𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗘 - 𝗛𝗔𝗞𝗨𝗔-𝗡𝗢-𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗢
𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗪𝗔𝗬
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The train hummed softly as it sped along the tracks, the rhythm steady—almost soothing.
Yurina sat by the aisle, a book open in her hands. Beside her, Shiharu leaned against the window, earphones in, eyes half-lidded as quiet music played. The late afternoon light filtered through the glass, casting warm shadows across them.
Without thinking, Yurina tilted her head… and rested it gently on his shoulder.
Her hair slipped over his arm like silk.
Shiharu didn't move.
Didn't complain.
Just a faint glance downward—then back to the window.
Peaceful.
Too peaceful.
---
A sudden chill crept down Yurina's spine.
Her fingers stilled on the page.
Slowly, she lifted her head and looked around.
Passengers filled the Shinkansen—salarymen scrolling through their phones, a mother softly shushing her child, a student dozing off with his bag on his lap. Everything was normal.
So why…
…did it feel so wrong?
Beside her, Shiharu's music stopped.
He had noticed it too.
His gaze shifted slightly, eyes narrowing.
"Haru… is it just me, or—"
"Dodge!!"
His voice cut through her words.
In the same instant, his arm wrapped around her and yanked her down.
They hit the floor hard.
Yurina landed against his body—shielded.
But Shiharu—
"—gh…!"
---
BOOM!!
The world tore open.
The ceiling of the train exploded inward.
A jagged slash ripped across the roof, metal peeled back like paper. Wind roared violently into the cabin, dragging debris, glass, and screams along with it.
For a second—
There was silence.
Before
Chaos.
Standing passengers—
Gone.
Heads severed cleanly, bodies collapsing before they could even register what happened. Blood sprayed across seats, across windows—across everything.
A woman screamed.
Then another.
The cabin depressurized violently. People were thrown from their seats, bags and bodies crashing into each other. Torn metal sliced through flesh—one woman directly beneath the rupture was cut open, her blood painting the aisle in red.
"Help—!!"
"Someone—please—!"
"Stop the train—!"
But the driver…
…was already dead.
---
The train lurched violently.
Emergency brakes screamed against the rails, but the speed was still too much. The torn roof continued to rip apart under the pressure of the wind.
Smoke filled the air.
Alarms blared endlessly.
Some passengers lay unmoving.
Others crawled, cried, begged.
Most—
Didn't move at all.
Emergency brakes screamed against the rails.
But the damage had already been done.
More smoke filled the air. The smell of iron—thick and suffocating—spread everywhere.
—
Yurina slowly lifted her head.
A head rolled to a stop inches from her.
Her breath hitched.
"…no…"
She scrambled back, her hands trembling lightly.
Shiharu sat up beside her, blood dripping from his forehead, staining his collar. His gaze moved—not to one head—
—but several.
"…What… the hell…"
For a moment, the world felt like it reached the ending.
"Shi—Shiharu?!"
Yurina snapped out of it, panic flooding her voice. She rushed to him, tearing her white sweater without hesitation. Her fingers—long, precise—worked quickly as she tied makeshift bandages around his wounds.
"Stay still… please—just stay still!"
But even as she spoke—
her eyes moved.
"…their blood…"
Shiharu's voice was faint.
Yurina followed his gaze.
The blood pooling on the floor…
was disappearing.
Not flowing.
Not spreading.
Being… taken.
Something unseen moved through it—drinking it dry.
But Yurina—
could see it.
Her pupils trembled.
"…seriously no.. no way…"
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
sharp.
"Cover your ears! Now!"
Shiharu didn't question it.
He obeyed instantly, pressing his hands over his ears.
Yurina did the same.
And then—
she screamed.
Not a normal scream.
Something that tore through the air itself.
"AAAAAAHHHHH—!!!"
The sound cracked.
Warped.
For a single moment—
everything stopped.
The train.
The people.
Because the others hadn't covered their ears.
The rest weren't living things either.
Her voice froze every single thing in place making it safe for them not to get strucked the more by anything dangerous.
"…Yuri…"
Shiharu's voice was weak.
Too weak.
His body trembled as more blood slipped through the bandages. Glass shards were embedded in his skin. His breathing grew shallow. He sighed in relief when he realized the red thread around his arm was still safe.
