Back then, when she was younger, Karen would often go to the park to sulk and mope, hiding herself inside one of the abandoned pipe culverts there. She would always do this whenever she had a fight with any of her cousins or if she was upset about something.

Most of the time, when she was hiding there, the one who would look for her was her grandfather, who already knew where she was hiding. What happened next was that her grandfather would urge her to return home, consoling her by buying her an ice-cream or any other treats.

One thing for sure, whenever she was hiding inside the abandoned pipe culvert, her grandfather would be the one to find her, consoling her before bringing her home.

Karen ran away without direction, fleeing from her grandfather after he saw her in this state. She had no destination in mind. All she wanted was to run away as far as possible from her grandfather so that he wouldn't see her in such a sorry state.

Before she knew it, Karen found herself huddling inside the abandoned pipe culvert at the park, hugging her own knees, trembling. She sniffled, shaking her head, wanting to pretend that whatever happened earlier didn't actually happen. It wasn't actually her grandfather. It was just a random bystander who just happened to look like her grandfather.

She tried convincing herself that her grandfather didn't see her earlier. Perhaps this whole thing was just a mere dream. Perhaps she could just return home, after all, and saw her grandfather welcoming her home in his own way, showing his signature gruffness that hid the warmth within.

Perhaps… her being a vampire was nothing but a long, long dream, or rather, a nightmare. If only she could wake herself up from such nightmare, perhaps she would find herself not as a vampire, but a normal girl.

"Ngh!" Karen winced as she felt sharp pain on her palms. She looked at them and saw them bleeding. She had been clenching her hands too hard this whole time, her palms started bleeding. Under normal circumstances, the sight of blood would drive her to lick her bloodied palms clean, but now, all she felt was disgust.

She was disgusted of herself, who had become nothing but a damned creature of the night, a being that feasts on the blood of others to survive. Seeing her own blood dripping down to her wrists, she gagged. The smell of her own blood almost made her vomit. Her vision became blurry as she tried her best to not retch from something that she normally considered to be her food.

If her grandfather saw her like this, would he be disgusted in her? Would he abandon her, just like her mother did?

"U-urk!"

The moment the thought about her mother came to her mind, Karen couldn't stop herself from retching. More unpleasant memories came back to her. She recalled that time, when she walked in on her mother with a man who wasn't her father in bedroom. Things snowballed from there, and she got to live with her father after the divorce.

She remembered her father always apologizing to her for all the things that happened in their family, and he often promised to work hard for her sake to ensure that she would never suffer. But he was rarely home, working too hard to climb the corporate ladder, and before long, he became the CEO of the company he worked at.

Karen couldn't remember the last time her father was home. And on rare occasions when he was actually home, whenever she tried to spend time with him, he always told her that he was tired, promising to spend time with her next time.

"Urgh… nghh…" Karen groaned, shaking her head as she tried to not think about her father. He doubted that he was actually thinking about her at the moment. All that mattered to him was his works. He didn't even realize that she was missing when she was turned into a vampire, so she doubted that he was actually thinking about her right now.

With her father not giving a damn about her existence, Karen thought that the only person who actually cares about her was her grandfather. And after what happened earlier, she wasn't so sure about that anymore.

Would he abandon her too? Just like her parents did?

"Karen?"

That familiar voice broke Karen out of her stupor. She immediately rubbed her eyes before she realized that her palms had completely healed. Thanks to her vampiric regeneration, any kind of wounds would be healed in a matter of seconds. But that matter was unimportant right now.

"Karen, are you in there?"

It was her grandfather's voice. Karen could tell that he was there, outside the abandoned pipe culvert she was hiding in.

"G-grandpa?" Karen let out a squeak. A myriad of emotions washed over her.

She could hear her grandfather sighing outside the pipe culvert.

"Karen… I know you're inside this damn thing…" Her grandfather said. Karen could sense resignation in his voice. "Back then, whenever you were upset, you always came here and hid yourself inside this huge pipe. Come on, girl. Come out now. Let's go home."

