Nobody spoke.
The meaning behind those words didn't pass unnoticed.
Nicholas remembered how Hairene had reacted when she'd woken. Iris saw the way her expression had changed. Chifuyu understood immediately that this wasn't simple prejudice.
Something had happened to her.
Something personal.
Chifuyu's expression hardened.
Not in anger.
Resolve.
Hairene: "You guys can try stopping me."
She shifted her stance.
Hairene: "But I'm killing this vampire here and now."
Nicholas slowly reached for his sword.
Iris did the same.
Neither looked comfortable doing it.
Then Chifuyu stepped between them.
Chifuyu: "Stop."
Iris: "Chifuyu—"
Chifuyu: "I'll take her on myself."
He looked directly at Hairene.
Chifuyu: "And show her."
Hairene's eyes narrowed.
Hairene: "Show me what exactly?"
Chifuyu's fangs receded.
The predatory presence around him faded as he returned fully to his human appearance.
Chifuyu: "My resolve."
Hairene stared at him.
Then slowly stepped forward.
Chifuyu had already made his decision.
No curse.
No vampire abilities.
No blood enhancement.
He wasn't going to hurt her.
He wasn't even planning to slash at her.
He only needed to survive long enough to stop her without breaking what little trust remained.
For a few seconds, neither moved.
Then Hairene vanished.
Chifuyu barely saw her first step.
His instincts screamed before his eyes caught up.
He raised his sword.
CLANG!
The impact shook through both arms.
Hairene's blade had already reached his neck.
Chifuyu slid backward several feet, boots grinding across the pavement. Before he could reset his stance, Hairene was on him again.
Her second slash came low.
He barely redirected it.
The third came from the opposite side.
Chifuyu ducked.
The blade passed close enough to cut several strands of hair.
Hairene didn't pause.
Her technique was leagues above his.
Every attack flowed into the next without wasted movement. She wasn't swinging wildly from anger. That would've been easier.
She was calm.
Precise.
Trying to kill him.
Chifuyu retreated another step and remembered Shoyo's training.
Don't chase the blade.
Watch the body.
Shoulders.
Hips.
Feet.
Intent showed itself before steel did.
Hairene shifted her lead foot.
Chifuyu moved before the attack came.
Her sword cut through the space where his ribs had been.
He pivoted around her instead of counterattacking.
Hairene immediately adjusted.
A thrust followed.
Chifuyu knocked the point aside with the flat of his blade, but the force twisted his wrist painfully.
He didn't swing back.
That hesitation almost cost him.
Hairene stepped inside his guard and drove her knee into his stomach.
Air left his lungs.
Chifuyu stumbled backward.
Her sword followed toward his throat.
He threw himself sideways.
The edge grazed his shoulder.
Blood appeared immediately.
Iris took a step forward.
Chifuyu: "Don't!"
Hairene attacked again.
Chifuyu blocked high.
Hairene changed direction in the middle of the motion, letting the blades slide before cutting toward his leg.
He jumped back just enough.
Another thin line opened across his thigh.
He was losing.
Badly.
But he was still reading her.
Every exchange gave him more information.
Hairene liked controlling distance with short, sharp steps.
She punished retreats instantly.
Whenever Chifuyu tried creating space, she followed.
So he stopped retreating.
The next time Hairene attacked, Chifuyu stepped toward her.
Her eyes widened slightly.
He entered past the strongest part of the swing, turned his shoulder, and let the blade scrape harmlessly across his coat.
Then he slipped around her side.
No strike.
No slash.
Just repositioning.
Hairene spun immediately.
Chifuyu was already moving.
That was the only reason he remained alive.
Not skill equal to hers.
Instinct.
Hours upon hours of Shoyo forcing him into impossible situations.
Training designed to make reaction happen before thought.
Hairene's swordsmanship was superior.
Chifuyu knew that.
So he didn't try beating her at swordsmanship.
He survived her.
Blocked when he had to.
Evaded when he could.
Used footwork to deny clean angles.
Every time Hairene expected retaliation, none came.
That began irritating her.
Her attacks accelerated.
Chifuyu's body responded.
A slash passed his face.
A thrust scraped his side.
Another strike clipped his forearm.
He kept moving.
Hairene pressed harder.
Chifuyu refused to swing.
Nicholas watched in disbelief.
Iris understood what he was doing.
He wasn't trying to win.
He was trying to prove something.
