A year had passed since Hayato became family. In more ways than one, he was a little brother to all. Yukino expressed that the most and even asked for advice from her parents.

“It’s far simpler, honey,” Tokino held her shoulder. “Love Hayato as you love us. But if you want to know him better, just bond more.”

Haruto kneeled and smiled at his daughter. “Don’t force it, though. Give him time to learn for himself.”

“Okay!” she smiled back, head cocked with closed eyes. She went to the game room, where her little brother played Harvest Moon with Kenkō. Unexpectedly, her helping him with the chickens made his heart bounce.

“Can you help me with the hay, Sis?” turned Hayato with bright eyes.

“Sure. I don’t see why not.” She patted his head, which made him giggle. Internally, she patted herself with the precise wording.

The tables indeed had turned, thought Kenkō about the two. Even in her wildest dreams, she had never seen them grow by the second. She sat between them closer. “I hope you’ll be ready, Yukichi, Hayataro….” They had played for an hour.

At that moment, Hokori’s family rode their airship once more. Kakunō drove far into Pantaiyanilam’s borders. Thankfully, caffeine patches were readily available. No one complained about turbulence for the first time.

Hokori’s brow raised upon seeing none had changed their look. For him, buying highly regenerative attire was the perfect excuse. His family had none, so he cleared his throat at Haruto. The latter got up from the library chair.

He patted his shoulder, which made him express pain lightly. “Say, boy… you guys ever get tired of the same clothes? I don’t, cuz my drip’s just that good.” He went on to say the gray bandages on his torso and arms were always his favorite.

Haruto pried the hand off. “Yeah, yeah… your hat and jeans are cool and all. You’re not saying I’m not that. Are you, Bro? I got this from my anniversary.” He noted his red shirt with gold kanji.

He grinned, “Hahahahahahaha!” and sighed. “Nah, boy. One’s cool when they know they are!” He raised his arms in a T-shape. “My point here is: ya got fresh ones or nah?”

“Yes, brother,” Tokino butted in, closing her book. “We Minagawas always had a favored tailor. Bald but with gold teeth. I intend Hayato to meet him after our mission.”

With such a vague description, he somehow got a vivid image internally. He chuckled at his sister, who got off her chair. “You know, kid? I like surprises, but how small do you think the world really is?” He pointed with a faint smile.

Her eyes squinted. “Pardon? Brother, what are you talking—”

“Enough of the chitchat, folks!” Kakunō butted in next from afar. “We’re going into another beast’s belly.” He slowly drove the airship downward. The enemy could have lurked in midair.

Hokori chuckled again and looked down at Tokino. “I’ll tell ya later, kid. Remember what you gotta do now?”

“Yes, of course.” Tokino nodded and sat back down. Her sister and two children gathered around as she closed her eyes. Foresight was of utmost importance before the upcoming battle.

She squinted harder and could feel her husband’s hands cupped on one of hers. Minutes in, her magic could now view kilometers outside. However, it did not last long. She foresaw some enemies below the land, but one made her eyes open fast.

Her family got startled as she went for a sink; Haruto thought she had taken one step since the library was never near it. The vile contents spilled like a waterfall. She continued for thirty seconds.

“What’s wrong?” Haruto rubbed her back.

She turned on the spigot and dried her mouth. “Take us down faster,” she turned to Kakunō in the cockpit. “There’s no time to waste.”

“No can do, ma’am.” He continued the airship’s pace. “Vampires are one of the most unpredictable—”

“Just do it!!” She panted heavily with narrowed eyes. As if all her energy expended, she went back to sitting. “Sorry, kids….” She smiled at Yukino and Hayato, whose faces filled with concern. However, they showed confidence even more so.

Kakunō saw the two hugging their mother with all they had. He turned to the screen again and sighed. “This new tech better work.” With a button press, the airship turned invisible. It sliced through the air upon its descent.

Down below, Vetusian mages protected ⅓ of the nation’s borders. They had always kept in touch with their Novus and Lacus comrades of equal jurisdiction.

Sadly, an untimely siege occurred. The undead army stood victorious—not an ounce of spoils left to rot. Beyond the border lay the Stoker Dominion. The realm of endless night. Their weather machines solidified that in their “newfound land.”

Countless villages have had rebellions only to feel the boot faster than the other side. None had perished since then. In fact, the army promised prosperity—and another prospect.

A general, pale as quartz, stood before a sweating crowd. The tall brunette wiped one’s mouth of any wasted meal. “Praise the Gods, brothers, and sisters…” she bowed. “Vampire or not, it shan’t matter. But we are also ‘missionaries,’ by your tongue.

She held her chest. “Enlightenment awaits the good and ugly! And what better way to give it through a checkbox. Your kind was always so ingenious.”

A swarm of bats flew around the sky and landed near the villagers. Several soldiers handed out papers to every man, woman, and child. Surprisingly, it was simple: Vampirism or none, everyone would remain equal.

The general called everyone’s attention with her finger raised. “Save the quarrels for later. The ballot starts tomorrow.” She walked closer and smirked while looking down. Before they knew it, two young siblings got separated from their mother.

“Alas,” her head moved up, “I fear anyone dying as we sink our teeth into you. For absolute sincerity, I’ll personally find out your village’s potential.” She went inside a military hut. No one knew of her licked lips as the hatch closed.

The undead army already had three people strapped in cold metal chairs. Only one sat and struggled. “Please end this!” he exclaimed to the general. “Your Carmilla and our majesties knew peace long before I walked! We—”

A thin stream of blood came out of her finger. It aimed right at the man’s socket. His head lowered, and the two children held each other close.

