Chapter 21: Chapter 21
Born to Blow
Still getting used to that ability. Hard to believe I gained it just from taking down Raynare's group. I can turn anything I touch into a potential bomb. The world really doesn't play fair, does it?
The forest clearing had become my second home over the past two weeks.
I pressed my palm against the rough bark of a dead tree about fifteen feet away, feeling the familiar tingle as explosive energy seeped into it. To anyone else, it would look perfectly normal, but to me, a faint golden glow outlined the marked area.
Three marks active now. Seven more before I hit the limit. I stepped back and raised my right hand. Let's see how much power I put into that one.
Snap.
The explosion was clean and controlled—just enough force to split the dead trunk down the middle without damaging the surrounding trees. The golden glow vanished as the mark detonated.
Good. Still have fine control over the energy output. Last thing I need is to accidentally level half the forest because I got distracted.
But my mind kept drifting back to breakfast. To Asia's face when she said she wanted to choose her own path.
She actually said yes. I was so worried about protecting her innocence that I almost made the same mistake everyone else did—deciding what was best for her without asking. The memory brought an unexpected warmth to my chest. But that look in her eyes when she talked about helping other people in similar situations... there's steel underneath all that kindness.
I moved to three more trees around the clearing, pressing my hand against each trunk in turn. Each touch left its invisible mark, the golden glow visible only to my eyes. Now I had four active marks total.
Now I just need to find others. Strong people who aren't already tied down to the devil factions or the church or whatever other power structures exist in this world. I frowned, considering the problem. Can't exactly put up recruitment posters around town. "Seeking supernaturally gifted individuals for morally ambiguous vigilante work. Must have own transportation."
The devils I knew—Rias, Sona, their peerages—they were devils first. They had their own hierarchies, their own loyalties to the Underworld. I needed people who were powerful but independent. People like...
Like who? I don't actually know anyone else. The realization was frustrating. Two weeks ago I didn't even know the supernatural world existed, and now I'm trying to build an organization within it. Maybe I should expand my search radius. Check the next town over, see if I can find other Sacred Gear users.
I raised my right hand again and snapped my fingers three times in quick succession. Snap. Snap. Snap. The three remaining marked trees exploded simultaneously, each with perfectly controlled force. The sound echoed through the forest like distant thunder.
Still only using about thirty percent power output. Could probably level this entire clearing if I really wanted to, but that would kind of defeat the purpose of having a training spot.
Problem is, Sacred Gear users don't exactly wear name tags. And it's not like I can walk up to random strangers and ask if they can shoot laser beams or turn into werewolves.
A sigh escaped me as I ran both hands through my hair. This was going to be harder than I thought. Building something from scratch always was.
"Akira."
What the— I spun around, instinctively reaching for my armor's activation before I recognized the voice. Koneko stood at the edge of the clearing, her white hair catching the dappled sunlight.
Koneko? What's she doing here? We'd been in the same room twice during my visits to the club, but we'd never actually spoken. She was always the quiet one, observing from the corners while everyone else talked.
"Koneko?" I let my hand drop. "What brings you out here?"
She approached with that silent, cat-like grace I'd noticed before, stopping just close enough that I had to look down to meet her golden eyes.
"Buchou wants you."
Buchou. Right, that's what she calls Rias. "She say why?"
"No."
Well, that's helpful. "Guess I'll find out when I get there."
Without another word, Koneko knelt and placed her palm flat on the ground. A magic circle bloomed beneath her feet—intricate blue patterns that seemed to pulse with their own inner light.
Really need to learn that trick. Getting tired of hiking up to Chysis's place every day. My legs are getting a workout I never asked for.
The teleportation was instantaneous. One moment we were surrounded by trees, the next I was standing in the familiar clubroom of the Occult Research Club. The transition always left me slightly disoriented—like stepping off a merry-go-round.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the tall windows, and Rias looked up from a pile of paperwork with a smile that seemed a little forced around the edges.
She looks stressed. Not a good sign.
"Akira, thanks for coming." She gestured to the chair across from her desk. "I need you to write a detailed report about last night."
I dropped into the chair with a frown. "Report?"
"Everything that happened. The park, tracking them to the church, the fight itself. Sona needs to submit it to her sister for the official record."
Ah. Politics. Should have seen this coming. "Where's Sona? This seems like her kind of thing."
Rias's smile turned genuinely amused. "She and I had our monthly rating game practice. Loser handles the paperwork and misses the familiar trip."
Monthly rating game practice? And here I thought they were just friends. "Familiar trip?"
"My peerage's getting their familiars today. It's... important." She stood, gathering files from her desk. "But someone needs to stay behind and make sure this gets done properly."
Familiars. Right, magical creatures that serve as companions. I remember reading about those. I looked at the stack of blank papers she slid toward me and sighed. "This is going to take forever."
Twenty-one deaths condensed into bureaucratic language that won't make the higher-ups panic. Joy.
"Take your time. We'll be back in no time"
As Rias and her peerage prepared to leave, I noticed Koneko hadn't moved from her spot by the window. She was staring out at the school grounds with an expression I couldn't read.
That's odd. Isn't getting a familiar supposed to be a big deal for devils?
"Koneko?" Rias paused by the door, concern creeping into her voice. "You coming?"
"...No."
No? Just like that?
"Everything okay? You've been down lately" Rias asked in concern.
Koneko finally turned from the window, but something in her posture seemed... off. "Just don't feel like it today."
There's definitely more to this, I thought, watching the subtle tension in the petite devil's shoulders. But knowing Koneko, she's not going to elaborate unless someone pries it out of her.
