«Big brother… it's your eighteenth birthday and you still haven't given me my present!» Yuzu grumbles.
She clings to her brother's arm — Ren Toya — pressing her small chest against him.
Classes ended later than usual, so they decided to eat out. Now they are walking along a narrow path that crosses a small forest and leads toward home.
«Let me understand… it's my birthday and I'm the one who has to buy you a present?»
Yuzu's long black hair frames her face as she pouts, her hazel-colored eyes shining while she stares at Ren.
«Of course! You and I are practically the same person, so get it into your head! That means it's my birthday too!»
«You turned fifteen two months ago. How many birthdays are you planning to celebrate this year?»
«Big brother… you really don't understand anything about girls!»
Ren shrugs.
«If you say so…»
Suddenly, his slight amused smile fades.
«Yuzu, stay back!» Ren orders.
He steps in front of her and pushes her behind him.
«W-What's happening, big brother?»
Before she can finish the sentence, a hooded figure emerges from the trees and blocks their path.
A cheap plastic mask covers his face, the kind you find in Halloween stores.
But it isn't the mask that frightens Ren — it's the man wearing it. Behind the slits, a pair of blood-red eyes shine in the darkness.
Vampire eyes.
«Ren Toya, your time is up. What have you decided?»
«My answer is the same as last time — and it's still no!»
«That's not what I was hoping to hear.»
«D-Did you hear what my brother said? We have no intention of joining you! Get lost if you value your life!» Yuzu snaps back.
«I'm not talking to you, stupid little girl. My boss has no interest in a weak succubus like you. He only cares about Ren and Iris.»
«All the more reason to refuse your offer,» Ren snaps. «I would never abandon my sisters for anything in the world!»
«What a shame. Fighting you doesn't excite me. But if you won't come of your own free will, you'll come by force!»
As he speaks, a deep wound opens in the palm of his hand. The blood that gushes out begins to float and twist until it takes the shape of a crimson rapier.
He immediately lunges at Ren.
The blade of solid blood is about to strike him when… CLANG!
The vampire's slash is blocked by a gigantic sword of pure purple energy crossed with lightning. Ren wields it with such ease that it seems as light as a feather.
But that's not all.
Ren's entire body is wrapped in violet lightning, and imposing bat-like wings spread open from his back.
The vampire counterattacks with a thrust, but Ren dodges and lands a brutal kick to his stomach, hurling him several meters away before he crashes to the ground.
«You're strong, Ren Toya. I expected nothing less from someone trained by Raelor Valraen.»
At the sound of that name, Ren grits his teeth.
«How the hell does that bastard know Raelor?!» he thinks.
But there's no time for questions.
Ren attacks again, and the clash explodes with overwhelming ferocity.
They move so fast that a normal human eye couldn't follow them. Even Yuzu struggles to understand who is gaining the upper hand.
Suddenly, the vampire extends his left arm toward Ren — «Blood Manipulation: Spike Barrage!»
The blood gushing from his palm transforms into a barrage of razor-sharp spikes that shoot toward Ren.
But he isn't caught off guard.
He slices the air with his sword, instantly dispersing the rain of sharp blood.
Yet not all the spikes are deflected.
One pierces his left arm. Another strikes his right thigh.
A sharp pain runs through his body, but he knows he cannot afford to give in.
The lightning around him crackles even more violently — and… SLASH!
Heart-wrenching and tearing screams explode from the vampire's mouth.
A moment earlier, Ren was over twenty meters away.
An instant later, his gigantic sword opens a deep gash from the vampire's left thigh up to his right shoulder.
«D-Damn it… why isn't the wound regenerating?!» the vampire snarls. «Wait… d-don't tell me you can use that magic too?! I-I was convinced Raelor was the only living incubus capable of doing it…»
«You said it yourself. That damn bastard taught me everything I know — and it will be thanks to his teachings that I will kill him! But for now…»
He points the gigantic sword at the vampire.
«…I'll settle for killing you!»
Just as Ren is about to deliver the final blow, the vampire pulls a small red sphere from his pocket and throws it to the ground.
FLASH!
When it shatters, a blinding explosion forces him to cover his eyes.
When the light fades a few seconds later, only traces of blood left by the fleeing vampire remain.
Ren could follow them and finish him once and for all. But for all he knows, the vampire might not be alone — and someone could exploit that opening to strike Yuzu, unconscious after seeing Ren's blood.
It is a risk he is not willing to take.
As he walks away limping with his sister in his arms, a boy with hair darker than the night and bright crimson eyes watches the scene from afar.