1

Just beside the market was a sloped road leading downward. There weren’t any noteworthy homes. We tried to peek through the windows, but found nobody inside. There wasn’t a single bit of noise or movement, both inside the town’s homes and outside.

When we kept going down the road, we eventually ended up spotting a large metallic gate on our left. Surrounding it is a brick wall. This home is clearly different from all the other ones we’ve seen before.

The three of us come to a stop, the sand on the ground making it nearly impossible for me to gain proper stability on the road. Leading the way is Cynthia, who has her hands in her pockets.

Holding my hand to the right is Evi.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, to which Cynthia tries peeking through the crevices of the metallic gates.

“Something about this place gives me a bad feeling.”

I tighten my hold on Evi’s hand.

“Do you want to check it out?”

She nods, taking out her unattached weapon. With one swift vertical swing, she breaks the chain locks keeping the doors in place. Worst case scenario, we just trespass on someone’s property and leave before they can spot us.

But I’ve come to trust Cynthia’s intuition over the years.

Still, it’s a bit rare that she’s the one taking the lead. I must be out of my game, being so focused on Evi. Either that, or she’s being considerate about my distraction. I thought she’d take the rear in order to protect me, but I guess I should have trusted her as a person a bit more.

Pulling the lock away, the metallic gates groan as the bottom scrapes the stone.

Instantly, the open space comes into view. It isn’t as large as some of the mansions back in the States, but it’s enough to where it could probably hold three large cars decently spread out from each other.

At the edge on the far right of the wall is a large tree. Hanging from its branches is a makeshift wooden swing meant for children.

My eyes glance at Evi, half-expecting her to burst in excitement like a regular child. But to my surprise, she remains still, with not a single hint of emotion coloring her face. She reminds me of a robot waiting for a command.

We walk forward, eventually turning left. Only then does the house that the gate was protecting come into full view.

It’s a large, three-story building that’s detached from the others around it. On our immediate left is a smaller hut. Or, I would call it a hut if it wasn’t built with bricks and stones like every other home.

The main mansion is directly in front of us. There are clear, visible spiral stairs leading up to what I assume is the second and third floor. Even in the dark, the line between soil and marble is clear, as the moonlight reflects off its porcelain surface.

Our footsteps shift from crushing sand to tapping against marble. With one peek through the first floor’s door, which has a large window in the middle, Cynthia starts making her way towards the stairs.

“Was there nothing there?” I ask, peeking through it as well.

“Just storage. I bet we’ll find something else as we get higher,” she says calmly.

“What was this bad feeling you were getting, Cynthia?”

Right before her foot rises on the stairs, she halts. “I don’t know. I just had this feeling that I should come check this place out.”

Just a feeling? That’s it?

Half-heartedly accepting her reasoning, I continue on behind her. Despite it being the summertime, the empty air surrounding this dark mansion is cold. At first, I thought it was because I was holding Evi’s hand.

But no, the air itself is actually cool.

Once we reach the end of the spiral, we’re greeted by a wooden door that oddly looks out of place. I can’t make out the material in the dark, but just by touching it, I can tell that it’s carved with intricate patterns all over its surface.

After giving Cynthia a quick nod, I twist the doorknob. Before I can put force into it, the door slides smoothly open as if it was waiting for my arrival.

I step aside with Evi, letting Cynthia get through first. If we’re going to be in a somewhat confined space, it’s better if the melee fighter takes the lead rather than the ranger.

“Hey, can you cast a light?” she asks just before passing through the doorframe.

“Yeah. I got you.”

Just as I raise my arm, I feel a tug coming from beneath me.

“No. Light. Hurt.” Evi clenches my jacket.

I turn back to Cynthia with pleading eyes. She sighs and enters the house.

Though, I’m not sure if it’s all light that hurts vampires or just the holy ones. Since there isn’t too much information on them back at our headquarters, I’ll have to ask someone from the D.D.A. after the mission.

When I enter the house, I’m naturally drawn to the furniture. On top of the dinner table, there are half-eaten meals that look like they’ve been dropped suddenly. There are still lip stains on glass cups.

Some of the windows swing open idly, while others are closed shut.

The multiple ceiling fans are spinning ever so slowly, as if someone just turned them off.

It might have looked quite big from the outside, but it’s not that sizeable at all. In front of us is a dinner table, with the rest of the floor stretching far both left and right.

To our right is the kitchen, where water drips every minute or so.

My shoes rub against what seem like recently cleaned floors.

