At the sudden, swelling presence of conflict, Leo did not quicken his pace; he stopped dead. His words to Toshikazu about not doing anything dangerous weren't empty promises, and his friend had warned him strictly against it.
Instinctively, Leo realized that what lay ahead was a realm where mere curiosity had no place.
(My turn ends here. I'll notify the Inspector and leave the rest to them.)
He pulled his communication unit from his pocket and sent a short email to the address Toshikazu had given him. The message read: "The vampire is here."
Since he sent it with location sharing enabled, if Toshikazu noticed it immediately, he would be able to pinpoint the suspect of the serial grotesque murders. Intending to withdraw before getting dragged in any deeper, Leo turned on his heel—only to spot a figure lying on a bench just ahead.
"Hey, you okay?"
He reached out tentatively, placing a hand against the person's neck.
"Alive."
A faint, weak pulse transmitted to his fingertips. Leo hurriedly pulled out his terminal again to call an ambulance—but reflexively, he spun around, raising the hand holding the device in front of his face.
It was only after he leaped backward that he realized his communication unit had been shattered and that his opponent's weapon was a telescopic baton.
(This sound again…)
A noise like the buzzing of insect wings generated deep within Leo's consciousness. He still didn't understand its meaning, but he felt this "voice" was a warning from a comrade urging him to retreat.
"Oh, shit!"
Realizing his opponent had sensed his distraction—and seeing them close the distance using Self-Acceleration magic—Leo judged in an instant that he had no time to cast defensive magic. He took the baton aimed at his side directly on his left arm. There was a dull sound of something crushing.
"That actually hurt, dammit!"
From behind the mask, the attacker radiated shock at the sight of the bent baton. Seizing the opening, Leo drove a body uppercut into the masked figure's chest. However, the impact felt hard against his fist.
"Carbon armor under the coat? Aren't we fancy."
In the exchange of blows, Leo noticed a few things. One was that the masked figure used a Kenpo style originating from China. And the other—
(This fist… a woman?)
While thinking, Leo moved his body to drive a right hook into the figure. But the moment his hand was grabbed, a sudden, overwhelming lethargy assaulted him.
"Wh-what!?"
Shocked that his body wouldn't obey him, Leo's movements dulled for a split second. The figure used that gap to thrust a fist toward Leo's chest, aiming for the heart.
Exploding with willpower, Leo restarted the motion of his right punch, barely managing to drive it into the figure's solar plexus.
(It wasn't a finishing blow… but I don't have the strength to resist anymore…)
It was praiseworthy that he hadn't lost consciousness, but resisting further was beyond him. Leo understood instinctively that if he let go of his consciousness now, he would be killed.
(Where the hell are you looking…?)
He felt a question arise as the masked figure looked not at him, but at something else entirely. Leo followed their gaze.
(Another woman…?)
In his fading consciousness, Leo felt—or perhaps imagined—that he saw a woman like a demon chasing down the masked figure.
Erika Chiba's mornings were early. It was her daily routine to work up a sweat training before the sun even rose.
Until she was ten, she did it simply because she couldn't disobey her father.
Until that moment at fourteen when she was made to painfully understand what she was, she did it trying to be more of a Chiba swordswoman than anyone else.
Until last March, she did it out of inertia.
But since last April, since meeting him, she did it because she wanted to. Of her own free will, she wanted to be strong.
(Not that someone like me could ever catch up to him, though.)
Recalling the face of a certain classmate, Erika washed her face with freezing cold water to snap her mind awake.
"Alright, time to change and go for a run…?"
Standing in front of her closet, about to change into her training wear, Erika's eyes caught the blinking notification light on her mobile terminal.
"That wasn't there last night… which means it was sent late, after I went to sleep. Either it's something incredibly important, or a text from a boring friend."
Erika didn't put it off; she opened the mail immediately. As she read the contents, she muttered, grinding her teeth with enough force to make a sound.
"That idiot brother of mine… what the hell is he making that moron do…?"
She roughly discarded her pajamas and changed her underwear. Instead of training gear, Erika pulled a sweater and skirt from the closet.
"I have to let Tatsuya-kun know… though he might already know."
Erika forwarded the text message sent by her 'idiot brother' directly to Tatsuya.
The bad news reached Tatsuya just as he finished preparing to leave for school.
"Onii-sama, is it bad news?"
Miyuki, seeing a text arrive on a channel rarely used, had a vague sense of the situation. However, sensing her brother's expression sharpen slightly, she asked anyway.
"It seems Leo was attacked by the vampire. Erika says she's taking the day off school because of it."
"Saijou-kun was? And why would that make Erika stay home?"
Are they lovers? Miyuki suspected for a fleeting moment, but her brother immediately negated that thought.
"Leo was cooperating with Erika's older brother—Chiba Toshikazu—in the investigation. It wasn't a formal cooperation, just a vague agreement to report anything suspicious. But Leo has an odd amount of curiosity. He probably got bothered by something and looked into it. Erika is likely nursing him because she feels guilty that her brother is the cause."
"So, where is Saijou-kun now?"
"He's receiving treatment at the Nakano Police Hospital. Fortunately, his life isn't in danger. We can visit him after school."
"—Yes."
To Miyuki, Leo was merely an acquaintance through Tatsuya. If Tatsuya said visiting after school was sufficient, she had no reason to object. Regardless of what she thought in her heart, Miyuki would never go against Tatsuya's words.
(Author's Note: For a human, he actually put up quite a good fight…)
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