Half an hour had passed.
Chifuyu and Hairene still hadn't moved.
Not once.
Nicholas knelt beside Chifuyu, checking his breathing again even though he'd already done it several times.
Steady.
Normal.
Almost peaceful.
That somehow made it worse.
Iris sat beside Hairene, one hand resting against the side of her neck.
Pulse.
Breathing.
Everything was there.
Just no waking.
Nicholas looked toward the narrow strip of sky above them.
Nicholas: "How long do you think they'll be out?"
Iris shook her head.
Iris: "No idea."
Nicholas: "You think that vampire did something to their minds?"
Iris glanced toward Hairene.
Iris: "Probably."
Her expression tightened.
Iris: "Whatever it is, waiting here isn't helping."
Nicholas pushed himself upright with a wince.
The injuries from his earlier fight protested immediately.
His side still burned.
One leg felt heavier than the other.
His shoulder had begun stiffening.
He ignored all of it.
Nicholas: "Then we climb."
Iris looked up.
The ravine walls rose nearly ninety meters overhead.
From the bottom, the opening seemed impossibly distant.
A thin ribbon of pale daylight.
Nothing more.
The walls themselves weren't smooth, but that didn't make them safe.
Jagged stone protruded at uneven angles.
Loose gravel covered narrow ledges.
Small roots pushed through cracks in the rock only to disappear again several feet later.
Some sections offered handholds.
Others looked almost completely vertical.
Iris stared for several seconds.
Iris: "That's going to suck."
Nicholas: "That's one way to put it."
There was no other path.
No tunnel.
No slope.
No hidden exit.
Just up.
So they began preparing.
Their festival yukatas had already suffered enough damage to make modesty the least of their concerns.
They stripped away the longer outer layers and used the fabric as makeshift harnesses.
Iris secured Hairene to her back first.
She wrapped the yukata fabric across Hairene's torso, then reinforced it with both sashes, knotting them tightly across her chest and waist.
Nicholas did the same with Chifuyu.
He pulled the knots once.
Then twice.
Then a third time.
Nicholas: "If you wake up halfway up and complain, I'm dropping you."
Chifuyu, naturally, said nothing.
Nicholas sighed.
Nicholas: "Yeah, figured."
Iris tested Hairene's weight.
The unconscious body pulled backward against her center of gravity immediately.
She adjusted the knots and lowered her stance.
Iris: "She's heavier like this."
Nicholas: "Dead weight always is."
Both of them went quiet for a second.
Iris looked back toward Hairene.
Nicholas immediately corrected himself.
Nicholas: "Poor choice of words."
Iris: "Very."
Their swords would be the only reason the climb was even possible.
The blades were sharp enough to bite into the ravine walls where handholds disappeared.
They wouldn't use them like climbing picks constantly—that would exhaust them too quickly—but they could drive the tips into cracks, wedge them into softer sections, and use the guards for leverage when the stone offered nothing else.
Nicholas looked up one final time.
Ninety meters.
While injured.
Carrying an unconscious person.
Nicholas: "Easy."
Iris looked at him.
Iris: "Don't lie to yourself before we even start."
Nicholas: "Morale."
Iris: "Delusion."
Then they climbed.
⸻
The first ten meters were manageable.
Barely.
The lower ravine had more cracks and wider ledges, giving them enough space to establish a rhythm.
Hand.
Foot.
Push.
Reach.
Nicholas climbed slightly behind Iris.
He drove his fingers into a narrow fissure, pulled himself upward, then planted one boot against a protruding slab.
Chifuyu's weight dragged against his back.
Nicholas tightened his core and pushed.
His injured side immediately flared.
He clenched his teeth.
Nicholas: "Yeah… that's gonna be annoying."
Above him, Iris reached for another ledge.
Her fingers hooked over the stone.
She tested it before putting her weight on it.
Solid.
She pulled.
Hairene shifted slightly against her back.
Iris compensated before the movement could throw her off balance.
They couldn't climb quickly.
That would've been suicide.
Every hold had to be tested.
Every foot placement deliberate.
One mistake didn't mean falling a few feet.
It meant falling all the way back to the bottom.
Twenty meters.
The ravine floor already looked different from here.
Smaller.
More distant.
Nicholas deliberately didn't look down again.
A section of wall ahead narrowed into a steep face with almost no visible handholds.
Iris stopped.
Nicholas looked up.
Nicholas: "Problem?"
Iris: "No grip."
Nicholas studied the wall.
There was a crack roughly an arm's length above her.
Too high to reach normally.
Iris drew her sword.
Nicholas: "Don't force it too deep."
Iris: "I know."
She drove the blade into the stone at an angle.
The steel sank several inches.
Enough.
She grabbed the hilt with both hands and carefully pulled herself upward.
The sword groaned faintly under the strain.
Hairene's added weight made every movement slower.
Iris placed one boot against the wall.
Pushed.
Reached.
Her fingers found the crack.
She immediately transferred her weight off the sword.
Iris exhaled.
Nicholas followed.
His turn was worse.
His injured shoulder struggled the moment he tried pulling himself up.
He adjusted.
Used more leg strength.
The blade slipped half an inch.
Nicholas froze.
Small pieces of stone fell past him.
They bounced once against the wall.
Then disappeared below.
Iris looked down.
Iris: "Nicholas."