She lowered her hand. “That’s Lady Carmilla to you. And frankly, my men find the other one better.” She turned to the younger sister. “Come, little one. Just relax in your seat, and the pain will be less than a rose thorn.”

As the girl did as told, the general licked her lips again. “That’s it.” The former became confused as to why she went down.

The older brother got restrained by two guards. He could hear screams—but such agony before him was unknown. One thing for certain was that his sister expressed nothing else. Eventually, she shook in place.

Minutes later, the girl breathed heavily into tears. Her skin paled, and guards carried her outside. The general giggled with closed eyes and smirked at the boy. “The main course….” Drool came out on both ends.

He moved backward against a wall and breathed louder than his sister. Salty drops became the size of pinheads. “I-I don’t understand.” The stutter worsened. “M-My friend w-w-was just like you. He told me a n-n-neck bite was enough!”

She grabbed his shoulders before he could react and stroked his crown. “Shhhhh… Relax. Your friend’s right, but I found a better way.” Licking her lips once more, she slowly opened his legs. “Here’s hoping you taste just as good.” Her fangs doubled in length.

Outside the village, soldiers squinted at seven flashing lights in the distance. Little did they know that the villagers would be more shocked. As if in one timeframe, all the vampires disappeared into dark ash. Then, seven figures stood before them.

Inside the hut, fear clad the boy, eyes closed as the general moved her hand below. Then, debris had flung everywhere. She shielded her eyes and created a blood sword. Unfortunately, another went through her mouth well beyond vampiric senses.

Tokino lunged the general into a wall that utterly fissured. The latter tried pulling the blade off as the sting in her throat worsened. Moments later, her family escorted the boy from the hut. Yukino volunteered to help him find his sister.

Hokori looked back. “You joinin’ the fun or nah?”

She shook her head and pinned down the enemy. “I’ll catch up in a minute. It’s like you say: I gotta relish my glory.”

Her brother grinned and flash-stepped onto the battlefield. Now alone, her heart raced to its limit as she yanked out her rapier. Her left grip could crack even a vampire’s maxilla and mandible.

“Shut up…” she showed nothing but deadpan rage. “I’ll never be a bigot. But you, and you alone, are an overgrown leech.” Runes ran across her whole blade. It burst into a yellow inferno.

The general gasped widened as the sword aimed at her chest. She pleaded, but her mouth got covered. The lone tip made the shrieks and tears begin. Struggled as she did, there was no escape. The movement now went slower, and her vision went black.

Tokino stood and kicked away the ash and went out of the hole she made. Luckily, her husband was not too far. He had decided to stay where most villagers were.

Multiple soldiers hissed at sixty decibels and flew onto her as bats. Her eyes lowered again with sheer annoyance. “Fuck off….” She had no way of decapitation, yet their hearts were like massive bullseyes.

On the other hand, such a method was Haruto’s preference. He now wielded one sword with two effects. Turning silver, a razor slash flew kilometers across a plain; trees got cut down to size alongside heads.

The blade turned to gold. Its aura’s reach was divisive as its edge was bar none. He swung diagonally upward and bifurcated a house by accident. Even blood swords could not stand its might. His own moved around like a ribbon dance of red.

Not a scratch lay on him. Sadly, such keen senses could not prepare a move from behind. His cheeks reddened as Tokino giggled. “Let’s enjoy it together from now on, honey.” She turned her weapon to the charging soldiers. Runes on her nape glowed.

Haruto’s own had also glowed. He smiled, beaming with excitement. “Of course. Forever till the end.”

In another area, neither vampire nor villager showed anything but terror. No man came saving them—but the world’s most vicious beast. A vampire’s red eyes, when enraged, could not compare to its fiery pupils.

Hokori’s “elegance,” today, was throwing heads that gave his foes seamless new ones. Like the Gods had left the soldiers, the artificial night was not on their side. Next, he yawned and aimed at chests instead.

His family caught his whereabouts and sweated bullets at the village homes. Cruel that he had sung the chorus of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” Luckily, Hayato was quick to intervene. All the flames gathered around each other in the sky. With a finger snap, it exploded safely. Despite his uncle’s “fun time,” no resident felt the wrath.

The boy from before, now with his sister, gasped and pointed at the distance. “Look, look! There’s more!” The other villagers hoped it was just more of the undead army. Their saviors would crush them in no time, declared the girl. Sadly, they saw more despair. Several cried out for their loved ones.

The remaining soldiers tied everyone they could find on a railway. A lieutenant sweater bullets at Hokori’s family, but he stood his ground. “Lay down your red hands! Or we’ll shed more than needed!”

Haruto looked at the long train on the other side. It reminded him so much of his nation’s subways. “This isn’t good.” He gripped his sword tighter. “We’ll have to redirect the tracks enough to—”

Hokori ran past everyone at lightning speed. “Don’t threaten me with a good time, y’all! Woooooooooooh!!!”

His brother reached out a hand. “No, Bro, don’t! Stopping trains isn’t like in the movies!”

His warnings fell on deaf ears. He stood and grinned at the incoming transport. For anyone else, it would be a moving blur. The soldiers took no chances and left the tied villagers for dead.

He chuckled and raised a palm in front. “Woah there, cowboy….” The entire bullet train bent upward like a deformed accordion. Even for Palladium, each metallic part folded into irreversible scrap.

Everyone covered their eyes and ears when the impact rang with a million bangs. They had felt the shockwave’s biting wind. Opening again, they sweated more, especially the vampires. There lay a hundred-meter deep ravine between Hokori and the transport.