“Do you still have a bad feeling?” I ask Cynthia, keeping a lookout on the places that she’s not looking at.

“Yeah.”

This place certainly does seem the same as the first house.

But she was right. Something feels off.

It’s like we have eyes watching us from every corner.

As I walk towards the kitchen, Cynthia goes the opposite direction. I open the refrigerator door, its internal light illuminating the open kitchen with its bright blue glow. Inside are various foods that are either covered in wrap or are yet-to-be-opened ingredients.

After a second of rummaging, I find a large piece of steak. Pulling that out, I show it to Evi.

“Do you think you’ll be okay with this?”

She looks at the steak curiously, twisting her head around every crevice like she’s a car mechanic.

“No. Sangi. No.”

She says a word in the middle that I don’t understand. Earlier, she wasn’t exactly eating the corpse, so I guess it’s not the meat that she’s exactly after. Considering this is already butchered meat, maybe the lack of blood is what’s bothering her.

I try to give her the package one last time, which she pushes away slowly with one hand.

Letting out a sigh, I put the steak back so as not to upset whoever owns it.

“Rom!” I hear Cynthia’s voice echo across the house. Closing the fridge door, Evi and I make our way towards the other end of the building.

Slowly, Cynthia’s silhouette spills into view. I should have packed some flashlights if I knew I wouldn’t be able to cast any incantations.

“Look.”

She turns to me, handing me an open book. Pushing me towards the window, the moonlight helps me see what’s written on there ever so slightly. I still have to squint and let my eyes get used to the dark, but I’ll just have to deal with it for now.

On the page that was handed to me, there are words and letters all neatly written out by hand. Drawing in a deep breath, I start reading what’s written.

“February 17, 2000.”

That’s over four years ago.

“We have secured our first research test subject through the ████████.”

“Hm? Why’d you pause, Rom?”

“It’s redacted. I can’t make out what it says.”

“Someone redacted a handwritten journal? That’s odd,” she says, placing a hand on her chin.

I continue reading. “Though initial tests in researching the nature of DREAMS were successful, it was not anything we had not known before. I will keep updating our progress as we go.”

I flip a few pages.

“November 23, 2000.”

“The D.D.A. visited us not too long ago. Although we intended on taking them down, the agency’s top duo were the ones that visited the site. It was unfortunate, but we had no choice but to eliminate our own in order to preserve the secret.”

“D.D.A.? What were the Dream Hunters doing here? Wait, if this happened in 2000, then does that mean Kos and Mizuki killed them? Serves them right,” Cynthia says harshly.

“Cynthia, they were still people.”

“Yeah, but by the looks of it, they were experimenting on something. I’m willing to bet that those experiments are the reason why this town’s been a ghost town.”

She’s not wrong. It would make a lot of sense if these two events correlated with one another.

“Strange, Zuki told me that the D.D.A. never mobilized, but apparently they have? Something’s not lining up.” After my statement, Cynthia just shrugs her shoulders, gesturing to me to continue reading.

“September 8, 2001. From the research we conducted the past year, we have determined that the creature on ice dates back a few centuries. From our findings, we assume the test subject is capable of aging, but their frozen status prevented them from doing so. We aren’t sure of the exact date of origin, but we plan on continuing our research.”

Cynthia steps forward, gently extending her hand. I give her the book.

My gaze draws toward Evi.

Is she the⸺

“These bastards!” Cynthia’s furious statement snaps my attention away. When I turn back to her, I notice that her fingers are angrily digging into the book.

“What’s wrong?”

Gritting her teeth, she reads the pages out loud. “May 15, 2002.”

That’s two years ago.

“We have successfully extracted the test subject’s blood. As per the request of the ████████, we intend on finding a cure to human mortality. We shall start administering the test samples through our contract with Druscilla Vemicara. On other notes, we have found an adult vampire that was lurking in the city.”

My breath hitches. “Druscilla Vermicara? You can’t be serious, right?”

After rapidly flipping through the rest of the pages, she tosses the book aside.

“There aren’t any more notes. That was the last one.”

I rub my chin.

“Nothing adds up here. From what we know about vampirism, it takes the infected a good while to fully transform. If everyone got turned into vampires, we would have seen bloodstains and signs of struggle.”

She nods in agreement. “We might be dealing with something far more dangerous. Whatever this test subject was, we need to hope that it’s long gone.”

Holding Evi’s hand tightly, the words I want to say linger at the tip of my tongue.

