Two men could be seen loitering in front of the entrance of the apartment complex, with one of them fiddling with his smartphone while the other was looking up at the night sky.
These two men were vampires, and they were tasked to safeguard the entrance of the apartment complex, which was actually a vampire den where their kind currently resided in in this town. Their vampire mistress was currently recuperating here after almost dying from a church agent's attack.
Even if they couldn't stand a chance against any dangerous foes, at the very least, they should be enough to slow down anything that might come to attack their den.
"Hey." One of the vampires, the one looking up at the night sky, spoke up.
"Yeah?" The other vampire looked up from the screen of his smartphone.
"You ever wonder why we're here?" The first vampire asked.
The second vampire blinked. "It's one of life's great mysteries, isn't it?" He remarked. "Why are we here? I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really a God watching everything?" He sighed as he stuffed his smartphone into his pocket. "You know, with a plan for us and stuff. I don't know, man, but it keeps me up at night. Or at least at daytime, with being a vampire and stuff."
For a moment, the two of them fell silent.
"…What?" The first vampire broke the silence. "I mean why we're out here, in front of this apartment?"
"Oh." The second vampire deflated. "Uh… yeah." He said lamely.
"What was all that stuff about God?" The first vampire asked, eyeing his fellow vampire questioningly.
"Uh… umm, nothing." The second vampire deflected.
"You wanna talk about it?" The first vampire offered.
"No." The second vampire answered.
"You sure?"
"Yes."
The two of them fell silent once more.
"Seriously though, why are we out here?" The first vampire once again broke the silence. "As far as I can tell, we're just out here to be a fodder for the rest of the guys inside in case if anything dangerous shows up. I mean, I did sign up to become a vampire and being damned to be a bloodthirsty monster for the rest of my unlife, but don't you think we're kind of drawing the shortest sticks here?"
"Mm hmm." The second vampire hummed noncommittally.
"Don't you think that we're kind of treated as pretty expendable here?" The first vampire complained. "I mean, sure, we're vampires. We're pretty much a bunch of monsters who like to drink blood, but it feels like our unlives are worth less than the ones inside the apartment. Honestly, that hurts a little."
"Hey, at least it's better than being randomly killed for no reason." The second vampire asserted. "Most vampire masters out there see their underlings as nothing more than a bunch of replaceable pawns that can be sacrificed anytime they want. Unlike our mistress who takes care of us and makes sure we don't get into trouble." He shrugged. "I mean, our situation isn't going to improve anytime soon, since we're still vampires who need blood for sustenance, but we're doing much better than most other vampires out there. Compared to other vampire lords out there, our mistress is practically a saint."
"Huh. I guess you're right." The first vampire conceded. "I mean, not being able to go out at daytime kind of blows, plus other weaknesses that suck balls, but we got a bunch of awesome powers. And if we're lucky, we can even grow stronger and become Daywalkers. I mean, our mistress became a Daywalker in just one year."
The second vampire scoffed. "She's more like an exception than a rule, you know? Not everyone can turn into Daywalker in just one year. Normally, a vampire can only become a Daywalker after a century. Even then, it's pretty hard to stay alive for one hundred years, with all the demon hunters and inquisitors out there hunting down our kind and grilling our collective asses. I mean, we're technically not alive, being undead and stuff, but my point still stands."
As both vampires continued chatting with one another, a figure approached the apartment entrance. The vampires stopped and stepped forth.
"You have no business here. Get lost." One of the vampires growled at the newcomer, baring his fangs. His eyes glowed red.
"My, my… I'm sorry for interrupting whatever businesses you gentlemen were having." The newcomer cooed. As the vampires took a better look on this newcomer, they could see that it was a woman dressed rather oddly. Her white longcoat and trousers seemed to clash with the surroundings, and she was carrying a sheathed nodachi over her shoulder. She was also wearing a cropped top underneath her coat, which revealed her toned midriff. "If you don't mind, will you escort me inside and bring me to your boss?"
Realizing what this woman was, both vampires were alarmed. "D-demon hunter!" One of the vampires shouted out. "Go and warn the others, I will slow her do-guaghh!" He was unable to finish his words as the woman swung her sheathed nodachi, hitting him right at his head. The vampire was knocked down to the ground, unconscious.