Hairene lunged again.
Chifuyu caught her blade against his own.
Their swords locked.
Her strength forced him backward.
She stared directly into his eyes.
Hairene: "Fight me."
Chifuyu's arms trembled under the pressure.
Chifuyu: "I am."
Hairene pushed harder.
Hairene: "No."
Her voice sharpened.
Hairene: "You're surviving."
Chifuyu's grip tightened.
Chifuyu: "That's all I need to do."
Hairene's expression darkened.
She broke the lock.
Then disappeared again.
Chifuyu raised his sword.
And the real fight began.
Hairene attacked again.
There was nothing tentative about the way she moved. Her sword flashed toward Chifuyu's throat, forcing him to lean backward as the edge passed inches from his skin. Before he could properly reset, she reversed the blade and cut toward his ribs.
Chifuyu caught it against the flat of his sword. The impact traveled painfully through his arms, and Hairene immediately stepped inside his guard and drove her shoulder into his chest.
He stumbled backward several feet.
She followed.
Hairene was overwhelmingly better.
There was no anger making her careless, no wild swings Chifuyu could exploit. Every movement remained disciplined. Her feet carried her into exactly the distance she wanted, and every failed attack seamlessly became the beginning of another.
Chifuyu barely raised his sword in time.
CLANG!
Another impact forced him backward.
Nicholas watched from where he rested against the damaged wall. His exhaustion hadn't disappeared, but seeing how closely Hairene's blade kept passing Chifuyu made his body tense anyway.
Nicholas: "She's really trying to kill him."
Iris never took her eyes from them.
Iris: "I know."
Nicholas planted one hand against the ground as though preparing to stand.
Iris extended an arm in front of him.
Nicholas looked toward her.
Iris: "Don't."
Nicholas: "You sure?"
Another collision rang through the street.
Chifuyu was driven backward again.
Iris remained calm.
Iris: "Trust him."
Nicholas hesitated before lowering himself again.
They would watch.
Chifuyu had asked them to let him handle this.
So they would believe in him.
⸻
Hairene cut high.
Chifuyu blocked.
She immediately redirected toward his thigh. He pulled his leg away, but the edge still sliced through his clothing and opened another shallow wound.
Pain ran through him.
He ignored it.
Hairene thrust.
Instead of retreating, Chifuyu stepped closer.
The blade passed beside his ribs as he twisted through the attack, slipping around Hairene's shoulder. For a moment, he stood beside her with her flank completely exposed.
He could have cut her.
He didn't.
Chifuyu moved away.
Hairene turned.
Hairene: "You think refusing to attack me proves something?"
Chifuyu settled back into his stance.
Chifuyu: "Not really."
She rushed him.
Hairene: "Then stop wasting my time."
Their swords collided.
Hairene pushed his blade aside and cut across his forearm.
Chifuyu winced.
Hairene: "You think being nice makes you different?"
She followed with another strike.
Chifuyu redirected it.
Hairene: "He was nice too."
Something changed in Chifuyu's expression.
Hairene stepped forward.
Hairene: "He protected me."
Her sword struck his.
Hairene: "He got hurt for me."
Another collision forced Chifuyu back.
Hairene: "He made me trust him."
Chifuyu's heel caught broken pavement.
Hairene noticed immediately.
She swept his footing away.
Chifuyu hit the ground.
Her sword came down.
He rolled.
CRACK!
The blade struck pavement where his chest had been.
Chifuyu scrambled upright as Hairene tore it free.
Her composure remained, but something beneath it was beginning to crack.
Hairene: "And then he ate my best friend!"
The words echoed through the ruined street.
Nicholas went silent.
Iris's expression changed.
Suddenly, Hairene's earlier words made sense.
I won't make that mistake again.
This wasn't some abstract hatred she'd inherited from the Hunter world.
She had trusted a vampire before.
And somebody had died for it.
Chifuyu looked at her differently now.
Not with fear.
Not with pity.
Understanding.
Chifuyu: "Then don't trust me because I'm nice."
Hairene's brows tightened.
Chifuyu raised his sword again.
Chifuyu: "Don't trust me because I protect people."
Hairene stared at him.
Chifuyu: "And don't trust me just because Iris tells you to."
A beat passed.
Chifuyu: "Judge me yourself."
Hairene's answer came through her blade.
⸻
She closed the distance instantly.
