Night settled over Cross Academy, cool and silent. Most students were asleep, but the grounds were never truly quiet — not with the Night Class roaming and the shadows full of secrets.
Zero Kiryuu was on patrol, weapon holstered but ready, senses sharp as ever. Something in the air felt wrong tonight — heavier, colder, laced with an unfamiliar energy he couldn't name.
Then he saw them.
Suspicious Movement in the Moonlight
Two figures slipped out of the Moon Dorms, moving with perfect synchrony.
Lucas Melek.Jack Ragnarok.
The two new "transfer students."
Zero narrowed his eyes.Why would Night Class students be outside at this hour… and what are they carrying?
Lucas held something close to his chest, wrapped gently in a dark cloth. Jack had two similar bundles, securing them with both arms as if they were precious cargo.
Zero felt the hair rise on the back of his neck.
"These two again…" he muttered. "What are they hiding now?"
He crouched and followed silently, staying just far enough behind that even vampires shouldn't sense him.
But Lucas and Jack were not vampires.
Following the Shadows
Lucas walked gracefully, almost floating, while Jack scanned their surroundings with quiet intensity. Their movements were too smooth, too aware, too practiced to be ordinary.
Zero kept to the shadows, stepping lightly, barely breathing.
He watched as they entered the wooded area behind the school — the path that led to the old, unused shrine.
"What are they doing out here…?" Zero whispered.
The wind shifted, carrying the faintest sound — a tiny chirping noise.
Zero froze.
Is that… an animal? Or something else?
Lucas tightened his hold on his bundle, whispering something in a language Zero didn't recognize. The sound was soft and melodic, but the air trembled with it.
Jack glanced at Lucas and gave a small, rare smile."They're almost ready," Jack murmured.
Zero's breath hitched.Ready for what? A ritual? An attack?
He stepped closer, boots barely brushing the leaves.
At the Edge of the Ritual
Lucas and Jack stopped in a clearing bathed in pale moonlight.
Zero hid behind a tree, just close enough to see them clearly.
Lucas gently opened the cloth in his hands.
Zero's eyes widened.
Inside was a tiny, glowing creature — something insect-like, but with jewel-like wings and gentle sparks of shadow swirling around its body.
Two more wriggled inside Jack's arms, chirping softly.
What are those…?Zero's heartbeat quickened.They're not from this world.
Lucas lifted his baby Scaradorable toward the moonlight.
Jack stood behind him, protective, steady.
Zero couldn't hear their words at first — only the faint hum of power murmuring through the clearing.
Then he heard Lucas whisper:
"Time to go home, little ones."
The air shimmered.
A ring of shadow opened in the air — a portal, swirling with purple and black energy.
Zero's pulse spiked.This is impossible… vampires can't do this.
Jack lowered his head toward the creatures, whispering something that sounded… warm.Gentle.
A father's goodbye.
Zero felt something twist in his chest.Not fear.Something stranger.
Confusion?Curiosity?…Respect?
Lucas brushed his fingers along Jack's hand, their movements synchronized as they guided the babies into the portal.
"It's okay," Lucas murmured. "We'll see them again."
Jack nodded, the softness in his eyes startling for someone who radiated such controlled violence.
The babies chirped happily, disappearing into the swirling shadows.
With a soft sigh, the portal closed.
The clearing went silent.
Zero's Shocking Realization
Zero leaned back against the tree, struggling to steady his breath.
They're not vampires. They're not human. They're… something else entirely.
Lucas turned his head slightly — golden eyes glinting.Zero stiffened, stepping back instinctively.
Did he see me?Did he sense me?
Jack scanned the trees but didn't move to follow.
Lucas smiled faintly."Come on," he said softly to Jack. "Let's go before anyone gets suspicious."
Zero pressed himself deeper into the shadows until their footsteps faded.
Only then did he allow himself to breathe fully.
"…What are you two?" he whispered into the silent night.
And more importantly—
What are you planning at Cross Academy?
The hunter had seen just enough to know:
Lucas Melek and Jack Ragnarok were not just new students.
They were a threat.
A strange, terrifying, unknown threat.
And Zero Kiryuu was not going to look away.