The Vampires Around the Coffin

Waldstein Castle rooftop.

Once the exterminators had departed, the only ones left in the majestic castle were the vampire viscount and the j.a.panese Eater.

As the sunlight shone on them brilliantly, Shizune stood with the setting sun at her back, her eyes fixed on the pool of blood on the roof.

[Ah, I thought it strange that there were no people going to and fro in the castle, but to think entry had been restricted all this time. How scrupulous of those good Saints.]

Despite the tension running through the air, the pool of blood continued to form letters at a consistent pace.

"Are you really Gerhardt von Waldstein?" Shizune asked for confirmation. The letters re-formed themselves confidently.

[Dear lady, you have the wrong man!]

"You just told me you were him earlier. Why are you denying it now?"

[It is most unfortunate that you could not respond to this jest in kind, young lady.]

This time, the letters were formed in midair as opposed to against the wall.

[Then… Presumably, what you had thrown at This One earlier was holy water and mercury, and perhaps salt or ashes of burnt wood. This One is terribly sorry to inform you that none of these substances will do This One any harm. Desiccants, perhaps, but salt and silver are no weaknesses of This One"s.]

With a sidelong glance at the words floating in the air, Shizune reached behind her white leather jacket. For some odd reason, there were countless knives and forks holstered there like weaponry. It would not be surprising if an attack with something like a fruit knife were to be deflected on the rows of cutlery alone.

Drawing multiple forks at once, Shizune threw them towards the pool of blood as though shooting out bullets.

[Your efforts are wasted, young lady.]

Several knives tore through the joking words and drove themselves through the pool of blood. Naturally, they were not driven into the liquid itself--they had been nailed into the rooftop itself.

[Hm?]

The the viscount realized something only a moment later. The handles of the cutlery were unusually thick, looking more like they belonged on tools like chisels.

Not a second later, sparks flew from the tips of the forks. The pool of blood began to boil.

[A stun gun of some sort. Never did This One expect that these weapons of yours might have currents running through them.]

The words floating in the air addressed Shizune as though the vampire had been less than affected by the shock. The blood pooled on the rooftop slid away from the spots where the cutlery had been driven into, cutting its boiling short.

[Truly unfortunate, but This One is resistant to electric shocks as well. And to advise you further before you waste any more of your efforts, this body is also quite resistant to flames.]

"Thanks for the tip. For a monster, you"re pretty considerate." Shizune said, glaring at the pool of blood that was twitching like an amoeba. "I"ve already eaten a few vampires that could turn into fog, but I"ve never seen one that could liquify itself."

Hearing this, the viscount formed yet more words in midair. The lines floating in the air twisted and bent like thin metal wire, forming new shapes.

[Ah, judging from the situation earlier, and your reaction time--which, in This One"s humble opinion, surpa.s.ses even those of vampires"--This One must presume that you are an Eater [食鬼人], correct? Would this also mean that you are not affiliated with any religious exorcist groups?]

"…Thanks for taking the time to write out the kanji, too."

"Never thought he"d even write out the word "Eater" in j.a.panese."

Shizune shrugged awkwardly, and drew even more knives and forks from her a.r.s.enal.

[And if you would allow This One to add: it seems you are under the mistaken impression that This One possesses an ability similar to that of others--namely, turning oneself into liquid form as they do with fog. But this is indeed This One"s true form, and to extrapolate on this fact, This One cannot take a human form.]

Although Shizune was by no means obliged to continue reading the viscount"s words, she found herself glancing at the letters of blood as she brainstormed her next course of action. The moment she took in the meaning behind the viscount"s claim, she frowned and responded to him.

"…Then you don"t have a human shape?"

[This is indeed This One"s own body in the flesh. The very picture of a man in his prime, is it not?]

Shizune was put on edge by the act of conversing with a silent pool of blood, but her brain continued pumping adrenaline through her body, allowing her to quickly adjust to this unfamiliar situation.

Taking a moment to observe the full form of the pool of blood, she addressed the letters in the air once more.

"I see… You"re unusual, but I"m not interested in any of that."

Shizune spun the table knife she was holding, and decided to play along with the viscount.

"Though I am interested in finding out how you"ll taste."

[My word, what boldness for a young lady!]

The letters were laughing.

They did not create any sound that suggested this, but the letters were trembling slightly in a way that told Shizune that he was chuckling as he spoke. Or, to be specific, her brain forcibly understood this.

The archaic form of speech the vampire used made it almost feel as though she was speaking to a fellow j.a.panese. As she found herself being drawn into the viscount"s pace, Shizune realized that the vampire before her was rather unusual for one of its kind.

All kinds of vampires existed in this world.

Some could turn wholly invisible. Others could synchronize with sand, teleport, create copies of itself, or control fire. It was a range of abilities one might expect to find in a pulp ninja novel, but these powers actually belonged to some of the more unusual vampires she had encountered in the past.

And despite the fact that she had personally eaten such vampires, the self-proclaimed viscount before her was somehow different from the others she had faced. It was not his abilities or appearance that set him apart, but the obscured-but-present scent of humanity in him.

Normally, Shizune would not have given such thoughts any consideration. But things were different today.

The pool of blood did not falter for even a moment, continuing to form more words in midair.

[However, This One must say that--]

"Stop talking in the third person. Are you making fun of me?" Shizune demanded, spinning her knife once more.

It was a rather fantastic scene to behold, but neither party seemed to be having much trouble in communicating with one another.

[Ah, my apologies! I"d thought that I had reached some level of proficiency with the j.a.panese language, but I am afraid some of the finer nuances of the art still manage to escape Th--ah, apologies--One(ware[余])(1).]

