Cop Craft – Dragnet Mirage Reloaded - Book 2 First Night (14)

Matoba reflexively jumped back. Moments later, the vampire had jammed her fist into the ground he stood on just seconds before. Crushed bits of pebbles brushed against his cheek, sending jolts of pain throughout his entire body. Crouching down, Matoba stretched his left arm towards a grenade hanging from the belt on his hip. More specifically, it was a flashbang that emitted a powerful burst of light upon impact. Swiftly removing the pin, he lobbed it to the front.

Although he had immediately closed his eyes beforehand, they still hurt from the resultant flash of light.

Matoba opened his eyes. The vampire put both her hands over her eyes, halted in place. She would not be blinded for long. He took out his magazine. Had to hurry. He jammed the replacement magazine in place. It went in with a satisfying click. His foe was quickly recovering from the shock of the flashbang. He readied his carbine for a full-auto barrage. Made it just in time. Twenty rounds drove straight into her body in less than a second.

「GAAAAH…….!」

The vampire collapsed atop the rail tracks, twitching little by little with every waking moment.

She was still alive. Good grief, just how tough is this bitch? Matoba emptied the rest of his ammo on her. Putting away his carbine, he pulled out his beloved 9mm, shooting at her once more. Every one of his shots hit its mark. No good, she’s still alive. Dropping the empty mag to the ground with a flick of his thumb, Matoba immediately reloaded his pistol. Another ten shots followed. Though he had initially aimed for her head, her incessant floundering had caused several of his bullets to miss.

Eventually, he ran out of ammunition for his pistol. And yet, his target was still moving.

He drew the backup revolver behind his ankle. Five .38 caliber rounds were fired off. They mercilessly penetrated the vampire’s body. The sound of gunfire resounded throughout the tunnel.

「Gaah……」

He shuddered. The vampire did not die. Her bloodshot eyes bored into Matoba’s skull as she began to stand up.

「You gotta be kidding me……!」

The only weapon Matoba had left was a small knife hidden within his belt.

A cold sweat ran down his forehead as the vampire leaped towards him. Compared to her previous attacks, this felt particularly weak ⸺ at the same time, it felt as though she had put her very being into this one strike.

Dodging it was beyond his control. Using the carbine slung across his shoulders as a shield, he managed to block her fangs from ripping out his throat.

「…………ghk!」

He fell on his backside. On top of him, the vampire straddled his waist. She was immensely powerful. It was almost as if bags of cement had been piled atop his body. No matter how he struggled, he could not force her back. At this rate, he would be crushed just like under one of those hydraulic press machines.

「Ti……」

He spotted Tilarna out of the corner of his eye. It was no use. She was still unconscious. Completely motionless. He could not possibly rely on her help.

Matoba pushed against her with his carbine, hoping to stave off her fangs. She was mere centimeters away from his face. He could feel her cold breath on his skin. Fuck weightlifting. The muscles on his arms were trembling all over. The railway pressing against his back hurt like hell. Somehow, it was shivering as well.

No ⸺ it was not his back that was shaking. The rails were.

It was subtle at first. And yet, these tremors were getting increasingly large and powerful. The sound of a carriage chugging away on the rails with that ever-so-regular rhythm.

A train was approaching the two of them.

Operating hours should have begun by now, but this was probably just a carriage deadheading¹ its employees.

Moreover, it was fast. It would soon arrive at their location.

As he continued to desperately resist the vampire on the ground, Matoba shifted his line of sight to the tunnel depths. He could see the headlights coming from the lead car. The thunderous roar of the train echoed throughout the tunnel, accompanied by the intense rattling of the train tracks. It was racing along at full speed.

『Doz noz! Khes zanni nodol jhi imgo!?²』

Matoba shouted in his broken Farbanian. Appearing to not have heard, the vampire relentlessly applied more of her weight onto him, aiming to tear out Matoba’s throat.

『Noiya delbo genishe noh rom dornmek.』

She muttered.

『Bez beldonan ye zamanté gennag, niba zanmofé eeba nir magina geninde. Moode na dorinin, bezelnashé……』

Her words were Greek to Matoba, who could only understand simple Farbanian. They sounded antiquated, almost archaic. But these were not the words of a ferocious beast. Rather, they sounded pleasant to his ears, almost as though she was whispering to her lover at their bedside.