Chifuyu caught the first strike, but the second tore across his side. Blood quickly darkened what remained of his festival clothing.
The third hit his shoulder.
He escaped the fourth by inches.
Hairene gave him absolutely nothing.
Chifuyu didn't transform.
He didn't use his curse.
He didn't call upon the extra strength he'd gained earlier.
He simply remained Chifuyu.
The same swordsman Hairene had known before learning the truth.
He defended himself with what Shoyo had taught him.
Hairene's next cut came diagonally.
Chifuyu watched her shoulders rather than the sword.
He shifted early.
The blade missed.
A thrust followed.
Her hips gave that away.
Chifuyu redirected it.
Hairene changed her footing.
He recognized the setup and retreated before the sweep could take his legs.
It wasn't enough to make them equals.
Not remotely.
Hairene remained levels above him.
But Shoyo had never trained Chifuyu under the assumption that every opponent would be equal.
Quite the opposite.
He'd spent countless hours throwing Chifuyu against situations where the other person was faster, stronger, more experienced, or all three.
When you couldn't overpower someone, you learned them.
When you couldn't outfight them, you survived them.
And if you survived long enough…
Eventually, patterns appeared.
Hairene stepped forward.
Chifuyu shifted sideways before the attack arrived.
Her blade cut empty air.
She immediately corrected.
Chifuyu caught it.
Hairene pressed against his sword.
Hairene: "Eventually you'll change."
Chifuyu frowned.
Hairene: "Maybe tomorrow. Maybe years from now."
She shoved harder.
Hairene: "But eventually you'll become exactly what you are."
Chifuyu pushed her blade away.
Chifuyu: "I already know what I am."
Hairene attacked.
He ducked.
Chifuyu: "I'm Chifuyu Kyotani."
Hairene's eyes narrowed.
Her sword came around again.
Chifuyu blocked.
Hairene: "You're a vampire."
Chifuyu: "Half."
Hairene: "It doesn't matter!"
The impact of her next strike nearly ripped the sword from his hand.
Chifuyu tightened his grip.
Chifuyu: "It matters to me."
Hairene attacked again.
Chifuyu moved.
Chifuyu: "I didn't stop being myself because someone turned me."
Hairene: "You don't know that yet."
Chifuyu: "Neither do you."
That stopped her for barely half a second.
Chifuyu didn't exploit it.
He could've attacked.
Instead, he waited.
That only seemed to frustrate her more.
Hairene charged.
⸻
The fight became increasingly close.
Chifuyu stopped giving her enough distance to comfortably control every exchange. Whenever Hairene entered, he moved with her rather than allowing her to dictate the space.
A thrust came toward his chest.
Chifuyu knocked her wrist outward with his guard.
Hairene immediately turned it into a horizontal slash.
He ducked beneath it and stepped beside her.
Again, an opening.
Again, no attack.
Hairene pivoted and drove her knee into his ribs.
Chifuyu grunted as he stumbled away.
Hairene: "Fight me properly."
Chifuyu rubbed his side.
Chifuyu: "I am."
Hairene: "You're not even trying to hurt me."
Chifuyu: "Because I don't want to."
She rushed him.
Chifuyu blocked twice before the third strike grazed his shoulder.
Hairene: "You think that means anything?"
Chifuyu: "You tell me."
She slashed again.
He moved aside.
Chifuyu: "You're the one judging me."
Hairene's blade came toward his neck.
Chifuyu raised his guard.
Their swords locked.
Hairene's superior strength and positioning immediately began forcing his blade downward.
Chifuyu's arms shook.
Hairene: "He didn't want to hurt me either."
Chifuyu stared at her.
Hairene: "Not in the beginning."
She pressed harder.
Hairene: "That's the problem with people like you."
Chifuyu: "People like me?"
Hairene: "You make everyone comfortable."
Her voice remained controlled, but her eyes didn't.
Hairene: "You smile with them."
Her sword pushed closer.
Hairene: "You fight beside them."
Closer.
Hairene: "You make them believe you're different."
Chifuyu planted his foot and finally forced their blades apart.
Hairene immediately prepared another strike.
Chifuyu: "Then don't believe I'm different."
She paused.
Chifuyu breathed heavily.
Blood ran down his arm.
Chifuyu: "Watch me."
Hairene stared.
Chifuyu: "That's what I'm telling you."
His sword remained raised.
Chifuyu: "Don't decide what I'll become because of what somebody else did."