Nicholas: "Still here."
He shifted the blade slightly.
Found a better bite.
Then hauled himself upward.
For a brief moment, his boot slipped.
His stomach dropped.
Chifuyu's weight pulled him away from the wall.
Nicholas slammed his free forearm against the rock and recovered.
He stayed there.
Breathing.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Nicholas: "Still easy."
Iris: "Shut up and climb."
⸻
Thirty meters.
The climb became steeper.
Loose stone turned into one of their greatest problems.
Some ledges looked solid until pressure touched them.
Then they crumbled.
Iris reached for a narrow shelf.
Tested it.
Fine.
She shifted her weight.
Half of it broke away.
She immediately threw her body toward the wall.
Her sword came out in the same motion.
CHNK!
The blade buried itself into a crack.
Iris caught herself before falling more than a foot.
Hairene swung against her back.
Iris grunted.
Nicholas looked up sharply.
Nicholas: "You good?"
Iris: "Yeah."
She looked at the broken ledge falling into the ravine.
Iris: "These walls are garbage."
Nicholas: "Strong review."
They continued.
Their forearms began burning.
Their fingers ached.
The muscles in their backs worked constantly to keep Chifuyu and Hairene from shifting.
Sweat gathered despite the cool air trapped inside the ravine.
Neither complained about it.
Not seriously.
Forty meters.
Almost halfway.
Nicholas found a narrow shelf just wide enough for one foot.
He stood there and rested his forehead against the wall.
Chifuyu remained limp against his back.
Nicholas: "You better wake up after all this."
His breathing was heavier now.
Nicholas: "And if you don't…"
He paused.
Nicholas: "Actually, I got nothing."
Iris allowed herself the faintest smile.
Then looked upward.
Iris: "There's a wider ledge about five meters above us."
Nicholas followed her gaze.
A natural shelf extended from the cliff face.
Not wide.
But wide enough to sit.
Nicholas: "Best thing I've seen all day."
They moved.
Five meters somehow felt longer than the previous forty.
Every reach hurt more.
Every pull took longer.
Iris reached the ledge first.
She dragged herself onto it carefully, then turned and helped guide Nicholas's arm as he climbed the last section.
He collapsed onto the shelf beside her.
For the first time since leaving the ravine floor…
They stopped.
Neither spoke for nearly a minute.
Their breathing filled the silence.
Nicholas carefully shifted Chifuyu so the knots weren't cutting into him too tightly.
Iris did the same for Hairene.
Iris: "Halfway."
Nicholas: "Don't say that like it's good news."
Iris: "Would you rather I said we still have half left?"
Nicholas: "Somehow worse."
They rested another minute.
Then stood again.
The second half was waiting.
⸻
Above the ledge, the ravine changed.
The rock became smoother.
Weathered by years of water and wind.
Handholds were farther apart.
Their blades became necessary more often.
Nicholas drove his sword into the wall.
Pulled.
Removed it.
Climbed another meter.
Repeated.
Each impact sent vibrations through his arm.
His shoulder screamed.
He ignored it.
Iris climbed faster.
Not because the section was easier.
Because she knew Nicholas was struggling.
The sooner she reached stable ground above…
The sooner she could help him.
Sixty meters.
The wind became noticeable.
Not strong.
But enough to remind them how high they were.
It moved through the ravine opening above, carrying tiny particles of dust past their faces.
Nicholas glanced upward.
The sky looked larger now.
Close enough to feel possible.
Still far enough to be cruel.
Iris: "Don't look at the top."
Nicholas: "Why?"
Iris: "Makes it feel farther."
Nicholas: "You learned that from experience?"
Iris: "I'm learning it now."
Nicholas smiled weakly.
Then his foot slipped.
This time, there was no ledge beneath it.
His body dropped several inches.
The sudden weight yanked Chifuyu downward.
Nicholas's hands tore against the stone.
His sword remained buried above him.
He grabbed the hilt with both hands.
Pain shot through his shoulder.
Nicholas: "Damn!"
Iris flattened herself against the wall and looked down.
Iris: "Can you get your foot back?"
Nicholas searched blindly.
Nothing.
He swung one leg sideways.
His boot finally found a small protrusion.
Nicholas pressed into it.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He pushed himself back into position.
Blood marked several of his fingertips.
Nicholas: "Yeah."
Iris: "You sure?"
Nicholas looked at the remaining distance.
Then at Chifuyu's unconscious face resting beside his shoulder.
Nicholas: "Doesn't matter."
They kept moving.
⸻
Seventy meters.
Their bodies were beginning to fail.
Not completely.
But enough that every movement had to be considered.
Iris's grip was weakening.
Nicholas's injuries had worsened.
Chifuyu and Hairene hadn't stirred once.
They were close now.
Twenty meters.
Then fifteen.
Nicholas could make out individual patches of grass hanging over the edge of the ravine.
Iris: "Almost there."
Nicholas: "Now you can say it."
The final section was uneven.
Several large slabs jutted outward, forming something close to a natural staircase.
It should've been easier.
Instead, exhaustion made it dangerous.
Iris reached upward.
Grabbed a thick piece of rock.
Tested it.
Solid.
She pulled herself higher.
One boot found another ledge.
She pushed.
Hairene's body shifted slightly.
Iris compensated.
Nicholas climbed only a few meters below her.