Hearing that from her grandfather, Karen trembled. Almost on instinct, she replied, "N-no! G-go away!" She didn't want him to see her like this. She didn't want to loathe herself more than what she currently felt about herself at the moment. "I-I don't wanna see you! I-I h-hate you!"

The moment she said that, she immediately regretted it. She hugged her knees and broke down, unable to hold back her tears anymore.

"…Karen." Her grandfather sounded pensive outside the pipe culvert. "What happened?" He paused for a bit. Karen sobbed, unable to provide an answer to her grandfather.

Her grandfather didn't leave despite her harsh words earlier. She could tell that he was still outside even as she remained inside the huge pipe, sobbing while hugging her knees.

"Come out now. I know you didn't mean it." Her grandfather said. "I'm not angry at you. I know you've been through a lot. You can talk to me about it." His voice was gruff yet his words were gentle. "Now, get out of this damn thing. You know I can't actually climb inside…"

Timidly, Karen climbed out of the pipe culvert, showing herself to her grandfather. He raised an eyebrow as he saw her wearing a leotard that exposed her legs, but the moment she saw him, she began sobbing uncontrollably as she threw herself at him before hugging him.

"I-I'm sorry, grandpa! P-please don't hate me! I-I didn't mean it! P-please don't l-leave me!"

Bewildered by her outburst, her grandfather sighed as he hugged her back.

"I guess you've got your own secrets, huh?"

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Old Man Tetsu comforted his granddaughter, Karen, as she cried her heart out. He still wasn't sure what to think about her clothes, which seemed pretty indecent, but he could tell how much she had suffered from everything, from the divorce of her parents to the neglect of her father. Not to mention the seemingly supernatural thing that was going on with her.

He did see her fighting that monster earlier, and he hid himself just around the corner, though at that time, he didn't know that it was actually Karen. Though he doubted that she was actually a magical girl like Haruka.

"You calm down now?" Tetsu asked. He had brought her to the nearby bench. Karen sniffled as she wiped her cheeks.

"Mhm…" Karen nodded. She was currently sitting next to him timidly, trying her best to not look at his face.

"So… why don't you tell me everything?" Tetsu said to his granddaughter. He figured that perhaps she needed someone she could talk to about her current predicament. "You don't have to keep everything from me. Just tell me the truth."

"G-grandpa…" Karen seemed hesitant as she placed her hands on her lap. She bit her lower lip, seemingly struggling to come up with the right words. Then, she looked at him with pleading eyes. "I-if I tell you, w-will you promise to not hate me?"

Tetsu raised an eyebrow but he then answered immediately. "I'll never hate you, Karen. You're my granddaughter."

Hearing that from Tetsu, Karen took her time taking a deep breath, as if preparing herself to reveal whatever secret that she might have to him. "S-so, um… w-well, grandpa…" She rubbed her arm. "T-to tell you the truth, I'm actually… a vampire."

"A vampire?" Tetsu parroted back. Karen gave her a strange look, as if not expecting that kind of response. "You mean like Dracula and likes sucking blood?"

"Y-yeah. A-and the reason why I'm here in this town is to establish a clan for myself and my subordinates." Karen continued. "I'm planning to make Sakamoto Town into a feeding ground for myself and my vampire minions."

"Feeding ground? Like turning townspeople here into your food?" Tetsu asked.

"I-I didn't plan to kill a-anyone!" Karen immediately explained herself. "And Sakamoto Town is a special place where this is something called the Great Leyline. With it, we don't really have to frequently drink other people's blood."

"I see…" Tetsu mused. He wasn't exactly comfortable with the notion of having bloodsucking beings roaming around the town, sucking townspeople's blood for sustenance, but Karen had reassured him that there would be no killing, so his worries were alleviated a bit. "Still, it's going to harm the people here, right?"

Karen looked ashamed. "W-well, w-we'll try to minimize damage, at least…" She looked away, knowing that her grandfather didn't like it. "W-we can't help it. It's in our nature to harm others for us to survive…"

Tetsu felt a little conflicted about the whole thing, but in the end, he had to accept it. As long as his granddaughter wasn't killing anyone, he had to accept this as a lesser evil. Perhaps there had to be some ways to help her, though he would need to think about it first. And there was also the fact that Karen had become a vampire in the first place. "How did you become a vampire?" He asked.

