Vamp! Vol 4 Chapter 5

Vampires…!

A forest in southern Germany.

“Argh… d.a.m.n it… What the h.e.l.l are those freaks?!”

A small car raced through the woods.

Horst was in the driver’s seat, constantly glancing over at the rear-view mirror.

‘They’re vampires! They’ve got to be vampires!’ He told himself over and over as he tried to shake off the looming dread that pursued him.

The reason he kept his thoughts to himself was because he was concerned about Alma, who was sitting next to him in the pa.s.senger seat.

But no matter how hard he tried to shake his pursuers, they persistently dogged his heels. He felt trapped. He was about to be crushed by despair.

‘d.a.m.n it… s.h.i.+t! s.h.i.+t!

‘Why the h.e.l.l did this happen?!

‘Why won’t they just leave us alone?!

‘What did Alma do to deserve this?! What did she ever do to them?!

‘Why…?! Why?!’

He cursed their pursuers in his head, but he could not stem the constant flow of fear.

He glanced at the pa.s.senger seat. Alma sat with her arms crossed, embracing herself. Her tiny form was visibly trembling.

Horst saw his honest self reflected in that little girl. His fears only grew worse.

‘d.a.m.n it… how did this happen…?’

<=>

Several hours earlier.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Alma turned.

“My folks live over in Munich. It’ll be easier to live there, and I can commute to work here from their place.”

“But…”

“It’ll be better than renting an apartment here.”

“…I’m sorry… This is all my fault.”

Alma hung her head. Horst smiled at her rea.s.suringly.

“C’mon, Alma. I told you not to worry. The people who started the fire are the bad guys. Anyway, have you ever been to Munich? Everyone there’s great. They’re not like the touchy people here. And you’ve heard of Oktoberfest, right? We get millions of tourists from all over the world, and they even set up a theme park in the square!”

Horst raved with as much enthusiasm as he could muster—not so much for Alma as for himself.

But even he was falling prey to fear.

On the way back from the police station, Horst received a phone call from the man who used to deliver mail to the village before him.

The man was in the hospital. He said that he had been pushed off a flight of stairs.

When Horst went to see him, the older postman said,

“Did you by any chance find any strange graffiti on your house? You’d better keep an eye out if you did.”

The older man did not seem to know that Horst’s house had already been burned down.

But it became another explicit sign of the fear that strangled his thoughts.

The older postman had nothing to do with the incident, and he had stopped going to the village a long time ago. So why did even he have to suffer?

“Well… I was at the bar the other day when I heard some b.a.s.t.a.r.ds say these awful things about Alma. I gave them a stern lecture, and afterwards, I’ve been getting hara.s.sed like this every once in a while.”

The older postman said that he had not seen his attacker, either.

He had seen suspicious people around, yes. But sometimes they were men, sometimes they were women, sometimes they were office workers, and sometimes they were young thugs. There was no common ground connecting these people, and he could not even begin to figure out who could have been responsible.

But Horst knew.

His fellow postman had probably been attacked by them all.

It was an invisible coagulation of malice.

Everyone they met sympathetically met Alma’s gaze.

No one showed any signs of fear or dislike.

But among them were the arsonists and those who would agree with their actions.

Horst decided to escape from that; he made up his mind to leave the city with Alma.

Alma did not wish to remain in the city, either. But she reminded Horst that as long as he continued to protect her, he would also be persecuted. Horst, however, could not leave her.

Perhaps he was not motivated by altruism alone.

If he abandoned Alma here, he would find himself just like the other people of the city—someone who abandoned a little girl because he was defeated by fear.

He was being sympathetic; he was also being stubborn.

Gripped by the thought that he was now fighting against the entire city, it even occurred to Horst to set fire to the entire neighborhood. But he caught himself before the line of thought went anywhere, and decided to leave town before he lost his mind.

He clenched his fists tightly, swearing that he would never become like the people around him.

The moment of fate was upon them.

They bought the bare necessities at a nearby store, loaded the car with some changes of clothes, and began the drive to Munich. At the post office, Horst filled in a form requesting a leave of absence. But he thought to himself that, depending on the situation, he might never return to the city again.

When the sun slowly began to set, they decided to spend the night at a roadside motel.

Finally liberated from the city, Horst felt free.

There was something unbearably murky about the air there. It had felt as though they were a pair of salt.w.a.ter fish pushed in with a school of fish in the river.

But if the rumors were true, Alma was essentially a shark to the people of the city. The freshwater fish, unable to even vent their frustrations, could do nothing but try to eliminate the supposed threat from the shadows.

Even though a shark could not survive in fresh water very long.

Horst looked out at the city and ground his teeth at the injustice.

The motel was built partly in the forest, and the area was deserted.

There was a strangely eerie chill in the air.

At that point, Alma came up to Horst, speaking so quietly he could barely hear.

“Say…”

“Hm? What is it, Alma?”

“If… if I was a vampire… what would you do?”

Horst sighed, astonished.

“Hey, don’t you start believing those rumors too, Alma. Don’t worry. Vampires don’t-“

“But what if?”

Alma cut him off forcefully.

