Chapter 3
Some Weeks Later
It's late at night and Taiyou and katsuragi are both lying on their beds. They are roomies and naturally taiyou chose the top bunk while katsuragi chose the lower one.
" all this training is making my body hurt, I
can't even sleep cuz of the pain, it's been about a month and a half we've been here" taiyou complains
" well I'm kinda used to training so it's not a new thing for me" replies katsuragi
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means I've been trained before coming here and I knew all about divine energy and how to use it before coming here"
" woah, who trained you?"
" None of your business"
"Then why didn't you just tell them you could already use divine energy and you already knew the basics"
"To avoid questions"
"Why were you training before you got here?"
"I have my own reasons"
They both go silent for a while and it's so quiet that it makes the crickets sound even louder
" um hey katsuragi"
"Yea what up?"
"I didn't want to ask you this cuz i felt like I would be intruding in your life and asking questions that I had no business in but, what happened to you? And why did sayuri say u are the last survivor of your clan?"
It became silent once more and it was heavy, the silence was so loud that it filled up the space within the room
"I'm sorry if I bothered you-"
"My family, the katsuragi clan the only clan on equal footing with the sho uni clan when it came to hunting vampires. We had exceptional skills, born with talent, we were a clan created for the sole purpose of killing vampires, for us killing vampires was instinct from birth, what makes us so exceptional is our eyes, also known as the devils eyes"
"Your eyes?" Interrupts taiyou
" yea our eyes, our eyes turn blood red once awakened, the cause of awakening is not know yet"
"So everyone in your clan has this ability to turn their eyes red?"
"Yes but it varies, if your color red is a light shade you are weak, so it is believed that the deeper the color the stronger, however only those with pure blood who come from the royal side in our clan can have the deepest color of red"
" so what makes these your eyes so special?"
"I don't know yet since I haven't awakened yet"
"But didn't other people in your clan have it?"
"Not while I was alive, my clan chose a peaceful life and retired from hunting vampires so it was believed that the power of our eyes were gone since we didn't hunt vampires anymore, so I don't even know if I'm gonna awaken. However apparently changing to a peaceful lifestyle is not something that can happen easily, the vampires raided our clan, killed us all, slaughtered my clan members like pigs feasted on us, they still feared our clan and struck us when we were vulnerable, I only managed to survive cuz my mom hid me"
" so your the only survivor?"
"Yes I'm the sole survivor of my clan, and my reason for becoming a vampire hunter is revenge, I alone carry the burden and hatred of my clan on my shoulder, I'll make sure to kill those filthy bastards even if it's the last thing I do"
"Do you know those responsible for the death of your clan?"
" I don't know them specifically, but I know they are a top organization in the vampire world called the kyuketsuki no akuma, they're symbol is a crescent"
"It seems they're gonna be really strong"
"It doesn't matter how I attain the power or at what cost as long as I can kill them all"
A heavy silence falls upon the room once more
"What about you?" Asks katsuragi
"Me?"says taiyou
"Yea, your vampire based abilities, you have got superhuman physical strength and unbelievable speed calculated to be as fast as an average vampires by commander kenzo"
"What are you trynna say"
"I don't know maybe your a vampire" mocks katsuragi
"Shut up, if I was one of them you would have been dead by now"
" oh yea? Think you are strong enough to kill me?
"Wanna try me?"
"Nah maybe tomorrow I'm all beat up for now"
"Oh by the way what weapon did you pick today as your divine weapon?"
"O, I chose a katana"
"Cool!!!"
"What about you?"
"Oh I chose the coolest weapon of all"
" And what is that?" Asks katsuragi
"None, I prefer to fight with my fists, I used to do taekwondo so I have experience at hand to hand, although I've always fought taekwando but I don't even know how to make the stance I'm more a mixed martial arts person cuz I can use variety of martial arts"
Katsuragi bursts into laughter
"What are you laughing at?" yells taiyou
"Nothing just the fact you think you will be able to excircisd vampires with your bare hands?"
"They're cool, plus they remind me of my Favourite anime character, Baki"
"Ahhh whatever"
"Katsuragi"
"What is it?"
"Have you forgotten that tomorrow is the fighting ceremony?"
"Ah shit u forgot about that"
"What's the time?"