Nicholas: "Slow down."
Iris: "I'm fine."
Nicholas: "That's what people say right before—"
Iris grabbed another protruding section.
The stone cracked.
Her eyes widened.
Nicholas: "Iris—"
The entire piece tore free from the wall.
For half a second…
Iris remained suspended in empty space.
Then gravity took her.
She fell.
For one terrible instant, there was nothing beneath her.
No ledge.
No foothold.
No second chance.
Hairene's unconscious weight pulled against the makeshift harness across Iris's back as gravity dragged them both downward.
Nicholas reacted before thought could catch up.
He released one hand from the wall.
Reached.
And caught Iris by the wrist.
The force nearly tore his shoulder from its socket.
Nicholas: "NGH—!"
His entire body lurched downward.
Chifuyu's weight dragged against him from behind.
His injured side screamed.
His sword, still buried in the rock above, became the only thing keeping all four of them from falling.
For a moment…
Nicholas hung there with one arm locked around the sword hilt and the other gripping Iris's wrist.
Every muscle in his body strained.
Iris looked up at him.
Her eyes widened.
Iris: "Nicholas!"
Nicholas: "Don't… move."
His voice came through clenched teeth.
The sword shifted.
A small crack spread through the stone around it.
Nicholas felt his stomach drop.
Not good.
Iris immediately reached with her free hand.
Nothing.
The wall beside her was too smooth.
Her own sword remained embedded several feet above where she'd fallen.
Nicholas tightened his grip.
His fingers were already torn open from the climb.
Fresh blood slid across Iris's wrist.
Nicholas: "Can you reach your blade?"
Iris looked upward.
Barely.
The hilt was just beyond her fingertips.
Iris: "Not from here."
Nicholas drew in a shaking breath.
He had no leverage.
No stable footing.
Only a narrow ledge beneath one boot and a blade wedged into stone that could give way at any moment.
Still…
He began pulling.
Iris: "Nicholas, wait—"
Nicholas: "Reach."
His arm trembled violently.
Iris rose only a few inches.
Pain tore through his shoulder.
He ignored it.
Nicholas: "Come on…"
Another inch.
His injured side burned so badly that his vision blurred.
Chifuyu shifted against his back.
Nicholas nearly lost his balance.
Iris: "Stop! You're gonna fall too!"
Nicholas: "Then grab the damn sword!"
He pulled again.
Every ounce of strength he had left went into that one movement.
Iris rose.
Her fingertips brushed the hilt.
Missed.
Nicholas growled.
Nicholas: "Again."
He forced himself higher.
The muscles in his forearm felt ready to tear.
Iris reached.
Her fingers closed around the sword.
Iris: "Got it!"
Nicholas: "Good."
Iris immediately pulled herself toward the wall.
Her boot struck stone.
Slipped.
Then found a small crack.
She pushed.
Nicholas continued lifting until she was close enough to secure both hands around the hilt.
Iris hauled herself back into position.
The moment her weight transferred away from Nicholas, his arm dropped.
He pressed his forehead against the wall.
Breathing hard.
His hand wouldn't stop shaking.
For several seconds, neither climbed.
Iris looked down at him.
Iris: "Nicholas."
He lifted his head.
Iris: "Thank you."
Nicholas managed a weak smile.
Nicholas: "Don't mention it."
Iris: "You almost fell because of me."
Nicholas: "Yeah."
He looked toward the ravine floor far below.
Nicholas: "Let's not do that again."
Iris gave the faintest laugh.
Iris: "Agreed."
Then they continued.
⸻
The next several meters passed in silence.
Only the scrape of boots against stone and the sharp sound of steel biting into rock followed them upward.
Nicholas's breathing had grown heavier.
Iris noticed.
She deliberately slowed her pace.
Nicholas noticed that too.
He didn't comment on it.
Eventually…
Nicholas: "Iris."
Iris glanced downward.
Iris: "What?"
Nicholas hesitated.
Nicholas: "There's something I've been meaning to tell you."
Iris raised an eyebrow.
Iris: "Now?"
Nicholas: "Timing isn't really my thing."
Iris: "Clearly."
They climbed another few feet.
Nicholas drove his sword into a narrow crack and tested it.
Solid.
He pulled himself upward.
Nicholas: "I heard about what happened to your family."
Iris's expression changed.
Only slightly.
She kept climbing.
Iris: "What about it?"
Nicholas: "When you were younger."
He paused to catch his breath.
Nicholas: "The vampire attack."
Iris said nothing.
Nicholas continued.
Nicholas: "I heard you saved them."
Her hand stopped against the wall.
Nicholas: "Your family."
Iris looked upward instead of back at him.
Iris: "Where'd you hear that?"
Nicholas: "People talk."
Iris: "People should mind their business."
Nicholas smiled faintly.
Nicholas: "Probably."
He climbed again.
Nicholas: "A vampire attacked my family too."
Iris looked down.
Nicholas's expression had changed.
The humor was gone.
Nicholas: "When I was younger."
He stared at the stone directly in front of him.
Nicholas: "I couldn't save them."
The words came out flat.
Not because they didn't hurt.
Because he'd said them to himself too many times.
Iris remained silent.
Nicholas: "So when I heard about you…"
He pulled himself higher.
Nicholas: "I thought that was incredible."
