chapter 6

Mirabelle opened the door. The environment outside was rather dark— her eyes gradually got accustomed to the darkness as she was finally able to discern the environment around her home.

The area around the house she lived in consisted of almost exclusively rubble from ruined homes.

Most of these houses had probably been destroyed by the vampires, right?

Mirabelle kept standing at the door and looking around at everything in the area. She then looked at her mother, who was still collapsed by her feet. Her mother's current situation was urgent to the point where time was of the essence.

Where could she find things such as medicine and bandages?

Mirabelle was rather dazed as she had never gone outside even once in the past 15 years. In fact, she didn't even know where she might be able to find an apothecary.

By the way, this place was actually the same place where the elves used to live in the past. It was quite something that the elves had been able to hide here for the past 15 years.

Yet, right after Mirabelle exited her home –

She saw a bright green glow coming from the side. She followed the light and slowly walked towards the edge of the wooden wall. A bright green crystal was embedded in the wooden wall –

Mirabelle focused and used her special ability to inspect this green crystal. She immediately saw several lines of information.

Name: Elven Barrier

Level: ???

Effect: Large-scale invisibility spell for buildings. This can create the impression that nothing exists here at all.

Ah, so that was how it was. No wonder Mirabelle had been able to hide here for so long without being detected. This crystal was probably a barrier device that the elves had temporarily installed here.

Back when Mirabelle was younger, her mother hadn't managed to escape successfully from the escape route. At that time, the 13 vampire princes had blocked the escape route. Any elf that took one step there would be forced back. The vampires would drain all the blood out from any elf who resisted. Or, those elves would instantly be killed off.

That was why her adoptive mother decided against taking the major risk of trying to escape from here. Instead, her mother hid in the elven city for all this time. Her mother had been waiting for an opportunity to escape from here when the vampires' vigilance was most relaxed.

Mirabelle started walking down the middle of the road and found similar green crystals located in four corners.

Does this mean that it is safe to walk within the crystals' location?

However, Mirabelle's goal was the center of town. She had to purchase medical supplies. She would probably be able to find someplace like that if she followed this road.

Since she knew the general direction to go now, Mirabelle began to check if she had enough money to buy medical supplies with. The coins she had were taken from the elven royal palace by her adoptive mother. Her birth mother left these behind for her-

She had a wing-shaped pendant hanging around her neck ever since she was born. Mirabelle had long since used her special ability to analyze this pendant. This wing-shaped pendant was named "Angel Wings".

However, her inspection ability was unable to determine this pendant's abilities. It was probably something that could protect her.

Mirabelle's other possessions were the "coins" she carried, which were some green crystals. Actually, these crystals were similar to the ones embedded in the ground and the house's wall. However, Mirabelle's green crystals were a bit smaller than those crystals.

—This was a type of elven ore.

Mirabelle was about to go on a really scary adventure. What did it mean for an elf to casually go and purchase medical supplies from a vampire market? It would be the equivalent of taking a tour around the enemy's main camp.

If things didn't go well, Mirabelle would try to escape. Although her stats were weaker than even a young child's, she still had a secret technique. This ultimate technique of hers would definitely be enough to deal with low-level vampires.

To be honest, going outside was also her way of trying to test this.

Mirabelle felt quite anxious as this was her first-ever attempt to try and purchase medical supplies. Thus, she talked to herself about her own objective.

"I'll return immediately after I buy them. I'll buy them and then return immediately…"

Right when she started walking and was about to start running towards the center of the city… A female elf on the wall of her home suddenly spoke up in an old and weak-sounding voice.

"Princess, where are you trying to go?"

"Whoa!?"

Mirabelle was really shocked and hurriedly took several steps backward.

"Who… who are you?"

She was afraid of this elf whose face was rather pale. Was this elf working with the vampires? Mirabelle's adoptive mother had previously told her about what was happening outside.

Mirabelle wasn't allowed to open the door, even if the person outside appeared to be an elf. The vampires' blood slaves were hidden amongst the elves, after all. These blood slaves were under the vampires' control. There were also many elves who had sworn loyalty to the vampires. Any elf who had bite marks on their neck would likely be allied with the vampires.

As such, Mirabelle glanced at the other elf's neck. This elf's clean and white neck had two small evident teeth marks.

"!?"

Mirabelle immediately backed away even more with an expression of fear when she saw the bite mark. She turned around and immediately started running home. She wanted to immediately close the door and get away from the elf. However, a hand grabbed tightly onto the door. The hand was using all its strength to pull the wooden door open.

This is bad!

Mirabelle's strength stat was incredibly weak. The moment that the other elf grabbed onto the door… It was evident that Mirabelle's strength couldn't possibly compare to the female elf's strength. The female elf instantly managed to open the door. Mirabelle was so scared that she sat down on the ground. However, she stood up again when she saw her mother still collapsed on the ground.

"Y- y- you, just what do you want!? I won't be afraid of you! I'll protect my mother!"

Mirabelle now somewhat wanted to use her ultimate technique. However, she could only use her ultimate technique once per day. If she used it right here, then she would lose all her energy and become bedridden for an entire day. After that, her mother would surely have died by then.

"Princess, there's no need for you to be so afraid. I'm a member of the elven royal guard, as well as your mother's assistant. I will explain what happened today to you."

The female elf instantly realized that this princess had a misunderstanding regarding her. The female elf didn't have much time left to live or explain things. She immediately then started pleading in a weak tone.

"Please, Princess, I don't have much time left…"

"…"

Mirabelle nervously swallowed her saliva. She was rather doubtful, but this female elf had entered her home for quite a while already. If the female elf had wanted to attack her, she would have done so long ago. Why would an enemy want to explain so many things to her? Just as Mirabelle was thinking this—

She actually collapsed on the floor, although she wasn't unconscious.

Mirabelle used her ability to inspect the female elf's information.

Name: Erica Felim

HP: 50/300. (50% demonized state.)

Mana: 200/200.

It seemed that this female elf was really seriously injured. Her HP was now a mere 50 out of 300 maximum. However, Mirabelle paid the most attention to the female elf's condition after the HP stat.

50% demonized state!? Just what did this mean? Mirabelle couldn't help but ask out loud as she was thinking about this.

"What exactly does being in a demonized state mean?"

"Princess? You… How did you know about what a demonized state is?"

Logically speaking, this princess should have been like a flower being cared for in a greenhouse. She shouldn't have known anything about what was happening outside. So, how did she know that the female elf was currently undergoing demonization?

"Don't worry about that for the time being. Aren't you almost out of time? Summarize things for me."

"Okay. We're the remnants of the elven royal guards and army. We actually wanted to find a path outside, but we were ambushed by the vampire army on the way."

"And so, mother was injured while fighting against the enemy? No, I don't have any more time to listen to you. If I don't hurry, mother will—"