...
"You're the one with skin allergies!"
The masked man finally pushed himself off the ground, stubbornly denying Phaga's taunt.
Phaga glanced up, noticing that the masked man's torn clothes had somehow been patched back together.
It was the classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul—he had ripped fabric from the still-intact parts of his clothes to mend the tears.
What really puzzled Phaga, though, was—did anyone actually carry a sewing kit around with them?
Sensing Phaga's strange gaze, the masked man quickly tucked the needle and thread away, his face stiffening. After a brief pause, he gritted his teeth and snapped,
"As a vampire, carrying sewing supplies is perfectly normal! Everyone tears their clothes at some point!"
"No, no, no. I'm a vampire too, but I've never done that."
Phaga waved his hands quickly, distancing himself from the claim.
Then, with a mischievous grin, he added, "But by your logic, are you saying all vampires are good at sewing?"
"I suppose... yeah?"
The masked man's crimson eyes flickered with hesitation. After thinking for a moment, he muttered, "After all, none of us can touch sunlight. If your clothes rip while you're outside, that's practically walking the line between life and death."
"How tragic!"
Phaga clicked his tongue, genuinely surprised. It was the first time he realized that even among vampires, he was a bit of an oddity.
The sunlight that other vampires feared so much was, to him, more like Rina's cooking—disgusting, sure. A few extra bites could kill you, but it wasn't completely unmanageable.
"True," the masked man murmured. "But the fact that you're fine is... strange."
His crimson eyes burned with curiosity as he stared at Phaga. "According to the clan elders, there's been talk of a hybrid vampire active outside. Because he's a half-blood and wasn't raised among us, he's not recognized as part of the clan."
"That hybrid vampire must be you, right? Not fearing the sun—is that what they call hybrid advantage?"
The masked man lowered his head in thought. As one of the main developers of Sacrifice No. 2, he was both warrior and scholar—and right now, he was deep in analysis.
Meanwhile, Phaga's mouth twitched several times.
He knew exactly what "hybrid advantage" meant from biology class. It referred to hybrid offspring inheriting the best traits from both purebred parents.
But still…
"Why does it sound like you're insulting me?"
Phaga's face darkened, his fists tightening.
Completely oblivious, the masked man replied earnestly, "No, I'm just wondering if this really counts as hybrid vigor. It could also be a case of atavism—"
Before he could finish, his vision suddenly went dark. Phaga's fist shot forward, smashing toward his face!
The masked man's eyes widened, crossing his arms in front of him in defense—
Boom!
The impact sent a massive shockwave through his arms, blasting him backward. He skidded several meters across the ground before regaining his balance.
Phaga wasn't about to let up. He flapped his wings hard, rushing in for the follow-up attack—
But just then, a flash of light caught his eye. A burst of flame whizzed toward him. Phaga halted mid-air, twisting just in time. The shot tore past his chest, shredding his white shirt and grazing his skin, leaving a faint red burn across it.
Turning his head, he saw the female secretary. She was at it again.
Not a cold shot—this time, a cold cannon.
Her jaw clenched tight. The weapon's recoil was so brutal her arms had gone numb, yet she still aimed it squarely at Phaga's forehead, finger on the trigger.
"Hey, vampire!" she shouted. "We're pulling out!"
"I refuse!"
The masked man shook his head stubbornly, his tone unwavering. "His resistance to sunlight is too rare. I'm taking him back for research."
"But can you even beat him!?"
"He's never received formal clan training. There's no reason I can't beat him. Once I spread my wings, I'll win!"
"Then open them already!!!"
The secretary was seconds from losing it. You've had a way to win this whole time, and you just—didn't use it!?
But the masked man only shook his head calmly. "It's daytime. If I spread my wings now, they'll rot the instant they touch sunlight."
Thud!
Both Phaga and the secretary burst out laughing.
The secretary's laughter, however, was born of pure rage.