Rattled by the gravity of her tone, Horst pulled back his forced grin and listened seriously.

“…If?”

“If I’m really a vampire, just like the people say… are you going to kill me too, Horst? Are you going to stab me in the heart or set me on fire or-“

“Don’t be stupid!” Horst cried without thinking. He quickly looked at Alma apologetically.

But she did not look surprised at all by his outburst. Alma only looked up at him with a somber expression.

Horst could feel guilt welling up inside. It was just like the time she looked up at him sadly as they left the police station.

“Don’t be stupid… If you really are a vampire—if you’ve really been bitten and turned into a vampire—I’ll do whatever it takes to turn you back.”

He was trying to rea.s.sure her.

But the moment he finished, the look on Alma’s face darkened even more.

However, she was not blaming him. It looked more like she was in despair at her own state of being.

“So… being a vampire is wrong?”

“A, Alma…?”

“I… I have to be a human, or it’s wrong. Right?”

He tried to say something.

But Horst could not manage a voice. His lungs worked in vain to try and produce an utterance.

He knew he had to say something, but he could not find the words.

‘It can’t be.’

His throat was dry. His tongue was dry, and even his nose and eyes.

It felt like water was evaporating from his face.

‘Or maybe… could it…?

‘No… it just…’

He could not bring himself to complete his thought.

The incident at the village was already something beyond common sense.

How could so many people disappear without leaving so much as a single drop of blood?

If anyone was capable of doing such a thing, it had to be a monster, like a vampire. This was the only conclusion he could jump to.

Creatures of fantasy began to grow clearer in the fog of fear.

If this was an ordinary conversation, or a warm family dinner, he could probably say,

‘Even if you are a vampire, you and I are still family.’

But there was a weight to Alma’s words that stopped him from speaking.

This was not the time for a thoughtless answer.

This was not the time to ignore Alma.

Horst tried to say that he didn’t care whether she was a vampire. But his dried-out tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, preventing him from saying anything meaningful.

“…Al…ma…”

He barely managed to call her name.

That was his limit.

“…I’m sorry for asking such a weird question.” Alma said with a smile, shaking her head.

But her eyes were clearly tinged with sadness.

‘What did I just do…?

‘I swore I would protect her!

‘So why the h.e.l.l… why the h.e.l.l did I end up hurting her instead…?’

At that moment, his thoughts came grinding to a halt.

There was a mirror hanging on the wall, on the other side of the room.

Reflected in its surface were his own frozen face, and the scene out the window behind him.

He thought he saw something move in that scene.

“…? Horst?”

Noticing Horst’s expression, Alma turned. She gasped in a half-scream.

Behind Horst, outside the window, she saw the flickering of countless lights.

The lights.

Trembling and trembling,

Trembling and trembling,

Shakily the lights glowed in the dark. Although they were not headlights, it was clear that they were quickly spreading into the woods.

It was as though the motel was being surrounded by will-o-wisp.

Horst slowly turned. But he could not tell what these lights were.

They were most likely from flashlights and lanterns.

But what was going on with these lights, right now in the dead of night?

Horst tried to force his hazy fears into a question.

But he was interrupted by Alma.

“Ah… Aaaahhh…”

She was pale as a sheet, and her shoulders were trembling.

“Th, those…”

“Hey, what’s wrong?!”

“The village… they’re the ones who…”

Alma did not finish her sentence.

She must have remembered something specific. Tears began to fall from her terrified eyes.

But that alone was enough.

Chilled to the bone, Horst desperately fought the urge to fall to his knees in terror as he whispered to Alma,

“…Let’s get out of here.”

He quickly moved away from the window.

Alma, still trembling, did not take a single step.

Horst picked her up in his arms and ran out of the room with nothing but his car keys in hand.

<=>

The chase began.

How far had he driven his car?

Horst stepped on the gas pedal like his life depended on it, trying to shake off the lights that came after them. But the glow spread endlessly, as though filling the entire forest.

By the time he spotted lights in the distance directly ahead of them, Horst’s determination began to run out.

But when he turned on the headlights, he saw figures in the distance.

‘Those are people.’

The realization jolted Horst back into reality.

“Those are people…! What the h.e.l.l is this?! s.h.i.+t!” He cried into the air, but Alma replied to him.

“I… I don’t know what they were… They were humans, but they weren’t. And… that night, they came to the village and… and…!”

She had said the same thing at the police station before.

That the villagers had been attacked by something.

That was the only fact that mattered to Alma. Nothing else.

Or at least, that was how things should have been.

Alma was keeping one secret that she did not disclose to either Horst or the police.

It was a secret she could not reveal.

After all, revealing the truth would not change reality.

Even if she confessed, the police would a.s.sume that she was traumatized and out of her mind, or that the incident had its roots in some religious conflict. And because neither supposition was true, it could not solve the mystery behind the disappearances.

There was a good reason why she did not confess the truth.

The truth was something she could not tell even Horst.

It was a secret she should shoulder—no, carry—to the grave.

Alma was about to bite her lip when she spotted something ahead.

It was a large trailer, blocking off the road.

“Hey… What the h.e.l.l is this?!” Horst cried, hitting the brakes.

