Vamp!

Vamp! III - Chapter 3 E

Somewhere in the city.
A luxury car raced along the road towards the castle.
There were no other vehicles on the streets. The municipal car pressed forward, just barely skirting the speed limit.
"What's that idiot Watt doing now?" The occupant of the back seats asked the driver.
"Oh... Um, the mayor is currently taking part in the opening ceremony." The woman at the wheel said, not even trying to hide her fear of the passenger.
The woman was the mayor's personal secretary. But she did not even protest at the insult to her employer. This was, however, not because she agreed with the passenger; it was because she thought it would be in her best interests to not talk back to the Eater she was transporting.
There was an uncomfortable moment of silence. The voice from the back returned, this time sounding slightly less irritated.
"I guess I owe you one, though. Tch... I said I'd never accept help from the asshole. Look at me now." The Eater said disdainfully. The secretary could do nothing but continue driving, too fearful to agree or disagree.
Shizune Kijima had attempted to regenerate her legs in the dojo's showers.
The regeneration process was faster than she had expected, but she was beginning to think that it would be some time before she would be able to walk properly again. That was when a municipal vehicle arrived at the dojo.
And now, she was being driven along by Watt's secretary.
At first, she thought of rejecting his offer. But as long as Melhilm's whereabouts continued to escape her, Shizune would be at an advantage fighting alongside Watt rather than against him.
The silence continued for some time, before Shizune once more opened her mouth.
"To be honest, I thought of torturing you here to figure out where I could find that bastard's heart."
"Ah...!"
The secretary did not even try to hold back her scream. Shizune grinned. Instead of adding a 'just joking', she plainly continued.
"But there's no way Watt would tell anyone where he's hiding his heart, and I even if he did, there's no time anymore. ...Yeah, just let me off here."
"Pardon?"
"You can go ahead and run off if you'd like. I'll take care of the rest myself."
"What do you-"
The moment the secretary spoke, the rear-view mirror was engulfed in shadow. Though it had already been reflecting the night, even the lights from the street lamps had been extinguished from its surface.
Shizune had probably sensed the presence much earlier. She turned round to face the black mass behind her without a hint of fear.
There were enough bats there to engulf the entire car.
And each and every one of them glared at Shizune with human eyes.
The bats caught up to the car with incredible speed, covering its windshield.
The secretary shrieked in terror as everything before her eyes was suddenly filled with the black creatures.
"EEEEEEEK!"
The sound of the bats' gnashing fangs overpowered even the sound of the car's engine as it continued forward. And once even the windows were entirely covered, the secretary hit the brakes without a moment's hesitation.
She had probably chosen to stop instead of speeding up to outrun the bats because she was fearful of causing an accident. But this was fine by Shizune. As soon as the car came to a complete stop, she slammed the door open.
Shizune had expected the bats to come swarming inside, but the moment she stepped onto the road, the bats covering the car flew into the air all at once.
The flock of bats gathered together in the air, circling round and round. And soon, they landed at a point about ten meters away from Shizune, taking the form of Melhilm Herzog.
"You're pretty rough for a guy dressed like an aristocrat."
"Judge by appearances, will you? You'll find yourself regretting your folly, as I did in the past."
Sarcastic greetings followed their sudden reunion.
The secretary sped off on her car as soon as the bats abandoned her. Melhilm did not spare her a glance, however, and instead continued to stare straight into Shizune's eyes.
"Oh? Did I really come across as such a dainty young lady?"
"Don't be so full of yourself. You weren't the one who deceived me through appearances." Melhilm said with a relaxed grin. Shizune narrowed her eyes.
"You're talking one-on-one with a lady, and you bring a third party into the conversation? Really romantic of you. Who's the lucky ass-kicker?"
"Heh. You'll know soon enough."
"...?"
Shizune was struck by Melhilm's comment, and decided to pry for more information. But Melhilm seemed to have already tired of the mutual volleying of sarcasm.
"...If you actually survive the night, perhaps!"
Melhilm spread his arms wide, and his body instantly transformed into a black shadow. It scattered in all directions, turning into a flock of bats hundreds, or perhaps thousands strong.
"So you could actually pull tricks like this, huh? Remind me next time to fight you with a handicap."
Watching the black wall spreading quickly before her eyes, Shizune said in wonder:
"You know, I might have broken a sweat if you'd done this back then--that night I devoured you."
Remembering the taste of Melhilm's flesh, she grinned voraciously at the flock of bats before her.
"I doubt I'd have had enough forks and knives for them all."
If the bats had human mouths, perhaps they would have told Shizune to shut her mouth. But the only sounds they made were the squeaks from their mouths and the flaps of their wingbeats.
It was certainly a sight to behold, but there wasn't an ounce of fear in Shizune's eyes. With her reflexes and agility, she could cut down ten thousand bats with the silver knives she carried in her pockets.
But Shizune did not put this hypothetical plan into action.
She stopped herself from speaking unnecessarily and tensed her entire body. Her mind, focused to the limit, directed her body to take action.
With the black wall looming before her, Shizune leapt backwards with all of her strength.
Less than a second later, a silver glint emerged from the wall of darkness and cut through the air with monstrous force.
Then came two simultaneous impacts: The sound of something smashing into the ground, and the sensation of the gust that blew past Shizune in the wake of the attack.
The bats scattered from the center of the silver impact.
Standing on the other side of the wall, through the gaping hole left by the scattered bats, was a familiar face. The Eater with short blonde hair, holding a silver whip in her hand.
The girl who had driven Shizune into a corner eight hours earlier was standing in the midst of the darkness, wearing the same smile as before.
If her attack had connected, Shizune would have lost her life. But she responded to the assault with surprising nonchalance.
"I thought you were being pretty talkative today. You were waiting for your friend to catch up, huh?"
The human eyes in each bat's eye sockets seemed to sneer in response. But even in the sight of thousands of such eyes, Shizune refused to back down.
Seeing the smile on her face, the Eater--Theresia Riefenstahl--looked questioningly at the woman she had nearly killed earlier that day.
"Your name was Shizune, wasn't it? You look quite happy for someone who's about to die."
Shizune grinned at the provocation, flashing her fangs in response.
"I'm just excited, you know? It's just about dinnertime."
The Eater-turned vampire looked upon the two ingredients laid out before her.
"And what do you know? Here I've got a delicious vampire and a tasty-looking Eater coming right up to me. This is going to be one amazing feast."
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