I made it back to my classroom just before the bell, sliding into my window side seat with what I hoped looked like casual indifference. A few students were chatting near the back, but most were already settled in their seats, notebooks out, waiting for the day to start.
Kurumu was already there. The moment she saw me, she was out of her chair and across the room before I could blink.
"Where did you go? Silver was worried about you too." She grabbed my arm, pulling me close, and her fingers pressed into my sleeve with a kind of urgency that told me she had not just been waiting.
"Silver?" I blinked, caught off guard by the name.
She tilted her head, a small smile playing on her lips. "The doggy you left to watch over me." She squeezed my arm, leaning in just a little. "You are such a dutiful boyfriend."
"Ahh, Retainer? I see… You gave him a name." I blinked again, processing this new information. 'I did not expect her to name my shadow wolf.'
"Yeah, is this wrong?" She pulled back slightly, her eyes searching my face. "I thought Retainer was such a boring and generic name."
'Fair point. But now my shadow vampire wolf has a pet name. I cannot decide if that is cute or ridiculous.'
"Since when did you give him the job to watch me?" Her voice softened, and for a moment, the teasing faded into something more genuine. Something that looked almost like appreciation.
I glanced at the corner of the room, where a patch of shadow seemed deeper than it should be. The Retainer's crimson eyes glowed faintly for just a moment, then vanished back into the darkness. That creature had been with me since the night I first summoned it, and it had never failed to respond when I needed it.
"Since I left this morning," I said, keeping my voice low. "Why, you hate being watched or what?" I let a small smirk tug at my lips, because I could not help myself. "Or could it be that you wanted me to wake you?"
Kurumu's cheeks flushed a deep pink, and she pouted, but her eyes were still scanning my face, looking for something I was not sure I wanted her to find. She was like that, always searching, always trying to read between the lines of what I said.
"Also, Kuriboh was worried about you," she said, changing the subject with the grace of someone who had been caught. "It kept looking in the direction of the Academy from the window."
She went back to her bench and brought out Kuriboh, who had been stuffed under the desk. The little creature looked exhausted, both physically and mentally. Its wings drooped, and its eyes were half closed, as if it had spent the entire morning staring out that window, waiting for me to come back.
Kuri.
The sound was small and pitiful, and I felt a twinge of guilt in my chest.
Kurumu's grip tightened around Kuriboh, triggering a pained Kuri from the poor, and yet lucky, creature since it was pressed right up against her bosom. I could not decide whether to feel jealous or amused.
'That little bastard is living the dream.'
"Seriously, Tsukune." Her voice lost its playfulness. "Where did you go?"
Before I could answer, Moka stood up and walked over. Her movements were slower than Kurumu's, more measured, but there was a tension in her shoulders that I recognized. From knowing how 'toxic' Kurumu's tongue could be, and seeing Outer Moka's expression, she had probably gotten the news that Kurumu had spent the night in my room.
I braced myself for the worst. A jealous tantrum. Maybe even lashing out at me. I had seen that side of her before, the quiet anger that simmered beneath her gentle exterior. It was rare, but when it surfaced, it was sharp.
But instead, she stopped a few feet away, her hands clasped in front of her, and her expression was worried.
"Tsukune." Her voice was soft, almost hesitant. "I was worried about you."
'That is not what I expected.'
She paused, her fingers brushing the rosary at her chest. The metal caught the morning light, and for a moment, I could have sworn I saw a faint crimson pulse beneath the surface.
"There is this connection," she continued, her green eyes fixed on mine. "Between us. From when I drink your blood. I can feel it sometimes, like a thread. I do not know how to describe it, but it is there."
'Is she talking about the Blood Link? I unlocked that as one of my Shinso powers.'
'Could it be that she started feeling it whenever I enter my Vampire form?'
"Last night, it felt strange. I could feel a chilling touch all over me." She took a small breath, steadying herself. "Was there something wrong with you? Did you feel thirsty for blood?"
The question made me pause.
I had to actually consider it. Did I feel that thirst? In my human form, I was fine. Normal food could sustain me. Rice, fish, vegetables, even the questionable cafeteria meat that I tried not to think about. It all worked.
