TWENTY minutes earlier.
Subaru woke up resting against a sizable tree trunk in the middle of a forest. Blood dribbled from his mouth to his chin. He wiped the blood off with his sleeve and immediately ascertained the situation. He remembered raiding the building next to the church and successfully getting Azusa back. Everything was clear until the point he stepped forward to run away from the monster in human flesh known as Tsukiharu.
“I’m pathetic,” he grumbled to himself. He felt pathetic when the gut-wrenching pain in his stomach informed him he had been taken out of the battle before things got started.
Things wouldn’t have turned out this way if I could have drawn out my true ability, he thought, but it was too late for regrets. It was inevitable things would turn out this way—he hadn’t drank any blood. I couldn’t drink Ichi’s blood with her hurt like that…
Blood was closer to a vampire’s lifeline than their body. For that reason, they were greatly affected by the amount and quality of the blood they took in and produced. Subaru couldn’t bring himself to take any of her blood when she was recuperating.
Lightning flashed a good-hundred feet away. Subaru instantly took that as a sign Kouya and Tsukiharu were fighting.
“I need to at least help Azusa get away...”
Kouya’s at an outrageous disadvantage if he’s fighting while protecting Azusa. Tsukiharu seemed attached to her, but that’s not enough to guarantee he won’t put her in danger to get to Kouya. Subaru stepped toward the flashes, only to hear an unnatural sound behind him. Branches were being crushed under feet and something of substantive weight was being dragged across the forest floor. Subaru cautiously turned around.
Long silver hair came out of the densest part of the overgrowth, followed by a finely chiseled face with glowing blue eyes. Undoubtedly, this was the man Kouya told him could control animals. A human corpse dangled from the man’s right hand. His fingers wrapped around the throat of what was once a young woman and dragged her body behind him. Bite marks shimmered with blood on her white throat.
“It is unpleasant to be interrupted during mealtime. Master Tsukiharu wouldn’t be pleased with me if he found me like this either.”
“You’re—”
“Hello. How do you do? Pardon my rude request upon our first meeting, but would you mind moving from there?” The silver-haired man snapped his fingers.
Two gigantic black Irish Wolfhounds appeared on both sides of him. The dogs would come higher than seven feet tall if they stood on their hind legs. Even without standing on two legs, their heads came to Subaru’s chest—they looked big enough to ride. Baring their fangs, a deep growl rumbled from their throats. The two Wolfhounds might actually be superior to packs of wolves had it come down to it.
“The majority of my pets were killed by the Akaoni. All I have left are the two you see here. However, they are the ones I took special care to raise, so while they may not be up to the task of defeating you, I can assure you they will be enough to keep you here.”
The Wolfhounds took some sort of invisible signal from the man’s eyes to lunge at Subaru with lightning speed. They attacked Subaru with a speed and strength that went beyond having their natural limitations released.
“I wish you wouldn’t underestimate me,” Subaru said, swiftly crushing one of the dog’s heads. Blood splattered from the caved in skull; red specks painted Subaru’s cheeks. He spun around and landed a roundhouse kick into the gut of the other dog, sending it flying into a tree. “I might not be as strong as Kou, but I’m strong enough. I won’t lose to some mutts.”
“Ooh,” Shiro murmured, impressed. Subaru glared at him.
“Are you the one who put Kou and Ichi through hell?”
“By Ichi, are you referring to the woman guarding Miss Azusa? If so, the answer is yes.”
“…Perfect then. I was just thinking how badly I wanted to punch your lights out.”
“If you can land a hit that is,” Shiro sneered and curled his finger. The dog Subaru thought he killed with his roundhouse kick, lunged at him. Subaru caught his breath at the unexpected attack.
“What a coincidence, Subaru. I wanted to punch out his lights too,” someone said and came crashing down from the sky. Ichi gracefully landed on the ground with her katana piercing through the wild dog below her. “Sorry for my late arrival.”
She ripped her sword from the dog’s body and shook the blood-dripping point toward Shiro. With her free hand she undid her shirt collar and exposed her throat.
“I have caused a lot of trouble for you. Please allow me to clear this dishonor by offering my blood.”
“Ichi, have you recovered?”
“No need to worry about me.”
“I see. Sorry for doubting you.” Subaru wrapped an arm around Ichi and bit deeply into her neck. The blood gurgled down his throat as he resupplied his reserves. His green eyes were dyed a deep crimson by the time he lifted his face from her neck.
“Please deal out my wrath on him too.”
“I will.”
Shiro instinctively took a step back, an expression like none before coloring his face. He was beginning to feel his first taste of panic. Sweat trickled down his cheeks.
“Did you say your name was Subaru?” Shiro asked.
“I did.”
“Are you quite possibly Subaru of the Shiranui Family? One of the three candidates to become the Red Coven’s next Patriarch?”
“Your knowledge of my bloodline will speed things up. I’m Subaru Shiranui. I’m now going to punch your lights out.”
Subaru heard Shiro catch his breath. A natural reaction. His special attack force of wild dogs had already been annihilated by Kouya and Subaru. His own body probably wasn’t that strong, otherwise he wouldn’t rely solely on familiars. Shiro was the type not meant to stand on the frontlines where hand-to-hand combat was required. It wasn’t unreasonable for him to panic upon learning his opponent was the candidate to become the next Red Coven Patriarch.
But Shiro showed no signs of panic as he smiled. “I am…at a great disadvantage here. I will take this time to bow out.”
“Do you think I’ll let you get away?” Subaru snarled.
“My apologies, but I will allow myself to withdraw from your presence.” Shiro spread his arms, releasing a swarm of butterflies—signaling the start of their battle.