Rika
What… am I doing?
Why am I panting?
I was fighting… but with whom?
My vision blurred, yet I could still sense their movements around me.
I shook my head and stepped back, barely dodging another strike from one of the masked men.
Again, I forced myself to focus.
Slowly, my sight cleared.
The stage was in complete ruin.
I looked down at my hands. They were covered in blood.
Not mine.
Twelve men surrounded me, all wearing the same mask.
One of them was holding Shinji in his arms.
I flinched at the sight of him. He looked… broken.
"How did this happen?" I muttered to myself, struggling to breathe through the exhaustion.
A soft laugh echoed across the hall.
"My, my… how pathetic. So many of you, yet you couldn't do anything?"
I lowered my gaze toward the front of the stage.
Mother stood there, twirling her wine as if nothing had happened. The guests remained frozen in place — composed, yet fear flickered in their eyes.
She stepped up onto the stage and gently patted my head.
"You did well, my dear."
Her voice was warm. Almost affectionate. She pressed a kiss to my forehead, as if praising a child.
"Mother… what happened here?" I whispered.
She cupped my face and lifted my chin with her finger.
"You did something good. Look around. Even the clowns respect you now. You're no longer Shinji's shadow."
"I… still don't understand."
A sudden pain split through my skull.
I gripped my head as fragments of memory crashed into me.
Shinji.
Brian.
Blood.
Torture.
"Brian."
My head snapped toward where he lay.
A hole gaped in his chest.
His heart was gone.
My breath faltered. My pulse roared in my ears.
Mother leaned close, her lips brushing my ear.
"Shinji did that. And you simply took revenge for your friend."
"…Shinji did this?"
My fingers tightened against my chest as I turned toward him.
The masked men immediately raised their weapons.
My eyes burned.
Mother kissed my head once more before stepping back.
"You will all pay for this," I said quietly.
One of the men drew his gun.
Before he could fire, I moved.
My blade sliced through his arm. I pulled him in front of me as bullets tore into his body instead.
"Don't let her get close to Master! Hurry — get him out of here!"
They dragged Shinji off the stage.
Mother snapped her fingers.
Our clan moved instantly.
Father and Marlon cut through Blood Luna's members with precise, merciless strikes. The guests shrank into the corners — terrified, yet disturbingly captivated by the chaos.
I chased after the men carrying Shinji.
Down from the stage.
Through the wreckage.
Toward the gate.
Five of them turned and aimed their guns at me while loading Shinji into the car.
At that moment, nothing else mattered.
All I wanted was to rip his heart out — the way Brian's had been torn away.
They prepared to fire.
Suddenly—
Arms wrapped around me from behind.
"Rika, stop!"
I froze.
I knew that voice.
When I turned, I saw the silent princess of the Crow.
Her face was hidden beneath a black veil, but I didn't need to see it.
Milla.
The Blood Luna members lowered their guns.
"Don't shoot! You'll hit the princess!"
"Start the engine! Take Master back to the manor!"
The car roared to life.
I tried to break free.
"Let me go! They're escaping!"
Milla tightened her grip and forced me down, pressing my shoulders to the ground.
"No. I won't let go. If I do, they'll shoot you, Rika…"
I looked up at her.
Behind the veil, her eyes were drowning in tears.
She had seen everything.
Her tears fell onto my cheeks.
"Rika… I'm begging you. Please. I can't lose you too."
Her hands trembled against my shoulders.
Her words pierced straight through my chest.
The car engine faded into the distance.
For the first time—
I let my target go.
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END OF FIRST VOLUME