Iris's eyes softened.
Nicholas: "You actually did what I couldn't."
He gave a quiet laugh.
Nicholas: "So yeah."
He glanced up toward her.
Nicholas: "I really look up to you."
Iris almost lost her grip from surprise.
Iris: "Me?"
Nicholas: "You."
Iris stared.
For once, she seemed completely unsure what to say.
She looked away.
Iris: "I'm sorry."
Nicholas frowned.
Iris: "About your family."
Nicholas: "Thanks."
Silence returned briefly.
Then Iris exhaled.
Iris: "But you shouldn't look up to me."
Nicholas blinked.
Nicholas: "Why?"
Iris: "Because I'm not…"
She searched for the right words.
Iris: "I'm not as impressive as people make me sound."
Nicholas: "That's not true."
Iris: "You don't know that."
Nicholas: "I know enough."
Iris shook her head.
Iris: "Saving someone once doesn't suddenly make me some amazing person."
Nicholas: "I didn't say it did."
Iris looked back.
Nicholas: "I'm talking about everything."
He adjusted Chifuyu against his back.
Nicholas: "The way you protect people."
He climbed.
Nicholas: "How calm you stay when everyone else is losing it."
Another step.
Nicholas: "How you keep moving even when you're scared."
Iris frowned.
Iris: "I'm scared all the time."
Nicholas: "Exactly."
She stared at him.
Nicholas: "And you still move."
He smiled.
Nicholas: "That's the part people look up to."
Iris didn't answer.
Nicholas: "You should have more confidence in yourself."
Iris: "That's easy for you to say."
Nicholas: "Not really."
He glanced at his bloodied hands.
Nicholas: "I'm currently hanging off a cliff with half my body falling apart."
Iris almost laughed.
Nicholas: "But I'm serious."
His expression softened.
Nicholas: "You're an amazing person, Iris."
She froze.
For a second, the ravine disappeared from her thoughts.
The wind.
The pain.
The exhaustion.
All of it.
Iris looked away quickly.
Iris: "You're weird."
Nicholas: "That's your response?"
Iris: "I don't know what else you want me to say."
Nicholas: "You could say thank you."
Iris: "Don't push it."
Nicholas smiled.
Nicholas: "There she is."
Iris shook her head.
But she was smiling too.
⸻
The last stretch was the cruelest.
Their muscles had nothing left to give, yet the top finally seemed close enough to touch.
The stone grew rougher again, offering more handholds but demanding sharper movements. Every pull scraped already torn skin. Every ledge pressed into blistered palms.
Nicholas climbed first for the final few meters.
His fingers slipped once.
Recovered.
Iris followed close behind.
The lip of the ravine finally appeared above them.
Grass.
Dirt.
Freedom.
Nicholas drove his sword into one final crack and hauled himself upward with everything he had left.
His forearms screamed.
His hands left red streaks across the stone.
He reached over the edge.
Found solid ground.
Pulled.
Then rolled onto the forest floor with Chifuyu still secured to his back.
A second later, Iris dragged herself over beside him.
For nearly a minute…
Neither moved.
They simply lay there beneath the trees.
Breathing.
Forty-five minutes.
That was how long it had taken.
Their fingers were split and bleeding.
Their palms were blistered.
Their arms trembled from exhaustion.
But Chifuyu and Hairene were safe.
That made the pain insignificant.
Eventually, Nicholas pushed himself upright.
Iris did the same.
Around them stretched dense forest in every direction.
No road.
No buildings.
No sign of the festival.
Nicholas looked through the trees.
Nicholas: "Any idea where we are?"
Iris shook her head.
Iris: "None."
Nicholas sighed.
They had no clue how long it would take to return.
No clue what waited between them and Hanabi Island's main district.
No clue whether Chifuyu or Hairene would wake before then.
But standing still wasn't an option.
Iris tightened the makeshift harness around Hairene.
Nicholas adjusted Chifuyu's weight.
Then the two started walking.
Deeper through the forest.
Forward.
Because right now…
That was the only direction they had.
***
An hour passed.
Then another.
The forest refused to end.
Nicholas and Iris kept moving beneath the thick canopy, following whatever gaps between the trees looked most promising.
None of them led anywhere.
No roads.
No buildings.
No voices.
Only pine, uneven ground, and the occasional distant sound of water.
Nicholas adjusted Hairene against his back.
His entire body hurt.
The ravine climb had drained nearly everything he had left, and carrying another person for hours afterward wasn't helping.
Iris noticed the way his steps had shortened.
Iris: "Need to stop?"
Nicholas: "No."
Iris: "That sounded convincing."
Nicholas: "Good."
He kept walking.
Iris glanced around again.
Iris: "This can't be the same forest."
Nicholas: "I was thinking that too."
The area they'd been in before Lily transported them had been dense, but not this isolated.
There should've been signs of the festival.
Paths.
Lights.
Something.
Instead, the forest seemed untouched.
Nicholas: "She didn't just drop us underground."
Iris: "She sent us farther away."
Nicholas looked ahead.
Nicholas: "How much farther?"
Iris: "Guess we'll find out."
Another half hour passed.
Then, finally—
The trees began thinning.
Nicholas raised his head.
A pale strip of open sky appeared through the branches.
Iris: "There."
They pushed through the remaining trees.
A paved road stretched along the edge of the coast.