"Huh. I'll take that as a no." The woman remarked as she stood over the unconscious vampire.
The other vampire stared at his companion, wide-eyed. "N-no…" He then glared at the woman and snarled. "You bitch! I'll kill you!"
The woman pouted. "Now, now… that was pretty rude. I'm a proper lady, you know?" She chided. The vampire charged at her, brandishing sharpened claws, but the woman stopped him in his track by swinging her sheathed nodachi like a club, hitting him right in his face. The vampire joined his companion on the ground, unconscious.
Both of the vampires standing guard in front of the entrance were knocked out, sprawled out on the ground.
"Sorry about that. I made sure to hold myself back, so I'm sure you guys will recover after a while." The woman, the demon hunter who suddenly showed up out of nowhere, then looked at the apartment before her. "Now then, let's see what your minions are made of, Karen."
Without hesitation, the demon hunter, Maya Amano, stepped into the apartment complex, resting his sheathed nodachi over his shoulder.
"Remember. Do not kill anyone. It is the rule."
A disembodied voice which came from her sheathed nodachi spoke up. Maya just shrugged and replied, "I know that. I'll be careful. I'm not one of those murderous zealots who kill indiscriminately, you know?"
"I'm aware, but a little caution won't hurt, right?"
Maya let out a snort as she proceeded onward. Soon enough, more vampires showed up.
"Intruder!" One of them shouted. Maya chuckled as she readied herself.
"Alright, show me what you got!" Maya shouted before she charged forth, whacking anyone unlucky enough in her way, wielding her sheathed nodachi like a club.
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"There is an intruder, mistress." Raoul reported. "From the look of it, it seems that it is a demon hunter."
Karen tensed as she straightened herself on her seat. While she had recovered from the brink of death thanks to her grandfather, she was still hooked to a blood transfusion set, recovering her strength.
"A demon hunter? They're onto us already?" Karen blurted out, incredulous. "This can't be right…" She started biting her own finger in irritation. "Does this mean… Demon Hunter Association and Catholic Church have already finalized their alliance?" She shook her head in dismay.
In the past, both the Demon Hunter Association and the Catholic Church had some sort of bitter rivalry with each other, with the Church deeming the Association as a group of heretics willing to collude with the unholy and the blasphemous while the Association thought of the Church as murderous and inflexible zealots. Due to the change of leadership in the Vatican as well as several reformations within the inquisition, both of these organizations had decided to forge an alliance to combat supernatural threats that could threaten the safety of mankind.
"I misjudged them." Karen admitted. "I was hoping that their rivalry would keep them from making any move on us while we gather our strength here in this town with the help of the Great Leyline. By the time they've settled their differences, we should already be strong enough for them to combat, preventing them from going all-out on us without causing a massive war between us." She shook her head as she brought her hand to her forehead. "But now that they are cooperating, we're pretty much screwed."
"There are several avenues that we can take, mistress." Raoul was about to present his suggestion, but Karen shot him a withering glare.
"I will not put the innocents in the harm's way, Raoul." Karen insisted. "It's already bad enough for us to use them as our blood supplies, but to forcibly convert them into vampires just to increase our number in just a short time, I don't want that." The blonde then rose up from her seat, unhooking the blood transfusion set from her wrist. "Our policy in converting people into our kind remains the same. We will not make them join us unwillingly."
"Very well. But remember, our survival is at stake here." Raoul reminded her. "Do you have any plan to survive the assault from the combined effort of both the Association and the Church? As of right now, winning against them is impossible."
"We will leave…" Karen said. "We will find another place. As long as we survive, we can always try again." She clenched her fists as she looked down. "Even if I have to leave this place forever, as long as we get to survive, so be it."
"Understood." Raoul bowed his head reverently to his sire. "Now, we have a more pressing matter at hand, mistress. What do we do with this intruder? This demon hunter?"
Karen's clothes shifted from her ruined nightwear into a skintight black leotard. A pair of black wings emerged from her back. A confident smirk appeared on her beautiful face.
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"We will make them regret intruding our den."
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Maya effortlessly dispatched any vampire that came her way, swinging her sheathed nodachi, knocking them out with her well-timed swings to their heads. Despite their vampiric powers, the vampire stood no chance against the white-clad demon hunter. Not even their enhanced strength and speed could match her tremendous might.
