Chapter 5: Encounter and Reunion

"No way, is it..."

Nero Chaos, having been struck at his core, murmured as if he had realized something.

"You are my death, aren't you..."

The vampire turned to ash and scattered into dust in the night sky.

Despite this being the first and last absolute death the man would ever experience, Nero's expression was serene.

And this, while not exactly the end of this insane daily life, was a sensation of satisfaction and emptiness that finally washed over his body and mind, draining the strength from him.

"I'm... tired."

He lay flat on his back, uncaring that he was on the dirty ground. The cold night air combined with the wounds that had pierced him everywhere was stealing the heat from his body, making his fingertips cold. He was cold, and he was sleepy.

He knew he might not wake up if he slept now, but he truly wanted to just sleep right now—

"Eek!"

"Buhfo!?" (A sound of sudden shock/pain)

Just as he was thinking that, the idiot woman whose dictionary lacked the words deference or consideration casually jammed her hand into his wound.

The sleepiness was instantly blasted away by a pain that felt like it was numbing his very brain.

"You idiot woman! What are you doing!?"

"Oh, come on. You wouldn't survive with those wounds even if I treated them, so I fixed you up."

And then, she said meekly, "No need to yell."

Ugh, when she put it that way, Arcueid was right.

Seriously, if that was the case, she should have said so first... No, wait.

"How did you treat me? It wasn't duct tape, was it?"

This was the kind of woman who, when he tore her to pieces, connected her fragmented body with duct tape because 'it wouldn't connect properly.' It was possible.

"No, it wasn't! I treated you by utilizing Nero's remnants. Nero's body is a seed of life without a specific direction, so I repaired Shiki's missing flesh by making it parasitize him."

I see, so she used Nero Chaos's remains. This explains why, when I touch the wound, even though there's bloodstains, the wound is cleanly closed...

"Hey, wait, you idiot woman over there. There are no side effects, are there? It would be fine if my anemic and frail body just became healthy, but I'm not going to turn into a vampire, right?"

"Of course not! I just adapted Nero's remnants to Shiki's body. More importantly, Shiki, how long do you plan on sleeping? Get up already."

That's a relief then. No matter how frail this body is, I currently have no intention of quitting being human.

And, frankly, my body and mind are at their limit. Arcueid shook me, but the sleepiness that returned was more dominant. My eyelids were heavy, and my consciousness was thinning.

Ah, even so.

I couldn't find Yumizuka today—

Just as my consciousness faded and I was about to truly fall asleep.

A dense killing intent and the presence of a non-human being were felt, and at the same moment, the raw sound of crushing flesh echoed in the park.

"N-nnh!?"

My consciousness instantly sharpened.

I instinctively rolled to the side, and something landed right where I had been sleeping just moments ago. The object couldn't kill its momentum and violently collided with me, sending us both tumbling. We rolled together for about 10 meters before finally stopping.

My body was covered in dust, and I looked at the identity of the thing I had instinctively embraced to cushion the impact. A shock that felt like my heart was being seized hit me.

"Senpai..."

I could see Ciel-senpai's expression right from my chest. Her face, which was always smiling, was contorted in agony and deathly pale. Furthermore, a large amount of blood seemed to be gushing from her body, further staining her uniform with warm blood.

Why did Senpai have to go through this?

Why was Senpai here?

The shock delivered right before my eyes caused my thought circuits to panic, and I couldn't think of anything.

"No way..."

As I stood there stunned, I looked up at Arcueid's face, drawn by her words.

She, too, was staring blankly at the faint light ahead, with a look of stunned surprise, unable to comprehend, and unwilling to believe.

"Is that...."

The lights in the surrounding park were destroyed during the battle with Nero Chaos, and the few that remained were flickering unsteadily. But the figure illuminated by the light was someone I knew well and had been searching for.

"Heh, Senpai. I'll let you off the hook for now."

The gesture of licking the blood-stained finger, with her eyes shining gold, was seductive. Her appearance, as she confidently and melodiously declared her own victory, truly gave the impression of the rumored vampire.

But more than that, I remembered that face. I would never forget that face, the person I had known since middle school.

"Yumi...zuka."

Walking through Misaki Nature Park with a hazy, reeling consciousness.

It was an extremely dangerous act to pass through a densely populated area, but if she didn't, her consciousness would sometimes drift away when she was alone in an alley, and her awareness of being human would become faint.

Another night had passed since then, and she had consumed blood again, procuring a blood pack through suggestion. At first, it tasted awful, like the first time she drank beer, but the second time, she unpleasantly understood the flavor well.

For example, the amount of fat, the concentration of salt, the distribution of iron, and so on. Even though she was despairing that she was increasingly drifting away from the category of human, she tried to maintain her sanity by telling herself that it was all for the sake of living.

However, the more she replenished the blood, the more her body clamored for volume and fresh blood. Despite having drunk blood around 7 PM tonight, her body was demanding more.

"Hah, hah, hah..."

The blood packs were naturally not enough, and her hands were trembling like withdrawal symptoms. A dark, murky 'something' was trying to escape her body, and her instincts screamed danger.

Never let it out, they warned.

In the dark of midnight, her sight and hearing were unpleasantly sharpened. She could clearly hear distant explosions, the cries of beasts, and the sound of flesh being ground up.

Ah, this might be the fight between the Professor(Nero Chaos) and Shiki.

If so, not only the True Ancestor princess, but Senpai is also here—

"!!"

Her five senses screamed danger, and she instantly leaped to the side. Immediately after, she felt the whooshing sound of the air being cut.

"Guh...!!?"