"A-about that…" Karen guiltily looked away. She sighed as she began, "I-it's kind of pathetic, honestly. Simply put, I fell in with a wrong crowd. Dad was always busy at work, and I just wanted someone, anyone… to pay attention to me. I…" She shook her head as she smiled bitterly. "…I became a bad girl, grandpa. I did lots of bad stuff. You name it. Drugs. Compensated dating. Wild parties. Stuff like that."

Tetsu looked at his granddaughter and sighed. He knew that his son was a workaholic, but to be so neglectful to this point? Perhaps he would need to lecture him, after all.

"So, about me turning into a vampire, I actually met this guy, and like always, I got into some debauched parties, and I don't even remember all the details of what actually happened." Karen continued. "And when I woke up, I found out that I was no longer a human. That guy turned me into a vampire. And before I could process what actually happened to me, a group of demon hunters showed up and started killing everyone, including the one who turned me. I was lucky to survive that."

Tetsu listened to Karen as she recounted her time when she became a vampire. He didn't stop her as she started telling him about how she needed to stay in the dark streets to survive.

"I had to struggle just to survive. Once I was feeling better, I tried going home, and… a-and… d-dad didn't even notice that I was even missing." Karen said, her voice quivering. "He was so busy at work he didn't even know that his daughter was dead and turned into an undead monster!"

"…" Tetsu said nothing as Karen let it all out. She started crying again, and he pulled her close, comforting her.

As Tetsu held his granddaughter close, letting her cry her heart out, he was wondering to himself what he did wrong with his son. He thought that it was probably his own failure to teach his own son that his granddaughter turned out like this. Still, he remembered that his son wasn't exactly a bad man, and he also had his own baggage, with the messy divorce that he had that probably contributed to such neglect. That didn't exactly excuse him, but at the very least, that should explain how things turned out this way.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"I-I… *sniff* I always wish y-you were my father instead, g-grandpa…" Karen said tearfully. "Y-you're the only one… *sniff* who g-gives a damn a-about me…"

Tetsu sighed. Karen might have become a vampire, an undead being that feasts on the blood of others, but at the end of the day, she was just a scared, lonely girl looking for support. As her grandfather, Tetsu knew that it was his responsibility to be there for her, vampire or not.

"I'll be here for you, Karen…" Tetsu promised her. "I'm not sure if I can actually help you about you being a vampire, but I want you to know that you're not alone. If you wish for someone to talk to, you can talk to me. Your burden isn't yours alone to bear."

"G-grandpa…" Karen looked up at her grandfather's face. "Y-you promise?"

Tetsu smiled. "Yes, I promise. I'm not going to excuse your father for what he did, but I'll pick up his slack and watch over you. It's only right for me to do that."

Hearing her grandfather's words, Karen smiled as she wiped her tears. "G-geez, since when did you become this cool, grandpa?" After a pause, she added, "W-well, I guess you're always cool like this."

"Hrmh…" Tetsu let out his grunt as he waited for Karen to calm down. He made a reminder for himself to talk to his son about his negligence, but he knew that the matter about Karen being a vampire wasn't exactly something that he could freely say. It wasn't like her father was aware of her being a vampire, after all. "You're feeling alright now?"

"Mhm…" Karen nodded, smiling. Her eyes were puffy, but at the very least, she was no longer crying. "Thanks, grandpa. I'll be relying on you, then. This will be our little secret, okay?"

Tetsu sighed. "I suppose. Still…" Tetsu gave Karen a questioning look. "How come you're able to walk around during the day? Aren't vampires supposed to be weak to sunlight?"

"Ah, that…" Karen rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I guess I'm kinda sorta special as a vampire. I'm a Daywalker, so I'm immune to sunlight."

"Daywalker?" Tetsu inquired.

Karen nodded. "Yup. Normally, a vampire can only become a Daywalker after more than a hundred years, but I guess I'm pretty special that I somehow became a Daywalker in less than a year. I became powerful enough to establish my own coven, and I'm planning to make myself a proper vampire clan here in this town."