Rias studied her Rook for a moment, clearly wanting to push but ultimately deciding against it. "Alright. But if you need anything—"
"I'll be fine."
After they left through a teleportation circle, the clubroom felt strangely empty. I picked up the pen and got to work, trying to put twenty-one deaths into language that wouldn't raise too many eyebrows in whatever supernatural bureaucracy existed in the Underworld.
"Hostile entities engaged in unprovoked assault." Yeah, that sounds better than "I hunted them down and killed them all."
An hour later, footsteps echoed from the hallway. Sona appeared in the doorway, her usually perfect composure slightly ruffled. There was tension in her shoulders that suggested today hadn't gone her way.
Let me guess—she lost.
"Lost the match?" I asked, holding out the completed report.
"Rias got lucky with her last piece placement." Sona accepted the papers, scanning them quickly. Her expression softened as she read. "This is very thorough, thank you."
Lucky, right. From what I've seen, Rias doesn't rely much on luck. "Just the facts. Though I'm guessing the political fallout's going to be messier than the actual fight."
"Almost certainly. The Underworld takes territorial violations seriously, even posthumously." She tucked the report into her briefcase with practiced efficiency. "Try to avoid starting any more supernatural incidents for a few weeks?"
If only it were that simple. "Can't promise anything."
A ghost of a smile crossed her lips before she composed herself again. After Sona and her people left, I gathered my things and headed out. The sun was getting lower, painting everything in shades of gold and amber.
Lost most of my training time to paperwork. Bureaucracy follows you everywhere, even into the supernatural world.
I was halfway to the forest when I heard them—soft footsteps matching my pace about twenty feet behind. Not hostile, just... following. The sound was almost imperceptible, but after last night, my senses felt sharper than before.
Someone's tailing me. But who? I kept walking until I reached the tree line, then stopped and turned around. Might as well find out what this is about.
"You planning to follow me all the way to my training spot, or are you going to tell me what this is about?"
For a moment, nothing. Then Koneko stepped out from behind a tree, her golden eyes meeting mine directly. For the first time since I'd known her, her usual stoic mask had cracks in it.
So it was her. But why?
"You're different" she said quietly.
Different how? "Different how?"
She took a step closer, tilting her head slightly like she was trying to figure out a puzzle. "Your scent. It changed after last night"
I ain't smelling bad, am I?
She paused, searching for the word but couldn't find the word to describe it.
"That's why you didn't go with Rias today?"
Another long pause. When she spoke again, her voice was barely above a whisper.
"I wanted to ask something"
Understand what? My curiosity was definitely piqued now. Koneko wasn't the type to seek people out for casual conversation.
For the first time since I'd met her, Koneko's expression showed something other than neutral calm. What I saw underneath was complicated—curiosity mixed with something that looked almost like longing.
...
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Chapter 22: Chapter 22
The silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken questions.
Koneko's golden eyes studied my face with an intensity that made me feel like she was trying to read my soul. There was something in her expression—a mixture of fear and recognition that I couldn't quite place.
She's scared of something. But what? And why does she keep looking at me like she's seen this before?
"You think I'm a yokai," I said finally, more statement than question.
Her eyes widened slightly—the most emotion I'd ever seen from her. "When you transformed in the clubroom that first time... the way your scent changed, the predatory aura... it was familiar."
She didn't elaborate, but I could see there was pain behind those words. Something in her past that she wasn't ready to share with someone she'd barely talked to.
Someone hurt her. Someone with power like mine, maybe.
"You're worried I'm going to lose control," I said quietly.
Koneko nodded slowly.
"Have you been feeling... different lately?" she asked.
I considered the question seriously. "Yeah. I have been feeling different."
The way her shoulders tensed... she's expecting the worst. But why?
"But probably not the way you're thinking," I continued. "I awakened my Sacred Gear properly recently. That's probably what you're picking up on."
"Awakened?"
I reached into my jacket and withdrew Incursio in its base form—a simple but elegantly crafted sword. The blade caught the dying sunlight, casting subtle reflections across the forest floor. "This is probably why I'm smelling different to you."
Koneko stared at the weapon with undisguised curiosity, her earlier wariness shifting to something more like professional interest.
Good. Maybe if I show her what this really is, she'll understand I'm not some rampaging monster.
I smiled, feeling some of the tension ease. "Want to see what all the fuss is about?"
Without waiting for an answer, I activated the transformation. "Incursio."
The familiar sensation of the armor flowing over my body never got old. Living bio-organic metal spread across my skin, forming the sleek, predatory design that had become my second skin. The sword in my hand shifted and extended, becoming the iconic spear. Power thrummed through every fiber of my being as Incursio's consciousness merged with mine, and I could feel my physical capabilities multiply exponentially.
The armor's getting stronger. Each battle, each challenge—it adapts and evolves. Like it did, with Raynare.
Koneko's eyes went wide, her mouth falling open slightly. She took an unconscious step back, but I noticed she didn't run. That was progress.
"So," I said, my voice slightly distorted by the armor's organic faceplate, "am I smelling more badass now?"
"...No."
Ouch. I felt my shoulders slump despite the armor's intimidating appearance. "Really? Nothing? Not even a little bit cool?"
She shook her head with typical Koneko bluntness.
I couldn't help but chuckle at her completely deadpan response. "Well, whether I smell good or different or whatever, I'm still me, Koneko. This armor doesn't change who I am inside." I gestured to the armor encasing my body. "If you think this transformation has turned me into some sort of monster, you're wrong. I've still got my sanity, still got my moral compass. The only thing that's changed is that I'm better equipped to protect people."
Koneko's expression had shifted from fear to something more complex—surprise mixed with what might have been cautious hope. She was studying me with those sharp golden eyes, looking for any sign that I was lying or losing control.