Blood oozed from her cheek, which had been cut horizontally. Her head instantly cleared, and her thoughts became lucid. Only one person would do something like this.

"Good evening, Yumizuka-san."

Ciel-senpai, clad in her vestments, appeared from the darkness. She wore the same smile as she did at school, but her eyes were sharp, staring intently at me. In her hand, tucked between her fingers, were the Black Keys used by the Executors.

"I never thought you would become a Dead Apostle."

"Se-"

Before I could open my mouth to say "Senpai," Ciel-senpai—no, the Executor Ciel—vanished without any warning.

Before I could even wonder where, an impact struck my abdomen.

"!!?"

The next thing I realized, I was arching my back and flying through the air. I almost vomited the contents of my stomach from the force of the blow, but before that, in a split-second rotation of my view, I caught sight of Ciel-senpai poised with the Black Keys.

Presumably, since I avoided the last attack, her plan was to toss me into the air where I couldn't dodge, and then pierce me. Damn it, doesn't that make me an easy target!?

"This... you!"

Even in mid-air, I forcefully twisted my body. A human wouldn't be able to pull off such a stunt, but the enhanced body of a vampire moved surprisingly smoothly, and my strengthened vision certainly caught the trajectory of the thrown Black Keys.

I dodged one, then two. The Black Keys I couldn't completely avoid struck the flats of my sword. Even the ones that were still heading for a direct hit were met by me twisting so they hit non-vital spots, and I landed.

I moved my body to transition to the next action, but several more Black Keys closed in. Having just landed, my balance was unstable, and I couldn't evade them properly.

"Agh!"

I managed to avoid some, but one deeply grazed my leg. Intense pain and a draining sense of weakness. The potency, even though I'm not a Christian, is bad.

Moreover, Senpai was now rushing forward to engage in close combat again. No way, I don't want to fight her head-on.

I have to escape now—

"Did you think I would let you escape?"

Immediately after hearing Senpai's voice,

"Hmph!"

"Gah!!"

I was hit squarely on the chin, and my brain was rattled. I was then shoved, tumbling, into the park plaza, rolling over and over.

I tried to get up, but my legs wouldn't obey, and I remained—

"!!—A-uugghhhhh."

A total of six swords were stuck in my chest, shoulder, abdomen, and leg, leaving me like a specimen. It hurts, it hurts, IT HURTS!!

"It ends here."

With a clack, clack of her boots, she came closer. As for me, I was sprawled out, my consciousness fading, unable to move even a single finger. The embedded Black Keys were eating away at my body, and the pain was so intense that I couldn't even lose consciousness.

"Now, Yumizuka-san. Do you have any last words?"

Seeing that I had no strength to resist, she came right up to me.

"I... I don't want to die... I was even managing with blood packs!"

"Yes, it seems so. You had even placed a suggestion on yourself."

Placed a suggestion, meaning this person saw right through everything.

Ah, damn it.

My vision is starting to blur, my consciousness is drifting—

"However, the mere existence of a vampire is a sin."

Accept it.

"You are undoubtedly a victim. But next, you will become a perpetrator."

I thought I heard a strange voice just now. Ah, if I'm even hearing hallucinations, maybe it's over for me.

Then do you want to die?

... Who is that?

That wasn't a hallucination. It was clearly a third party asking a question.

Answer me.

Of course I don't want to die. Even in this second life, or rather, because of it, I want to live to the end.

But who are you?

"Oops, I've talked too much. Ash to ash, dust to dust...."

I am me, I am myself. I am your shadow, the fragment of the soul that should have been there. If you say you don't want to die, I will lend you my strength.

What is that, exactly—

"Goodbye, Yumizuka-san."

The moment the sword was slowly brought down. Ignoring the pain of the Black Key that had pierced through my arm and into the ground, I forcefully swung my right arm horizontally, unleashing a blade of vacuum.

"Eh?"

A surprised gasp, devoid of force. But, as expected of her, her body instinctively leaped backward. However, the vacuum blade was faster and severed Ciel-senpai's leg.

"G-Guuuhhhhh!!? What is this...?"

Fresh blood sprayed into the air. Ciel-senpai, missing a leg, tumbled to the ground, staring at me with a face mixed with agony and astonishment. The image was to cut off both legs, but this worked out well. But never mind. Let's quickly destroy these bothersome Black Keys.

"No way...."

I used the same blade to destroy the Black Keys stuck in my left arm, chest, abdomen, and leg. I forced strength into my weakened body and stood up. To replenish the lost energy, I picked up Senpai's severed leg—my fried chicken, as it were—and bit into it.

"Phew."

It was my first time drinking the blood of a Magus, and strength welled up from within my body. Not only that, but the blood packs I had been forcing myself to drink were cheap sake, while this was like fine wine; the taste was excellent.

Oops, I almost forgot.

Good evening, me, and good night, myself.

"Inversion, and that last move was just like..."

The Executor was plastered to the ground, her face a mix of speechlessness and stunned amazement. Hmm, almost makes me want to tease her as payback.

"Ciel-senpai, is something wrong? Are you in pain?"

And so, I kicked Senpai.

I kicked her as hard as I would a soccer ball.

The sensation of crushing flesh and shattering bone. Wonderful, my sadism and vampire's desire for conquest were satisfied.

Meanwhile, Senpai flew in a parabola and violently struck the ground. I had hoped for a bit of counterattack, but it was disappointing...

Hmm... what is that?

Ah, Shiki-kun and the Hime-sama (Princess).

They're looking over here, but I don't care. Right now, I should focus on what to do with Senpai.

"Heh, Senpai. I'll let you off the hook for now."

I licked the blood from my finger, and a grin naturally stretched across my lips.