The Vampires Are Attacking!

A muffled thud echoed through the attic.

The other person's face was covered in blood, their pupils were slightly dilated, and their body was completely unable to move.

Looking at that familiar face, Yotsuba Mahiro that this person seemed to be among the information Maya had provided, so she asked to confirm:

"STARS's satellite-class warrior, 'Second Magic Star' — Charles Sullivan, right?"

"..."

Even after his identity was revealed, the man remained silent.

It's not that I can't say it, but that I don't want to. Most importantly, it's as if I'm waiting for something.

"It seems like there's more to it than that..."

Mahiro to himself with a subtle expression.

Just now, he had scanned the other party's intelligence network and only found some minor issues.

The other party's intelligence body was different from that of ordinary people; it seemed that there was an extra part in the part of the brain that connected the left and right hemispheres, like a tumor.

Not only that, there was also a [foreign object] in the heart area.

What is that thing?

It's like a parasite, but calling it a material life form isn't quite accurate.

It feels more like a spiritual entity.

That's right, it's a non-material life form that parasitizes and controls this body in a way similar to a spiritual entity.

If I had to put it that way, they're like familiar spirits summoned by Shintoism...

Just then, a sudden, intense feeling of exhaustion washed over him from where he had grabbed the other person's hand, causing him to instinctively let go.

"Young Master Mahiro!"

Seeing Yotsuba Mahiro suddenly get up, Minami hurriedly tried to release an antimatter barrier to protect Mahiro inside, but Mahiro was faster than her.

"You better behave yourself!!!"

Suddenly, he raised his leg above his head and stomped down hard!

Boom!!!

The whole house trembled slightly, before returning to calm as the night enveloped it.

[I failed. The physical strength of the Prototype No. 1 has exceeded the limits of what humans should be able to achieve; it is not recommended to use it as a sample for invasion.]

[Understood, rest in peace, my fellow countrymen.]

Meanwhile, at Yotsuba Mahiro's residence.

A large hole was cut into the floor of the room, leading directly to the living room.

The intruder, Sullivan, had become a headless corpse, and the parasites inside him had been completely frozen.

As a mere spiritual being, the Yotsuba Clan Children are best at dealing with these kinds of spiritual entities.

However, his location was not the only place attacked.

A battle also broke out at the Shiba residence next door.

Tatsuya was locked in combat with an attacker who was also wearing a coat to conceal his face, while Miyuki, holding a CAD, was providing assistance with a bright Psion Light emanating from her body.

"Miyuki, use the Lamenting Styx to freeze him!"

"Brother Mahiro?!"

Upon hearing the sudden sound, Miyuki paused for a moment, but quickly understood. She pressed a few buttons on the CAD software in her hand, and her jewel-like eyes instantly turned icy.

"Lamenting Styx" -- Activate!

"Brother, get out of the way!"

The instant the magic was activated, Tatsuya feinted at the attacker, then leaped away.

Looking down, he saw that where he had just been standing, a chilling mist-like aura was billowing out, and the intruder's body, shrouded in the mist, was gradually stiffening, his mind being frozen.

As the physical body interacts with each other, a large number of crystals condense on its surface.

A moment later, it completely solidified into a crystalline sculpture.

--"The Nihility"--

Entering through the foyer, Yotsuba Mahiro, accompanied by Minami in the water, picked up "Night Demon," aimed at the statue, and pulled the trigger.

The crystal statue, along with its frozen spirit, was Decomposition into nothingness.

This was a clever trick he came up with to deal with spiritual entities.

Since the spirit has no physical form, and therefore Decomposition is ineffective against it, then why not simply freeze the spirit body, turning it into a "substance," thus enabling Decomposition?

"Brother Mahiro!"

Miyuki then came to greet him.

Under the moonlight, the girl wore a thin, pure white dress with a scarf draped over her shoulders.

In the diffused moonlight, her slender, jade-like legs seemed to glow with a hazy light, and her delicate body was vaguely visible beneath the thin fabric.

"Brother Mahiro, are you and Minami alright?"

"It's not a big problem, Miyuki, how about you?"

"Miyuki and her brother are both alright..."

It turned out that she and Tatsuya had been woken up by the noise from next door.

As soon as she opened her eyes, Miyuki found an intruder standing at the head of her bed. Just as he was about to attack her, Tatsuya and began fighting with the intruder.

Then, as we just saw, it was first frozen, and then it was Decomposition.

"These guys are from Stars."

After dealing with the intruders, everyone gathered in the living room of the Shiba residence. Minami was in charge of making tea, while Miyuki, having changed into her loungewear, sat opposite Mahiro.

Beneath the light, flared mini-skirt, a pair of snow-white legs were exposed, their knees pressed together at an angle.

