Returnee from Another World - Chapter 44: Red Blood

Chapter 44: Red Blood

I descended to the lower road, silently staring down at Yukari, who lay near death.

The sight was gruesome.

She must’ve struck jagged rocks multiple times during her fall. Her left leg was severed from the thigh, and both arms were twisted unnaturally.

In that other world, I’d seen bodies mangled by falls, often too horrific to look at. Yukari’s state was exactly that.

The only difference was she wasn’t dead yet, clinging to faint consciousness. A weak aura still emanated from her.

Either her femoral artery was miraculously spared, or crushed flesh was staunching the blood flow, but the bleeding from her severed leg wasn’t as severe as expected.

Still, it was only a matter of time.

Falling from such a height, who knows what else she’d damaged besides her leg and arms. If her head, organs, or upper spine were injured, it was over.

From my experience with death, I’d say she had about 30 minutes, at best. Even if an ambulance arrived sooner, her chances seemed slim.

But I couldn’t just let her die.

I pulled a Healing Potion from my dimensional storage, pouring one full vial on her severed leg, then another across her body.

This would stop the bleeding, but that’s all. If her vital organs were damaged, a Healing Potion wouldn’t help.

“Ugh… uhh…” Yukari groaned faintly.

Hearing her pained moans, I wrestled with what to do.

I could think of two ways to save her, even in this state.

The first was Lesser Vampire transformation, a backup plan I’d considered when Kaede’s Poison of Muleduel failed.

Vampires in that world had extraordinary regeneration. True Ancestors could be chopped to pieces and still revive, their flesh instinctively reconnecting as if each fragment had a will of its own.

Without tricks like shoving their parts into my dimensional storage, defeating a True Ancestor was nearly impossible.

Even Lesser Vampires had impressive regeneration, enough to heal Yukari’s condition quickly.

But the downside was the bloodlust that came with it, radically altering the person’s personality. Their regeneration stemmed from being turned into a thrall.

The second option was feeding her mermaid flesh.

In this world, legends claim mermaid flesh grants immortality. It didn’t, but it could regenerate the body.

The catch? It caused periodic loss of rationality, tied to tidal cycles. Mermaids are monsters, after all, and eating their flesh had consequences. The afflicted would lose control, attacking humans indiscriminately in a frenzy of hunger.

Both methods had serious drawbacks. Did I have a reason to save Yukari, knowing the cost?

I stood there, conflicted, staring down at her.

Her consciousness was fading, her faint groans barely audible.

Was she worth saving from the Grim Reaper?

I could toss her into my dimensional storage, making her a mysterious disappearance. No body, no problem.

As I pondered this, a memory suddenly resurfaced.

“Haha… I’m such an idiot. Crashing my bike and ending up like this. Sorry, just forget about me and find happiness with someone else.”

It was Yukari, on a hospital bed, missing her left leg, speaking to someone.

“No way… You’re kidding, right? She was my girl too?” I muttered.

It hit me.

I’d completely forgotten a past lover.

But why?

And why did I remember Kyouka so clearly?

Well, technically, I also remembered another woman I’d dated.

The one I’d promised to marry, my greatest love, who betrayed me in the end—Hinata Fujisaki, a memory I’d rather forget.

When I returned to this world, I thought I’d only dated Kyouka and Hinata in my 25 years.

Then I remembered Sayaka Hojo, and now Yukari Higuchi…

Ayano wasn’t a past lover, but with Sayaka and Yukari, that made five women I’d been involved with.

It’s not an outrageous number, but was I really that popular?

When and where did I meet Yukari?

High school was all about Kyouka.

I started dating Sayaka in my early working years, and Hinata just before I was sent to that other world. That leaves college as the most likely time for Yukari.

The connection probably came through her brother, Nobuo, but I barely knew him back then.

As I mulled this over, I heard an engine approaching from the mountain’s peak—almost certainly Higashikawa’s car.

Its headlights lit the dark road.

Spotting Yukari’s severed leg by the roadside, I walked toward it.

◇

“Ugh… this is bad,” Higashikawa said.

“But she’s not dead yet, right? The wounds look oddly clean. Look, her chest’s moving—she’s alive! If we call an ambulance—” Nishikuse started.

“Hold on, Eishin. First, we need to get our story straight. When the police ask about the accident, what’ll you say?” Higashikawa interrupted.

“She slipped and fell off the cliff. That’s the truth,” Nishikuse replied.

“But why was she up here in the first place? That’s the question,” Higashikawa pressed.

“Hmm, true… How about this? We were discussing Miki with a third party—us—when she got agitated, attacked Miki, and when we tried to calm her, she freaked out and slipped,” Nishikuse suggested.

“That’s a stretch. The police won’t buy it. And if she survives, who knows what she’ll say? If she mentions weird drugs, we’re suspects,” Higashikawa countered.

“Well, Miki said this Yukari’s a delinquent with a history of trouble. Maybe we could have Miki testify she’s been into drugs,” Nishikuse proposed.

The two schemed openly in front of Yukari.

Higashikawa seemed to consider her survival a possibility but unlikely.

In her state, that’s a fair assumption. Or maybe they figured she couldn’t hear.

Listening from a distance, I shed my Mirage Coat, revealing myself.

If I picked up Yukari’s leg, Higashikawa would likely notice I’d been hiding anyway.

Plus, I calculated that showing them what I was about to do would have a stronger impact.

“You two really think that’ll work?” I said.

“Who’s there?!” Nishikuse yelped, startled.

Higashikawa didn’t seem as shocked, but his expression was unreadable.

“Hah, Lady Sienna! Why are you here?” Nishikuse stammered.

“You’ve made quite a mess. I’m here to clean it up,” I replied.

“Uh, well, this is…” Nishikuse faltered, clearly nervous about being caught.

“Leave her to me. She’s too much for you to handle,” I said.

I approached Yukari, placing her severed leg against her thigh.

From my dimensional storage, I pulled a vial of red liquid and poured it into her mouth.

“What’s that?” Nishikuse asked.

“Just watch. Things are about to get interesting,” I said.

Yukari’s throat gurgled as she tried to breathe.

The red liquid vanished down her throat, almost as if it invaded her body on its own.

That wasn’t far from the truth.

It was vampire blood.

My blood was mixed in, but only as a supplement. It was less that Yukari drank it and more that the blood forced its way into her.

Her body jolted violently.

From her thigh, red tendrils extended toward her severed leg.

“Eek!” Nishikuse squeaked.

The tendrils, lit by the car’s headlights, pulled the leg back, reconnecting it seamlessly.

Her twisted arms snapped back into place with audible cracks.

The visible changes were just her leg and arms, but her entire body was likely regenerating to its original state. That’s the power of True Ancestor blood.

“That should do it,” I said, hoisting Yukari over my shoulder like luggage.

“Is… is she okay?” Nishikuse asked.

“You saw it. She’s back to normal,” I replied.

“Phew…” Nishikuse exhaled.

“But when she wakes, she might go berserk. We’ll need to lock her up for now,” I added.

“How about the temple’s basement? It’s lockable from the outside,” Nishikuse suggested.

“That’ll work for now,” I agreed.

Carrying Yukari, I headed to Higashikawa’s car.

I shoved her into the back seat, and we returned to the temple together.