The atmosphere inside the room was heavy.
On one side, Bon wielded his enormous bisento.
On the other, Yumi held her purple katana, wearing a calm smile.
— Our negotiation was always a trap. But you, old man... ended up revealing that you're one of Them. So now you have to die — Yumi said.
Bon pointed his bisento at her.
— Then come at me.
The two charged at the same time.
Bon attacked first, thrusting his weapon forward with tremendous force.
The blade tore through the air.
But Yumi leaped at exactly the right moment.
The bisento struck the floor with enough force to crack it and become momentarily lodged in the ground.
— Nice move — Yumi smiled in midair. — If you'd hit me, I would've been brutally impaled. But tell me... I wonder what your insides look like?
She raised her hand.
Instantly, several streams of purple liquid appeared around her.
The streams shot toward Bon.
— What is that?! — he exclaimed, pulling his weapon free and retreating.
The liquid struck the ground.
The stone began to melt.
Corroded.
Destroyed.
— Old Bon! Watch out! — Arata shouted. — Her power is the manipulation and creation of poisons! That katana is probably poisonous too!
— Understood, boy — Bon replied. — Then I can't let her touch me.
Yumi smiled.
Then she launched herself toward the ceiling.
In one swift movement, she pointed her katana directly at Bon's abdomen and charged like an arrow.
Bon remained still.
Waiting.
Arata watched with his heart pounding.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
All of this was his fault.
He had tried to recover the necklace.
But would the negotiation really have worked?
Or would Yumi have killed the blonde girl anyway?
"What do I do?"
"I need some kind of trump card..."
"Someone strong enough to defeat Yumi... I'm strong, but I'm nowhere near her level..."
But he didn't know anyone like that.
And he didn't want to rely on Return by Death again.
When Yumi finally entered Bon's range, he swung his bisento.
The blade tore through the air.
And severed one of her hands.
Blood sprayed across the room.
But before Bon could celebrate...
Yumi brought her face close to his neck.
And bit him.
— AAAAHHH!!
She began sucking his blood.
Several seconds later, she slowly pulled away.
Her severed arm began regenerating before everyone's eyes.
Flesh.
Muscles.
Bones.
Everything reconstructed itself.
Yumi licked the remaining blood from her lips.
Then she revealed two sharp fangs.
— What? Never seen a vampire before?
With a single movement, she severed Bon's right arm.
The limb fell to the floor.
A massive amount of blood spread across the wooden boards.
— I'm still not at the peak of my regeneration... but this is already enough — she said, licking the tip of her katana.
Bon fell to his knees.
— So you're a vampire... I thought your species had gone extinct...
— Not completely — Yumi replied. — I'm one of the last survivors.
— Then we have to take her outside into the sunlight! — Arata shouted. — Then she'll die!
Felicia turned toward him.
— What are you talking about? Vampires don't die in sunlight, idiot! Haven't you ever read a book?
— Then explain it to me!
Felicia sighed.
— Vampires are a subspecies derived from demons. They need to consume blood to survive, and they possess extremely powerful regenerative abilities.
She continued:
— But there are two phases.
— During the day, they can only regenerate injuries by absorbing blood.
— But during the night...
Her expression became serious.
— Their regeneration reaches its peak. They can heal freely without needing to absorb blood.
— Under those conditions, they're practically invincible.
Arata's eyes widened.
— Then you have to defeat her before nightfall!
Bon gritted his teeth.
— I know, boy.
Yumi smiled.
— At this rate, you're going to die, old man.
She pointed her katana at him.
— Once night falls, you'll have to inflict ten consecutive fatal wounds on me, causing a short circuit in my regeneration. And I don't think that's possible for you in your current condition.
She charged.
The katana flashed forward.
Bon managed to grab her with his remaining arm.
And punched her hard in the face.
He then raised his bisento to finish her off.
But Yumi spun her body.
Her knee slammed into Bon's abdomen.
He lost his balance.
In the next instant...
The purple katana pierced his left arm.
The limb fell.
Bon no longer had either arm.
— OLD BON!! — Felicia screamed.
Tears streamed down her face as she desperately ran toward him.
— Felicia... don't... — Bon murmured.
But she didn't stop.
He was her only family.
She would never abandon him.
Yumi smiled.
And drove her katana through Felicia's chest.
— Gah...!
The girl looked down.
The purple tip of the blade had pierced straight through her body.
Blood trickled from her lips.
She staggered.
Then looked at Bon.
And smiled.
— Old Bon...
Tears mixed with blood.
— I love you...
— You're my only family...
Before she could finish.
Yumi tore open her abdomen.
Felicia's entrails spilled onto the floor.
— DAMN YOU!!
Bon stood up.
His eyes flooded with tears.
His mouth filled with blood.
Even without arms, he grabbed his bisento with his teeth.
And charged.
Yumi simply watched.
Then made a single slash.
The katana completely opened Bon's abdomen.
His entrails spilled onto the floor as well.
The old man collapsed.
Lifeless.
Arata stood frozen.
Trembling.
Crying.
Unable to do anything.
— Why...?
His voice broke.
— Why would you do this...?
Yumi turned toward him.
— I wonder what your insides look like?
The katana flashed.
And pierced his abdomen.
An unbearable pain tore through his body.
The poison began taking effect immediately.
Corroding every cell.
Every nerve.
Every muscle.
Arata dropped to his knees.
His entrails began spilling from his body.
He vomited blood.
So much blood.
Soon, he collapsed onto the floor.
Motionless.
That was when he saw the door open.
The blonde girl entered.
The same girl he had been trying to save.
— What...? — she murmured. — What happened here...? This is disgusting...
Yumi appeared behind her.
Without hesitation.
The katana pierced straight through her head.
The girl died instantly.
Her body collapsed beside Arata's.
He wanted to scream.
Warn her.
Save her.
But he couldn't.
The pain was too intense.
All he could do was watch.
Yumi then walked toward the crystal of the girl's secondary necklace, where Buck resided.
And picked it up.
Arata's vision began to darken.
The agony intensified.
It was a pain he had already experienced twice.
But he could never get used to it.
Then...
Something happened.
A gigantic blue wyvern suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Its presence dominated the entire room.
In an instant.
Everything froze.
The walls.
The floor.
The blood.
The bodies.
Even Arata's body.
And then...
Arata Ryusei lost his life for the third time.
Death Count: 3
End of Chapter 10...
To be continued in Chapter 11...