From the shadows on the truck, multiple shadows emerged—all carrying lanterns.

“…The h.e.l.l…”

He did not know what was coming after them.

And whether or not he knew, Horst could tell that his life was in danger. He was certain of that.

The figures illuminated by the headlights were, from their necks down, completely normal. People in suits, people in T-s.h.i.+rts, and even women in skirts.

But their heads—including their hair—were covered completely.

Some had cloth wrapped around their heads. Some wore hats, sungla.s.ses, and hospital masks. Some wore full-face masks, and carnival masks sold in souvenir stores. It was an incredible a.s.sortment of faces, but the completely ordinary clothes worn by the bodies under the heads lent an eerie air to the scene.

‘I don’t know what those freaks are up to… but we’re in trouble. They’re different from the people in the city who’re trying to hurt Alma.’

The people, holding flashlights in their hands, silently walked over in the direction of the car.

“…Hold on tight, Alma.”

Horst took a deep breath.

He turned the steering wheel and drove the car into the mountains.

Several minutes later.

Horst could still see lights in the mountains reflected in the rear-view mirror.

Just how many of them were there?

A group numbering at well over dozens was driving them into the mountains and hunting them down.

‘…Don’t tell me… are they vampires?’

Remembering the shadows of the ‘Others’ he considered only a legend, Horst floored the gas pedal.

Eventually, the slope of the mountain grew steeper, and the car would not go forward. When he tried to back the car, the wheels spun, caught in the rocks.

“d.a.m.n it! …They’re going to find us if we stick with the car. We’ll have to run on foot!”

“R, right…”

They stepped out of the car and stumbled up the mountain.

Several minutes later.

They climbed blindly up the slope, trying not to look behind them as they fled without a destination.

“Eek!”

Alma slipped. Horst quickly grabbed her hand.

“You all right?!”

“Y, yeah.”

He tried to pull her back up, but the slope had gotten so steep that it took them some time to get back on track.

If Horst hadn’t gotten used to climbing rough terrain as he delivered mail to Alma’s village, he would have long ago slipped and fallen.

But they could not linger much longer.

When he pulled Alma back up, Horst found himself glancing at the path down which they came. He could see the macabre lights flickering like stars under them in the woods.

“d.a.m.n it… we ditched the car, so we have to find a place to hide…”

It was a miracle that they had gotten so far from the car without a single light guiding them, Horst tried to think optimistically. But if the throngs they saw swarming around the mountain searched the woods carefully, it would be only a matter of time before they were discovered.

They strained to find footing on a nearby tree.

Because there was no path in the mountains, one wrong move would send them sliding down the slope.

As they remained trapped, Alma began to sob.

“I’m sorry… This is all my fault…”

“I told you not to apologize, Alma.”

Horst did not care if he was just doing this for self-satisfaction. He refused to let himself blame Alma.

Driven to the brink of hopelessness, Horst took out his cell phone to see if he could find another way out. But the screen only told him that he was out of the service area.

“s.h.i.+t… can’t use the phone, huh…”

He ground his teeth.

At that point, his cell phone began to vibrate as it played a ringtone he had never a.s.signed to any function.

This was the moment of truth.

The nights of humans and Others, normally never to cross, collided.

<=>

The mysterious group of pursuers surrounded and closed off the mountain.

The ma.s.ses of lights that were chasing down Horst’s car slowly came to a stop.

“…This presence…”

“I can sense them.”

“They’re coming.”

“They’re here.”

“There’s no mistaking it.”

“…Vampires.”

“And many of them.”

Sensing the change in the air, the faceless figures began to whisper.

As tension overcame the woods, the figures smiled twisted grins under their masks and whispered,

“…Things are going even better than planned.”

<=>

Horst hesitantly took the call. But before he could even put his ear on the receiver, a cacophonic voice began buzzing from the phone.

“Wh, who’re you?!”

Spinning on Horst’s cell phone screen was a mascot with a mouse design.

Naturally, he had no memory of downloading such an image. He wondered if this was a virus of some sort, but was is physically possible to give up control of a cell phone just by accepting a call?

The hijacked phone began to snicker.

“…”

“…”

The voice on the cell phone spoke without an ounce of caution. It was like watching a suspense film where the protagonist was being cornered, alongside a radio program where a DJ nonchalantly read out the contents of a letter.

As the tension around them crumbled, Alma and Horst went silent.

But the quiet was soon broken by two voices approaching from either side.

“Hey, this brings back memories. I remember running off just like this.”

“Like a cycle of karma. Now we’re the ones doing the rescuing.”

Horst and Alma flinched. Two figures seemed to materialize out of thin air next to them.

The men were of different ethnicities; one caucasian and the other East Asian. But their physical features were so similar—with the exception of the colors of their eyes and hair—that they could probably pa.s.s for twins.

“Wh, who are—“

The men were both showing their faces, which meant they were not part of the group that were chasing Horst and Alma.

The Asian man calmly turned to the confused Horst.

“I apologize for scaring you. We were having a bit of a difficult time tracking you by your cell phone signal. We’ll explain the details later, but I’d like to make it clear that we are on your side, and that we intend you no harm.”

