Tsukune held his breath as he approached the ball of power that was Moka.

Moka!

Gritting his teeth, Tsukune endured the bolts of power lashing across his skin. Though he was weaker than even the frailest mermaid, the bolts emanating from the cross seemed to avoid him, with only the faintest strikes landing on his body.

Even now, you're doing your best to protect me.

Reaching the eye of the storm, Tsukune managed to get to Moka. Unfortunately, he was too close to the lightning to dodge. Feeling his skin start to burn, he prayed that removing the rosary would stop the lightning.

Moka!

Grabbing her shoulder, Tsukune pulled Moka toward him as his other hand reached for the rosary. His hand burned, but his guilt toward Moka was far stronger.

Moka! Please, forgive me!

He then pulled the rosary, causing a reverse vacuum-like reaction as all the outward-exploding lightning suddenly dragged back into the rosary.

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

Kurumu felt overwhelmed. She dodged Tamao’s flesh-rending strikes while avoiding the mermaids who decided to help their senior. With her lungs half full of pool water, Kurumu was starting to feel faint.

Tsukune, please move fa-

But just in time, Kurumu felt the familiar outward explosion of energy. She couldn’t help but smirk, causing Tamao and her cronies to be shocked.

Just in time.

As the shockwave of the rosary’s release reverberated around the pool, Tamao swam upward and found that the pool’s waves were turbulent, reminding her of the sea.

“Wah! What’s going on?!”

The other mermaids swam upward to witness the anomaly occurring in the pool, only to be rocked by the sea-like waves surging through the Olympic-sized pool.

“What’s happening?!”

“I can barely move!”

“Everyone swim down! The waves are too strong!”

Seeing that her encirclement had collapsed, Kurumu swam upward and flew into the sky. Once free from her watery prison, she forcefully expelled the water stuck in her lungs. Coughing out water, Kurumu was about to groan but stopped herself. She looked around, hoping Tsukune wasn’t near to hear her.

I can’t have him hear such a gross sound from me.

Seeing that the coast was clear, she let out a satisfying groan, clearing her insides of pool water.

Safe from mermaid attacks high up in the sky, Kurumu watched with a bit of annoyance.

“Yeah, this supernatural energy… is still surprising.”

While her mermaid clubmates dived deeper to avoid the turbulent waters, Tamao remained on the surface, watching the explosion of power emanating from Moka.

"No, this overwhelming feeling... I knew that Moka was a vampire but… I never expected such a…"

Tamao saw her hand shivering in fear and she angrily slapped it.

No!

Unfortunately for her, the explosion of power cleared, revealing a momentary divide in the pool. In that divide stood Moka, her expression filled with fury as she stood proudly. Pushed away by the explosion, Tsukune watched as Moka trembled in anger, still clutching the rosary in his hand.

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As the water started to fill the vacant void created by Moka’s explosion of youki, she uttered a few words in complete anger.

“How dare you…”

Even if Moka’s youki was now condensed in her body, her pure rage exploded across the pool.

“How dare you treat me like this?!” electricity flashed across Moka’s entire body, giving her a terrifying image.

However, as the water filled the void her power created, Moka began to float upward. Tamao, who had been paralyzed with fear, started to regain some of her inner strength.

I-It doesn’t matter if her youki is more than all of us combined. She’s still a vampire in water!

“C-Come on! What do you think you’re doing?! It doesn’t matter how much power you show off!”

Raising her claws, Tamao snaps her fingers.

"I had my eyes set on Tsukune! And I'm never going to give him up to anyone!" At that moment, dozens of underwater mermaids erupted from the pool, quickly surrounding Moka.

Using a basic youki strengthening technique, the mermaids began swimming around Moka with immense power, gradually transforming the pool into a whirlpool once more.

Moka looked around, using her dulled but still powerful senses to count the mermaids around her.

Seeing Moka move around with sluggish movements, Tamao felt invigorated.

"It doesn't matter how much youki you have. In our territory, a mermaid will always be victorious!" laughing to herself, Tamao continued. “If you have any last words, you better say it now!”

Despite the draining effort, Moka continued to exert her aura, drawing the attention of all nearby mermaids towards her.

Kurumu, hovering in the air, observed as the mermaids ignored Tsukune and focused on the weakened Moka. She smiled.

