One hour before the Blood Moon.
Faerûn Baji fell from the sky, plummeting towards the earth. In a swift, calculated leap, Lilith landed beside him, spinning into a battle stance, her claws gleaming. With a single strike, she severed Faerûn's head. Holding it high, she declared:
"Faerûn Baji is dead! Brooklyn belongs to me, Lilith Zelel. Anyone who dares to resist—try and see what happens."
Her words hung in the air, and the surrounding vampires froze.
"Baji-sama… actually lost?"
"Impossible! To Lilith?"
Despite their doubts, the vampires understood what came next: the leader was dead; loyalty would shift.
With the battle over, Lilith moved to stand beside Shino, her gaze fixed uneasily on the moon.
Shino looked at her, confused. "Didn't we win? What's with that look?"
Lilith turned to him, her eyes troubled. "Baji isn't truly dead yet. If… the next phase of their plan works, he may return."
"What plan?"
"The Blood Moon. The True Ancestor plans to harness the moon's power to strengthen the vampires. Today marks the seventh day—it's only one hour until the Blood Moon is set to rise."
Shino's eyes narrowed in thought. "Then… are we going to burn Faerûn Baji's body?"
Lilith shook her head. "Too late. Under the Blood Moon, vampires become truly immortal. Even a single living cell could fully regenerate him."
"Faerûn Baji was never my match; he never dared face me directly. This time, he only risked it because he banked on that."
"So…?"
Lilith gave him a steady, solemn look. "Our only chance to stop him now, Shino, is for you to eat him."
"Wha—?" Shino blinked, stunned. "Why me?"
Lilith was silent. Vampires consuming one another's blood often led to horrific results, especially when a lower-ranking vampire attempted to consume a higher-ranking one. The resulting blood corruption could be catastrophic, in some cases causing an immediate and fatal backlash. And with a dead royal's blood, the corruption would be even more extreme—uncontrolled, the blood became a lethal poison.
Everyone understood the risks. None dared to take them.
But Shino… Shino was blissfully unaware. And sometimes, ignorance was a gift. While the task was unfair, Faerûn Baji had to die. Lilith knew the alternative too well: the ceaseless threat of Faerûn's return, ready to strike in ambush.
Lilith leaned closer, lifting Shino's chin, her gaze intense. "Set aside any doubts. You're a vampire; he's a vampire. If you consume him, you'll surpass him, a royal above all but one. This is something only you can do, Shino. If Faerûn Baji lives, we will never know peace. You remember how he hunted me, how he hunted you."
Truthfully, Shino felt a wave of disgust rise in him.
In the game, consuming vampires had been a necessity, something forced on him by circumstance. But now…
Now it was his choice, and the weight of it bore down. Yet he couldn't ignore the truth: if Faerûn Baji remained alive, he'd keep sending hunters—or worse, come for Shino himself. And what if the other royals decided to join the hunt? Shino knew he stood no chance against them, not as he was.
Only by becoming stronger could he truly be free.
"If you go through with this," Lilith's voice cut in, soft yet resolute, "I'll offer you a chance to marry me once you're a prince."
Her eyes were unreadable. If you survive, the look seemed to say.
Shino glanced back at her, unsure. "Are you serious?"
Lilith nodded, unwavering. "I am."
"There's no need for that." He turned away. "I'm not thinking about marriage, and besides…"
He didn't finish. Steeling himself, he approached Faerûn Baji's body. His pulse thundered as he bent down, opened his mouth, and sank his fangs into the lifeless flesh. It took only moments for Baji's corpse to wither into bone. With trembling hands, Shino removed Faerûn's heart and swallowed it whole. The last remnants of Faerûn Baji dissolved to ash.
"It's not so bad…"
But a relentless pounding filled his ears.
Whumph, whumph!
Suddenly, Shino's heart thrashed wildly in his chest. His vision dimmed, and he fell to his knees, gripping his chest as blinding pain seized his nerves, his blood flaring out of balance, his skin rippling as though unraveling.
"Uhhh…uhhh…" His hands flew to his throat, foam spilling from his lips as a voice erupted within his mind.
"Ha ha ha!" It was Faerûn Baji's voice, mocking and venomous. "Poor, pitiful boy, tricked into taking my blood! Didn't Lilith tell you what the price would be?"
The laughter rose, deafening, storm-like, tearing through Shino's mind.
"You'll die, boy! Die with me today!"
In horror, Shino turned his head to Lilith. Her face held a shadow of regret, though she looked away, muttering, "I'm sorry… But if your will is strong enough, you have a sliver of hope."
Shino's vision blurred, and he collapsed.
Lilith closed her eyes, then leaped into the air, vanishing toward the sky. "The Blood Moon is about to rise—I need to help the True Ancestor."
Left alone, Shino's body began to rot. Flesh and bone broke down. Then, as the crimson moonlight bathed the earth, his body stilled, closing itself up. But soon it started to decay again, only to heal once more.
And through it all, Shino remained conscious, enduring wave upon wave of torment, each crest crashing over him with greater force.
He could feel Faerûn Baji clawing at his mind, his presence a dark shroud trying to swallow him whole. At last, the horrifying truth dawned on him: blood bore a vampire's very essence—their memories, their will, their consciousness.
Faerûn was consuming him from within.
"Don't resist!" Faerûn's voice cajoled, pressing down with a sinister urgency. "The chance Lilith spoke of? It's in giving up. Relinquish control to me, and you'll survive."