“I don’t think she’s the vampire,” Cynthia goes on. “They mentioned an adult vampire. If this small one was the one in ice, I highly doubt they would have gone out of their way to mention the adult one.”

Her logic makes sense, but it also doesn’t.

There’s still a chance that Evi is that figure that was on ice. It would make sense since she’s the only living creature we’ve seen in the city. But just because there’s an adult vampire doesn’t mean they would randomly get rid of years of research and progress.

Unless…

“It’s still possible Evi’s the one they were experimenting on. But I think it’s also possible that they switched targets from a child vampire to an adult one. It would explain why everyone’s suddenly gone.”

Cynthia ponders. “Unless we know what exactly they were doing, we won’t know for sure. If this is where one of the researchers lived, then chances are the laboratory is also somewhere in the town.”

“Plus…” She looks dead into my eyes. “You better start praying she’s not the test subject. If she is, then that means she’s directly responsible for the disappearance of everyone.”

Crap. I was so into trying to solve this mystery that I forgot she was against Evi’s life.

“We don’t know if they’re all dead or not. Since they’re all gone…”

A sudden thought snaps into my mind.

“Wait…”

Cynthia raises her head. After a few seconds, her eyebrows start to furrow. Looks like she’s come to the same point as I am.

“We’ve seen someone else besides Evi,” I add on.

So dumb. I’m so dumb.

I… we… were so focused on whether or not Evi should live that we forgot a crucial detail. There was someone else besides the three of us. We just didn’t notice because they were dead.

“The corpse at the market.”

Nodding in agreement, she glares daggers at Evi.

I know what she’s thinking. If we don’t leave this house soon, I can see her accusing Evi of being problematic again.

While I start articulating my plan, Evi pulls my hand.

“Watch. Out. !”

The air hisses behind me. I see a glint at the corner of my eye.

In the blink of an eye, the foreign silhouette zooms past me, heading straight toward Cynthia.

“CYNTHIA!”

My body moves on its own. Without realizing it, my hands are already lunging toward her.

In the next instant…

“—Ngh…”

Blood explodes from my palm.

A visceral splinter is all I hear.

“AGGHH!!!”

“ROM!” Cynthia yells out. Evi rushes to my side as I get on my knees.

My face winces in pain. Once my vision clears, I notice a long, sharp, metallic object—a sword—lodged perfectly in the middle of my hand.

Blood streams out like a racing river.

Using my other hand, I push Cynthia away ever so slightly. I can’t speak for some reason. Even though the words formulate at the top of my head, they don’t actually leave my mouth. It feels like I’m losing control of my body.

It hurts. It hurts so bad.

“Ngh…”

A deep grunt resonates from where we came from. Cynthia raises her head, drawing her weapon almost immediately. Since we’re in such a small house, she has to resort to only using the blade part of her weapon.

Evi hides behind my crouched body.

The scent of rotting flesh starts to invade my nostrils. At first, I thought it was coming from me. But no, it’s coming from whoever shot this sword at me.

Two crimson dots are the first things I see.

Then, white teeth shaped like daggers.

Under the gleaming moonlight, the figure’s pale skin practically glows.

As it steps closer, my brain starts to process its humanoid figure and assembles all previous visual clues together.

2

“Vampire!”

Wind blows past me as Cynthia’s slender frame rushes over to the figure.

There’s a loud, metallic clash, before I see her returning to my side.

The vampire is wearing a butler suit, combined with a coat that a medieval noble would wear. Gold and silver piercings lining all over its body jingle with each step forward.

He’s lean and tall. Despite the rest of his elegant appearance, his eerily long hair works against him, as if he hasn’t washed it in a long time.

Rage like never before boils in my chest.

Shoving my uninjured hand into my pocket, I draw out my gun. I have all six bullets at my disposal. If he makes a sudden move, I’ll make sure to blast him into smithereens.

“Rom…” Evi calls out to me worriedly, but I keep my eyes trained on the beast in front of us.

Cynthia does the same. She’s just as ready to take this thing down as I am.

He moves silently, getting closer to us. I can’t help but stare into his eyes. They’re so devoid of life, yet there’s a slight glimmer of humanity. It’s the opposite of what I saw with Evi when I first met her.

Stopping just thirty feet away from us, he reaches behind his back.

Drawing an identical blade to the one he hurt me with, he holds it tightly by his hip.

Neither Cynthia nor I make a move. Right now, we don’t know what that thing is fully capable of. In this confined space, we won’t be able to fully take advantage of our weapons and techniques.

Somehow, someway, we need to get that thing outside.