But in my previous transformations, when I summoned All-Black or entered the Ghoul state, I cannot say I felt nothing beneath that raw power.
It was only when I was close to the limit my Bloodline Control allowed, but it was not a pressing matter. Not yet, but if it continued to devolve, if it started affecting me even in my human state, then yes, I would have to start feeding on blood.
'I am not ready for that conversation. Not yet.'
"I am fine," I said, keeping my voice steady. "For now. Nothing I cannot handle."
Some of the tension in Moka's shoulders lessened. She nodded slowly, her hand still resting on the rosary, and I could see her running her thumb over the cross in a slow, almost unconscious motion.
Then her voice dropped, quieter, almost hesitant, as if she was not sure she should say what came next.
"Inner wants to check on your progress. On Saturday." She paused, and her cheeks colored. "She will need you to release the seal."
'Saturday? Isn't that too soon?'
"And..." Moka's blush deepened, spreading to her ears. "I also intend to spar with you. I will be serious this time."
I blinked. "You? Sparring? I thought you hated violence?"
"When I have to protect those dear to me, I have to be strong. This is why I have been training." Her chin lifted, and for a moment, I caught a glimpse of Inner's stubbornness bleeding through. "Do not underestimate me, Tsukune."
'When did that happen? Inner must have been coaching her. Or maybe she has been sneaking in practice on her own.'
"And if I do well," Moka added, her voice dropping even lower, almost to a whisper, "I will want some extra blood from you."
The classroom seemed to get quieter. Or maybe that was just my imagination, the way the world narrows when someone says something unexpected.
Kurumu's eye twitched. Her grip on Kuriboh tightened again, and another pained Kuri escaped the poor creature. She rounded on Moka, her hands planted on her hips, and her voice came out sharp.
"Hey, you better watch it! You cannot just drink his blood whenever you feel thirsty. He is my boyfriend. Have you asked me?"
"Your boyfriend?" Moka's expression did not change, but her voice carried an edge sharp enough to cut. "Just because you went and took advantage of Tsukune's kindness by sleeping in his room, you think he is already your boyfriend? You are delusional, Kurumu."
Kurumu's jaw dropped. "What did you say?"
"Your cow tits must have drained all the nutrients from your brain when you were growing up."
'Oh, snap.'
The temperature in the room seemed to rise. Or maybe that was just the heat coming off Kurumu's flushed face. Her whole body trembled with barely contained fury, and I could see her fists clenching at her sides. She looked like she wanted to lunge at Moka, but something held her back. Probably the presence of the other students.
"You pink haired mosquito!"
"Ladies." I held up my hands, trying to play peacemaker even though I knew it was useless. "Can we not do this here?"
Neither of them listened. They were already nose to nose, sparks flying, and the rest of the class was watching with the kind of wide eyed fascination usually reserved for nature documentaries.
'I could grab a bag of popcorn and watch the fight play out.'
'No. Bad Tsukune. Be the responsible one for once.'
The fight only stopped when the classroom door slid open and Ririko sensei stepped inside.
Ririko sensei walked in, and the room shifted. It was not a dramatic change, nothing as obvious as the temperature dropping or the lights dimming. But every student felt it, that subtle recalibration of attention that happened whenever she entered a space.
She had that effect on people.
The perverts in the classroom were salivating or trying hard to wipe away the drool from the corners of their mouths, while others were going all 'Awooga' with their eyes practically popping out of their skulls.
I had seen this reaction a hundred times since the semester started, and it never got less amusing. Or pathetic. Both, really.
'I cannot say I did not fight an erection when I first saw Ririko sensei in this flesh form instead of her 2D form. The 3D appearance was also that of a bombshell. But I have since learned to control myself. Mostly.'
She moved with the kind of effortless confidence that made the entire classroom sit up a little straighter. Her dark hair was pulled back in a severe ponytail, and her glasses caught the fluorescent light, glinting like something dangerous.
The black leather corset over her white blouse was tight enough to make a point without needing to say a single word, and her heels clicked against the floor in a rhythm that seemed to sync with the beating hearts of every male student.
'This was Ririko sensei. My math teacher. And for reasons that had become clear over the past two months, she had taken a particular interest in me.'
