The final bell rang through the school halls, echoing faintly through the building as students began pouring out of classrooms in noisy groups.
Harry stayed behind.
His eyes kept drifting toward the classroom door, waiting for Elara to appear.
She never did.
Owen noticed him standing there near the hallway windows, but didn't say anything about it.
Damien, Lucien, Nora, and Seraphina all eventually left together, their voices fading further and further down the stairs until the school slowly became quiet.
But Elara was nowhere to be seen.
Just like always.
She had this strange habit of disappearing without anyone noticing when she left.
So Harry waited.
And waited.
Eventually he ended up inside the library again, sitting near the back with books spread across the table while the clock on the wall ticked loud enough to drive him insane.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Every second felt slower than the last.
When the hell was she coming?
From the corner of his eye, Harry noticed movement near the entrance.
Lyrielle walked past with the principal beside her, the two talking quietly while heading through the hallway together.
Harry stared at them for a second.
The school really did gossip about weird things.
Still, he looked away without saying anything.
Then another figure passed by the library door.
Owen.
The boy stepped inside casually with one hand in his pocket.
"Yo. How you doing, Harry?"
Harry leaned back in his chair.
"Not good. Feels like I'm about to throw up. My stomach's killing me."
Owen frowned slightly.
"You alright?"
Harry exhaled slowly.
"Elara told me to wait for her today…"
Owen's eyes widened.
"WAIT, she's asking you out?!"
Harry blinked in disbelief.
"What? No. Dude, listen."
He lowered his voice slightly.
"Elara said she knows something about my memories."
Owen's expression shifted immediately.
"She does?"
Harry nodded.
"You remember how Lilith told me I used to live in Gujo? Between Nagoya and Takayama?"
"Yeah."
"Well apparently Elara knows things connected to my past."
Owen crossed his arms and leaned against the shelf.
"Then why not just ask her directly?"
Harry laughed dryly.
"I tried. She acts like my whole past is some giant mystery."
He looked down at the table.
"Lilith only told me I used to be some shut-in kid who got bullied."
Owen stared at him for a second before bursting out laughing.
"YOU? Bullied?"
Harry frowned.
"What's so funny?"
Owen pointed at him.
"Dude, you're literally the strongest guy in class. Everyone keeps challenging you to arm wrestles and nobody wins."
Harry shrugged weakly.
"Doesn't change the fact I still don't know anything about myself."
His voice lowered.
"I don't know who I used to be."
For once, Owen's expression softened.
"...Yeah. I get that."
Harry nodded slowly.
"That's why I want my memories back."
Owen stayed quiet for a second before speaking again.
"Here's the weird thing though."
Harry looked up.
"Elara isn't from Gujo."
Harry blinked.
"What?"
Owen sat down across from him.
"Think about it. She always shows up in luxury cars, expensive clothes, expensive accessories…"
He paused.
"And she's always with that huge bald dude in a suit who looks like he kills people for a living."
Harry almost snorted.
Owen continued.
"No way someone like that grew up in some quiet place like Gujo."
Harry frowned deeply.
"Then how does she know things about me?"
Owen scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Well…"
Harry narrowed his eyes.
Owen sighed.
"Elara kinda has a weird sense of humor."
Harry stared at him.
"You think she's messing with me?"
Owen quickly raised both hands.
"No no, not like that. I'm just saying she's weird."
Harry stayed silent.
Owen laughed awkwardly.
"When I first transferred here, she was actually the first person who talked to me."
"And?"
"She kept making edgy jokes like some thirteen-year-old internet kid."
Harry frowned harder.
"What kind of jokes?"
Owen immediately regretted bringing it up.
"...Dead people. Blood. Weird vampire stuff."
Harry blinked.
Owen leaned closer.
"Bro, she reads those weird gothic romance books all day. Straight-up vampire daddy nonsense."
"She WHAT?"
Owen laughed and dropped into the chair beside him.
"She's weird as hell."
He pointed vaguely toward the classroom halls.
"You noticed how nobody really talks to her much, right?"