Cocking my weapon, I take a deep breath. As I do so, Cynthia enters a battle stance.

“Lamimori.”

His voice is deep and raspy.

With one swift movement, he throws the sword again at lightning speed. Thankfully, this time, Cynthia anticipates the attack and effortlessly deflects it using her shortened war scythe.

Shock crosses the vampire’s face like it was the greatest feat he’s ever seen.

I gulp. Even if it made the first move, we won’t be able to do anything unless he actually lunges at us.

Just as I bite down on my teeth to ease the pain, I hear a pair of light footsteps behind me. Evi’s golden hair sways side to side as if painting the air with streaks of gold.

Cynthia jolts her head down, ready to cut down Evi at any moment.

Judging from the faces both Cynthia and I are making, neither of us can believe what we’re seeing.

Despite being so afraid of Cynthia earlier, Evi simply walks past her, brimming with an aura of confidence.

Are the two vampires allies? Was she actually just faking her emotions all along?

Just a few feet in front of Cynthia, she halts. Raising her head high to meet the vampire’s gaze, I hear Evi’s unrestrained voice for the very first time.

<Insolent mudbiter. How dare you attempt an attack without naming yourself first?>

She speaks in words I don’t understand. My brain scrambles to make sense of it, but not a single language comes to mind.

The adult vampire composes himself before bending his body into a small bow.

<Noblique Safir.>

Cynthia’s just as confused as I am. But there isn’t anything we can do right now. From what I can tell, Evi probably has some kind of power over this guy. If given the right moment, we might be able to strike just before he does.

<In human tongue, you cur.>

Where I’m at, Evi seems like a completely different person. Much less of a little girl and more like a queen.

Narrowing his eyes, the adult vampire lets out an annoyed huff.

“Noblique Safir.”

Safir? That last name sounds oddly familiar.

As if reading my thoughts, the adult vampire reaches behind his back once more. This time, however, he isn’t granted permission to even withdraw his weapon as Cynthia throws small daggers toward the monster.

Bits of silver sparkle in the air before they are promptly dismissed by the vampire’s hand.

Evi leans forward, kicking her feet toward the right wall. Using it like a trampoline of sorts, she bounces off the solid surface, tackling Noblique through the window. The humid summer air immediately clashes against the cool wind that was trapped inside the house.

There’s a loud crashing thud coming from underneath us.

Cynthia takes a step forward, but turns around in hesitation.

“Go! I’ll be fine!” I swing my arm to dismiss her. With that simple statement, she gives me a quick nod and leaps out of the window as well.

I let out a pained grunt as the sword is quickly pulled from my skin. My legs move toward the house’s kitchen, where I remember seeing a bunch of rags earlier. Grabbing one of them, I bandage my hand to the best of my abilities.

Just as I tighten the last of the fabric, I hear metallic clashes coming from outside.

I move over to the window, leaning forward to see what’s going on.

At the mansion’s main plaza are three individuals.

Noblique Safir, who is standing just in front of the large tree with elegance, dusting off his decorated coat.

Cynthia and Evi are standing rather far from him. Evi has her hands drawn like an animal with claws, and Cynthia finally has her assembled war scythe equipped. I should probably get down there as quickly as possible.

Or, actually, this place is perfect for someone like me. If Evi intends on fighting with us, then she’ll no doubt be a close-quarters fighter. If that’s the case, my usual distraction tactics won’t work.

I’ll have to try to shoot him down from a distance, forcing him to look up at me while also trying to fight off Cynthia and Evi.

I’m not sure how Evi fights, but there’s no way he’ll be able to fight Cynthia while distracted and win.

Rushing past Evi, Cynthia leaps into the air and raises her weapon.

My eyes fixate on a strange glow coming from the vampire’s neck. It’s pulsing a faint cyan hue.

“Cynthia! Wait! That’s a mage!”

Before her attack connects, a wall of crystal ice shoots up from the ground, surrounding the vampire in a protective layer that no weapon would be able to pierce through ordinary means.

Upon making contact, Cynthia’s weapon bounces back thanks to the ice’s hardened deflection. In that instant, the wall shatters into a million pieces, revealing Noblique’s hand aiming at her.

“Shit!”

I take aim with my weapon and shoot.

The bullet barely misses his neck, only grazing it slightly. If I had more time to focus, it would have been a guaranteed kill.

Noblique’s face contorts into a frown. That split second of hesitation is all Cynthia needs to back away as quickly as possible. Even from a distance, I can see her tightening her grip on the weapon’s handle.

