My OP Minion System in the Apocalypse

"So what does this mean?" he asked me.

"If the vampire is capable of killing even the top 10 humans, our best bet is to get out of here."

"Are you sure that's what's going on?"

"I'm not sure, but if Maia comes back, it'll confirm it."

I decided to send a few of my Minions into the forest to try to find Maia. If we wanted information, there was no better place to get it. I was going to stay in the settlement for a little longer, but if I hear from my Minions that the white-haired vampire is nearby, I'm escaping as soon as possible.

I still had to think about what I was going to do with the vampire who was lying on the ground in front of me.

"So Mrs Vampire, do you have a name?"

"Um... they call me Celeste now, but my name used to be Celie."

"Alright, what do you know about the white-haired vampire you were talking about?"

"He's really strong, I don't think anyone disobeys him... except, he follows the Second Progenitor's instructions."

No one disobeys him?

Second Progenitor's instructions?

We really must be missing a lot of the gaps in our knowledge of the vampire hierarchy.

As I tried to come to terms with what was happening, one of my Minions rushed into the room.

['Maia' has returned]

"Maia's back."

Robbie and I made our way outside and looked out into the distance.

Limping back toward the settlement was a severely injured Maia.

She started hurrying toward the two of us as she saw us from the distance.

"Robbie... William... he... he killed him... and made him into a vampire..."

"Did Josh get turned into a vampire?"

Maia collapsed to the ground and began crying.

"Help... the vampire is too strong..."

***

It was in the depth of the woods, only a few hundred metres from the settlement.

William and Robbie had left with the injured vampire.

"Maia, this vampire looks stronger than usual."

"I think it's best we stay cautious then."

The two were relatively confident in their strength.

"Invoke, Magic Armour—Type Two," Josh's body was suddenly covered with a dense blue aura.

Josh and Maia drew their weapons, in preparation for the upcoming fight.

The vampire slowly walked closer.

"Ho? Where did you guys take Celeste? I need her~" the vampire spoke in an almost musical tone, with pleasant yet uncomfortable intonation in its voice.

"What's up, vampire? Have you come to drink some blood?" taunted Josh.

"Ah~ I've got plenty of blood, I just want Celeste back~" his voice was calming, yet it instilled a sense of unease within Josh and Maia.

"Too bad, we've already captured your little friend!"

"Eh? That won't do~"

Maia took a step back as the vampire seemed to be preparing to attack. With perfect cleanliness, the vampire drew his long crimson sword.

"Sword, drink my blood~"

Unlike the other vampires that they had observed, the sword of this vampire violently drew blood out of his arm. After a few moments, it seemed to be full, the vampire shook the excess blood off of his arm.

Seeing a small opening, Josh charged in with his [Knife of Electromasters]. As he lunged in with his arm, the vampire easily sidestepped his attack.

"What—"

In one fluid motion, the vampire lifted his leg and kicked Josh in the side. The impact was so powerful that a loud thump echoed through the forest as Josh was sent crashing into trees. Several trees were knocked down, causing a large impact in the forest.

"You're stronger than the other humans I've met."

"Hehe, you're stronger than the other vampires I've met," Josh replied.

Josh slowly picked himself up after smashing into the trees. He still had his strong magic barrier which was protecting his body.

Maia raised her arm and activated a trap on the ground.

"Oh? What are you doing over th—" the vampire's words were cut off.

Suddenly, the ground beneath the vampire changed into a purple-ish colour. The legs of the vampire were swiftly cut off, as cleanly as a razer blade.

"Hey..."

A few moments later, following a string of blood, the legs of the vampire rejoined to his body.

"How are you still able to regenerate so fast...?"

"I guess it's just the power of love~ isn't that right?"

In response, the vampire charged toward Maia.

She raised her arm once again and activated another trap.

"Eh—"

The ground beneath the vampire changed to a tone of blue. He was suddenly frozen in place, completely immobilised, not even his mouth could move.

"Josh, kill him!"

With his [Knife of Electromasters], he stabbed straight into the vampire's chest, before unleashing a huge amount of electricity into its body. The vampire's body was starting to get fried, releasing large amounts of smoke into the air.

A few seconds later, the trap wore off and the vampire fell to the ground.

"Ow~"

However, sensing that something was amiss, Josh quickly jumped back.

The vampire wriggled around for a little before picking himself back up.

"That's not fair, you know~"

"How... how are you still not dead...?" muttered Josh.

"Huh? That's not a very nice thing to say~"

The vampire held his rich crimson sword out and began walking toward Josh. Josh quickly chanted in order to change his magic armour.

"Invoke, Magic Armour—Type Three," the aura around Josh became an almost colourless grey.

"Ooh, you can change that?"

"Shut up, vampire."

Josh swung his [Knife of Electromasters] straight at the vampire's neck.

However, the vampire swung his sword, swiftly cutting off Josh's arm.

His arm hit the ground with a dense splat.

"Agh! What the fuck?"

Josh fell to the ground as he watched blood pour out of his wound.

"You know, I think I want you as a vampire~"

"Go away, you murderer!"

"Murderer? I don't think that's right, I haven't even killed anybody~"

Josh looked up in fear as the vampire walked closer.

Suddenly, the ground beneath the vampire changed again.

"Josh, get away!"

"—hey, I'm not that dumb~" said the vampire.

This time, the vampire swung his sword at the ground, smashing the tiny device that Maia had planted into pieces. With that, the ground returned to its original colour.

"Did you really think that I wouldn't notice that~"

"N-no way..."

In another swing, the vampire sent a powerful shockwave of air toward Maia, causing her to be sent crashing into the trees behind.

Once the dust settled, she saw the vampire with his fangs in Josh's neck.