It had not started that way. My first week, I had barely passed her test, not because I did not know the material or did not know how to do math. I could still be smug about the fact that I got my university degree, but who was I kidding? Everyone from Gen Z has one. The real reason I almost failed was much simpler and much more embarrassing.
'I almost failed because I had been too busy staring at her forms, getting caught up in all sorts of fantasies that were aligned with a BDSM genre. I think that sadistic persona is hiding a big masochist underneath.'
She had caught me looking more than once, and instead of being offended, she had just smirked and moved on. That was when I first suspected there was more to her than the strict teacher act.
Then, as I adjusted to my new life and decided to at least do well in high school and be a completionist, I had started asking real questions about her subject. Not the kind of questions students ask to look smart or suck up to the teacher, but genuine questions about future material.
I could see the surprise in her eyes the first time I asked something outside the curriculum.
Now that I was on my way to becoming a Vampire Lord, my mind had suffered mutations. By unlocking multithreaded consciousness, in a way, I had unlocked the full potential of my brain. Calculus was child's play. Even the most complex problems were not hard, as long as I understood the method for resolving them.
This type of change from me, from the perspective of a teacher who had guided a pupil and saw her work rewarded with results, could not help but make me one of her favorites. I did not ask for the position, but I also did not refuse it.
She had mentioned more than once that she was willing to mentor me privately and try to reach the Olympiad where all the great Greek mathematician spirits competed in Elysium for the title of Master Mathematician.
The offer had sounded innocent enough the first time. By the third time, I had seen the look in her eyes.
'I had seen the look in her eyes, and remembering how the anime and manga had gone, I knew what she was really offering. Sorry, but I would rather be the one dominating in my sexual plays.'
Ironically, since I defeated Tamao senpai, all of those invitations and her own interest had shifted away. Don't get me wrong, I was still her top student, but the edge had gone out of her invitations. The hunger was replaced by something softer.
'She was fond of me now. And deep down, I was curious to see what would happen. Would she still try to make me her puppet? It would give me the best chance to take her down.'
'I would not pass on the chance to smash a Lamia's ass.'
[Name: Ririko Kagome]
[Threat Level: A (Lamia)]
"Take your seats," she said, her voice carrying across the room without needing to be raised. It was not loud, but it was clear, and it cut through the lingering tension from the near fight between Kurumu and Moka.
The class scrambled into place. Desks scraped against the floor, notebooks flipped open, and the whispers that had been building since the morning died down to nothing. Even Kurumu and Moka, still radiating hostility, returned to their seats without another word.
I pulled out my notebook and stared out the window with practiced boredom. The morning light was pale, filtering through clouds that promised rain later. My mind drifted to Chizuru and Toma, but it drifted longer on the question of how to handle Gin.
'Since I managed to bring All Black into creation and with my increased mastery over the sword thanks to Silent Swordsman, my chances of winning have increased even though the full moon powered Gin is an S tier Yokai that could evenly match Inner Moka.'
'If the moon doesn't power him, I think the System assessment of the threat is correct, he is an A-tier Yokai, otherwise how could Inner beat him easily once the moon got covered by the clouds.'
'The only doubt I have is that I will run out of mana and be rendered useless. Maybe I could find a way of blocking the effects of the moon on Gin. Something like a reflecting mirror. I will need to ponder deeper on this idea.'
I took a short glance at the board, then shifted my attention back to the outside world. The equation on the board meant nothing to me. I could have solved it in my sleep.
"Aono-kun."
I was watching a small demonic bird land on the windowsill, its dark feathers ruffled by the wind.
The creature tilted its head and looked at me with beady red eyes.
'I wonder how that bird would taste if I grill it.'
"Aono Tsukune."
Still nothing.
Then I heard it, the soft whistle of something cutting through air. A piece of chalk, thrown with precision, aimed directly at my forehead.
My hand shot up. My fingers closed around the chalk an inch from my face. My eyes, without my conscious command, had flickered to crimson for just a heartbeat.
The classroom went silent. Even the demonic bird on the windowsill stopped moving.
Ririko sensei stood at the front of the room, her hand still raised from the throw, her glasses catching the light. Her expression was unreadable, but the corner of her mouth twitched.
