explanation. "How did you do it, Shiki?" she asked, her voice cold and demanding. "How did you kill me?"
He hesitated, the words caught in his throat. How could he explain something he barely understood himself? But there was no escaping it, no avoiding the truth. He had to tell her.
"I..." Shiki began, his voice trembling. "I have this ability. I can see... lines. Lines on people, on objects, on everything. And when I trace those lines with a knife... things fall apart. They just... die."
Arcueid's eyes widened slightly, a flicker of recognition crossing her face. "The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception," she murmured, almost to herself. "So, that's what it is..."
Shiki looked at her, confusion and fear swirling in his mind. "Mystic Eyes of Death Perception? What does that mean?"
"It's a mythical ability," Arcueid explained, her voice tinged with awe. "The power to see the end of all things, to perceive the lines that represent the death of everything in existence. It's a fundamental law of the universe, something that shouldn't even exist in the human world. And yet... you have it."
Shiki stared at her, his heart pounding in his chest. The idea that he possessed something so powerful, so otherworldly, was overwhelming. It was no wonder he had always felt like an outsider, like there was something about him that didn't belong.
Arcueid's expression softened, a mixture of curiosity and something else—something almost like admiration—in her eyes. "But I want you to look at me now, Shiki. Look at my lines."
Shiki blinked, confused. "What? Why?"
"Just do it," Arcueid urged, her voice gentle but insistent. "It's night now, and I want you to see for yourself."
Reluctantly, Shiki nodded. He had no idea what she was getting at, but there was a certain intensity in her gaze that made him want to comply. He focused on her, allowing his eyes to adjust, to shift into that strange, unnatural perception that showed him the lines of death.
But as he looked at her, his breath caught in his throat. There were no lines.
Arcueid stood before him, bathed in the moonlight, and for the first time, Shiki saw someone who wasn't full of lines and cracks. She was whole, untouched by the threads of death that had always marred his vision. It was as if she existed outside the very concept of mortality, a being untouched by the forces that governed life and death.
He was completely entranced, unable to look away. In that moment, Arcueid wasn't just a vampire, wasn't just a monster from his nightmares. She was something more—something beautiful, pure, and utterly beyond his comprehension.
Arcueid smiled softly, as if she could see the awe in his eyes. "During the night, under the light of the moon, I have no concept of death," she explained quietly. "I am eternal, untouchable. The lines you see on others, the cracks in the world... they don't exist for me."
Shiki could only nod, his mind spinning with the implications. She was a being of the night, a creature born from the earth itself, and in the darkness, she was invincible. For the first time, he truly understood the gap between them—the vast, unbridgeable distance that separated a mortal boy from an immortal vampire.
But even in that understanding, there was a strange sense of peace. Arcueid wasn't just a monster to him anymore. She was something beautiful, something that transcended the fear and confusion that had gripped him since they met.
And as he looked at her, standing there in the moonlight, Shiki couldn't help but feel that maybe, just maybe, he was starting to understand.
"Those glasses," Arcueid said suddenly, breaking the silence. Her voice was soft, but there was a note of intrigue in it. "They're not ordinary, are they?"
Shiki looked up, startled by the sudden question. He hadn't expected her to take an interest in something so mundane, but then again, nothing about Arcueid was ordinary. "What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.
Arcueid turned to face him, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied the glasses perched on his nose. "They're enchanted," she stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I can feel the magic woven into them. They're not just for show—they have a purpose."
Shiki tensed, his fingers instinctively reaching up to adjust the glasses once more. He hadn't thought much about their origin in a long time; they had become a part of him, something he relied on to dull the overwhelming sight of the death lines that marred his vision. But now, with Arcueid's intense gaze on him, he couldn't ignore the significance of her words.
"Who made them?" Arcueid pressed, stepping closer. Her curiosity was palpable, almost childlike in its intensity. "The craftsmanship... it's exceptional. Whoever created these glasses is a master of magic."
