithral sword, as she waited for whatever might come out.

Only the first and second-ranked knights could use more than one technique, so unless you were one of them and had both offensive and barrier techniques, you would have a hard time finishing off a vampire.

Alice had a different strategy. She had fought and killed several vampires by herself, without using a barrier. Her trick was related to why she was not using her magic right now. A battle with a vampire without a barrier always comes down to endurance. You could try to kill it with one blow, but that was rare.

Air being pierced reached her ears. She turned and deflected whatever was coming at her with her sword.

The thing landed on the ground, causing Alice to look at it to see what it was.

It was a finger. A thumb that had the vampire's inhumanly long sharp claw.

The finger turned into a bat and flew back into the swarm. Immediately after, however, more of those projectiles came flying at Alice.

She dodged but mostly cut them down. They came from all directions, which made it hard to defend, but because they came in bursts of twenty, Alice was able to quickly adapt to the patterns. It especially made it easier since the vampire was aiming for vital areas.

Usually, you would just waste your mana trying to land a fatal hit, and then the vampire would have you at its mercy. So the outcome depended on who ran out of resources first: you with your mana or the vampire with its death energy. Alice knew this from experience, so she saved her mana and dodged the vampire's attacks with her agility and skill. This method worked for her, but it was very risky. One mistake and the vampire would kill her.

Sweat piled up on Alice's forehead as she started to feel tired from the constant barrage. If this kept up she was going to get injured, and an injury wasn’t going to work.

She exhaled, pulling mana out from her core, as she finally decided to use magic.

She wrapped herself in mana, creating a thin barrier that made her shine brightly.

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Alice took a break from her attacks and rested. Since the mana destroyed the bits before they could even get to her, she was safe for the time being.

The bats shifted into a new pattern in preparation for an attack as the bombardment stopped. However, Alice stopped that in its tracks by raising her sword.

Arc moved out of the way, as he tried to retreat, but a part of him still got caught in the resulting light explosion that surrounded Alice.

Half of the bats got destroyed while the other half scattered. They flew off before combining into a swarm some distance away.

Alice flicked her wrist, as she stared down the swarm. It slowly grew in size replacing what Alice had destroyed.

She decreased the output of the mana shielding around her body. There was no need for it to be so high when she was no longer being attacked, she had to conserve mana.

Alice looked at her hand that wasn't holding the sword, clenching and unclenching it, impressed that her physical strength was still the same as when they started. Her appreciation and amazement for Liz’s skill grew to new heights.

Benedictio was the main technique of the support field in the Order, also known as the enhancement technique. Like Angelus, it affected the body, but instead of healing injuries, Benedictio enhanced the body's abilities. It not only made a person faster and stronger but also improved the function and resilience of organs, making a person less prone to fatigue or illness. It also boosted things that were not as obvious as muscles, such as perception and processing speed. Alice could see the world in slow motion if she wanted to.

She admired Liz's technique potency was unmatched even for first ranks. It allowed Alice to keep up with a master vampire even though the technique was only half at its full power. It showed her skill with the technique and her large mana capacity. Alice hoped to use Benedictio on her own someday.

The swarm charged at her and in response she prepared to fire off an attack, but…

The swarm of bats transformed into a wolf halfway to her.

Going all out, are we? Alice thought as she released her stance, and her eyes reflected a brown wolf that was comparable to a dire wolf in size.

The vampire outran its human form as it darted forward. Alice took quick action. On her back, her "mana coat" spread out to create two sets of radiant wings. She took a breath and ran off. Despite her best efforts, the gap between them was rapidly narrowing as she fled.

When vampires underwent Lycanthropy, they gained the same benefits as humans who used Benedictio. As wolves, they were two to three times stronger than their normal selves. They also became tougher and more resistant to magic. Alice had to use more powerful holy magic to hurt them.

Alice avoided the jaws that were aimed at her by running to a nearby boulder and using it as a stepping stone to propel herself skyward.

Though Alice had manifested wings behind her, the point wasn’t to fly, but to increase her agility. The wings were something that she had been developing herself so they were still a work in progress on flight.

The wolf spun around and lunged at Alice, using the bolder as a springboard as well. With a flap of her wings, the knight sidestepped the vampire and moved away. She countered by swinging her sword, aiming for her opponent's eye. Its cheek was the only wound sustained when the wolf turned its head.

As gravity pulled both of them down, Alice flapped her wings again to slow down her descent. She pointed her open palm at the rapidly descending vampire.