A bittersweet low laugh escaped his lips, his fingers threading through his black hair.
"Haa… feels like… I'm dying…"
"Don't say that!" she shouted, gripping him tighter. "You're not dying—don't you dare—!"
The windows suddenly shattered.
CRASH!!
Fragments pierced through the cabin like bullets as if trying so hard to break the frozen spell Yurina's voice had casted on the train.
One cut across his arm.
Another lodged into his side making him to instinctively raise his hand up to prevent it from cutting through the red thread, it went through his stomach.
"—ghh…!"
Still—
he stood.
Barely.
Leaning on her.
Step by step, they moved toward the broken exit.
The outside air hit them hard as they stumbled off the train.
—
Silence.
No city.
No people.
Just empty tracks stretching endlessly.
The train stood there like a corpse.
"…where… are we…?" Yurina whispered
clap.
Clap. Clap.
"Woah… woah… woah…"
A voice echoed lightly.
Playful.
Wrong.
"Looks like we've got two survivors... but…"
The voice smiled.
"hehh…how interesting."
They slowly looked up.
A girl stood there—calm, untouched by the chaos.
Elegant.
Unnatural.
Her eyes gleamed with something inhuman.
"How did they manage to survive? I wonder."
A girl dressed in white.
A strapless bustier hugged her frame, the sweetheart neckline accentuating her chest. Gold filigree curled across the fabric like living vines, weaving around tiny red rose motifs and pearl-like beads that shimmered under the fading light. Soft ruffles lined the edges, delicate… almost innocent.
But nothing about her felt innocent.
Below, a high-cut, form-fitting piece connected to the bustier with thin gold chains that swayed lightly with each movement. A heart-shaped cutout at her lower abdomen framed a small jewel that dangled, catching the light like a drop of blood. Gold straps wrapped around her thighs, embedded with faint green gems.
And her hair—
It flowed endlessly.
Long, impossibly thick strands cascaded past her knees, spilling onto the ground like a cloak. The color shifted beautifully from vibrant cyan to lime green, fading into a soft yellow at the tips.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
Because behind that appearance—
her power…
…was overwhelming.
—
"Trying to kill your targets, are you?"
A second voice cut in.
Calm.
Male.
Both Yurina and Shiharu turned.
A tall boy stood a few steps away, posture relaxed—but his presence wasn't. It pressed down like something heavy.
His hair was messy, layered black with pale blonde hidden beneath, especially near the nape. Uneven bangs shadowed one eye, strands curling outward carelessly.
His eyes…
Narrow.
Distant.
Like he had already seen too much.
Crack-like markings ran along his skin—face, neck, arms—as if something inside him had once tried to break out.
He wore a slightly wrinkled white shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbows. A black vest hugged his frame, neat but not pristine. A loose red tie hung carelessly at his collar, and beneath it, a dark high-neck layer peeked out.
Black pants, fitted.
Belts and straps coiled around his waist and thighs.
Fingerless gloves.
A student.
They both looked like students.
But—
"…what school…?" Yurina whispered under her breath.
Because it was obvious.
It wasn't a normal school.
—
"Oh… oh my…"
The girl in white suddenly covered her face with her hair, letting out a shy, almost embarrassed squeal.
"We… we were the targets?"
Shiharu's voice came out low, disbelieving.
Why?
What had they done?
What did they have?
The girl's expression shifted.
Her eyes narrowed.
Yurina immediately pulled Shiharu back.
"Be careful," she whispered urgently. "Her power… it's blood curse. She can control blood—hers or others'. Turn it into weapons… poison… even curses if it mixes with yours."
A pause.
"Don't let her touch you."
"…how wonderful."
The girl clapped softly, delighted.
"You figured that out so easily."
Her lips curved into a playful smile.
"Then… shall we test it?"
Her hands stretched out—
unnaturally.
Shiharu's eyes widened.
Something inside him—
shifted.
His wounds…
healed.
Skin closed over instantly. Blood stopped flowing.
Regeneration.
"…what…?"
His breath hitched.
No time.
No time to think.
—
The air snapped.
Blood rose.
The crimson pooling across the ground lifted—shaping, twisting—forming into spinning spheres lined with razor edges.
They shot forward.
Fast.
Too fast.
Shiharu moved.
Faster.
