Chapter Text
Whenever Yui closed her eyes, it always felt like she was back there.
Back at that mansion.
Back with those brothers.
Back to being nothing but a plaything for their own twisted amusement.
It had already been a year ago, when a boy with dark hair and violet eyes had invaded the manor and slaughtered her captors.
Guren Ichinose. Lieutenant Colonel of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army.
He’d told her that a virus had wiped out all of humanity except for children, and that the vampires were enslaving the survivors to ensure they would still have a food source. But the organization that he was a part of was forming a resistance, which he’d invited her to join.
“Humans aren’t livestock, right? Then why don’t you come with us and prove it?”
Yui let out a deep breath. Those words never failed to pull her back to the present.
The virus was supposed to have killed everyone over the age of thirteen. So there had been many questions about how she had survived. After being subject to various tests, it was discovered that the vampire heart she’d been implanted with from birth had made her immune. In the exact same way all the members of the Demon Army were immune due to bearing Cursed Gear, a special kind of magical weapon they had developed to fight vampires. Ones that were created by contracting demons.
And since it was discovered that Yui was already hosting a demon of her own, Guren had offered to train her in sorcery so she could harness its power to fight back against the same monsters who had once kept her prisoner. So that she could help save others from meeting the same fate.
She’d accepted without a second thought.
What followed was months of intense training. It had been a struggle, having never even considered laying a hand on another. But the promise that doing this meant she could one day prevent someone from going through what she did kept her going. In the end, she succeeded in a contracting ceremony which bound the demon in her heart to a weapon she could summon at will.
It gave Yui comfort to know that the very thing that had made her blood irresistible to vampires before, now gave her the power to destroy them. Gave her the power to protect others.
”Yui? Are you okay?”
Yui opened her eyes with a start to see a girl with light brown hair in a braid looking at her in concern.
She smiled back at her in gratitude. “I’m alright Sayuri, thank you.”
Sayuri was a second lieutenant under Guren’s command. She had also been there on the day he and his squad had rescued her from that mansion, and had quickly become one of her closest friends.
“If you’re tired, you can switch out early. I’m sure Yuki-chan wouldn’t mind starting her watch a little earlier.”
Yui smiled but shook her head. “I’m fine. There’s just a lot on my mind I guess. I think I’ll go get some fresh air.”
Sayuri nodded as she moved to go. “Be careful.”
The group was currently on a mission outside the army’s main base in Shibuya, which meant there could be dangers lurking around every corner. Whether that was vampires or Horsemen, strange giant monsters that had also appeared at the onset of the apocalypse.
Yui sighed as she went around the side of the building they were camped out in. Despite the ruined state of the world, the stars were still beautiful to watch at night.
A flash of white caught Yui’s eye.
Suddenly on high alert, Yui quickly ducked behind a wall and peeked out, scanning her surroundings.
Sure enough, a figure in a white cloak had appeared on the other side of the street. They seemed to be wandering around in a carefree manner, not showing a single hint of caution, as if they thought nothing of the potential dangers of being alone at night. If that wasn’t a clear enough hint, the cloak certainly was. Yui recognized it immediately as the uniform of the vampire military.
She swallowed, hoping the enemy hadn’t already realized her presence. There was a good chance given a vampire’s enhanced senses. Yui considered heading back to alert Sayuri and the others, but decided attempting to do so would just give away her position. It was just one vampire anyway, so she should act while she still had the advantage of surprise.
“Cordelia.”
Upon uttering her demon’s name, green flame sprung from her hand and took the form of a black spear with a cross-shaped blade. A long red ribbon flowed from its base.
She leveled it before her and rushed forward, aiming for the vampire’s throat.
Clang!
Metal struck metal as Yui found the point of her weapon cleanly blocked by the curved edge of a silver sword.
Red eyes met her glare under the shadow of a white hood. Feeling pressure build up against her strike, Yui quickly disengaged, leaping back out of range before a swift counterattack could take her arm.
The vampire regarded her with mild interest but made no move to chase. “You’re fast.”
A cool, yet pleasant voice. She was a girl?