Hairene's expression hardened.
Chifuyu: "Watch what I do."
She attacked again.
⸻
Her swordsmanship became fiercer.
Chifuyu's defense became uglier.
He stopped trying to meet every strike cleanly. Sometimes he redirected with the guard. Sometimes he moved close enough that Hairene couldn't generate full power. Other times he simply threw himself out of the path and recovered before she could capitalize.
Hairene clipped his arm.
Then his side.
A shallow line opened along his cheek.
Chifuyu kept standing.
He never swung at her.
That wasn't to say he remained passive.
When Hairene thrust, Chifuyu caught her forearm and pushed the blade aside.
She twisted free.
On the next exchange, he stepped across her lead foot and nearly disrupted her balance.
Hairene recovered before falling.
She looked at him.
Chifuyu managed a tired smile.
Chifuyu: "Almost."
Hairene: "Don't get excited."
She rushed him again.
This time Chifuyu was ready.
Their blades met high.
He allowed Hairene to push.
She committed.
Chifuyu suddenly released the pressure and stepped sideways.
Hairene moved forward farther than intended.
He caught her wrist.
For a brief instant, Chifuyu had her.
Hairene immediately drove an elbow into his ribs.
He released her.
She turned.
Her sword came around.
Chifuyu ducked.
Nicholas watched closely.
Nicholas: "He's figuring her out."
Iris nodded.
Iris: "That's what he does."
Neither made a move toward their weapons.
They trusted him.
⸻
Hairene's next series of attacks pushed Chifuyu farther down the ruined street.
One.
Two.
Three.
Chifuyu defended all three.
The fourth broke through.
His sword was knocked wide.
Hairene stepped forward.
Chifuyu realized immediately.
No time.
No angle.
Nothing between her sword and his throat.
Hairene stopped.
The blade rested less than an inch from his neck.
Everything became still.
Nicholas tensed instinctively.
Iris remained where she was.
Hairene stared directly at Chifuyu.
Chifuyu looked at the blade.
Then at her.
Slowly…
He lowered his sword.
Hairene's eyes narrowed.
Hairene: "What are you doing?"
Chifuyu: "Nothing."
Hairene: "Move."
Chifuyu: "No."
Hairene tightened her grip.
Hairene: "I'm going to kill you."
Chifuyu: "Then do it."
No transformation came.
No hidden power surfaced.
No sudden burst of strength saved him.
Chifuyu simply stood there.
Exactly as himself.
Hairene's blade remained still.
Chifuyu: "You said I'm a monster."
He met her eyes.
Chifuyu: "You said it doesn't matter who I was before."
Hairene said nothing.
Chifuyu: "So if you really believe that…"
His throat remained exposed.
Chifuyu: "Do it."
One second passed.
Then another.
Hairene's hand trembled.
The sword didn't move.
Chifuyu's expression softened slightly.
Chifuyu: "Why'd you stop?"
Hairene clenched her jaw.
Chifuyu: "You had me."
Nothing.
Chifuyu: "If I'm really the same as him, why didn't you do it?"
Hairene's eyes shook.
Then the blade pulled away.
Chifuyu barely had time to raise his sword before Hairene attacked again.
Their blades crashed together.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Hairene's composure finally fractured.
Hairene: "I'M NOT MAKING THAT MISTAKE AGAIN!"
She struck with everything she had.
Chifuyu caught the attack and nearly buckled.
He moved with the pressure rather than against it, turned his body, and guided Hairene's sword past him.
Then he stepped inside.
One hand caught her sword wrist.
His foot hooked behind hers.
Hairene realized what was happening a moment too late.
Her balance disappeared.
Her sword fell from her grip and clattered across the pavement.
Chifuyu caught her arm before she could hit the ground.
Both were breathing heavily.
Hairene stared up at him.
Chifuyu didn't look triumphant.
He didn't look angry.
He just looked tired.
Chifuyu: "Then don't."
Hairene froze.
Chifuyu released some of the pressure on her wrist.
Chifuyu: "Don't make the same mistake."
He looked directly into her eyes.
Chifuyu: "Make a new decision."
Hairene came at him again.
But something had changed.
The precision was still there. The speed was still there. Yet the clean structure behind her swordsmanship had begun to fray.
Her breathing was uneven now.
Her footwork was sharper than it needed to be.
Her swings carried too much force.
Chifuyu noticed it immediately.
He didn't say anything.