Shiki hesitated, his mind racing as he tried to decide how much to reveal. Arcueid's piercing gaze left little room for evasion.
"Someone called Aoko," Shiki finally admitted, his voice low.
Arcueid's eyes widened in surprise, a flicker of recognition passing through them. "Blue," she repeated, her tone tinged with a hint of awe. "Miss Blue gave you these glasses? No wonder they are so resilient. Aoko Aozaki is an opponent even I wouldn't dare face."
The revelation hung in the air between them, a silent acknowledgment of the power that had gone into the creation of the glasses. Arcueid's curiosity deepened, her expression shifting from intrigue to something more covetous. "I wonder," she mused, "how those glasses would work for me... If they can suppress the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, perhaps they could be of use in ways I've yet to imagine."
Shiki's grip on the glasses tightened instinctively, a protective gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Arcueid. He shook his head firmly, his voice steady as he responded. "I can't let you have them."
Arcueid blinked, clearly taken aback by his refusal. She tilted her head, a small, amused smile playing on her lips. "You don't trust me, do you?"
Shiki met her gaze, a mixture of wariness and determination in his eyes. "You're a vampire," he said simply. "I've read the stories, seen the movies... Vampires aren't exactly known for being trustworthy. They're depicted as monsters that feed on the blood of the living, deceivers that use their beauty and charm to lure their prey."
Arcueid chuckled softly, the sound both amused and slightly mocking. "And you think I'm just like those fictional vampires? A bloodthirsty monster lurking in the shadows?"
"Am I wrong?" Shiki shot back, his tone edged with suspicion. Despite everything he had learned about her, despite the strange connection he felt, there was still a part of him that couldn't fully let go of his fear.
Arcueid's smile widened, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Why don't you guess how many people I've drained of blood, then?"
Shiki frowned, caught off guard by the question. He hesitated for a moment before hazarding a guess. "Ten?"
Arcueid shook her head, her smile never faltering. "Wrong."
"One hundred?"
"Still wrong."
Shiki's frown deepened as he considered his next guess. "One thousand?"
Arcueid let out a soft, melodious laugh, the sound filling the room with an almost ethereal quality. "You're way off," she said, a hint of pride in her voice. "I haven't drained a single drop of blood in hundreds of years."
Shiki stared at her in disbelief, his mind struggling to process what she had just said. It didn't make sense—how could a vampire, a creature that lived off blood, go so long without feeding at least once?
"That doesn't make any sense," he finally said, his voice tinged with confusion. "How can you survive without drinking blood?"
Arcueid shrugged, as if the answer were the simplest thing in the world. "I don't need it to survive. Unlike Dead Apostles, True Ancestors like me don't have the same insatiable thirst. We're closer to nature, to the Earth itself. I can go centuries without feeding."
Shiki's mind reeled at the revelation. The more he learned about Arcueid, the more he realized just how little he truly understood her, or the world she came from. And yet, despite the fear and uncertainty that gnawed at him, there was a strange sense of relief in knowing that she wasn't the bloodthirsty monster he had feared.
But before he could dwell on it further, a sudden, overwhelming heat began to build in the room. Shiki's breath hitched, his body breaking out in a sweat as the temperature rapidly climbed. It was as if the very air around him was thickening, pressing in on him from all sides.
"What... what's happening?" Shiki gasped, his voice strained as he struggled to stay upright.
Arcueid's expression changed in an instant, the playful glint in her eyes vanishing as she became eerily still. Her gaze flicked to the security monitor on the far wall, where the feed from the hotel's lobby was displayed. Shiki followed her gaze, his eyes widening in horror at what he saw.
On the screen, a shadowy figure stood in the center of the lobby, surrounded by burning corpses. The flames licked at the walls, an azure inferno that consumed everything in its path. The figure was shrouded in darkness, its features obscured, but there was an unmistakable aura of malevolence that radiated from it, seeping through the monitor and into the room.
