For many years, hunters had survived. Their purpose was simple, relentless: to eliminate vampires. But time had taught their prey to adapt. The vampires became smarter, faster, crueler - and yet, strangely, more cautious. Their kind had learned to bend, to hide, to survive. And still... hunters never rested.
Naoki Midori had known this since he could remember. He had grown up in shadows, hearing whispers of hunters wielding swords and guns, hunting his kind as if extinction were a sport. But nothing could have prepared him for this night.
He was not alone. Around him, the others shuffled in chains, their eyes wide with confusion and fear. Mizuki Yamiko's usually defiant glare had dulled into something fragile. Amatsuki Hiyori trembled, silent. Even Seiji Arakawa, who always tried to stay calm, looked - broken.
And then the hunters appeared.
From the darkness of the forest, lit only by the pale glow of the moon, they came - Mursaki Yuki and Ran Daisuke leading the charge. Their movements were precise, practiced, deadly. Naoki tried to will his legs to move, to flee, to fight - but the hunters were faster, stronger, and there was nowhere to hide.
A sharp, mechanical hum filled the air. Metal cuffs clamped around their wrists and ankles. The hunters worked in pairs, controlling each vampire with terrifying efficiency. Naoki felt a surge of electricity course through his body - an invisible leash that bent him to their will. Pain shot through him, burning, disorienting. His memory, his instincts, even his thoughts, felt fragmented.
"Resist, and it will only hurt more." Yuki's voice was cold, clinical.
Naoki's vision blurred, his surroundings spinning. He caught glimpses of his friends:
Ran Daisuke focused on Mizuki Yamiko, murmuring instructions under his breath
Mursaki Yuki's blade glinted faintly in the moonlight as she moved silently, her expression unreadable
Ran Daisuke moved like a shadow, ensuring no vampire slipped free
The forest became a cage. Lightning-like shocks coursed along the metallic floors of the temporary holding pens, eliciting groans and shudders from the captured vampires. Naoki clenched his teeth. This wasn't combat - it was control, domination, erasure.
Minutes - or hours? - passed. The world narrowed to electricity, chains, and the hunters' unyielding eyes. And then, as if on command, the process ended. The shocks stopped, the cuffs unlocked, and the group was herded together, half-conscious, memories hazy, bodies aching.
A carriage waited at the edge of the forest. Its doors were open like a maw, inviting and threatening all at once. One by one, the vampires were guided inside, like livestock being sorted for transport. Naoki hesitated for a heartbeat, trying to remember what he had been taught - what he had been promised - but it was gone, scattered like smoke.
The carriage lurched forward, leaving the forest behind. The hunters' silhouettes disappeared into the shadows.
Sun Academy awaited.
Naoki pressed his forehead against the cold metal wall, staring blankly at the dim interior. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear the other vampires stirring, murmuring names he no longer remembered. Questions he could no longer ask. Memories he could no longer hold.
And yet... in the deepest part of his mind, one thought remained.
Survive.
Whatever awaited them at Sun Academy, whatever the hunters intended, Naoki Midori swore he would survive.