"Try again."

[Then We(chin [朕])(2)--]

"You"re doing that on purpose, aren"t you?"

Narrowing her already sharp eyes, Shizune fixed her grip on the knife she was spinning. Noticing this, the viscount hurriedly rearranged himself.

[Pardon my rudeness, most beautiful lady! I was merely compelled to jest by your astonishing radiance. I am doing everything in my power to prove that you intend no aggression to my person, but it does not seem to be working.]

"Thanks for the compliment, but I"m not letting you off that easily."

If the compliment had been from anyone else, Shizune might have been able to appreciate it. But she felt nothing at the comment from the vampire, her enemy. Taking his words as provocation, Shizune slowly went silent.

Vampires were her enemy, responsible for her family"s death. This was the first time she had conversed so long with one of his kind, despite the unconventional medium of their communication.

Perhaps the vampire"s form, more slime than humanoid, had led her to unconsciously lower her guard.

"But vampires are vampires. The ones who slaughtered my family. They stole my happiness. And now, they"re my prey."

Shizune calmly began to unleash her bloodl.u.s.t.

The viscount, keeping up with the change in atmosphere, formed a new set of words in the air.

[Wait a moment! I have neither duty, motivation, nor time to face you today. And if you have the power to defeat me at all, then I do not believe eating my body will enhance your abilities any further.]

"That doesn"t matter. The fact that you"re a vampire is reason enough for me."

[I ask that you listen to what I have to say. I do not drink blood, I do not murder anyone on this island, and I do not impose my will upon those who live here. And above all, how could I possibly sink my fangs into a lady"s neck with a body like this?]

The viscount"s form had indeed aroused Shizune"s curiosity. Even if vampires who did not have to drink blood existed, how could this particular being derive any sort of energy?

But even if the viscount was telling the truth, it meant nothing to Shizune.

"Whether you"re good or evil has nothing to do with the fact that I"m going to devour you."

Shizune"s bloodl.u.s.t did not abate in the least. The pool of blood quietly replied.

[Is this because of some duty? For example... have you been hired to murder me?]

Shizune glanced at him and shook her head.

"No, this is personal."

[Ah, you do indeed seem to be driven by a great resolution of will… Vengeance, I presume?]

Shizune looked uncomfortable for a moment, before shooting back with an irrelevant question.

"Why do you go to the trouble of adding in ellipses? And it"s not like you even have to write out all your "Ah"s, either."

However, the viscount"s response to her rude tone was unchangingly polite.

[Ah, excuse me. My goodness, not again… I am sincerely apologetic, young lady. To me, the act of creating these letters and words feels no different from the act of speaking. Instead of the sensation of a voice escaping my mouth, whatever comes up in my mind becomes these letters of blood you see before you. It seems that my brain--ah, perhaps I should call it a soul, in my case--is converting my words into letters for my convenience. They say that if a human was to wear a pair of gla.s.ses that show the world upside-down for three days, his brain would adjust to the new way of sight by the end of that period. It works in much the same way for myself.]

Shizune found herself raising an eyebrow at that statement.

"A vampire like you…? A soul? Don"t make me laugh."

There was silence.

The viscount"s form froze in place. A quiet wind blew between him and the quiet Shizune.

After a moment, the viscount began to write in a fashion that made it seem as though he was choosing his words very carefully.

[…Hahaha. You say that we vampires are soulless creatures? Not an entirely unfounded belief, and in one sense absolutely true.] The viscount said meaningfully, continuing before Shizune could interrupt. [How much do you know about vampires? I grant you that you must have acquired a great deal of knowledge about our abilities and characteristics. But have you never thought it strange that each individual could possess abilities and weaknesses so different from the next?]

"Never."

To Shizune, vampires were prey--nothing but targets of her gluttony, and earlier, vengeance. In the early years of her time as an Eater, when she was driven by revenge alone, she had strived to learn as many weaknesses as she possibly could. But by the time she had gotten strong enough to defeat a vampire in single combat, she no longer cared. There were many reasons for her disinterest, but one of them was the fact that she no longer needed to know a given vampire"s weakness in order to overpower it.

At this point, a vampire"s weaknesses were nothing more than an agent of efficiency by which she could conclude her battles faster. She never made the effort to look into them any more than necessary, nor did she ever intend to do so.

But it was not as though the words of the pool of blood before her were entirely uninteresting to her. In fact, they aroused her curiosity so much that she almost wanted to start asking questions of him. She never would have been swayed this much if the vampire had been writing in English, but seeing her native language again softened her heart.

If she was still stuck in the mindset of revenge, Shizune would never have given the slightest attention to the viscount"s claims, nor would she have had the composure to do so.

But now, this topic of discussion was not entirely without favour towards her.

Being an Eater, who ate the flesh and blood of vampires to absorb their power, not knowing anything about her prey meant she would never be able to properly express the kind of being she was in words.

She closed her eyes for a moment in thought, then spun her knife around once more and holstered it behind her jacket.

"…Talk. I might even save you for later if you manage to entertain me."

[Thank you for your consideration, good lady.]

<=>

In the darkness.

What kind of vampires were my real parents?

Father would always say, [They were the most admirable of vampires. I am proud to count myself among their friends, and I promise you that you may carry yourself with that same pride for having been born their son]. But he never told me anything specific about them.

Why was I born a vampire? I don"t dislike the fact that I am one, but I"ve always wondered.

Father taught me all sorts of things about vampires. Apparently there are countless varieties around the world, and about half of us don"t even need to drink people"s blood to live. Father is one of them. But that was only after he took on that liquid form he has now.