"Hrmh…" Tetsu grunted. "That's that, then. As long as you're not hurting other people too much."

Tetsu got up from the bench and rolled his shoulders.

"Let's get home, then. Karen, I trust you to not mess up too much with people's lives." Tetsu told his granddaughter. "Since you promised you won't kill anyone, I'm willing to let the part about you drinking people's blood slide." After a pause, he added, "Not that it actually matters, since there's nothing I can do about the whole thing."

Karen smiled at her grandfather. "I promise. I'll make sure to keep the drinking to a minimum. Maybe someday I can figure out a way to survive without having to drink people's blood."

"Hrmh…" Tetsu grunted again. "Come on. Let's go home."

Karen nodded. "Alright. Still, why don't you go ahead for a bit? I've got something else to do first. I'll catch up to you soon."

Tetsu raised an eyebrow before he shrugged. He walked ahead, leaving Karen behind.

As Tetsu left the park, Karen sighed before she folded her arms under her chest.

"Knudsen, come out. There is no need for you to hide any longer." Karen said in an authoritative tone. After saying that, Karen saw Knudsen, one of her subordinates, walking out of his hiding spot. He had a huge grin on his face.

"Well, that was an interesting event…" Knudsen remarked. "I never thought you were that cute while crying." Karen threw him a glare.

"If you know what's good for you, forget everything you just saw." Karen growled. "If you ever tell anyone about what you just saw, I'll make sure you will regret not dying after I turned you into a vampire." She flared her own vampiric aura to make her point.

"A-alright, alright, I get it. My mouth's sealed." Knudsen said in placating manner. "Still, you sure that's alright? You're not worried if your grandpa told anyone else about you and our kind?"

"I trust him." Karen said. "I know that he doesn't exactly like what we're planning to do here, but as long as we don't kill anyone, he's willing to turn a blind eye on what we do. And it's not like we're going to go on murderous spree here in this town."

"Well, that's fair, I guess. You're the one who makes decisions here for us, mistress. Hopefully, it will be worth it." Knudsen said. "Also, you're lucky that you were the one he saw and not me. If it were me, I'd have to get rid of him."

Karen glared at Knudsen and maintained that glare for a full minute. Then, she let out a heavy sigh. "…Yes. I have to count my lucky stars for that. We will revise our policy next and avoid murdering people if we can help it. I'd rather not disappoint my grandfather."

Knudsen flashed a grin. "Well, that's your call, mistress."

"Anything else you need to report before I go home? I don't want to keep my grandfather waiting." Karen said as she looked at Knudsen impatiently.

"Ah, about that… I didn't find our culprit, but I did see something interesting." Knudsen said. "Maybe it's much better if you see it yourself." After saying that, Knudsen brought his hand to his right eye before he jammed his fingers into the eye-socket. Karen showed a disgusted expression as Knudsen pulled out his own eyeball from the eye-socket before he tossed it to her. Knudsen showed no sign of actually being hurt by that.

"Eugh…" Karen expressed her disgust as she held the eyeball with her fingers. "You know that I hate it if you do that." As a response, Knudsen just grinned, totally unbothered by his empty eye-socket before Karen brought the eyeball into her mouth and started chewing it.

Karen seemed to be savoring the taste of Knudsen's eyeball, closing her eyes. Then she reopened her own eyes, frowning.

"A cat?" Karen said. "You're showing me that you saw a cat?"

"Not just an ordinary cat." Knudsen remarked. "If you notice it, that cat seems to radiate some kind of magical aura. That means it's not an ordinary cat."

"And what's your point?" Karen asked, crossing her arms.

"Well, that cat is probably a familiar or something similar." Knudsen said. "At the very least, that should confirm that there is some kind of supernatural existence here in this town other than us. And there's a chance that this supernatural existence is responsible for the deaths of our friends."

"And what do you think this supernatural existence is?" Karen asked.

Knudsen shrugged. "Beats me. Probably a hedge wizard or witch. Or maybe a magical girl."

Karen scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. Magical girls don't exist."