Yui readjusted her grip on her spear’s staff, switching to a defensive stance. Surprisingly, Cordelia qualified in rank as a Black Demon. The same as the one wielded by the Lieutenant Colonel. All Cursed Gear enhanced the physical abilities of their users, but her high ranking weapon did make Yui quite a bit stronger than the average new recruit.
Although, Yui could say the same about her current opponent. Her uniform wasn’t that of a noble, but her reaction speed was much faster than the typical vampires she had fought before. She must have had a high ranking sire.
“And so are you,” Yui answered, “But you won’t be walking away from this.”
“Confident too. But is this really necessary? It’s quite rude to attack someone when they just came to watch the stars in peace.”
“As a member of the Vampire Extermination Unit, I cannot let you get away.”
The vampire shrugged. “Suit yourself.” With that, she took up her sword once more and their battle resumed.
Yui gritted her teeth as she concentrated on parrying the vampire’s attacks. Each slash came as fast as a lightning strike and with all the power of one too. She knew taking any more hits like this would cause her arms to go numb, which meant her only choice was to switch to the offensive.
Taking advantage of her weapon’s greater reach, Yui spun her spear in an arc, forcing the vampire to keep her distance. She followed up with two sharp thrusts that were dodged easily and then a wide horizontal swipe. The vampire bent backwards out of the way as her spear’s blade passed a mere breath above her nose. However it still managed to catch the hood of her cloak, tearing it off and freeing tendrils of long, silky black hair.
Yui paused her attacks, allowing the vampire to roll out of the way and back to her feet. She just couldn’t help but stare now that her face had been revealed. Her features were soft, but her eyes were sharp and clear. She pushed a few stray hairs out of her eyes, letting the rest cascade smoothly behind her back. The corner of her mouth quirked upwards when she caught her gaze.
“Having second thoughts?”
Yui’s knuckles went white against her spear’s shaft. She would not let herself be charmed by the enemy. In the blink of an eye, her blade had punched a small crater into the pavement where the vampire had been standing a moment earlier.
Seeing that she had jumped away again and was now retreating into the adjacent building, Yui pulled her weapon out of the ground and gave chase.
The building was dark and rundown, but the vampire’s cloak made her an easy target to spot. A glimpse of white out of the corner of her eye was all Yui needed for the next swipe of her spear to take out the pillar her opponent had used for cover. Their weapons soon clashed again, and the dance continued.
“You’re really not letting me go, are you?” The vampire said as she dodged another slash that ended up tearing up more of the floor instead.
Yui’s frustration grew. Why couldn’t she just stay still? Even with the Demon Curse boosting her speed, it still felt like she was running circles around her. Well, in that case…
Ceasing her attacks for now, Yui adjusted her stance and took a deep breath as she called to the demon in her heart. “Lend me your power, Cordelia.”
Strength surged through her veins upon murmuring those words. A shudder passed through her as the swirling marks of the Demon Curse bloomed across her skin.
The vampire watched curiously but her expression changed once Yui shot forward again. She’d still managed to block, but just barely. And through the sparks flying between their whirling blades, Yui could see that her previous nonchalance had given way to the slightest bit of alarm.
But with the influx of power also came the amplification of her demon’s whispers.
“Good… More… Give me more of your greed. Better yet, just let me have control. I can kill her for you if you do.”
“That won’t happen!” Yui retorted as she pushed back against another of the vampire’s attacks. Due to her demon’s highly malicious nature, she knew she couldn’t use this much power for very long or risk a full possession. Which meant she needed to end this quickly.
The next time the vampire tried to dodge gave Yui the chance she’d been waiting for.
“Bind!” At her call, the ribbon at the end of her spear came to life and darted up to encircle the vampire’s ankle.
She yelped in surprise as she was yanked forcefully down to the ground.
Yui raced forward to deal the finishing blow before she could recover. But when she got close, the already crumbling floor tiles gave way beneath her feet and she quickly found herself in a free-fall. She tried to direct her ribbon to find something to grab onto but there was nothing within reach.
“Yui!!!”
At the sound of her name, Yui caught a glimpse of Sayuri and Shigure racing up to the edge of the collapse with weapons drawn before falling rubble hid them from sight. As darkness took hold, Yui felt a pair of arms rise up to catch her. Ones that felt strangely comforting…