- Leo -
It happened in the early hours of the morning, before the castle awoke to its daily horrors.
Boom!
A deafening explosion shattered the silence, rattling the cold stone walls of the vampire fortress. Leo shot upright on his hard, metal bed, his heart thundering in his chest. The shockwave left his ears ringing, his breath shallow and panicked.
The other kids in the cell jolted awake, their eyes wide with confusion and fear.
"What the hell was that?!" Kaito shouted, scrambling to his feet.
Souta was already at the bars, pale in the faint glow seeping through the cracks. "I don't know… but something's happening."
Leo forced his numb body to move, stumbling to the door and gripping the iron bars with trembling hands. Down the corridor, distant echoes of chaos reached them—clashing metal, guttural growls, and human voices raised in battle. Screams—some human, others unmistakably vampire—ripped through the thick stone like knives.
This isn't normal. Someone's fighting them...
"Do you see anything?" Leo called out to the kids in the cell across from them.
"No! Just noise!" someone shouted back, voice shaking.
Another explosion roared—closer this time.
Boom!
The end of their corridor erupted into light and smoke. Flames of searing yellow, bolts of purple lightning, and razor-sharp shards of ice burst through the dust, carving through the air with brutal force.
The air bent with pressure. A moment of weightless silence—
Then came the silhouettes.
Figures surged through the chaos, moving like shadows with purpose. Warriors. Clad in dark, practical military uniforms—gray jackets tight to the body, black trousers and boots made for survival, not for show.
Their weapons blazed with unnatural energy—swords ignited with fire, axes crackling with electricity, spears humming with strange power.
Leo's breath caught as vampires lunged from the walls, screeching with fury.
The battle erupted before their eyes. Fire met claw. Lightning tore through flesh. Arrows of ice pinned snarling beasts mid-air.
Leo and the others stood frozen, their faces lit by the flashes of combat, hearts racing like thunder in their ears.
Humans…? They're fighting them—and winning?
He could hardly believe what he was seeing. The speed, the coordination, the sheer power… these weren't ordinary people.
And yet—they were human.
If they can fight like this… then maybe… maybe we can too.
It felt like a dream. Or a memory that didn't belong to this nightmare.Is this real? Or am I finally going insane?
A spark lit inside his chest, small but burning hot.
For the first time since his capture, he felt it. Hope.
A tall man with a brutal scar down his cheek roared as he cleaved through a vampire. "Don't let any of them survive!"
The warriors split—half chasing the fleeing vampires, the other half turning toward the cells.
Leo watched in disbelief as one of them, a giant with a battle-worn axe, smashed open the lock of the opposite cell in a single strike.
Then, footsteps approached theirs.
And then—she appeared.
From the smoke and chaos stepped a young woman, her silhouette sharp against the flickering light.
She moved like a blade—clean, silent, precise—yet her presence radiated something deeper. Strength, yes. But also… warmth.
She wore a dark-gray military jacket, simple and tight-fitted for motion. No armor. No ornaments. Just black trousers, worn boots, and a quiet authority that didn't need decoration to command attention.
Her long blonde hair was swept back, the top section braided and tied with a black bow, the rest cascading behind her like sunlight through ash. The braid gave her discipline. The flow gave her grace.
And her eyes—ice-blue and alert—scanned the cell with measured calm. Sharp as steel. Soft as dawn.
Leo froze.
She looked nothing like a savior.
And yet… she felt like one.
She looked like hope that had been forged in battle—and came back for them.
She didn't speak. She didn't hesitate.
With swift efficiency, she reached out, twisted the lock—and the cell door swung open.
Kaito and Souta bolted forward, stumbling into freedom with disbelief in their eyes.
But Leo didn't move.
He stood still, eyes locked on her, heart pounding.
She turned to him, tilting her head slightly. "Are you hurt? Do you need help?"
Her voice was calm. Steady. A soft current in the middle of a storm.
But Leo could barely hear it.
All he could think was: She knows. She knows things I need to know. About the vampires… about the powers… about how to fight.
She stepped forward. "Hey," she repeated, a flicker of concern in her eyes. "Are you okay?"
Leo blinked. The spell broke.
"Yeah," he breathed, stepping forward. His voice trembled, but something in his chest had reignited. "Who are you? How can you fight them like that?"
She gave a soft, proud smile. "We're the rebellion against the vampire regime. My name's Nora. And these powers—"
She never finished the sentence.
From above— Swoosh!
A blur dropped from the ceiling, a streak of shadow and death. Leo's eyes widened as he spotted the fangs, the glowing crimson eyes, the savage grin.