"We don't know yet about that." Knudsen retorted.

Karen pinched the bridge of her nose before she said, "Alright, I guess we're done for tonight. Go back to the apartment complex and restore your eye. I will contact you later."

"Alrighty!" Knudsen whooped before he departed in his mist form. Seeing that her subordinate had left, Karen turned around and left the park, chasing after her grandfather. It seemed that her grandfather was waiting for her just a distance away, seemingly wondering what took her so long.

"What were you doing there?" Tetsu asked.

Karen cutely leaned forward and giggled. "Just a secret~" Hearing that, Tetsu rolled his eyes.

"Hrmh…" Grunting, Tetsu motioned for her to follow him home. "Come on, let's go home. Worry about your vampire business some other days. Tonight, just focus on resting. Remember, as long as you're living under my roof, you're my responsibility. Just tell me if you ever need my help or if you need someone to talk to." He was already facing away from his granddaughter as he said that. "That's the least I can do for you as your grandfather…"

"Grandpa…" Karen looked at her grandfather's back. Then, she closed in and hopped onto his back.

"W-whoa!" Tetsu was surprised by this as Karen latched herself on his back. "W-what are you doing?"

"Grandpa, just for tonight… can you give me a piggyback ride?" Karen asked as she wrapped her arms around her grandfather's neck.

"What… you're too old for a piggyback ride…" Tetsu grumbled as he looked over his shoulder, only to see Karen's pouting face. "Fine." He sighed in resignation. "Just for tonight, then…"

"Ehe~" Karen giggled mischievously. She then let herself be carried on her grandfather's back in the piggyback ride. "You're so… warm, grandpa."

"Hrmh…" Tetsu just grunted as he carried his granddaughter. Even though she had grown, he felt that she was actually pretty light.

"Warm…" Karen muttered. "You're… always so kind to me… so kind…"

"Hrmh…"

"I'm not… lonely anymore…"

"Hrmh…"

"…love you, grandpa…"

"Hrmh…"

"…"

As Tetsu carried her on his back, Karen fell asleep. For the first time ever since she became a vampire, she was able to sleep soundly like this.

"…" Tetsu noticed that Karen had fallen asleep. "Hrmh… I guess vampire or not, you've never changed at all, Karen…"

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"Father, is it true that my next assignment is to be sent to Sakamoto Town in Japan?"

A young woman in nun habit asked a middle-aged man garbed in priestly clothes. The two of them were in a church.

"Yes, I believe that's what the town is called." The priest said, nodding. He had a faint scar on his right cheek. "There is a report about a coven of vampires trying to establish a foothold there, presumably to make use of the Great Leyline there to strengthen themselves. We're not sure yet how far they've gone, but it's clear that they're planning to turn the town into their feeding ground."

The nun had a worried look on her face. "Oh, I hope the vampires haven't subjugated the town yet. I'm worried."

The priest raised an eyebrow. "Do you know someone from that town?"

The nun fidgeted. One could see strands of pink hair underneath her veil. "W-well… m-my grandfather lives there, and he lives alone. I-I'm afraid no one's going to protect him from the vampires…"

Giving the nun a pitying look, the priest said, "Then we better be hasty. Tomorrow, you will need to catch the flight and head straight to Sakamoto Town. Our other agents should already be there by the time you arrive. They will help you set up a barrier around the town if it's already too late."

"A barrier?" The nun gave the priest a quizzical look.

"Yes. The barrier is important to keep the outside world from knowing what we have to do next. Hopefully, we don't need to resort to this. Our agreement with Demon Hunter Association still needs to be finalized first before we can formally get their help, so for the time being, we can only rely on ourselves." The priest stated.

"So… in worst-case scenario, do we need to purge the town?" The nun asked.

"I'm afraid so…" The priest responded in resignation.

"E-even my grandfather?" The nun questioned.

"…Yes. Hopefully, we don't have to do this. Right now, you should pray so that you can get enough strength to overcome such thing." The priest said before he left. The nun looked down before she turned around and started praying earnestly, clasping her hands together.

"Oh, Lord… please protect my grandfather…"