Heroes to Hunted

***Sato POV***

'Where... Where am I?' The last thing I remembered was the searing pain of a blackened spear piercing my gut, followed by what was supposed to be death's cold embrace...again...

With an effort, I pried my eyes open, but my vision was still obscured by a hazy veil. The intensity of the glare suggested that I must have been unconscious for several days. Curiosity getting the better of me, I tried to take stock of my surroundings.

Despite my eyesight troubles, I could tell I was somewhere outdoors. The pelting of the Sun's rays on my skin, the sweet scent of dew-dipped vegetation, and the pungent musk of moist soil guaranteed my assumption to be true.

Beyond that...voices, two to be exact. Both were feminine, and both I hadn't recognized.

"Whatcha think we should do? Can I start cookin' 'em?"

"No," another stoically replied, "we've wasted too much time already; we'll skip breakfast."

"Awww... I'm damn hungry, though! Can I eat just one? I'm sure Shrug's hungry too!"

"Doesn't matter. We can eat leftover meat on the road; that'll be enough."

Key phrases stood out to me from their conversation. The phrases that revolved around cooking, eating, and, most suspiciously, meat that had yet to be identified raised many red flags.

'Guess they're saving me for last,' I chuckled inside, realizing my captors hadn't yet carved me into a platter.

Subtly, so as not to attract attention, I flexed my arms and legs. To my surprise, they hadn't been bound or secured in any way; a mistake my captors would dearly regret.

Finally, through squinted eyelids, I discerned the silhouette of three figures.

Two, as expected, were petite and feminine in build, with one having a bow slung over her shoulder. The last was massive, practically a giant amongst men.

Hundreds of combat scenarios played out in my mind since I'd assumed these three were vampires. Still, all ended with my death, given the combat capabilities I'd seen the species be capable of so far.

Though the odds were grim, I felt good. Really good, in fact. There wasn't a sharp throbbing in either of my arms or gut. Instead, it felt like my body had been fully renewed with youthful vigor.

I have no idea why they had healed me from what would've been a surefire death, but one thing was certain. For this fight, unlike in the manor, my body would be in peak condition.

And so I waited for my moment. My chance to strike with the lowest disadvantage. The opportunity soon presented itself when one of them approached me.

"Takin' care of 'im again 'fore we go? Act how ya will, but you're a softie to the injured," the girl with the bow giggled.

'Take care of me? Are they planning to kill me now?' Upon the realization, I wasn't about to lie down and wait for death. Once the approaching woman had been within striking distance, I dashed to my feet.

They all looked on in shock at my surprise recovery from unconsciousness, but it wasn't the kind I'd expected.

"Well, aren't you lively," the archer joked rather than reaching for a weapon. "How's it feel to rejoin the livin'?"

I ignored her and lunged toward the woman closest to me. I had no weapons, but I was sure she did. Though I couldn't see any due to her muddied black cloak.

The cloaked woman tried stepping back to avoid my sudden strike, but my speed was unmatched. I'd been upon her in seconds, moving to grapple and subdue her as fast as possible.

Sadly, neutralizing her was no easy feat.

Her first reactionary move upon confrontation was to seize my arms and sweep a leg toward the back of my ankles, trying to flip me off balance.

But I maneuvered out of the way and aimed to counter by twisting her wrists and throwing her off her feet.

Frustratingly, to each of my actions, she had a defensive reaction. Her moveset was honed and precise, with her every move focused on throwing me to the ground.

Given this girl was a vampire, I hadn't been shocked by her being adept at hand-to-hand combat. What did throw me off was how closely her fighting style resembled one of my homeland's unarmed martial arts. It was one frequently found among law enforcement.

"What the hell are ya doin'?!" the archer shouted frantically. "I swear I'll shoot ya!"

In response to the threat, I shifted my position to the cloaked woman's side, gaining a view of the archer and keeping them both within my field of vision.

She was loading an arrow into her bow, tugging back the string, and aiming straight for my chest.

Likewise, the giant made his move. He widely swung an arm toward me in an attempt to push me away from his companion.

Though I evaded his sweep, I knew I couldn't keep up for long.

I had an edge against the girl, mainly because I was familiar with her fighting style. But a drawn-out battle against three? That was a guaranteed loss with a likely and very bloody death.

So I scanned the room while cautiously, but aggressively, pressing my attack.

While some might have questioned my "reckless" offense, I couldn't allow myself to become defensive, not even for a moment.

When outnumbered and outgunned, I'd always believed in eliminating enemies as hastily as possible, knowing each combatant put down made the battle significantly less one-sided against me.

Eventually, after passing several still bodies of those I'd assumed were my countrymen, given their clothes, my eyes spied a stroke of luck: a spent campfire.

Just in time, too, since the giant had thrown yet another strike, aiming for my gut.

Though muscular, he hadn't had the finesse the cloaked woman had. His attacks were all power but relatively slow, so it'd been easy to use them against him.

I disengaged from the cloaked woman, using the giant's swing as a barrier, and rolled toward the firepit. Then, after grasping a handful of blackened ash, I lunged back toward her.

As expected, she took a defensive stance to redirect any strike.

Unfortunately for the woman, her defense did little to shield her eyes from a handful of ash.

She raised her arms while grunting in pain and frustration, attempting to retreat. In doing so, she revealed two holstered longswords beneath her cloak.

"Yuu!!!" the archer shouted, trying to angle a shot at me.

Given her cries, she'd clearly cared about her ally, so I used the cloaked woman as a shield by leaping behind her, barring the archer from acting.

Like she had tried with me, I swept the cloaked woman off her feet, locked her arms behind her, and pinned her to the ground with my knee to her back.

Now that she'd been immobilized, I grasped a longsword from within the woman's cloak and slid it from its sheath. Finally, I placed the blade to her throat and glared at her allies with sincere murderous intent.

After seeing their ally at what could be death's doorstep, the giant and the archer had been frozen stiff with indecision.

Despite having a hostage, I couldn't feel any degree of confidence, given these people were vampires. I knew their species, like the ones in fiction, had some miraculous regeneration even toward what would be considered a critical wound.

Still, I wondered if they could recover from a severed head.

So I readied myself for a series of executions, to behead these monstrosities one by one until I was the last one standing. Despite them being inhuman, I'd wanted to end their lives within a fleeting moment to avoid needless suffering.

I pressed the blade closer to her skin when a familiar voice interrupted me. My battle trance began fading until she finally came into view.

"Sato?" she'd asked with a curious, confused tone.

Looking at her, I was left speechless. Amongst the vampires and bearing a weapon toward me was none other than the fearful girl I'd left in Takagi's care. None other than Agawa.

Within her eyes was a blend of fear and joy. She stared at me, lost in confusion.

'What the hell is going on?!' is a thought I'm sure we both had.

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