The sky was clear, tinged with a soft blue that only the beginning of the day could offer.
The birdsong mingled with the distant noise of passing bicycles, while the first morning cars crossed the streets. Small groups of students, still sleepy or laughing animatedly, walked along the sidewalks in impeccable uniforms.
The City of Kuoh was not a suffocating metropolis, but neither was it a forgotten village. It was a Japanese city that balanced the old and the new. Traditional wooden houses, with curved roofs and well-kept gardens, shared space with modern three- or four-story buildings. Between them, wide, tree-lined streets guided the flow of everyday life.
Convenience stores opened their doors, the sound of automatic doors echoing, while housewives already carried shopping bags. The soft smoke from restaurants serving breakfast escaped through the chimneys, inviting late workers.
It was a city like any other in Japan.
The kind of place where one could live an entire life believing that nothing extraordinary happened.
Well, the only exception was Kuoh Academy.
From the outside, it was just a school. But different from any other. Its tall wrought-iron gate seemed straight out of a European castle, and the Western-style buildings clashed with the rest of the Japanese architecture. Before, that institution was exclusive to girls from wealthy families, but at some point, something changed.
Suddenly, it became co-ed.
Suddenly, new buildings appeared almost overnight.
And, suddenly, no one found it strange.
Parents, teachers, students, everyone treated it as if it were the natural course of things.
On the main street leading to Kuoh Academy, several students walked calmly.
All the students wore impeccable uniforms, divided into two distinct models.
The male uniform consisted of a black blazer with white details over a light shirt, a black tie at the collar, fitted black pants, and well-polished brown dress shoes. The female uniform drew even more attention: a white long-sleeved shirt, adorned with a vertical lining of buttons, a black tie at the collar, a short and fitted cape over the shoulders, a matching buttoned corset, and finally, the magenta skirt that contrasted with the ensemble, highlighting the students' legs.
The flow of students seemed ordinary, but amid laughter and conversations, there was one point that inevitably drew glances.
It was a boy of sixteen or seventeen years old, walking down the main street toward Kuoh Academy, wearing the same impeccable uniform as all the other boys. However, on him, that black blazer with white details and the elegant tie at the collar didn't look like a school uniform, but rather a tailor-made outfit to enhance his nobility, as if he were truly a real prince. The fabric fit perfectly to his athletic body, highlighting his erect and confident posture. His golden hair reflected the soft morning light like polished gold threads, and his inhuman golden eyes, deep and intense, carried a shine that seemed to oscillate between charm and mystery in the eyes of the dozens of female students walking together down the main street.
That was Klein, who had just left his apartment to come to school after taking a shower and getting ready.
He sighed mentally upon seeing the attention he drew. According to his predecessor's memories, he had even earned a nickname among the girls at school: the "Golden King."
A nickname that made no sense considering he was a very distant person who liked to be alone, not talking to almost any girl except when receiving their confessions.
But his fan club had given it to him anyway due to their strange fantasies and rumors that he went out with college girls after seducing them; one of the students said she saw him at a university in the neighboring city going on a date with a woman, who was his client at the time and he was fulfilling his contract...
.... Yes, he even had an official fan club. Girls who exchanged letters, took hidden photos, wrote in diaries, and passionately discussed every detail about him from his haircut to the perfume he wore. For many, he wasn't just the most handsome at Kuoh Academy; he was on an unattainable level, far above even Kiba Yuuto, who, despite being known as the "Prince of the School," was nothing more than a supporting character when compared to him.
He snapped out of his thoughts when he passed by a large group of students.
"Look, look! It's Klein-senpai!" One girl nudged her friend, almost jumping with excitement: "He's even more handsome than yesterday, don't you think?"
"More handsome? He's not human, seriously! Look at that hair... it seems to shine with the sun. Klein-sama can only be a God... I'd be eternally happy if he allowed me to serve him..." The other sighed, with her hands clasped over her chest.
The two stopped for a few seconds just to watch him walk, as if time had slowed down just for them.
"Hey, did you know his fanclub is opening registrations again? I'm thinking of joining this time!" Murmured another girl who came out of her stupor to her friends beside her, hiding her flushed face.
"Yes! I want to join too!"
"Count me in!"
Behind them, a group of boys grumbled under their breath, trying to disguise their discomfort.
"Tsk... that guy again." One of them huffed, crossing his arms: "I don't understand what they see in him. He just has that peacock golden hair and thinks he already rules the school."
"Just hair? Are you blind, man?" Another replied, irritated: "Look at how many girls are drooling over him! Even a model would be less coveted by the girls!"
