Chapter 101: Vampire Attack!
At the same time.
The ink-black night soaked the residential district of Tokyo's shitamachi.
Perhaps because it was late at night, the streets of this upscale neighborhood were enveloped in deathly silence.
For this reason, even the slightest disturbance would be especially noticeable.
Like now, as a shadowy figure darted swiftly down the street under the cover of darkness, the faint sound of footsteps echoing distinctly.
But the footsteps soon came to a halt in front of a house.
The figure gazed toward the second floor of the building.
[I've found it—the location of the superior vessels. There are three individuals with exceptionally high compatibility.]
The eerie figure spoke slowly.
Under the cold moonlight, it was clear to see that the person wore a long coat, a scarf, and a rounded hat.
They were completely wrapped up, save for a pair of eyes that shone unnaturally bright even in the dark.
Not only that, but their method of communication was also highly unusual.
It wasn't through sound vibrations, nor did they make any noise, yet they managed to contact someone far away without using a phone.
[Begin the operation. These individuals may become one of us. Even if they fail, they can still serve as our most valuable samples.]
[Understood.]
Their communication ended there.
Immediately after, the figure suddenly leaped to a height no human could possibly reach, then a movement spell swept over their body as they forcibly shattered the window of the building before them.
Crash!
The glass shattered instantly, and the figure successfully entered the room.
But the moment they landed, they were met with a fist the size of a sandbag hurtling toward their face.
"Incredible speed!"
The intruder had only this single shocked thought left, instinctively raising their arms to block the incoming punch.
But it wasn't that easy.
The moment the fist struck their arms, the intruder felt a force no human could possibly generate—it was like being hit by a speeding dump truck!
Boom!!
A visible shockwave exploded through the air, and an irresistible force sent them flying backward, slamming them into the wall.
"What kind of monster is this...?"
"Monster? Heh."
A cold laugh echoed from the darkness.
"If you knew it was a monster, why did you barge into the monster's lair looking for death? Now, tell me—who sent you? Who dares to attack me in the middle of the night?"
The owner of the voice gradually stepped out of the shadows.
The pale moonlight spilled into the bedroom, illuminating a perfectly proportioned figure, muscular contours barely concealed by sleepwear, and a pair of cold, black-pearl-like eyes set in a face of flawless beauty.
That person was Mahiro.
He had been sleeping peacefully in bed when the sound of shattering glass jolted him awake.
Then he saw the intruder dressed like someone from 18th-century England.
So he decided to offer a friendly greeting.
At this moment, the man facing Mahiro, who was terrifying with just his physical prowess alone, couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
This boy was indeed the perfect vessel, but... it seemed he wasn't someone that just [we] could afford to provoke.
"Not going to speak?"
Mahiro took a slow step forward. "It's fine. Even if you refuse to talk, I can make you speak... slowly."
Before his words could fade, a worried voice suddenly came from outside the bedroom door.
"Mahiro-sama, has something happened? I heard a loud noise..."
Minami, concerned, had forced the door open without waiting for Mahiro's permission.
The first things that caught her eye were the shattered window and the curtains swaying gently in the night breeze. Then came the strange, sunken cracks on the wall and the unfamiliar figure crouched against it.
The man raised his head, locking eyes with Minami. Instantly, she sensed danger!
Mahiro-sama is in danger!
The girl instinctively reached that conclusion.
She was about to rush in to protect Mahiro, but the intruder seemed even quicker, already charging toward her.
"Changed targets to me, huh?"
The girl swiftly adjusted her judgment and immediately conjured an antimatter barrier in front of her.
Thud!
The assailant's attack was completely blocked by the transparent wall, unable to break through even slightly.
As a second-generation adjusted mage of the "Sakura" series, originally designed to serve as a guard, the durability of her barriers was already on par with the Phalanx of the Juumonji family—let alone after further enhancements.
Now, her barrier could withstand even a high-yield nuclear explosion without excessively draining her lifespan.
Just then, a familiar figure reflected in her amber eyes.
Mahiro-sama!
Mahiro appeared like a ghost behind the attacker.
"Where are you looking? Your opponent is me!"
Hearing this voice, the intruder's hair stood on end as overwhelming dread surged through him. The moment he turned his head, a powerful gust of wind pressure slammed into his face.
In the next instant, within his pupils, which glowed faintly yet contracted violently, a devastating whip kick exploded against his face.
Bam!!
A shockwave rippled through the air as the gray mask adorned with a spread-winged black bat shattered.
The intruder, whose entire body was concealed beneath a long coat with not an inch of skin exposed, crashed into the wall with a thunderous impact!
Blood splattered alongside crumbling debris. His severely wounded body had lost all strength, and his back slid down the cracked wall, scraping against it until he slumped to the floor.
A monster.
An absolute monster.
Since his replication and birth, neither he nor his brethren had ever encountered a vessel of this caliber. Even Angelina Kudou Shields, the Stars' captain, wasn't this absurd.
To think his body could be so thoroughly wrecked...
"...An American?"
