"Kid, get your head down!"
Just as despair swallowed Kiritsugu whole, a human voice suddenly rang out from the pitch-black forest behind him, barely audible beneath the roars of the beasts.
His survival instincts took over instantly.
He threw himself backward, flattening against the ground.
Then he saw it—
A silver-haired figure in a black trench coat, with an absurdly well-developed chest that made Kiritsugu mistake the person for a man, flashed overhead like a phantom.
With a single flying kick, the newcomer sent Father Simon—the priest gripping Kiritsugu's ankle—hurtling through the air.
A dull shotgun blast followed.
Kiritsugu hurriedly scrambled to his feet, only to see the wooden cross hanging around Father Simon's neck shatter into splinters.
A horrifying hole had been blasted clean through his chest.
Blood, flesh, and shattered bone sprayed everywhere.
But it wasn't over yet.
With one smooth flick of the wrist, the silver-haired stranger ejected the spent shell. At the same time, she bit down on a fresh red shotgun shell, deftly fed it into the chamber, and—without even turning around—fired behind her.
Bang!
Kiritsugu's pupils contracted violently.
He froze.
Only after realizing his own head hadn't exploded like a watermelon did his legs finally give out beneath him.
He collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.
Trembling, he turned around.
Less than two meters behind him lay a headless corpse that had been lunging toward him, blackened blood pouring from its severed neck.
"Ah..."
Kiritsugu's mouth hung open.
His lips trembled.
He wanted to speak, but no words came out.
He was like a mute.
"GRAAAAH!!"
Two of the red-eyed monsters fell.
Even more charged toward the silver-haired stranger, roaring as they rushed her from every direction.
"Tch."
She clicked her tongue in annoyance, tossed the now-empty shotgun at Kiritsugu's feet, then flashed him a grin.
Meanwhile, the infected had already closed to within three meters of her back.
It looked as though they would tear her apart in the next instant.
"!!!"
Unable to bear imagining what came next, Kiritsugu squeezed his eyes shut and covered his head with both hands.
"Heh."
A contemptuous chuckle.
Whether it was directed at Kiritsugu or the infected, even she probably didn't care.
Instead of waiting to die, the silver-haired woman flicked open her trench coat and drew a jet-black pistol from her hip.
The instant the infected entered a two-meter radius—
She emptied the magazine.
Every shot was a headshot.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
When the gunfire rang out again, Kiritsugu finally found the courage to open his eyes.
He watched in stunned silence.
Her right hand squeezed the trigger with machine-like precision.
Her left hand replaced magazines almost the instant the pistol ran dry—emptying one in barely two seconds before slamming in another.
The unavoidable pause between magazines lasted less than half a second.
Using nothing but flawless technique, she had turned a handgun into something that fired with the relentless tempo of a submachine gun.
The sight left the young Kiritsugu utterly speechless.
His gaze followed her left hand down to her slender waist.
Only then did he notice that her belt was lined with pistol magazines.
For some inexplicable reason...
A profound sense of security welled up inside him.
Only after no more red-eyed monsters emerged from the darkness did the silver-haired woman finally turn around and level her pistol at Kiritsugu.
"!!!"
He snapped back to reality.
The safety he'd only just begun to feel vanished instantly, replaced by overwhelming terror.
He instinctively covered his head with both hands.
His mouth opened and closed helplessly.
He wanted to beg for mercy.
No sound came out.
The woman didn't fire.
The two stared at each other for several moments.
After confirming Kiritsugu showed no signs of infection, she casually pressed the magazine release, discarded the empty magazine she'd already fired dry, and inserted a fresh one.
"Looks like I arrived too late."
She sighed softly.
To Kiritsugu's surprise, the voice coming from the "man" was unmistakably that of a mature woman.
He blinked twice.
Then he rubbed his eyes vigorously before staring again at her unusually impressive "pectorals."
Only after noticing the unmistakable cleavage beneath her coat did his face flush crimson.
