"The most primal human emotion is fear. And the most primal, strongest fear is that of the unknown."

"Should I try to acquire the Unknown trait through fear?"

Mei pondered for a moment, her gaze drifting to a Lovecraftian horror novel on a nearby bookshelf.

"Ghroth is definitely a possibility."

"But creating it will be difficult."

"After all, Ghroth is essentially the size of a planet. As a creature embodying the concept of an Outer God, with the materials I have now, I doubt I can bring it to life."

"At least I haven't yet created any beings with such extreme concepts, let alone those whose size rivals planets."

"Most of the other creatures I've considered are also quite large."

"So, I need to extract the concept of extreme size first; I’ll use the blue whale as a reference. After all, it's the largest known sea creature."

"I'll have 002 handle it."

Mei intended to continue observing the clash between the angel, vampire, and demon, taking notes as she went. She had little time to gather materials.

She couldn’t manage everything herself, after all.

"Ideally, I need to create something that can actively observe each monster for me and record their information, leaving me only to review the summaries."

"Um… I’ll label this tag 'Observer.' It just so happens that some of its traits could be applied to Ghroth."

...

In New York, Queens.

Shino squatted on the street, surrounded by scattered hamburger wrappers. "Not full… hungry. Vampires can’t satisfy their hunger through normal food."

He began to breathe heavily as his pupils shifted to a deep red.

"Blood…"

Slap!

Shino suddenly struck himself. His pupils turned black once more. "No, no, don’t…"

"Ugh!"

Unable to bear the hunger any longer, he bit into his own hand. His sharp teeth pierced the skin easily, and fresh blood flowed into his mouth, yet it did nothing to quell his hunger. The taste of his own blood was hardly appealing.

He sought only to use the pain as a distraction, a means to keep himself from losing control.

As Shino winced, someone approached and patted him on the shoulder.

"Very painful, huh?"

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Turning his head, Shino found a blonde man standing beside him.

He was also a vampire, though he appeared to be of a lower rank than Shino—just a Marquess.

"I'm also under Lilith's command. Lilith sent me to look after you."

Shino sprang to his feet. "You're here to look after me? Where's Lilith?"

The blonde vampire chuckled. "Lilith has things she needs to attend to."

Shino’s brow furrowed. "Where were you when Lilith was in trouble before?"

The blonde shrugged. "Oh, I was busy with other tasks. You seem to be in pain; would you like something to drink?"

He was lying.

When Shino stared into the man's eyes, they flickered away for an instant.

Before Shino could say anything further, the man suddenly attacked. His hand cracked, and a blood sword erupted from his palm!

Shino had been prepared and retreated.

But the blood sword extended unexpectedly, slicing off Shino’s arm!

Splat, splat!

Fresh blood spurted from Shino’s stump, and an overwhelming wave of pain surged through his mind!

“Aa!!”

Shino howled in agony. The blonde vampire laughed heartily. "Ha ha ha, Lilith's familiar is so weak!"

"Ah, are you usually not very bloodthirsty? It feels like you lack any Blood Energy at all."

Without responding, Shino turned and lunged toward his severed arm, reattaching it as if it were an everyday task.

The nerves and blood vessels reconnected slowly, a frustrating process exacerbated by the absence of any Blood Energy.

Was this weakness truly due to his hunger?

Shino gritted his teeth and attempted to flee. Yet the blonde vampire was impossibly fast, appearing before him in an instant and kicking him to the ground!

"Not even bothering to spread your wings? Faerûn really cares for you. He actually let me come to kill a baby."

Damn it…

Without food, Shino felt alarmingly weak. The lack of Blood Energy left him unable to instantly close his wounds.

If this kept up, he would surely be killed!

Clenching his fists, Shino pushed off the ground and spun around, aiming a kick at the blonde vampire.

But the vampire merely swatted him away, seizing Shino's calf.

"Good thinking, but unfortunately, you're too weak."

As he spoke, the blonde flicked his finger, sending Shino flying across the street. He crashed headfirst into a wall!

Boom!

His head embedded in the brick, his body protruding awkwardly. Shino flailed, straining to pull himself free.

Yet the blonde vampire flicked his wrist and appeared before him once more, hands in his pockets, and delivered a kick straight to Shino's chest!

Boom!

A deafening crack echoed as a gaping hole tore through Shino’s stomach, the wall behind him crumbling under the force.

He was going to die!

This time, it felt real!

Shino's face contorted in agony, while the blonde vampire reveled in his suffering.

"There are two kinds of joys in the world that are utterly irresistible."

"One is defeating the strong; the other is crushing the weak. I must confess, I prefer the latter."

Blood dribbled from the corner of Shino's mouth as he retorted, "It's because… you… can't beat someone stronger than you…"

Boom!

The blonde man kicked him again, his expression darkening.

"Shut up. You're a third-generation; I'm a fourth-generation. You think I'm bullying you? Well, I’m crushing the strong."

Ah…

Ha ha…

"Ha ha ha, strong? You genuinely believe I'm strong? Why not challenge a newborn in the maternity ward?"

A blood-stained smile graced Shino's lips.

The blonde vampire tapped his chin, intrigued. "You're quite witty, huh? Do you know what it feels like to have your tongue cut off?"

"Imagine licking a sharp knife, the blade slicing your tongue, severing the intricate nerves… That kind of pain can make you wish you were dead!"

"But the beauty of it is that a vampire's tongue can regrow. Theoretically, I can keep cutting it off, again and again, letting you experience that agony! Until… you can’t recover anymore!"

Shino slowly closed his eyes, a faint smile lingering on his lips.

"You enjoy it, then."

He lacked the strength to resist any longer.

The only regret lingering in his heart…

'I won’t be able to go back. Dad, Mom, and Big Brother.'

Shino's thoughts turned bittersweet. He had hoped to graduate and properly apologize to Chino, but…

It seemed that chance had slipped away.

As he closed his eyes, a triangular circle pattern suddenly flashed on the palm of his hand.

【Death Game Open】

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