Chapter 119 – Great News

Most of the personnel had already abandoned the camp.

Everything they had managed to carry was now spread across the vehicles.

As for the rest... well, after the captain's orders, there wasn't much left that could be considered useful.

The computers, radar monitors, and several pieces of equipment they hadn't had time to dismantle had been destroyed, along with the tables they'd installed them on just a few hours earlier.

Inside one of the armored vehicles, the captain listened to reports from the last groups pulling out while watching smoke begin to rise behind them through the window.

They had changed locations so many times to avoid exactly this... yet in the end, a vampire had shown up right at their doorstep. The man clenched his jaw before bringing the radio closer.

"All personnel are pulling out. We've destroyed the equipment we couldn't transport, and we're heading toward the main base."

Unlike the small camp they had just abandoned, that location had enough space for aircraft to land, along with a considerably larger number of soldiers and mages.

It was far away, yes, but at least they could regroup there without relying on just two people to keep everyone safe.

For several seconds, all he heard was static, until a voice finally answered from the other end.

"Can you confirm that a vampire followed you?"

The captain frowned slightly.

"Yes. I already stated that in my first report. Our mages stayed behind to hold her off while we evacuated."

"Have they eliminated her?"

"We haven't received any word from them yet."

There was a brief silence.

"Then you are forbidden from returning to the base."

For a moment, the captain thought he had misheard. He pulled the radio slightly away from his face, glanced at the soldier sitting beside him, then brought it back.

"Excuse me?"

"We cannot allow you to reveal our location. If that thing managed to follow the rescue team, it could follow you as well."

The captain looked out the window again. One of the transport vehicles was moving a few meters beside his, with several soldiers crammed inside alongside the crates they had managed to recover.

"We've already evacuated almost everyone from the camp. We can't go back there."

"I'm not ordering you to return to the camp."

"Then where exactly do you expect us to go?"

The answer took several seconds to come.

"Stay away from the main base until you can confirm that the vampire has been eliminated."

The man felt his fingers tighten around the radio.

They had left behind their facilities, part of their supplies, and nearly all the equipment they needed to monitor the surrounding area.

The only two mages assigned to them were still fighting that thing, and now they were being told they couldn't even approach the one place where they might receive help.

"Do you want us all to die?"

The soldier beside him turned to look at him, but the captain didn't even notice.

"If our mages can't stop her, all we have left are these vehicles. You've read the same reports I have. You know perfectly well that..."

A sigh came from the other end.

"Captain, those are your orders."

The man fell silent.

"If you approach the main base without eliminating the threat, you and everyone else responsible will face severe punishment. I won't repeat myself."

The connection ended before he could respond.

For several seconds, the captain remained with the radio near his mouth. Then he slowly lowered it and stared at the device, as though doing so might somehow make another voice come through and tell him it had all been a mistake.

But nothing happened.

'Damn it...'

The vehicle jolted slightly as it passed over a bump in the road. The man braced himself against the seat with one hand while trying to gather his thoughts.

So that was the support they could expect if things went wrong. No wonder they had insisted so much that the operation wasn't entirely official.

Whenever it suited them, they were expected to follow orders without asking questions, destroy their own equipment, and risk their lives to rescue some politician's son.

But when they needed help...

'What would they say if we never came back?'

The question left an unpleasant feeling in his stomach.

Perhaps they wouldn't even have to justify their deaths to the government the way they would in an officially recognized operation.

Perhaps all it would take was for someone to deny ever authorizing the mission and stop answering their calls.

The captain looked again at the vehicle traveling beside his. Some of the soldiers inside hadn't even seen a vampire yet.

'Did they send us on a suicide mission...?'

Until that moment, he had thought they were taking too many precautions. Now he was beginning to wonder whether those precautions had only been meant to protect the people who had stayed farther behind.

Were they really that expendable?

"Sir!"

The captain raised his head at the voice of the soldier beside him.

"What is it?"

The man pressed a hand to his earpiece before answering.

"One of the vehicles in the rear is reporting someone approaching through the air."

The captain felt his hands turn cold.

"A vampire?"

"No... wait."

The soldier listened for a few more seconds while the captain leaned toward the window, trying to see something beyond the other vehicles.

"It's the mage, sir. They're saying she's carrying her partner."

