Before Tallulah could try to stop her, Flandre Scarlet turned into a streak of light and charged toward the towering observation post in the factory.
Boom!
Just as the people in the factory were on guard for any reckless Infected coming to rescue the prisoners, the observation point above, equipped with large spotlights for reconnaissance, suddenly exploded.
Communication with the people inside was instantly lost.
"Enemy attack!" everyone screamed instantly.
But after the explosion, things suddenly went quiet.
They looked left and right but saw no sign of an enemy.
"What's going on? What's the situation outside?"
The voice of the officer in charge, who had been about to doze off inside, came over the walkie-talkie.
"Reporting, sir, the watchtower exploded," someone replied.
"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?"
The officer said as he walked toward the monitoring room.
Then he saw on the monitors that the original watchtower signal had disappeared, and on other cameras that could see the watchtower's position, only debris remained where it had once stood.
"What's happening? Where is the enemy?
Where are they attacking from!"
He asked in disbelief.
"I don't know, I didn't see... Ah!"
Before the person responding could finish, they let out a shrill scream, and then there was silence.
"Hello? Hello! Dammit, what on earth happened!
Have Squads Two and Three go to the entrance; kill whoever comes in!"
The officer picked up the nearby walkie-talkie and roared.
"Yes!"
Only one voice came back over the walkie-talkie.
Just as he was wondering if everyone else had gone to the bathroom or died in their sleep, the door behind him was slowly pushed open.
"Found~ you!"
When the officer turned around, he felt his pupils shrink.
A little girl around ten years old was standing at the door.
Her face, mouth, and her entire body were covered in nauseating blood.
And what terrified him most was that she was still clutching two pulsing hearts in her hands.
Upon seeing the bat wings on the girl's back, the officer finally broke down completely in fear.
"Vampire! Dammit, why is there a Vampire in Ursus!
Please, don't kill me. I'll give you money, I have lots and lots of money... please..."
Before he could finish, he felt a pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw a large hole had appeared in his chest at some point; the place where his heart should have been was empty.
Before losing consciousness, he looked up and saw the girl open her mouth and swallow the heart that should have belonged to him in one gulp.
"Tastes good. As a reward, I'll leave your body intact."
Then she looked at the others in the room, her lips curling into a sweet, villain-like smile.
"Let's eat!"
A few minutes later, Flandre walked out of the room, sucking her fingers and humming a little tune.
Then she checked the time.
"Less than ten minutes. It seems I'm still quite strong!"
Turning her head, she saw a nearby restroom, where a mirror reflected her appearance.
Walking to the mirror, she looked at her blood-soaked self.
"What, I thought you'd refuse. So enemies can be killed and eaten, but friends can't.
Your standards are really low!"
Cupping her face in her hands, Flandre's eyes grew redder and redder.
Just then, three more Flandres walked over. After they merged into one, her gaze dimmed.
The clothes that had been bloody just a moment ago were now clean, with only some bloodstains remaining on her face and mouth.
Flandre Scarlet looked at her rational self in the mirror, gave a sweet smile, and then clapped her hands together lightly in front of her chest.
"Thanks for the meal."
Then, after a simple wash with water to clean herself up, she skipped over to the main gate.
She happened to see Tallulah quickly approaching with a dozen people.
These people were scouts under her command, and it was their intelligence that had allowed her to find this place.
To avoid detection, they had been scattered and hiding in the surroundings, only gathering around Tallulah after receiving her signal to assemble.
"How is it?" Tallulah asked.
"Unless there's a rat with incredibly good luck, there shouldn't be any resistance left inside."
Flandre tilted her head and said cheerfully, a finger to her lips.
Tallulah nodded and pointed toward the factory building.
"Everyone follow me, go rescue the people quickly."
Watching Tallulah and the others go in, Flandre leaned against the main gate and waited for them to come out.
After another ten minutes or so, people began coming out one after another.
Many of them were injured, but those who could walk didn't have very serious injuries.
The most seriously injured were carried out on temporary stretchers.
The way everyone looked at the girl by the gate, who was humming a tune and swaying her head, was very complicated.
Because they all knew their lives had been saved by this girl, and logically, they should be very grateful to Flandre, their savior.
But when they came out, they had also seen the state of the dead.
Most had distorted expressions and were missing their hearts.
Where did all those hearts go?
Recalling her identity as a Vampire, many people shuddered again.
They couldn't think about it, and they shouldn't... Soon, Tallulah walked out with a relaxed expression.
Flandre Scarlet looked up at her.
"How is it? No one missed, I hope!"
Tallulah nodded. Since she had chosen to use Flandre Scarlet's power, she had long been mentally prepared.
At least the sight of those Reconnaissance Squad members who had only lost their hearts was much better than she had expected.
"Indeed, no one was missed. And Flandre, you killed them so fast that they didn't have time to use many of the weapons and equipment they had prepared. Plus, there's still some equipment in the factory that hasn't been moved, which is enough to make up for our losses this time."
Tallulah also showed a rare smile.
Then she turned to the Infected behind her.
"We have to evacuate immediately.
Before the Ursus army notices that this place has lost contact."
People carried those who needed carrying and took what they could.
In less than half an hour, hundreds of people had stripped the factory clean, leaving only an empty building and the dead Reconnaissance Squad members inside.
"Thank you!" While walking back, Tallulah looked at Flandre standing beside her and said softly.