“Enough of the chit-chat. We’re takin’ you by force, whether you believe us or not.”

“Yellow! Do not alarm them!”

“Sure, sure.”

The strange duo bantered as though Horst and Alma’s shock meant little to them.

Horst tried to ask the men once more who they were. But at that point,

“Whoa?!”

“Eek!”

Before they could resist, Horst and Alma were each hoisted by one of the two men and carried up the mountain.

They were being carried by humans, Horst thought in the darkness, but something about the sensation of the movement was different.

It felt like riding on a convertible. He could feel gravity pulling at his body and impacts and sounds that came at regular intervals.

He squinted open his eyes and saw the trees around him flowing past rapidly.

‘Impossible… These people can’t be human!’

Cold sweat ran down his face.

But the wind quickly swept away the droplets of sweat.

<=>

Very soon, the ‘creatures’ carrying Horst and Alma slowed down.

“Wh, where are we…?”

When he finally came to his senses, Horst found himself at a rest area about halfway up the mountain. Because this mountain was relatively small and covered in trees, a facility was built here for hikers and visitors to enjoy the environment.

Horst and Alma both stared blankly.

The moment they were set on the ground again, they noticed more shadowed figures around them and shrank back.

But to their surprise, they were approached by a relieved German boy.

“Thank goodness you’re both all right! We were getting pretty worried… whoops, almost forgot: nice to meet you. My name’s Mihail Die-“

Suddenly, a boy in Gothic-style clothing cut off Mihail and offered Alma a hand.

“M, my name’s Fannie! Y, you’re Alma, right?”

The boy calling himself Fannie looked even more nervous than Alma. But what shocked Horst most was what the boy said immediately afterwards.

“Um, well… Mihail here’s human, but don’t worry—I’m a vampire!”

“Ah…”

Alma also was shocked by the boy’s declaration.

But unlike Horst, her look of surprise was purely that—bewilderment separate from fear or suspicion.

“So, uh… well. You’re going to be okay now! I’m real sorry about the villagers, but from now on, I… I, uh… I’ll…” Fannie stammered. But Alma did not listen to him finish, instead speaking up blankly.

“Are you really… vampires…?”

The answer came this time from the Asian man.

“Would this be proof enough?”

A shadow curled over the man’s left hand, and like a mirage a bat emerged from the shadow. It began to flutter around Alma and Horst.

“A, Alma!”

Having determined that the people around them were clearly monsters, Horst got up to protect Alma.

But when he saw the look on her face, he stopped.

The shock had gone now, giving way to tears.

They were not tears of fear or resentment, but relief and joy.

Horst could do little but stand in stunned silence.

“Alma… were you really a vampire…?”

“Nah.” Answered the boy Fannie introduced as a human. “So, uh. They said that Alma’s 100% human. But…”

The boy named Mihail paused for a moment and continued hesitantly.

“But she was the only one in that village who wasn’t a vampire.”

<=>

Some time earlier.

Doubs smiled merrily in the middle of the dining hall and nonchalantly laid out the facts.

“Yes! The village was, in fact, a settlement of vampires. Though the residents were immune to sunlight and running water, their only powers consisted of superhuman strength and abilities connected to the act of sucking blood.”

The commotion in the dining hall reached its zenith.

As each voice was swallowed up in the flood of murmurs, Gerhardt spoke up, immune to the overpowering noise.

[Ah, it is a surprise to hear that such a settlement existed in Germany, but it does not seem quite so far-fetched. But that begs the question; why in the world did the villagers disappear without a trace?]

“The answer to that is simple. Although it is an unusually unfortunate conclusion.”

Doubs shook his head ruefully, although he did not at all sound mournful.

He paused. Then, he lowered his voice.

“They were hunted by humans.”

[There were dozens of vampires in that village, were there not?]

“It’s not necessarily impossible. After all, the Hunters were a group of Eaters.”

At the mention of the word ‘Eaters’, the commotion in the dining hall was silenced.

“A group of Eaters?” Melhilm broke the silence, getting to his feet with a frown.

“Aha. Once burned, twice shy. I suppose someone who has been eaten in the past would be somewhat sensitive to the topic.”

“d.a.m.n you…” Melhilm growled.

But his bloodl.u.s.t was quickly calmed by the pool of blood slos.h.i.+ng in the air.

[Patience, Melhilm. And Doubs—I advise that you avoid needless provocation.]

“Hmph.”

“Please excuse me.”

Bringing the meeting back on track, Gerhardt turned to Doubs.

[Now… what of the lone survivor?]

“A girl from the only human family in the village, whose parents were killed in an avalanche… or something to that effect. Although all I had to go on for this information were official records.”

[…So she only survived because she was human.]

“That is the answer! On the night of the macabre ma.s.sacre, the vampires were murdered by Eaters one after another, naturally turning to ash and leaving not a drop of blood behind. After all, Eaters are capable of sensing vampires. Is this not the most connivingly convenient setup?”

With a bitter chuckle, the Iridescent Extra revealed the truth behind the incident.

Every emotion flashed past his face—joyfully, ruefully, like the s.h.i.+mmering iridescence of his clothing.