I"m the type that needs to drink blood regularly to survive.

Whether it"s from a human or an animal, I need the blood of a living creature, or else I lose my strength. It"s a separate need from hunger. It"s not like I"m affected physically, but if I go for a long time without blood--months at a time--it starts to feel like my consciousness is growing further from my body.

Some vampires have a shorter cycle of hunger than others. I"ve heard that some of them have to drink at least one person"s worth a day. Though those types usually get hunted down by humans quickly.

Father told me, [The act of sucking blood is not quite so simple as drinking someone"s blood. It is an act of sharing your very soul. Relic, my son, should you choose the path of intermingling with humans, you must never think of drinking blood as an act of "taking". Remember that, by sucking someone"s blood, you are sharing your life and soul with them]. But to be honest, that"s not easy. In the end, I"m just acting on my desire to drink someone"s blood.

When I sink my fangs into someone"s neck and suck out their blood, I get the feeling that something is escaping my body and is being drained into the person I"m biting. I think if I try to focus on that sensation more and practice, I"ll eventually be able to impose control over someone, or even turn them. Although I"ve never actually tried.

Turning someone--to drag a human being, different from me, into the world of vampires… In popular movies and novels, it"s as easy as spreading a plague. Entire villages get turned overnight. According to Father, I have the power to do that myself. He says that, physically speaking, I"m as close as anyone can get to those vampires you see in movies.

I can turn any human I choose into a vampire. Ferret said it was like helping the human "evolve" or something, but I honestly don"t feel that way.

How could you call it evolution when the newer form has so many more weaknesses?

According to Father"s knowledge, about 80% of vampires are weak against sunlight. The weakest of them can"t so much as twitch while the sun"s still up, and apparently many of them get killed by humans during the day.

I can just barely move during the day, but that"s only indoors. I"d probably disintegrate to ashes if sunlight hits me, and my powers weaken significantly after the rooster"s first crow.

I hate the smell of garlic, and I can"t stand purified salt or silver. I"d probably die if someone drove a stake through my heart. I might be able to revive from my ashes with someone"s help, or with centuries" worth of effort, but I"m too scared to even think of trying.

I can"t enter running water. I can cross it on ships and airplanes, but I can"t go into it physically.

A vampire"s energy apparently leaks out into water. It"s possible to absorb it back from still pools, but you can"t get it back from a flowing stream.

That means that I can"t shower--I have to bathe. Thankfully I don"t sweat too much or get messy easily, but on days I get covered with sand or something, I honestly don"t know what to do.

I guess about the one thing that I"m fine with is crucifixes. But then again, almost no vampires are weak against them. Although a lot of us are weak against the powers of the believers who wield them…

I can do most of the things people might expect from a vampire. Other than those weaknesses, I can survive anything. I can turn into a flock of bats, control familiars, turn into fog, hide in shadows, move things telekinetically, and hypnotize people with a single look. And as for less well-known powers, I can turn into a snake or a swarm of mosquitoes. Although I almost never do that because it never gets a good reaction.

I think I"m physically stronger than other kids my age, but to be honest, I"ve never actually tested that or anything.

My body is still growing. I eat food like humans do. But once I hit twenty or so, I"ll stop aging completely.

But I still don"t like the fact that I have so many weaknesses. Whenever I want to wash my hands I have to pour water into a basin. If I put my hands under a tap, they"ll burn like I"m holding them in a kiln.

And as for sunlight--although I"ve heard that a lot of humans started going without it since computers and the internet became popular--I prefer the outdoors. I can"t stand it. This might sound a bit cheesy, but I wish I could play soccer with all the other kids my age. We don"t have any fields with lighting equipment on Growerth. …Well, I guess that"s just an excuse. It"s painful, not being able to walk under sunlight. People might think it"s just like reversing your sense of day and night, but it"s not like humans turn to ash when they step out in the middle of the night, is it?

Well, getting back on topic… In other words, the balance between my strengths and weaknesses isn"t that great. I don"t really mind because I"ve been this way since the day I was born, but if a human were to turn into a vampire, I"m sure they"d be surprised at all the weaknesses they"ll have to live with.

In that sense, I"m really jealous of my sister.

Ferret is my total opposite. She has no vampiric weaknesses at all. She"s completely fine under sunlight. She can eat garlic, take showers, and swim in rivers and oceans. She tries not to do that in front of me so I won"t have to feel bad, although it"s not like I mind.

She"s not affected by silver, and crucifixes go without saying. No one"s ever tried, but she might even be able to survive a stake to the heart.

But Ferret doesn"t have most of the powers I have. She can regenerate quickly, but she doesn"t have any other abilities. She can"t turn into bats or fog, she can"t communicate with mice and bats, she can"t move things with her mind, and she can"t hypnotize people.

But, Ferret can go without drinking blood. She could if she wanted to, and she could probably control someone by biting them, to a certain extent, but… I don"t think she"d be able to turn someone.

That"s how we"re like mirror images of one another. Our personalities are different, too.

I really love my sister, but sometimes I wonder:

What in the world are we?

Not just vampires. I feel like we"re abnormal even for our kind.

Me, born with most vampiric characteristics, and Ferret, born with no weaknesses. Who were our parents? Do our physical powers and strengths mean something special?

I"ve wondered about this once in a while, but I never brought it up to Father. It feels like if I tell him, I"ll lose the happiness we have together now.

I might end up resenting myself for being so curious to know. I might end up hating my own little sister.

That"s what scares me.

The bas.e.m.e.nt of the harbour office.