Katsuragi check his phone "2am"
"And what time is the ceremony?"
" ceremony is by 8 am but we're leaving here 7 am"
"Ah shit were totally screwed"
Next Day
"Taiyouuu!!!"
"Katsuragiiii!!!!"
"Get your lazy asses up!!!" Yells sayuri
They both pretend like they don't hear her and continue sleeping
"Just act like you didn't hear her" whispers taiyou
" I know" replies katsuragi
Captain kenzo walks into the room calmly without saying anything or making any sound
"Both of you get up if you don't wanna die" says captain kenzo
And immediately with inhumane speed katsuragi and taiyou get up immediately kenzo makes that statement
"Good, now go freshen up and put in your training jumpsuites, we leave in thirty minutes"
" Roger that sir" reply both taiyou and katsuragi
Kimiko enters their room wearing a casual top and cargos
"You two should hurry and get dressed" says kimiko
" ugh, what about you kimiko, why aren't you wearing your training costume?" Asks taiyou
"Cuz I'm not participating I'm only going to cheer you on"
"What? But kimiko told us it is a fighting contest between companies" says katsuragi
"Ugh sayuri, she made a mistake and mixed up the events, usually makes these type of mistakes and mixes things up, what you are going for today is the official qualification exam to become a vampire hunter and join a company"
"Oooh"
"But what's the point if we already have our divine weapons and know how to channel our divine energy?"
"Well not all vampire hunters are part of the association, but those who are part the association are sent on missions to hunt vampires and stop them from attacking cities, and then eventually you can get promoted to a captain, plus those who are a part of the association have a lot of rights and privileges over those who are not"
" so how is the qualification exam like is it pen and paper?" Asks katsuragi
" um no it's way more serious than that"
" more serious? What are we talking here sport activities?" Asks Taiyou
"Um no actually you will be hunting actual vampires"
"Wow that's actually serious" says taiyou
"But won't people lose their lives if they're not strong enough?" Says katsuragi
"Yea there will be some losses but the association of vampire hunter believe in sacrifices, after all as a vampire hunter you won't be hunting humans, and the best way to get stronger as a hunter is through battle experience"
"But how are they gonna hold the competition in broad daylight?"
"You will see when you get there, now go freshen up"
At The Qualification Ceremony
It's a small colosseum filled to the with spectators, and beside it is a giant dark dome
Squad 8 just arrived not long ago
" woah what's that giant dome, and where is this place?" Asks taiyou
"The dome is where the examinations will take place, and don't worry about the location of this place it's an abandoned forest that only vampire hunters can access"replies kimiko
"How will we take our examinations in that dome?" Asks katsuragi
"The dome is covered with anti sunlight panels which blocks out the sun rays so the vampires inside won't be affected, and once you get inside it's gonna be dark cuz it's set to be just like real life, cuz vampires only come out at night" says sayuri
"So why not just hold the examinations at night?" Asks taiyou
"Because very strong vampires come out at night, and if they attack it will cause a delay in the exams and a lot of lives will be lost" replies sayuri"
" and what is that giant screen at the middle of the colosseum" asks katsuragi
"Oh that's the giant screen where the spectators can watch what's going on in the dome" answers kimiko
"And who are the spectators exactly?" Asks taiyou
"Other vampire hunting companies, this event is one of the biggest and highly anticipated amongst the vampire hunting association, now shut up you two ask too much questions" says sayuri
"Please can you help pass my sword kimiko?" Says katsuragi
"Ok give me a moment" she replies, she goes to the company car and gets katsuragi's katana which has a strap on it, she tosses the katana to tatsuragi and he catches it
"Thanks"
"No problem"
"ATTENTION ROOKIES, PROCEED TO ENTER THE DOME FOR THE QUALIFICATION CEREMONY TO BEGIN" says a voice over the loud speaker
"Good luck" says kimiko we will be cheering for you over the Jumbotron
"I trust your training hasn't been for nothing, so make sure to come back alive" says kenzo
"Roger that!" Says taiyou as he smiles and walks away cheerfully with katsuragi to the dome
"He's too cheerful that Taiyou boy" says sayuri
" it's good to have a nice outgoing and positive attitude like him" says kenzo
Taiyou and katsuragi both arrive at the front of the dome and see about a hundred people also stand in at the front of the dome waiting to enter, all wearing an extremely serious look and carrying all sorts of weapons, you can almost smell the fear in the air
"Woah that's a lot of people" says Taiyou
"What did you expect"
"Dunno but definitely not this much, plus they all look so serious I feel like we came here to relaxed, don't you think so katsuragi"
"I couldn't care less, let's go in before the dome closes"
They both enter the dome and on the inside it looks like it's something that came out of a star wars movie, it actually dark inside and looks like nighttime even though it's daytime outside, and there are even buildings inside, with roads and trees.