Dark water rolled beyond the guardrail, waves breaking against rock beneath the night sky.
Nicholas stopped.
Nicholas: "Shore."
Iris looked both directions.
No familiar landmarks.
Nothing nearby suggested they were anywhere close to where they'd started.
Iris: "Yeah."
She exhaled.
Iris: "We were definitely transported."
Nicholas: "Far."
Then—
A white light appeared around the curve ahead.
Both immediately tensed.
The light grew brighter.
Headlights.
A car came around the bend.
Nicholas and Iris stepped toward the shoulder.
The driver saw them.
SCREEECH!
The vehicle slammed on its brakes.
It stopped several meters away.
The driver's window rolled down.
A middle-aged man leaned out, eyes wide when he saw the state they were in.
Driver: "You kids gotta get out of here!"
Nicholas and Iris exchanged a glance.
Driver: "The island's under attack!"
Nicholas immediately stepped closer.
Nicholas: "Is it from the direction you just came from?"
Driver: "Yeah!"
He unlocked the doors.
Driver: "Hop in! I'm getting as far away from there as possible!"
Nicholas looked past him.
Toward the road disappearing around the bend.
Then back at the driver.
Nicholas: "We may not look it right now…"
He gestured toward himself.
Bloodied clothes.
Torn hands.
Hairene unconscious on his back.
Nicholas: "But we're Hunters, sir."
The driver stared.
Nicholas: "Would it be possible to use your vehicle?"
Driver: "Use my—"
Nicholas: "We need to get back to the battle."
The man's face went blank.
Driver: "What?!"
Nicholas: "We'll bring it back."
Driver: "That's not the part I'm worried about!"
He pointed down the road.
Driver: "If you take my car, I'm stranded!"
As if answering him—
More headlights appeared.
One pair.
Then another.
Then several.
Cars began slowing behind him until a line formed along the road.
Families.
Tourists.
People fleeing the attack.
Iris looked at the growing traffic.
Then back at the driver.
Iris: "Do you mind carpooling?"
The man slowly looked into his mirror.
A packed vehicle behind him stopped.
Then another.
He sighed.
Driver: "You better not wreck it."
Nicholas: "I'll try not to."
Driver: "That's not reassuring."
⸻
Minutes later…
Nicholas was behind the wheel.
Iris sat beside him.
Chifuyu and Hairene lay across the backseat, both still unconscious.
The former owner had squeezed into another vehicle heading away from the city.
Nicholas accelerated.
The engine roared along the coastal road.
Iris grabbed the handle above her door.
Iris: "You know how to drive, right?"
Nicholas looked offended.
Nicholas: "Obviously."
Iris: "That's not a yes."
Nicholas: "I've driven before."
Iris: "Legally?"
Nicholas: "Why does everyone ask that part?"
Iris stared at him.
Nicholas: "Relax."
He took the next curve.
A little too quickly.
Iris tightened her grip.
Iris: "I hate you."
Nicholas: "We're making good time."
They were.
Around twenty minutes later, the horizon changed.
At first, it looked like sunset.
Except the sun had been gone for hours.
A red glow stained the clouds ahead.
Smoke rose above the distant buildings.
Then the smell reached them.
Burning wood.
Fuel.
Something metallic.
Iris's expression hardened.
The closer they got, the worse it became.
Abandoned cars lined parts of the road.
Broken windows.
Scattered belongings.
People running in the opposite direction.
Then the skyline of Hanabi Island came into view.
Or what remained of it.
The sky above the city had turned red from fire.
Multiple columns of smoke twisted upward.
Occasional flashes illuminated entire streets.
Nicholas slowed the car near the outskirts.
Nicholas: "Looks like this is it."
Iris stared through the windshield.
The battle had spread much farther than expected.
Iris: "Yeah."
Nicholas parked near a damaged building.
The engine stopped.
Silence filled the car for one second.
Nicholas looked toward her.
Nicholas: "Ready, Iris?"
She reached for her sword.
Iris: "I'm ready."
Nicholas opened his door.
Then—
A groan came from the backseat.
Both froze.
Chifuyu's fingers moved.
His eyes slowly opened.
Iris immediately twisted around.
Iris: "Chifuyu!"
Chifuyu blinked several times.
The ceiling of the car came into focus.
Then Iris.
Nicholas.
Chifuyu: "…Iris?"
He pushed himself upright.
Chifuyu: "Nicholas."
His eyes moved toward the windows.
Red sky.
Smoke.
Chifuyu: "Where are we?"
Nicholas exhaled in relief.
Nicholas: "Perfect timing."
He nodded toward the battlefield.
Nicholas: "We just got back."
Chifuyu frowned.
Nicholas: "That vampire sent us to a forest way farther out."
The memories returned.
The ravine.
Lily.
Yukinoya.
The dream.
Chifuyu's expression darkened immediately.
Chifuyu: "That bastard."
His fingers tightened against the seat.
Chifuyu: "I won't forgive her."
Iris studied him.
Iris: "What happened?"
Chifuyu looked toward Hairene.
Still unconscious beside him.
Chifuyu: "She put me in some sick dream."
His voice hardened.
Chifuyu: "I was reliving my past."
He looked away.
Chifuyu: "But it wasn't really a dream."
A pause.
Chifuyu: "More like a nightmare."
