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The five vampires slowly approached the still-breathing mercenaries of Old Hunters, intending to finish them off.

"Heh, heh heh..."

Yenichi, whose limbs were torn apart by blood magic bombardment, let out a chuckle at the approaching villains.

The other downed tanks joined in the laughter, causing one of the vampires to scowl.

"Why are you laughing, human? Aren't you scared of death?"

"Of course, dying is scary. But, you mosquito bastards."

Rumble, rumble...

Thunder echoed in the sky.

Even the vampires were surprised by this and looked up at the sky. Yenichi burst into laughter.

"You should also fear lightning!"

Rumble!

With a vicious thunderclap, a flash of light illuminated the area, and-

"...phew."

At the far end of the rampart, the figure of an old mage was revealed in the light.

Jupiter, the SR-grade Lightning Mage, with her pure white hair flying in the wind, taking a long puff from the cigar in her mouth, emitting a vivid blue glow from her single eye.

Hovering above Jupiter's raised fist was a magic orb, crackling with yellow lightning.

"Being a mage is hard."

Jupiter growled, chewing on her cigar.

"No matter how many of our allies die, we can't sortie until the situation allows it. Mages are more valuable than the soldiers maintaining the front line with their lives."

The rain pouring from the dark clouds soaked Jupiter's old empire uniform.

Even the cigar clenched in her mouth was quickly extinguished by the rain.

Ptui!

Jupiter, who didn't care about the cigar, spat it out on the ground and raised a sinister smile.

"From a mage's perspective, it's such a shitty job. Damn."

Blood trickled from Jupiter's nose and mouth as she strained to gather mana.

Junior, standing next to her, placed her hand on the old woman's shoulder.

"I'll assist you, grandmother."

"I'm going all out. Keep up."

Jupiter turned to the side and roared.

"Lily! Activate the mana amplifier, target me!"

Lily, who had been waiting, activated the mana amplification artifact. Immediately, a faint blue light enveloped Jupiter's body.

"Hey, you shit-headed bastards."

Raising the magic orb, which was trembling with the mana over its capacity, upwards.

Jupiter thrust her fist forward with a roar.

"Let's see how tough and delicious you are!"

And then, lightning struck.

Crack-boom!

A bright yellow lightning bolt from the sky struck the five vampires accurately.

Jupiter's lightning is an area magic. It's hard to precisely target a small number of targets.

But, if silver swords are embedded in their bodies.

If a clear magical catalyst guides it. Especially if that is metal that conducts electricity.

"What can't I do with a precise attack!"

With Jupiter's hearty shout, the five vampires were pierced by the lightning.

"Kuh-?!"

"Kuh...?!"

"Kuaaa!"

The five vampires let out hideous screams.

It was an attack they could normally withstand.

But the silver swords.

The silver swords embedded in their bodies acted as catalysts amplifying the magic.

The lightning that struck the silver swords enhanced its power several times within the vampires' bodies, burning their insides black.

And moreover.

"One more time-!"

Jupiter's second skill, [Bleaching Again], delivers an additional blow to an enemy that has been hit and marked by the first skill!

Crack-boom!

This time, a frosty lightning bolt fell on the vampires.

It was a powerful strike, intending to evaporate the last drop of blood left in the vampires' bodies.

As a result, the vampires' normally unstable soul cores solidified and clearly appeared in places like their chests or heads.

And the snipers didn't miss it.

"Got it."

Damien, who had been waiting, fired his crossbow.

Whiz! Whiz! Whiz!

The flying arrows accurately penetrated the soul cores of three vampires.

The three vampires, with their soul cores torn apart, instantly died without even letting out a decent scream.

"Ugh, Khh!"

"These little...bastards...!"

The remaining two vampires, quickly regenerating their bodies, tried to crawl out of the firing line.

"That's not going to happen."

"We've been waiting."

Oldgirl and Skull were already standing in their escape route.

In their hands were the magic guns, the Woodpecker and the Cerberus, lent by Damien.

"Arrgh...!"

"You insect-like bastards! Soon, the Lord will-!"

Ratatatatat-!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Skull and Oldgirl rained down magical bullets towards the souls of those who were trying to babble on.

The magic guns, difficult to handle without Damien's transcendent targeting ability, were the Woodpecker and Cerberus. Their grades were low and their size small, enabling the two women to use them effortlessly.

A moment later, as the hazy smoke cleared, two vampires, reduced to rags by the barrage of magical bullets, came into view.

"Five ordinary vampires. Their soul destruction confirmed."

From afar, Damien confirmed the death of the five vampires, then looked at the bodies of their comrades and clenched his teeth.

"And the casualties on our side are..."

"Enough, Damien, don't look anymore."

Jupiter reached out and covered Damien's eyes.

"There's more work to be done."

"..."

"The deaths of our comrades are not for you to bear. So rest your eyes... and join the battlefield over there."

"...Yes."

Damien obediently shut his mouth and turned to the side.

Then, holding back tears, he slowly moved toward the side where the other party members were fighting the vampire general.

'Yes. The task of clearing... the guilt of our fallen comrades is not yours to bear.'

Swallowing the bile that rose from within, Jupiter walked towards the mountain of fallen comrades' bodies.

'That's a job for old folks like me.'

Junior hurried over to Jupiter.

"Grandma, come here. I'll help you with the magic operation."

