Her long, straight raven hair framed delicate, porcelain features. Dressed in a traditional black-and-white shrine maiden outfit, she evoked the quiet, serene elegance of a maiden who had stepped straight out of an ancient Japanese legend.
She was undeniably a rare beauty, yet people passing by on the sidewalk subconsciously overlooked her presence. It was as if an unexplainable, passive force was dampening her existence, pushing her into the background of reality.
"Yuuya... what's wrong? Why are you staring so intently at that girl?" Index asked, pouting slightly as she noticed him stop in his tracks to look at the girl standing before the bright red vending machine.
By now, Index had formed her own theories about Yuuya's strange constitution. Containing 103,000 forbidden Grimoires in her head gave her a deep understanding of esoteric concepts, which helped her rationalize why Yuuya was always accompanied by an absurd streak of good fortune. Even when he thoroughly provoked someone as fiery as Biribiri, things inexplicably turned out for the best in the end.
Almost any chaotic event surrounding him transformed into an unexpectedly favorable outcome. In her eyes, this wasn't simply because Yuuya possessed power comparable to a Saint, but rather because he was governed by a profound, conceptual force akin to "destiny."
'It's probably because of Yuuya's right hand,' Index thought to herself. 'Every ultimate right hand born into this world not only holds incomprehensible power, but also bestows either ultimate good fortune or ultimate misfortune upon its host. Yuuya's right hand clearly carries extraordinary favor.'
To her, this explained why Yuuya's teasing of Biribiri never resulted in genuine disaster. Moreover, Yuuya seemed to possess an endless supply of romantic luck—and as long as that right hand remained attached to his arm, that luck would likely never run out.
"That girl isn't an ordinary person, Index. Have you ever heard of her legendary title?" Yuuya asked, stroking his chin. "The Vampire Killer."
"The Vampire Killer?" Index blinked, her mind instantly sifting through her vast database. "An exorcist specializing in hunting non-human outcasts? Is that girl a member of the Russian Orthodox Church's secret annihilation squad?"
One of the strict doctrines of certain radical Russian Orthodox sects was the absolute elimination of beings deemed existential threats to humanity. They acted without regard for international boundaries, often leaving catastrophic collateral damage in their wake, making them thoroughly unpopular with every government on Earth.
"No, she's not an exorcist. She's a Gemstone," Yuuya corrected softly. "She possesses a natural, unanalyzable ability called Deep Blood (Kyūketsu Goroshi). Her blood emits a sweet fragrance that compels vampires to bite her, only to be instantly vaporized from the inside out the moment they touch it. It's said she has eliminated over five hundred vampires simply by existing."
Yuuya clicked his tongue. "Vampires do exist in this world, Index. They are beings born when blasphemous, ancient magic corrupted human biology through the curse of the Cross. Once bitten, the victim is infected with the origin curse, forced to dwell forever in the shadows."
On the surface, vampires were virtually indistinguishable from ordinary humans, save for their absolute intolerance to sunlight and a biological compulsion to consume blood to prevent complete muscular paralysis. They were an exceedingly rare group—fewer than a thousand existed across the entire globe.
"There's actually a Gemstone ability like that?!" Index gasped in astonishment.
"I'm genuinely curious to know what kind of irresistible attraction could drive a vampire so insane that they'd risk instant death just to bite her," Yuuya said, his eyes gleaming with academic curiosity. "Well then... I think I'll give it a try."
Index was thoroughly baffled, staring up at Yuuya with a deep frown. "Yuuya... do you want to become a vampire?!"
"Of course not. I just want to experience what a vampire's sensory perception feels like," Yuuya rolled his eyes at her overreaction.
"Pfft, that's impossible!" Index immediately giggled, placing her hands on her hips in her usual arrogant, scholarly manner. "Yuuya probably doesn't even know the fundamental laws of vampirism! Even if you actively sought out a vampire to bite you, no vampire would dare approach someone with your authority. And even if one did bite you, you wouldn't transform into a vampire anyway!"