Shiki's heart pounded in his chest, his mind racing as the heat in the room became unbearable. His vision blurred, the world around him warping as the temperature continued to rise. "Arcueid... what's going on?" he demanded, his voice laced with panic.
But Arcueid didn't respond. She was frozen in place, her eyes locked on the screen as if she were lost in some distant memory, or a nightmare come to life. Her usually vibrant presence had dulled, her expression vacant as the flames reflected in her eyes.
The heat pressed down on Shiki like a physical weight, crushing him with its intensity. He couldn't take it anymore. He had to get out, had to escape before he was suffocated by the oppressive heat.
"I can't... I need to leave," Shiki choked out, his voice barely audible as he stumbled toward the door.
Shiki fumbled with the door, his hands slick with sweat as he fought to open it. The moment it swung wide, a rush of cooler air hit him, and he staggered into the hallway, gasping for breath. The heat had abated slightly, but the lingering fear clung to him, gnawing at the edges of his mind.
He glanced back at the room, at Arcueid standing there, still frozen in place, lost to him. The door swung shut, cutting off his view, and with it, the last connection he had to the strange, terrifying world she inhabited.
...
As Shiki stumbled down the hallway, away from the searing heat and the horrors that awaited within, a single thought echoed in his mind: "What kind of nightmare have I been dragged into?"
And somewhere, in the distance, the sound of flames crackling, growing, consuming everything in their path, filled the silence, a reminder that the darkness was far from over.
He paused for a moment, feeling a shiver run down his spine. Something was wrong—terribly wrong. The lines of death that he could see with his Mystic Eyes had always been a source of unease for him, but now they seemed to pulsate with a dark energy that he had never encountered before. The lines on the elevator at the end of the hallway were thicker, darker, and more menacing than any he had ever seen. They twisted and coiled like serpents, wrapping themselves around the metal door, almost as if they were alive.
Shiki's breath hitched in his throat, his instincts screaming at him to turn back, to run away from whatever lay beyond those elevator doors. But something kept him rooted to the spot, a morbid curiosity mixed with a sense of dread. He knew that whatever was inside that elevator was something far worse than anything he had faced before.
The elevator doors creaked open with an agonizing slowness, revealing a scene of pure horror. The metallic tang of blood filled the air, thick and suffocating, as the light from the hallway spilled into the small compartment. Inside, a massive bear hunched over a sea of corpses, its fur matted with blood and gore. The creature's jaws were slick with the remains of its gruesome feast, and the floor of the elevator was a crimson lake, soaked through with the blood of its victims.
Shiki's stomach churned at the sight, his mind recoiling in revulsion as he imagined the sheer amount of death that had occurred in the hotel. It was as if the very walls were saturated with it, each life snuffed out contributing to the oppressive atmosphere that clung to the place like a shroud. His heart pounded in his chest, and for a moment, he couldn't move—couldn't think—paralyzed by the magnitude of what he was witnessing.
But the bear, disturbed by the sudden intrusion, lifted its massive head, its beady eyes locking onto Shiki with a predatory gleam. A low, guttural growl rumbled from its throat, a sound that sent ice-cold fear coursing through Shiki's veins. The creature lunged at him with terrifying speed, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat.
Shiki stumbled backward, his foot catching on the edge of the carpet. He crashed to the ground, pain lancing up his spine as he landed hard on his back. The bear was on him in an instant, its immense weight pressing down on his chest, crushing the air from his lungs. He could feel the heat of its breath on his face, smell the rancid stench of blood and decay that clung to its fur. Its jaws opened wide, ready to tear into his throat.
Desperation surged through Shiki as he fumbled for his glasses, tearing them off in a frantic motion. The world around him sharpened, the lines of death on the bear's body becoming painfully clear. With a shaky hand, he reached for the folding knife in his pocket, flipping it open with a click that seemed to echo in the silence.