He simply kept defending.
Hairene slashed from the right.
Chifuyu caught it and redirected.
She followed with a thrust that came too deep. He stepped aside and let it pass, then moved around her shoulder without countering.
Hairene whipped around and attacked again.
The blade struck his guard hard enough to numb his fingers.
She didn't care.
Another slash.
Another.
Another.
Chifuyu gave ground where he had to and held it where he could. Hairene was no longer fighting with the cold restraint she'd shown before. Years of buried anger were starting to leak into every movement.
Her attacks became heavier.
Less efficient.
More desperate.
Chifuyu remained exactly the same.
Calm.
Focused.
Present.
He accepted every strike for what it was.
Hairene cut toward his side. Chifuyu shifted back and caught the blade near the guard.
She ripped it free and immediately swung toward his neck.
He ducked.
The sword passed overhead.
Hairene stepped in too close.
Chifuyu could have shoved her down.
He didn't.
He moved away.
That only made her angrier.
She chased him.
Steel rang again and again through the ruined street.
Hairene's emotions continued eating away at her form. A perfect swordswoman was slowly being replaced by someone simply trying to force years of pain out through her blade.
She slashed.
Chifuyu blocked.
She stepped too far.
He let her recover.
She attacked high.
He redirected.
She went low.
He stepped over it.
No matter how hard she pushed, Chifuyu refused to become something else.
He never snarled.
Never retaliated.
Never looked at her like an enemy.
He just stood his ground and accepted the anger she couldn't keep buried anymore.
Hairene's sword crashed against his again.
Their blades locked.
Her arms trembled.
Chifuyu said nothing.
Hairene shoved away and attacked once more.
Then…
A tear slid down her cheek.
Hairene: "Why did Zander betray them?"
Chifuyu froze.
The name caught him completely off guard.
His focus broke for a fraction of a second.
It was enough.
Hairene's blade tore across his torso.
The slash opened deep.
Blood sprayed across the pavement.
Chifuyu staggered.
Iris: "CHIFUYU!"
Nicholas: "CHIFUYU!"
His sword nearly slipped from his hand.
Chifuyu looked down at the wound.
Too deep.
He couldn't ignore that one.
His body shifted.
Fangs emerged.
His vampire form returned.
The wound across his torso immediately began closing.
Muscle pulled together.
Skin followed.
Blood stopped pouring.
Hairene stared at him through the tear still running down her face.
For one brief moment…
The sight only seemed to confirm everything she feared.
Her hands tightened around her sword.
Hairene raised it.
Ready to finish him.
Then—
Something moved behind Iris and Nicholas.
Fast.
Much too fast for its size.
A massive figure appeared at their backs.
Iris barely turned.
Nicholas saw only a shadow.
The vampire swung.
The impact hit both of them at once.
Their bodies launched across the street.
They smashed through debris and tumbled dozens of meters before finally stopping.
Hairene's eyes widened.
Iris and Nicholas struggled on the ground, both trying to push themselves upright.
Hairene instantly changed targets.
Her blade turned away from Chifuyu.
Toward the new arrival.
The vampire standing before them was enormous.
Not merely tall.
Huge.
His shoulders looked wider than some doorways. Thick muscle covered his arms, chest, and neck to the point that even without vampiric strength, it looked like he could crush a normal human with his bare hands.
His presence swallowed the street.
Hairene glanced toward Iris and Nicholas.
Both were moving.
Barely.
But alive.
Behind her, Chifuyu's wound finished closing.
He straightened.
His breathing steadied.
Then he stepped beside her.
Hairene's jaw tightened.
Hairene: "Damn it."
Chifuyu looked at the giant vampire.
Chifuyu: "If you wanna finish this later, we can."
Hairene shot him a glare.
Chifuyu didn't look at her.
Chifuyu: "But we're in the middle of a battle."
The giant shifted his weight.
The pavement beneath his foot cracked.
Chifuyu raised his sword.
Chifuyu: "Let's try to make it out of this alive first."
Hairene bit her lip.
She hated that he was right.
Hated that after everything she'd just said, after everything she'd tried to do, she now had to stand beside him.
But there was no choice.
Not here.
Not now.
Hairene adjusted her grip.
Chifuyu lowered into position beside her.
For the first time since she'd learned what he was…
They faced the same enemy.
The giant vampire stared down at them.
Chifuyu and Hairene held their stances.
Side by side.