Please Trust My Support Skills

Kanzaki Rin silently lowered her hand and stood up on her own.

At that moment, the beautiful girl who was adored by everyone in the Disaster Countermeasure Department and at school finally understood what it meant to be getting her hopes up for nothing.

If she could, she would have loved to grab Fang Cheng by the head and ask him, "Am I, a whole living person, really less important to you than a few eggs?"

"If you want eggs, I'll buy you a few boxes!"

Kanzaki Rin had the sense not to say any of that aloud, because she could tell Fang Cheng was genuinely angry.

"Mm..."

Nearby, Yagawa Ryoka also groaned as she climbed to her feet.

The injuries on one side of her face had mostly healed, but her features were still a little crooked. The broken bones probably hadn't set properly.

She stared at Fang Cheng in shock and stammered, "Y-you're still alive? Why?"

That was wrong. Weren't vampires supposed to die if one of their kind ripped out their heart?

Yagawa Ryoka's instincts told her that was how it worked. It seemed as natural as winter being cold and summer being hot. She didn't know why, but she knew her instincts were right.

Yet Fang Cheng's revival went against everything she instinctively understood, like winter being hot and summer cold. It left her disoriented.

Fang Cheng slowly got to his feet. He knew why he had come back to life: the 3 in his field of vision had turned into a 2.

Yagawa Ryoka had killed him with a sneak attack, costing him one life. He had two chances to revive left.

He was furious—not just at Yagawa Ryoka, but at himself, too.

He'd noticed someone following him these past few days, but had assumed it was someone Morishita Yamato had sent. He hadn't considered that it might be the vampire Kanzaki Rin had warned him about.

He'd even emphasized that he needed to be careful, only to let his guard down after a few days. He'd completely made a fool of himself.

Fang Cheng still hadn't found a way to increase his number of revivals. Every life mattered to him, and now he'd lost a third of them just because he'd been careless.

All of Yagawa Ryoka's clothes had been burned away by Kanzaki Rin's flames. She was standing there completely naked.

She had a nice figure, but unfortunately, she was flat-chested.

Fang Cheng might have been a lecher, but he had standards. He lost interest at once and turned to Kanzaki Rin. "So this is the vampire you mentioned?"

"That's right! She's our enemy now. We can put our differences aside for the moment."

Kanzaki Rin answered, her wary gaze fixed on Yagawa Ryoka ever since the vampire had gotten back up.

Even with Fang Cheng's help, they weren't guaranteed to win. One careless mistake could turn the fight against them.

Hearing Kanzaki Rin, Yagawa Ryoka snapped, "A member of the Disaster Countermeasure Department is teaming up with a monster? Don't you have any shame? You're wasting taxpayers' money!"

Unlike Fang Cheng, whose memories had been affected, Yagawa Ryoka had recognized Kanzaki Rin as an intern with the Disaster Countermeasure Department at first glance.

The department was even more well-known than the police.

Kanzaki Rin's lips curled into a smug, infuriating smile. "You can file a complaint!"

Yagawa Ryoka was immediately at a loss for words. How could she possibly file a complaint?

Was she supposed to call the Disaster Countermeasure Department and tell them their intern had teamed up with a monster to attack her—a monster?

The department would probably laugh themselves silly.

In the awkward silence, Fang Cheng stepped forward and stood in front of Kanzaki Rin.

Watching his back, Kanzaki Rin felt a little warmth in her heart.

He might have been clueless about romance, with a foul mouth and a nasty attitude, but when it mattered, he could still step forward and shield a girl. That alone was enough to make him a man.

Still, Kanzaki Rin was a little annoyed that he seemed to underestimate her. She wasn't some helpless girl who needed protecting.

"You don't need to look after me..."

Kanzaki Rin was about to tell Fang Cheng he didn't need to treat her specially when he suddenly turned to look at her.

"Why are you hiding behind me? Let's attack together. Don't try to slack off."

"..."

A vein throbbed on Kanzaki Rin's forehead.

She took a deep breath, then glared at him and said sternly, "I'm a long-range attacker. I don't need to get too close to the enemy."

She took back what she'd thought earlier. He was a jerk who seemed determined to drive her mad.

Fang Cheng was baffled by her glare, but quickly realized what was going on.

He was tempted to make a sarcastic remark, but held back in the end, not wanting to damage their already fragile alliance.

"Fine, then stay back and support me."

Fang Cheng didn't insist. Judging by how Yagawa Ryoka had pinned Kanzaki Rin down earlier, having her join the fight might actually make them less effective.

Kanzaki Rin silently took a step back, brimming with confidence. "No problem. Please trust my support skills."

Seeing this couple of idiots make plans for her in just a few words, Yagawa Ryoka felt her anger surge.

But she was stuck in an awkward spot in the kitchen, with nowhere to run. Fang Cheng and Kanzaki Rin were blocking the only exit.

Yagawa Ryoka dared to fight either of them on their own, but not both together.

Especially not Fang Cheng, who had come back from the dead. The blow he'd landed on her had hurt so much that her cheek still throbbed.

So it was true that vampires could inflict real damage on one another.

But how had he survived?

Yagawa Ryoka couldn't figure it out, but it never occurred to her that Fang Cheng wasn't a vampire at all. She just assumed he was unusual.

At this point, there was no chance either side would back down, so there was no need to waste time talking.

Fang Cheng breathed slowly and deeply. He was still a little nervous, since this was his first fight against something nonhuman.

But he didn't feel the slightest bit afraid. Maybe all the training he'd done lately had improved his fitness enough to give him confidence.

As the tense silence stretched on, Fang Cheng suddenly moved.

He pushed off and charged forward, closing in on Yagawa Ryoka in the blink of an eye.

So fast!

Both Yagawa Ryoka and Kanzaki Rin were startled.

The distance between them hadn't been great, but Fang Cheng was absurdly fast.

He didn't make any flashy moves. He simply drew back his arm and threw a straightforward punch.

But boosted by his speed and strength, the punch looked terrifying.

Yagawa Ryoka was quick to react, too. As a vampire, she ducked just in time.

The punch grazed over her head and struck the wall above the stove.

With a loud bang, chunks of stone flew everywhere. The solid wall had been blasted apart by a single punch.

Yagawa Ryoka slipped past Fang Cheng and rushed straight at Kanzaki Rin, apparently hoping to take her out first.

Kanzaki Rin didn't so much as blink. She snapped her fingers, and flames burst from them.

Yagawa Ryoka had been ready for that and immediately dodged aside.

Fang Cheng, who had just punched through the wall, didn't even spare a glance for his bloodied fist. He hurriedly turned and chased after Yagawa Ryoka.

But after Yagawa Ryoka dodged, the flames Kanzaki Rin had sent flying slammed straight into Fang Cheng's face, turning him into a human torch.

Kanzaki Rin was startled. She quickly pulled her hand back, and the flames on Fang Cheng's body flowed through the air and back into her hand.

But in that brief moment, the intense heat had burned his hair into a bird's nest and left burns all over his body.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Fang Cheng yelled at Kanzaki Rin.

Kanzaki Rin blinked, acting as if it had nothing to do with her. "You ran right into it."