His body reacted before his mind could catch up. He weaved between them, his senses sharpened, every movement precise. His arm wrapped around Yurina's neck.
A sharp strike.
She went limp.
Unconscious.
He caught her easily.
Like she weighed nothing.
—
He moved again.
A blur.
Dodging.
Leaping.
The blood spheres chased him relentlessly, carving through metal, tearing into the wreckage.
But he didn't get hit.
Not once.
—
"…he can interact with blood too…?"
The girl's voice dropped.
Unsettled.
"…his speed… his aura… and he just regenerated… who… is he?"
For the first time—
she hesitated.
—
"Step back."
The boy spoke.
Quiet.
Final.
She clicked her tongue—but obeyed.
Though the frustration in her eyes burned.
—
Shiharu landed.
Calmly.
Yurina rested in his arms, her long hair spilling over his sleeve like silk.
His head lowered slightly.
"…do you realize how many people you just killed?"
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
—
The Shinkansen tracks had become a graveyard.
Steel twisted.
Blood everywhere.
The distant hum of the rails had long gone silent.
—
Shiharu moved again.
Like a shadow.
His arms never loosened around Yurina.
Not even for a second.
Her head rested against his chest, unmoving.
His eyes—
glowed.
Deep crimson.
—
"You see…"
The girl's voice echoed, light and cruel.
"We're looking for someone."
She licked the blood from her palm, eyes gleaming.
"All of this wouldn't have happened if you had just died quietly."
Her smile widened.
"I don't know who you are… or what you are…"
Her fingers flicked.
"…but you're not leaving alive."
—
Blood blades shot forward.
Sharp.
Alive.
Beside her, the boy lifted his sword—its violet glow slicing through the air in wide arcs, sending waves of cutting energy crashing toward Shiharu.
—
"…looking for someone…?"
Shiharu thought distantly. All this chaos, what mattered to him the most was the red thread hoshiyuki gave him.
His body moved.
Twisting mid-air, narrowly avoiding a blade that hissed past his ear.
Another slash—
He leapt back.
Landed.
Accelerated again.
Yurina still in his arms.
—
"This is… nothing…"
His thoughts felt strange.
Light.
Detached.
"…so this is it…"
"…my power…"
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
…Vryendel… was right afteràll
—
A blood lance shot forward.
He dodged.
Too late—
It grazed his shoulder.
A thin line of red.
He hissed.
Another came
A blood blade.
It cut across Yurina's arm.
A shallow wound.
But enough.
A soft whimper escaped her lips.
Shiharu stopped.
—
For half a second—
the world went silent.
—
His eyes widened
The blood on his body—
boiled.
—
A pulse.
A surge.
A pressure so heavy it crushed the air itself.
His crimson eyes deepened.
Burning.
Glowing.
—
"…do you have a death wish…?"
His voice came out low.
Distorted.
Something darker layered beneath it.
"I was going to settle this calmly…"
A step forward.
"…but I guess…"
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
"…fighting back won't hurt."
He vanished.
—
Appeared.
Right in front of her.
—
Her eyes widened.
Too late.
—
With one arm still holding Yurina close—
he struck.
—
BOOM!!
—
A massive wave of blood energy exploded from his palm, slamming into her like a tidal force. She was hurled backward, crashing into steel and concrete, her constructs shattering instantly.
—
The boy reacted.
Swing—
Shiharu caught the not-so ordinary sharp blade mid-air.
Barehanded.
—
The sword cut into his palm.
Blood flowed.
—
He didn't flinch.
Rather the blood wrapped around the blade.
Corroding.
Breaking.
Forcing the boy to let go.
—
A fist.
Driven forward.
—
CRACK.
—
The impact crushed into his stomach.
The boy flew back, slamming into debris, coughing blood.
—
Silence.
—
The girl pushed herself up slowly.
Breathing hard.
Smiling.
"…well… well…"
Her eyes gleamed.
"Look at you."
"…you finally woke up."
—
Shiharu stood still.
Yurina safe in his arms.
His body radiating a dark, suffocating aura.
His eyes—
glowing scarlet.
—
"If you touch her again…"
His voice dropped.
Cold.
Final.
—
"I'll drain every last drop of blood from your bodies."
—
The wind howled softly through the ruined tracks.
And in that moment—
it was clear.
This wasn't a fight anymore.
It was a warning