Harry nodded slowly.
"Yeah. There's a reason for that."
Harry frowned.
"Then why does your group still hang out with her?"
Owen grinned helplessly.
"Seraphina."
"What about her?"
Owen sighed dramatically.
"Seraphina has this obsession with adopting antisocial people."
Harry blinked.
Owen imitated her voice dramatically.
"'We're best friends now!' or 'My friend likes you!'"
Harry almost laughed.
Owen continued.
"She started doing that to Elara one day."
"And?"
"Elara just… never left."
He shrugged.
"Even when Seraphina tried backing off later, Elara kept showing up with us."
Harry muttered quietly.
"You make her sound pathetic."
Owen shook his head.
"Nah. More like strange."
Harry looked away toward the window.
"I still think she's serious this time."
Owen stared at him for a second before giving up.
"You're wasting your time."
His eyes shifted toward the books.
"Wait. What's all this?"
Harry turned the green notebook toward him.
"Math."
Owen groaned loudly.
"Oh thank GOD."
Harry blinked.
Owen smirked.
"Help me."
Harry narrowed his eyes immediately.
"You just don't wanna go home early."
Owen burst out laughing.
"You got me."
Harry laughed along with owen.
And so the two of them stayed there together while the sunlight slowly faded beyond the library windows.
Harry explained complex numbers, imaginary values, transformations on the complex plane, and basic operations while Owen pretended to understand half of it.
Outside, the orange glow of sunset slowly darkened into deep blue.
Eventually Owen checked his watch and stood up.
"Damn. I gotta go."
Harry waved lazily.
"Later."
Owen left.
And Harry stayed behind a little longer.
Just thinking.
When Harry finally stepped outside the library, cold evening air brushed against his face.
And he froze.
Someone was waiting there.
Elara.
Or at least… it started as Elara.
The digital clock near the school gate flickered.
7:00 PM.
The moment the numbers changed, Harry watched her body shift before his eyes.
Her white hair became longer, brighter beneath the night sky.
Her skin turned pale like moonlight.
Her height changed slightly.
Even her face looked different.
More mature.
More beautiful.
More terrifying.
Harry stepped backward instinctively.
"Holy shit… WHAT the hell is that?"
The girl smiled faintly.
"What?"
Her silver-white hair moved softly with the wind.
"I thought you'd be happier seeing my true appearance."
Harry's heartbeat slammed violently against his chest.
"What the fuck are you?"
She tilted her head slightly.
"Don't worry. This won't take long."
"What won't take long?"
She ignored the question completely.
"Now then."
Her crimson-colored eyes locked onto his.
"What were you and Owen talking about?"
Harry stared at her.
"I'm the one asking questions here."
She smiled slightly.
"You've been asking questions for days. That doesn't seem fair."
Harry forced an awkward smile.
"Yeah? Well YOU said you'd answer mine."
"No. I never did."
Harry clenched his jaw.
"How about this?"
She raised one finger.
"One question for one question."
Harry hesitated.
Then nodded slowly.
"...Fine."
She smiled.
"I'll let you start."
Harry immediately answered.
"Do you know my past?"
"No."
Harry blinked.
"Then what the hell are you talking abo…"
She interrupted him calmly.
"When was the first time you saw me?"
Harry frowned.
"At school. When you got out of that black car."
She nodded slowly.
"Interesting."
Then her expression darkened slightly.
"The first time I saw you was when you ran away crying after Seraphina asked if you tried killing yourself."
Harry's face twitched.
She continued coldly.
"Honestly, you should've finished the job."
Harry stared at her in disbelief.
"Why do you hate me so much?"
She looked genuinely confused.
"I don't hate you."
Then she smiled faintly.
"I just don't think you add anything to society."
Harry felt his stomach twist.
She crossed her arms.
"My turn."
"Wait, I didn't even…"
"'Why do you hate me?' was your question."
She stepped closer.
"Have you ever killed someone, Harry?"
Harry's entire body stiffened.
"What kind of question is that?"
He instinctively stepped back.
