Although the sky was already painted black, the streets of Tokyo were bustling with life. The bright lights of various signs and street lamps illuminated the city, creating a completely different atmosphere than in the sunlight. And the residents of night Tokyo themselves were different from their daytime counterparts. In contrast to the aura of busyness, stress and fuss, now the streets were filled with an atmosphere of freedom, excitement and fun. The spirit of adventure plunged everyone into the waters of nightlife.
Away from the main bustle, under the light of a street lamp, two girls were chatting cheerfully. Their motorcycles were parked a few meters away from them, while they, leaning against the road barrier, rested after doing their work.
— It was quite funny to see you panic when you saw the traffic police, — Nobu chuckled, remembering the look of her friend. — Do they really scare you that much?
Unlike the hero's descendant, Celty's head was hidden by a closed yellow helmet with decorative cat ears. Although in her case, the helmet hid the absence of this very head. Nobu's friend was a dulahan, a spirit with a severed head, for the sake of which she came to the capital of Japan.
"This is not funny!" — she quickly typed on her phone. — "Sometimes I think that they are the monsters, and not me!"
— Ha-ha-ha! Oh, Celty, you are far from a monster. Don't slander yourself, — Oda hugged the cute spirit. — You are more humane than many people. Monsters do not always have to look different from people to be called monsters. Sometimes even a simple person is a real monster. It does not matter whether you are a dulahan or not. The main thing is your actions and desires.
"Do you really think so?"
— Of course! You are a kind and sweet girl. Especially, — Nobu narrowed her eyes slyly, — when you're so embarrassed by your boyfriend's compliments.
"Nobu! You promised not to mention that incident again!" — the embarrassed girl even added a few angry emoticons at the end.
— I've been to your place before. How about coming to mine next time?
"Is that okay? You live with those dragons, right? Will they be okay with me?"
— Don't worry, — Oda waved her hand dismissively. — Sai and Ophis already know about you. I'll just warn them in advance and let you know when the time is right. The pair themselves are harmless, as long as no one tries to attack first. There's one more thing that might anger them, but we don't need to worry about that at all.
"Okay. In that case, I'll gladly accept your invitation!"
— Great! Now, we can... — Nobu couldn't finish, knocked off her feet by her friend's push.
The girl watched with a shocked expression as Celty's helmet shattered into pieces. Seconds earlier, it was her head that had been in that place. Quickly pulling herself together, Oda turned her gaze to the side from which the deadly projectile had come. Many guns had already appeared near her, ready to attack.
— Oh, what a pity! — a pale-skinned man came out of a dark alley to meet them. He acted as if no attack had happened a second earlier. — I apologize for what happened. You were so careless that I couldn't restrain myself.
— Bastard! Do you think you'll get away with apologizing?!— the girl screamed furiously, pointing straight at the stranger. Celty stood next to her, wearing a new black helmet and a scythe from the darkness. — I will definitely repay you, but first tell me: what the hell do you want?!
— Ha-ha-ha! It doesn't matter whether you kill me or not — I'm just a messenger. However, you better be an obedient girl if you don't want something to happen to your friend.
— As you can see, — the hero's descendant nodded at her friend, — she is capable of taking care of herself, which I can't say about you. Who sent you and for what purpose? Speak! My patience is running out.
— Human, — the man grimaced in disgust, — stop acting so arrogantly. You are just food that received a toy from a dead God. And I was talking about your other friend, who should now be returning home from the couple you were with before. As soon as the pink-haired one is captured, my comrades will deal with them.
— What? — Goosebumps ran down Nobu's spine.
— Ha-ha-ha! Didn't expect that, huh? — Seeing the girl's eyes full of fear, the vampire rejoiced. — No one will go unpunished after killing our kinsmen. Our leader wants to personally look into the eyes of the arrogant owner of the sacred mechanism, who dared to commit outrage on our land, so you better come with me in a good way, otherwise your friends will suffer.
— Ha-a-a-a... — a heavy sigh escaped the girl. She looked at her interlocutor with pity. — You didn't even conduct an investigation? Do you even understand who you're acting against?
— Stop bluffing! We know that she is also a user of the Dragon-type Sacred Gear. Apart from the Red and White, which are already known, there are no strong gears, and those two do not emit any power at all. No one will help you, human. Surrender!
— It looks like visiting me will have to be postponed, — for a second, every resident of Tokyo froze in fear from the terrible thirst for blood that engulfed the entire city, but quickly disappeared, as if it had never existed. — Celty, can you help me capture him? Silence and Ophis will be in a bad mood for a while. I hope my gift will help calm them down a little.
