"I don't quite understand."
I didn't quite understand. At that moment, it was a massive understatement.
I was surrounded by thousands of corpses — corpses I hadn't even killed. Behind me stood that annoying knight who had introduced himself as SAIBER. I wasn't actually quite sure about his gender.
He was battered, badly battered, but to my surprise, his armour hadn't fallen apart, even though it had a few holes in it that should have been fatal.
In my hands lay a body — a completely burned body. It was so badly charred that I couldn't even tell what gender it had belonged to, but… but to my great surprise, I could sense a stubborn spark of life within it.
"Hurry up and kill her! KILL HER! THERE'S STILL A CHANCE TO SAVE THE WORLD!" — suddenly, the voice of a soon‑to‑be corpse rang out beside me. Surprisingly, I hadn't noticed he was still alive. I turned my gaze to him and bared my teeth in response to his bravado.
"No." — he stared at me in horror.
"Are you willing to sacrifice the future of the entire world for the sake of this half‑dead body?" — after his words, the grin on my face disappeared, replaced by a look of contempt.
"If saving the world means burning others alive, then let it be destroyed." — with those words, I pierced him with my "crystal spear".
Behind me, I heard the clanking of armour.
"What shall we do, Master? The person in your arms will soon die, and that monster is only growing stronger. Should we perhaps listen to that broken man?" — I turned my gaze to her and raised an eyebrow slightly.
"A righteous knight proposing a sacrifice to save his own life?" — my words came out as a mockery.
The eyes of SAIBER's helmet glowed with a golden radiance, as if an ancient flame had awakened inside.
"I am not afraid of death, and I have never been a righteous knight," he replied firmly.
"But the fate of the world is at stake now. You can't just turn your back on it."
I chuckled, then burst into laughter — loud, booming laughter, and the echo of my mirth resounded across the battlefield, making the shadows tremble.
"Ha‑ha‑ha! What irony! A knight is willing to sacrifice one for the sake of billions, but a vampire won't sacrifice anyone." — I paused, savouring the moment. Then I held out the burned body to him.
"Take it. Save your world. I don't really care about it — or about these people. I would have just followed that corpse's advice and not wasted my time here."
SAIBER froze, his armour trembling ever so slightly. He looked at the body, then at me, and bewilderment showed in his gaze.
"Then why are you protecting this person?" — he finally asked, his voice quieter than before.
I fell silent for a moment, considering my answer. The wind swirled the ashes around us, and in the distance, a distant roar could be heard — the monster the knight had spoken of was approaching. I looked at SAIBER and tilted my head slightly.
"Do I need a reason to save someone?"
Nomat.
I didn't turn around. I didn't even draw my weapon.
I had seen what this monster was capable of — I had seen how it had defeated them all. Even that Knight. His attacks were terrifying: every swipe of its clawed paw was accompanied by flashes of crimson light, and the scent of ozone hung in the air, as if the very fabric of reality was tearing apart at the moment of impact. For a moment, it seemed to me that the creature's movements were imbued with divine magic — its technique was so flawless and deadly.
But despite all that, it lost. Knight SAIBER, with his legendary spear, forged, it seemed, by the heavens themselves — even he had fallen. And my weapon was useless: the knight's spear was far superior to anything I had ever created, and even it had failed to pierce the monster's hide.
There was no fear in me — no, quite the opposite. My confidence stood like an unshakable, ancient rock. It didn't waver, not for a moment, in the face of the inevitable.
I had felt the same thing when I fought Goetia and that unknown enemy who could erase reality itself. Could this be that very feeling? The feeling that arises when a man is cornered and something within him awakens.
Could this be it? That legendary feeling they write about in books? The moment when a man is backed into a corner, when all paths of retreat are cut off and only an abyss lies behind him — and then, deep within his soul, something awakens. Not despair, not panic, but a primal force that slumbers in everyone who has ever taken up arms. A force older than the stars themselves.
The desire to make one's final stand — not for glory, not for recognition, not to save a world that may already be doomed. But simply because it must be so.
I am certain I cannot escape. I am certain that if I die, I will not revive in my coffin — simply because the planet may no longer exist. The world may crumble to dust — but my fighting spirit only burns brighter at the thought. It blazes like a flame that was once a timid spark in the darkness, barely visible, nearly extinguished. But then — a gust of wind, a challenge from fate — and the spark instantly flares up, devouring everything in its path. It transforms into a raging, untameable inferno, a fiery whirlwind capable of burning away the darkness itself.
Each step forward echoes in my chest with the deep thud of my heart — not with fear, but with excitement. My blood sings an ancient battle song, and what flows through my veins is not liquid, but molten steel. I feel something deep, forgotten, primal awakening within me — a force that sleeps in every warrior until that very moment arrives. I feel the strange chains on my bones flare with heat, responding to my will.
The world may fall apart. I may fall. But as long as I stand, as long as my heart beats, as long as my single eye sees my enemies — I will fight. Until my last breath. Until my last drop of blood. Until death itself bows its head before me. Because I am the Living Vampire.
"Damn it. I was just curious. How the hell did I get dragged into this?" — I grumbled with a smirk, continuing to walk toward the monster.
Some time before these events.
To my surprise, this so‑called "heroic spirit" refused to leave. When I pointed out that there was no damn "Holy Grail" here and that this wasn't even his world, he remained silent and kept calling me Master.