She needs to see that the power doesn't control me.
I dismissed the armor with a thought, feeling Incursio's consciousness retreat as it flowed back into the sword before the weapon itself disappeared. The sudden return to normal human limitations was always slightly disorienting.
But I'd adapt.
"See? Still me." I ran a hand through my hair, which was probably sticking up at odd angles. "Now, how about we grab some dinner? All this serious talk has made me hungry."
Before she could refuse—and knowing Koneko, she probably would—I held up a hand. "Hold on, let me cook. It'll take only a few minutes."
I moved to the edge of the clearing where I'd left my fishing gear from this morning. The small cooler contained three decent-sized trout I'd caught just after dawn, packed in ice and perfectly fresh. Fishing had become one of my favorite ways to clear my head, and the forest stream was surprisingly well-stocked.
Nothing like fresh fish cooked over an open fire. Maybe sharing a meal will help her see I'm not as crazy as she thinks I have become.
"You fish?" Koneko asked, settling onto a fallen log as she watched me pull out the cleaned trout.
"Started a couple weeks ago. Turns out it's relaxing." I began arranging the fish on improvised skewers.
That got the tiniest hint of what might have been amusement. Progress.
Within minutes, I had a small fire crackling and the fish positioned over the flames. The smell of cooking trout began to fill the air, mixing with the earthy scents of the forest. Koneko watched me work with that same intense observation she applied to everything, but the wariness from earlier had faded.
"Your transformation," she said suddenly. "It felt weird"
I glanced up from tending the fire. "Because it is, in a way. Incursio isn't just armor—it's a living weapon that bonds with its user. It learns, adapts, gets stronger through combat and challenge."
"It sounds dangerous"
"Everything worthwhile is dangerous." I flipped the fish carefully. "The question is whether you can control it or it controls you."
She was quiet for a moment, processing that. "And you think you can?"
"I know I can. But..." I met her eyes across the fire. "I also know I can't do everything alone. The armor gets stronger through experience, but that means I need worthy opponents to test myself against. People who can push me to my limits without me being killed by them"
"You want to fight me?" Koneko said. It wasn't a question.
Apparently that's where I was going with it. "Sure, A spar would be nice" I pulled the fish off the fire and began dividing them onto makeshift plates made from large leaves.
I handed her one of the portions, our fingers brushing briefly as she took it. Her grip was deceptively strong.
"What's in it for me?" she asked, taking a small bite of the perfectly cooked trout.
Good question.
"A fish?" I coughed when she gave me deadpan stare, as I continued "When's the last time you fought someone who could actually take a hit?"
She paused mid-chew, considering that. "...It's been a while."
"I thought so." I settled onto my own improvised seat. "What do you say? After we eat?"
Koneko finished her portion in thoughtful silence before nodding once. "Okay."
. . .
Twenty minutes later, I stood in the center of the clearing wearing Incursio's full battle form. The armor had responded to my anticipation of combat, optimizing itself for maximum flexibility and protection. Through the enhanced senses the armor provided, I could hear Koneko's heartbeat, steady and controlled about fifteen feet away.
She's not nervous. That's either very good or very bad for me.
"Rules?" I asked, spinning the spear lazily in one hand.
"Don't die," Koneko replied, stretching her arms above her head with feline grace.
Simple. I like it.
"Fair enough. Ready when you are."
The attack came without warning. One moment Koneko was standing still, the next she was a blur of motion crossing the distance between us in a heartbeat. Her fist, wreathed in what looked like blurred saucer, aimed straight for my solar plexus.
Fast! I barely got my spear up in time to deflect the blow, the impact sending vibrations up my arms despite Incursio's enhancement. Really fast.
I spun away from her follow-up kick, using the spear's length to keep distance between us. But Koneko was relentless, her small frame moving with inhuman speed and precision. Every strike was perfectly placed, designed to exploit gaps in my defense.
She's holding back. I can tell. But even at this level...
"Come on," I called out, parrying a series of rapid punches. "I can tell you're not giving me everything."
Koneko nodded, and suddenly her next punch had enough force behind it to crater the ground where I'd been standing a split second before.
There we go.
The spar intensified. Koneko's attacks became a constant barrage of strikes that would have pulverized a normal human, but Incursio adapted with each exchange. I could feel the armor learning, adjusting its responses to account for her speed and fighting style.
This is what I needed. A real challenge.
But I wasn't just taking hits. The spear gave me reach advantage, and Incursio's enhanced reflexes let me capitalize on the brief openings in Koneko's assault. I managed to tag her shoulder with the spear's blunt end, earning an approving nod from the petite devil before she retaliated with a combination that left me staggering.
"Your armor," she said during a brief pause as we circled each other. "It's tough."
"That's the idea. Every fight makes it stronger, more adaptive." A thought occurred to me. "What about you? You're not fighting like this is your first time in a real battle."
"It's not."
Of course not. She probably start combat training young.
We clashed again, and this time I could feel Incursio responding even faster to Koneko's attacks. The armor was cataloging her movements, building predictive models of her combat patterns. But Koneko seemed to sense this too, because her fighting style began to shift mid-combat.
She's adapting to my adaptation. This is incredible.
The spear became a blur as I pressed my own offensive, using Incursio's enhanced strength to drive powerful thrusts and sweeping arcs. But Koneko flowed around my attacks like water, her nekomata heritage showing in the fluid grace of her movements.
She's cute when she fights. Deadly, but cute.
"You're strong," she said, catching the spear's shaft and using it to pull herself closer for a devastating uppercut that I managed to lean away from with ease now.