— What... what was that? — the vampire turned to the girl who clearly understood the situation. — What are you talking about, human?
— You made the most terrible mistake of all — you coveted the dragon's treasure. Now you will have to face the consequences of your actions.
***
Ten minutes before the attack on Nobu.
Humming to herself, Hitori walked down the stairs to the station. She had spent the evening with her dear friends at their home. As usual, they had a fun time together, enjoying games and watching a movie together. The guitarist was happy about this pastime, although her friends were very embarrassed and made fun of her because of their close relationship. For some reason, they did not believe that a couple could so easily accept a third person without some kind of perverted background. This thought still made her feel embarrassed.
"For the sake of decency, such a thing is really rare."
"But that doesn't mean I have to do anything indecent with them!? — Goto complained to the dragon. — Why can't they believe that we're just close friends?"
"You're not quite right about that. You're members of the same pack — you're family, — Vritra corrected. — It's much bigger and closer than just friends."
— Hmm... hmm... hmm... — the girl didn't respond to that, continuing to hum to herself. Only a slight blush on her cheeks showed her good mood. — A barrier?
The change around her didn't go unnoticed, nor did the appearance of a group of unknown people with weapons in their hands. Along with Hitori, a few people waiting for the night train were caught in the isolation barrier, so panic arose immediately.
— What's going on here, huh?! — The bandit-looking guy wasn't scared and decided to find out what was going on in a more rude way. — Who are you anyway?
— The food is too noisy as always, — one of the attackers complained, shooting the man in the head. The rest of the people screamed in fear at the sight of the murder. — That's better.
While the people rushed towards the exit, which they would not be able to get through due to the barrier, Hitori remained in place, looking from the corpse to the group of killers. It was not the first time she had seen death before her eyes. Sai and Crom even took care of training the girl in taking lives, so that at the right moment she would not flinch, thereby getting into danger. First, there were wild animals. After the guitarist managed to overcome her trembling and gagging, it was the turn of more human prey, which were renegade demons.
— Why? — Goto asked, summoning the glove. — What drives you?
— Ha-ha! Look at our target, it turned out to be very calm. It will be all the better to see how your face changes when we are done, — the killer spoke while the others dispersed, taking the girl into a circle. — As for your question — because I want to. I like to crush insects under my feet. People are not good for anything else anyway, except to be cattle for others.
— Stop chatting, — his comrade interrupted him. — Let's quickly capture her and go after the main target. I am tired of being in this wretched place.
"There is no point in listening to this leech, partner. Vampires have always been known for their unfounded pride and stupidity."
— You should not have come here, — said Hitori, sending a pulse to the pendant on her neck. She understood that she would not be able to cope with several opponents armed with firearms at once. — Even more so, you should not have chosen me as a target. You will regret it.
— Ha-ha-ha! — the whole group laughed at what they heard. — How scary~! Do you really think you can handle all of us? Or are you hoping for help from that girl with the sacred gear? In vain, no one will help you.
The enormous killing intent from the two figures that appeared despite the barrier he had set up made the man swallow his own words. Having sensed the danger signal from their favorite, the dragons immediately came to her rescue to find a bunch of nobodies surrounding the girl.
— Who the fuck do you think you are, trash? — Silence asked, having already set up his own barrier, blocking any influence from the outside. Its pressure made everyone except Hitori and Ophis tremble in fear. — It doesn't matter. You're already corpses anyway.
He appeared in front of a new victim every moment to separate their stupid heads from their bodies with a light wave of his claws. Only when the boy appeared near the last vampire, five seconds after everything had started, did the innocent bystanders realize the massacre that had taken place.
— Sleep, — the dragon winced at the rising screech, putting the humans to sleep in order to erase their memories later. — And now you. Now I will learn all of your motives.
A scaly hand closed on the vampire's head, tightening its grip with each passing second, while simultaneously invading his mind.
— Now everything is clear, — having received the memories of the failed hunter, Sai threw his corpse aside like trash. He decided to pass on the knowledge he had gained to Ophis. — Here, take a look.
— Hmm... They still disobeyed my warning.
— What are you talking about? — Hitori asked, not understanding the meaning of the conversation. — Why did they attack?
— Sorry, this is partly our fault. We encountered vampires while vacationing in Romania. Nobu dealt with them, at my insistence, and now they have decided to take revenge on her.