His eyes returned to Hairene.
Chifuyu: "I'm sure she's experiencing something similar."
Nicholas nodded.
Nicholas: "Well…"
He smiled faintly.
Nicholas: "We're glad you're okay."
He opened the door.
Nicholas: "Let's get out of here."
⸻
The three entered the battlefield on foot.
Nicholas carried Hairene again.
Chifuyu and Iris moved ahead.
The streets became progressively worse the farther they ran.
Burning stalls.
Collapsed walls.
Festival decorations torn apart and scattered through the road.
Then—
Movement.
Several vampires emerged from between buildings.
One rushed directly toward them.
Chifuyu drew.
One slash.
The vampire dropped.
Another came from Iris's side.
Her sword flashed once.
Gone.
Two more tried surrounding them.
They lasted seconds.
Neither Chifuyu nor Iris slowed.
Nicholas followed behind.
Until his foot caught on broken pavement.
His leg buckled.
Nicholas: "Damn—"
He dropped to one knee.
Hairene nearly slid from his back.
Iris immediately turned.
Iris: "Nicholas!"
He caught himself.
Nicholas: "I'm fine."
He tried standing.
His legs trembled.
The ravine.
The hours of walking.
The injuries.
All of it had finally caught him.
Nicholas: "Just… give me a second."
Then footsteps surrounded them.
Many.
Chifuyu stopped.
Iris turned slowly.
Vampires emerged from every direction.
Alleys.
Rooftops.
Broken storefronts.
Around thirty.
Not weak ones either.
Their posture was different.
Controlled.
Confident.
Some carried weapons.
Others simply smiled.
Nicholas looked around.
Nicholas: "Of course."
Iris tightened her grip.
Chifuyu stepped forward.
Chifuyu: "Nicholas."
Nicholas looked up.
Chifuyu: "Sit tight."
Nicholas: "What?"
Chifuyu: "Recover some energy."
He glanced toward Iris.
Chifuyu: "We'll hold them off."
Iris nodded.
Iris: "Fine by me."
Nicholas didn't like it.
But his body had already made the decision for him.
He carefully lowered himself beside a wall, keeping Hairene secured.
Nicholas: "Don't take too long."
Chifuyu looked at the vampires surrounding them.
Then something occurred to him.
Human blood wasn't the only thing his body could use.
Vampire blood worked too.
And right now…
There was plenty of it.
He didn't know how much worse this battle was going to get.
Didn't know who else was waiting deeper in the city.
Didn't know how long they'd be fighting.
Which meant going into the next phase of this war merely "recovered" wasn't enough.
He needed to be beyond full.
Chifuyu: "I have an idea."
Iris glanced at him.
Nicholas: "Why do I hate the sound of that?"
Chifuyu pointed toward the vampires.
Chifuyu: "I can drink their blood."
Iris raised an eyebrow.
Chifuyu: "It'll replenish my curse blood pool."
Nicholas stared.
Chifuyu: "And make me stronger."
Silence.
Chifuyu continued.
Chifuyu: "I don't know how crazy things are about to get."
His gaze sharpened.
Chifuyu: "So I shouldn't just get back to full strength."
He smiled faintly.
Chifuyu: "I should go over it."
Iris processed that.
Nicholas did too.
Neither recoiled.
Neither looked afraid.
Iris: "Then do it."
Chifuyu looked toward her.
Iris: "We're surrounded."
She raised her sword.
Iris: "Seems like a good time."
Nicholas gave him a tired thumbs-up from the ground.
Nicholas: "Just don't start eating us next."
Chifuyu: "Very funny."
He faced the vampires.
His expression changed.
Chifuyu: "I'm switching forms."
Iris nodded.
Nicholas: "Go ahead."
No hesitation.
No distrust.
Chifuyu closed his eyes.
Then released what he'd been holding back.
His vampire nature surfaced.
Fangs extended.
His presence shifted.
Something predatory entered the air.
The vampires surrounding them stopped smiling.
Chifuyu slowly opened his eyes.
For the first time since returning from Lily's dream…
He looked ready to hunt.
***
The circle of vampires charged in all at once.
Iris disappeared from Chifuyu's side.
She was faster.
Only by a step.
But that single step decided the shape of the entire battle.
She entered the first opening before Chifuyu could, her sword cutting through the lead vampire's guard and forcing the entire formation to bend around her.
Chifuyu immediately adapted.
Instead of competing with her pace, he began moving around it.
Iris became the point of the spear.
Chifuyu became everything that followed.
A vampire swung low toward her ribs.
Iris stepped over the blade without losing momentum and drove her shoulder into another attacker.
Chifuyu appeared behind her a fraction later.
His sword passed cleanly across the first vampire's torso.
He pivoted.
Caught the second with a backhanded slash.
Then ducked beneath a third strike coming from the right.
Iris was already there.
Her blade flashed across the attacker's wrist.
The weapon dropped.
Chifuyu finished the opening with a thrust through the vampire's chest.
They never needed to call anything out.
Their positioning did it for them.
Iris cut left.
Chifuyu knew to cover right.
Chifuyu forced an enemy backward.
Iris immediately occupied the space behind him.
One created pressure.
The other punished the reaction.
Within seconds, the street turned into a constantly shifting maze of bodies and blades.
The vampires tried overwhelming them through numbers.