"So are you," I replied, spinning the weapon to break her grip and creating space. "Stronger than I expected."
We had been going for what felt like hours when Koneko finally called for a pause. Both of us were breathing hard, sweat glistening on her skin while my armor vented excess heat through its bio-vents.
She settled onto the grass with her back against a tree.
I dismissed Incursio and dropped down beside her, feeling the familiar exhaustion that came after a long session with the armor. "I don't think I've ever fought someone who could keep up that pace for so long."
"The armor really does get stronger," Koneko observed. "I could feel it, adapting to my techniques as we fought."
"Every battle, every challenge—it learns and evolves. But it needs worthy opponents to reach its full potential." I looked at her seriously. "Like you."
She met my gaze with those golden eyes, and I could see something had shifted in how she viewed me. The wariness was gone, replaced by what might have been respect.
Or maybe just exhaustion. Hard to tell with Koneko.
"We should do this again," she said quietly.
"I was hoping you'd say that." I leaned back against my own tree, feeling the pleasant burn of muscles pushed to their limit. "Same time tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow I have club duties."
Right. devil stuff. "Then when?"
Koneko was quiet for a moment, staring up at the stars that were becoming visible through the forest canopy. "Weekends. And maybe some evenings, if you don't mind training later."
"I don't mind."
As the night settled around us, I found myself thinking about how much had changed in just a few hours. I'd started the day worried about finding recruits for my organization, and ended it with what felt like the beginning of a genuine friendship, with another devil.
...
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Chapter 23: Chapter 23
I stared at the blue screen floating in front of me, the text glowing softly in the afternoon sun. Another gacha ticket—Rank 2 this time for having spar with Koneko. The system had been generous lately, though I still wasn't entirely sure what triggered these rewards. But it was welcomed.
Ticket of Good Luck: Allows user to gain best outcome from any attempted task. Tear this ticket before attempting said task.
I read the description twice, turning the ethereal ticket over in my hands. The material felt strange—not quite solid, but not entirely incorporeal either. Like touching concentrated possibility.
"That's either incredibly useful or completely useless depending on the situation," I muttered, carefully storing it in my inventory. Best outcome could mean a lot of things. Better keep this for when I really need it.
"Akira!" Chysis's voice drifted down from her mansion, interrupting my contemplation. "Could you come up here for a moment?"
I looked up at the third-floor window where her silhouette was visible against the afternoon light. She was waving at me with what looked like urgency.
Wonder what she's worked herself into a frenzy about this time.
The climb up the hill to her mansion was as tedious as always. By the time I reached her study, I was slightly winded and definitely questioning why someone would build a house this high up.
"What's got you so excited that you're shouting from windows?" I asked, pushing open the door to her study.
The sight that greeted me made me pause. Papers were scattered everywhere—covering her desk, the floor, even pinned to the walls. Diagrams, calculations, and what looked like crystalline structures drawn in meticulous detail covered every available surface.
"What's with all this?" I gestured at the chaos.
Chysis looked up from where she was hunched over her desk, her eyes bright with the kind of manic energy that came from not sleeping for at least twenty-four hours. Her usually perfect hair was disheveled, and there were ink stains on her fingers.
"I've done it," she said, holding up a crystal that seemed to pulse with internal light. "I've successfully developed a new type of enhancement crystal."
I stepped closer, careful not to step on any of the papers littering the floor. The crystal was about the size of a marble, but it seemed to contain swirling patterns of energy that hurt to look at directly.
"What's it supposed to do?"
"Mana enhancement," she said proudly. "It can boost whatever magical attempt the user makes. Amplify the power output significantly."
That sounds both incredible and terrifying. "How were you able to forge something like this?" I picked up one of the diagrams, trying to make sense of the complex geometric patterns. "I mean, you gave me that stamina crystal before, but this seems like a completely different level."
Chysis's expression grew more subdued. She sat down heavily in her chair, suddenly looking exhausted.
"I had great interest in finding a cure for the sleep disease that devils are still suffering from to this date," she said quietly. "I thought if I could understand the fundamental nature of magical energy, maybe I could find a way to counteract whatever's causing the affliction."
Sleep disease? That sounds serious. "Any luck?"
She shook her head. "Nothing. Complete defeat on that front. But in my failure, I found myself fascinated by the crystal crafting techniques I learned from my ancestor's journals. These enhancement crystals are apparently an old art that was mostly forgotten."
So she turned research failure into a new skill. That's... actually pretty impressive.
"Would you like to try it?" she asked, holding out the crystal.
I hesitated. "I don't know magic. Like, at all. If I had to learn any magic, it would probably be teleportation so I don't have to climb this damn hill every day."
That got a laugh out of her—the first genuine smile I'd seen since entering the room. "Teleportation, huh? That's actually not a bad choice for a first spell."
Before I could ask what she meant, Chysis stood up and walked over to me. Without warning, she pressed her finger against my forehead.
Suddenly, my head was flooded with information. Mathematical formulas, spatial calculations, energy manipulation techniques—all of it rushing into my consciousness at once. I staggered backward, clutching my head as the knowledge settled into place.
"What the hell was that?" I gasped.
"Basic teleportation theory and practice," she said matter-of-factly. "Should be enough to get you started. Now here—" She pressed the crystal into my palm. "Try it out."
This feels like a terrible idea. But the knowledge was there now, sitting in my mind like it had always belonged. I could feel the spell structure, understand the energy requirements, visualize the spatial displacement needed.
Just a short hop. Maybe to the other side of the room.
I activated the crystal, feeling its power merge with my own energy reserves. The mana enhancement hit me like a lightning bolt, amplifying everything I was putting into the spell. What should have been a gentle spatial displacement became a roaring torrent of magical energy.