The silver-haired "man" he'd imagined was actually an outrageously handsome woman.
If Leon were here, he'd probably describe her as Gin Ichimaru with his eyes open... or simply Silver Flash.
"W-Wait... who are you?"
Kiritsugu finally managed to ask.
Without answering, the silver-haired woman suddenly fired two shots past him.
Bang! Bang!
One struck the chest.
The other the head.
"Ugh!"
Kiritsugu whirled around in horror.
Somehow, another red-eyed monster had crept up behind him without him noticing.
It collapsed face-first onto the ground.
Its right hand still clutched a pistol it clearly didn't know how to use, dangling limply at its side.
Its bloodstained left index finger remained stretched forward...
As though trying to draw a flower of hope.
"Before asking someone else's name, you should worry about staying alive."
Without answering his question, the silver-haired woman turned and walked toward the other side of the blazing sea of fire, clearly intending to continue exterminating the infected.
After taking a few steps, she noticed Kiritsugu hadn't moved.
He seemed completely frozen by fear.
She stopped and glanced back with visible annoyance.
"If you want to die, just say so."
"I'll gladly put you out of your misery."
"Otherwise, if you keep sitting there, you'll become one of them soon enough."
"A bloodthirsty beast that's neither human nor monster."
With that, she resumed walking.
Kiritsugu hesitated for only a second before scrambling after her.
In a situation like this...
Without a dependable adult to protect him...
He was absolutely certain he'd end up being torn apart by Summer's former companions.
Soon...
The entire village at the foot of the mountain disappeared beneath a crimson sea of flames.
Halfway up the mountainside—
Standing beside the silver-haired woman, Kiritsugu stared blankly at the inferno below.
Even now, it still felt like a nightmare.
Yet the pain from scraping his knees against the gravel...
And the scorching heat engulfing his body...
Cruelly reminded him that everything before him was real.
"What... are those things?"
"...Why?"
"Why burn down the whole village...?"
"What are those people... doing...?"
Kiritsugu collapsed to his knees.
Agony consumed him.
So did hatred for his own helplessness.
"You've probably heard the word 'vampire' before, kid."
The silver-haired woman stood beside him with both hands in her pockets.
"We call them Dead Apostles."
"Dead... Apostles?"
Kiritsugu looked up blankly.
"That's right."
Somehow producing a slim cigarette from nowhere, she snapped her fingers.
A tiny flame ignited at her fingertips.
She lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, and continued calmly.
"They spread by drinking human blood and creating more of their own kind."
"At this point, almost everyone on this island has become a Dead Apostle."
"And we're carrying out a cleanup operation."
"Right now, there are two groups trying to wipe them out."
"The first is the Holy Church."
"Their Executors firmly believe that all heretics who defy God deserve extermination."
"So if they find a Dead Apostle..."
"They won't show mercy."
"Even someone like you, who might have been bitten, would be executed without hesitation."
"You should be thanking me, kid."
"I've already saved your life several times."
She smiled greedily.
Kiritsugu didn't dare respond.
"The second group is the Mage's Association."
"That's a bit more complicated."
She scratched her head, wearing an oddly conflicted expression.
"It's not a single organization."
"It's the collective body representing most magi, made up of several massive magical organizations scattered across the world."
"The most famous among them is the Clock Tower."
"It's essentially the foremost academy for magi and the most active branch of the Association."
"They're interested in discovering who created these bizarre Dead Apostles."
"And they want that secret for themselves."
"Naturally, if the goal is monopoly..."
"Anyone who might know the truth is eliminated."
"They erase every trace."
"In other words..."
"They exterminate everyone."
"The people burning the village are members of the Mage's Association."
"As for the Holy Church's Executors..."
"They're a bunch of sneaky old foxes."
"They spend all day lurking in the shadows, waiting to stab people in the back with Black Keys."
Kiritsugu swallowed.
"Then... which side are you on?"
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