It almost worked.
Four rushed Iris at once.
She met the first with a parry, redirected his weapon into the second, then slipped between both before the third could close the gap.
The fourth managed to reach her.
A blade scraped across her upper arm.
Blood appeared instantly.
Iris barely reacted.
She twisted with the impact, used the attacker's momentum against him, and drove her sword through his side.
Chifuyu arrived before the remaining three could capitalize.
His shoulder crashed into one.
His blade caught another across the abdomen.
The third vampire swung toward his neck.
Chifuyu leaned back just enough.
The edge still clipped his cheek.
He felt the sting.
Ignored it.
Then caught the vampire by the collar and pulled him directly into Iris's next strike.
Steel flashed.
The vampire dropped.
Another lunged from behind.
Chifuyu turned late.
Too late.
A short blade carved across his back.
Pain shot through him.
He gritted his teeth, spun, and buried his sword into the vampire's shoulder.
That was the opening he wanted.
Chifuyu pulled the wounded vampire closer.
His fangs sank into the side of its neck.
The first taste of vampire blood hit instantly.
Not as overwhelming as human blood.
Not intoxicating in the same way.
But powerful.
Useful.
Warmth spread through his body.
The exhaustion from the dream faded another step.
His muscles tightened.
His senses sharpened.
The curse blood inside him surged.
Chifuyu released the vampire before taking too much.
Then drove his knee into its chest and sent it backward into two others.
Iris cut through the opening.
One slash.
Two.
Three.
The three vampires fell nearly together.
Chifuyu immediately moved behind her again.
Their rhythm accelerated.
Iris remained half a beat faster.
That advantage made her almost impossible to pin down.
She never stood where the vampires expected.
Every time one adjusted toward Chifuyu, Iris was already attacking from a different angle.
Whenever they turned toward her, Chifuyu was there to exploit the shift.
A vampire descended from a rooftop.
Iris saw the shadow first.
She sidestepped.
Chifuyu looked up.
His sword met the descending weapon with enough force to throw the attacker off balance.
Iris cut across his legs before he landed.
Chifuyu followed with a downward strike.
Another vampire rushed him immediately afterward.
Chifuyu blocked.
The impact pushed him back.
A second attacker joined.
Then a third.
For the first time, the pressure forced him defensive.
Steel hammered against steel.
Chifuyu's arms absorbed blow after blow.
One edge slipped through and opened a cut along his side.
Another caught his thigh.
Blood darkened his clothes.
Then Iris crashed into the formation.
Her blade struck the first vampire's weapon aside.
Her footwork carried her around the second.
She cut him across the back.
Chifuyu saw the path she created.
He stepped through it.
His sword pierced the third vampire's torso.
He pulled him close.
Bit down.
Another mouthful of blood.
Another surge.
The pain in his thigh dulled.
His breathing steadied.
The vampires noticed.
That was when uncertainty entered their movements.
They were hurting him.
But every few exchanges, Chifuyu seemed to recover.
Not fully.
The cuts remained.
Blood still ran down his skin.
But his strength kept rising.
The more of them they wounded…
The more dangerous he became.
Several vampires began keeping their distance.
That only made Iris more dangerous.
She chased hesitation immediately.
A retreating vampire raised his weapon.
Iris struck high.
He blocked.
She changed levels without warning and cut across his knee.
He stumbled.
Chifuyu appeared from the side.
One slash ended the exchange.
Another attacker tried catching Iris from behind.
Chifuyu intercepted him.
A claw tore across Chifuyu's forearm.
He answered with a cut through the vampire's shoulder.
Then bit into him before shoving the body away.
The rush came faster now.
His curse blood pool was no longer simply replenishing.
It was overflowing.
His heartbeat strengthened.
The movements around him became clearer.
He could smell every open wound.
Hear every footstep.
Feel changes in pressure before attacks arrived.
The vampire form sharpened everything.
But even with that advantage…
The fight remained brutal.
These were not weak opponents.
One vampire caught Iris across the ribs.
The strike tore through fabric and left a deep line along her side.
She stumbled.
Chifuyu immediately moved toward her.
Another vampire anticipated it.
A blade drove into Chifuyu's shoulder.
His body jerked.
For one dangerous instant, both Hunters were compromised.
The surrounding vampires rushed.
Iris recovered first.
Of course she did.
She planted one foot, spun through the pain, and created a full circle of steel around herself.
Two attackers recoiled.
A third failed to.
Chifuyu ripped the weapon from his shoulder and kicked its owner away.
Blood poured down his arm.
Iris moved past him.
Chifuyu moved with her.
The rhythm returned.
Faster than before.
More violent.
They stopped fighting as two individuals.
Iris became movement.
Chifuyu became consequence.
She slipped between enemies.
He struck the ones forced to turn.
She created gaps.
He filled them.
He pushed opponents toward her.
She cut them down.
No wasted motion.
No collisions.
No hesitation.
Even injured, Iris's footwork remained flawless.
Her earlier wounds should have slowed her.
They didn't.
Every step remained precise.
Every pivot clean.
Every burst of speed exactly where it needed to be.
Chifuyu stayed one pace behind.
Not because he couldn't keep up.
Because that was where he was most useful.
Iris was quicker.
So he let her lead.
He read the shape of her movement and constantly repositioned himself around it.