There’s no doubt that she’s frustrated.

“I knew I recognized that name…” I mumble to myself before taking a large breath.

Leaning out of the window, I yell out as loudly as possible.

“He specializes in Ice and Fire magic! Be careful!”

Evi looks back curiously, but Cynthia keeps her eyes forward.

I take aim once more. The vampire looks up at me.

Even though he’s a good distance away, just looking in his general direction distorts my vision. There’s a throbbing sensation pulsing in my chest that I can’t ignore.

Pulling the trigger, the explosive death bell that comes with every gun harkens. The metallic cylinder inside shoots out with such intense ferocity that not even humans can properly dodge it.

But this vampire…

“Onzei.”

A wall of ice erupts from the ground once more.

The split second the wall is up, Cynthia lunges forward wholeheartedly, swinging her weapon with tremendous force. The air begs for mercy, as her blade, most closely associated with death, opens its jaws on the vampire.

Noblique shatters the ice. I would too. A wall like that would only hinder my vision of the opponent. But too bad…

“⸺AGHHH!!!”

Cynthia’s scythe cuts his left arm.

Now that she’s close, her weapon clicks, transforming into a shorter blade.

As the vampire recoils in pain, she swings again.

This time, she slices open his belly.

“GHHH!! AGHHH!! LAMIMORI!!!”

From the torn flesh of his injuries, the vampire’s blood begins to glow a bright orange hue. Before Cynthia can even react, an explosion sends her flying backward, her holy uniform catching fire.

Right as her body is about to hit the wall, Evi clutches the back of her neck, forcefully stopping Cynthia’s momentum.

I look back at where the vampire’s standing. The tree behind him is completely engulfed in flames, with a sea of smoke streaking up into the air.

“Ngh… Get away from me!” Cynthia shouts, waving her arm away. At first, I think it’s because she doesn’t want Evi to get caught in the fight, but her disgusted expression tells me otherwise.

Snap out of it. Right now, I can’t afford to just stand here.

Using my uninjured arm, I leap over the window, landing squarely on the marble floor.

“Cynthia! Are you okay?”

Clutching her right leg, she mutters out, “I-I think so! I just need a second to heal. I’ll use the Lord’s Prayer if I have to.”

I’d rather she not, but at this rate, it might be our only chance of winning.

“LAMIMORI! LAMIMORI!” The vampire bares its fangs like a hungry beast. His eyes and composure no longer hold the same elegance they did only a few minutes ago. Right now, he seems to fit the exact description of a vampire.

“Evi,” I say without turning my gaze, “you can communicate with that thing, right? Can you keep it distracted while I patch up Cynthia?”

“No. Noblique. Attack!” she replies in a frustrated manner.

Is she trying to say he’ll attack regardless? It does make sense, since he seems to be much less rational now.

Damn it. Damn it!

I’ll have to try this then…

“Evi! Can you attack him like Cynthia did?”

What am I saying?

“If you distract him long enough, I’ll be able to shoot him down!”

Why am I putting a kid in danger?

She puffs out her chest in confidence, showing her sharp nails.

Raising my gun, I shoot at the vampire again. From my peripheral vision, I see Evi getting ready to leap at him.

This time, he doesn’t erect a wall of ice, instead opting to shoot out a heatwave. Before Evi can even move, I find myself using my own body to shield hers. My jacket isn’t as powerful as Cynthia’s habit, but it’s enough to protect me for now.

“AGHH…” I tense up as much as possible to endure the heat. When I slightly crack open my eyes, I see Evi’s worried expression, staring deeply like someone heartbroken.

Once the flame subsides, so does my pain tolerance. I fall on my side, catching as much breath as possible in a limited timeframe.

This thing is too hard to beat. We can’t do it in our injured state.

I need to get up.

Or else… we’ll die.

Cynthia struggles to get up, using the long handle of her weapon as a support cane. Once she does, though, I hear a blazing cackle coming from behind me. My heart skips a beat as my body works overtime to warn her about the incoming attack.

In a blink of an eye, the ground she’s standing on bursts into flames.

…

I can’t even see her anymore.

I don’t see her silhouette.

Those flames… they look at least five times hotter than what I was hit with.

I’m probably next.

I can’t even move my body.

I’m sorry, Cynthia… I should have been better.

I’m sorry, Evi… I hope you run away and live a long life.

“Hm?” the vampire lets out a concerned grunt.