A vampire—sword drawn—was diving straight toward Nora's exposed back.
No time to think.
Leo's hand shot out.
Shhhnk!
He ripped her sword from its sheath without hesitation.
The moment his fingers closed around the hilt, a surge of heat pulsed through his arm.
What—? This isn't normal. It's… alive.
The blade thrummed with something more than steel—something that felt like a soul. Like fire. Like will.
Without a word, Leo shoved Nora aside and stepped into the vampire's path, lifting the sword in a desperate arc.
Clang!
Steel met steel in a violent collision, sparks exploding between the blades. The impact rattled his bones. The vampire loomed over him, eyes glowing with bloodlust.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Nora barked as she stumbled from his push—then her eyes locked on the vampire, and the realization hit. She dove aside just in time.
Leo gritted his teeth, muscles straining. The vampire's strength was overwhelming—inhuman.
"I'm trying to help!" Leo shouted, holding the sword steady against the weight threatening to crush him.
The vampire laughed, low and sharp. "Help her? Who's going to help you, livestock?"
The vampire's blade pressed harder.
Closer.
Inches from Leo's chest.
I can't hold this…!
"Nora!" he shouted, panic breaking through his voice. "Help!"
She was already moving.
The vampire snapped his gaze toward her and blurred forward in a flash of speed.
Leo lost balance, stumbling forward, nearly falling—
No, no—get up! Move!
The vampire swung.
But Nora ducked low, sliding between his legs with perfect timing, the blade slicing empty air above her head.
"Leo!" she called, her voice sharp. "Throw me the sword!"
She held up her hand.
Without thinking, Leo flung the weapon toward her.
Please…
The sword spun in the air, a glint of light between shadows.
But the vampire was faster.
He turned mid-swing, lunging for Nora just before the sword could reach her. His blade lashed toward her chest—she dodged.
He swung again—this time at her side.
Nora leapt high, flipped over the blade—and caught her sword mid-air.
Shhhk!
One clean slash.
The vampire's head flew free from his shoulders.
His body hit the ground with a heavy thud, limbs twitching before the black blood began to ooze from both severed ends.
The thick, tar-like liquid sizzled as it poured out, bubbling and evaporating. The pale flesh withered, dissolving into nothing but a puddle of dark slime.
Even the stench vanished within seconds.
As if he had never existed at all.
Leo stood frozen in place, breath rasping in his throat. His knees wobbled beneath him.
He looked down at the black stain where the vampire had vanished.
Did I really just survive that…?
His whole body was shaking—but not just from fear.
Something else had ignited inside him.
Nora approached slowly, calm and composed.
She looked him dead in the eyes.
"You're either stupid," she said, "or incredibly brave."
Leo blinked, suddenly unsure if he should feel proud or stupid. His face flushed. He looked away, scratching the back of his neck.
"I… I just moved. I thought you were going to die."
She raised an eyebrow. "You thought I was going to die?"
He opened his mouth, closed it again. "Okay… maybe not."
She let out a small huff—half amusement, half admiration.
Leo looked down at his hands, still trembling. The ghost of the sword's weight lingered in his fingers.
That sword… what was that feeling? It felt like it was fighting for me. Like it had its own soul. What kind of power is that? I need to know…
For the first time since his capture, Leo felt something shift.
Not just awe.
Not just fear.
Purpose.
If she can fight like that… if I can feel power like that…
Then maybe he wasn't just a prisoner anymore.
Maybe—just maybe—he was meant for more.
But even after the sword left Leo's hands, something lingered.
Not its weight.
Something deeper.
A faint warmth in his chest—like the memory of fire.
What was that…? That feeling when I held it… like it was alive. Like it chose me.
He glanced at Nora again. At her calm. At her strength.
And the way she'd looked at him—not with pity.
But with a flicker of something else.
Respect? For me?
…Just because I tried.
For a second, Leo didn't feel like a prisoner anymore.
He felt like someone who had stepped forward—when it mattered.
Not a fighter yet.
But maybe… someone who could become one.
Someone who won't run anymore.
Nora sheathed her sword in one fluid motion.
"Let's go," she said, voice clipped and clear. "We need to get everyone out—now."
He, Nora, Kaito, Souta, and the other freed kids surged down the corridor. The castle around them shook with distant rumblings. Roars echoed through the stone halls. Somewhere deeper inside, the fight still raged, but the warriors were winning—Leo could feel it in every trembling brick.
Leo ran with the others, but his pulse still echoed with the weight of the sword.
The image of the vampire's blade inches from his chest clung to his mind like smoke.
Did I really block that…? Did I really survive?