"No."
She stared at him silently.
Then her eyes lowered toward the necklace hanging from her hand.
Harry noticed it immediately.
"What's that?"
She lifted it slightly.
"A latte box."
Harry blinked.
"A what?"
She smirked slightly.
"Does that count as two questions?"
Harry frowned harder.
She sighed dramatically.
"Whatever. I'm bored already."
Harry stepped forward quickly.
"WAIT."
She stopped.
"Fine. My turn."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"What's your real name?"
Harry froze.
"...Harry Grey."
She stared at him for a few long seconds.
"So you really only have one body and one name."
Harry swallowed nervously.
Then finally he asked the thing bothering him most.
"How did you change your appearance?"
She answered instantly.
"I'm Dracula's daughter."
Harry blinked.
"What?"
She smiled innocently.
"Your turn. Are you a zombie? If yes, who's your master?"
Harry stared at her.
"Is this some kind of joke?"
Her smile vanished completely.
"Don't make me force the answer out of you."
Harry frowned.
"You're wasting questions with these weird jokes."
He pointed at himself.
"I'm human."
She disappeared.
Harry's eyes widened.
A cold breath suddenly touched the side of his neck.
She was beside him now.
Impossible fast.
Her eyes were closed while she sniffed him slowly.
"...You lied."
Harry instantly stumbled backward and fell onto the ground.
"WHAT?!"
She sighed softly.
"I guess we're doing this the hard way."
Before Harry could react, she grabbed his hand gently.
Her fingers rubbed against his skin almost tenderly.
"Your hands are soft."
Then she grabbed his middle finger.
SNAP.
Harry's scream tore through the empty schoolyard.
"GHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
Pain exploded through his entire arm.
She looked almost annoyed.
"Now I've made a mess."
She pressed the button on the strange necklace.
Instantly, the sky changed.
The clouds darkened.
The night turned blood red.
Harry's breathing stopped.
She looked upward calmly.
"Now nobody can hear us."
Harry collapsed against the ground, shaking violently while clutching his broken hand.
"W-WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"
She crouched slowly in front of him.
"Who is your master?"
Harry could barely breathe through the pain.
"MY HAND…!"
Her patience visibly disappeared.
Then casually, she flicked her wrist.
Harry saw something white between her fingers.
Small.
Sharp.
A tooth.
His tooth.
His mouth slowly filled with blood.
Harry touched the front of his teeth with his tongue.
One was missing.
She had ripped it out so fast he never even saw her move.
"AGHAAAAAA YOU FUCK!!"
His voice cracked into the empty space around them, raw with pain he could barely contain. His body trembled violently as he tried to steady himself, but every nerve felt like it was burning alive.
Sophia looked at him with an almost bored expression.
"Are you going to talk now?"
Her voice was calm, like she was commenting on the weather.
Harry spat blood onto the ground, forcing himself upright with his other hand.
"I'll… I'll fucking kill you…"
Sophia tilted her head slightly.
"You're breathing pretty badly. Try it if you can."
Harry lunged forward, swinging wildly with his free hand, desperate and uncoordinated. But Sophia moved like she was weightless, slipping out of every attack with effortless precision, as if his fists were passing through empty air rather than a person.
"That's enough."
Before he could react, she caught his hand.
Her fingers slid between his like she was locking a key into place.
Harry froze.
"What…? No…"
Sophia's tone didn't change.
"Don't start apologizing now. I'm not planning to kill you that fast."
Harry's eyes widened in horror.
"What are you?"
Snap.
The sound echoed far too loudly in the silence.
Harry's fingers bent the wrong way in an instant.
His scream tore straight through the night.
"AGHAAAAAAAAA!!"
Sophia closed one eye, visibly annoyed by the volume.
"Can you lower your voice? It's painful listening to you scream like that."
Harry tried to swing again with his other hand, but she didn't even bother stepping aside this time. It was like he wasn't moving at all.
"Last chance. Talk."
"I swear—agh… I don't know about your fantasy story…"
Sophia's expression shifted.
