"Look, it's the Ursus!"
Rose hid behind some rubble, looking at a bear-like creature munching down on the remains of a cafe. It had a thick golden-brown mane, similar to a lion's.
"It should have..."
She quickly flipped through her booklet.
"Found it! Its mane can transform into a coat of lightning."
As she whispered the beast's information, Cyril observed the area.
In the remains of the cafe were hiding a group of people, not daring to utter a single word for fear of attracting the beast.
It's an opportunity!
Before Rose finished reading all the available information in the booklet, he stood up from hiding and walked out in the open.
"What are you doing?" she whispered to him in confusion.
Instead of answering her, Cyril sped up, reaching the bear before it reacted.
He used all his strength and punched the bear's snout.
With a whimper, Ursus stumbled away. A fang fell on the ground with a quiet thud.
It growled and stood on its hind legs, making itself bigger. The golden fur around it glowed and crackled, transforming into lightning.
Cyril stood still, not backing down. Morpho on his shoulder spread her wings in determination.
Ursus roared, showing its single sharp fang.
Then, suddenly, it turned around and ran away, disappearing into the woods without looking back.
Morpho's wings froze, then drooped in disappointment.
Most beasts are quick to escape...
Instead of pursuing, he observed the bear's departure and turned towards the cafe.
"You are safe now."
The people slowly got out, thanking him repeatedly.
There was a family of three among them. The small child clutched his parents' hands and sent Cyril a cautious look.
"Thank you, Mr. Knight!"
Cyril stoically nodded and pointed them in the direction of the nearest shelter. And with that, they left.
The kid's awed and grateful voice kept echoing in his head, bringing a certain sense of satisfaction.
"Another step towards our pristine reputation!"
"Good job, I guess," Rose weakly congratulated him on the way, notebook resting at her side.
"We'll have other opportunities. There's still time."
I don't know why the knights are not solving the situation instantly, but I am not going to complain.
"Maybe we should investigate? Something bigger must be brewing in a place we can't see!"
I am not doing that. We are here to enjoy ourselves.
"I think it would've been enjoyable..."
…
Strolling through the zoo, they've encountered plenty more magic creatures.
Together they've analyzed them to the fullest, experimenting in whatever ways they could. Rose had seemingly infinite suggestions about what to do, stopping herself only due to limited time.
If they happened to meet visitors who needed help, Cyril would prioritize their rescue, earning himself plenty of looks filled with gratitude.
Both Cyril and Rose had brighter faces than normal, enjoying their zoo trip to the fullest.
During this time, the zoo grew quiet as the chaos around slowly settled.
It wasn't due to knights finally taking action.
Many magic creatures had already taken over certain territories and made themselves at home. None of them seemed too eager to escape.
"This must be because of the manaveins," Rose said with a thoughtful expression.
The two of them were walking in the forest currently, hoping to encounter something.
"The city is rich in mana, far richer than any wilderness."
"As mages, we enjoy being near a manavein, and these creatures are the same."
Cyril nodded in agreement.
"It might be even more beneficial for them. After all, they use magic on a biological level."
He suddenly raised his arm, motioning for silence.
Rose's expression immediately became wary, and she looked around.
When they walked some distance more, she began hearing it too.
The characteristic ding of a spell hitting a barrier was a familiar sound to them as students.
They approached the area as quietly as they could.
Soon they reached the high wall marking the end of the zoo's territory.
There was a figure standing right in front of the walls, throwing dark red spells in hopes of exploding a path outside.
So far it has been a fruitless endeavor. The barrier didn't even flinch.
"That's…!"
Rose's face showed excitement as she got a good look at who they've encountered.
It was a woman of about twenty years with white hair and red eyes.
The vampire...
Cyril's interest was quickly piqued as well. Even Morpho on his shoulder leaned a little closer.
Surely this creature had a lot more tricks than displayed back during the show.
Cyril and Rose looked at each other and nodded at the same time.
He confidently walked in front without trying to hide, while she followed behind with a notebook at the ready.
When the vampire heard someone, her slightly longer ears twitched a little, and she turned around, hands raised defensively.
"Who's there?"
"Don't worry, we don't work at the zoo. We simply wanted to find out more about you!" Rose said with a friendly smile, though her eyes held a certain fascinated spark.
"Hah! You humans are all the same. I am not your lab rat! Go away, unless you want to die!"
The vampire raised her arm, a threatening red light dancing in her palm.
Cyril pretended like he didn't hear her just now and continued walking, which made the vampire frown further.
"Is it true that you can turn other people into vampires too?" he asked with curiosity.
The vampire didn't reply. She instead threw a bolt of dark red energy at him.
Cyril, using Dragon Art, destroyed the spell with his backhand.
The vampire hastily threw a few more spells, but they've met a similar fate.
Seeing this didn't work, she jumped back, creating more distance.