Hearing the footsteps descending the stairs, the vampire siblings opened their eyes in unison.

"Was I dreaming?"

Still feeling drowsy, Relic began to put his thoughts in order.

Of the girls he had met in j.a.pan, he got along best with the older girl he met in Yokohama that final day. He ended up telling her all kinds of things he never would have said normally.

"I never got to drink her blood, but I bet it would have been delicious."

Falling into his memories for a moment, Relic focused again on his hearing.

He could hear two sets of footsteps. They did not seem to be the two workmen Ferret had threatened earlier.

Quietly focusing on the reality before him, Relic began comparing the sound of the footsteps to those in his memories.

The sounds matched up with his memories like sets of fingerprints--they were identical to those of a pair of siblings, like himself and Ferret but with a few differences.

The voice that echoed from the staircase confirmed his suspicions.

"…See? I told you! Relic and Ferret must be here!"

"Is that Hilda?"

Relic tensed unnecessarily at the sound of his childhood friend"s voice. He did not hear anything from the second set of footsteps, but Hilda was likely accompanied by her brother Mihail.

"How did they find us? We were going to go see them ourselves!"

Relic"s heart, normally quiet and sluggish, began beating at nearly human speed. Even vampires who did not need to breathe had a heartbeat, because their bodies still needed a supply of nutrients and energy.

They were just like humans in that their heartbeat quickened when the were excited. Relic"s thoughts floundered further as he scrambled to figure out how he should greet his approaching childhood friend.

"Argh, this isn"t good. If Mihail"s here too, Ferret"s going to go crazy."

Relic wondered if he should open the lid of his coffin to avoid such a situation. But,

"Ferre--"

The moment he thought he heard an excitable male voice, Relic heard Ferret"s coffin lid slam open, and the sound of someone being smacked mercilessly.

He had an idea of what was going on outside.

Hilda"s older brother Mihail had probably attempted to leap into Ferret"s coffin and had been rewarded with a punch.

Mihail comically spun into the wall.

"Mihail!"

Naturally, the one calling his name was not Ferret, but Mihail"s sister Hilda.

"I wish my sister would call me by name, too." Relic thought to himself, as he listened to Ferret"s desperate attempt to hold back her outrage.

"You…! I-impudent…!"

Though she lashed out at Mihail, who was still rolling on the floor, her girlish voice took away much of the dignity from her words.

"Your voice is pretty even when you"re angry, Ferret."

Although his jaw and back must have been in pain, Mihail got up exuberantly and flashed a smile at Ferret.

It was clear that Ferret had been holding back when she punched Mihail. His neck would have done a 180 if she had gone all-out against him.

Whether or not he understood this, Mihail got up and extended a hand to her.

"Welcome back, Ferret! You must"ve been so lonely without me. But don"t worry! Everything"s going to be all right now!"

"How…"

Ferret trailed off, driven to silence by Mihail"s boldness.

Relic snickered quietly from inside his coffin as he listened to the commotion outside.

"Mihail hasn"t changed a bit, huh. I guess that"s only natural, since it"s only been a year."

After a good laugh, Relic made up his mind and opened his eyes, slowly pushing up the lid of his coffin.

The fluorescent light seeped into his eyes, nearly blinding him. But the light was suddenly cut off.

Relic pushed the lid open all the way. The shadow blocking the light greeted him.

"Welcome back, Relic!"

Standing before him was the human girl named Hilda. Relic bowed his head for a moment at the sight of his childhood friend"s face, then laughed sheepishly and responded to her smile with one of his own.

"I missed you."

<=>

The outskirts of Rukram City, on the island of Growerth

"Is this really okay?"

Cargilla and the others had retreated from the castle, having accomplished nothing. Val mumbled uncomfortably as they sat in their station wagons.

""Course it is! Listen up, our clients and the mayor were the ones who told us it was weak against daylight. There shouldn"t be a problem here. We destroyed the coffin under the sun, so we"ve done our job."

They had arrived at a small manor in the forest, a little ways from the city. It was the clients" home. The exterminators all got off the station wagons.

The house stood in beautiful harmony with the trees in the forest. It was rather small for a manor, but if the report about the manor housing a family of four was true, the home looked almost too big for them.

"Is this really going to get us any money?"

"…Normally we"d bring back the vampire"s ashes or the bite mark on the victim"s neck would disappear as proof. But we should be fine as long as we have that video. We have records about their dealing with us, so worst case scenario, we can tell "em we"ll sell their info to the media if they don"t pay up."

"That"s basically extortion--Gah!"

Val received another punch to the nose for his comment.

The series of unusual events seemed to have left Cargilla rather rattled. Normally he would at least contact the head office, but this time he was driven solely by the desire to leave this island as soon as possible.

In fact, he did not even really care about the money--he just wanted to join up with his second-in-command"s team and escape Growerth.

"I called "em on the radio before we came here, so everything should be fine. But…"

Worrying that the client might confuse him for a burglar because of his appearance, Cargilla pressed the doorbell.

Seconds pa.s.sed. A caucasian couple opened the door.

"Oh… You would be Mr. Cargilla… from the extermination team?"

The wife asked hesitantly. Cargilla forced himself to put on the kind of smile that Val the newbie had never seen before.

"Good day, ma"am! We"re just coming back from taking care of your pest problem."

"Oh my goodness… Thank you so much!"

The exterminators were led into the parlour. They had filled the room and were forced to remain standing. Cargilla had insisted that the others stay outside in the cars, but the couple insisted that they thank every member of the team.

