—Daylight had come.

  For diurnal creatures, it was the rightful time for activity; for nocturnal ones, it was the natural hour for rest.

  Saliya and Ana huddled in the most light-proof bedroom of their small shack, waiting for the night to return. As a precaution, they had hollowed out an escape tunnel through the floor leading underground—this wasn't a sudden whim, but a habit forged over years. Always leave a path for the worst-case scenario.

  They had agreed to take turns, one resting while the other kept watch. In truth, this was Saliya’s uniteral insistence; Ana simply couldn't win an argument against her.

  “—Sister, please, promise you’ll wake me up when it’s time.” Ana climbed into bed, her lips pouting slightly. “Don’t let me wake up only to find you’ve done my share of the work too.”

  Saliya gave a wry smile. Ever since seeing her memories, Ana had become somewhat overprotective of her. Saliya reached out and gently hooked her pinky finger with Ana's—a promise.

  —Maybe I should practice just a little bit more? Saliya thought, even as she remembered Ana’s warning. They had to rest. It was daylight outside, and she couldn't exactly go out to find supplemental blood at this hour anyway.

  “...Mr. Yamamoto.”

  With a soft murmur, Saliya recalled the time she had just recovered from a severe injury years ago. She had wanted to head straight to the training room to make up for the four-day gap in her schedule—only to be stopped by Kouichirou.

  “No! You’ve just healed. You have to let your body rest—even if you are strong!” Kouichirou's expression back then was like that of a demon instructor. Given his heritage, perhaps 'Oni-Sensei' would be a more fitting title.

  A nostalgic smile touched the corners of Saliya’s mouth as she remembered the advice he had given her:

  “Listen, training isn't just about the body; it’s also about here—and here.” Kouichirou had gestured to his chest and head—the spirit and the mind. “I’m no grandmaster, but I can teach you a few ‘meditation’ exercises from Karate and Aikido. These help you train your mindset and emotions when your body can't move. They will help you in future battles.”

  Back then, Saliya, who knew nothing of Eastern martial arts, had tilted her head with a rare, amused look.

  Now, she silently thanked him and recalled the training method. Sitting still, she closed her eyes, slowing and reguting her breath, recalibrating her senses, and rexing her emotions. She felt the "flow" and "compression" of energy within her body.

  Kouichirou had said that the key to generating power y not in the muscles, but in the ‘transmission of intent.’

  She tried to recall those restless, hungry forces, filtering and compressing them through her slow breaths, finally focusing them into a single point.

  —When she returned to her senses, a small knife forged of solidified shadow y quietly in her palm. Though the edges still shimmered with a mist like ink swirling in water, the tip gleamed with a cold intensity she hadn't achieved in previous sessions. It wasn't summoned by brute force, but shaped through a refined ‘mind.’

  And she felt no discomfort, no hunger.

  Ana, lying on the bed, wasn't actually fully asleep yet. Through the slits of her eyeshes, she quietly watched her sister's stillness, which felt as deep as the water in an ancient well. She saw the shadow knife and felt the shift in Saliya’s aura—the tension that had clung to her since they crossed the border was finally dissipating. Only then did Ana close her eyes with a reassured smile.

  (Sister, you aren't alone.)(Me, J, and everyone else who cares for you—we all hope you find the courage to keep living.)

  The sisters set out immediately as the sun dipped below the horizon.

  Their route followed the border closely, moving through the outskirts far from the main cities. Whenever they encountered a town they couldn't bypass, they would hide their features with hats and hoods, crossing quickly and discreetly. There was little dialogue between them—only the essentials: "where to go next" and "which path is less likely to have hunters scouting."

  Ana left the judgment of avoiding vampire hunters entirely to Saliya. According to Saliya’s memories, both countries had hunter organizations, but the organization in this region was smaller, with far weaker scouting and coordination capabilities. They hoped to avoid any contact with their own country’s organization before reaching home—even if that organization had already lost Saliya, their Division Zero Ace.

  Near 11:00 PM, they moved along a sparsely poputed road, using the roadside woods and thickets as cover rather than walking on the conspicuous asphalt. As they reached a turn beneath a high-voltage power tower, both stopped simultaneously without warning.

  —The wind had shifted.

  It wasn't a scent, but a prickling sensation of being watched.

  —The attack came instantly.

  An object plunged down from the tower toward them with the whistle of cloven air. The sisters split to the sides immediately. The dark figure didn't glide to an elegant nding but struck the ground like a falling weight.

  Yet, there was only a shallow indentation in the earth. Given the momentum, it should have left a massive crater. Clearly, the thing had redirected the impact the moment it hit the ground.