The captain blinked.

"Diana?"

"Yes."

The man leaned even closer to the window. At first, he could only make out a figure descending toward the convoy, but once she got close enough, he recognized the woman and the body she was carrying in her arms.

The young man didn't seem to be moving, but still... They had returned. The captain felt some of the pressure in his chest ease.

'Did they manage to do it?'

If Diana was here, even carrying her partner, perhaps the situation hadn't been as terrible as he had imagined.

The young man was injured, yes, but both of them had managed to escape that place, and they were both rank-seven mages.

His gaze remained fixed on the mage as she approached.

He had heard so many things about vampires since the operation began that, when he received the warning that one was near the camp, he had practically assumed they would have to abandon the two mages as well.

But perhaps...

'Maybe they're not as strong as everyone says?'

He couldn't help thinking about it.

They had twenty-seven mages assigned to the entire operation. Diana and her partner were only two of them. If the two had managed to eliminate a vampire, what could they accomplish if they gathered everyone else?

Perhaps there really was a chance to enter the kingdom and recover their target. Although that thought made his excitement fade a little.

They didn't know how many vampires were inside.

Nor could they assume all of them were equally strong. And if that fight had left one mage unable to move and the other carrying him, perhaps they should consider two of their twenty-seven mages out of commission, at least for a while.

But that was still much better than losing them both.

"Tell them to slow down," he ordered.

The driver obeyed, and a few moments later, a thud sounded against the roof of the vehicle. Then another.

The soldier beside the captain got up as best he could and opened the upper hatch, finding Diana crouched on top of the armored vehicle.

"Help me with him!"

The captain's hopes dimmed a little as soon as he got a closer look at the young man.

His face was pale, his eyes were closed, and part of his clothing was stained with blood. One of his arms hung limply while Diana tried to adjust his position so they could lower him without hitting the edge of the hatch.

"Watch his arm," she warned.

The captain set the radio aside and stood up to help.

Between him and the other soldier, they took hold of Alfred and supported him until they managed to lay him across the seats.

There wasn't much room, so they had to move a crate out of the way and make another man shift over.

Diana climbed in after him. Once inside, she held onto the edge of the hatch for a moment before lowering herself completely.

"Are you injured too?" the captain asked, looking her up and down.

"I'm fine."

The woman said this after letting out a breath, stepping aside so the soldier could lean over Alfred.

The captain examined the young man. His chest was moving, but he didn't react when one of the men called out to him or touched his shoulder.

"How long has he been unconscious?"

"Since I started levitating."

"And his injuries?"

"He needs to be examined."

The captain looked at the bloodied arm and decided the rest of the questions could wait. He picked up the convoy's communication radio and brought it to his mouth.

"We're making a brief stop. We have an injured man who needs an emergency examination. Notify the medical personnel."

Then he leaned toward the driver.

"Pull over as soon as the vehicles behind us can stop."

"Yes, sir."

While the soldier beside Alfred tried to peel away the fabric stuck to his arm, the captain turned his attention back to Diana. The woman looked exhausted, although he couldn't see any injuries on her resembling those of her partner.

She also didn't seem to have any intention of leaving the vehicle to continue fighting.

That had to be a good sign.

At least he wanted to believe so.

His gaze dropped to the radio he had used to contact the main base.

Now they had an injured man who needed medical attention, and the mage had returned. As soon as he found out what had happened to the vampire, he would contact them again and demand permission to approach.

'They'd better have a different answer this time...'

The vehicle began slowing down even further.

Diana, meanwhile, moved toward one of the few remaining empty spaces and carefully sat down. She adjusted the fabric of her jacket behind her before resting her hands on her knees, keeping her back slightly away from the seat.

None of the men paid her much attention.

Alfred was still unconscious, the soldier was searching for something to cover his wound, and the captain was already picking up the radio again.

◇◆◇

Beneath Diana's jacket, a small lump shifted ever so slightly.

Matt folded one of his wings and settled himself between the folds of fabric, trying to find a position where the vehicle's movements wouldn't make him slip.

After all, that had been his request: for them to take him along without telling anyone he was there.

And so far, none of the humans seemed to have noticed that the vampire they were fleeing was riding in the very same vehicle as their captain.