The bear snarled, its teeth mere inches from his neck. Shiki didn't have time to think, to hesitate—he swung the knife in a desperate arc, aiming for the lines that crisscrossed the creature's throat. The blade sank into its flesh, but instead of cutting cleanly through, it became lodged in the bear's gullet, stuck in the thick muscle and sinew.
Panic set in as Shiki struggled to free his hand, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The bear's weight bore down on him, the pressure unbearable as he fought to maintain his grip on the knife. His mind flashed back to his conversation with Aoko. She had warned him of the burden that came with it, the responsibility of deciding who lived and who died.But now, in this moment, all he could think of was the blood on his hands. The memory of his sister, Akiha, crying, her small body trembling as she clung to him, flashed before his eyes. The guilt, the shame—it all came rushing back with a force that nearly overwhelmed him. He had sworn never to let that happen again, never to let himself be the cause of someone else's suffering.
But the bear's jaws were closing in, and he knew that if he didn't act, he would die here, crushed beneath the weight of this monster. He couldn't allow that—not when there was still so much he didn't understand, so much he needed to do.
With a final, desperate effort, Shiki twisted the knife, dragging it along the line of death that snaked across the bear's throat. The creature let out a strangled roar, its body convulsing as the line severed its lifeforce. For a moment, everything seemed to freeze—the bear, Shiki, the entire world held in a breathless silence.
Then, with a sickening gurgle, the bear collapsed on top of him, its massive form going limp as life drained from its eyes. Shiki gasped for air, his chest heaving as he pushed the dead weight off of him. He lay there for a moment, trembling, his mind reeling from the near-death experience.
When he finally found the strength to sit up, he looked around at the carnage that surrounded him. The hallway was eerily silent now, the only sound the faint crackle of distant flames. Shiki's gaze was drawn to the other end of the corridor, where a faint light flickered from the second elevator.
Before he could process what was happening, a piercing scream shattered the silence, echoing down the hallway and sending a chill through his bones. A woman's scream—filled with pure terror.
Shiki's instincts kicked in, and he scrambled to his feet, his body still trembling from the encounter with the bear. He didn't know who she was, didn't know if he could save her, but he couldn't just stand there and do nothing. He had to try.
The scream grew louder as the elevator doors slid open, revealing a figure stumbling out into the hallway. A young woman, her clothes torn and bloodied, her face contorted in fear and pain. She was running, her footsteps unsteady as she glanced back over her shoulder, desperation in her eyes.
Shiki started toward her, his mind racing. He had to reach her, had to get her out of there before—
A hand, wreathed in an azure inferno, shot out from the elevator, grabbing hold of her arm with a vice-like grip. The flames licked at her skin, and she let out a blood-curdling scream, her body convulsing as the fire seared her flesh.
Shiki froze in place, horror paralyzing him as he watched the scene unfold. The figure stepped out of the elevator, its face hidden in shadow, but the aura of death that surrounded it was unmistakable. The vampire's eyes gleamed with a predatory hunger as it pulled the woman closer, its fangs glinting in the flickering light.
Time seemed to slow as Shiki watched, helpless, as the vampire sank its fangs into the woman's throat. Her scream was cut off abruptly, replaced by a sickening gurgle as her lifeblood was drained from her body. The vampire's grip tightened, pulling her limp form closer as it fed, the flames surrounding them both casting long, twisted shadows on the walls.
Shiki's mind went blank, his body numb with shock and revulsion. The weight of the situation crashed down on him like a tidal wave, the reality of what he was witnessing too much to bear. He had seen death before—caused it with his own hands—but this was something else entirely. This was a violation, a desecration of life that left him feeling hollow and powerless.
He couldn't move, couldn't think. All he could do was stand there, watching as the vampire finished its grisly feast and tossed the woman's lifeless body aside like a discarded rag doll. The vampire's gaze shifted to him then, its eyes glowing with an unnatural light, and Shiki felt the icy fingers of fear claw at his heart.
