The world known as the Realm of the Creators, Tokyo Metropolis.
The sun had long since set, and the moon had already ascended into the heavens. The pitch-black curtain of night had enveloped the world, and the dim moonlight cast a hazy, gray pallor over the sky, blanketing the earth.
And then—
The city lights came alive, a dazzling and ever-changing kaleidoscope of color that illuminated the world.
A network of crisscrossing transportation infrastructure formed the city's veins and bones, with all manner of vehicles moving in an orderly fashion along the wide, flat streets.
However, an atmosphere of unease was spreading through the city.
Every pedestrian hurried along, their faces taut with anxiety, their eyes darting toward others with a palpable fear.
It was as if a terrifying monster lurked somewhere within the surrounding crowds.
Kirie Kagarino walked casually through this unfamiliar city, her pace neither rushed nor slow.
From time to time, she would glance at the people around her, observing the expressions on their faces like a student watching a white rabbit in biology class.
In a shop she passed, a television was broadcasting a news channel.
"Last night, a gas leak occurred in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, resulting in a massive explosion. Relevant authorities have already cordoned off the area and are intervening."
On the screen, a woman in a crisp black suit, matching high heels, and black-framed glasses delivered the same lines she had spoken not long ago, her expression grave.
Hearing this, a middle-aged man nearby turned pale as if remembering something. He broke into a run, fleeing toward his home.
They are all just a bunch of terrified, pitiful creatures, thought the vampire who did not belong to this world.
Still, it was understandable.
After all, the "explosions"—which had already occurred several times, each resulting in the gruesome deaths of dozens to hundreds of people—had an impact that the weak and incompetent Tokyo government, a body that excelled only at bowing, could not possibly suppress.
Previously, I've seen red-eyed humans with grotesque organs growing from their bodies gnawing on people in alleyways. I've also seen humans become parasitized by small insects, transforming into monsters, the blood-kin mused.
Unlike herself, who merely drank a bit of blood and left it at that, those things were true, genuine monsters.
And they were only a fraction of the aberrations that had recently appeared.
And yet...
Could some of these aberrations truly be called mere aberrations?
At this thought, Kirie Kagarino's expression grew heavy.
Before she had even arrived in this world, the Vatican had publicly announced that they had welcomed the Archangel Michael.
The man, wielding a flaming sword, had sprouted crimson wings in front of everyone and cut down a monster calling itself the "Duke of Black Wings."
Even earlier, Romania had welcomed the return of their long-dead king—Vlad III Tepes—who had appeared suddenly and impaled countless beings that looked as if they had been infected and turned into living corpses, nailing them one by one across the wilderness.
Even the Great British Empire had abruptly announced the re-establishment of the Royal Knights Order, bestowing the title of commander upon a mysterious individual.
When the central figures of these events had no intention of hiding themselves, some things were bound to be revealed, no matter how hard one tried to conceal them.
This world was well and truly broken.
The vampire, who had woken up to find herself in a world that felt like it could collapse at any moment, sighed and prepared to leave.
In a world this chaotic, even though she herself was a monster, she could only bully those who called themselves "Ghouls" or use illusions to escape the pursuit of those physically transforming creatures.
The higher-tier monsters were not something she could contend with.
Putting aside everything else, the man the Pope called "Michael" could incinerate an entire city with a single stroke of his sword. The Romanian king also had a record of annihilating every suspected "vampire" within a thousand-meter radius with a single attack.
If she were deemed an enemy by that Archangel, or targeted by the "Son of the Dragon" who so thoroughly despised vampires, her death would be an exceptionally ugly one.
Therefore, it was best to leave quickly and hide out in her temporary residence for a while.
The vampire, herself a member of a race not particularly welcome in this world, sighed again and began walking toward the home she had acquired using her bloodline's innate illusionary arts.
The residence she had chosen was a villa in the suburbs, bought by a wealthy merchant.
There, the corpse servants she had awakened from the cemetery would provide her with every service she required.
With this in mind, she boarded the subway alone, rode it to the last stop, and began her solitary walk.
Honestly, it was a rather dangerous act for a delicate-looking, silver-haired girl to be walking alone in the wilderness.
But this was part of Kirie Kagarino's hunting process.
Much like a certain Spirit of Time, she, who fed on blood, would bait a trap to attract perverts and then drain them dry.
After their deaths, they too would be reawakened to serve as her desiccated butlers.
But speaking of which, is the moral standard of the people in the Far East here really so high?
Since arriving in this world, the vampire had barely encountered any perverted stalkers, a fact that made her a little suspicious.
The Far East of the world she came from had never lacked such degenerates.
Could it be that someone else in this world was also baiting traps?
Should I try a different hunting method?
In her own world, she had once disguised herself as a nun, feeding by hypnotizing the faithful and drinking their blood.
Perhaps it was time for a change of identity here as well.
Her food reserves were running low. The vampire walked along the deserted path, pondering what identity would allow her to reasonably access a large number of humans without being discovered.
And then—
CRACK—
Was that my imagination?
It sounded as if something had been torn open.
The vampire, feeling she had just heard something extraordinary, furrowed her slender brows and glanced around.
But—
Everything around her was normal. There was nothing out of place, nothing broken.
Could it be… from the sky?
Sensing that something was amiss, she raised her head and looked up toward the night sky.
And then—
Her beautiful red eyes widened.
Abruptly, a large black hole had appeared in the night sky. Objects, trailing luminous smoke, began to fall, obeying the laws of classical mechanics.
A meteor?!
No, those weren't meteors. They were three boxes, plummeting from the heavens!
And the trajectory of those boxes was…
Cold sweat beaded on the blood-kin girl's pale forehead.
Those things were falling right toward her!
Author's Note:
ps: To the good children who don't know who Kirie Kagarino is, don't go searching for it online.