Cargilla would have much preferred to forget their thanks and leave, but he was not skilled enough to turn them down and eventually surrendered, bringing everyone inside.

"I smell a trap here, sir. This has got to be a trap!" Val whispered until the end, but Cargilla snorted.

"It"s fine. We can leave those b.l.o.o.d.y letters to the Eater! And even if this couple is working for those letters, this is the middle of the day. One sunlight bomb is all we need."

"But that viscount or whatever was totally fine."

"Uh…"

"I seriously don"t like how things are going. Don"t you think maybe there"s a whole swarm of vampires who aren"t weak to sunlight?"

The newbie was making a valid point. But Cargilla was here on a mission. He couldn"t back out now.

"I"ll keep an eye out. And if you"re right, we"re going to run like h.e.l.l." Cargilla said, shaking his head.

"H-how"d this guy ever become a leader?!" Val wondered, and positioned himself close to the exit.

Cargilla had been given leadership because of the vast amount of experience he had. But in the end, he only had experience in facing off against small fry. He had never been involved in such an unusual situation before.

"Sir." Cargilla"s second-in-command, who had arrived earlier, spoke up. "I don"t know why you"re so on edge right now, but if there"s something going on… would you like three of us to go and start the cars outside?"

"Y-yeah! Great! I might just be paranoid here, but go make sure we can get outta here as soon as we need to."

"Right, sir."

The second-in-command and the two others still had no idea about the self-proclaimed viscount. They left the manor, looking very confused about Cargilla"s state. Sending them off, Cargilla desperately swallowed the truth and put on a fake smile once more.

Doing his best to keep his sweaty palms concealed, Cargilla made small talk with the couple. He wanted to end the discussion as soon as possible, but he was not so well versed in conversation that he could lead the topic in the direction he wanted.

"We were terrified. The vampire had its sights on our children."

"Of course."

Cargilla had been so focused on leaving the island that he failed to notice two terrifying facts.

One was that the couple had accepted his claim of the vampire"s extermination too easily. The other was the fact that the mayor that his second-in-command mentioned meeting alongside the couple was nowhere to be seen.

"We"ve been very troubled by this "viscount" for the past ten years. At first we were hired to homeschool the two children."

"Right… …Huh?"

"What"s this woman talking about? Huh?"

This was when he finally realized that something was off.

"They"ve known the viscount for ten years? Didn"t the report say something else? And if they"ve known him that long, they"d already know that he"s immune to sunlight. s.h.i.t… And now that I think about it, where"s that mayor who told us he was weak against sunlight in the first place?"

"We were both teachers back when we lived in Britain. So he asked us to give the vampire children a junior school-level education."

"Wait, what? Vampire children? No one"s mentioned them before!"

Alarm bells were going off in Cargilla"s head. He glanced back at the other exterminators, but they were all looking around at one another, their faces rigid. Val was already positioning himself towards the door.

"Uh, wait, what do you mean, "vampire children"? We only heard about the one vampire…"

"That"s right. We never told you about them. The mayor said we shouldn"t. The children left the island about a year ago, and we intended to get rid of that viscount while they were away. But that"s when the mayor came, and… oh, yes. The viscount is quite popular with the people of this island. Much more than any mayor…"

"Huh? What"s this woman saying?"

"Oh? Didn"t we mention this before? Most of the humans on this island know. It"s practically public knowledge among the people here. The vampires, I mean. About the viscount and the countless vampires around him. The vampire children left on a journey without a destination. Along with all the familiars in their castle. The mayor calls the viscount a count. Our two children are absolutely lovely. The vampire children are twins--a boy and a girl. The mayor is very young. He"s already in his thirties, but he doesn"t look a day over twenty. The viscount"s familiars include werewolves, witches, and vampire women in green, and they might be able to overpower a small country"s army. The vampire children are very quick to learn. If they could join in with human children, I"m sure they could attend excellent universities."

Logic began to drain from the woman"s words. Sentences followed after one another without a clear connection. She continued eerily like a broken doll. Now that Cargilla thought about it, the wife was the only one who had been speaking for some time. The husband was merely watching, a smile plastered over his face.

"Have a nice day, ma"am."

At this point, his sense of caution overpowered his devotion to his job. Cargilla got off his seat without even feigning politeness. The other exterminators seemed to have also come to the same conclusion, heading for the doors one after another.

"Oh my, it"s getting late. Looks like I"ll have to turn on the lights." The woman said, oblivious to the exterminators" movement, and reached over to the light switch.

The lights came on in the room. At the same time, the shutters in the house loudly began to close by themselves.

"WHOAAAAAAAA!"

The exterminators rushed towards the doors like a wave of water. But Val stood at the doorway.

For some reason, his arms were wide open, as though he was blocking their way.

"Come on, kid! We"re getting outta here!"

"The h.e.l.l"s wrong with you, newbie?! Hurry up and get outta the way!"

With a battle cry, the exterminators attempted to tackle Val out of the way.

However, they were knocked back by an invisible force, being hurled towards the other exterminators and falling to the floor.

"O-oy. Newbie?" Cargilla gaped, coming to the scene a second later.

"Sorry about that. I might have overdone it a little."

The newbie"s nervous tone was nowhere to be found. He was now speaking to them with sympathy, as though he was looking down upon lesser creatures.

"Man, how the h.e.l.l did you get to be leader? Who tries to finish the job without even talking to the client? Honestly… You have no idea how badly you messed up my amazing plan."

Several people tried to ignore him and leave, but they were obstructed by an invisible force. In contrast to their fear and confusion, Val showed off an air of composure only granted to those with superiority.

