A dim light burned inside the shadowy laboratory. The air reeked of disinfectant mixed with the metallic scent of blood.
Photographs hung along the walls, barely visible through the gloom. Open experiment logs covered the desk, every page packed with rows of data. Even the black bags piled in the corner had recently been replaced with a fresh batch.
Haruno pushed open the door and entered with another woman behind her.
The moment Kirari stepped into the room, her unusual eyes lit up. Not with fear or disgust, but excitement.
She studied the bloodstains, the experiment logs, and the equipment concealed beneath white sheets. The curve of her smile grew wider with each passing second.
"This is the candidate you chose?"
Genichi sat behind the desk. He raised his head and fixed his gaze on Kirari.
Haruno had already discussed the matter with him. She had only brought Kirari here after receiving his permission.
Genichi regarded Kirari without the slightest emotion in his eyes. His calm, appraising gaze made it seem as though he were inspecting a tool.
"That's right. She's the one I chose."
Haruno's voice remained composed, but there was an unmistakable tension beneath it.
Of course she was nervous. Kirari was no ordinary woman. She was a starving wolf, a double-edged sword. Used properly, she would become a formidable weapon. Mishandled, she would become a disaster.
Kirari was also studying Genichi.
Her gaze traveled across his face, moved down his body, and finally settled on the instruments behind him.
So this man was Haruno's master?
The one capable of granting supernatural power?
The man who could free her from boredom and usher her into an entirely new world?
She stared at his calm expression and those deep, inscrutable eyes. An unfamiliar feeling welled up within her.
It wasn't awe or fear.
It was curiosity.
An overwhelmingly powerful curiosity.
As Genichi studied Kirari, he could sense the wildness inside her as well.
Had she been an ordinary person, he would have secretly made her drink his Blood Wine, turning her into a pawn whose life and death were entirely under his control.
But the woman before him wasn't ordinary.
She was Kirari, head of the Momobami clan, the woman everyone in Kakegurui both feared and hated.
Her entire role in the story was that of an antagonist, a complete and utter lunatic.
She didn't care about money, power, or anything else ordinary people pursued.
There was only one thing that mattered to her: excitement.
The kind of excitement that made her heart race, her blood boil, and her soul tremble.
The corners of Genichi's mouth rose slightly. Someone like her was the perfect test subject for the Spirit Tamer experiment.
An ordinary person would be afraid. They would hesitate, retreat, and regret their decision when faced with death.
Kirari wouldn't.
She would only become more excited, more eager, and more desperate to see the outcome, regardless of whether she lived or died.
"You have two choices."
Genichi raised two fingers and spoke calmly.
"First, I give you my Blood Wine. From that moment on, every part of your existence will be under my control. Your life and death will depend on a single thought from me. Your power will be mine to grant, and your future will be bound to mine."
Kirari narrowed her eyes but said nothing.
"Second, you become my test subject," Genichi continued. "You may become the first Spirit Tamer, subjugate an evil spirit, gain supernatural power, and step into another world. But you may also fail. The vengeful spirit could turn on you and leave you as nothing more than a cold corpse."
Kirari's breathing grew faster.
Her fingers trembled slightly at her sides, not from fear, but excitement.
The Blood Wine meant submission. It meant placing her life and death in someone else's hands.
The experiment meant death. It meant that she could lose her life at any moment.
What would an ordinary person choose?
The Blood Wine, of course.
It was better to live than die. Even if they lost their freedom, at least they would remain alive.
But Kirari wasn't ordinary.
She smiled, and the chilling madness in that smile made Haruno's skin crawl.
"Is there a third choice?"
Her voice was soft, but the insanity behind it sent a shiver down Haruno's spine.
"I want both."
Haruno's eyes widened instantly.
Both?
The Blood Wine and the experiment?
Submission and death?
Was this woman insane?
Genichi stared at Kirari, and a glimmer flashed through his eyes.
Then he laughed.
It wasn't a cold or mocking laugh. It came genuinely and wholeheartedly from within.
His laughter rang through the silent laboratory, causing the cups on the desk to tremble.
He laughed for a long time before slowly beginning to applaud.
Once. Twice. Three times.
The sound of his clapping echoed through the room.
"Just as I expected. You didn't disappoint me."
His voice carried praise, satisfaction, and the excitement of discovering a kindred spirit.
"Of course there's a third choice."
Kirari's eyes shone like two blazing flames.
"Then I choose the third option. I want everything."
Genichi looked at her with an unusual light flickering in his eyes.
"If you fail to subjugate the evil spirit, you'll die. And I won't save a worthless failure."
"If I fail, then it only proves that I was never anything special."
Kirari's voice was frighteningly calm.
"If I die, I die."
