Una noche aterradora: La Cruz

Chapter 14

The morning had begun brutally. After performing approximately 100 push-ups, 100 squats, and 100 sit-ups, all in four sets, Kento and Ryota were ready to start sensory training.

—Very well, we've warmed up enough. Are you ready, Ryota? —asked Kento, with a firm but enthusiastic expression.

Ryota, lying face down on the ground, panted exhaustedly. He could barely raise his voice to respond.

—Can we rest for just a few minutes? —he asked in a pleading tone.

—Hahaha, of course not! Come on, get up. It's time to train —replied Kento, crossing his arms and smiling with complicity.

—Alright... Give me a box of orange juice, and I'll be ready —responded Ryota, still lying down, with a mix of exhaustion and sarcasm.

—Hahaha, of course not! —Kento retorted, with a laugh that resonated in the cold morning air.

—But I'm so tired... Besides, I need to drink it to survive —Ryota added, this time with a tone of seriousness and worry.

Kento looked at him patiently and crossed his arms.

—That's a lie. Not drinking orange juice won't kill you —he said firmly.

—How do you know? Vampires need blood to live. I, because I'm half vampire and human, need orange juice —Ryota replied, convinced of his argument.

Kento sighed and began to speak calmly but with authority.

—I've killed many vampires in my life, even the strongest one in the world. Do you think that, after all my experience, I wouldn't know how they work? Look, I'll explain it to you.

Ryota, intrigued, raised his head to listen carefully.

—Vampires can live quietly for a week with a liter of blood. Those who don't drink blood for a long time can enter a state of madness and lose their sanity due to the lack of nutrients they need. This makes them more violent and bloodthirsty when hunting. If, even so, they don't consume blood, their hearts stop, which causes their imminent death —explained Kento, with a pedagogical tone.

Ryota nodded, processing the information.

—I see... But, what does that have to do with my case? —he asked, somewhat confused.

Kento pointed directly at the juice bottle Ryota usually carried.

—In your case, you've been drinking three to five liters of juice a day. That's a massive excess of sugar for your body. If vampires drank too much blood, they would go into a state of overdose and die from the high load of nutrients and energy. Many of those who lose their sanity die from this very thing.

He paused and continued with a more severe tone.

—When you were younger, your body needed more nutrients because you were in full development. Your muscles and bones were forming, and being half vampire and half human, your body demanded more energy than normal. But now, you're much more developed and no longer need to overdo it. Perhaps until now, you didn't have an overdose thanks to your human side, but if you keep it up, someday you could die —Kento concluded, looking intently at Ryota.

Ryota opened his eyes in panic.

—It can't be! What I thought was keeping me alive was actually doing the opposite... —he said with a trembling voice.

—That's right. That's why, from now on, I'll only let you drink one liter of juice a day. No more, no less. And you can only do it at lunchtime. Neither before nor after —Kento sentenced.