"And the worst part is he doesn't even have to try..." Completed the third, kicking a pebble on the ground: "He just walks, just breathes, and bam! They're all sighing. What do we do? Disappear?"
Ahead, one of the girls looked over her shoulder and laughed, not bothering to whisper:
"Even with all these boys at school, none come close to Klein-senpai. He's... too perfect."
The boys heard, and their faces turned red with anger.
"Perfect my ass! I want to see if he's perfect when he takes a punch." Murmured one, clenching his fists.
Klein ignored the boys' grumblings and crossed the iron gate toward the campus calmly. Ahead of him, the main building of Kuoh Academy rose imposingly, a wide structure with Western features that resembled the noble wing of a castle more than a school.
Without waiting long, he entered the building calmly and began climbing the stairs to the second floor.
The flow of students increased there, voices and laughter spreading through the corridors as morning classes approached.
He was studying in the second year of high school, Class 2-B, in the same room as Issei Hyoudou, Matsuda, and Motohama, who were known as the Perverted Trio of the school for spending their time spying on girls changing and talking about pornography and other things. Besides those three, there were also Murayama and Katase, members of the Kendo Club; he remembered them because both had confessed to him once, but he had rejected them at that time. There was also Aika Kiryuu, the pervert who, without beating around the bush, had once commented on the size of his lower member. As for the other classmates, he only vaguely remembered the names of some.
In other words, he had ended up in the worst class anyone could ask for.
Shaking his head in denial, Klein gave an ironic smile.
Changing his line of thinking, he couldn't help but think, as he walked down the corridor, about how Kuoh Academy was divided.
Unlike ordinary schools, everything there was organized in levels that even resembled an aristocratic institution. There was the Elementary Division, or as some preferred to call it, the Juniors Division. Right above it came the High School Division, where he was now inserted. And finally, the University, whose buildings were further back on the campus, almost like a separate domain for the older ones.
The schedules were rigid and worthy of an elite Japanese school. Elementary classes started earlier, shortly after seven-thirty in the morning, so the children could have a lighter pace and longer breaks. High school started at eight sharp, with a dense routine until the end of the afternoon, including mandatory extracurricular activities. The university, on the other hand, operated almost on a Western academic schedule: classes in the morning, seminars in the afternoon, and the freedom to delve into research or clubs after nightfall.
He sighed softly, opening the door to room 2-B.
The chatter of his classmates fell silent for an instant, not because the teacher was already there, but because all eyes, inevitably, turned to him.
Klein entered room 2-B without giving a damn about the gazes that followed him. There was no hurry in his steps, nor any sign of discomfort. He simply walked to the back, stopping at the last row, by the window. There, he pulled out the chair calmly and sat down, as if the weight of the attention falling on him had no relevance. He took out the books and notebooks from under the desk where his predecessor always kept them, organizing them on the desk almost automatically, while the chatter of his classmates gradually regained its strength, as if nothing had happened.
Outside, the morning light entered through the wide windows, illuminating the row where he was, the sunlight bathed his body, which made him fall into deep thoughts to pass the time, despite the discomfort he felt from being under the sun.
Originally as a half-vampire, he possessed the typical abilities of the species, but he was immune to all their weaknesses, being a true 'Daywalker', capable of surviving contact with sunlight. Although this still caused him some discomfort, it didn't prevent him from enjoying the sun that illuminated his figure as now, for example.
Speaking of 'abilities', his eyes shone slightly as if he had had a pleasant surprise.
He was full of negative emotions with the reincarnation and his new life that he hadn't even noticed how he had already adapted to his current Dhampir (Reincarnated Demon) body. The memories of the former owner made the [Demonic Power] and superhuman attributes seem natural, as if they had always been part of him.
Until that moment, he still hadn't noticed that he was no longer human.
It was like learning to ride a bike: at first you think about every movement, but once you master it, the body acts on its own. In the same way, his strength and reflexes acted without him needing to effort or think about it. This unconscious adaptation made the power part of his own nature, as if his soul had inherited the predecessor's experience.
What a curious phenomenon.
But it was good...
At least, he hadn't had problems controlling his body upon rebirth and wouldn't have to train to use all the abilities he had from the beginning.
He thought about his current powers as a Dhampir.
Just like Demons, Vampires are dwellers of the darkness that have existed since ancient times. They have rankings and weaknesses similar to those of High-Class Demons.
However, Demons are dwellers of the Underworld, while Vampires are beings that live in the darkness of the human world, with their population center located in Romania. They may seem similar, but their views and cultures differ greatly, although, like Demons, they have a long lifespan. Vampires also have a strong fear and hatred for Werewolves, as they are natural enemies.