And then…

From the flames, Cynthia bursts out like a fury-filled warrior. Her uniform is all but gone, most of it having been completely tattered and burnt. The tips of her hair are still on fire, but her skin doesn’t seem like it’s been charred one bit.

Just seeing her fly across the field gives me the strength to push myself back up to my knees. I can’t believe I was just about to give up! I have a ton of questions, but they’ll have to wait for later!

“⸻!”

Cynthia swings her weapon. The vampire blocks it with his arm covered in ice. Each blow she gives him slowly chips away at his shield.

I shoot my gun twice as quickly as possible. Right now, I need to forego complete accuracy in favor of actually hitting my target.

Noblique chokes on his own blood as one of my shots lands. My mind snaps into place as I close my eyes and let out an incantation.

(Bound on earth, bound in heaven )

“Ligata in terra, ligata in caelo”

Golden light begins to spray out of his shoulder, as projections of chains bind him down momentarily.

“⸻ACKK!”

I hear a gargling shriek beside me. When I turn my head, I see that Evi’s gone.

In the distance, there’s a short girl dashing toward danger without any care in the world. I’m not sure if it’s the flames, but it looks like her hair’s turned from golden yellow to crimson red.

I shoot again. The bullet swoops past Evi and lands squarely in the vampire’s stomach.

(Bound on earth, bound in heaven )

“Ligata in terra, ligata in caelo”

Another chain binds him to the ground.

I then aim at Cynthia’s silver scythe.

(Be strengthened and rise. )

“Confortamini et surgite.”

The metal on her weapon begins to glow a bright golden hue. Within that second, she manages to shatter Noblique’s ice-cold defenses almost immediately, breaking them into dust.

Evi dashes in, her crimson hair swinging in the air like a flail. Using her razor-sharp claws, she swings down at Noblique, leaving claw-sized marks on his face. She continues this rhythm, swinging away violently and carelessly all over the vampire’s body.

The more Evi slashes at him, the more Cynthia cuts into his body. Unable to move, unable to defend himself, the vampire is left at the mercy of the two bloodthirsty hunters.

“LAMIMORI! LAMIMORI!”

He cries out desperately. Cynthia cuts another chunk of his flesh, maintaining her death glare at the vampire.

“Shut up already.”

Too overwhelmed to fully defend himself, Cynthia finally manages to cut his right arm cleanly off. The dead limb flies in the air, spilling drops of blood like rain. By the time it hits the ground, it no longer holds the threat it once did.

Noblique falls to his knees. Cynthia and Evi pause their assault.

Breathing heavily, Cynthia wraps the curve of her weapon around Noblique’s neck.

“Who are you?” Her voice is raspy and sounds like she’s on the verge of collapse.

“Wretched humans. Thou knowest not whom thou facest. Slay me now, and the rest of this human settlement shall be wiped from the world.”

<Surely you must have noticed, Noblique.>

Evi speaks fluently in her own language.

<There are no more humans here. What have you done?>

“Thee speaking in the manner of humans sickens me. Rest assured, Your Highness, this is not mine end.”

A glow of orange starts to rise from the sand.

“GUYS! GET AWAY!”

I try to dash forward, but my legs disobey my commands.

Flames erupt from the ground, showering both of their bodies from head to toe. In that same instant, I see a black blur flash away. Leaning forward, I see Noblique’s silhouette leaping over the home’s walls.

My body freezes. I can’t cast wind magic. All I can do is hope that both of them are okay.

And to my surprise…

…they are.

“OWWW, IT BURRNSS! Huh?!” I’d recognize that shriek anywhere. Honestly, I was kinda missing it.

The flames still roar on, but within them, Evi and Cynthia walk out like nothing’s happened to them. Although Evi seems less thrilled about her survival, Cynthia’s jaws are wide open as she inspects every visible crevice of her body for burn marks.

Which she has none of.

Finally mustering the strength, I manage to stand up straight.

“Cynthia! Evi! Are you guys okay?”

Evi nods once. “Flame. No. Hurt.”

Flames don’t hurt vampires? That explains why Noblique wasn’t affected by his own magic. But still, that doesn’t explain why…

“Why am I not burning?” It’s as if she was reading my thoughts. Her face is colored with surprise, but also genuine curiosity.

“That’s impossible…”

Even holy cloth shouldn’t survive flames like that. They’re meant for defense against unholy elements. Natural forces in the world don’t really do much to protect the user.

She looks down. Then looks at me.

Most of her clothes are gone.

I half expect her to start shrieking again, but she just looks at me.