"Stop her! Stop he-uarghh!" A vampire was sent flying by Maya's kick. He ended up hitting his comrades, knocking them down like bowling pins.
More vampires then showed up. A female vampire tried to stab her with a sword made of blood, but Maya knocked her out with a blow to the head. At the same time, she grabbed the knocked out female vampire and swung her towards another vampire, a burly male vampire who tried to punch her with his enhanced fist, making use of the female vampire as a makeshift club. The blow was strong enough that the burly one was outright knocked out, crumpling to the floor.
"Alright, who's next?" Maya challenged. Seeing how effortless she dispatched their compatriots, the remaining vampires hesitated. But then, a young woman in frilly, gothic Lolita dress stepped forth. "Ah, you seem like a strong one. Are you strong?"
The gothic Lolita young woman curtsied before a serpentine-looking creature emerged from her shadow. And the creature itself looked like it was made of shadow.
"I consider myself strong enough, yes." She nodded. "I am Homura Nakajima, the Shadow Hound. I shall be your opponent, demon hunter."
Maya grinned. "Neat. Well, I guess I should introduce myself too. Name's Maya, demon hunter. I hope you're as strong as you said, Homura." She then started unsheathing her nodachi, and the blade was black in color. "Try to not die, okay?"
Finally unsheathing her nodachi, Maya then heard a disembodied voice questioning her.
"Are you sure? You may end up accidentally killing her."
Chuckling, Maya replied to the voice mentally. "Don't worry. I'll hold myself back. Plus, she looks pretty strong. I doubt a little whack to the head can kill her."
"Very well. Proceed with caution."
With the rest of the vampires keeping their distance, watching as the vampire lieutenant, Homura, was facing the intruder. For a moment, the two of them remained unmoving.
And then, they clashed.
Maya was the one who made the first attack, swinging her black nodachi at her, and Homura blocked the incoming attack with her arm, which turned black. In turn, her serpentine shadow creature lashed out, attempting to bite at Maya, though the demon hunter managed to pull away at the last second.
What happened next was like a blur, where even the vampires, with their enhanced sight, were having a hard time keeping track of their movements. Maya, despite being a human, moved inhumanly fast, and she was capable of moving despite the hallway limiting her movements. She tried hitting Homura from various angles and directions, and Homura successfully blocked her attacks before she conjured various weapons made of shadow to attack her in turn.
Both Maya and Homura themselves seemed to contrast with one another, with Maya dressed in white and Homura cladded in black. The vampires watching the battle were stunned, taken aback by how fast both of them were moving. All of them knew that they stood no chance against the demon hunter.
Clang!
Both Maya and Homura entered a deadlock, their weapons clashing with one another. Before Homura could throw more of her shadow weapons at her, Maya jumped back, putting a decent distance between the two of them.
"Damn, you weren't kidding when you said you're strong." Maya said, grinning as she rested her nodachi over her shoulder. "So, how long have you been a vampire, Homura?" She tried to strike a conversation with the Lolita-fashioned vampire despite them fighting earlier.
"About five months now, thanks to my mistress." Homura answered her question.
"Did she forcefully convert you?" Maya asked, still not making any move to attack.
Homura paused as she looked down. "No… but she saved my life. I would've died if she hadn't converted me."
"Well, you're a vampire. You technically died." Maya pointed out.
"Irrelevant." Homura shot back. "In fact, our mistress never turned us into vampires against our will. Even those who were dying had to agree with the conversion before our mistress turned them."
"I see…" Maya mused. "I guess you guys are trying to at least be ethical when it comes to turning others into vampires, huh? Still, I'm sure it's difficult, since you guys have to drink blood and stuff." She spoke in such a casual manner even as she took a stance, ready to face Homura once more.
Homura conjured a pair of black swords with her shadow. "It is a bad hand we're dealt with. May as well live with it for the rest of our unlives."
Once again, the two of them clashed with one another, moving impossibly fast. Homura liberally used her shadow to slip past Maya and attempted to strike at her blind spot, but Maya managed to block and evade her attack each time she tried that. And despite being a human, Maya didn't show any sign of exhaustion. It felt like she could keep going forever until one of them was struck down.