When she entered deep, he guarded her retreat.
When she shifted outside, he attacked the center.
When she broke a formation, he turned the opening into a kill zone.
The vampires tried separating them.
Failed.
Tried surrounding only Chifuyu.
Iris cut back in.
Tried overwhelming Iris.
Chifuyu crashed through their flank.
Every strategy dissolved beneath their coordination.
The numbers fell.
Thirty became twenty-three.
Twenty-three became sixteen.
Then eleven.
The street filled with bodies.
Broken weapons scattered across the pavement.
Blood ran between cracks in the stone.
Chifuyu's breathing had changed completely.
He should have been exhausted.
Instead, the vampire blood had pushed him beyond where he'd started.
His body felt almost unnaturally light.
He caught another vampire after a shallow cut across its chest.
Bit.
Released.
Moved again.
The remaining enemies became more desperate.
One charged Iris with no concern for defense.
She stepped aside.
His momentum carried him directly toward Chifuyu.
Chifuyu drove his sword through him.
Another attempted to flee.
Iris caught him before he made it ten feet.
Two attacked together.
Chifuyu blocked the first.
Iris intercepted the second.
They switched opponents in the middle of the exchange without saying a word.
Iris cut Chifuyu's attacker.
Chifuyu struck hers.
Both vampires fell.
Five remained.
They hesitated.
That was enough.
Iris rushed them.
Chifuyu followed.
The final exchange lasted less than twenty seconds.
One vampire managed to cut Chifuyu across the chest.
Another landed a glancing strike against Iris's shoulder.
Neither mattered.
Their formation shattered almost immediately.
Iris broke through the center.
Chifuyu circled behind.
Steel flashed repeatedly beneath the red sky.
Then…
Silence.
The last vampire collapsed.
For several seconds, neither Hunter moved.
Iris stood with her sword lowered beside her leg.
Blood ran from several cuts along her arms and side.
Her breathing was heavier than before, but controlled.
Chifuyu stood several feet away.
His clothes were torn.
Blood covered his shoulder, chest, cheek, thigh, and arms.
Some of it was his.
Much of it wasn't.
His fangs remained exposed.
His senses still burned with heightened clarity.
Thirty strong vampires surrounded them no longer.
Only bodies.
Neither had escaped untouched.
But both remained standing.
Chifuyu slowly exhaled.
The amount of vampire blood he'd taken had done exactly what he wanted.
His curse blood pool felt fuller than it had before the battle.
Overfilled.
Ready for whatever waited deeper inside Hanabi Island.
Behind them, Nicholas remained seated beside the wall.
Hairene was still secured against him.
He had watched the entire battle without enough strength to assist.
Then he felt movement against his back.
Small at first.
A shift of weight.
Nicholas froze.
Hairene's fingers twitched.
Her brow tightened.
Then her eyes suddenly opened.
Her eyes opened slowly, and for a moment she couldn't tell where she was. The last thing she remembered was darkness, Lily's gate, and the feeling of falling back into herself. Now there was broken pavement beneath her, firelight reflecting off nearby buildings, and bodies scattered across the street.
Nicholas shifted beside her.
Nicholas: "Hairene? Hey, you're awake."
Iris immediately turned.
Iris: "Hairene!"
Neither voice reached her.
Not really.
Hairene's eyes had already locked onto something else.
Chifuyu stood several meters away among the dead vampires.
His clothes were torn and soaked in blood. His fangs were still visible. His posture was loose from the aftermath of battle, but there was something unmistakably inhuman about him now.
Hairene stared.
Her stomach turned cold.
For half a second, the battlefield vanished.
Zander.
Blood.
Lulu.
That alley.
Then Chifuyu came back into focus.
Hairene: "I hope this is a sick joke of a Halloween costume, Chifuyu."
The street went quiet.
Iris stiffened.
Iris: "Hairene, it's a long story."
She hesitated.
Iris: "But Chifuyu's a half-vampire."
Nicholas: "He was turned into one. Right?"
Iris nodded.
Iris: "Yeah."
Hairene's eyes moved toward them.
Hairene: "You guys knew?"
Iris: "Everyone at Odd Jobs knows."
Chifuyu began walking toward them.
Chifuyu: "Like Iris said, it's a long story. But I can condense it."
Hairene: "There's no need."
She stood.
The movement was sudden enough that Nicholas reached for her arm, but Hairene had already drawn her sword.
Steel hissed free.
She pointed the blade directly at Chifuyu.
He stopped.
Iris: "Wh-what're you doing, Hairene?"
Nicholas stared at her in disbelief.
Nicholas: "Chifuyu was born human! You don't have to turn your blade on him!"
Hairene didn't look away from Chifuyu.
Hairene: "A vampire is a vampire, through and through."
Her voice was cold.
Hairene: "It doesn't matter where they started."
The memory of Zander smiling beneath a streetlight flashed through her mind.
Then Lulu's body.
Hairene: "In the end, they're still monsters."
Iris: "Hairene!"
Chifuyu raised one hand.
Chifuyu: "It's okay."
Iris looked toward him.
Chifuyu kept his eyes on Hairene.
Chifuyu: "Hairene, I can tell you've got a deep-rooted hate for vampires."
He took one careful step forward.
Chifuyu: "But you can trust me."
Her grip tightened.
Hairene: "I won't make that mistake again."