Having just helped Jupiter with her magic operation, Junior understood Jupiter's physical condition and was filled with worry.

But Jupiter vehemently shook her head.

"Don't worry about me, you should go. Move with Damien."

"But, Grandma, your body is..."

"These guys are just piranhas. The real monsters are there, and the battle is just beginning."

Jupiter grabbed Junior's shoulder and gently pushed her back.

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"And you are needed in that battle."

"..."

"Go now!"

Junior's hesitation was brief.

"See you later, Grandma."

Nodding, Junior turned around and quickly ran towards the battlefield.

"...Huff."

Clutching her chest as it began to ache, Jupiter walked between the bodies of her comrades.

Those who had fallen first had also been swept up in Jupiter's lightning and were burnt black. There seemed to be no survivors.

The same was true for the Old Hunters, Jupiter's party.

"Yenichi."

Looking down at her comrade who had been battered by blood magic, Jupiter called out his name.

Yenichi's limbs were torn apart. There was no way he could survive such an injury. With a pale face, Yenichi gave a feeble laugh.

"Don't look at me like that."

"..."

"You knew this would happen when you gathered us, Jupiter."

The four mercenaries of the Old Hunters Jupiter had gathered were all individuals who bore grudges against the vampires.

That's why they had answered Jupiter's call so quickly. At the news of facing vampires.

"I was glad to be able to take a shot at those vampire bastards one last time."

Yenichi, who had been faintly smiling, slowly turned his head.

"But..."

At the end of his gaze lay the brutally killed bodies of the Dion Mercenary Group.

"It's a bit regretful that these young folks died..."

Creak-

Quietly, Jupiter put a cigar in her mouth, lit it, and passed it to Yenichi.

Yenichi, who had quietly sucked in the smoke, coughed and grunted.

"The Dion Mercenary Group, it's their achievement."

"..."

"They almost ruined everything, but in the end, they sacrificed their lives to do it. The credit for damaging these vampires belongs to them."

"What good is the credit when they're dead."

The young people who were cheerfully laughing just a few minutes ago were now gone.

Only cold, dismembered corpses remained.

"This frontline will be able to advance a step further thanks to these kids' deaths. But what good is that?"

Jupiter covered her face with her gloved hand.

To Jupiter, the death of the Dion Mercenary Group didn't just seem to belong to them.

All the young people.

And the death of her granddaughter that would inevitably come one day... they all overlapped.

"What's the point of all this achievement? All their dreams, ambitions... all disappeared for nothing."

"You shouldn't say such things, Jupiter. We're mercenaries, aren't we?"

Yenichi grumbled in a fading voice.

"In our hard-earned major, there's value."

"..."

"Isn't the life of moths like us, praying for meaning in the light we barely touched by burning our whole bodies?"

Yenichi could no longer draw on his cigar and coughed.

Jupiter, who took the cigar from his mouth, tried to remain calm.

"May there be meaning in that death. In the death of those young ones and in our death as well."

The chuckling voice of Yenichi faded away.

"Our era, the era of the veterans, is coming to an end. Now, it's a new era to be ushered in by those young ones."

"..."

"May there be light in their future..."

Yenichi murmured with his eyes closed.

"Young children, bloom your flowers..."

Soon after, Yenichi's breath stopped.

Jupiter didn't agree with everything Yenichi said, but one thing he resonated with deeply.

The era of the veterans was coming to an end.

From now on, the battlefield would belong to the young ones.

Life and death.

Glory and defeat. Victory and disgrace. All would belong to the young ones.

The time they could share the heavy burden together was not much longer.

The remaining mercenaries of the Old Hunters came and stood next to Yenichi's body.

All of them were wounded. Arms lost, sides pierced, shoulders blown away.

But they didn't die.

"Those of you still breathing, go get treated by the healer over there and return immediately."

Jupiter turned his gaze. The other mercenaries also looked in the same direction.

Bang! Boom...!

A fierce battle was taking place on the walls.

Two vampire generals and this side's elite heroes were locked in a decisive battle.

"The real battle with the monsters is still far from over."

As if lighting a scent stick, he put a half-smoked cigar in front of a pile of ally bodies.

Jupiter gritted his teeth and turned his body around.

"We old folks can't be a burden, let alone help."

***

N-Rank heroes have to prove themselves.

The opportunity only comes once.

A single moment when they're thrown into the battlefield. They have to grab that first and last chance.

They must show their worth. Their usefulness. Their value of life.

To step out of the shadows into the light.

To even receive the spotlight on the stage.

...

The Dion Mercenary Group was annihilated.

They couldn't withstand the brutality of the battlefield. They couldn't overcome the pressure of actual combat.

They broke the formation, violated the tactics. As a result, they all died.

But the Dion Mercenary Group accomplished their assigned mission.

They managed to stick a silver sword into the bodies of the vampires, and using this, they could kill all the vampires.

They got the opportunity and proved their usefulness, but they died in the end.

And they could never get a second chance.

The dreams they had harbored cooled down along with their cold corpses.

...

I will never forget their names.

But what's the point of remembering them?

"What are you thinking so deeply about?"

Celendion spoke up. I was startled and looked forward.

The Vampire King was twirling and shaking the wine glass in his hand with a grin.

"What's the use of counting the number of subordinates who are already dead?"

As if looking right through us, he swept over me with his bright red gaze.

The Vampire King babbled nonchalantly.

"Your really beloved friends, they will start dying now."