"Jeez, boss. You were actually right, you know? What was it now… Yes, it"s true that most vampires are weakened by daylight. But the ones who let you find their coffins are the weaklings. Real weaklings. Lowest of the lowest of the lowest of the low."

Val began to give a simple explanation about vampires, in a tone straight out of a practiced skit.

"Listen, boss. Really strong vampires would never get reported. In fact, no one would even notice them. The citizens, the people living around them, none of them will ever figure it out. Isn"t that what it means for a vampire to impose control?"

"Who… the h.e.l.l… are you?" Cargilla hissed, his voice growing faint by the second. Val shook his head and snickered.

"I. Told. You. I"ve been telling you all this time. You never know if there might be vampires who"re totally immune to sunlight."

"Can"t be. No way…"

Cargilla"s suspicions were basically confirmed at this point, but he could not bring himself to believe them. He did not want to believe them.

It was not because he had faith in the new exterminator. It was because acknowledging that fact meant acknowledging the peril his life was in.

But Val mercilessly let the truth become known.

"A vampire who"s immune to sunlight. That"s right, like me."

Val"s body suddenly inflated like a balloon.

"Let me introduce myself again. You see, there"s something like a gathering of vampires in the world. And I"m a newbie there, too. Valdred, at your service. Please call me Vaaaaaa--"

The rest of his sentence was interrupted by the sudden inflation of his neck.

It was like watching a plant grow in fast motion. Flesh erupted from inside Val"s swaying body, swallowing up his clothes and created new fabric on the surface of his body.

"Hey… Hold it. You"re not a vampire! There"s no way in h.e.l.l you are!" Cargilla cried, unable to accept the outlandish scene unfolding before his eyes.

Appearing before the exterminators was the form of a gigantic man, his face covered by a beard that made him look much like a barbarian.

The giant, who was formerly Val, addressed Cargilla and the others in an entirely different tone.

"S"ppose I should take care "a you lot."

The exterminators began running back the way they came back in utter confusion. Their not-so-small stock of weaponry was still back in the cars. Cargilla had concealed a handgun in his clothing just in case, but as soon as he drew it out, an invisible force took hold of it and drew it into the giant"s hand.

"s.h.i.t…"

Just as Cargilla turned aside, a loud noise echoed through the manor.

"The doorbell! The others must be here to see what"s going on!"

Clinging to that ray of hope, Cargilla turned towards the door. The giant also did the same, slowly and without caring for his gun.

But was the addition of three men going to turn the tide for him? Cargilla was uncertain for a moment, before coming to a realization.

"Wait. The others were here for ages before we arrived. So how"d they not notice something was off about the couple?"

As his emotions fluctuated dramatically, Cargilla found his fear rearing its head once more.

He ignored the bell (even if he wanted to get to the door, the giant was blocking it) and turned around to head for the back door. At that precise moment, the fear that had been quietly pushing down at his shoulders took material form.

The other exterminators, who should have left before him, were all lying collapsed in the hallway.

Some were clutching at their chests, and others were lying completely still. Defeat. There was no other word for it.

Taking a sharp breath, Cargilla realized that his world was twisting around into itself. He no longer had any idea if he was awake or dreaming.

But as his mind began falling into hallucination, he noticed something unusual. Although he didn"t exactly have the ease of mind to closely ponder the incongruity, it nagged at him irresistibly.

"Isn"t this hall a little… foggy?"

The moment he thought this, the thin layer of fog over the interior of the house flowed behind him at an alarming rate. The interior of the house cleared in an instant.

Cargilla had no idea what was happening. And from behind him came a voice that could not have been more out of place in a situation like this.

"Ahaha! Tee hee hee! Isn"t this funny? Isn"t this great, hottie? Waaaaait… now that I look at you, you"re not that young at all! Should I just call you an old man?"

Cargilla"s mind was snapped back to reality by the girlish voice. He hurriedly turned around and found himself face-to-face with a girl in garish clothing. He was certain that there was no one standing there until just a moment ago. It was as though she had materialized out of thin air.

The upper half of her face was coloured like a certain country"s flag. She was wearing a red triangle-shaped hat, rather like the one worn by Santa Claus.

Her outlandish costume made her look much like a jester, but she carried herself in a much more sinister fashion than one might expect from an entertainer.

Cargilla awkwardly looked around in an attempt to understand his situation. But the jester laughed mechanically.

"Ahaha! I bet you"re waiting for the guys who went outside earlier! That"s it! They might come rescue you with all their fancy weapons, right? But you know, Mr. Old Man Old Man Old Man, don"t expect too much, okay? I"m just saying this for your sake. I"m telling you ahead of time so you won"t get too sad! So you have to remember I"m doing this for you. Okay? No getting all teary-eyed on me! Ahaha!"

After her drawn-out ribbing, the girl finally got to the point that would push Cargilla into the abyss of despair.

"Tee hee! You know, you know? They"re already under my control!"

"…?"

"Ahaha! I"m talking about those hotties who already went outside. The one with the gla.s.ses! They"re already under my control! I gave them a lovely little chomp! So you know you know? They"re not vampires yet, but it"s all over for them! Your friend with the gla.s.ses, and everyone inside this house! They inhaled me when I was still in fog form. And I dropped in tiny drops of my blood into their lungs! It was so fun. Everyone was gaping like a bunch of fish out of water! Tee hee! I"m scared of daylight, but I can do everything as long as I avoid the sun! Isn"t it cool?"

The slow-witted man finally realized the truth. The girl standing before him was a vampire. And if he were to take her word at face value, it meant that their fate had already been sealed.