Under the bright lights, Mahiro looked at the mask left on the coffee table and made the same assertion.

However, upon hearing this, Miyuki's expression became one of icy transparency.

"If it's Stars, then it should be the team led by Lina, right? But why did they attack us? Could it be Lina...?"

"No."

Mahiro shook his head and said, "The information that Maya gave me indicates that this group of people defected from Strass last month, for reasons unknown. Moreover, I discovered that they all have non-human structures in their bodies, as if some kind of parasite is living inside them."

So it probably wasn't Lina who gave the order, but it's highly likely that Lina is involved.

Tatsuya also agrees with this point.

And that makes sense.

Why would the USNA send a strategic-level mage who isn't good at espionage, and it seems they even brought a small team with them?

They're probably chasing after these people.

However, they weren't the only ones attacked; Maya Yotsuba, who was traveling abroad, was also attacked.

"Oh dear, it's been about sixteen years since I last made a move. I never expected to be targeted by petty thieves like you today, hehe..."

Maya let out a witch-like giggle.

With a wave of her hand, the countless stars that swirled in the sky transformed into rays of light, piercing through the attacker and killing him instantly.

Of course, I only heard about this from Hayama after the Mahiro.

It felt like someone had launched a large-scale raid on the Yotsuba Family.

But in reality, it wasn't just Yotsuba Clan's family that was attacked that night; it was many people.

The next day.

Angelina has taken leave, saying there are some family matters to attend to.

At this moment, Mahiro is sitting at the Club Federation Headquarters, and he's with Mayumi, having even skipped his class today.

Of course, this wasn't the kind of thing you'd imagine—skipping class to sneak off on a date—nor was it filled with that sweet and romantic atmosphere you might imagine; instead, it was quite heavy.

Because besides the two of them, there was also Katsuto Jumonji present.

It is extremely rare for the three families Ten Master Clans to meet in private.

"I'm sorry, Mahiro, for taking up your class time and calling you here."

Mayumi clasped her hands together, pretending to apologize sincerely, but one of her eyes was mischievously open, and her tone was coquettish.

"It's nothing. Rather, my senior asked me to come. I can skip class, or even skip school altogether, without any problem."

After all, it was his girlfriend's or fiancée's request; how could a mere school or a few courses stop him?

Mayumi was very happy to hear this.

Meanwhile, in another corner Katsuto Jumonji stood with his arms crossed, nodding as if satisfied with their relationship.

Then he spoke:

"Alright, let's get back to the main topic. Yotsuba Clan, do you know about the vampire incident that happened yesterday?"

"The vampire incident?"

Upon Mahiro, Mahiro's brows furrowed almost into a V-shape, his expression full of dramatic ups and downs. "Jumonji, your 'vampire' is probably a metaphor, right? It's not some legendary monster with sharp teeth that transforms into a bat and bites people's necks, is it?"

Upon hearing his description, Mayumi and Katsuto Jumonji exchanged a glance, a bitter smile appearing on their lips, and shook their heads.

"Mahiro- kun, you probably didn't watch the news this morning, did you?"

"No."

He answered decisively.

To be precise, where would I find the time to watch it?

Last night I had to squeeze into a room with Minami. Of course, it wasn't that there weren't other rooms available, but Minami insisted on it, saying he was afraid he would be attacked again.

Incidentally, Miyuki was also there.

Tatsuya, as a bodyguard, didn't sleep all night.

Early this morning, he contacted his adoptive mother about the matter and asked her to send someone to fix the house as soon as possible.

Naturally, there's no time to pay attention to the morning news.

After the two explained it to him, he understood what the vampire incident was all about.

"So, some kind of unknown entity, like a vampire, killed twenty-four people last night?"

"Yes, but judging from the timing, there must have been more than one person, because Saegusa was also attacked last night."

"Ah?"

Mahiro turned his gaze to Mayumi nodded and said, "I stayed at Mari's place last night, and I was attacked in the middle of the night. Their magic was not only powerful but also very strange."

In the end, it was Mari who wounded his opponent with a single strike before retreating.

"Tsk, so it wasn't just me..."

After hearing this, Mahiro clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Are you the same Mahiro -kun?"

"Yes." He nodded. "It's not just me, but also Minami, Miyuki takes care of my daily life, and even Maya Yotsuba. It made me think that the Yotsuba Family had made some enemies and were being retaliated against."

It turns out that Mayumi Saegusa was also attacked.

It seems they encountered the same kind of situation, because the descriptions match the image of the person who attacked them last night in every way.

However, both Katsuto Jumonji and Mayumi couldn't help but show surprise.

It's one thing if Mahiro was attacked, and it might be understandable if Miyuki Shiba was attacked, but for the head of the Yotsuba Family to be attacked is no small matter!