Ethan moved a little closer to Felix. Then he flipped to a new page in his sketchbook, tapped his pen on the blank sheet, and carefully considered his words.
"Felix, do you remember…?"
"I don't remember anything at all, so it's best if you don't ask,"
Ethan hadn't even finished his question when the kid cut him off, quickly refusing to answer.
"Felix, try to recall who attacked you on the night of August 31st - early morning of September 1st."
"Nooo!"
Felix remained stubborn. He turned his face away to avoid Ethan's intense gaze.
"I need details - gender, height, age, appearance, clothing, scent - try your best to remember."
"Nooo! Don't make me remember! It hurts my head!"
Felix suddenly clutched his head with his pale, delicate hands, crying out dramatically like an amnesiac male lead in a melodrama.
"You don't even have a brain, how can it hurt?"
Royce doubled over laughing at Felix's performance, while Autumn rushed to shield him from Ethan's interrogation.
"Ethan! That's enough! Don't scare Felix. He's dealing with PTSD!"
Taking the opportunity, Felix leaned his head onto Autumn's shoulder, clearly seeking comfort.
"There, there. Don't be scared, baby. I'm here for you."
Watching Autumn gently comfort Felix made Ethan's face flush with heat. Because of his own pushing, that brat now had a perfect excuse to cuddle up to Autumn.
Hmph, that kid Felix… Could it be that when he was "still alive" and attending Harmony High, he used this same tactic to win over all the girls?
And could Autumn actually have been one of his fangirls?
The atmosphere in the attic room now felt like a ticking time bomb. Ethan was so annoyed he didn't want to say another word. He needed to let out some of the emotions bottled up inside - right now.
He plopped down on the floor, flipped to another new page in his sketchbook, and began sketching quick lines across the paper. It was what he always did when he felt like he was about to lose it.
Under the frantic strokes of Ethan's pen, the face of the Vampire who had attacked Royce, Autumn, and him in the dark alley on the night of September 26th began to take shape - sharper and clearer with each stroke.
Minute by minute, the face that had haunted Ethan in his nightly nightmares began to take clearer shape. He only regretted not having a red pen to more accurately capture the eyes of that Vampire woman.
Ethan was so focused on sketching that he didn't even notice the Vampires gathering around him.
"I remember she had a high nose bridge and big eyes with thick, curled lashes. She was actually kinda pretty. You should add the veins bulging around her forehead and jawline too. That's right! Adjust her eyes so they look dazed, like she's sleepwalking."
Autumn offered more precise details about the Vampire's face.
"Bro, draw her hair too. It was long, messy, and hanging loose. Also, her claws were insanely long - like 30 centimeters or something. I've never seen a female Vampire in combat mode with claws that long. And for her arms, make sure you draw the veins really popping."
Royce chimed in, helping the sketch become more complete.
"I think you drew her chest too small. The left one should be a bit bigger than the right. Yeah, just like that - that's the perfect bust. And you gotta draw her blouse buttons straining too. Her body looked more developed than normal in combat mode, so the school uniform was definitely too tight."
Felix leaned in closer to Ethan, enthusiastically offering his own corrections.
"So that's why you didn't even try to resist - because you were too busy staring at her chest, huh, Felix?"
Ethan asked lightly. His anger toward Felix had lessened quite a bit after spending time drawing and revising the portrait.
"You have to see it from my point of view to understand! Given our height difference, that's all I could really observe!"
"All right. Since we're both guys, I'll let that slide. Now do you remember the exact time of the attack?"
"I think it was around 3 a.m. on September 1st. I was super sleepy by then. My daily schedule is more human-like than Vampire-like. I was walking and yawning when I suddenly caught a strange floral scent. At first, I thought it was Autumn coming to take over my shift. But it wasn't lily, and her body size was different. Then…"
Felix immediately clamped his hands over his mouth - but it was too late. He'd already spilled quite a few useful details.
"So you said you didn't remember anything?! So just because you were sleepy and distracted by a pair of boobs, you lost six billion VND and 92 years of debt for an artificial heart?! Are you stupid or what?!"
Autumn cried out in outrage. Felix had just lost a very solid source of support.
Meanwhile, Ethan grinned wickedly. He now fully understood the euphoric thrill that those schoolboy detectives in manga must feel when exposing the culprit.
"So much for memory loss! So much for PTSD!"
Royce threw his arm around Felix's neck and relentlessly bonked the kid on the head with his knuckles. It seemed the rumor that Royce bullied underclassmen - which Felix's female fan club had been spreading - was entirely true.
Felix cried out for help, but this time, Autumn didn't bother defending him.
"Alright! Then we can conclude the culprit in both attacks - on the morning of September 1st and the night of September 26th - is one and the same, based on the testimony of the surviving, fully conscious witnesses here."
Ethan declared with confidence.
In fact, one could've assumed from the start that the two attacks had the same culprit. But that wouldn't have sat well with Ethan's cautious, evidence-driven mindset. And it was thanks to his insistence on uncovering the truth that Autumn finally stopped shielding Felix.
Ethan placed his sketchbook on the floor. The bloodthirsty Vampire woman in the drawing stared back at him mockingly.
Though the portrait was fairly realistic, Ethan couldn't recall ever seeing anyone who looked like her. Her appearance was nothing like the current suspect Ethan had in mind.
"Is there any girl in our school who looks like this?"
Ethan asked the Vampires. But all of them shook their heads at once.
"No way, bro. When we Vampires enter Awakened combat mode, we can alter our appearance to optimize for battle. Most girls choose to become prettier and more… developed. Some even use that look to start an OnlyVamp account. Bro, wanna take a look…?"
"Enough! You're all being incredibly inappropriate! Talking complete nonsense since earlier. Did you all forget I'm a girl too?!"
Ethan almost found out what OnlyVamp was, but Autumn shoved Royce aside just as he was about to pull out his phone to show Ethan.
"Hmm. So it looks like Autumn's the only one with a confirmed alibi. Which means every other female Vampire in Harmony High is suspicious. Especially the ones we know best - Ruby, Anya, and Yara."
Ethan concluded, his eyes carefully scanning Autumn's face for any reaction when he mentioned Ruby's name.
Autumn didn't get along well with the Femme Fatales, but because Ruby was the younger sister of Celestia - Summer's girlfriend - Autumn always treated Ruby like family.
And until now, Autumn had always dodged Ethan's questions whenever he voiced suspicions about Ruby. But now, Ethan was going to make her face the truth.