For a split second, she shed her wings and extended her "mana coat," forming light spears and arrows inside of it. She fired the volley, but the only weapons that managed to pass through the wolves far were the spears. They disassembled the swiftly plummeting being.

She had a creation technique called Miraculum that let her make any object she wanted. which was also the method by which she was returning her wings to her body.

The vampire smashed into the ground with a ‘boom’, and dust flew out everywhere. Arc’s heavy body seemed to work against him when landing.

Alice shot a slash of light that sliced through the dust as she fluttered her wings to gain more distance.

The wolf emerged from the dust as Alice's feet touched the grass, appearing more battered due to its multiple stab and burn injuries.

Alice slashed and speared again, but this time it was the vampire who was evading. Arc sprinted about, ducked under and jumped over objects. He saw an opening and seized it to get closer and launch an attack.

A claw swipe came at Alice.

The attack was much faster than Alice would have normally been able to handle. Even Liz’s enhancement, the best of the order knights, couldn’t allow her to match the speed of a vampire that had undergone lycanthropy. Maybe if Liz had focused all her power on Alice, it would have been possible to evade this particular vampire.

Time slowed down as imminent death approached. Anyone else would have given up on dodging the attack and tried to block it instead, but Alice had experience dealing with foes far superior to her in physical abilities. And having an enhancement made it easier for her.

She took a step back, avoiding the swift and potent blow. Although she couldn't keep up with the pace, she found a way to manage it. Her entire body was weakened because she had focused the enhancement technique on her brain and the leg she was on. She managed to move much faster for the split second she had. The foreleg had missed her by less than an inch as she took a step back.

The wolf closed the distance and another swipe came from the other leg. Alice repeated what she did with manipulating the enhancement technique.

She leaped and used her arm to jump over the coming foreleg. But before she could clear the jump Arc tried to catch her with in his jaws. Alice stepped on his nose, pushing off of him and performing a back flip, opening up the distance again.

Alice gave it her all, pushing her body and the enhancement technique to the brink. She lowered some of the power of the technique and redirected it to other parts of her body, allowing her to move faster than she should. She applied everything she learned and the reflexes she honed through her training. Her wings also helped to adjust or accelerate her in the direction she wanted to go. She focused intensely, knowing that a single mistake could mean her death.

Arc, on the other hand, was irritated. He started to be affected by the frenzy that had accumulated from being in the wolf form. He attacked Alice non-stop, hoping that he could exhaust her and finally land a hit. But no matter how much he attacked, no matter how many blows he threw, he couldn't touch her. She dodged, slipping under his grasp like water slipping through gaps. She exploited the openings that he created every time he attacked.

At this point Arc would have retreated and thought of something that might actually work on the slippery girl, but because he had been transformed for some number of minutes. He wasn't in a state to make rational decisions.

“In the name of the mighty Tharion.” Alice’s lips moved while she continued to dodge. She was chanting

The blade she held shimmed as the light moved around the surface of the metal.

Alice felt sweat drip from her forehead. Her body was on fire and she breathed heavily. She forced herself to move, despite her exhaustion. Her body could have collapse any second. The only thing that kept her going was Liz’s magic, which strengthened her organs. But despite that Alice felt like she was on the verge of death.

When the technique was complete and ready to use, Alice tried to fire it but was stopped by a strong force that impacted her leg. She was sent flying as her body spun. A chunk of her thigh had gotten ripped out by the wolf's claws. It was so sudden that she did not even feel any pain.

She stopped and reoriented herself with her wings and landed on her feet. Well if you could call stumbling and nearly rolling on the ground. As she looked up her eyes were given a close-up view of what a 6 feet tall wolf’s mouth looked like. She dashed to the side with her one remaining leg, her head avoiding the jaws that closed with a large ‘snap’. But she got knocked to the side as the wolf went passed.

Alice yelped in pain as the force had almost dislocated her shoulder. Her head spun and she saw that the vampire was already turning around to charge at her again.

Her leg was bleeding badly and she was on her knees, certain that she wasn't going to move around that much. Alice tightened her hand on the sword and turned with her body to swing the glowing blade. She released all the air in her lungs as she screamed.

“ASTRA!!!!”

The power in the sword lashed out, engulfing the wolf and the surroundings close to it. There was no explosion, only light that seemed to eat away matter. The light that disintegrated it.