"Well," she said. "At least your reflexes are sharp."
I set the chalk down on my desk, keeping my voice calm. "Sorry, sensei. I was distracted."
"Distracted?" She crossed her arms, and the leather of her corset creaked. "You are my top student, Aono-kun. I expect better. When I call your name, you respond. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sensei."
"Then come solve the problem on the board."
I stood up, walked to the front of the classroom, and picked up a piece of chalk. The problem was a messy differential equation, the kind that would have made my first life self break into a cold sweat. Now, it was just numbers. I filled the board in under a minute, my handwriting neat, my steps confident. When I finished, I set down the chalk and turned to face her.
She studied the board for a moment, then nodded. "Correct."
She stepped closer, close enough that I could smell her perfume, dark and expensive, notes of vanilla and leather mixing together. Her glasses caught the light again, hiding her eyes, but I could feel her gaze on me.
"But." Her voice dropped, becoming softer, more intimate. "Let us not repeat this, Aono-kun. I hate it when my precious students ignore me."
She held my gaze for a moment longer than necessary, then stepped back and returned to the front of the room. The lesson continued.
The rest of the class passed without incident.
Ririko-sensei lectured on derivatives and integrals, her voice weaving through the material with a kind of practiced ease that came from years of teaching. I took notes out of habit, but my mind was elsewhere. The question of how to handle Gin kept circling back, no matter how many times I pushed it away.
When the bell rang, the class erupted into the usual chaos of students packing up and heading for the door. Kurumu shot me a look from across the room, her eyes asking if I was coming with her. I nodded slightly, signaling that I would catch up.
Moka lingered by her desk, her hand on the rosary, her green eyes fixed on me with an expression I could not quite read. Concern, maybe. Or suspicion. Or something else entirely.
Before I could join them, Ririko-sensei's voice cut through the noise.
"Aono-kun. A moment."
I turned to find her standing by her desk, shuffling papers into a leather bag. The other students filed out, and soon the classroom was empty except for the two of us. Kurumu paused at the door, her eyes narrowing, but I waved her on. She hesitated, then left with Moka.
Ririko-sensei looked up from her papers and smiled. It was not the sharp, predatory smile she wore during class. This one was softer, almost warm.
"I wanted to talk to you about something," she said, setting down her bag. "The Sūgaku-bu is organizing a math competition. Inter academy. In the future there will be a Yokai Mathematics Competition, so, this is like a proving ground for aspiring mathematicians."
'The math club? I did not even know we had one.'
She must have seen the confusion on my face, because she laughed. "It is a small club. Nothing like the popular ones mainstreamed by the Student Council. But the students are dedicated, and the competition is a chance for them to prove themselves."
She stepped closer, her heels clicking against the floor. "I am the advisor for the club, and I was hoping you might be willing to join in some fun. For me, sensei."
The way she said it made the request sound like something else entirely.
"What would it entail?" I asked, keeping my voice neutral.
"Practice sessions twice a week. A few weekend workshops. Nothing too demanding." She tilted her head, and her glasses slipped down her nose just enough for me to see her eyes. They were dark, almost black, and there was something in them that I had not noticed before.
"Your schedule is busy, I know. But I think you would enjoy it. And it would look good on your record."
'I am a vampire with a fragment of Alucard in my blood, fighting for my survival, and even trying to build a faction to take over the Academy. And this is just my own worries within Yokai Academy. I do not think my academic record is the main priority.'
But I could not say that to her.
"If the time fits with my schedule," I said, "I would be willing to give it a try. How could I ignore my dear sensei?"
She stepped closer, close enough that I could feel the heat of her body. Her hand came up, and before I could react, her fingers brushed against my collar, straightening it with a kind of intimate familiarity that made my skin prickle.
"Good," she murmured. "I knew I could count on my favorite to teach those lazy kids from my club a lesson."
Then her tongue flicked out. It was not a human tongue. It was long, forked, almost serpentine, and it traced the outer edge of my ear in a slow, deliberate motion.
[No hostility detected.]
I felt a shiver run down my spine, and my eyes flickered to crimson before I could stop them.