Her hand trembled as she pointed at him, lips quivering so hard she couldn't even get the words out.
Phaga, meanwhile, chuckled lightly. "So, my friend—if you can't open your wings, how exactly do you plan to beat me?"
"My name is Bern Kunmutu."
"Huh?"
Phaga blinked, startled. Why was this guy suddenly introducing himself?
Wait—Kunmutu?
Sure enough, Bern quickly explained, "By paternal lineage, we're technically relatives."
But the more he spoke, the more confused Phaga became.
Why was this guy suddenly trying to call him family?
"Look over there."
Ignoring the mockery and irritation in the air, Bern pointed off to the side.
Phaga followed his gesture to an unfinished building. Its base cast a wide, dark shadow.
Bern's tone grew solemn. "Come fight me under that shadow. Consider it a challenge from family. You wouldn't dare back down, would you, grandson?"
The secretary's fury finally turned to laughter. She gave up completely, abandoning Bern and bolting away without looking back.
But Phaga wasn't paying her any mind—his attention was on the absurd man before him.
"You're... serious?"
Phaga hesitated, expecting some profound revelation—but this?
How childish could he be?
"That's all you've got for a threat?"
"I'm completely serious," Bern said, face still stoic as he nodded firmly. "You're not scared, are you?"
"I am," Phaga replied instantly, smirking.
Amused, he wanted to see how far this ridiculous exchange could go.
But before he could speak again, Bern turned and sprinted away, shouting, "Fine, I'm leaving then!"
"Sure thing, Grandpa! sorry if I was rude earlier—just don't come chasing after me, alright?"
Phaga stood there, frozen in disbelief. By the time he processed what had just happened, Bern was already a speck in the distance.
"Huh?"
"...This guy's impossible to figure out."
He didn't bother chasing.
This was the Hollow—small, sure, but wandering blindly could still get you lost.
Besides...
Phaga stomped the ground and looked down. There, Sacrifice No. 2 was still thrashing wildly, desperately trying to break free from Kunmutu's crystalline prison.
"Guess I should deal with this thing first."
"How about... dropping it from above?"
...
Twenty minutes later.
Ruby stepped through the spatial fissure, cupping her hands around her mouth and shouting,
"Phaga, where are you!?"
"I brought your so-called family's girlfriend to find you!"
"The gorgeous Lovely Maiden Shark—come out and say hi already!"
On the other side, Ellen's face turned pitch black. She clenched her fists and growled through gritted teeth, "Ru—by!"
Ruby froze. Seeing Ellen's furious glare, she gave a sheepish laugh, puffing her cheeks.
"Heh-heh... okay, okay! Fine, I take it back! Not your girlfriend!"
Thud!
"Waaah!"
Ruby yelped, rubbing the bump on her head as tears welled in her eyes. She looked at Ellen pitifully, letting out a sound like a boiling kettle.
After a long pause, she sniffled, voice trembling, "I already said you're not his girlfriend! Why'd you still hit me!?"
"Fine, fine, I am then, okay!?"
"Ruby!"
And just like that, Ellen got angry again—her cheeks flushed, her lips trembling as she raised her hand for another chop.
"What!? Left is wrong, right is wrong—there's no winning with you, Ellen!"
Seeing Ellen's hand swing down again, Ruby clutched her head and ran.
But before she could get far, a shadow loomed over her.
"Huh? Why did it suddenly get dark?"
She looked up, confused—only to see a monster flailing wildly as it plummeted from above.
Terrified, Ruby leapt back just in time.
Boom!
The creature crashed into the ground before her, leaving a deep crater.
Moments later, Phaga descended from the sky and asked urgently, "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Ruby whimpered—though her tear-filled eyes said otherwise.
Then, in the very next moment, she pounced toward him, stomping on the back of Sacrifice No. 2 and tugging on Phaga's clothes.
She pointed dramatically toward Ellen and cried, "Phaga! Your girlfriend's bullying me!"