>>283488948
>Shinobu was already feeling weakened because of the time she'd spent on Antarctica.
This is true but it's hard to say exactly what it means. In a literal sense, she was still strong enough to launch herself across the entire planet in one leap. She would have disappeared and eventually been forgotten if she had stayed isolated in Antarctica, but the moment she returned to humanity, even in an improper way, she was still Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade.
>Making multiple villages worth of people disappear sound more like "burning the whole thing down"
In this analogy the legendary vampire is the (force of) nature, and an individual human life or even several backwater villages are insignificant in comparison. It's like trying to hunt or starve out a predator by culling its prey.
I mean to mention this in the first reply, but it also parallels her experience in life as Princess Acerola; not just villages but whole kingdoms committing suicide for her. I can't say which idea Nisio came up with first, but she has always had an extraordinary and privileged existence.