She pulled back, smiling, and her tongue disappeared back into her mouth. "There he is," she whispered. "I was wondering when you would show your true colors to me."
'A Lamia. Of course. I should have remembered.'
"I do not know what you are talking about, sensei." My voice was steady, but my heart was pounding.
She laughed, a low, throaty sound. "Of course you do not." She picked up her bag and walked toward the door, her heels clicking in that same hypnotic rhythm. "Practice is on Tuesdays and Thursdays, after school. Do not be late, Aono-kun."
She paused at the door and looked back at me, her glasses glinting.
"I am looking forward to seeing what you can do."
Then she was gone, and the classroom was empty, and I was left standing there with my hand pressed against my ear, wondering what I had just agreed to.
'Great. Just great. Another complication.'
The rest of the school day passed uneventfully.
That was the problem.
No Gin. No mysterious messages or weird photos. No shadows moving where they should not have been moving. Just normal classes with normal lectures and normal students complaining about homework they had not finished. The kind of mundane rhythm that made the Academy feel almost like a real school instead of a hunting ground for monsters in disguise.
'It felt like the calm before a storm.'
When the final bell rang, I gathered my things and met the girls in the hallway. Kurumu was still annoyed from the morning quarrel, her arms crossed tightly over her chest and her gaze pointedly fixed on the wall instead of on Moka.
She was not speaking to her rival, and the silence between them was heavy enough to cut with a knife.
Moka, for her part, seemed content to walk in silence. Her hand rested on the rosary at her chest, her thumb tracing slow circles over the cross, and her green eyes were focused on the path ahead. She looked calm, but I could see the tension in her shoulders, the way she held herself ready for something that had not yet come.
We made our way out of the main building and onto the path toward the dorms. The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple, but clouds were gathering on the horizon, thick and dark, swallowing the light before it could reach the ground. The air felt heavy, thick with moisture, and every breath I took seemed to stick in my lungs.
'Rain by midnight. Maybe sooner.'
The path was mostly empty at this hour. A few students lingered near the club buildings, their voices carrying across the grass in low murmurs, but most had already headed back to their rooms. The forest on either side of us was dark, the trees leaning in like they were listening to something we could not hear.
Kurumu broke the silence first.
"I do not like this." Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper, and she was scanning the treeline with eyes that had gone sharp and wary. "He did not show up all day. Not once."
"Gin?" Moka asked, though her tone suggested she already knew the answer.
"Who else?" Kurumu's hand twitched at her side, a small involuntary movement that she quickly stilled. She was on edge, her usual playful energy replaced by something harder. "He is planning something. I can feel it."
'She is not wrong.'
"You are probably right." I kept my eyes forward, scanning the treeline as we walked, my own senses stretched to their limit. The shadows between the trees were deep, and every flicker of movement made my muscles tense. "But we cannot do anything about it tonight."
Kurumu turned to look at me, her amethyst eyes narrowing. "Why not?"
"Because we do not know where he is. And because if he is avoiding us, chasing him will only play into his hands." I kept my voice calm, reasonable, even though my own instincts were screaming at me to do something, anything, rather than just wait. "He wants us to react and doubt ourselves, or whatever he might think. The best thing we can do is not give him that satisfaction."
Kurumu's jaw tightened, and I could see her wrestling with the logic, wanting to argue but knowing I was right. She did not say anything, but the tension in her shoulders did not ease.
We walked a few more steps in silence. The dorms came into view ahead, two buildings standing side by side, one for boys and one for girls. The lights were already on in some of the windows, casting warm yellow rectangles onto the darkening grass. It should have looked welcoming. It did not.
I stopped walking.
The girls stopped with me.
"Kurumu."
She looked at me, and her eyes were wary, like she already knew what I was going to say before the words left my mouth.
"Maybe it is for the best if you stay with Moka tonight."
Her whole body went still. Even her breathing seemed to pause.
"What?" The word came out flat, almost sharp.
"Just for one night." I kept my voice calm and even, though I could feel the weight of her stare pressing against me. "I do not want you alone in your room. And it's not like your girls' dorm mother will allow me inside. Heh, I might be hunted down by the girls in your building."
"I am not a child, Tsukune." Her voice rose, just a fraction. "I can protect myself."
