Non-Human Girls Are Fighting Over Me ~ Do I Get to Refuse? “Nope!” “No Way!” “Not a Chance!” “Absolutely Not!” - Chapter 2: Daywalker

Chapter 2: Daywalker

—Valley of Lament.

We had stepped into a deadly land shrouded in cliffs and black mist.

The air after the rain was freezing, and the valley echoed with the roars of demons.

Waiting in ambush was an army of demons. And at their pinnacle stood a colossal evil.

The Archdemon—Leventhorn.

A massive, red ogre-like figure. Menacing wings symbolizing ruin sprouted from its back. Two horns, crackling with black lightning, protruded from its forehead.

Its mere presence tore the air, made the earth groan, and crushed the heart.

“No way…!”

The elf Lyumiel fired an arrow, but it was repelled by a dark magical barrier.

The dwarf had already fallen, and the beastman warrior lay sprawled on the ground.

“Sera, fall back!”

The mage Aran conjured a wall of flames, but in the next instant—countless fireballs rained down from above.

A deafening roar.

A deluge of fire.

The earth trembled, and the valley turned into a sea of flames.

“Aaah!”

With screams, my companions collapsed one by one.

We had defeated most of the demon’s minions—but no strength remained to slay Leventhorn.

Illuminated by the flames, the towering demon laughed.

“Vampire… I’ll let you alone escape.”

Its earth-shaking voice reverberated through the valley.

“Leave now. I’ll grant you mercy.”

Mercy—?

No.

That was mockery meant to break the spirit.

A cruel pleasure to brand me with the eternal mark of “never defeating a demon.”

Infuriating.

I gritted my teeth and turned to the saintess beside me.

“Sera! Give me your blood now…! There’s still a chance we can win!”

Blood—.

If I had the saintess’s blood, I could…

Seraphina’s resolute gaze pierced me, even amidst the blazing valley.

She let out a small sigh and gave a faint smile.

“A lesser vampire would flee right about now…”

She tore the sleeve of her clerical robe and pressed a blade to her pale arm.

Crimson dripped, and its heated scent pierced my nostrils.

“But you… you’re ready to die, aren’t you? Fine then—don’t bite.”

The moment her blood touched my lips.

—The world exploded.

A searing power filled my body.

My bones creaked, my wings tore and swelled.

A crimson-black flash sparked in my eyes, and my bloodline surged backward.

Atavism.

I had returned—to the “Primordial Vampire.”

“…This is…!”

A massive fireball rained down.

But the flames could no longer burn me.

They were mere kindling, fueling my power.

I spread my wings and crossed the valley in a single breath.

I closed in on the Archdemon—and swung my fist.

A thunderous roar.

A spray of blood.

A gaping hole was torn through the red giant’s body.

Leventhorn’s eyes widened in shock.

“Im… impossible… me…!”

Its massive frame collapsed, shaking the fiery valley with an earth-shattering rumble.

—The battle was over.

In the smoldering flames, I exhaled and looked down at my body.

The power to transcend darkness and walk under sunlight had truly taken root.

Daywalker.

A vampire, yet able to live beyond the night.

I had tasted the saintess’s blood.

Sin and ecstasy filled my chest—and I laughed.

“…This works.”

In the Valley of Lament, it was not the demon’s death cry but my laughter that echoed.

※

After that battle.

The cost of defeating the Archdemon Leventhorn was far too great.

The saintess’s blood had etched a deep curse into my body.

If I tried to raise a blade against humans, my entire body rebelled.

My throat burned as if torn apart, my muscles spasmed, and nausea overwhelmed me.

I could manage a counterattack, but fighting seriously was impossible.

In other words—I could no longer involve myself in wars or conflicts with humans.

For a vampire who feeds on human blood, that was tantamount to a death sentence.

“Sera~, come on, isn’t there something you can do? This makes me a total ‘vampire failure’… Even with my Original Blood, I can only fight non-humans. What’s up with that?”

