The city was quiet now. Fires crackled in the distance, mingling with the stench of blood and scorched stone. The crimson haze of the Blood Moon faded slowly, leaving Havenmere broken, but still standing.
Tsukasa leaned against a toppled statue, casually adjusting his coat collar as if he hadn't just gone toe-to-toe with a half-vampire warlord. Kiva's armor had faded back into his magenta Decade jacket, leaving only the faint shimmer of residual energy in the air.
Elara approached, wiping soot from her cheek. "What… what was that?" she asked, eyes wide, her voice a mix of awe and lingering fear. "You… changed. Again."
Lumi stepped up beside her, her expression tight. "That wasn't the form you used against the Shadow Wyrm… or the dark elves. It was different. Darker. Stronger."
Tsukasa gave a faint smirk, his usual detached coolness intact. "Oh, that?" He gave a lazy shrug. "Figured if the bloodsucker wanted a vampire, might as well give him one."
Elara scowled, half-exasperated, half-intrigued. "That doesn't answer anything."
"It wasn't magic," Lumi said quietly, studying him. "I know spellcraft, and that wasn't it. You moved like you were wearing living armor… and that weapon… I've never seen steel like it."
Tsukasa's grin widened, hands slipping into his coat pockets. "Guess you could say it's a little hobby of mine. Collecting weird powers in weird places. Comes in handy when guys like Renar get too full of themselves."
"But how?" Elara pressed. "You conjure flames without chant, control shadows, summon armor that reshapes reality… what are you, Tsukasa?"
For a brief moment, his eyes softened. Not mockery, not arrogance — just something old and distant. He looked away, gazing at the shattered cathedral and the bloodstained streets.
"Just a passing traveler," he said quietly. "I go where I'm needed. Break a few things. Kick down a few doors. Then I move on."
Lumi frowned. "You can't expect us to believe that."
"You don't have to." He turned back, giving them that familiar smirk. "But you might want to stick close. Seems like the big players in this world are finally waking up."
A low, eerie chill rode the wind then — like the first breath of something ancient, something foul, descending from the mountains.
Elara shivered. "This isn't over."
Tsukasa cracked his neck. "Good. I hate short trips."
The heavy clang of armored boots echoed down the ruined street.
A procession of gleaming white plate and crimson sashes moved through the smoke, their polished halberds and tower shields catching the dying embers of the Blood Moon's glow. The insignia of the Holy Order — a sunburst crossed by a sword — gleamed on every breastplate.
At their head, a severe-looking woman with silver hair pulled into a tight braid halted before Tsukasa's group. Her gaze swept over the shattered cathedral, the bloodstained streets, and the civilians being tended by Lumi and Elara.
"You," she barked, pointing a gauntleted finger at Tsukasa. "Step forward."
Tsukasa didn't move an inch. "I don't take orders from people I've never met," he said flatly, his hands still in his coat pockets.
The woman's lip curled. "I am Ser Kaelen Vireth, Commander of the Holy Order of Aelthoria. And you have defiled sacred ground with forbidden sorcery."
Elara stepped between them, her voice sharp. "He saved this city. Renar was a monster. He would've slaughtered everyone."
"Renar Vaelion was a chosen of the Light," another knight growled. "You lie."
Lumi stepped forward too, eyes blazing. "We saw what he was. A half-vampire feeding on innocents. He unleashed hell on this city!"
Kaelen's eyes narrowed, but she focused on Tsukasa. "And what of you, stranger? No known magic, no records in our tomes, yet wielding vampiric power like a damned blood priest. Explain yourself."
Tsukasa gave a slow, lazy smirk. "Would you believe me if I said I was just passing through?"
Kaelen's hand tightened on the hilt of her sword. "You mock the Order?"
"Lady," Tsukasa sighed, straightening, "if I wanted to mock you, you'd be laughing."
The air grew tense. The knights shifted, shields raised. Elara and Lumi readied themselves, subtle gestures weaving defensive wards.