"I know you can." I reached out and took her hand. Her fingers were cold, colder than they should have been, and I could feel the faint tremor running through them. "But I would rather be safe than sorry. Please."
She stared at me, her lower lip trembling just slightly, and for a moment, I thought she might refuse. I could see the pride warring with the fear, the desire to be strong fighting against the simple, human need to be safe.
"You are asking me to spend the night with her?" She jerked her head toward Moka, who had been watching the exchange in silence, her expression unreadable.
Moka raised an eyebrow. "I do not bite. Much."
Kurumu's eyes flashed. "That is not funny."
"It was not meant to be."
The tension between them crackled like static electricity, sharp and uncomfortable. But underneath it, something else was there. Something that looked almost like understanding. They did not like each other, not really, but they both wanted the same thing. They both wanted to be safe. They both wanted me to stop worrying.
Kurumu turned back to me, her hand still in mine. "You really think something is going to happen tonight?"
'I do not know. But I would rather have you safe and annoyed than hurt and alone.'
"I think," I said carefully, choosing my words with the same precision I used when solving a difficult equation, "that Gin has been avoiding us all day. And I think he is waiting for something. Maybe the full moon. Maybe just the right moment."
I squeezed her hand, feeling the coldness of her fingers, and I held her gaze.
"I would feel better if you two were together."
Kurumu was quiet for a long moment. The seconds stretched, heavy and uncomfortable, and I could see the conflict playing out behind her eyes. Then she sighed, a heavy, defeated sound that seemed to drain the tension from her shoulders, and she pulled her hand away from mine.
"Fine." The word came out soft, almost resigned. "But only because you asked." She looked at Moka, and her voice sharpened. "Do not get any ideas. This does not make us friends."
"Would not dream of it," Moka said dryly, and there was something almost like a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
They walked toward the girls' dorm together, side by side but not touching, their footsteps falling in an uneven rhythm. Kurumu looked back once, just before she disappeared through the door. I nodded at her.
She nodded back.
Then she was gone.
I stood there for a moment, staring at the door, my hands shoved deep into my pockets. The evening air was cold against my face, and the clouds overhead had thickened, swallowing the last traces of sunlight.
'From the forecast of the Meteorology Club, the moon is supposed to be full tonight.'
'I could not see it behind the clouds.'
'But I can feel this itching sensation. Does the Moon have any magical properties or something?'
I turned and walked toward my own dorm, the shadows at my feet rippling with each step, and the weight of the coming night settled onto my shoulders like a hand pressing down.
Night fell like a hammer.
The silence that followed was worse than any noise. It pressed against my ears, thick and suffocating.
There was no gradual transition, no slow darkening of the sky as the sun dipped below the horizon. One moment the world was draped in twilight, and the next, the darkness was absolute, pressing against the windows like something alive. The clouds that had been gathering all day finally swallowed the sky whole, hiding the moon and the stars and any hope of light.
I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, my eyes wide open. Sleep was not coming tonight, not with the weight pressing down on my chest. The silence in the room was heavy, broken only by the distant sound of wind rattling the window frame and the soft breathing of the Kuribohs piled at the foot of the bed.
Through the bond, I could feel the Retainer and the Vampire Familiar. I had sent them both to watch over the girls after we parted ways. The Retainer was hidden in the shadows of Moka's room, its silver and black fur blending into the darkness so completely that even I had trouble sensing it. The Familiar was perched outside Kurumu's window, its tiny red eyes scanning the night for any sign of movement.
Everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
I checked the bond again, reaching out through the connection that linked me to my creations. The Retainer's presence was steady, patient, like a wolf waiting for its prey to make a mistake. The Familiar's was sharper, more alert, its tiny heart beating fast with the tension of the watch.
'Nothing.'
I checked again a few minutes later. And again. Every few minutes, I reached out, feeling for any disturbance, any sign of trouble, any flicker of warning that something was wrong.
'Why does waiting for the unexpected make me more nervous?'
I sat up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. The wooden frame creaked beneath my weight, and the Kuribohs stirred briefly before settling back into their pile of fluffy warmth. My phone glowed 11:47 PM in pale green letters, the only source of light in the room besides the faint glow of the streetlamps outside and the hidden moon struggling to break through the clouds.