"Oh? And why is that?"
"Because vampires can only infect ordinary humans whose spiritual density is weaker than their own!" Index raised her small head proudly, delivering the lore with mechanical precision. "Becoming a vampire is simply being cursed by a higher-tier entity through blood resonance. Furthermore, that curse dilutes with every succeeding generation—even a First-Generation True Ancestor's curse completely vanishes after seven generations. Not even a First-Generation could corrupt Yuuya's physical body. After all, your right hand holds the authority of the Divine!"
"Index, who do you think I am?" Yuuya grinned, his eyes half-closed with absolute self-assurance. "My capabilities as an Esper are entirely bound by my imagination. My power allows me to instantly replicate any capability, bloodline, or physical trait I desire—even the physiology of a vampire."
The corners of Yuuya's mouth curled upward into a confident smirk. "Watch closely, Index."
'Target Concept: Vampire Physiology.'
'Skill Activation: Imperial Privilege.'
Vvvvmm—!
A violent surge of localized heat rushed through Yuuya's circulatory system as the skill took effect. His blood felt as if it were instantly brought to a boil, his skin flushing warm and tight as his biological parameters restructured themselves. In Toaru lore, a special bloodline was simply the hereditary manifestation of an innate capability; reproducing it via Imperial Privilege was elementary.
His brown irises gradually shifted into a deep, glowing crimson, and two sharp, elongated fangs extended from beneath his upper lip.
"Phew... That feeling... isn't half bad," Yuuya stretched his arms casually.
He could feel his raw physical strength, reaction speed, cellular regeneration, and sensory acuity multiplying several times over.
Index stared wide-eyed at his sudden, terrifying physical transformation, dropping her ice cream wrapper in a sudden panic. "Y-Yuuya really turned into a vampire?! He actually transformed! What do we do?! How did you do that?! You're going to be baked into ash by the sunlight...!"
Looking at the hyperventilating, anxious Sister, Yuuya chuckled playfully. "What's the panic about? Look at me. I'm perfectly fine."
Index froze mid-panic, blinking rapidly as she looked him up and down. "It... it seems Yuuya isn't turning into ash under the sun?"
"Of course not. Think of this state as a simulated, higher-tier vampire template. It'll naturally dissolve in an hour," Yuuya said with a nonchalant shrug.
This specific physical output was roughly equivalent to a Prince-level vampire—a tier conceptually matching a Level 5 Esper in raw stats, though far less versatile. It seemed traditional vampires weren't quite as impressive as the legends made them out to be. And naturally, thanks to the passive protection of the Star Cup bound to his soul, environmental flaws like sunlight sensitivity were completely bypassed.
"A simulated vampire...?" Index muttered, still thoroughly confused. From his explanation, he was simply mimicking the physical properties of one through his anomalous Esper power.
Sniff, sniff—
Suddenly, Yuuya's twitching nose caught a scent carried by the summer breeze.
An indescribable, intoxicating fragrance hit his heightened olfactory senses. It triggered a primal, biological urge—an overwhelming craving akin to a man dying of thirst in the middle of a desert stumbling upon a crystal-clear cup of water. Even if he knew the water was pure poison, his body demanded he drink it without a second thought.
Gulp...
'This sensation...' Yuuya thought, his pupils dilating slightly as he fought back the instinctual pull. 'So this is the aura that forces vampires to lose all rational thought? It really is... remarkably difficult to suppress.'
Yuuya stared at the raven-haired girl standing before the vending machine, swallowing hard. To his current, simulated vampire senses, she smelled impossibly delicious. Fortunately, because his vampiric traits were artificially constructed via Imperial Privilege rather than a genuine, cursed soul, the fatal compulsion wasn't strong enough to completely override his overwhelming willpower.
Still, the sheer instinctual desire to sink his fangs into her neck was remarkably potent.
Yuuya wiped a stray drop of sweat from his temple, adjusted his collar, and casually strode toward the serene miko standing by the machine.