"s.h.i.t! This is why we"re supposed to kill vampires before we can get a look at their faces!"

Despite his overwhelming powerlessness, Cargilla struggled for his life, drawing a knife from his belt. He had just one target--the girl"s heart. This time, the invisible force did not stop him. From the looks of things, the one with that power was not the girl, but the giant that had once been Val.

"Die!"

"Ah-"

The jester froze, taken by surprise at Cargilla"s sudden attack.

A small impact shook her body. The girl looked down and found a large knife sticking out of her chest.

And before she could take a closer look at it, Cargilla twisted the knife as hard as he could.

"Oh…"

The girl looked back at her chest, and then at Cargilla"s face. After repeating this gesture several times, her eyes filled with tears.

And she laughed loudly.

"Ahahahahahaha! Tee hee hee hee! Were you scared? Were you?"

Cargilla silently ground his teeth. The moment he twisted the knife, he had felt no resistance. He had not damaged her heart in the slightest.

"Tee hee hee! You"re amazing, Old Man! I may be a scary vampire, but who has the guts to stab a girl in the chest? And you twisted the knife, too! Maybe that"s the one professional thing about you. Or maybe, maybe! Maybe you enjoy ripping apart little girls! Mister, don"t tell me you got all excited when you saw those girl vampires writhing in their coffins! Ahahaha!"

Something like a fine vapour suddenly covered her chest, and in an instant her body scattered into fog, dissipating into the air. Cargilla angrily fixed his grip on the knife and stepped forward to flee.

The giant at the front door had not made any notable movements since the jester had appeared. Was he yielding to her, or was he just uninterested in Cargilla? His beard-covered face did not allow a hint of emotion to escape.

"Tee hee hee! Hey, you know? Was it hot? That "Oh…" I said when I got stabbed, I mean! Was it hot? Was it seductive?"

As Cargilla rushed further into the house, the girl rea.s.sembled herself from the fog behind his back. Cargilla tried to shake her off again and again, but each time she scattered and came together again. It was starting to look like she was teleporting around him over and over again.

"Was I cute?"

"Was I stimulating?"

"Was I arousing?"

"Was I s.e.xy?"

"Was I t.i.tillating?"

"Was I sensual?"

"Was I erotic?"

"Was I l.u.s.tful?"

Each time the jester rematerialized she added an infuriating quip. But at this point, Cargilla was too terrified of the situation and too angry at his own powerlessness to care.

He had slaughtered vampires he thought were stronger than humans.

He was intentionally intoxicating himself on the mistaken a.s.sumption that he held great power.

He could annihilate these creatures mercilessly without being constrained by the law.

He was not drunk on the sensation of destruction, but on his own power as he brought death upon the vampires.

But now he was on the receiving end of that destruction.

An overwhelming power was toying with him in a situation he did not understand, as his life was whittled away little by little. He could hear the sound of everything he had built up to this point crumbling to dust.

Was it power? Confidence? Status? Glory? Everything, even his past and future collapsed into rubble, with the jester laughing atop it.

"Ahaha! You know, I"ll tell you something really cool! This is the end, so you"re going to hear something amazing. It"s like your last feast before your execution! But I"m going to teach you that not all feasts are really delicious. I"m going to be a really nice and gentle teacher!"

With a nauseatingly long lead-in, the jester put her lips by Cargilla"s ear.

Cargilla no longer cared to push her away, focusing on running as he jumped over the bodies of his fellow exterminators.

"---- is a ------- too."

Cargilla"s eyes widened in shock.

But before he was able to shout, the jester sunk her tiny fangs into his neck.

At the same time, the doorbell that had been ringing all this time stopped, and the door slammed open.

The giant turned around slowly. Standing at the doorway was a young man in a suit. He breathed heavily, glaring at the giant.

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d… If someone"s ringing the doorbell, you"re supposed to let them in."

"B-but y"said I couldn"t let "nyone in…" The giant blinked, complaining at his superior.

"Ever heard of adapting to your f.u.c.king surroundings, punk? Or are you one of those mindless drones the media"s talking about these days? Well?!"

The young man slowly raised one leg. The giant"s body deflated, changing form into that of a cowering young child.

"I"m sorry! I"m sorry! Please, please don"t hit me!"

The child, whose gender was not clear, trembled before the young man with teary eyes.

"Whoops, my bad, newbie. I"m not gonna punch you or anything."

The young man smiled gently and landed an axe kick on the child"s head.

"Gah!"

"But I can"t promise you anything about kicking."

The young man slammed his foot into the child"s stomach over and over and over again.

"The f.u.c.k is wrong with you? Why the h.e.l.l do you always transform into a brat when you"re apologizing? You think I"m some sort of children"s advocate? Or do you think I"m one of those "punk on the outside, nice big brother on the inside" types? Do you?!"

The young man continued his a.s.sault, a thin smile on his lips. Stopping this atrocious act was the voice of a middle-aged man coming from behind him.

"H-hey…"

The young man turned around. A large, trembling man in an army jacked was watching him.

"A-are you human? Wh-where"d that giant go? I don"t know who you are, but please help me!"

"Huh? What, did they miss one?"

Thinking for a moment, the young man suddenly smiled, straightened out his clothes, stood up straight, and bowed.

"Ah, you must be here for the vampire extermination job."

Sweeping aside his barbaric behaviour, he politely introduced himself to the man.

"My name is Watt Stalf. I am the mayor of this city."

Putting on a pair of sungla.s.ses he produced from his pocket, he bowed his head and grinned. A pair of unusually developed canines peeked out from his smile.

"I also moonlight as a vampire."

Silence.