Mahiro gazed down at him indifferently, then reached out, gripping his head and yanking him out of the wall. Like cracking an egg, he slammed him hard onto the floor.
After a dull thud that echoed through the attic, the intruder lay there, face covered in blood, pupils slightly unfocused, his body completely immobilized.
Looking at that familiar face, Mahiro recalled that this person seemed to be mentioned in the intelligence Maya had provided, so he spoke up to confirm:
"Charles Sullivan, the satellite-class warrior of STARS—'Demos Second,' right?"
"..."
Even after being exposed, the man remained silent.
Not because he couldn't speak, but because he didn't want to. Most importantly, it was as if he was waiting for something.
"Looks like there's more to this than meets the eye..."
Mahiro muttered to himself with a subtle expression.
Just moments ago, he had scanned the other party's information body, only to discover a minor anomaly.
The man's information body was different from that of an ordinary person. There seemed to be an extra mass at the point where the left and right hemispheres of the brain connected—like a tumor.
Not only that, but there was also a [foreign object] present near the heart.
What the hell was that thing?
It resembled a parasite, but calling it a material lifeform didn't seem quite right.
It felt more like a spiritual entity.
That's right—some kind of non-material lifeform had parasitized and was controlling this body in a manner akin to a spiritual entity.
If he had to describe it, it was like the familiars or spirits employed in Shinto rituals...
At that moment, an intense wave of exhaustion suddenly surged from the hand gripping the man, forcing him to instinctively let go.
"Young Master Mahiro!"
Seeing Mahiro suddenly stand up, Minami hurriedly prepared to deploy an antimatter barrier to shield him, but Mahiro moved faster than she could.
"Stay the hell still!!!"
He abruptly raised his leg high above his head and stomped down with tremendous force!
BOOM!!!
The entire house trembled slightly before settling back into the quiet embrace of the night.
[I have failed. The physical strength of Subject One exceeds the limits of what a human body should possess. It is not recommended as a target for possession.]
[Understood. Rest in peace, our comrade.]
.....
Meanwhile, at Mahiro's residence.
A large hole had been torn through the floor of the room, leading straight down to the living room.
The intruder, Sullivan, had been reduced to a headless corpse, the parasitic entity within him completely frozen.
A mere spiritual entity? As a child of the Yotsuba, dealing with such ghostly, mind-related entities was his specialty.
But he wasn't the only one under attack.
Next door, at the Shiba residence, a battle had also erupted.
Tatsuya was locked in combat with an assailant whose face was concealed beneath a long coat, while Miyuki stood nearby, gripping her CAD as bright Psionic Light shimmered around her, providing support.
"Miyuki, use Cocytus—freeze him!"
"Mahiro-nii?!"
Hearing the sudden voice, Miyuki froze for a split second before quickly understanding. She pressed a few buttons on her CAD, and her gem-like eyes instantly took on a frosty hue.
"Cocytus"—activate!
"Onii-sama, get out of the way!"
The moment the spell was cast, Tatsuya feinted at the attacker before leaping aside.
Looking down, he saw a chilling mist-like frost erupt from the spot where he had just stood. The intruder, enveloped in the haze, gradually stiffened as his consciousness was frozen.
As a physical consequence, crystalline formations began to spread across his body.
Within moments, he had been completely encased in ice, transformed into a frozen sculpture.
——"Mist Dispersion"——
Entering through the genkan, Mahiro, who had arrived with Minami, raised the "Nightmare" and aimed at the statue, simultaneously pulling the trigger.
The crystalline statue, along with its frozen spirit, was disintegrated into nothingness.
This was his clever little trick for dealing with spiritual entities.
Since spirits have no physical form and disintegration is ineffective against them, he simply froze the spiritual entity, turning it into "substance." That way, couldn't it be disintegrated?
"Mahiro-nii!"
Miyuki rushed over to him at that moment.
Under the moonlight, the girl wore a thin, pure white dress with a shawl draped over her shoulders.
Her delicate, slender legs seemed to shimmer with a hazy glow in the diffuse moonlight, and her tender form was faintly visible beneath the lightweight fabric.
"Mahiro-nii, are you and Minami alright?"
"Nothing serious. What about you, Miyuki?"
"Miyuki and Onii-sama are fine..."
As it turned out, she and Tatsuya had been awakened by the commotion next door.
The moment she opened her eyes, Miyuki noticed an intruder standing by her bedside, poised to strike. Just then, Tatsuya burst in and engaged the intruder in combat.
What followed was exactly as she had just witnessed—first frozen, then disintegrated.
"These guys are from Stars."
After dealing with the intruders, everyone gathered in the Shiba residence's living room. Minami was in charge of brewing tea, while Miyuki, now changed into loungewear, sat across from Mahiro.
The hem of her flared miniskirt revealed a pair of snow-white legs, crossed demurely at the knees.
Under the bright lights, Mahiro examined the mask remnants on the tea table and declared with certainty.
However, Miyuki's expression turned cold and transparent upon hearing this.
"If it's Stars, it should be the team led by Lina, right? But why would they attack us? Could it be that Lina...?"
