"Big brother… it's your eighteenth birthday, and you still haven't given me my present!" Yuzu grumbles.
She clings to her brother — Ren Toya — and presses her small breasts against his arm.
Classes ended later than usual, so they decided to eat out. Now they're walking along a narrow path through a small forest that leads home.
"Let me get this straight… it's my birthday, and I'm the one who has to buy you a present?"
Her long black hair frames her face as Yuzu pouts, her hazel eyes flashing while she glares at Ren.
"Of course! You and I are basically the same person, so get that into your head! That means it's my birthday too!"
"You turned fifteen two months ago. How many birthdays are you planning to celebrate this year?"
"Big brother… you really don't understand girls at all!"
Ren shrugs.
"If you say so…"
Suddenly, his faint amused smile fades.
"Yuzu, stay back!" Ren orders.
He steps in front of his sister and pushes her behind him.
"W-What's going on, big brother?"
Before she can finish, a cloaked figure steps out from the trees and blocks their path.
A cheap plastic mask covers his face, the kind you'd find in a Halloween store.
But it's not the mask that scares Ren — it's the man wearing it. Behind the slits, a pair of blood-red eyes gleam in the darkness.
Vampire eyes.
"Ren Toya, your time is up. What have you decided?"
"My answer is the same as last time — it's still no!"
"That's not what I was hoping to hear."
"D-Did you hear what my brother said? We have no intention of joining you! Get lost if you value your life!" Yuzu snaps.
"I'm not talking to you, stupid little girl. My boss isn't interested in a weak succubus like you. He only cares about Ren and Iris."
"All the more reason to refuse your offer," Ren snaps. "I'd never abandon my sisters for anything in the world!"
"What a shame. Fighting you doesn't excite me. But if you won't come willingly, you'll come by force!"
As he speaks, a deep wound opens in his palm. The blood that flows out starts to float and writhe until it forms a crimson rapier.
He immediately lunges at Ren.
The blade of solid blood is about to strike when... CLANG!
The vampire's slash is blocked by a gigantic sword of pure violet energy crackling with lightning. Ren wields it so easily that it looks as light as a feather.
But that's not all.
Ren's entire body is wrapped in purplish lightning, and massive bat-like wings spread from his back.
The vampire counters with a thrust, but Ren dodges and drives a brutal kick into his stomach, sending him flying several meters before he crashes to the ground.
"You're strong, Ren Toya. I expected nothing less from someone trained by Raelor Valraen."
At the sound of that name, Ren grits his teeth.
How the hell does that bastard know Raelor?!
But there's no time for questions.
Ren attacks again, and the clash explodes with overwhelming ferocity.
They move so fast that a normal human eye couldn't follow them. Even Yuzu struggles to see who has the upper hand.
Suddenly, the vampire thrusts his left arm toward Ren — "Blood Manipulation: Spikes Barrage!"
The blood flowing from his palm turns into a barrage of razor-sharp spikes that shoot at Ren.
But he isn't caught off guard.
He slashes through the air, instantly dispersing the rain of sharpened blood.
Yet not all of the spikes are deflected.
One pierces his left arm. Another strikes his right thigh.
A sharp pain runs through his body, but he knows he can't afford to give in.
The lightning around him crackles even more violently — and... SLASH!
Agonized, piercing screams burst from the vampire's mouth.
A moment earlier, Ren was over twenty meters away.
The next instant, his gigantic sword rips open a deep gash from the vampire's left thigh to his right shoulder.
"D-Damn it… why isn't the wound regenerating?!" the vampire snarls. "Wait… d-don't tell me you can use that magic too?! I-I was sure Raelor was the only living incubus capable of it…"
"You said it yourself. That damn bastard taught me everything I know — and I'll owe it to his teachings when I kill him! But for now…"
He points the gigantic sword at the vampire.
"…I'll settle for killing you!"
Just as Ren is about to bring down the finishing blow, the vampire pulls a small red sphere from his pocket and hurls it to the ground.
FLASH!
When it shatters, a blinding explosion erupts, forcing Ren to cover his eyes.
When the light fades a few seconds later, nothing remains but traces of blood left behind by the fleeing vampire.
Ren could follow them and finish him for good. But for all he knows, the vampire might not be alone — and someone could use that opening to hurt Yuzu, unconscious after seeing Ren's blood.
It's a risk he isn't willing to take.
As Ren limps away with his sister in his arms, a boy with hair darker than night and glowing crimson eyes watches from afar.