A mischievous smirk curls across her face. Under the moonlight, her canine teeth look strangely sharp.

She licks her lips, and a splash of red starts spreading across her face.

“You’re quite naughty, looking at me like that, aren’t you?” her voice is alluring.

“Shut up, Cynthia.”

3

Cackles of fire pop in our ears, as the large tree continues to burn diligently.

A golden glow shoots out gracefully from my hand, the injury on my palm slowly stitching itself up like an automatic machine. Despite there being holy light, Evi seems to be standing next to me completely fine.

With her arms crossed, Cynthia lets out a sigh.

“Still, that was unbelievably close.”

“Yeah,” I say weakly. “I’m sorry. I should have figured his identity out sooner.”

“That’s right. What would you have done if I was turned into a barbeque? Your life would have been so boring without me.”

“Don’t you think I would have burned with you, Cynthia?”

She chuckles with a twisted smirk. “Oh no. You’re too stubborn to die. I can swing my scythe at you if you want to test it out.”

“Please give me a break.”

“Nope~! If we’re talking about dying, I was much closer to it than you were. I think I nearly died twice. Sooooo, you’re not allowed to complain.”

She winks at me.

Once the glow subsides, I feel a cold hand touching my left forearm. It’s Evi, with a worried expression so obviously plastered on her face. Her hair seems to have returned back to its golden blonde state.

Either that, or I was just hallucinating her transformation.

“I’m fine, Evi.” I hesitatingly hover my hand over her head. Noticing I’ve stopped midway, she raises her head so I could touch her. Before I know it, I’m rubbing her head rather affectionately.

“Ahem.”

The sound Cynthia makes breaks my momentary trance.

“What? Do you want me to pat your head too?”

“Don’t you dare touch me with the same hand you touched that vampire. I’ll cut it off.” Her tone goes from zero to a hundred in the span of a second. Sheesh, I know she hates vampires, but does she really have to go that far?

“I know what you’re thinking, Rom. And yes, I do.”

What the…

“W-Well, it’s not really like Evi hates you, though. She did save your life, so maybe you can be a bit lenient on her?”

She stays silent, glaring at Evi. There’s still a decent amount of murderous intent in those eyes. Maybe I’m imagining it, but I’d say a bit less than she used to before.

“...”

“Hmph. You’re out of your mind.”

“But let’s see. I guess I’ll trust you to keep a leash on her a bit more. I struggled in combat earlier having to focus on two targets at a time.”

I silently chuckle, but she doesn’t.

“That’s good enough for me,” I continue. “As long as it helps you focus, then we should be okay. I’m always in the blacklines anyways, so if Evi ever acts strange, I’ll be able to stop her.”

Not that I want to, but for now, I’ll have to convince her with that.

“Evi. No. Hurt.”

“Ahh, yeah. I know, Evi. I was just reassuring Cynthia.”

Every time I look at her, I can’t help but feel guilty.

“Rom.” Cynthia calls out to me sternly.

A chill runs down my spine.

She’s staring at me so intensely that I almost forget how to breathe.

“Yeah?” I try my best to keep my cool, but my trembling voice betrays me almost instantly. Is this what our prey feel whenever Cynthia’s about to kill them? Is this what Safir felt?

“We need to ask that thing some questions.”

She draws her weapon, pointing its tip at Evi. However, the person being pressured against stays still, as if she doesn’t understand the concept of hostility. I, on the other hand, raise my arm to shield her.

“I know. Please put the weapon down.”

It’s been fifteen minutes since Safir escaped. Fifteen minutes there’s been a pounding question in my head.

“Evi…” I gulp audibly. Saliva gathers in my mouth, making it feel like it’ll all splash over if I open my mouth to speak.

“Why did Noblique Safir call you ‘Your Highness’?”

She cocks her head to her shoulder. Does she not know what royalty is, or does she just not understand my words?

“Um, are you a princess? A royal?”

Her expression remains unchanged. As if frustrated by her lack of knowledge, Cynthia slams her weapon down to the ground, the loud crash jolting both me and Evi to attention.

“Why would a vampire suddenly attack us? Why did you speak its language so fluently? What are you?!”

I was wondering the same thing.

“The vampire attacking us seems pretty simple, right?” I ask to confirm we’re on the same page.

“Yeah. Based on what we read, Noblique Safir is clearly the adult vampire they found a few years ago. The notes didn’t mention anything about experimenting on him, but since we haven’t heard of any recent vampire cases, it’s safe to assume they did capture him.”

“And put him on ice?” I add on.