Before a crackling campfire, I vented my frustrations to Sera.

Saintess Seraphina closed her prayer book and smiled quietly.

“…Give it up. Why not take this chance to convert? You could walk the holy path—”

“No thanks. I’ll pass. That’d strip away my whole identity. I mean, I wouldn’t even be a vampire anymore.”

Sera gave an exasperated look.

Her history of stomachaches began the moment I became a vampire who didn’t feed on humans.

For a while after that, I reluctantly stayed with the party.

The dwarf’s kingdom, the elf’s forest, the human kingdom, the empire…

The journey continued, with detours along the way.

I, a supposedly noble vampire, spent my days “hanging out and acting foolish.”

Ridiculous? Absolutely. But it was fun, too.

Because of my appearance, I was often targeted by rough adventurers or bandits.

But I turned the tables, took all their money, and handed them over to the authorities.

I wasn’t short on gold, so I gave the spoils to the poor.

At taverns, I got into massive brawls with other adventurers.

Lyumi, Aran, and I would egg them on, beat them senseless, and get banned. Multiple times.

“Be grateful we didn’t kill you!” I’d shout, take their money, and give it to the poor again.

…Each time, Sera went to the guild alone to apologize.

There was also the time Lyumi and I beat up an entire holy knight brigade that provoked us.

The result was always the same. Sera, alone, running around to make amends.

And then—there were the corrupt clerics extorting money from the poor. We beat them and turned the tables on them.

To protect slum dwellers from having their homes burned, I even set fire to a noble’s mansion and burned it to the ground.

That time, even the saintess had to flee with us in the middle of the night.

I can’t kill humans.

That’s why I attacked demons and monsters without hesitation.

I even fed on my own kind—other vampires.

Well, as part of an adventurer party, that was probably just part of the job.

…Though I was the only one feeding.

Still, I never apologized.

I’m not wrong.

I’m a “Daywalker.” A “Primordial Vampire.”

Bowing my head goes against my dignity.

No matter what others think, I have my pride.

I haven’t done anything wrong.

—I’m not wrong.

※

Over time, for some reason, I started to be celebrated.

Requests for autographs and handshakes grew day by day, mostly from commoners, their eyes gleaming with sincerity and feverish admiration.

“Amazing! Doing what we can’t, like it’s nothing…!

It’s thrilling! Inspiring!”

Some even spouted lines that sounded vaguely familiar, shaking my shoulders in excitement.

…All I could do was laugh.

(I’ll have to gift them masks someday.)

It was pretty fun.

But—I knew it wouldn’t last forever.

The end would come eventually.

I couldn’t live the same time as them. Our lifespans were different.

I’m a vampire.

A “monster,” after all. I can’t live as a human.

This place was never truly mine.

I existed there only because of them.

Laughing together, sharing drinks, fighting side by side—it was undeniably fun.

I did whatever I wanted, that’s true.

I have no regrets. But it’s also true that I was disliked by some in the group.

(That’s only natural. A vampire who attacks monsters would obviously be feared.)

Looking back, that warmth was a miracle.

So I asked Aran.

—To let me leave this world.

“Where to?” he asked, and I simply answered.

“To a place full of conflict, where my power can be useful.”

That was enough.

If I stayed, I’d just rot in loneliness.

And now—here I am.

Amid towering skyscrapers, blinding neon, and streetlights that turn night into day.

In the bustling chaos of modern Japan.

The humans passing on the sidewalks don’t notice me.

They don’t see that I’m different.

That I’m a “beast of the night” craving blood.

—How absurd.

The vampire once hailed as a hero for slaying an archdemon now blends into the crowd as a mere shadow.

But maybe that’s fine.

Here, no one tries to know me.

Here, I feel like I could—start over.

On a night when a red moon rises.

I stand on a rooftop in an unfamiliar city, looking down at the valley of buildings, and smile faintly.