— It seems that these leeches lacked the brains to find out who we are, — Ouroboros said with disdain. They do not hide their identities at all, and any more or less informed user of the devil's network knows about the pages of the "Infinity Dragon" and the "Silence Dragon." — By capturing you and us, they wanted to blackmail Nobu so that they could capture her without hindrance.
— Here she is, by the way, — a communication circle appeared near his ear, one of the few spells the girl had learned. — Yeah... I've already figured it out... I don't need it, you can get rid of it and go home. We need to show these mosquitoes and everyone else that Ophis and I keep our word.
***
The vampires were divided into two factions. The Tepes faction, led by men, and the Carmila faction, which insisted on the superiority of women. Despite the many different nests scattered throughout the human world, the main cities-capitals of the vampires were in a separate dimension, as in most other mythologies. It was for this reason that they managed to survive the attacks of the church and several crusades.
The sky above the city was habitually covered with clouds, allowing the vampires to feel comfortable during the daytime. Outwardly, the settlement resembled an ordinary city of old Europe. Around the castle in the center there were low houses, no more than two stories high, surrounded by a high fortress wall. The number of residents was estimated at tens of thousands.
Life in the capital flowed slowly and measuredly, without foreshadowing trouble, until a huge magic circle with two intersecting snakes biting their own tails appeared a hundred meters behind the wall. Several dozen dragons appeared from the Ouroboros teleportation circle, in front of which stood two men and a girl.
After a mental signal, a powerful barrier called Ophis appeared around the city, which would not allow anyone to cross it. Under the gaze of the already alarmed vampires, Sai stepped forward ten meters ahead of the group and turned into a dragon. Covered in coal—black scales that seemed to absorb the surrounding light, he took a huge breath, concentrating his aura. The next moment, a beam of concentrated emptiness flame burst out from Silence's mouth, annihilating everything in its path. The concept of blocking simply denied any matter absorbed by the dragon's fire.
A few seconds were enough for an arc of emptiness to appear on the outskirts of the city, taking away a fifth of the vampire population. Seeing the result of his attack, the black dragon roared. Following him, all the other mythical lizards roared, soaring into the sky.
— The punishment has begun, — Sai said with a bloodthirsty grin, becoming a human again. — Nobu, give it your all, — the girl's smile seemed forced, but she nodded silently and went into the city. — And what will you do, teacher?
— While the youth are having fun, I will wander the streets in search of the strongest of this rabble, — Crom Cruach enjoyed what was happening. — It's time to remind the world why everyone should be afraid of dragons.
***
The city was burning. Ten minutes had passed since the start of the surprise attack, and most of the capital's population had already died. No one was ready to resist an entire flock of dragons that drowned them in a veritable sea of fire.
Circling in the sky, they burned everything in the settlement meter by meter. Neither the ground, nor buildings, nor living creatures could escape the fate of being swallowed by the breath of dragons. Naturally, the vampires did not sit idly by. They tried to stop the invaders, flying into the air or performing joint magic from the ground. Very quickly, the "rulers of the night" realized the futility of dominating the sky. Despite their size, the dragons dominated the capital's skies without any competition, quickly killing anyone who took to the air. The only thing left for the vampires was to make fierce attempts to kill at least one flying lizard, but they failed in this too. The only time they managed to catch a young dragon and hit it with a group spell of fifty magicians, leaving it in a dying state, did not lead to a positive result. Dozens of magic circles appeared around the wounded one, literally healing the dragon before their eyes. The chosen one of their goddess watched the entire battlefield, helping them. With a new roar, the furious attack of the dragons resumed.
The evil dragon happily wandered through the ruins of the vampire kingdom, enjoying the cries of despair and helplessness. He was displaying his aura, not exceeding the highest level, to attract the best of these nobodies to try to defeat the "commander" and stop the invasion. This strategy had already paid off several times, and he was going to do it again if the scent of five strong vampires sitting in ambush up ahead was anything to go by.
— One, two, three, four, five. I'm coming to find you. Aha-ha-ha-ha!
Nobu didn't like this at all! She slowly moved along the outskirts of the city, killing any attackers. However, it was one thing to take the lives of murderers and warriors, and quite another to take the lives of ordinary and desperate civilians. Right now, she considered herself a monster, like the one who killed her family. Footsteps sounded from the crossroads ahead, and her muskets were ready to fire.
— Hang on a little longer, son. Soon we will leave the city and be safe, — a young woman jumped out from around the corner, dragging her ten-year-old son behind her. Noticing the intruder in front of her and a pile of weapons aimed at them, the mother immediately grabbed the child, shielding him with her back. — Please don't shoot! Spare us.
— I... I... — Oda was completely confused.