Of course, Maya didn't plan to strike down Homura, with her being unable to kill anyone here. Once more, the two of them entered a deadlock, and the two of them were looking into each other's eyes.
"I've just noticed something, Maya." It was Homura who spoke out as she looked into Maya's brown eyes. "You held back against my brethren earlier. You merely knocked them out. You didn't even unsheathe your sword. Why is that?"
Somehow, Maya looked sheepish. "Hehe… I was hoping you didn't notice that. Oh well." Using her free hand, Maya dug into her pocket, taking a fistful of sand that she somehow stored there before she threw it right in Homura's face. "Pocket sand!"
"Waghh!" Homura yelped when she took a fistful of sand right in her face. Taking advantage of this, Maya drove her knee into Homura's belly. "Ughh!"
"Sorry about this, but I have a pressing matter to attend, actually." Maya said apologetically before she took out another thing from her pocket. This time, it was a paper charm which she then stuck on Homura's forehead.
"W-what is this? I can't move…" Homura wheezed out as she fell down to the floor. After a little struggling, she found out that she couldn't get up. Her body was restrained thanks to the paper charm. "I-is this… a jiangshi talisman?"
"Yup!" Maya grinned. "It turns out that with a little modification, a jiangshi talisman can work just fine on a vampire. Pretty neat, don't you think?"
Groaning on the floor, Homura shot Maya a glare. "C-cheater…"
"Hehe, sorry about that. I'll take that off once I'm done with my business." Maya told her. "Now then…" Maya was about to turn around when she felt a murderous aura, and she immediately brought her nodachi up, blocking a powerful attack from a rage-filled Karen, who roared out in anger.
"Die, intruder!" Karen shouted out. "I'll cut you up to-eh?" Karen stopped herself when she realized who Maya was. "B-big Sis Maya?!"
"Hey there, cousin." Maya greeted Karen cheerfully. "Damn, you're strong."
Immediately, Karen jumped back, putting some distance between herself and Maya. She had a despairing look on her face. "No, no! N-not you too!" She shook her head in denial. "N-not only Big Sis Kirie, b-but you too?!"
It looked like she was about to cry upon learning that another one of her older cousins, the one whom she considered her big sister, was in fact a demon hunter who would hunt down her kind.
Karen was about to collapse to her feet before two of her lieutenants, Raoul and Knudsen, appeared by her sides. They helped her keep her footing, and as they gave her sympathetic looks, they held onto her, as if encouraging her.
Regaining her composure, Karen summoned a black spear. "It doesn't matter anymore. Even if it's you, I will not let you kill us, Big Sis." Showing a resolute face, Karen took a stance. "Even if I have to kill you, so be it!"
Maya watched as Karen got herself ready, and she noticed that Karen's hands were trembling. Even as Homura continued her struggling at her feet on the floor, Maya kept her eyes on her little cousin.
Then, she sheathed her nodachi back, which caught Karen off-guard.
"I guess we're done here." Maya spoke out. "Come, Karen. Let's have a talk."
"Eh?" Karen could only blink in confusion by this.
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None of the vampires were killed during Maya's rampage. She had been holding herself back this whole time. She even removed the jiangshi talisman off Homura, though Homura remained pouty the whole time as they moved into a room so that they could have a talk.
"So, you entered our den and beat up my minions, and you expect me to just have a talk with you?" Karen asked in annoyance. Sitting across her was Maya, and they were currently in a room where they could have a talk in privacy. Karen was accompanied by her lieutenants, including Homura, who kept shooting dirty look at Maya for throwing sand in her face and restraining her with a jiangshi talisman earlier.
"Well, at least I didn't kill anyone. Plus, I cannot kill anyone. Got myself a curse that prevented me from killing any creature on the first day I am in a place." Maya told her. "I just thought it would be funny to come here doing that."
Karen narrowed her eyes. "I don't find it funny at all." Karen growled, crossing her arms under her ample chest. "If you want to talk to me, you don't really have to resort to such a… barbaric method."
"I'm a demon hunter, remember? I can't just simply waltz in and expect my higher-ups are fine with it. Well, they're fine with it, actually, but we just made an alliance with the Catholic Church, and we don't want to send a wrong message by fraternizing with "demonic heathens", you know? Gotta show 'em a little display of power." Maya explained after making air quotes. "They'd be a little grumpy if they learn that I didn't kill any of you, but thanks to my curse and my display of power, all they can do is grumble their fancy hats off."