The attack faded, leaving a trail of destruction behind it. A burnt corpse that was in the form of a wolf collapsed to the ground. Its legs had turned to ash, letting its chard legless body fall to the ground.

Arc, having taken the hit directly, was damaged beyond repair. The only thing that could have saved them at the moment from eventually turning to dust was blood, but he doubted he'd get any here.

His body shrunk as he transformed back into human form. Though he couldn't be saved, he could buy himself more time by reverting to the form that took less energy. His limbs grew back, but he was still feeling worse for wear. He still couldn’t move. He couldn’t see.

He looked like a corpse—no a mummy. A dried up bone body, that vaguely looked human.

Alice held her heavily bleeding thigh while gasping for air. She was going to die if she didn't stop the bleeding right away because a large portion of her leg was missing. With a grant of pain, she directed mana toward her hand and utilized Astra to seal her wound by burning it shut. All she had to do was stop the bleeding, and someone would take care of it when she returned. She tried to handle the pain by biting her lip, but every now and then a snippet of pain would escape her.

When the wound was closed and she was no longer bleeding as much, she stood up, using her sword as a cane.

She walked to and into the crater, heading to the vampire as she used her wings to assist her every step of the way.

“You’re…. one... hell... of... a... monster... you... know... that... human?” Arc said, his voice was like a rusty hinge, creaking and cracking.

Crunch, the sound of Alice’s boot sounded as she stood over him. She was leaning on her sword her left leg no longer able to work.

She looked down at the vampire, her face just as emotionless as ever.

“What’s…. wrong…cat…got…your tongue, heehehheee.”

Alice looked hesitant, wondering whether to speak or not.

Though she hated him for the things he’d done, especially Mia’s murder, she still wasn't the type of person who would strike someone down in cold blood.

“What do you want me to say when you tell me that?” She asked flatly, her voice having no color or tone. “Am I supposed to thank you? Or am I supposed to take it as an insult?”

“Take it… as you will… I… don’t care; I was simply… pointing out an observation.”

“I see,” Alice simply said, as she jerked and drove the blade into his bony chest. “I’ll take that as a compliment then.”

A second passed with nothing occurring. Alice's eyes widened, and Arc laughed as if he could read her expression. Alice clenched her blade, precisely understanding why the vampire had not yet perished. Her eyes narrowed and her teeth clanged together, an unusual change for the normally calm knight.

“Your heart!” Though short, her voice contained enough anger that it could melt over the ice caps.

“What? I’m a cautious bastard you know…... Why would I walk into a place…... that would most likely be a trap…... without countermeasures? Though…. I guess I was somewhat lucky I was fighting only you love," He mocked.

Alice gritted her teeth and sent a wave of mana into the sword.

“Astra!”

The light vaporized the vampire and changed the terrain more than it already was.

Alice was pissed. The vampire had taken out its heart before coming here, which made the entire battle pointless. She hadn't been able to avenge Mia or to get rid of a threat that might visit them in the future or decimate more towns!

With her one leg and her wings, she jumped out of the crater and looked around.

Pointless!

Even if she could sense as far as Henry she doubted that the vampire would have stored his heart anywhere close to them. The heart must have been carried by a human who was going to serve as a sacrifice to revive the vampire. So if they were moving and Alice had no idea where they were, she had utterly failed.

She failed, again.

She collapsed to the ground, clutching her chest. Her heart was pounding, her breath was ragged, and her vision was blurred. She felt a surge of pain, guilt, and anger. How could she let this happen? How could she be so weak? How could she be this incompetent? What was she doing wrong?

He had escaped her grasp. He had mocked her, putting on a charade she played along in. She had risked her life for nothing. What was wrong with her? Now more were going to die because of her failure to plan ahead. Failure to accept help. Henry would have planned for this. Liz would have finished it. Why weren’t they here with her? Why didn’t she leave with them? What was she doing wrong? Was looking out for their safety a mistake? No, she was the problem. She was weak. Just because she had gotten an enhancement didn’t change anything. She was still as helpless as when she lost Mia, too naïve and full of herself. As when she lost Thomas, too weak and fragile.

She hated him with every fiber of her being. No, she hated vampires. No, she hated herself.

But she vowed to herself that this would be the last time. She would not let any more lives be lost or any more vampires slip away. She would gain the power to wipe out all vampires—no, all dark beings from the face of this world. The power to make this cruel world, a better one. That was her promise to herself. That was going to be her reason for living.