"Wait, that's too much—" Chysis started to say.
Too late. The teleportation circle beneath my feet blazed with enough light to blind us both. I felt reality twist around me, space folding in ways that made my stomach lurch violently.
Then everything went black.
. . .
I woke up to the sound of creaking wood and the rhythmic clip-clop of horse hooves. My head was pounding, and there was a metallic taste in my mouth that suggested I'd hit something hard when I landed.
Where the hell am I?
I opened my eyes to find myself staring at rusted iron bars. A cage. I was in a cage that was apparently attached to some kind of horse-drawn carriage, judging by the swaying motion and the sound.
This is not good.
As my vision cleared, I noticed I wasn't alone. There were at least six other people crammed into the cage with me—all human, all looking absolutely terrified. They were huddled together as far from the bars as possible, and most of them looked like they'd been crying recently.
What the hell did I teleport into?
"Hey," I whispered to the man closest to me, a middle-aged guy with torn clothes and wild eyes. "What's going on here? Where are we?"
He stared at me like I'd asked him to explain quantum physics. "You... you don't know?" His voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper.
"I just woke up. Fill me in."
The man's face went pale. "The ones taking us... they're not human. They're monsters."
Before I could ask what he meant, there was a commotion from outside the cage. One of the other prisoners—a younger man who looked like he was barely out of his teens—started banging on the bars.
"Please!" he shouted. "Where are you taking us? I have a family—"
A hand shot through the bars faster than I could track, fingers ending in razor-sharp claws that definitely weren't human. The claws raked across the young man's throat, cutting off his pleas permanently. Blood sprayed across the cage as he collapsed.
But what made my blood run cold wasn't the casual brutality—it was what happened next. The owner of that clawed hand brought his fingers to his mouth and slowly licked the blood clean. In the dim light filtering through the cage, I caught a glimpse of eyes that glowed an unnatural red.
Oh, shit.
"How did I end up in here?" I asked the terrified man beside me, keeping my voice low.
"You were unconscious on the path," he whispered back. "One of them just tossed you in with the rest of us when they found you."
Glowing red eyes, superhuman speed, drinking blood... I connected the dots quickly. Vampires. I teleported myself into the middle of vampire territory.
My hand instinctively moved toward where Incursio would normally be, but I stopped myself. Through gaps in the cage covering, I could see other carriages both ahead and behind us—at least a dozen, all filled with the same cargo we represented. The number of captors had to be substantial.
This isn't a small operation. Acting rashly here could get everyone killed.
More importantly, I realized I knew absolutely nothing about vampires beyond old movies and folklore. Were they actually undead? How strong were they compared to devils? What were their weaknesses? Did any of the traditional methods actually work?
I need information before I make any moves. Figure out who's running this operation and what they're planning.
The carriage lurched as we began moving downhill, and through the gaps in our covering, I could see lights ahead. A lot of lights.
"We're almost there," the man beside me whimpered.
As we rolled into what looked like a town, I got my first clear look at our destination. The streets were filled with figures that matched the description the terrified man had given me—pale, red-eyed beings moving with inhuman grace. They watched our convoy pass with expressions of anticipation that made my skin crawl.
Definitely vampires. And this is definitely their town.
The carriages rolled to a stop in what looked like a town square. Around us, dozens of vampires had gathered, their glowing eyes fixed on the human cargo with unmistakable hunger.
...
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Chapter 24: Chapter 24
The carriages came to a final stop in front of what could only be described as a mansion—if mansions were designed by someone with a fetish for gothic horror and an unlimited budget. The building loomed over the town square like a malevolent shadow, its black stone walls adorned with gargoyles that looked far too lifelike for comfort.
This has to be where the boss lives.
I pressed myself against the bars, trying to get a better view of our surroundings. The vampire crowd had grown larger, easily over fifty of them now surrounding the convoy. Their red eyes gleamed in the torchlight, and the hunger in their expressions was unmistakable.
Okay, think. I've got my devil fruit powers, water manipulation, the rock smashing fist technique, Born to Blow, and Incursio. That should be enough to handle a few dozen vampires, right?
The massive doors of the mansion swung open with a groan that echoed across the square. A figure emerged that made every vampire in the vicinity immediately bow their heads in what was clearly reverence mixed with fear.
He was tall, probably around six and a half feet, with pale skin that seemed to absorb the torchlight rather than reflect it. His hair was long and black, flowing past his shoulders like liquid shadow. But it was his eyes that made my blood run cold—they weren't just red, they were like looking into pools of fresh blood that seemed to swirl and move of their own accord.
That's definitely the head vampire.
"Welcome back, my children," he said, his voice carrying across the square with unnatural clarity. Despite the distance, I could hear every word as if he were speaking directly into my ear. "I trust the harvest was... bountiful?"
One of the vampire guards from our carriage stepped forward and bowed deeply. "Lord Marius Tepes, we have brought forty-three fresh specimens as requested."
Marius Tepes. So he's got delusions of grandeur about being related to Vlad.
Marius smiled, revealing fangs that were longer and more prominent than those of his subordinates. "Excellent. Have them processed and prepared. I want the strongest ones kept fresh for the ceremony tomorrow night."
Ceremony? That doesn't sound good.
"What about the usual stock, my lord?" another vampire asked.
"Ah yes, bring out some of the reserves. My army grows restless, and we must keep them well-fed if they are to serve properly."
Army? How many vampires are we talking about here?
My question was answered moments later as more vampires began emerging from various buildings around the square. Not dozens—hundreds. They moved in organized formations, clearly disciplined and battle-ready. This wasn't just a nest of bloodsuckers; this was a military operation.