Cold.
"I don't have time for this shit. Your master can go fuck off."
She grabbed his arm.
And broke it.
The sound was duller this time, heavier.
Harry's scream ripped out of him so violently it echoed through the trees, scattering birds into the sky.
"GRAAAAAAAHAAAAAAA!!!"
He collapsed slightly, shaking uncontrollably, breath breaking apart between sobs and pain.
Sophia stared at him like he was something inconvenient.
"You've been pathetic since the day I met you."
Harry's eyes flickered, catching something on her neck.
The necklace.
The source of it all.
His thoughts sharpened instantly.
If he broke it he can be freed and scream for help.
If he broke it, this ends.
She kept talking, her voice dripping with disgust.
"You've been running away, asking useless questions, wasting my time. And now you're just being annoying."
Harry's breathing hitched.
His hands moved.
Fast.
He grabbed the necklace.
Sophia's eyes widened slightly.
Too late.
CRACK.
The necklace shattered in his grip, pieces scattering across the ground.
For the first time, Sophia stopped moving.
Silence.
Then she looked at him like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Slowly, her expression changed.
Her mouth opened.
Fangs.
Harry didn't even get time to process it before she was on him.
Her teeth sank into his shoulder, deep enough to tear muscle.
"GHAAAAA!!"
Harry's vision blurred instantly.
His body screamed at him to stop, to collapse, to give up.
But something else surged inside him.
Something raw.
Something ancient.
Survival.
His eyes snapped open again.
With pure instinct, he grabbed her back and bit down into her neck with everything he had left.
Hard.
Desperate.
Feral.
Sophia reacted instantly, biting harder, trying to rip more from him, while Harry refused to let go, clinging with sheer will.
They were locked like animals.
Pain versus pain.
Instinct versus instinct.
Until finally Sophia wrenched him free and threw him into the wall.
The impact shattered stone.
Harry slid down slowly, barely conscious.
"I... I don't... I don't want to die"
His voice broke apart as his vision faded.
Then darkness took him.
...
The sky above them flickered violently.
Red shifted into blue.
Blue fractured into black.
Then suddenly, daylight returned.
Sophia's body reacted instantly.
"GHA!!"
Her skin began to burn.
Smoke rose from her exposed skin as she staggered backward, disoriented, shielding herself as her vision blurred.
She ran blindly, searching for cover, stumbling through pain until her hand hit solid stone.
She punched through it, forcing herself into the structure just as the sunlight intensified.
Inside, she collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily as if she had just been pulled out of drowning.
Then silence returned.
She looked at her hand.
Shaking.
Alive.
She reached for her phone.
But it run out of battery.
"Fuck…"
She steadied herself, forcing her thoughts to work again.
She needed help.
She glanced toward Harry.
He was still there.
Breathing.
Impossible.
She crouched slightly, listening.
Even through the chaos, she could hear it.
His heartbeat.
Then she noticed something else.
Fangs.
Slowly forming.
Her eyes narrowed.
"No way…"
She leaned closer, ignoring the faint burn creeping across her skin.
Harry's scent had changed.
It wasn't human anymore.
It wasn't even hers.
It was vampire.
Her breath stopped.
"How…"
She grabbed a small cut on her hand and let a drop of blood fall into his mouth.
She watched closely.
Waiting.
Then his body reacted.
A shift.
A confirmation.
He had become a vampire.
But she hadn't turned him.
That wasn't how it worked.
So how…
Her thoughts spiraled.
Before she could continue, headlights appeared outside.
A luxury car.
It stopped.
A tall bald man stepped out.
Unbothered by the sunlight.
He walked in like he owned the world.
Sophia straightened.
"Bring him. We're leaving."
The man lifted Harry's body effortlessly onto his shoulder.
No questions.
No hesitation.
He carried him to the car.
Sophia took one last look at the unconscious boy.
Still breathing.
Still changing.
And for the first time that night, she didn't have an answer.
The car door shut.
And they drove away.
Leaving behind blood, silence, and something that should not have happened.