"Woah they really want us to know what we're up against, they even went as far as getting an actual setting and how it would look like if we were to hunt vampires" says katsuragi
"NOW LISTEN UP ROOKIES, THIS IS WHERE THE EXAM WILL TAKE PLACE, YOUR GOING TO HUNT AND FIGHT ACTUAL VAMPIRES, I BELIEVE ALL OF YOU WHO CAM HERE WOULD HAVE RECEIVED TRAINING ON HOW TO EXORCISE THIS THINGS ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, THERE ARE 119 OF YOU HERE PRESENTLY AND THERE ARE 100 VAMPIRES HERE PRESENTLY, MOST OF THEN ARE LOWER RANKED VAMPIRES SO MOST OF YOU SHOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM EXORCISING THEM, HOWEVER THERE ARE 5 HIGHER RANKED VAMPIRES HERE, AND ALL FIVE OF THEM ARE TOWN LEVEL THREAT, SO THE WEAKER ONES WHO FALL VICTIM TO THESE VAMPIRES ARE DEAD . HOWEVER THE STRONGER ONES SHOULD HAVE LITTLE PROBLEM DEALING WITH THE TOWN LEVEL THREAT VAMPIRES CUZ TOWN LEVEL THREAT IS THE WEAKEST AMONGST THE STRONGER VAMPIRES, THE EXAM WILL ONLY END IF ALL THE VAMPIRES ARE KILLED OR WHEN THERE ARE AT MOST ONLY 7 SURVIVORS LEFT"
Everywhere is silent for a moment and the fear in the room has grown even more than before
"NOW BEGIN, THE VAMPIRES HAVE BEEN RELEASED, GOOD LUCK AND MAY THE STRONGEST SURVIVE"
Taiyou and katsuragi fist bump
"Don't die" says taiyou
"Hmph, you should be more worried about yourself" says katsuragi
And with that they both separate and go different ways.
Taiyou is walking and scanning the area for vampires, he yawns
"When am I gonna see any vampires"
Suddenly taiyou senses a presence
"Something is here"
In a flash quicker than he can see a heavy blow lands on his face but he quickly reacts and uses his arms to block
"Tch, the strength in this punch, I've never fought vampires before but from the weight of this punch and it's speed I can tell that it's not a normal vampire, it's one of the town level threat vampires"
Suddenly it lunges at Taiyou again this time scratching his right arm and tearing a bit of his cloth, it disappears inti the shadows again.
"Tch it got me again" he looks at his wound bleeding "it's deep but not mortal" he rips of the remaining piece of cloth of his right arm and puts out his fists" I can't let it get me again, but my eyes haven't adjusted to the darkness I can't see it coming" he then suddenly remembers one of his trainings with kenzo, he takes a deep breath and takes a fighting stance with his fists ready,
"Channel your divine energy, disconnect from the outside world and focus your five senses, focus, focus" his black divine energy surround his fists "focus, focus, focus, NOW!"
The vampire leaps from the shadows and tries to rip taiyou's face but this time taiyou dodges calmly and counters with a heavy blow to the vampires face and sends it flying like a rocket as it crashes into a building
"Yesssss!!" Taiyou yells"my first clean blow to a vampires face" he walks over to where the vampire crashed and watches as the vampire gets up slowly, now the light from the building is shining in them and taiyou can see its face clearly. The vampire gets up and cracks its neck "you bastard, what kind of punch was that? Not even my own punch is that heavy"
Taiyou spits and takes a boxing position and concentrates more divine energy into his fists
"You talk too much, now get up you bastard,it's hunting time"