The house, which had been wrapped up in commotion for some time, was now eerily quiet. Only time continued pa.s.sing at the same pace, as though the three people there were the only beings in the entire world.

The man in the army jacket--Cargilla--observed Watt"s fangs for a moment before nodding and suddenly speaking up clearly.

"Actually, me too!"

"…What."

Watt"s confident grin faded. The child curled up at the doorway also looked at Cargilla in confusion.

"Hahaha! So you never noticed, Mr. Stalf? You thought I wouldn"t figure out your deal? A newcomer to vampire society, working his way up the ranks even though he"s half human. And not only that, during the day, you"re the up-and coming young mayor of Rukram! A youthful face that couldn"t possibly be over thirty, and you"re a seedy liar to boot. And those under-the-table deals! You used every ounce of ability you have to gain that political power, you hardworking man--I mean, dhampyr!"

The mysterious man rambling on about Watt"s personal info met his eyes, and suddenly began running at him at full speed.

"I"ve actually always been in loooooo--!"

"Ack?!"

Sensing a sudden chill, Watt kicked at the man"s stomach with all his might.

"Gack…"

Coughing up breath and vomit at once, Cargilla rolled onto the floor, all the way to the other end of the hallway.

Watt, breathing heavily, raised his voice at thin air.

"…Clown. This is your doing, isn"t it?"

A patch of fog in front of the main entrance responded, materializing into human form.

"Ahaha! You knew? You figured it out, Master Watt? But I bet I scared you, didn"t I? Master Watt, I was controlling him just now! Tee hee! I bet you didn"t know. Even though my teeth marks are on his neck all red and clear! You have no sense of observation, do you, Master Watt?"

The jester"s voice was bright and clear. It would have been something to hear her voice singing, but considering her tone, her words were nothing short of annoying.

Watt grimaced for a moment, then sighed in defeat. He covered his face with his right hand and leaned against the entryway wall with his left.

As he slowly looked aside, the jester continued chattering.

"Tee hee hee hee! You"re so slow, Master Watt! Who would ask for help from someone who"s kicking a little kid? That should have tipped you off!"

"…"

The girl stepped over towards Watt, who remained silent, and suddenly put on a very serious look.

""I also moonlight as a vampire"."

"…"

The jester mocked him, attempting to replicate his voice. Watt said nothing and merely held up a V-sign.

"W-wait, Master Watt! Not the eyes, not the eyes! This is bad for the baby Master Watt eeeeeeek!"

The jester pranced about with her hands over her eyes. Watt ignored her and turned to unleash his anger on Val. But for some reason, he came face-to-face with himself.

His doppelganger bowed to him politely.

""I also moonlight as a vampire"."

Watt sent his mirror image, the newbie, flying aside. He put his left foot on the newbie"s stomach and his right foot on his face, and dug in his heel.

Again and again.

Once he made sure that Val had stopped moving completely, Watt took out a cell phone from his pocket.

He then picked out a number from his address book and called it.

"It"s me."

[Oh, Boss Man!]

He could hear a laid-back voice from over the phone.

"Well? Think you can keep "em tied up there much longer?"

[Uh, no, sir! Totally impossible. Tonight at the very latest. What is up with "em? Those werewolves are stronger than most vampires, and those green maids! You gotta see "em to believe it, sir, you have no idea how hot they are! Are they seriously just familiars? Uh, to be honest, I don"t really wanna die. Can we go home now? Some of the guys are starting to hit on those maids. At this rate they"ll all be there by tomorrow, man--]

Watt hung up and smashed the phone against the ground.

"Fascinating people, those underlings. Don"t you think, Clown? Totally different from those f.u.c.king stiffs at city council. Irony at its finest."

The jester, who had com back to her senses at some point, suddenly piped up.

"Ahaha! Master Watt, did you remember to back up your data?"

Watt had over two hundred phone numbers stored on his cell phone for his work at city council. Said phone was now in pieces on the ground.

The young man in the sungla.s.ses howled in anguish.

"Tee hee! Master Watt, you really are small fry, aren"t you? But that"s why I love you so much!"

Ignoring the jester, Watt fixed his sungla.s.ses and repeated himself.

"…Never mind. The biggest hurdle is getting through this night."

<=>

Waldstein Castle, parlour.

[Vampires, you see…]

Shizune was seated on a luxurious sofa.The letters of blood began to lay out small words on the marble coffee table.

The room was elegant, though in a different way from the elegance of luxury hotel rooms. The countless decorations in the room, though expensive, were not garish in the least.

In fact, the home theatre set, the DVD player, and the game consoles beside it lent an incongruous atmosphere to the room. Most of the electronics were j.a.panese in make, but Shizune was not versed enough in that field to know. And even if she was, it would have changed nothing.

Shizune remained tense, sitting at the very edge of the cushiony sofa so that she could spring to her feet at any moment.

Not at all fazed by her att.i.tude, the viscount set out his words before her.

[The vampires you humans see in films and novels are indeed one correct depiction of our kind.]

""One" correct depiction?"

[Indeed. An Eater of your caliber must be aware that the capability of each vampire varies greatly. Some can fly through the air with ease and wield monstrous strength, some can never go near water, while others swim through it freely. Some vampires are truly monstrous--one I know of is over five metres long and possesses eight arms. Unfortunately, most such vampires are long extinct. Exterminated by humans.]

"By humans?" Shizune blurted, surprised. The viscount continued matter-of-factly.

[I mean to say that humans like yourself have existed for eons. You must have some idea, seeing as you have been set on your path by tales of other Eaters that have come before you. In other words… only those w