He introduced himself as SABER. A strange name, but it's not for me to judge. Besides, I don't really care. I mostly see him as just another headache on my backside — one that might even stab me in the back with his spear. He looks too much like a "righteous knight".
True, he's rather thin, though his ribcage looks impressive. Probably trained his chest muscles the most.
A few days later, under SABER's disapproving gaze — I could feel it even through his helmet — I drained some passing bandits, from whose memories I learned an interesting story.
The burning of an innocent maiden to appease an ancient god who was supposed to destroy the world.
As someone who had been burned alive more than three times, I knew it was quite painful. So I decided to find these fools and help that person. At the very least, I'd kill them to end their suffering.
Who knew that those tales would turn out to be true?
I hadn't even had time to come up with a mocking speech when they were all dead, and a colossal creature burst forth from a nearby mountain and began heading in our direction.
Saber's Inner Thoughts
"Do I need a reason to save someone?" the vampire said, raising an eyebrow.
These words struck Saber like a blade — not to the body, but to the very heart, to the depths of her soul she rarely dared to look into. The knight froze, her armour seeming to turn to stone, and everything inside her turned upside down.
She had been ready for any answer. For a passionate, heroic speech about duty to the world, to which she herself was chained as if by iron bonds. For a cynical admission of selfishness — then she could have condemned, despised, distanced herself. For mockery or a threat — for anything that would have confirmed her initial opinion of the vampire as a creature devoid of nobility and humanity.
But this? Such frightening simplicity?
Unconsciously, Saber recalled her vows, the crown placed upon her head on the day Camelot was founded, and the endless "I must", "I am obliged", "for the good of the kingdom". How many times had she sought justification for her actions? How many times had she weighed whether the life of one was worth the lives of many? How many of her decisions had been dictated not by inner impulse, but by duty to a prophecy?
And here — nothing. No ideals, no goals, no justifications. Just an action born of desire. Not from calculation, not from necessity, but simply because one wanted to.
He isn't seeking greatness, flashed through her mind.
He's not even trying to look noble. He just does what he wants.
A pang shot through her chest — was it pain, or perhaps envy? How long had it been since she herself had acted without hesitation? When was the last time her hand had raised a weapon not because "it had to be done", but because she wanted to?
Her fingers, hidden beneath the steel of her gauntlets, trembled slightly on the spear's hilt. Her helmet concealed her face, but inside, a storm was raging. For the first time in ages, she felt something resembling admiration — not for strength or wisdom, but for this absolute, frightening freedom.
Perhaps, she thought, true strength isn't in bearing the burden of duty, but in having the courage to act without it.
But she said nothing aloud. She only stared silently at the vampire, and in the golden reflections of her helmet — if anyone could have seen them — a whole storm of emotions was mirrored: astonishment, doubt, respect — and something else, barely perceptible, like a longing for the same freedom.
"Can you really save this world?" I asked my Master.
He stopped and looked at me in surprise.
"Why would I save the world? I decided to help this burned body. If she were still feeling pain, I would kill her — showing mercy. But she no longer feels pain. So I'll kill this annoying thing and try to save her?" He added the last part as if questioning himself.
"I wonder if my potions even work on humans? Well, then let's test it in practice!"
"This monster resisted even my Rhongomyniad. Do you really think you can defeat it?"
After my words, a terrible grin appeared on his face.
"I don't know what Rhongomyniad is, or what's so special about it besides the divine magic I can sense. But I smell blood on this monster. Which means I CAN kill it. All I need is to pour my 'blood magic' into its body. As long as even a drop of blood flows in you, you've already lost when facing a vampire."
"Then why did you watch as those people were being killed?" I asked — a question whose answer I didn't want to know.
"They were burning a person alive. If that monster hadn't killed them, I would have hunted each one down and built a pyre for them. So they'd learn one simple truth, even after rebirth: when a person burns, it's damn painful."
With those words, he turned into a blur and dashed toward the monster.
Afterword
The protagonist has no idea who Saber is, which is why he addresses her as "he". Her armour is enchanted, so when she speaks, it's unclear whether she's male or female.
Many might wonder: why does the protagonist keep running into monsters in this world?
The answer is quite simple. Terra — the world of Arknights — is, in truth, a terrifying place. Moreover, the game itself only shows what could be called the "good side" of the world. I'm not joking. Beyond the known lands, the travel routes of cities, and the small villages, truly monstrous creatures dwell. There are alien gods, bio‑weapons, and beings like the "OBSERVERS" — though they aren't actually on Terra anymore; after destroying the previous civilization, they left and now idle in space.
Moreover, people from other worlds constantly enter this world. And that's damn canon! I could just drop literally anyone here! ANYONE! There are Rainbow operatives here! Even characters from Dungeon Meshi have been brought in! Even Monster Hunter characters!
Of course, I'll try not to overdo it, but this story isn't about a cheerful adventure across the world with the protagonist's harem and so on.
This is a story about a Vampire. A vampire who refuses to submit to anyone, which will lead to constant conflicts and seemingly senseless sacrifices. This is the story of a former human who has forgotten how to be human.
Oh, and for those familiar with Fate: this Saber is, in fact, Arturia Pendragon, who, upon becoming king, chose not a sword but a sacred spear as her primary weapon. And yes, I know the meaning of "Saber" — it was done on purpose. It's more of a joke, a nod to her original self. This version of Arturia is a Celestial Heroic Spirit who personally returned her Sacred Spear to the Hill of Camlann, laying it back to rest.
Oh, I didn't forget about carnelian, it's just not its time yet!