Kaelen glared at them, then at the shattered spire behind. "This city is under the Order's protection now. You're to remain here for questioning until the High Priest's successor arrives."
Tsukasa rolled his neck. "Yeah… that's not happening."
Before anyone could react, he started walking — not toward them, but casually past, like none of them mattered.
"Stop him!" one knight shouted.
Kaelen raised a hand. "No. Let him go."
"But Commander—!"
"I said let him go." Her voice was cold, hard as steel. "If he wanted us dead, we'd be bleeding already. We'll watch. For now."
Tsukasa didn't even look back. "Good call," he muttered, grinning.
Lumi and Elara exchanged glances, then quickly followed after him, leaving the Holy Order standing in the ruins of their broken cathedral, seething.
As they left the shattered square behind, the first pale streaks of dawn began to creep over the horizon. The blood moon's cruel glow had faded, replaced by the soft, golden light of morning.
Tsukasa paused at the edge of a ruined fountain, feeling the warmth on his face. He tilted his head back, letting the sunlight touch his skin.
"Oh look," he said with a crooked grin. "It's day."
Lumi, still brushing soot from her sleeves, shot him a sidelong glance. "And?"
Tsukasa stretched lazily, his coat shifting in the breeze. "If I was a vampire," he mused aloud, flashing a sharp smile, "I should be ashes by now."
Elara snorted despite herself, shaking her head. "But you're not."
"Nope," Tsukasa said, tapping the side of his head. "I'm something much worse."
They kept walking, leaving behind the burned cathedral, the wary Holy Order, and the bloodstains of Havenmere's darkest night.
And though neither Lumi nor Elara said it, they both wondered the same thing:
What in the gods' names is he?
And Tsukasa?
He was already thinking about what was for breakfast.
The streets were quiet now, the scent of smoke and blood clinging stubbornly to the stones. Civilians were gathering what was left of their homes, while priests tended to the wounded. The Holy Order knights had arrived late, as usual — armored men and women with polished steel and polished egos, fanning out through the ruined square.
Tsukasa leaned against a broken wall, arms crossed, watching them with mild disinterest. One of the Order's commanders, a stern-looking man with silver pauldrons, approached.
"You," the commander barked. "You'll answer for this destruction."
Tsukasa lazily raised an eyebrow. "You're welcome."
The man scowled. "We don't take kindly to outsiders meddling in Havenmere's affairs."
Elara stepped in before Tsukasa could say something worse. "If we hadn't meddled, your precious city would be feeding a vampire warlord right now."
The commander opened his mouth to retort — then shut it as the rising sun caught the blood-streaked remains of Renar Vaelion's body, still smoldering in the debris.
Tsukasa pushed off the wall, strolling forward. "Tell your council or your gods or whatever you lot pray to… next time, show up before things get interesting."
The commander's face darkened, but he wisely said nothing.
Tsukasa turned to his companions. "C'mon. I'm getting bored again."
As they walked, Lumi hesitated before speaking. "Tsukasa… back there… what was that?"
He glanced at her, the corners of his mouth tugging upward. "What part?"
"The… the Kiva thing. The aura. The way you—" Lumi faltered, searching for the words. "You were like him… like a vampire. But not."
Elara spoke up, her voice low. "I've fought monsters my whole life. And I've never seen anything like you."
Tsukasa stuffed his hands in his coat pockets, grinning that same maddening, casual grin. "Let's just say I have a… collection of tricks."
Lumi frowned. "That's not an answer."
"Nope," he said cheerfully. "And you'll probably never get one."
Elara sighed. "Of course."
But even as she spoke, both elves felt it again — that strange, otherworldly pressure that seemed to cling to Tsukasa in the quiet moments. As though he was a step sideways from everything in this world. A thing that wasn't supposed to exist here.
And Tsukasa?
He just hummed a tune to himself, the magenta glow of his belt fading as he walked into the rising sun.