Holy shit. There have to be at least three hundred of them.
But what made my stomach drop wasn't the sheer number of vampires. It was what came next.
Another set of doors opened on the side of the mansion, and vampires began herding out groups of humans. But these weren't prisoners like us—these were the broken ones. Men, women, and children who moved with the vacant stares of people who had given up all hope. Their arms and necks were covered in bite marks, some fresh, some old and scarred over.
They're keeping them as livestock.
I watched in growing horror as the vampires began to feed. Not killing, just taking enough blood to sustain themselves while keeping their human cattle alive for the next meal. The victims didn't even resist; they just stood there with dead eyes as their life force was slowly drained.
There have to be over a hundred of them. Men, women... Christ, there are kids in there.
The tactical part of my brain was still trying to work out a strategy. Hit-and-run tactics using Incursio's invisibility. Pick off the leadership first. Use Born to Blow to create chaos and confusion. Water manipulation to control the battlefield.
But there are too many. Even if I could take out Marius and his lieutenants, the sheer numbers...
That's when I saw her.
A little girl, couldn't have been more than eight years old, standing in the group of human cattle. A vampire approached her, grabbed her small arm, and sank his fangs into her wrist. She didn't even flinch. Just stared ahead with those same dead eyes as the monster fed from her.
She's the same age my sister would have been.
Something snapped inside me.
All thoughts of strategy, of careful planning, of tactical superiority—all of it burned away in an instant. What replaced it was pure, undiluted rage that felt like molten iron in my veins.
Fuck tactics. Fuck being smart about this. These monsters are going to die. All of them.
"Incursio," I whispered.
The bio-armor flowed over my body like liquid mercury, but something was different this time. The rage burning in my chest seemed to feed into the Teigu, making the transformation more intense than I'd ever experienced. The familiar weight of the spear materialized in my hands as the armor's consciousness merged with mine, but there was an edge to it now, a hunger that matched my own fury.
Time to send these bloodsuckers back to hell.
I activated the invisibility function and became a ghost. The lock on our cage was pathetic—a simple metal mechanism that shattered like glass under the enhanced strength of my armored fist. The other prisoners looked around in confusion as their cage door swung open, but I was already moving.
The first vampire never saw me coming. My spear punched through his chest from behind, the bio-metal blade piercing his heart and emerging from his ribcage in a spray of black blood. He had just enough time to look down in shock before I twisted the weapon and ripped it free.
One down. Two hundred and ninety-nine to go.
The vampire standing next to him started to turn, probably wondering why his companion had suddenly started screaming. I didn't give him the chance to figure it out. My fist, enhanced by the Water Stream Rock Smashing technique, caved in the left side of his skull. Black blood and brain matter splattered across the cobblestones.
Two down.
But I wasn't done with just killing them. These monsters had been feeding off innocent people, treating them like cattle. They deserved worse than a quick death.
I pressed my hand against the mansion wall and activated Born to Blow, marking it with explosive energy. The golden light was invisible to everyone but me, but I could see it pulsing like a heartbeat. Nine more marks to use.
Let's see how they like having their home blown apart.
A vampire near the human cattle looked in my direction, his enhanced senses probably picking up the scent of his comrades' blood. I dropped the invisibility just long enough for him to see me, to see the death waiting for him in the form of bio-organic armor and a spear dripping with vampire blood.
The look of terror on his face was beautiful.
I reactivated the invisibility and moved like a shadow of death through their ranks. The spear became an extension of my rage, piercing hearts, severing heads, opening throats. Each kill fed something primal in both me and Incursio, and I could feel the Teigu responding, becoming more efficient, more deadly.
They can't see me, can't predict where I'll strike next. I'm their worst nightmare made manifest.
But stealth was only part of my arsenal. When a group of vampires clustered together near one of the carriages, I let them see me. Their red eyes widened as I raised my right hand.
Let's see how tough vampires really are.
I snapped my fingers.
The explosion tore through them like a divine judgment, their bodies disintegrating in the blast. The shockwave shattered windows throughout the square and sent other vampires flying. But I wasn't done—I had eight more marks to place, eight more explosive surprises waiting to be triggered.
"WHAT IS THIS?!" Marius Tepes's voice boomed across the square. "WHO DARES ATTACK MY DOMAIN?!"
I turned to face him, dropping my invisibility completely. Let him see what was coming for him. Let him see the instrument of his destruction.
"Your worst fucking nightmare," I snarled, my voice distorted by the armor's faceplate.
Marius's eyes narrowed as he took in my appearance. "A Sacred Gear user. How... interesting. I haven't tasted the blood of one of your kind in decades."
Taste this, you arrogant piece of shit.
Water began rising from the fountain in the center of the square, responding to my will. I shaped it into dozens of razor-sharp tendrils and sent them lashing out at every vampire within fifty feet. The enhanced water cut through undead flesh like it was paper, severing limbs and opening arteries.
But Marius was faster than his subordinates. He moved like liquid shadow, dodging my water attacks with inhuman grace. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of me, his clawed hand aiming for my throat.
The spear intercepted his strike, bio-metal meeting vampire claw with a shower of sparks. He was strong—stronger than any opponent I'd faced so far. But I was beyond caring about strength differences.
I'm going to tear you apart.
I pivoted and drove my knee toward his ribs, but he twisted away and countered with a backhand that would have taken my head off if not for Incursio's protection. The impact still sent me skidding backward across the cobblestones.
"Impressive," Marius said, flexing his claws. "But you're outnumbered three hundred to one. Even with that armor, you cannot possibly—"
I cut him off by marking the ground beneath his feet and snapping my fingers.
