Edward looked at her, and tilted his head.
"So just what is this Human capable of creating?" he asked, a slight interest in his voice.
"From what we've observed in the few short weeks since he arrived, just about anything," she replied. "He makes his own food, and he can replicate both Beast Weapons and Beast Gear."
Sergeant Faye's eyes tightened.
"In the Human world, we have a special kind of metal called 'Glathrium,'" she continued. "It is the strongest, hardest to find metal in the universe. To the point that the cost of affording it is so astronomically high, that only the most powerful factions even possess it."
She paused for a moment, and both Muka and Edward could feel a tense atmosphere begin to emulate from her.
"He can make it with a metaphorical snap of his fingers," she replied, a certain sharpness in her tone. "From something as small as a golf ball, to something as large as an entire picnic table."
The eyes of the two Vampires both widened in shock.
Sergeant Faye turned and pointed to the screen.
Specifically, at the group of students.
"It is no mere coincidence that all of the students are wearing the exact same Beast Armor," she replied. "Student Hikiko is simply wearing the original copies, while the others are all wearing mere reproductions that he created using his Ability."
Muka and Edward both sat there, stunned by Sergeant Faye's words.
Sergeant Faye moved her hand, pointing at Galina on the screen specifically.
"That 'girl'," she replied. "She's one of the numerous 'Beasts' that student Hikiko has created. And…it's not like she's some kind of mindless Beast, either. In a way, I wish she was."
Her face hardened.
"If she was just a mindless Beast, with no free will or agency of her own, we could just say that she was a mere extension of his Ability. No more than a construct," Sergeant Faye replied, before pursing her lips. "But she is a fully-sentient creature with ideas…and opinions…all of her own."
Shizuka let out a snort, a look of amusement on her face.
"Yeah," she replied, her voice evolving into a light laugh. "You know that better than anyone, don't you Faye? The annoyed glares she gives you everyday in the canteen would make somebody think that you offended her personally, or something!"
Sergeant Faye pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance.
She let out a sigh, and turned back to the two Vampires.
"Additonally, the power to create things and the power to create these…'Beasts' of his seem to be two separate Skills," she added. "Because while some of the things he makes for food, especially the raw meat he makes for me and student Talen, appear to be organic in nature, he is yet to be seen creating a living creature that is not one of the aforementioned Beasts."
Edward turned his attention towards Starrk on the screen.
"What about him?" he asked. "Given how you said that he was…'recruited', I take it that he is not one of these 'Beasts' of his?"
Shizuka turned to the elderly Vampire.
"That one…is particularly complicated to explain," she replied, causing both Edward and Muka to turn to her. "The exact mechanics of that specific Skill of Tsu-Tsu is probably the hardest to explain of any Skill Tsu-Tsu has displayed up to this point."
She looked away.
"Even I found myself questioning if I had hallucinated seeing the whole thing, and I was in the room with Tsu-Tsu when it happened."
Edward raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"What makes it so confusing?" he asked.
Shizuka turned to him, her eyes narrowed.
"Because by every rational definition, that man does not exist," she replied. "He is quite literally a fictional character that Tsu-Tsu pulled out of an old TV show, and manifested in the real world."
The eyes of both Muka and Edwards widened even further, to the point that their pupils became pinpricks, and the two slumped downwards.
To Shizuka, it appeared as if the two were using every fiber of their beings to resist letting their mouths fall open.
Honestly, Shizuka didn't expect the two Vampires to have any form of a rebuttal, given what she had just said, but after about a minute of dead silence, Muka spoke up again.
"So in other words, that brown-haired man…is this boy's Familiar?" she asked, her eyebrow raised in confusion.
Shizuka stared at the Vampire Leader in surprise, her eyes wide.
She had not expected the woman to get over her stupor so fast.
Sergeant Faye turned to Muka, a look of confusion on her face.
"Wait, 'familiar'?" she asked. "What the heck is that?"
Shizuka got over her surprise, and turned to her fellow Sergeant.
"Think of it like how the Bree Family tames Beasts and uses them in battle," she replied.
Sergeant Faye turned to Shizuka, thoroughly stunned.
"Shizuka, you've…you've heard of these…'familar' things before?" she asked.
Shizuka crossed her arms and looked away.
"Only through the various 'fantasy world' anime I've watched with Tsu-Tsu," she replied. "Usually, the ones involving a world filled with magic. Familiars were usually some form of a magical creature who was bound to another person through magical means, such as a contract. Honestly, the closest word I can use to describe it is…a 'companion'."
Muka nodded.
"Correct," she replied, before turning back to Sergeant Faye. "Faye, Familiars were another one of the many things about Vampires I have yet to tell you about. However, in this particular situation, there is a reason for that."
Sergeant Faye raised an eyebrow, her now genuinely confused.
However, it was actually Edward who answered her.
"Faye Dallum, it's part of the Vampire Settlement's politics," he explained, causing her to turn to him. "It's generally frowned upon for Vampires not born into the 13 Original Families getting familiars. It was a rule passed down from a significantly long time ago in the Settlement's past. The Vampire Leaders of that time feared that turned Vampires and Subclasses might not be powerful enough to handle their familiars, who would turn against them. To ensure this never happened, it was decided that only strong Vampires could get them."
Shizuka narrowed her eyes.
"Wait, Familiars can…turn on their owners?" she asked.
Edward looked at Shizuka with a grim look in his eyes.
"If they perceive the Vampire as being too weak, yes," he replied. "Accounts of this very circumstance occurring have been…recorded in the early years of the Settlement's history."
Muka turned towards Sergeant Faye.
"Hikiko Shizuka has pretty much explained it, but yes, Familiars are essentially companions who bond with Vampires and assist them in battle," she explained. "My exact information about them is not the best, but I believe that I heard that they reside in a separate place of existence entirely, which has been colloquially named the 'Familiar World'. But if you want to know more, you'd have to ask the Fifth Family about it."
Sergeant Faye crinkled her lips, and she felt a wave of slight offense fill her at the words of the two Vampires.
It sounded as though Muka was saying that Sergeant Faye was too weak to be able to handle one of these 'Familar's.
As someone who had been in the military for years, it felt like a slap in the face.
But at the same time, Sergeant Faye had no point of reference for the level of strength these "Familiars" possessed.
And while she could easily hold her own against Beasts, for all Sergeant knew, comparing a Beast to one of these Familiars would be similar to comparing Head-General Paul to the Supreme Commander.
Sergeant Faye let out a deep sigh, and decided to just let the matter go.
All things considered, her lack of one of these "Familiars" was the least important thing right now.
Sergeant Faye turned back to the screen.
"Anyway, let's get back to the recording," she replied, before her eyes narrowed. "If memory serves right, you're just about to see just what I meant when I said that that girl was 'created by his Ability'...as well as seeing just how many of them he has access to."
Shizuka glanced back at her.
"Oh yeah, that's right," she replied, causing both Muka and Edward to turn to her. "You said that him only manifesting them two at a time on the base was him…merely holding back, and that he could manifest them all at the same time, did you not?"
Sergeant Faye nodded, her face hardened.
"Watch, and you will see for yourself," she replied.