Basically, they are a race of supernatural creatures even more proud and distant than Demons. In fact, discrimination between Vampires and other species is so strong that it reached the point where Dhampirs, who were born from Vampire Lords and human mothers, were mistreated even by their own relatives. Hunting humans is the true nature of a Vampire for their food source. Male Vampires will use human women for their own pleasure and make them have a child, and female Vampires will use human men for their own pleasure and give birth to their children.
Vampires are governed by two different royal families: the Tepes Family and the Carmilla Family.
From what he knows, several hundred years ago, an incident occurred that divided the world of vampires, where vampires argued over choosing a true female ancestor and a true male ancestor to maintain the purity of pure-blooded vampires. This incident eventually gave rise to the Tepes Faction, a male-dominated vampire faction, and the Carmilla Faction, a female-dominated vampire faction.
It's worth noting that Vampires do not get along with other races and have a strict and pure-blooded aristocracy, being so arrogant that no family ever cared about their servants, not even a tenth of what the Gremory family, known in the supernatural circle as a loving family, cared about them. Furthermore, any vampire with a human in their ancestry, whether a human turned into a vampire or a descendant of one, can never become noble and is considered a lower member of the species, even if considered a vampire in the first place.
Now, regarding his powers, they possess almost the same powers one would expect from them by popular myths; Vampires possess superhuman physical abilities, such as strength and endurance. Besides being able to procreate and control bats and insects, they transform into flocks of bats, use them for reconnaissance, and transform parts of their bodies, like arms, into them. Exceptionally, vampires possess immortal bodies and are able to change their appearance as they wish. Suited to their lineage, vampires can gain much more power by drinking the blood of other beings.
Their presence also creates a cold aura that can be felt by others several meters away, even inside a building. Vampires can manipulate darkness and shadows to varying degrees, which is more notable at night, which is also notably based on their mastery; his former predecessor could transform an entire area into an infernal area, vampires are also capable of creating and controlling mist, often using it to create barriers and search for enemies with high-level vampires being able to cover an entire city, even transforming into mist to avoid attacks or escape.
Another interesting fact was that vampires are capable of creating their own nobility and increasing their number, just like demons, who need Evil Pieces. However, their method requires biting a person's neck under the full moon, causing the victim to fall under their absolute dominion. Therefore, this method is easier than the reincarnation ritual with Evil Pieces, besides allowing a single individual to create as many vampires as they wish. However, this is used only by low-class vampires who wish to increase their number and is considered a repugnant act by high-class vampires....
However, those who have weaker resistance to the bite will be transformed into undead who will continue to devour people and transform those bitten into undead, continuing the cycle until the source vampire is killed or all of them are destroyed....
Besides possessing all these powers as a Dhampir, but having no weakness equal to other Vampires; he had a mutant ability that allowed him to suck someone's soul by sucking their blood, as he did with Valerie...
This ability interested him because if he could do the same with other people, he could become stronger, collecting Sacred Gears...
But that was something he would have to test in the future.
While planning his future, the minutes passed quickly, until the door was flung open violently. The perverted trio, Issei Hyoudou, Matsuda, and Motohama, came into view, all covered in bruises and reddish marks. They groaned in pain while trying to maintain their pose, but it was evident that they had been beaten once again by the Kendo Club after some failed "espionage mission."
"Damn..." Issei grumbled, limping to his desk: "They hit too hard..."
"We just wanted... scientific knowledge..." Matsuda completed, even though his voice faltered.
"Idiots." Motohama huffed, but he wasn't in better shape either.
The instant they entered, their eyes fell on Klein, already settled in his corner. It was impossible not to notice the contrast: while they were wrecked and clumsy, he remained impeccable, as if nothing around could touch him.
What irritated them most, however, was not the indifferent posture. It was the fact that, even in a banal moment like that, several girls in the room shyly diverted their eyes toward Klein, some exchanging discreet giggles, others just blushing in silence.
Issei frowned, feeling his mood sour. Matsuda and Motohama exchanged equally bitter glances, their anger fueled by the simple fact that there were girls sighing over that "Golden King," while they were treated like trash or clowns.
Before they could grumble more, the door opened again. Murayama and Katase entered side by side, still with their hair slightly messed up from kendo club practice. The two also didn't take long to notice Klein, but, unlike the other girls, they limited themselves to casting quick, almost imperceptible glances before heading to their seats.
Soon after, the teacher entered, bringing with him the typical order of the start of classes.
The chatter diminished, the students settled in, and the routine officially began.
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