Startled, Araragi spun around. The eyes peering through the glass didn't scare him; he saw Rikuo Nura leaning against the doorway, a sword in his arms, waving at him.
He was still wearing that blue haori. Who else could it be?
The yōkai of the Nura Clan had all come.
Hanekawa was standing there, too.
The panic of coming here alone vanished instantly. Araragi opened his mouth to say something, but just raised a hand.
A strange sense of security—is this yōkai?
Not bad.
Wait, why wasn't Sū ěr here?
He pushed the thought aside. Araragi closed his eyes, then turned back.
Episode—who had already lost his limb to Jibril—wasn't there. Beside Oshino stood a man in Western priest's robes. His hair stood up like needles, and his squinting eyes hid his emotions.
The other was a two-meter-tall muscle-bound giant. He had red eyes that glowed in the dark and red hair held back by a headband, falling down his back. He looked like a beast.
Those muscles looked like they could crush a watermelon, but after a week with Rikuo, Araragi knew strength wasn't just about muscle. He clenched his fists; he felt something strange.
He was stronger than this giant. Much stronger.
"Kiki-chree."
"Dramaturgy."
"...Koyomi Araragi."
The priest and the giant introduced themselves. Araragi gave his name after a pause.
"Looks like introductions are done. The stakes—the King of Oddities' right leg, left hand, and right hand have been delivered to me. Confirmed," Oshino said, walking toward the edge of the field. His voice was perfectly clear.
"You've all been briefed. The match between the vampire hunters and Kiss-shot's thrall, Koyomi Araragi... Remember, no killing allowed."
Oshino's frivolous tone didn't change the killing intent in the air.
"Begin."
Neither side moved immediately. Araragi was hesitating.
"Why stand with an Oddity?" The squinty priest, Kiki-chree, asked calmly. He looked remarkably kind. "Oddities only bring harm to humans. Eliminating them allows humans to live in peace."
"You were a normal student a few months ago, weren't you? Becoming an Oddity that eats humans to survive... do you have the heart for it?"
"...I just couldn't watch her die," Araragi answered.
"Excessive kindness leads to ruin, boy," the red-haired giant, Dramaturgy, grinned. "So, can we proceed with the standard procedure?"
"Standard procedure?" Araragi asked blankly. No answer came; instead, alarm bells screamed in his mind!
A week with Rikuo allowed his body to react before his brain.
BOOM!
A nimble back-jump cleared the sudden strike. Watching the concrete fragments fly, Araragi even found the spare mental energy to feel bad for the school principal.
Where he had just stood, Dramaturgy's hands had transformed into massive flamberge swords. The blades were buried in the ground. If he hadn't moved, he would have been cleaved in two.
Araragi pupils shrank. He knew this trick. He could even do it himself. This was vampire body manipulation.
This red-haired giant is a vampire too!!
"Not bad, boy. You dodged it," Dramaturgy's red eyes glowed. He slowly pulled the swords from the ground. "Why not join us? You don't look like the type to misuse power. Using this strength to protect humans isn't a bad life, is it?"
Hard to believe the giant could offer a recruitment deal so casually after a surprise attack.
This "talk while fighting" style felt familiar to Araragi... wasn't this exactly what the Nura yōkai did every day?!
"A vampire?" Araragi crouched low and asked.
"Like you, I was once human," Dramaturgy said, resting a giant sword on his shoulder. "Now, I'm just a vampire hunter."
Araragi didn't know the story behind those words. He only had one job: defeat them. A week of training wasn't useless. He would start with—EH?!!
Araragi suddenly noticed something. The squinty priest had vanished. Had he moved the moment the giant attacked?
Where was he? Left? Right? Behind?!
Araragi reacted, but he was too late. Kiki-chree was already beside him. A fist from the "safe" left side smashed into Araragi face!
Simultaneously, Dramaturgy—ever the opportunist—vanished into a cloud of mist. He reappeared behind Araragi, the mist solidifying instantly into those giant swords, swinging down for the kill!
The match where "No Killing" was the only rule had begun.