“And so, the human girl was spared. But once the Eaters caught wind of her survival, they began to fear that she had seen their faces. They wanted to be rid of her. After all, most Eaters have official records, and a run-in with the police can destroy their lives forever. And that, my friends, is the case in a nutsh.e.l.l.”

<=>

Time pa.s.sed.

Mihail and the others had gathered at the rest area to protect Alma.

Fannie shook Alma’s limp hand up and down, looking very downcast.

“I’d really like to get you out of here myself, but if I’m with you, the Eaters are going to sense my presence. So you have to go with those humans over there.”

Fannie turned. Mihail was smiling obliviously, and further back was a sickly-looking young man leaning against a tree.

“What do you mean…?”

“I’ll explain later. Right now, you have to get out of here.”

“Hey, wait—“

Not knowing what to do, Horst turned to the relatively approachable Asian man.

And as though having expected such a question, the man answered,

“I understand that you are suspicious of us, and that this is a difficult situation to accept. But at the moment, we must prioritize the safety of the young lady. And to add, the boy named Mihail is an absolutely trustworthy human being.”

The Asian man then looked down at the ma.s.ses of light further down the mountain.

“If you’ll excuse us, we have work to do.”

<=>

East of the woods, at the Mars family country house.

The disturbance was contagious.

Just as Alma and Horst were being chased by mysterious pursuers, darkness was beginning to draw over Dorothy and Ferret as they prepared to go after Mihail.

Or perhaps the darkness was being cast over the mansion itself, where the Organization was gathered.

“…”

“What… is that?”

Dorothy and Ferret had left the front gates by car on their way to find Mihail.

But not far down the one-lane road, they found a large trailer sitting across the path.

There was no sign of a traffic accident—the trailer was there for the sole purpose of blocking the road.

Dorothy chuckled bitterly and turned to Ferret.

“Before I apologize, I need to ask you; how is your physical strength?”

“It is adequate.”

“Then I’ll just apologize for this—“

Before Dorothy could finish, countless figures emerged from the shadow of the trailer. Dorothy’s car was engulfed in light.

“It looks like even you’ve gotten involved now. I’m sorry, Ferret.”

“There is no need to apologize. I am here of my own accord.”

There seemed to be powerful spotlights set up on top of the trailer and the road.

Dorothy stopped the car. She slowly opened the door and stepped onto the pavement.

Ferret followed her out and whispered,

“…Myself aside, I fear for Mihail’s safety.”

“Yes… I think he’ll be all right if he’s with an officer, but…”

One or two dozen was too small a number to describe the group before them.

Through the blinding light, they could see humans stepping off the trailer one after another.

Although Dorothy and Ferret had no way of knowing, these people were different from the ones pursuing Alma in that they were dressed almost uniformly.

The people wore black balaclavas and helmets. Their black jackets were designed in a military style, lending them the look of a special force.

But they were not armed with a.s.sault rifles or shotguns, like soldiers were. All they had were objects reminiscent of grenades hanging from their belts, and short knives. From the unnecessarily ornate designs of the blades, Dorothy deduced that they must be made of silver.

“If you’re worried about Mihail, you should go on ahead.”

“…?”

Ferret indeed wanted to go. But she could not leave Dorothy. And how was she to find Mihail, when she had no lead?

“Maybe the power of love will guide you to him?”

“…I cannot believe how calm you can be in a situation like this.” Ferret said sullenly. Dorothy chuckled and handed her something.

“I’m just joking. Here.”

It was a white cell phone. On it was a sticker of a photograph Dorothy had taken somewhere with Gerhardt. It almost looked like a ghost sighting featuring a beautiful woman in white, but Ferret decided to not point this out.

“I’ll contact you later, so head east for now. Mihail should be somewhere between this manor and the closest city to the east.”

“But we must first do something about these people—”

“Don’t worry, Ferret. It looks like your ride is here.”

“Pardon?”

There was an impact.

Ferret turned to the source of the sound. Two motorcycles had appeared next to her out of nowhere.

The people by the trailer froze, cautiously observing the scene.

But the moment Ferret realized who the newcomers were, she was simultaneously shocked, perplexed, and relieved.

“It’s you!”

Riding the motorcycles were a blue-haired man and his bald friend.

They were werewolves from Growerth, whom Ferret met often and could trust.

“C’mon, Miss Ferret! Let’s get going!”

“Sorry you’re gonna have to ride behind someone you’re not even dating!”

The werewolves joked, turning around and revving the engines.

Dorothy gave the confused Ferret a gentle push.

“Go on.”

“But what about—“

“Don’t worry. We’re used to situations like this.”

Ferret bit her lip.

“…Thank you. Let us meet again soon.”

“Of course. See you soon, Ferret.”

With that, Ferret climbed onto the seat behind the blue-haired werewolf. But—

“I shall not let you escape.”

All of a sudden, a dignified voice broke the silence veiling the people in uniform.

From the quality of the tone, the voice seemed to belong to the leader of the group. But his form was hidden in the bright lights.

The werewolves, however, paid the voice no mind as they started their motorcycles.