They passed broken cells and shattered doors, eyes wide with disbelief as more children joined the growing stream of escapees. Some limped, some sobbed, but all moved forward, pulled by the same force.
Freedom.
Nora glanced back at Leo—not just to check on him, but to make sure he was still close.
There was a new kind of awareness in her eyes.
Not just a rescued kid.
A potential fighter.
The group burst into a vast, crumbling passageway.
The light ahead was blinding compared to the dim torchlight of the cells.
Massive double doors stood at the far end, cracked open—sunlight pouring through the gaps like golden swords.
Leo's heart pounded harder.
Is this real?
Nora's voice rang out. "Stay together. Don't stop."
They didn't.
Their feet pounded the stone floor, echoing in the great hall like a war drum.
The farther they ran, the more the weight of captivity began to peel away—just enough to breathe.
As they reached the massive doors, the remains of the rebellion's destruction lay all around: charred walls, black blood, vampire corpses dissolving into smoke.
The doors had been blown open—barely hanging on their ancient hinges.
And beyond them…
Light.
Leo blinked, squinting into the sun's golden blaze.
Warmth… real warmth. I forgot what it felt like.
He stood frozen at the threshold.
The wind touched his face. Soft. Alive.
And something inside him answered it.
I survived…
But I'm not done.
Not until I know what I'm meant to be.
Leo squinted against the brightness, blinking as he stepped past the threshold.
Then he stopped.
And stared.
A soft breeze touched his face.
Warm.
Real.
His throat tightened. He hadn't seen sunlight in so long… he'd forgotten it was warm. Forgotten what it meant to feel warmth that didn't hurt.
The sun hung high in the sky, golden and wide, casting a rich glow over the landscape. But it wasn't the light that stopped Leo cold.
It was what he saw under it.
Forests.
Endless, towering forests stretching as far as his eyes could see. The trees were massive, their roots tearing through cracked highways and shattered buildings. Vines wrapped around the remains of what once were skyscrapers, like the jungle had swallowed the world whole.
He turned slowly, taking it in.
Everywhere—green.
The cities were gone. The world he knew… erased.
Everything I knew… gone. Just like that.
What… happened?
Without thinking, Leo broke into a sprint. His legs carried him up a nearby hill—past a half-crushed transport truck now split open by a massive tree trunk, its doors rusted and vines curling out from inside.
His legs burned, but he didn't stop. I have to see.
He climbed, slipping once, catching himself. The sun warmed his skin as he moved, grass brushing his knees, the air thick with the scent of earth and distant pollen.
He reached the top—and froze.
From here, the scale was undeniable.
No towns. No roads. Just nature. Alive, massive, wild. The Earth had taken itself back.
His lungs burned, but not from the climb.
This can't be Earth. Not the Earth I remember.
A gentle hand touched his shoulder.
He turned.
Nora stood beside him, the wind playing through the braid in her golden hair. She didn't speak right away.
She just looked out at the same horizon, eyes filled with memory.
"I know how you feel," she said quietly. "I reacted the same way when I first saw it."
Leo opened his mouth, but the words didn't come. The weight in his chest was too heavy. When he finally managed to speak, his voice came out rough. "How… how did this happen?"
If the world had changed this much… what else had changed with it?
Nora's expression darkened.
"There was a virus," she said. "The vampires released it during the first phase of their invasion. It didn't just kill people…"
Her voice grew quieter. Sharper.
"…it changed the Earth. Twisted the balance. Nature reacted. Mutated. Cities fell. The wild took over. Now… this is what's left."
Leo looked out again in silence.
The forest didn't seem angry.
It just was. Towering. Patient. Watching.
A world reborn from the ashes of another.
We tried to rule everything… and ended up with nothing.
And now… the Earth doesn't even remember us.
Behind him, he heard the soft rustle of the younger kids climbing the hill. He didn't turn.
He stayed at the top. Watching.
Breathing.
Feeling that spark again—not fear. Not awe.
But pull.
A thread tugging at something deep inside him. Drawing him forward.
Why am I still here?
Out of all the kids… out of everyone… why me?
He tightened his fists.
I survived the cells. The bloodletting. The silence.
I held a sword that felt alive.
I saw a world I don't recognize.
And I'm still standing.
He didn't know what that meant yet.
But he would find out.
No matter what waited in the forests.No matter what answers hurt.No matter what truth had to be burned through to reach it.
He turned to Nora, who watched him from the side—quiet, calm, maybe wondering the same things.
Leo's gaze returned to the horizon.
This isn't just survival anymore.
It's the start of something else.
And this time…
I won't be left in the dark.