In the hollowed-out hotel, a fire crackles, illuminating the surrounding darkness. Next to the fire sits a large pot filled with all the ingredients I managed to gather for the formula. In the corner, Aponi’s antlers have receded as she lays napping against the wall with an empty blood bag and bowl of ramen next to her. Nearby, Eden breaths softly with the bear cubs curled around her. While Sam is near the fire, unfortunately still sleeping. Finally, the Brute is in a corner of its own, snoozing on its face in an amateurish downward-facing dog yoga pose.

While chewing on a piece of anpan, I toss a chair leg into the fire.

With a moment to spare, I try to contact Jimmy who, to little surprise, doesn’t answer, but the fact it still made an attempt tells me he is alive.

Thus I decide to check up on the only other person who possesses a ring.

‘Terry, can you hear me?’

‘I can,’ he responds flatly.

‘Not a good time?’

‘...Not really.’

‘Is everything alright? I heard from Annie you were supposed to be in New Mexico already.’

‘It could be going better, but I… I think I have a way to solve it.’

‘Oh? Do tell.’

‘Uh, well… I’m trying to pray to the Goddess, but she’s not answering me.’

‘...Oh. What are you asking the Goddess for?’

‘Something was wrong with the people when I arrived…’ There is a long pause. ‘I gotta go. I’ll contact you again later. Sorry.’

‘Wait! I might be able to help.’

Despite efforts to get back in touch, I never receive a reply.

Rolling my eyes with a sigh, I glance at Aponi. ‘If Aponi is like this, then maybe the others are also. Could that be the problem? What would he want with the Goddess, though?... It might have something to do with that task.’

Suddenly, feeling someone brush against my shoulder, I turn to find Eden staring into the pot curiously. “Eira, how much longer is that gonna take?”

“Everything that was frozen has already melted, so now I’m just letting it warm up a bit,” whispering, I stick my finger in the pot to check its temperature, “More importantly, Sam, did he ever wake up at all while I was gone?”

“He scarfed down the ramen you left and then fell back to sleep. Speaking of which, what is it you’re eating? Can I have some?”

I hold the anpan toward her. “It’s a sweet roll filled with red bean paste. Want some?” She stares at the place I last bit, seemingly both tempted and disgusted. “You know what, nevermind, you can’t have any.”

“It's not that you bit it! It’s just that red bean paste sounds… gross. Y-you know, we could probably wake Sam if we tried!” she declares, squirming under my gaze.

‘Yeah, well, either way, it doesn’t make me exactly feel better.’

Suddenly, someone coughs before saying, “She’s right; we should try waking Sam.” Turning, I find Aponi gazing at Eden and I with a red face. “I’m sorry for my earlier attitude… I stopped acting like that when I ran away from my family and joined the military.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I reply with a scoff, turning around to hide my own red face, “You’re Blood Race no matter how you behave, and that makes you family... Despite what I said about ripping your antlers from your head.”

‘Living as Callista and talking to the garlic obsessed dryad, Holly, reminded me that “family” was what the Blood Race was in the past, and should be in the future.’

Not hearing a reply, I start feeling awkward, so I glance back to find Aponi staring at me in disbelief and Eden smiling brightly. “S-stop staring at me. Every time I say anything to you two that is a bit out of the norm, it always ends in both of you staring at me. Now, are you gonna wake up Sam or what?”

“I…” Aponi makes a small smile, but her eyes seem to suggest something else. “I appreciate that, Eira.”

Seemingly having noticed herself, Eden asks her, “Is something wrong?”

“I really appreciate the words, and it does make me feel better, but… it also reminded me of my sister, who is still in New Mexico with the tribe. I still need to get her before things get worse. It just makes me nervous that she isn’t around, and when things will get ‘worse’ is anyone’s guess.”

“Don’t worry about that so much,” I say, shrugging my shoulders, “I’m sure things will work out.”

“Yeah, the Beta didn’t start that long ago. I’m sure you still have plenty of time to get her… a-and maybe you can even tie up any loose ends with your tribe.”

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Eden’s words cause me to pause. ‘...What does she mean “tie up any loose ends with your tribe?”’

“Like I said last time, they can go to Hell. They despise me, and I despise them. When the time comes, I’ll take her away from them,” Aponi responds with a scowl.

A cold sweat builds on the back of my neck. “W-w-what do you mean by that?” I stutter with an awkward laugh.

“Oh, yeah.” Eden stops her words and looks at Aponi, who shrugs with indifference. “You weren’t around when we talked about it, but Aponi and her tribe don’t get along.”

“Oh, is that so…”

‘T-Terry, can you hear me!?’ I say, attempting to get him to respond.

Not receiving an answer, I turn so Aponi can’t see my obvious nervousness ‘...Well, it’s probably not a big deal! Surely Terry knows about this already. I mean, they’ve known each other for years… I think.’

Eden gets uncomfortably close and stares at me with half-closed eyes. “Is something wrong, Eira? You seem a little… sweaty.”

“No, of course not! Nothing is wrong, and I don’t want you telling me I look “sweaty”! Just… just please wake Sam. We should get things moving.” I say, motioning toward Sleeping Doofus.

Eden nods and walks away without ever removing her gaze.