"No."
Mahiro shook his head. "According to the intel that Maya passed on to me, these people defected from Stars last month for unknown reasons. Moreover, I discovered they all have non-human structures inside them, as if something is parasitizing them."
"So it's unlikely that Lina gave the order, but it's probably still connected to her in some way."
Tatsuya agreed with this assessment.
And with that, everything made sense.
Why would the USNA send a strategic-class magician—who isn't skilled in espionage—over here, and apparently with a team in tow?
They were probably pursuing these defectors.
However, the attacks weren't limited to just them. Even Maya, who was traveling abroad, was also targeted.
"My, it's been about sixteen years since I last took action. I never thought I'd be targeted by petty thieves like you today, hehe..."
Maya let out a witch-like chuckle.
With a wave of her slender hand, the swirling stars in the sky transformed into beams of light, descending and piercing the assailants, killing them on the spot.
Of course, Mahiro only heard about this incident later from Hayama.
It felt as though someone had launched a large-scale assault on the Yotsuba family.
But in reality, the attacks that night weren't limited to the Yotsuba alone—many others were targeted as well.
The next day.
Angelina had taken the day off, citing some family matters.
At that moment, Mahiro was sitting in the Student Council headquarters, together with Mayumi, having even skipped classes for the day.
Of course, this wasn't the imagined scenario of cutting class for a secret date, nor was it filled with any imagined sweet, romantic atmosphere. Instead, the mood was quite heavy.
Besides the two of them, Juumonji Katsuto was also present.
It could be said that it was quite rare for three of the Ten Master Clans to meet privately.
"Sorry, Mahiro-kun, for calling you here and taking up your class time."
Mayumi clasped her hands together, pretending to be very apologetic, though one of her eyes was playfully open, and her tone was coquettish.
"It's fine. If you're the one calling me, Senior, skipping class—or even school—is no problem at all."
After all, it was a request from his girlfriend, or rather, his fiancée. How could something as trivial as school or classes stand in his way?
Hearing this, Mayumi felt very happy inside.
In another corner, Katsuto crossed his arms and nodded, seemingly quite satisfied with their relationship.
Then he spoke up:
"Alright, let's get down to business. Yotsuba, are you aware of the vampire incident that happened yesterday?"
"Vampire incident?"
Upon hearing this, Mahiro's eyebrows furrowed almost into a figure eight, full of twists and turns. "Juumonji-senpai, you're using 'vampire' as a metaphor, right? It's not actually those legendary monsters with fangs, shapeshifting bats that go around biting people's necks, is it?"
Hearing his description, Mayumi and Katsuto exchanged glances, bitter smiles appearing at the corners of their lips as they shook their heads.
"Mahiro-kun, you probably didn't watch the news this morning, did you?"
"Nope."
He answered decisively.
To be precise, he hadn't had the time.
Last night, he had squeezed in with Minami to make do for the night. Of course, it wasn't that there were no other rooms, but Minami had insisted, saying she was afraid he might be attacked again.
Incidentally, Miyuki was with them as well.
And Tatsuya, as their guard, hadn't slept all night.
Early this morning, he had contacted his so-called mother about the matter and asked her to send someone to repair the house as soon as possible.
Naturally, he hadn't had any time to pay attention to the morning news.
Later, through their explanation, he came to understand what this vampire incident was about.
"So, you're saying that something resembling a vampire, nobody knows what it is, killed twenty-four people in a single night yesterday?"
"Yes, but judging by the timing, it probably wasn't just one person, because last night, Saegusa was also attacked."
"Huh?"
Mahiro turned his gaze to Mayumi, who nodded and said, "Last night, I was staying at Mari's place when we were attacked in the middle of the night. Their magical power was not only strong but also very strange.
In the end, it was Mari who slashed and injured the attacker, forcing them to retreat."
"Tch, so it wasn't just me, then..."
After hearing this, Mahiro clicked his tongue.
"Mahiro-kun, were you attacked too?"
"Yes." He nodded. "Not just me, but also Minami who takes care of my daily needs, Miyuki, and even that woman Yotsuba Maya. It made me think the Yotsuba family had provoked some enemy and was being targeted for revenge."
So Mayumi had also been attacked.
Looking at it this way, they were likely dealing with the same type of incident, as the descriptions matched the appearance of those who attacked them last night in every aspect.
However, both Katsuto and Mayumi couldn't help showing surprise.
Mahiro being attacked was one thing, Miyuki being attacked might be somewhat understandable, but the head of the Yotsuba family being attacked? This was no small matter!
What could be the reason?
This was something Mahiro was also pondering. He felt there was some common thread connecting these incidents.
The twenty-four people killed weren't random victims either—most were magicians, and many were associated with the Juumonji and Saegusa families.
And they were quite skilled magicians at that.
But this was only one connection.
If you looked at Mayumi, Mari, Miyuki, Minami, Maya, and himself, there was another common factor—
They had all used the AGV Enhancement Serum!
No way...
Mahiro broke out in a cold sweat as he considered one possibility.
Though he'd need to confirm this with Lina.