‘Now that I think about it… how did they get here on these motorcycles? There is a trailer parked across the road, and that sound from earlier…’

Seeing familiar faces had relaxed Ferret enough to finally wonder about the logistics of their reunion.

But her question was soon answered.

“Hold on tight!”

The blue-haired werewolf began to drive, and immediately raised one leg.

And with his hands still on the handlebars, he kicked off the ground on one side with both his feet.

There was an explosive noise.

It was as though the ground itself had exploded beneath them. A moment later, the werewolf’s feet were again on either side of the cha.s.sis.

One thing, however, was different.

The motorcycle was high in the air.

It flew in an arc over the trailer, further and further into the sky.

Yet Ferret did not so much as scream.

She was not even shocked at this superhuman feat.

Because every thread of her emotion had been gathered into one ma.s.s, only to be undone when she was finally reunited with her foolish childhood friend.

<=>

“Hmph… They got away.”

The voice did not sound particularly disappointed about having lost the motorcycles.

Dorothy’s eyes, finally adjusting to the lights, caught sight of the man at the center of the commotion.

The man was pale and looked to be in his early thirties. He was wearing a black suit, and his black hair was slicked back and fixed in place.

Although there was a sharp glint in his eyes, there was no life in the rest of his body. He looked like a living corpse.

‘A vampire.’

Someone who had no idea what vampires were truly like would identify a man like him as a vampire.

Unfortunately, the man’s physique did not quite live up to the force behind his voice. Unless he was a comedian or an actor from a horror movie, the fact of his being a vampire was all that was clear about him.

“This is a rather distinguished guest we have here today. Should I introduce myself?”

“No need for that. I have no intention of revealing my name to a lowly wench like you.” The man said pompously, cutting the conversation short.

“Then I suppose I won’t be introducing myself.”

‘This man is probably a vampire.

‘But… if what I heard earlier is true, these people around him are Eaters.’

‘I might get killed if I’m not careful.’

As Dorothy silently let out a bitter chuckle, a laid-back voice joined the scene as though cutting through the tension in the air.

“Excuse me? What business do you have with my mansion?”

It was Romy Mars, the owner of the country house.

Next to her was Rude Gardastance. Gold and Silver, standing side by side.

“Oh? Miss Dorothy! You’re here! Thank goodness. We were so worried you’d get caught up on your way here.” Romy said cheerfully.

The vampire who seemed to be the leader of the Eaters cleared his throat.

“Well, if it isn’t the head of the former Mars Clan.”

“Would you happen to be a member of another Clan?”

“Yes. Of course, I have no intention of identifying myself to a plebeian former human being who only took control of the family after the rest of her Clan perished.”

The man was clearly looking down on Romy and the others. Gardastance, who had been smoking a cigar, cracked his neck and joined the conversation.

“I finally understand. The mastermind behind this incident is a Clan that plots to drive us to oblivion.”

It was a keyword that had been repeated many times over the course of the conference.

For vampires who valued blood ties above all else, the rise to power of the Organization—a nameless group of vampires—was nothing short of unwanted. This was quite natural, as Clans ostracized any vampires with no blood relation to its members.

The man who lived up to the rumors of the prideful Clans responded to Gardastance.

“‘Mastermind’? Not quite. I gave no orders regarding the village. Although it is true that the attack was carried out by Eaters under my influence…”

With an eerie smile on his pale face, the man continued plainly.

“…These Eaters make a living off of hunting vampires.”

The officers were not particularly shocked. After all, they had both heard the rumors and watched Doubs’ presentation earlier.

There were many humans who secretly made a career of hunting vampires. And it was not uncommon for such humans to be working for vampires. Many hired Hunters to expand their territory, out of a sense of justice or for the sole reason that they saw all other vampires as an eyesore in their plans to extend their influence into human society, as the Clans did.

But what surprised the officers most was what came afterwards.

“The ones who hired these Eaters… were the humans who live in the city at the foot of the mountain.”

“…”

“There must have been a rumor floating around about them. Even our exalted family had never heard of vampires with official records living alongside humans. Everything began when these foolish Eaters came crying to us about the commotion they ended up causing in the human world.”

“I think you mean that was when your luck finally ran out.” Gardastance replied, his pride a match for the pale man’s pomp.

“It all makes sense. As soon as you heard that the Eaters under your influence wiped out a village of vampires, you conspired to used that fact alongside the ma.s.s murderer incident from ten years ago to cast suspicion on us. I’m lost for words. I suppose we could flay you alive and sell your thick skin as a winter coat for a decent price. Personally, I would buy it for three dollars and toss it out before I tried it on.” Gardastance said with a puff of his cigar.

“Silence, you uncultured wretch!” The pale vampire cried. “You mere vampires should never have even existed in this world! And I cannot stand for your having more influence in the human world than us!”

Rude, however, remained completely calm as he fixed his cigar.

“Unbelievable. You’re beginning to sound like a textbook example of an extra from an action movie. If you wish to be treated like an exalted being, I suggest you try and refine yourself further. As a vampire, you don’t live up to an ounce of the dignity of Christopher Lee.”

“What are you babbling abour?!”

