Vamp!

Vamp! II - Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - The Hour of Humanity Comes to an End, and...

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Bats.

A flock of bats, cutting through the sky.

They flew in a perfectly organized formation, like a team of fighter planes.

'He' was headed for the biggest hospital on the island. Straight into a particular single room inside the ten-story building.

A second before they were flattened against the windows, the bats disintegrated like droplets of water, then turned into black fog, entering through the window.

There was not a hint of hesitation in this action. In fact, it looked more like a mix of anxiety and terrible anger.

The fog took material form inside the hospital room, becoming a teenaged boy. His handsome features were still somewhat childlike, but his expression was gravely set.

Although it was evening on a cloudy day, he had still flown here before sundown. There were burn marks all over his body, but they healed in the blink of an eye.

There was a 'No Visitors' sign hanging on the door, but someone was already inside.

The girl in the room very closely resembled the boy. She was wearing a ragged black dress, and her face was so pale that she looked as though she could collapse at any moment.

"...Ferret."

"Honored Brother..."

Ferret looked slightly relieved at the arrival of her older brother. Relic von Waldstein gently put an arm around his sister's shoulder.

It was only then that he realized that Ferret was trembling. Was it because she had lost so much blood, or because she had been so emotionally rattled?

Wrapping his arms around his trembling sister, Relic turned to the bed at the center of the room.

Medical devices and intravenous packs of all kinds were surrounding the bed. Every needle from the IV drips was connected to the arms and neck of its occupant.

A breathing tube was fixed to his face to keep his trachea clear, but his face was in much better shape than the rest of his body. Relic could still recognize the face of his friend.

"...How is he?"

Mihail's injuries were clearly severe. Yet even if his diagnosis was nothing but hopeless, Relic wanted to know the truth.

There was a moment of silence. Ferret hung her head, and began to recount what the doctors had said earlier.

"...His life is not in danger. However... his spine was damaged in several places... And his right hand... may never regain function..."

Although there were gaps in her description, Ferret enunciated clearly with deliberate force. But Relic could feel her trembling worsen as she spoke of Mihail's right hand.

"...This isn't your fault, Ferret."

"But it is, Honored Brother! If... if only I were stronger..."

"There's no point in discussing hypotheticals. Ferret, whether you're weak or strong doesn't change the fact that someone poured out all this hatred towards Mihail."

"..."

Relic gently stepped away from his silent sister, and approached Mihail's bedside.

"Mihail..."

For some time, Relic's gaze remained with his grievously injured childhood friend. Then, something caught his eye.

"...?"