The corridor was no longer just a pathway through the abandoned hotel. It had become a suffocating tunnel, thick with the stench of blood, smoke, and something far more ominous. The air around Shiki seemed to vibrate with an unnatural energy, a pressure that made it hard to breathe, hard to think. Every nerve in his body screamed at him to flee, to turn and run as fast as he could, but he stood rooted to the spot, his eyes locked on the figure advancing through the haze of the azure inferno.
The vampire moved with a deliberate, measured pace, as if the chaos he wrought was a mere afterthought, a prelude to the true violence he had yet to unleash. He was tall, his shoulders broad, wrapped in a thick furred coat that trailed behind him like the cape of some ancient warrior. His white hair, long and flowing, seemed almost to shimmer in the dim light, framing a face that was both cold and cruel. His crimson eyes gleamed with a predatory intensity, their depths promising nothing but death.
Shiki's heart pounded in his chest as he stared at the vampire, the lines of death etched across the figure's body more vivid and complex than any he had ever seen. They twisted and writhed like serpents, intersecting in ways that made Shiki's head spin, but at the core of the vampire, there was something else—a single, dark point. A cold dot that seemed to pulse with a malevolent energy, a void that drew in the light and warmth around it, leaving nothing but icy darkness in its wake.
He had seen many horrors since the day he had been given the Mystic Eyes, but nothing like this. The vampire—this thing—was unlike any of the monsters he had faced before. There was a purpose, a cold, calculated intelligence behind those eyes that made Shiki's blood run cold. He knew instinctively that this was no ordinary Dead Apostle. This was something far more dangerous.
The vampire raised his hand, and from his fingertips, fire erupted—blue, searing flames that licked at the walls, consuming everything in their path. The heat was intense, scorching the very air around Shiki, making it hard to breathe. He could feel the sweat beading on his forehead, his clothes sticking to his skin as the temperature in the hallway skyrocketed.
For a moment, Shiki was frozen in place, his eyes wide with terror as he watched the inferno roar toward him. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The flames were all-consuming, a wave of death that threatened to swallow him whole.
And then, in a blur of motion, she was there.
Arcueid appeared before him, her white dress glowing in the flickering light of the flames. With a force that took Shiki's breath away, she pushed him aside, her strength sending him sprawling to the ground. He hit the floor hard, the impact jolting the air from his lungs, but the pain was nothing compared to the sight before him.
Arcueid stood between him and the vampire, her back straight, her head held high. Her golden eyes blazed with an intensity that rivaled the flames themselves, a fierce determination that made it clear she would not allow this monster to lay a hand on Shiki. She was more than just a shield—she was an avenging angel, her presence commanding the space, bending the very fabric of reality around her.
The vampire paused, his hand lowering slightly as he regarded her with a mix of curiosity and disdain. The flames that had threatened to engulf Shiki seemed to waver, as if uncertain of their course.
Arcueid's voice cut through the roaring inferno like a blade. "State your name, invader," she commanded, her tone leaving no room for defiance. "Your inherited name."
For a moment, there was silence, the only sound the crackling of the flames and the distant wail of the wind outside. Then, the vampire spoke, his voice deep and resonant, carrying the weight of centuries.
"I am Vlov Arkhangel."
The name hung in the air, heavy with meaning that Shiki couldn't fully grasp, but he could see the recognition in Arcueid's eyes. She knew him. And from the way her expression hardened, she knew enough to understand the threat he posed.
"Vlov Arkhangel," she repeated, the name rolling off her tongue with a mixture of disdain and something that might have been pity. "So, you're the traitorous knight that destroyed Zaria Offenbaum to claim her place as a Dead Apostle Ancestor."
At her words, Vlov's lips curled into a sneer. The cold, calculated facade slipped for just a moment, revealing the twisted ambition that lay beneath. "Zaria was weak," he replied, his voice dripping with contempt. "She had grown complacent, blind to the power that was within her grasp. I merely took what was rightfully mine."