Genichi nodded in satisfaction.
There was madness in this woman's eyes.
She neither feared death nor dreaded failure. All she felt was an insatiable desire for the unknown.
Someone like her was the perfect test subject for the Spirit Tamer experiment.
She wouldn't retreat, regret her choice, or lose her nerve at the critical moment.
Haruno stood nearby, watching the two smile at each other. A powerful sense of unease welled up inside her.
It wasn't simply concern about Kirari. It was an ominous premonition.
She had never seen that expression on Genichi's face before. It was the excitement of finding someone like himself, the admiration reserved for a worthy opponent, and the unspoken understanding of two people who recognized something familiar in each other.
The way he looked at Kirari was different.
Haruno tightened her grip on the hem of her skirt until her knuckles turned white.
She knew exactly what she was worried about.
Kirari wasn't Rias, Akeno, Sona, Kikyo, or Haruno herself.
Those women each had their own personalities, but all of them remained within Genichi's control. They were his pieces, and they were his women.
Kirari was different.
She was too dangerous, too uncontrollable, and too much like Genichi.
She would never be content with being a pawn. She wouldn't be satisfied with merely being his woman either.
She would only ever be herself: a mad, ravenous gambler who would risk everything for the thrill of the game.
Genichi stood and walked over to Kirari, looking down at her.
"From this moment forward, you are my test subject. I will give you power and turn you into a Spirit Tamer, but the price is this."
His voice turned cold.
"Everything you are belongs to me. Your body, your soul, your life, and your death. If I don't permit you to die, then you are forbidden from dying. If I don't permit you to fail, then you are forbidden from failing."
Kirari raised her head and stared at his face from only inches away. Her smile grew wider as she gazed into those deep eyes.
"Of course."
Her voice was soft, yet carried a conviction that made the heart tremble.
"My master."
Haruno watched from the side, her vision darkening in waves.
She knew that from this moment onward, Kirari might take a portion of her place in Genichi's heart.
Not all of it, but at least a small part.
She bit her lip and remained silent, standing there as still as a statue.
Genichi turned away and returned to the desk. He picked up a wineglass and filled it with red wine.
He bit the tip of his finger and allowed his blood to drip into the glass. The droplets spread through the wine like blooming flowers.
He held the glass out to Kirari.
"Drink."
Kirari accepted the glass and studied the blood-red liquid inside. The corners of her mouth rose slightly.
Without the slightest hesitation, she emptied it in a single swallow.
The instant the wine passed down her throat, she felt an unfamiliar power surge into her body and spread through the deepest reaches of her soul.
It felt warm and gentle, as though something were filling a void that had always existed within her.
She lowered the glass and stared at Genichi, her eyes brimming with excitement.
"And now?"
"Now, you wait," Genichi replied calmly. "Wait until my experiment is ready, until your body has adapted to that power, and until the evil spirit is ready to be subjugated. When the time comes, I'll tell you what to do."
Kirari nodded and turned toward the door.
When she reached it, she stopped and looked back at Genichi.
"Master, I won't disappoint you."
Genichi looked at her, a faint smile touching his lips.
"I know."
The door closed, and Kirari's footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
Silence returned to the laboratory, leaving only Genichi and Haruno behind.
Haruno remained where she was, her head lowered and her fingers still clenched around the hem of her skirt.
"Haruno."
Genichi's voice came from behind her.
She raised her head and looked at him.
He walked over, reached out, and gently stroked her hair.
"You did well."
Haruno's eyes reddened, but she held back her tears.
"Will she threaten my place beside you?"
Her voice was barely above a whisper, and it trembled slightly.
Genichi looked at her in silence for a moment before smiling.
"No. No one can threaten your place. You're Haruno, the first woman to drink my Blood Wine and the first person to serve me. She's only a test subject, while you…"
He paused.
"You are my woman."
Haruno's tears finally fell.
They weren't tears of sorrow, but relief.
She threw herself into Genichi's arms and held him tightly, burying her face against his chest.
Genichi embraced her and gently patted her back.
Moonlight streamed through the window, casting their overlapping shadows across the floor.
Haruno closed her eyes and felt Genichi's warmth, his heartbeat, and a peace unlike anything she had ever known.
Kirari's arrival wouldn't change anything.
Haruno was still his woman, and Genichi was still her master.
That was enough.
Out in the corridor, Kirari walked beneath the moonlight with a satisfied smile on her lips.
She lowered her eyes to her hand, a gleam shining within them.
That power was still coursing through her body, warm and gentle, like a promise waiting to be fulfilled.
She raised her head toward the moon and licked her blue-painted lips.
"A Spirit Tamer…"
She murmured to herself.
"How interesting."
(End of Chapter)
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