38. White Conquest

"Yumino! Now it's a good time to back out. You're no match for them!"

"Why?" the elf asked the tall vampire in front of him, ignoring the witch who was worried for him.

"Why are you doing this? How much do you know?"

"Pardon?"

"Are you trying to defend Death? Are you His minion or something?" Yumino continued.

"Yumino... that's not—"

"Pffft! Ahahaha?"

Before Gauntmere got to finish her sentence, Lucien burst into laughter louder than Yumino had ever heard him before. He laughed as if he had gone mad, holding his stomach and smacking the ground.

The more he laughed, the louder it got. It didn't take long for the sight to become hard to watch. The vampire was rolling around screaming and repeating only one word.

"Death! Death! Death!"

Even the two girls next to Lucien became uncomfortable, but before anyone said anything, the lord got back on his feet and stood tall, with a stoic look as if nothing had happened.

"Yumino," he called. "Tell me again, what do you think my relationship with that rider is?"

"That's what I'm asking you! Did He send you? Are you one of His—"

Suddenly, an invisible explosion sent Yumino flying, smacking into his house. The other girls suffered the same fate. The only one left standing was none other than the caster of this spell.

"Listen here, elf. Do not ever again put me on the same team as that monster! Are we clear?" he said with a bloodthirsty look in his eyes.

"Everything I've done up to this point. Gathering vampires, turning elves, welcoming you sorry tree dwellers to my kingdom—all of the things I've done are for a single purpose! I want to make that damned god suffer!"

Upon hearing these words, Yumino's understanding of the situation crumbled.

"Wait. You're telling me you and Death are enemies?"

"What that rider did to us is unacceptable!" Nimera added.

"Indeed it is. And to get back at him, I'll need every hand I can get, so you better stop fighting it, Yumino. It's about time you joined us; an arrow like yours can make up for the many vampire lives you have taken."

As Lucien spoke, Nimera pulled out her dagger and approached Yumino, who was still on his knees after the impact.

"Come on, my pretty elf. You know you can't say no to me~"

Yumino didn't answer her. In fact, he didn't move at all. His gaze was fixed on the ground in front of him, as if he had been turned to stone.

Nimera felt a bit disappointed at the lack of reaction, but she knelt down in front of him all the same.

"I think you should be rather happy," she said. "Maybe when you become a vampire, I'll see what my elven self saw in you to give you so many chances."

"Nima... come closer," Yumino whispered.

"Hm~ What is it? A sudden change of heart~?" she said in an alluring tone.

Following Yumino's instructions, the vampire lady got closer than necessary to him, holding her dagger behind her back and touching his face with her empty hand.

Yet when Nimera lifted Yumino's face, what she saw was something not even Nima got to see. A face mutilated by pain, yet wearing a wry grin, gazed at her, red tears flowing out of one of his eyes, as if reflecting the color of the girl's dress.

"Ah..." the elf whimpered. "You really are her..."

As he spoke, Yumino grabbed the lady who had let her guard down, got up on his feet, spun her as they once did while dancing, and threw her to the side.

The next second, his bow appeared in his hand as if out of thin air. He aimed it at Lucien once again and spoke.

"It's funny, you know? To think both of us were shooting at the same target..." he said.

"But you've managed to piss me off, Lucien. My target has now changed!"

As he said so, Yumino closed his eye clouded by tears and released the bowstring he was holding. As he did so, multiple arrows made of pure energy appeared, all of them flying towards the surprised vampire lord.

"Lord Lucien!" Averin screamed, putting herself in front of the danger once again.

"Good job, Averin," Yumino said, contemptuous of the situation. "I'd expect nothing less of a loyal knight!"

The elf didn't take his eyes off of the two. He knew what these girls were made of. He knew they would jump in front of an arrow for Lucien.

He also knew he could only save one of them, and he had made his choice.

As the arrows approached Averin, they gained more and more speed. It was also then that all of the arrows caught on fire, displaying the full strength of the archer. This shot was the best Yumino could do. It was a shot he had never tried before—a shot not even the spirits knew he could pull off.

As the shining arrows flew through the air, Yumino could do nothing but make peace with the fact he would see Averin for the last time. So he took one last look at her before she and the vampire behind her would get incinerated.

*****

The moment the arrows hit, everything around them turned to dust.

"Lucien!" Nimera screamed desperately, but the lord and his knight had already taken the brunt of the hit.

Yumino went to confirm the shot. As dust settled, the silhouettes of his targets slowly took shape within the crater left behind by his attack.

And on top of them, something in the shape of a sword became clearer and clearer until its clean white color and the letters "WHITE CONQUEST" reflected in the elf's retina.

Yumino's heart skipped a beat upon taking a closer look. Because of that sword, his shot failed to finish off the enemies. However, they were plenty wounded and dazed.

"Shoot!" a horde of spirits screamed in his head.

The elf didn't waste a second; with his arrow pointed past the giant sword, he aimed at the new target of his revenge. 

That's when a manly voice resounded like thunder in the distance.

"Get away from her!"

The next moment, someone fell from the sky into the hole where Averin and Lucien stood. That someone wore a familiar face, yet it was the first time Yumino saw that angered expression.

"Garron?"

With no hesitation, the giant man took his sword and pointed it at the elf.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on her!"

Yumino couldn't believe his eyes. It was happening again.

"Why..." he whispered, frustrated at everyone around him.

"Why are y'all doing this to me?! What have I done to deserve this?!"

"Don't take it personally, Yumino," said Garron, wearing an expression that instilled fear into his bones.

"This girl alone, I'll protect with all of my might!"

Yumino clicked his tongue. Of all times, it was now that Garron got serious about protecting someone.

"Garron! I don't want to do anything to Averin! Just get her to move so I can take my shot at Lucien!" he asked, but the giant shook his head.

"This is on Little Ave to decide, and by the looks of it, she has made her decision."

Behind Garron, Averin clumsily hugged the wounded vampire, trying to cover him with her armor as a last resort. The latter laughed between coughs.

"There you have it, elf!" said Lucien.

"They've made their choice! Now, what will you do?"

Yumino's hands started shaking—a fatal mistake for a bowman—yet he didn't lower his weapon.

"A pity," Lucien continued. "You put revenge over logic. That won't lead to anything good."

As he spoke, Lucien made a wave with his hand—a sign meant for Nimera.

"But I'm curious how far you'd go. Tell me, Yumino, will you sacrifice your sweetheart for your petty revenge?"