"I see…" Karen mused. She still eyed her older cousin suspiciously. "How did you know it was me? And… what do you want to talk about?"
"Oh, Kirie told me about you. She was feeling a little regretful for what she did, you see? But… she still thought of you as nothing more than a demon wearing her beloved little cousin's skin, so she sent me to figure out the truth." Maya answered her questions. "And now, I've decided that I'd rather leave you be than hunt you down."
"But… why? You're a demon hunter, and yet, you don't want to hunt us down?" Karen questioned. "I don't understand."
"Well, there's a reason why it took us so long to make an alliance with the Church, you see? In their eyes, we are heretics who are willing to use anything to protect mankind. There are even vampires within our ranks, you know?" Maya grinned as she told that to Karen. "That's why we don't really mind vampires, as long as they don't cause trouble to people."
Karen flinched, remembering the time when she woke up as a vampire where her sire was hunted down by a group of demon hunters. "So… what are you going to do now?" Karen asked.
"I'm gonna make a report to my superior and share our finding with the Church. They're gonna throw a hissy fit, and Kirie will need a little more convincing from me. But our official stance will be that as long as you don't actively harm the people of this town, we're gonna look the other way." Maya stated. "We're already prepared for the fallout since this will put our alliance with the Church at risk, but as long as you and your minions behave, we're willing to leave you be."
"I… I see." Karen mused wistfully. She was touched by Maya's willingness to vouch for her and her people, the vampires. "T-thank you, I suppose. I'm glad that you're willing to do that, especially since you're risking the Association's alliance with the Church."
"Well, we're not zealots, okay? We all know that even damned souls still deserve to live." Maya said. "We won't extend the same mercy to those who are willing to harm the innocents. So, as long as you don't cause trouble to people, you are free to live. Or unlive, whatever."
Karen chuckled. "We will not harm innocent people. I already promised grandpa that."
"Grandpa?" Maya blinked as she focused on Karen. "Grandpa knows about you being a vampire?"
"Ah." Karen realized what she just said. "I-I shouldn't have mentioned that."
"Karen…" Giving her little cousin the flattest of all stares, Maya crossed her arms under her ample bust. "Why don't you explain everything about grandpa? Like how he's aware of your secret?"
"Eep." Karen let out a squeak. She almost forgot that her oldest cousin could be quite scary if she wanted to.
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Tetsu was fiddling with an old radio which belonged to a neighbor. He was planning to send it once it's repaired, but it seemed that he was having trouble getting it fixed.
"Hrmh… the radio's too old to be repaired." Tetsu muttered to himself. "Maybe Kondo should buy a new one."
"Grandfather? Are you still working?" Tetsu heard Kirie's voice. He turned his head and saw his granddaughter.
"Yes. Kondo asked me to repair his old radio. He should've just bought a new one." Tetsu grumbled before he returned his attention back to the radio.
"I see…" Kirie mused. "Um, grandfather… may I ask you something?"
"Hrmh? What is it?" Tetsu continued working on the radio.
"Did you find anything wrong with Karen when she was still here?" Kirie asked. Tetsu stopped, and for a moment, he was silent before he placed his tool down and sighed.
"She was struggling." Tetsu began. "She kept it hidden, but she was suffering. Her father didn't pay enough attention to her, and the less said about her mother, the better. She needed someone to keep her head straight. She's just the way she is because she has no one she can confine in. Someone who can listen to all her worries and her fears."
Tetsu glanced over his shoulder, looking at his granddaughter.
"At least, try to understand her. She went through a lot. She's not going to tell you everything, and that's okay. All she needs is someone who can tell her that everything is alright, and that she is loved."
Kirie mulled over her grandfather's words, nodding her head.
"Thank you, grandfather. It's definitely something to think about." Kirie said before she bowed and excused herself. Letting out a grunt, Tetsu continued repairing the radio.
"Hrmh…" Grunting, Tetsu tried turning it on. The old radio started playing music. "Huh." Nodding to himself, he readied himself to leave the house to deliver the repaired radio to his neighbor.