— At least my son. You can kill me, but let him go, — the vampire begged pitifully, bowing to the ground. — He did not commit any bad deeds. He did not deserve to die!
Seeing this picture in front of her, the girl could not stand it any longer. The barrels of the guns stopped aiming at the vampires. Turning her back to them, Nobu swallowed the nausea that rolled over her.
— Thank you! Thank you very much! — Having received a chance to save herself, the woman picked up the child and ran on, but after a few meters a shadow covered them.
— Huh? — Hearing a deafening blow, the girl turned around.
In the place where the fleeing vampires should be, in the crater created by its landing, stood a familiar dragon. Tannin's son, with whom Sai often trained in his huge form.
— Why did you let them go? — Bova asked growling, shaking off the remains of corpses from his paw. — Our Goddess gave a clear order: —Destroy everyone in this place who has the blood of vampires.—
— B—but... they are o—ordinary residents.
— I don't care: an adult or a child, guilty or not. They dared to go against the dragons, so they will be punished — death! Such is the will of Ophis, — the dragon spoke sharply, looking down at the girl. — If you can't do this, then just go back behind the wall and wait there.
***
Silence calmly looked over the entire battlefield with his mystical eyes, towering high in the sky. If necessary, he healed wounds or sent magical attacks to clusters of presumptuous leeches.
"The guys have gotten a taste for it and are already finishing, which means we can leave them to their own devices, — the young man thought, seeing the ongoing carnage. — The teacher has already dealt with all the strong owners of the aura and is simply enjoying the scenery, — he noted with a chuckle, turning his gaze to the last member of the group and frowned. — It seems I expected too much from an ordinary girl. Now she is confused and afraid. Something should be done about it, — the dragon reasoned, seeing Nobu who had gone out of town. — She mentioned her aunt. Perhaps we should give her a short vacation, let her visit her relative. Although it will be a pity if she decides to leave, I have already gotten used to her. Okay, I'll decide later."
Throwing extraneous thoughts out of his head, the young man concentrated on the future. There were only two places he could not examine with his gaze. The Royal Palace, as expected, was hidden from outsiders by a barrier, but unexpectedly there was another place. A large building on the outskirts, which had an exit to the arena. Intrigued by what was happening, the dragon decided to deal with the unknown factor first.
Coming close, Sai was able to examine the structure of the barrier in detail. Judging by the magic circles, it was a stationary barrier that was launched from the inside. Deciding not to destroy it, he simply penetrated this cage, creating a temporary passage so that no one could escape.
Having entered the building, the dragon's keen sense of smell caught a tart metallic taste. For this to happen, a huge amount of blood must have been spilled. Moving deeper, he began to meet vampires torn to pieces on his way. A mask of horror froze on the faces of the corpses.
— How interesting, — using the sight of all things again, Silence discovered very curious things. — Only the culprit of this fun remained alive, and also... He emanates the feeling of a dragon.
There was no point in hiding anymore, so he went to the hidden predator. Seeing various equipment and magic arrays in the open doors, the young man could feel a vague familiar feeling.
So he reached the room where the monster had set up an ambush. If it weren't for the cheat ability, Sai is not sure he would have been able to detect the danger. The beast had too good skills. Having crossed the threshold of the room, a powerful and flexible body had already rushed towards a new target.
— Ha! Good try, — the guy grinned, throwing the enemy away. — What now?
— Gr-r-r!
— And this, in your opinion, is a roar? — He took a breath and showed a drop of his aura. — Gr-r-ra-a!
A powerful roar threw the chimera aside, and cracks from the sound wave appeared on the floor and ceiling near the young man.
— This is what a real roar means. Wow! Haven't you given up yet? — the predator became more wary, but did not abandon the desire to fight. — If you disappoint me, then expect no mercy.
— Gr-r-r! — the beast no longer began to save those crumbs of energy, calling on magic.
The magic circle pleasantly surprised Sai. The hybrid in front of him was a powerful creature, partially having the power of an ice dragon, so he decided to subdue him. Having manifested dragon wings, the guy released his aura to its fullest.
— You cannot win, — with a wave of the wing the ice was easily blocked. — Surrender and submit! And then I will take care of you, — not immediately, but the predator had to submit. Silence had an overwhelming presence, especially for a creature with dragon blood. — Good girl. Let's go visit the ruler of this already dead city, and then we can return.
The beast and the dragon left the walls of the former laboratory. Walking side by side along the ruined and corpse—strewn streets of the capital, they moved towards the castle of the leader of the Tepes.