The explosion launched him twenty feet into the air, his perfect composure finally cracking as he crashed into the side of his own mansion. Black blood leaked from multiple wounds as he struggled to his feet.
Not so talkative now, are you?
But even as I focused on Marius, the other vampires were regrouping. They moved to surround me, their red eyes gleaming with predatory hunger. Some had weapons now—swords, axes, even a few with what looked like primitive firearms.
Good. Let them all come at once.
I activated my devil fruit powers, feeling the transformation ripple through my body beneath the armor. My physical capabilities multiplied as the leopard characteristics merged with Incursio's enhancement. Speed, strength, reflexes—all of it amplified beyond what should have been possible.
The first wave of vampires reached me as a coordinated assault. But coordination meant nothing when your opponent moved faster than your eyes could track. I became a whirlwind of death, the spear cutting through their ranks like a scythe through wheat. Bodies fell around me, painting the square black with vampire blood.
More. There are still more of them.
I marked every surface I could reach—walls, fountains, even some of the vampires themselves. Golden lights invisible to everyone but me began dotting the battlefield like a constellation of destruction waiting to be born.
That's when I noticed something changing in Incursio itself.
The bio-armor was evolving in real-time, responding to the intensity of the battle and the depths of my rage. The familiar design was shifting, becoming more angular, more predatory. Additional bio-metal was growing along my arms and legs, forming blade-like projections that turned my entire body into a weapon.
What's happening?
"Evolution," came Incursio's voice in my mind, clearer than it had ever been before. "Battle forges us stronger. Your fury feeds my growth. We are becoming something new."
The armor's faceplate was changing too, the organic design becoming more skull-like, more terrifying. But with the evolution came power—so much power that I could feel it threatening to overwhelm my senses.
Let's see what this new form can do.
Marius had recovered from the explosion and was charging at me again, moving faster than before. But in my evolved state, he looked like he was moving through molasses. I sidestepped his desperate lunge and drove my spear through his back, the bio-metal blade emerging from his chest in a spray of black blood.
"Impossible," he gasped, looking down at the weapon protruding from his torso. "I am Marius Tepes, Lord of the Night. I cannot be defeated by a mere—"
I twisted the spear and ripped it upward, splitting his ribcage open like a wishbone. His words dissolved into a gurgling scream as his own blood filled his lungs.
"You're nothing," I said quietly, watching the light fade from his ancient eyes. "Just another monster that needed to be put down."
With their lord dead, the remaining vampires began to panic. Some tried to flee, others attacked with the desperation of cornered animals. It didn't matter. I moved through them like an avatar of destruction, my evolved armor making each kill easier than the last.
When the last vampire fell, I stood alone in a square painted black with undead blood. The human prisoners—both the fresh captives and the broken cattle—stared at me with expressions ranging from awe to terror.
...
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Chapter 25: Chapter 25
The silence that followed the massacre was deafening. For a moment, the only sound in the blood-soaked square was the distant crackling of fires I had started with my explosions. Then, like a dam bursting, chaos erupted.
The humans—both the fresh prisoners and the broken cattle—began screaming and running in every direction. Some fled toward the outskirts of town, others dove into buildings or alleyways. I couldn't blame them. Standing there in my evolved Incursio form, drenched in vampire blood with bio-metal blades extending from my armor like organic weapons, I probably looked more like a demon than a savior.
But it wasn't just the humans who were fleeing.
The few vampires who had survived my rampage—maybe a dozen at most—were also running for their lives. They moved with the desperate speed of creatures who had just witnessed their supposedly invincible lord torn apart like tissue paper. Some transformed into bats, others simply ran on foot, but all of them were getting as far away from me as possible.
Good. Let them spread the word. Let every monster in this world know what happens when they prey on the innocent.
I watched them scatter like roaches when the lights come on, feeling a grim satisfaction. But the satisfaction was tainted by something else—concern. The human cattle, the broken ones who had been used as livestock, they were running too. And in their condition, weak from blood loss and psychological trauma, they wouldn't survive long on their own.
I need to help them properly. But first, I need to make sure there are no more prisoners.
. . .
I made my way through the mansion, my evolved armor making each step silent despite the bio-metal additions. The building was eerily quiet now, most of its occupants either dead in the square or fled into the night. But as I moved deeper into the structure, Incursio's enhanced senses picked up something troubling.
There are more humans here. Multiple heartbeats, but they're weak. Very weak.
Following the sounds, I discovered a series of holding cells in what had once been servant quarters. The sight that greeted me made my rage threaten to surge again. Dozens of humans, all in various stages of being drained. Some looked like they'd been here for weeks, others for months. Men, women, children—all reduced to hollow shells of their former selves.
Breathe. Control it. These people need help, not more violence.
I could feel Incursio responding to my emotional state, the bio-armor's aggressive additions starting to recede as I forced myself to calm down. The spear in my hand shifted back to its more familiar form as I began breaking open cell doors.
"It's okay," I said, trying to make my voice as gentle as possible through the armor's distortion. "You're free now. The vampires are gone."
Most of them just stared at me with those same dead eyes I'd seen in the square. A few whimpered and pressed themselves against the back walls of their cells. I couldn't blame them—even trying to project calm, I still looked like something out of a nightmare.
One by one, I guided them toward the exits, my heart breaking with each vacant stare and trembling step. These people would need real help—medical attention, therapy, time to heal from what had been done to them. But at least they were alive.
How many more towns are like this? How many more monsters are out there treating humans like cattle?
The thought made my jaw clench, but I pushed the anger down. Right now, what mattered was making sure this particular nest of evil was completely cleaned out.
. . .