  Standing up from the center was a woman. She seemed a few years older than Saliya and Ana, wearing tattered but practical clothing, with a cloak that looked like it had been stitched together from discarded rags. Her skin was a deep, sun-kissed wheat tone, and her shoulder-length hair was silver-gray, shimmering with a silver light simir to Saliya’s.

  But the most striking feature was her eyes—those wary eyes glowed with a golden brilliance that rivaled the sisters'.

  “—A hybrid?” Ana whispered, surprised by the wild look in the woman's eyes.

  There was no warning. The hybrid gave a powerful back-kick, kicking up a spray of dirt before unching herself toward Ana like a cannonball. She intended to take one out before they could fully grasp the situation.

  But she hadn't anticipated what kind of opponents she was facing. Ana immediately raised her hands in a defensive stance, but Saliya pulled her aside and simultaneously threw a horizontal sweep-kick at the hybrid.

  The hybrid twisted her body to dodge and nded. Her face contorted into a cruel smile.

  “—Strange,” she said with a mirthless grin. “Aren't you the ‘Silver-haired Halberd-user’? Did they really send a legend to catch a small fry like me?”

  Saliya and Ana’s eyes widened. A golden-eyed hybrid, and one with enough rationality to speak.

  “—Where’s your signature sughter gear? Did you lose it or leave it at home?” The hybrid crouched low, like a beast poised to pounce. Even with almost no light, Saliya and Ana could see gray-bck objects extending from her fingertips—curved cws, like switchbdes. “And weren't you supposed to be a lone wolf? Did the humans come up with some kind of cloning technology or something—?”

  “—Wait!”

  To Ana’s surprise, Saliya disengaged from her combat stance and raised a hand toward the stranger.

  “We aren't here to cause trouble. We’re just passing through; we don't want to bother you.” Saliya stepped forward, showing she was unarmed.

  The hybrid froze. “What’s the deal? I heard the Silver-haired Halberd-user was a mute—” She didn't attack, but she didn't rex her combat stance either. “—Besides, there isn't a scent of a human for at least three kilometers.”

  “I don't know how I was described to you, but I’m no longer part of the hunters.” To show her sincerity, Saliya spread her hands and signaled for Ana to hold back.

  “—Don't give me that! A hound kept by humans! Who knows if your master is on their way right now?” The hybrid let out an enraged roar, as if vomiting out years of betrayed trust. She swung her cwed hand toward Saliya’s face.

  “—Sister!” Ana wanted to rush in, power already surging to her fingertips—then she forced herself to stop. She saw that Saliya had blocked the attack with just her arm.

  The hybrid, wearing a hard-to-read expression, repeated her attacks—using only her hands. Saliya likewise used only her hands, calmly neutralizing the onsught.

  The power was heavier than expected. This wasn't mindless filing driven by instinct; the opponent was controlling her output. Ana found it hard to believe. They weren't fighting to the death.

  —They were trading blows as if they were sparring.

  Ana’s previous knowledge and experience led her to believe hybrids were "failures." The moment bloodlust hit, they would fall into a frenzy. Seeking Saliya years ago, Ana had even drunk a hybrid’s blood to find clues through memory. In that moment, her vision had turned blood-red, her ears ringing so loud she could perceive nothing but the blood flowing in nearby veins. She had to fight to remain sane and find the city where her sister was. She had vowed never to touch hybrid blood again.

  And yet, here was a hybrid with enough rationality for a conversation.

  “—You weren't fighting for real.” The exchange ended abruptly. The hybrid girl looked at Saliya askance.

  “Neither were you. You didn't actually intend to kill us.” Saliya panted slightly and pointed to the woman's hands—the cws had been retracted. For several moments, the hybrid had clearly felt the impulse to let the cws fly, but her reason had held her back at the st second.

  The hybrid stood straight and let out a breath. “Because my gut tells me there’s something off about you—not in a bad way. Whatever. I started it. The hunters have been swarming like flies and mosquitoes tely; it’s annoying as hell.”

  The hybrid stepped back a few paces but didn't turn around—she remained on guard. Saliya did the same, making no move to provoke her. They stared at each other until the stranger finally vanished from sight.

  Ana stepped forward. “Sister?”

  Saliya looked at her hands—though neither had intended to kill, her arms were actually a bit numb. “—She’s different from any hybrid I’ve met... even the gold-eyes I encountered four years ago didn't have her level of self-control.”

  “—I hope we don't run into her again. She feels like a magnet for trouble,” Ana said, watching the direction the woman had vanished.

  “Yes. But... we have to head in that same direction anyway.” Saliya voiced Ana’s concern.

  The night wind shifted again. That presence hadn't entirely vanished.