She raised her hand and bit it, letting blood flow.
Instead of falling to the ground the blood stayed in the air, morphing into something, taking on a concrete form.
A dark red blade was soon in the vampire's right hand.
She pointed it at Cyril, her other hand in a claw shape.
"Close-quarters combat, huh? Perfect!"
The vampire dashed close, swinging with her sword.
Slow.
Cyril easily dodged the blade and threw a punch.
However, his fist went straight through the vampire's body, as if hitting air.
Her flesh instantly transformed into a dark cloud, phasing through him.
Behind Cyril's back now, she materialized again and slashed with her sword.
She was incredibly quick. There was no way for Cyril to react in time.
Thankfully he never fought alone.
Morpho, who was long since ready on his shoulder, flew out like a cannonball at the vampire, hitting her directly.
The vampire fell on the ground while clutching her stomach.
Over the course of the day, Morpho had made big progress in the execution of Selene's technique.
However, it still took the vampire only a moment to recover, which was a lot shorter than Cyril expected.
"Looks like vampires have good control over their bodies."
"W-What kind of butterfly is that!" The vampire quickly got up from the ground and distanced herself step by step.
"Are you done fighting?" Cyril asked provocatively as he turned around.
"Tsk!"
The wound on the vampire's arm from the bite earlier suddenly started leaking a lot of blood.
"How do vampires have so much blood in their bodies? We need to find out!"
Soon all of the leaked blood flowed to the side, forming a cloud of red bats.
The vampire and her bats now attacked simultaneously, one going for Cyril and the others going for Morpho.
At the incoming blade, Cyril didn't dodge as the vampire anticipated.
Instead, he grabbed the blade directly with his left arm.
The vampire in disbelief stared at how her sword was actually stopped by his flesh, not able to advance further.
Cyril didn't waste this opportunity and threw a punch with his right hand, this time hitting the stunned enemy with no problem.
The vampire's body was thrown in the air before dropping on the ground.
The vampire's body trembled and recovered in a moment.
In the meantime, Morpho was able to easily dodge all of the attacks thrown by clumsy bats.
Butterflies excel at sudden, unpredictable movements midair. Combined with Morpho's unnatural traits, this made her remarkably effective at evading enemy strikes.
Before the cloud of bats could try anything else, it dissipated due to its owner losing focus.
The disappointed Morpho flew back to Cyril.
From now on it couldn't be called a fight anymore. The vampire was powerless to stop them.
Morpho and Cyril's teamwork was something special. They were almost in perfect sync with each other.
It was like they were reading each other's minds.
At this stage Rose began throwing out her suggestions, and they've performed plenty of experiments.
The vampire's fangs were twice the size of a human's.
Their structure was also subtly different. At the top of each fang was an almost imperceptible tiny hole.
During their fog form, they were impervious to physical damage, but certain attacks made with magic could harm them.
Rose and Cyril examined the vampire's body in the name of scientific curiosity.
"I still can't tell how their bodies do what they do... It must be something in their blood that's special," Rhamn said, stroking her chin in contemplation.
Throughout the experiment, she too would throw a few suggestions here and there.
"You perverts! Maniacs! Just kill me already!" the vampire yelled while lying on the ground, with tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.
...It feels different when the magic creature looks so much like a human.
Did we go too far?
Cyril observed her pitiful state with some guilt.
"Of course not! She attacked us first, and now she lost. It's not our fault she was this weak!"
Rose acted as if she didn't hear anything. She looked down at her filled notebook, nodding with a smile on her face.
Cyril stood over the vampire, his cold blue eyes flatly looking down at her. "No one's interested in your body, don't worry. We just wanted to know more about your kind."
For some reason, hearing his words, the vampire's tears began to flow harder.
How troublesome...
"If-if only I weren't starved, if it weren't for this stupid sun, you would've groveled under my feet, you human!" she mumbled through clenched teeth.
It would've been threatening if it didn't come through all the tears and snot.
With a somewhat guilty conscience, Cyril waited until the vampire calmed down.
"If you want to escape, you should head in that direction..."
"Cover your appearance and slip through the gate. It shouldn't be too hard for you."
While on their trip, Rose and Cyril met plenty of zoo staff, who kept telling them to enter the evacuation zone.
It was quite messy in there. The vampire should be able to sneak out. She didn't look too different from a human.
The vampire cautiously stared at Cyril and got up on her feet.
Seeing him remain motionless, she slowly started gaining speed, running in the direction he pointed.
"I will not forget this! I will have my revenge!"
Leaving such threatening words behind. She disappeared among the trees.
"Are you fine with that? I think she meant it."
Rose stared into the trees with a wary look.
"There are still experiments we could perform. If she returns, she should expect that. Doesn't that imply her agreement?"
"Haha, that's true. Be sure to share the results with me when the time comes."
Not putting too much weight into this encounter, they continued on their way.