“Hm? You’ve never heard of Christopher Lee. Incredible. And you still have the nerve to call yourself a Clan member? You couldn’t possibly be the head of a Clan, but you’d best keep your ignorance a secret from the rest of your brethren! And to add, I sincerely hope that you have at least heard of the n.o.ble Sir Baskerville. If not… you may very well be cast out from your kin!”

“What…?! Urgh…!”

Dorothy felt a twinge of pity for the flabbergasted vampire.

Christopher Lee was the actor who played Count Dracula in a film, and Sir Baskerville was a character played by Christopher Lee in The Hound of the Baskervilles.

It was amusing to watch the man flail in confusion, Dorothy thought. Vampires from Clans tended to avoid contact with human culture, so such a reaction was natural.

‘Really… I think Gerhardt might be the only one who could rival Rude’s bluffs.’

As tension drained from the air, Dorothy lightly leapt back and stood behind Romy.

When she looked, she spotted other vampires from the mansion poking out their heads to take a look at the scene. About seven or eight Colors were also among them.

“Hah. Uncultured rabble, the lot of you.” Said the pale man, trying to hide his humiliation. “You’re all already within my grasp. Try and act nonchalant while you still can.”

“I could say the same for your att.i.tude as well.” Rude said, as calm as ever.

“Pfft… Ahahahaha! How can you be confident with such puny numbers?!” The pale man chortled, dignity draining from his tone.

“Our true enemy today is not you, or these Eaters you’ve brought along. It’s the humans.”

“…What?”

“Those simple humans who know absolutely nothing about the reality hidden underneath. How their fears give rise to a twisted sense of justice that justifies their actions. How something so trivial as fear allows them to scapegoat an innocent girl. How their good intention to protect the peace brings about a malicious end where they hunt down a girl who may or may not be a vampire. That is the enemy we must face. Not a petty buffoon like you.”

“…’Petty buffoon’…?”

The pale vampire’s voice dropped an octave as he ground his teeth—

And laughed.

The man’s lips cracked open to a humanly impossible degree as he laughed and laughed and laughed.

Like a cheater bursting into uncontrollable laughter as he emerged victorious with a hand he had set up earlier, but the man laughed with even greater intensity as the sounds filled the woods.

“HAH HAHAHA! Foolish dogs… bark while you still can!”

“From the sound of the barking, you’re the only dog I hear around here.” Gardastance pointed out, but the man ignored him.

“The Eaters you see here will be more than enough to destroy you all, but I’m a careful man! If you’re out to exterminate vermin, why not go all the way and pick them off one by one like you’re picking out lice?”

With that, the man raised his hands on high.

At that moment,

A starry sky began to spread all around them.

Lights. Lights. Lights.

Easily a hundred strong, the lights came on in the woods and surrounded the vast Mars country house with sheer numbers.

Each and every one was carrying a weapon of some sort. They were dressed more or less the same as the Eaters around the trailer. The lights were coming from the helmets they wore on their heads, each pointed at the officers by the manor gates.

“Ahahaha! What do you think? I understand that you rabble also keep Eaters for yourselves, but this is beyond anything you could ever dream of!” The man cried arrogantly. Gardastance sighed, astonished.

“It certainly is a large group you command. It will be all the more humiliating for you if your plan ends in failure.”

“Don’t take me for a fool. I’ve already dispersed your numbers, just as I planned. According to the reports, there is but a fraction of your full number at this mansion. And perhaps you’ve been given a report that claimed that there were twenty or thirty Eaters at most at my disposal?”

The man rambled at unnecessary lengths in a bid to lord over his foes and throw them into despair.

Allowing his twisted sadism to take over, the Clan member snapped his fingers.

“Heh heh heh…”

A familiar chuckle arose form among the officers.

With the almost malicious snicker, a man stepped forward from the Organization members.

A man wearing an iridescent suit and a distinctive hat.

“Doubs?” Dorothy asked suspiciously. But the Iridescent Extra ignored her and stepped over to the Clan member without a care.

Stopping several steps before the man, Doubs greeted him with an elegant bow.

“Well, if it isn’t Master LeVillio. Your concern for my well-being humbles me to no end, sir.”

Then, Doubs turned and bowed again.

“Heh heh heh… Don’t think too badly of me, everyone. Now I can finally be considered a part of a Clan, however lowly of a position it may be.”

“Hah! How does it feel, being betrayed by one of your own?”

Betrayal.

It was a fatal flaw in the Organization’s system, one now exposed for all to see.

Fully convinced that his attempt at forcing his foes to despair was successful, the master of the Eaters cried out jovially.

“Fooled by this man’s misinformation, you sent most of your officers to the east side of the forest! I did indeed send Eaters in that direction, but our true goal has always been a particular officer who should have remained here! Romy Mars!”

“What?! Me?!” Romy cried, her wings flapping in bewilderment.

“What are those wings on your back…? In any case! You are indeed a former cornerstone of a Clan! After all, over ten thousand vampires—weak and powerless as they are—flock to you and serve you as their leader!”

“Wha…?”

Romy was shocked. When in the world had she become a leader of any sort?

This was LeVillio’s only chance.

He should have realized a crucial fact.

That the officers standing in a row before him were not even close to the abyss of despair.