I remove three bottles from the ring.‘There’s no point thinking about it; what’s done is done, and if anything goes wrong, I’ll… I’ll place all the blame on Terry! Ah, an excellent plan if I do say so myself.’

“Sam, wake up,” Aponi says, “We need to go rescue Jimmy, and we need information.”

The ground suddenly shakes, and I look up to see the Brute has somehow gone from downward-facing dog to standing upright.

Storing away the bottle, I grab the scythe. “What are you planning on doing?” I ask him.

He ignores me and waddles over to Eden, Aponi, and Sam. I quickly move to stop him from advancing further and raise the scythe to threaten him—the Brute stares at me dumbly and grunts.

“If you’re saying you are hungry…” I stare at him furiously. “I’d rather end you here then give you anymore ramen.”

“Eira, I don’t think he wants more ramen.”

“It was a joke. He’s obviously not acting aggressively. I’m just being careful.”

The Brute grunts lazily while staring at Sam.

“Anyway, he seems interested in Sam.”

The Brute grunts and then takes a deep breath before roaring powerfully. My hair blows back, and its horrendous breath makes me want to gag. Suddenly, Sam jerks upward, screaming loudly with bulging eyes. The Brute stops roaring abruptly and makes a noise reminiscent of a throaty laugh.

“...That was stupid.” I lower the scythe and pinch my nose. “I guess it just wanted to help... At least Sam is awake.”

“What… What happened?” Sam stutters, “Am… Wait, how old am I?”

“I don’t know, but I need you to remember.” Sam turns and looks at me and then touches his face feeling a short black beard he’d grown over the past few days. “Wasn’t I thirteen years old a second ago?”

I look at Aponi and Eden. “He probably needs a second to gather his thoughts after the Mind Magic. I’m going to finish what I was doing; just make sure he’s okay. Once I finish what I’m doing, we’re leaving.”

The two nod while Sam looks around like someone who just took some bad drugs.

----------------------------------------

--Kardama POV--

Two bodies soak the floor in blood as I stand in a white room full of human technology. A single human woman and I occupy the room. The woman has shoulder-length red hair, hazel eyes, and a slim build. She wears a white lab coat, and big glasses that give her a bit of what I’ve heard humans say is the ‘librarian look.’ Although, this look is ruined since I’m currently holding her in a headlock, and her glasses are foggy with tears.

“Please, just let me go! I-I’m just a civilian!”

“Dammit, just shut up already. Tell me, is there anyone else here?” I ask, pressing the push knife against her spine.

“O-of course, there are other people here.”

“No, I mean, are there other people that aren’t human!?” The woman hesitates, so I push the knife a bit harder. “Answer the question!”

“Y-yes. Sorta. I guess…” Tears flow from her eyes, soaking my arm. “Please… Please, I don’t want to die.”

“Are all human women so cowardly!?”

The woman sniffles loudly, choking back her tears. “Are… are you going to eat me?”

“Damn lady, just answer my questions. Where are the non-humans?”

“I don’t know! It’s not my department.”

“Huh? Then what is your department?”

“I’m just a veterinarian.”

“A what?”

“An animal doctor!”

“Humans have animal doctors!? We don’t even have that many regular doctors! What the hell is up with that!?”

“I don’t know, ‘what the hell is up with that’ I swear! Just please don’t kill me!”

“Why would they need an animal doctor here anyway?”

“People get depressed from being underground all the time, so having animals around helps! Not to mention, we have other experiments that involve animals! Although I’m not associated with any of those.”

“I guess I understand the experiment things,” I adjust my grip and pull the woman close, threatening her further with the push knife. “Okay, now tell me, if I leave you alive, what can you do for me?”

The woman's face turns bright red, and she begins to shake and fidget. “I… I mean, if it’s between that or dying, I could do, uh, things.”

I stare at her with a raised eyebrow as she makes suggestive hand motions insinuating what ‘things’ she’s talking about. “Shut up! That’s not what I’m referring to! I need your help getting me out of here, and investigating if any vampires are here.”

“Did… did you say vampires?”

Then the woman glances at a book nearby named “The Adventures of Trixie Bloodsong,” written by someone named “T.G. Iris.” The book seems to be worn heavily from abundant use.

‘Humans... are so weird. They’re obsessed with other races, but when they actually meet them, they lock them in places like this.’

“Yes, I said vampires,” I say, exasperated.

Before she can reply, I tighten my grip and pull the woman toward a nearby shadow. She struggles with bulging eyes until we reach the shadow, and I loosen my grip.

She inhales deeply and complains, “I couldn’t breathe! Choking! I thought you said you weren’t interested in those sorts of ‘things!’”

Ignoring her, I reach into the shadow, causing it to ripple. On the other side, I feel something rub against my hand as an object is placed in my palm.

‘I hate using Gramp’s emergency storage. It’s so damn unnerving.’

Pulling a small needle from the shadow, I prick the woman’s neck.

Her eyes dart around frantically, “W-what, did you just do?”

I release her from my grasp, causing her to tumble to the floor. Placing a hand over her pricked skin, she turns and stares at me with teary eyes.

Smirking I hold up a vial of yellow liquid. “I injected you with poison. If you want the antidote, you’ll help me in any way I ask.”