Shiki watched in a daze as the two ancient beings faced off, the tension between them palpable. Vlov's crimson eyes narrowed as he regarded Arcueid, and then, almost casually, he drew a weapon from the folds of his coat. It was a blade, long and thick like a machete, its edge gleaming with a dull, menacing light. It was a weapon designed for brutality, for cleaving through flesh and bone with ease.
"I am Vlov," he intoned, his voice echoing in the corridor like the toll of a funeral bell. "The Hunter from the North. And I have come here to claim your head, Arcueid Brunestud."
There was no hesitation in his words, no doubt. It was a statement of intent, a promise of violence that chilled Shiki to the core. Vlov raised the blade, the flames around him flaring brighter, as if feeding off the malevolence in his heart.
But Arcueid did not flinch. Instead, she stepped forward, her golden eyes locking onto Vlov's, her posture radiating confidence and power. "You're welcome to try," she said, her voice low and dangerous. "But know this—I will not fall to a traitor like you."
Shiki could only watch, his mind reeling from the sheer magnitude of the confrontation before him. This was a battle between titans, beings who existed on a plane far beyond his understanding. He felt like an intruder, a child caught in the crossfire of gods and monsters. And yet, he could not look away.
Vlov moved first, his blade cutting through the air with terrifying speed. The flames around him surged forward, a torrent of blue fire aimed directly at Arcueid. But she was faster, her body a blur as she dodged the attack with a grace that was almost inhuman. The flames roared past her, scorching the walls and ceiling, but Arcueid remained untouched, her eyes never leaving Vlov.
With a flick of her wrist, she summoned her own power, a wave of energy that slammed into Vlov with the force of a tidal wave. The vampire staggered, the flames around him flickering as he struggled to maintain his footing. But he recovered quickly, his blade flashing as he launched another attack, this time aimed directly at Arcueid's heart.
The battle was like nothing Shiki had ever seen. The hotel corridor, once a place of eerie silence, was now a war zone, the walls and floor shaking with the force of the blows being exchanged. Vlov's flames were relentless, a sea of blue fire that threatened to consume everything in its path, but Arcueid met each attack with a counter of her own, her golden eyes blazing with an unyielding determination.
Shiki could only watch in awe and terror as the two ancient beings clashed, their powers shaking the very foundations of the hotel. He had seen Arcueid's strength before, but this was different. This was a battle for survival, for dominance, and she fought with a ferocity that took his breath away.
But Vlov was no ordinary opponent. His movements were precise, calculated, each strike aimed to kill. He was a hunter, and he had set his sights on Arcueid with a determination that chilled Shiki to the bone. The cold dot at the center of his being pulsed with a dark energy, feeding the flames that surrounded him, driving him forward with a relentless hunger.
And yet, as he watched them fight, Shiki couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else at play here, something deeper. The cold dot in Vlov's core—it wasn't just a source of power. It was something more, something that called to him, that made the lines of death he saw seem insignificant in comparison.
It was death itself, Shiki realized with a start. The purest form of it, a void that consumed everything in its path, leaving nothing but cold and darkness behind. It was a power that defied the natural order, that twisted the very fabric of reality to its will.
And Vlov wielded it with a terrifying ease.
The realization hit Shiki like a punch to the gut. This was not just a battle between two powerful beings. It was a struggle for survival against a force that was beyond anything he could comprehend, a force that threatened to consume everything in its path.
But Arcueid was undeterred. She faced Vlov head-on, her every movement precise and controlled, her golden eyes locked onto his with a determination that burned brighter than the flames around them. She was the White Princess, the True Ancestors, and she would not be brought down by a mere Dead Apostle.
Shiki could only watch from his place on the sidelines, his heart pounding in his chest. He could hardly keep up with the speed and ferocity of their attacks. Arcueid was a blur of white and gold, her lithe form weaving through Vlov's relentless assaults. Her golden eyes burned with a fierce determination, but it was clear to Shiki that something was wrong.
Arcueid was struggling.