She nods. “Depending on how long the ice was unattended for, they might have just thawed out.”

“Cynthia, then that means there’s the possibility that Evi’s the⸺”

“I think so too. It only makes sense logically.”

We both look at Evi intently. She backs away into a wall, raising her small hands up to her chest. She’s curled up, avoiding eye contact with either of us. No, she’s avoiding eye contact with Cynthia.

Before I can say anything, Cynthia’s weapon is lodged inches away from her face and into the wall.

“Let’s get this straight.”

She leans forward. Based on her hand adjustment, it’s safe to say she’s ready to cut Evi in half with one swift movement. I want to get in front of her, but I’ll have to endure her interrogation for now.

If Evi really does have a secret, it’d be dumb to kill her right now. I’m willing to bet Cynthia knows that.

“You were encased in ice. If I had to guess, you are vampire royalty. It makes sense why Safir would attack us specifically at a place that should be secluded from the rest of the town. He was trying to either kill you or retrieve you.”

Evi shakes her head anxiously.

“No? Then how come you were speaking to him so casually?”

The young vampire’s gaze directs itself toward me. I’m sorry, Evi. You have to answer her questions.

“No. No. Erm⸺No know. Noblique Safir.”

“Haah? And how can I trust your words? It’s the only theory that makes sense.”

Evi’s legs shift on the ground desperately, trying to back away from the reaper’s scythe.

I can’t take this anymore. I need to de-escalate.

“Cynthia, I can take it from here.” I tap her shoulder.

Taking cautious steps back, she removes the weapon from Evi’s face.

“Evi. Please, if you know anything, please let us know.”

She lunges forward, wrapping her arms around me in a cold embrace. Vibrations run down from my neck. Was she that terrified of Cynthia? Of death?

“Evi. No know. Safir.”

“Evi. Girl. Evi. No. Rouyartee.”

“Is she saying she’s not royalty?” I mumble my thoughts out loud.

“I don’t believe it for one second, Rom. I know you have a soft spot for her, but I can’t trust anything that she’s saying. If she’s not royalty, there’s no reason for that Noblique guy to call her by that title.”

She’s absolutely right about that. Neither of us have bloodlines connected to royalty. Noblique was talking in a way only someone from nobility would. With basic deduction, I don’t really blame Cynthia for concluding that.

Even so, that doesn’t explain why they were so split apart. It’s been around an hour or two since we first found her at the market.

If Noblique really was stuck on ice, an hour or two would have made no difference. He should have been out and about by then.

“Cynthia,” I pause for a second, “If she really is the girl on ice, and she really was royalty, then why didn’t Noblique come after her earlier?”

Her body locks down, staring at the distant flames with equal heat. I must have hit the nail on the head.

It just makes no sense. The timeline doesn’t exactly add up.

My voice deepens in concern, “There’s too much we don’t know yet. I feel like there’s more to this than we’re letting on. I think for now, we should just focus on finding Noblique and killing him for good.”

“I’ll have to go back to the car to get a new uniform,” she states.

“That’s fine. I’ll use some magic incantations. Now that we know his forte, he shouldn’t be that difficult to take down.”

I pull Evi away from me. When I do, I see liquid sparkling from the edge of her eyes. As much as I want to tell her everything is going to be okay, there’s a splash of doubt stopping me from doing that.

Standing back up, I dust off the remaining ash from my clothes. The sting of heat prickles on my skin, making me hiss in pain.

“Our best-case scenario is asking Noblique ourselves. If he doesn’t answer, maybe we can find the lab or secret place where they’ve been keeping him trapped.”

“Okay.” she replies flatly.

“Okay.”

As we nod in unison, I take a step forward, trying to lead the way.

“⸻⸻”

I hear static in my head. It coils from my temple all the way to the back of my neck.

Numbness spreads from my limbs through the rest of my body. My vision starts to fade.

I try to lean toward the wall, but I end up going forward instead.

My throat… so dry.

“Rom!” I hear Evi’s voice first. From the corner of my eye, I see Cynthia’s expression shift from stoic to concerned.

I don’t even feel the pain when I fall to the ground. As much as I want to call out to either of them, my body refuses to answer such a request. I can still see, but the world feels like it’s moving in a slowed state.

“Rom! Pull yourself together!” Cynthia pleads.

“Rom! Rom!” Evi sounds more desperate.

They’re standing side by side, trying to get me to wake up. It’s funny. I think this is the first time either of them have been this close together.

That being said…

Their hands are cold.