As expected from my rival.

Tsukune did his best to get away from the fight, swimming away from the epicenter of the newly created whirlpool. Unfortunately, a nearby mermaid, one at the edge of the whirlpool noticed him and was about to grab him.

However, Moka’s loud response toward Tamao stunned the mermaids.

"Hmph, you're pretty uncouth for a low-class fish that's utterly fixated solely on filling your stomach!"

Looking around at the mermaids getting closer to her, Moka shouted.

“You’re all so pathetic. Don’t make me laugh!” her last insult was the nail in her coffin and the mermaids broke their formation, charging at Moka.

“What?!”

“How dare you?!”

“Argh! I’ll cut you up to bits!”

Seeing her enemies charge at her, Moka couldn’t help but smile.

The weak are always so predictable.

Disabling the youki barrier she had used to shield herself from the water, Moka leaped upward, evading the deadly lunges of the enraged mermaids. Once she broke free from the water's grip, she felt an exhilarating sense of liberation.

Unwilling to let their prey escape, the mermaids propelled themselves upward, driven by the strength of their powerful tails. Tamao, who led the charge, shouted.

“You’re so slow!!”

As Tamao and the mermaids quickly reach and surround Moka, the head mermaid screams once more.

“Despite all your talk, you’re so weak! You’re just a useless target in midair!”

The mermaids all prepare to strike Moka with their sharp claws.

“Die!”

Tsukune watched as Moka was surrounded.

“Moka!”

Being the quickest of the group, Tamao reached Moke first. She swings her claws.

I’ve got you now!!

However, Moka’s battle sense was immensely sharp. Despite having lost a vast majority of her youki, she was still leagues quicker than even Tamao. Seeing Tamao within arms reach, she internally smirks.

Truly, a bunch of fools.

With almost instant movement, Moka delivers a devastating right hook, striking Tamao’s chin with perfect accuracy, stunning the mermaid. The strike was so fast that it didn’t immediately register in Tamao’s mind.

W-What happened?

For a moment, she lost control of her body, wondering what just occurred. Kurumu, on the other hand, watched her rival outmatch her enemies once more.

"If water is your territory, you should stay in it, you bunch of fake succubuses," she remarks, disappointed by the obvious outcome of the fight.

Moka, on the other hand, was not disappointed. She knew that none of these monsters were her equal.

“Do you believe me now? What creature so eagerly takes the bait? Now, realize your place!”

After delivering a chin-shattering right hook to Tamao, Moka used Tamao's body as a pivot point. She swiftly spun around, her legs striking the other mermaids with precise and devastating blows.

Within seconds, Moka had incapacitated the entire swimming club. She then used the unconscious mermaids as stepping stones, jumping from one to another until she gracefully landed at the pool's edge.

Once on solid ground, Moka felt the immense weight of exhaustion. The youki barrier she had created earlier allowed her to maintain her base strength even in water. Unfortunately, the water purified her vampiric youki, forcing her to expend copious amounts just to keep her barrier up, preserving her physical power.

No… can’t… show weakness.

“Moka!”

Hearing the voice of the one responsible for her miserable state, Moka turned toward Tsukune, who wore an oblivious expression. That irked her to no end. She raised her hand and slapped him across the face.

The sound and pain of flesh striking flesh made Tsukune pause. His cheek stung, but he knew Moka could have done much worse. However, she held back out of respect for her other self. Kurumu quickly flew down and tried to hug Tsukune, gently touching his reddened cheek.

“H-Hey! What are you doing to Tsukune?!”

Ignoring Kurumu, Moka spoke with a calm but determined voice.

“You made the other Moka cry.”

Walking toward Tsukune, the taller inner Moka looked down on him with startling anger.

“When my awareness first returned, I believed that you would be different. Somehow, you'd be able to provide the other Moka with a place she can be comfortable and safe with. She's always had to live alone in human society.”

Moka’s glare caused Tsukune to back away.

"People who can't think of anyone else but themselves have no right to come near me or the other Moka."

With a final warning, Moka tells Tsukune off.

“Tsukune, stay out of my sight!”

Hearing such a harsh sentence coming out of the woman he likes, Tsukune couldn’t reply. He simply watched as Moka slowly walked away.