I remembered something from my past life, from the anime I had watched years ago before being thrown into this world. In the original story, Gin had stalked Moka more than Kurumu. He had been fixated on her in a way that went beyond simple attraction.
'But who knows? Maybe he likes them busty. I cannot assume anything.'
The thought was dark humor, but it did not make me smile. Nothing about this situation was funny.
I stood up and walked to the window, my bare feet cold against the floor. The clouds were thicker now, covering the sky like a blanket pulled tight over a sleeping face. No stars. No moon. Just darkness, deep and endless, pressing against the glass.
Then I felt it.
A sharp, intense pain bloomed around my neck, centered on the spots where Moka had bitten me so many times before. It was not the dull ache of an old wound or the phantom sensation of a memory. This was real, urgent, and it radiated through my entire body like a warning bell.
'This is not the reaction I would feel if one of my Annihilation Maker creations was destroyed. That is a different kind of loss, a hollow emptiness where a connection used to be.'
'This is the Blood Link reacting.'
'The connection between me and Moka activated without warning.'
'She is hurt.'
'No! She is in danger.'
I was already moving.
My body reacted before my mind could catch up, instinct overriding thought. I was out of bed, across the room, and through the window before I even registered that my wings had unfolded from my back. The night air rushed past me, cold and sharp against my skin, as I launched myself toward the girls' dorm.
'Faster.'
The clouds masked the moon completely, and the world below was a patchwork of shadows and darkness. The buildings blurred beneath me, their windows dark, their occupants asleep or pretending to be. The forest loomed on either side, its trees reaching up like grasping hands.
The Retainer's bond flickered.
Then it cut.
It was a complete and abrupt severance of my link with the creature, like a rope snapping under too much weight. One moment I could feel the Retainer's presence, steady and loyal, and the next there was nothing.
'So you have decided to act now, Gin.'
I poured more speed into my wings, my crimson eyes cutting through the darkness, picking out every detail of the world below. The girls' dorm loomed ahead, a six-story building, its windows dark except for a few scattered lights.
Moka's room was on the fourth floor. I could see the window from here, a dark rectangle against the pale wall.
It was shattered.
Glass glittered on the ground below, catching the faint light from the streetlamps, and the curtains billowed outward like ghostly arms reaching for something to hold.
I reached the building just as a dark figure leaped from the broken window. He was huge, easily seven feet tall, his body covered in black fur that seemed to absorb the light around it. His eyes burned gold in the night, bright and feral, and his jaws were open wide enough to show rows of razor sharp teeth.
In his arms, he carried a limp figure. Pink hair spilled over his shoulder, and her head lolled back, unconscious.
"GIN!" My voice tore through the night, raw and furious. "You coward! This is how you show that you are an Alpha? Kidnapping innocent girls?"
I spread my wings wide, catching the air, and my voice carried across the darkness like a challenge.
"If you want a fight, I am right here!"
He did not stop. He landed on the ground below with a heavy thud and took off running, his powerful legs eating up the distance with shocking speed. He was fast, faster than I expected for someone his size, his body moving with the kind of fluid power that came from years of hunting.
'But I am faster.'
I dove after him, my wings folded back against my spine, my body cutting through the air like a spear thrown by an angry god. The wind screamed past my ears, loud enough to drown out everything except the pounding of my own heart. The ground rushed up to meet me, close enough that I could see the individual blades of grass bending beneath the pressure of my descent.
'I am going to catch him.'
'I am going to tear him apart.'
But then, hesitation.
'Kurumu.'
I could not chase him and leave her behind, not when I did not know what state she was in. The thought of finding her unconscious, or worse, was enough to make my blood run cold.
I veered at the last moment, my wings flaring to slow my descent, and crashed through Moka's shattered window. Glass shards scattered across the floor, glittering in the faint light, and I landed in a crouch, my eyes already scanning the room.
Kurumu was on the floor, unconscious, her body limp against the wall beneath the window. A cut on her forehead bled slowly, staining her blue hair a darker shade, and her face was pale in the dim light. Her chest rose and fell, shallow but steady.