⸺ I am. A negative. Strictly. ……Am I missing anything important?⸺ Immortal. Enjoyment. Your…… blood? Niba…… something. A gate. Anytime. O’ barbarian warrior. Goodbye…….

With every chug of its engine, the train was getting closer.

『Debye mannu kajhina.』

⸺ Suffer all you can.

He understood those words perfectly.

Perhaps the conductor had seen the two of them lying by the railside; the sound of screeching metal from the horn and brakes deafened his ears. Even so, they would not be able to get out of the way in time. No matter how they chose to go about it.

「…………!」

A blinding flash of light filled his sight.

End of the road, huh? Or so Matoba thought. Before he could realize it, Tilarna had come over to his side, knocking the vampire away with a sharp kick to the side.

The vampire landed straight in the middle of the rail tracks, lying sprawled on the ground.

「Hurr⸺」

Hurry. Tilarna had no time to utter those words. Matoba got on his feet, taking Tilarna with him as they jumped over the tracks. Just seconds later, the train passed by the two of them. With a sickening squelch, they could hear liquid being scattered around. From the corner of his eye, he spotted the vampire torn to shreds from her collision with the high-speed train.

Sparks flew out from in between the carriage and the rails, pouring down incessantly on their heads and backs. Even so, the train showed no signs of stopping. In the end, the last car on the train ended up passing them as well, traveling about fifty meters past the tunnel before finally coming to a halt.

「…………」

Matoba raised his head.

In the wake of the collision, blood and guts were scattered all over the place. White steam emanated from the bits and pieces left behind. Before their very eyes, these remnants turned to ash, losing all semblance of their former self. The gentle breeze dispersed them into the air.

「Is she…… dead?」

Matoba muttered as Tilarna sluggishly stood up. She sighed.

「That appears to be the case. I do not detect her scent in the slightest.」

「You sure about that?」

「Yes. Though she may have been a Ladé Neven³, to be reduced to such a state……」

Her voice betrayed just the slightest hint of frustration.

「……As expected, taking her alive had been an impossible task.」

「‘Course it was. We were this close to dying ourselves. And you expected us to ‘hold back’? I put everything into that bitch. Rifle ammo, 9mm rounds, .38 calibers. It still wasn’t enough to finish her off.」

「In the end, that was all your Dorini weapons amounted to.」

「Fuck.」

Matoba got up, wiping off the dirt on his suit.

「More importantly, Kei. Where is my thanks for saving you from that grisly fate?」

「Tch.」

Matoba turned up his nose, unamused.

「‘Tch?’ Is that how you express gratitude in your country?」

「Shut it. If you hadn’t gone and played hero, we wouldn’t have gotten in that mess in the first place. Jumping into the fray on your own, getting yourself knocked out in the process. I deserve an apology, that’s what.」

「You are truly the worst, Khe Imatuba⁴. You are⸺」

「I didn’t ask for your help.」

「That again!? How much longer do you intend to rot, cretin!?」

「I’m calling backup.」

「I shall not save you the next time. Never again!」

「Oh, sure, sure. Do what you want, princess.」

Seeing him disembark the train, Matoba began walking towards the conductor. Following behind, Tilarna continued her barrage of insults against him. He could only irritatedly wave his hand, paying her no further attention. Even if his mouth were to be torn to pieces, Matoba had no intention of ever saying ‘thanks’.

For now, the hard part was over.

Next was the report. Asking the local authorities to clean up the crime scene. And, good old-fashioned paperwork. He would not be done until the morning.

「Suffer all you can, huh?」

He said to no one in particular.

「……I envy those guys. Sleeping in their coffins all day. Sounds just perfect to me.」

Translator’s Notes:

1. Dictionary definition: (of a commercial driver, etc.) complete a trip without paying passengers or freight. (Dictionary.com)
2. Farbanian for ‘Stop! Do you wanna get us both killed!?’
3. The Farbanian word for ‘vampire.’
4. A pun on Kei Matoba’s name. Literally means ‘Dreadful Kitten’ in Farbanian.