As I made my final sweep through the mansion, something nagged at my senses. The building felt empty, but there was something... a presence I couldn't quite place. It was coming from below.
I found the entrance hidden behind a bookshelf in what had been Marius's study—a stone stairway leading down into darkness. The air that wafted up carried the scent of damp stone and something else. Fear.
There's someone down there.
The stairs descended much deeper than I'd expected, eventually opening into what could only be described as a dungeon. Ancient stone walls, rusted iron fixtures, and the kind of oppressive atmosphere that spoke of centuries of suffering. But it was what I found in the deepest cell that made me stop in my tracks.
A young woman, probably around my age, chained to the wall with heavy iron shackles. She had short blonde hair that was matted and dirty, and when she looked up at my approach, I saw eyes that were unmistakably red—vampire eyes. But there was something different about her, something that made my enhanced senses pause.
She wasn't like the others.
The space around her told a story of long imprisonment. Scraps of moldy bread scattered on the stone floor, a rusty bowl that might have once held water, and scratches on the walls that looked like they'd been made by desperate fingers. This wasn't a guest room or even a regular prison cell. This was a place where someone had been kept for a very long time.
When she saw me approaching in my evolved armor, her red eyes went wide with terror. She pressed herself back against the wall as far as the chains would allow, trembling like a leaf in a storm.
"Please," she whispered, her voice hoarse from disuse. "Please don't hurt me. I'll do whatever you say, just... please."
The desperation in her voice was heartbreaking. Here was someone who had clearly been broken by whatever Marius and his followers had done to her. But if she was a vampire, why had they kept her chained down here?
I raised my spear, and she flinched violently, squeezing her eyes shut and turning her face away. But instead of striking her, I brought the weapon down on the chains binding her wrists. The bio-metal cut through the iron like it was paper, and the shackles fell away with a loud clang.
She opened her eyes in shock, staring at her freed hands like she couldn't believe it.
"Who are you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice as non-threatening as possible.
"V-Valerie," she stammered, still pressed against the wall. "Valerie Tepes."
Tepes? Related to Marius?
"Why were you kept down here?" I continued. "If you're family..."
"Because of my power," she said quietly, rubbing at the raw marks the shackles had left on her wrists. "I can heal people, and... other things. My brother, he..." She swallowed hard. "He said I was too dangerous to be left free, but too valuable to kill."
Her brother?
The pieces were starting to come together. This wasn't just some random vampire—she was Marius's sister, kept prisoner by her own family because of whatever abilities she possessed. And from the looks of this cell, she'd been down here for a long time.
"Where is he?" Valerie asked suddenly, her red eyes searching my armored form. "Where's Marius? And the others? I can smell... there's so much blood on you."
Her voice was getting smaller with each word, like she was afraid of the answer but needed to know.
"Dead," I said simply.
She went very still. "All of them?"
"The ones who didn't run away, yes."
For a moment, she just stared at me. Then, to my surprise, her shoulders sagged not with grief, but with what looked like relief.
"They're really gone?" she whispered.
"They got what they deserved for what they did to innocent people," I said, watching her reaction carefully. "For turning humans into cattle. For all the suffering they caused."
She nodded slowly, and I saw something in her eyes that I hadn't expected—understanding, maybe even approval.
"They were monsters," she said quietly. "What they did... what Marius made me watch..." She shuddered.
I turned to leave, then stopped. "You're free now. The chains are gone, the vampires who held you are dead. You can go wherever you want."
"Wait!" The desperation in her voice made me turn back. "Don't... don't leave me here. Please."
"What are you asking?"
"Let me come with you," she said, the words tumbling out in a rush. "I know I'm a vampire, I know you probably hate what I am, but I'm not like them. I never hurt anyone, I swear. I can be useful—I can heal, I can help people. Just... please don't leave me alone again."
I studied her for a long moment. She was terrified, that much was obvious, but there was something else there too. Hope, maybe. The first real emotion I'd seen from her besides fear.
She's been a prisoner just like the humans. Maybe longer.
Slowly, I began to dismiss Incursio. The bio-armor flowed away from my body like liquid metal, revealing my true form underneath—just a young man with black hair and tired eyes, covered in vampire blood but otherwise human.
Valerie's eyes went wide. "You're... you're just a boy."
"Not much older than you, I'd guess," I said, managing a small smile. "My name's Akira"
The change in my appearance seemed to help. She was still wary, still scared, but some of the raw terror had left her eyes.
"You really killed them all?" she asked.
"The ones who deserved it, yes."
"And you'd... you'd really let me come with you? Even though I'm what I am?"
I looked at this young woman who had been chained in darkness by her own family, who had been forced to watch unspeakable horrors, who was now asking to join the person who had just slaughtered everyone she'd ever known. And I saw something in her that reminded me of the broken humans upstairs—someone who needed a chance to heal, to be something other than what others had tried to make her.
"Everyone deserves a chance to choose who they want to be," I said. "What matters isn't what you are, it's what you do with the choice. So... what do you choose?"
Valerie Tepes looked at me with those red eyes that held so much pain and hope, and for the first time since I'd found her, she smiled.
"I choose to help," she said. "To never let what happened here happen to anyone else. To be better than what my family was."
I extended my hand to her. "Then welcome to the team, Valerie Tepes."
She took it with trembling fingers, and I could feel the weight of the decision we'd both just made. This world was full of monsters, but maybe—just maybe—some of them could choose to be something else.
As we climbed the stairs out of that dungeon together, I couldn't help but think that this was just the beginning of something much larger. The night had shown me that evil existed on a scale I'd never imagined, but it had also shown me that sometimes salvation could come from the most unexpected places.
...
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