'She is breathing… Thank God that Gin is not a murderous bastard, just a degenerate pervert.'
I hated that I couldn't do more to protect her.
And beside her, the Vampire Familiar stood guard.
Its tiny body was trembling, its wings spread wide, its fangs bared in a silent snarl. Blood dripped from its mouth, dark and glistening, and its red eyes were fixed on the broken window where Gin had escaped.
'Hmm, this isn't Kurumu's blood, it doesn't have her scent. This one smells like a dogs.'
[Memory Echo has been activated]
Replaying the highlights of what took place, it made me grind my fangs. The brazen way Gin kidnapped Moka, the casual cruelty – he even went out of his way to knock out both girls, being harsher on Kurumu because she almost caught him in her illusions.
'Good bat.'
I knelt beside Kurumu, pressing my fingers to her neck. The skin was warm, and beneath it, I could feel a pulse. Weak, but steady. Her body was still intact, no broken bones that I could see, just the cut on her forehead and a few bruises forming on her arms where she had tried to defend herself, but with the body of a Yokai, such wounds were minor injuries overall.
'She will be okay.'
'But Moka.'
I looked out the window, toward the darkness where Gin had disappeared. The Blood Link was still pulling at me, a constant pressure in my chest that told me she was alive but in danger. I could feel her fear, her confusion, the disorientation of being unconscious and then awake and then unconscious again.
'I cannot leave Kurumu alone.'
I reached into my shadow and pulled out another Familiar, the second one I had created, along with another creature that I had been saving for an emergency. Ikelos, the Dream Mirror Mara, materialized from the darkness with a soft flutter of wings, its form shifting and uncertain, like a reflection in disturbed water.
'Ikelos. A creature from the Dream Mirror archetype. It could trap enemies in nightmares.'
["She will sleep, and in her dreams, I will keep her safe."]
["Guard her,"] I commanded through the bond, my thoughts sharp and clear. ["Do not leave her side. If anything comes near her, bring them into the Nightmare Dream World and let Oneiros have them."]
The second Familiar squeaked in acknowledgment and settled on Kurumu's chest, its tiny body rising and falling with her breath. Ikelos hovered near the window, its form blending into the shadows, ready to strike at the first sign of danger.
Then I launched myself out the window, and as I flew, I reached out through the bond to the first Familiar that had bitten Gin, which I held in my arm. I could still sense it, still feel its presence, and more importantly, I could feel the blood it had taken from him.
Using my Bloodline Control, I reached into that connection and pulled.
The blood responded to my will, separating from the Familiar's mouth and flowing toward me. It was a strange sensation, like drinking something hot on a cold day, but the effect was immediate.
I ingested that blood, and my body exploded with power.
My stats surged, climbing past the limits that had held me for so long. The pinnacle of B tier shattered, and I felt myself stepping into something new, something stronger. I pulled the trigger on my transformation, activating Ghoul Vampire Trigger, and the change was faster and smoother than ever before.
To my second shock, I discovered that my B tier pinnacle stats had evolved to A tier.
[Status Window]
---[Core Stats]---
Strength: A (9/100) -> (Ghoul State)
Agility: A (9/100) -> (Ghoul State)
Vitality: A (9/100) -> (Ghoul State)
Intelligence: B (1/100) -> (Ghoul State)
---[Supernatural Stats]---
Mana: A (9/100)
Demonic Energy: A (9/100) -> (Ghoul State)
[Bloodline Purity: 52.01%]
[Bloodline Control: C (87/100)]
[Sacred Gear: 'Annihilation Maker' – Responsive]
[Manifestation: 55%]
---[Skills/Passives]---
[(Abbreviated)]
The power rushed through me like a flood, filling every cell, every fiber, every corner of my being. My wings grew larger, darker, their membranes stretching wide to catch the wind. My claws extended, sharp enough to tear through steel. My fangs lengthened, pressing against my lower lip, and my eyes burned with a crimson light that cut through the darkness like a beacon.
In my Ghoul Vampire form, the wind caught my devilish wings, and I climbed into the night sky.
I could still feel the Blood Link, pulling me toward the Academy's main building, where Gin had taken Moka.
'Hang in there, my Duchess. I am coming to get you home.'