“No need to play dumb! After all, who else could head such a violent and chaoticrabble of n.o.bodies?!”

“Indeed, Miss Romy Mars! It’s incredibly inelegant of you to dubiously deny your involvement!” Doubs joined in.

Romy frowned in confusion.

“After everything you did, a.s.signing me the terribly troublesome role of a mole!”

“Oh!”

Romy finally remembered, clapping her hands together.

“Yes, you’re right! I am the leader! That’s right. I was in charge of your pay, weren’t I, Mr. Doubs?”

“…?”

LeVillio was confused by Romy’s reaction, but he quickly decided that she was a fool spouting nonsense.

“Hah. Caught in a trap set by your own mole? What goes around comes around! Hahahaha! Now, it’s time to wrap up this story. Doubs. Have you any final words for your former comrades?”

“I wonder…” The iridescent man fixed his hat and thought for a moment, then broke out into a snide grin.

“How about a bet, everyone? Will you be able to defeat all of these Eaters here—over two hundred of them? The stakes are, of course, your lives and mine!”

“Hahaha! You’re quite the cruel one yourself, Doubs. I’ll join in! If you can defeat every Eater I’ve brought with me, I’ll gladly surrender my life!”

The Eaters began to snicker alongside LeVillio.

They laughed and laughed and laughed.

Wearing smiles convinced of their superiority.

But,

“Then if you believe yourselves capable of deftly defeating these Eaters, please! Proudly put up your hands!”

At Doubs’ call, every officer raised their hands.

Including Doubs himself.

“…?”

“I would also like to bet on the Organization’s victory.”

“What is the meaning of this, Doubs Hewley.” LeVillio growled. Doubs chuckled.

“I only mean that, once this battle is over, I will hand my very life to you, Master LeVillio. A ritual of loyalty, if you will.”

Although it obviously sounded like Doubs was only flattering him, LeVillio was so convinced of his superiority that he did not doubt him.

“Of course! Now I understand. Hah! Ahahaha! Excellent! I shall personally pet.i.tion our family head and have you accepted as our jester!”

“A heavenly honor, sir.” Doubs bowed deeply.

No one could tell what kind of face he wore, shadowed under the brim of his hat.

Of course, with the exception of the Colors who had known him for many years.

“Now, let us begin! I have no time to listen to your final words! Try and fit them into your death throes!”

When LeVillio raised his hands, over one hundred Eaters at his beck and call erased the laughter from their faces. Unchaining the bloodl.u.s.t within, simultaneously they leapt off the ground-

“Castlevania.”

At that moment, the Eaters noticed something about Romy Mars, the girl whom they had been instructed to target first.

She was mumbling something—a word—and at that point, there was a sword in her hands.

They also noticed that the sky was glinting silver.

<=>

The east side of the forest, near the city.

The city was visible between the trees from the mountain slope.

But between the vantage point and the city was a barrier.

Eaters carrying lanterns.

They were Hunters who ate the flesh and blood of vampires, mixed the leftover ashes with blood to drink them, and broke anything that turned into ash and stuffed them into their mouths. Through this act of feasting, they would remain human yet gain the physical strengths of vampires.

Eaters were the natural enemy of many vampires, killers to be avoided at all costs.

Such beings had come together to form a group, and were now spread out through the forest between the mountain and the city.

From a distance, the lights flickered and swam as though trying to frighten the very mountains.

“…It looks like things are working out on that end as well.”

Several men, presumably the leaders of this group, were having a conversation beside a trailer parked to block off one of the mountain roads.

“Then it looks like we’ll have to begin our hunt.”

“What about the survivor and her guardian?”

“Kill the man. Make it look like a vampire did it. And we’re to take the girl back to the ‘fortress’. Alive, if possible.”

“Jesus Christ. Our boss’s got one h.e.l.l of a hobby.”

The men joked and laughed.

They smiled, convinced of their safety.

There was no fear in the air around them.

“Anyway. This is what those people from the city are going to agree to—the girl was a vampire, and the man was killed by her. Doesn’t matter to us either way, and whatever we do, it looks like they were convinced the girl was a vampire to begin with.”

“You know what? Humans are scarier than vampires.”

The men stood leaning against the trailer as they watched the lights climb higher up the mountain.

They were Eaters who had eaten vampires in the past.

Those around them were the same. Eaters who had long surpa.s.sed the realm of humanity. And since they did not have the kind of regulations a formal army did, they naturally allowed themselves to let down their guard.

“I sense more of them.”

Just as they also reached for their weapons,

The Eaters noticed something and looked up at the mountain once more.

“What…?”

They could sense vampires, but they could not sense the presence of other Eaters.

That was why they were carrying lanterns to identify their locations.

But the lights twinkling in the woods had grown fewer.

“…?”

On a closer look, they realized that they had not ‘grown’ fewer.

The lights were continuing to disappear from the mountain, one after another.

“Hey… what’s going on here?”

“Someone run into trouble?”

Although the Organization’s officers were the cream of the crop, they were still failures and stragglers who were cast out by the Clans.

At least, that was what their superiors had told them.

Then how were they to explain the darkness spreading before their eye