"Ow—shit, that hurts."
A sharp blow landed on the back of Lloyd's neck, the pain radiating fast enough to make him grit his teeth.
"Damn it, I thought after getting hit by a truck, I'd have built up at least some pain resistance."
A sweet scent—berries, wild and ripe—pulled him out of his thoughts. That's when he realized something was on top of him.
Fangs. That was the first thing he noticed—gleaming, sharp fangs—before his eyes trailed up to their owner.
Hovering over him was a pale-skinned girl with slender limbs. Hard to believe someone that delicate could hit that hard.
Her crimson eyes locked onto his, glowing with the hunger of a predator about to devour its prey. The blush on her cheeks and the faint mist leaving her lips made her desire even more obvious.
"Perfect. First day here and I'm already getting attacked by a vampire. Just my luck."
"U-uh, maybe buy me a drink first?" Lloyd stammered, his face heating up. The girl's body was warm and soft against his, and his 'friend' downstairs was starting to wake up again. "I mean, I know I'm good-looking, but I didn't think girls would start throwing themselves at me this fast."
That caught her off guard. The girl's face froze, framed by messy, midnight-black hair.
"Pffft—HAHAHAHAHA!" Her cheeks puffed up before she burst out laughing. "What kind of reaction is that?! HAHAHAHA!"
"Crap, this is bad."
Her laughter wasn't helping at all; it only made things worse for his, uh, 'situation'. Her shaking shoulders made her hips move slightly—adding fuel to the fire.
"Wait—are you 'hard'?" she asked with a teasing smirk, then broke into laughter again. "HAHAHA! You totally are! What kind of freak gets turned on by this?!"
She wiped tears from her eyes with one delicate finger as she got off him.
"Hey, it's a 'physiological reaction'! You can't blame me for that," Lloyd defended himself while sitting up. "A beautiful woman just pounced on me out of nowhere—what did you expect? You'd need monk-level discipline not to react."
The girl offered him a hand, and he took it, letting her help him up. Her grip was surprisingly strong.
"How can her hands be that soft?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm not judging," she said, waving him off. "Actually, most guys would've screamed or cried like little kids. Your reaction was… entertaining. It killed my hunger for a bit."
She flopped onto one of the seats, spreading her legs before crossing them and resting her hands behind her head.
"I'm Jasmine Tepes, but my friends call me Jaz. Sorry about that little 'attack' earlier. I haven't had blood in days—it's starting to mess with me."
"Jasmine Tepes? Doesn't ring a bell. Guess not every student was mentioned in the novel."
"Lloyd Noir," he replied, taking the seat across from her. The green fabric was ugly and stiff—way cheaper than the ones in the Beta-class carriage. "And don't worry, I get it. Though… how long has it been since your last drink? If you're losing control already, it's gotta be a few months."
Jaz gave a nervous laugh, scratching her neck. That's when Lloyd noticed a dark tattoo around it—a chain-like mark, probably her Grimoire.
"Not that long, actually. Just three weeks," she admitted. "My idiot dad decided that a 'blood fast' would make me stronger. Said it'd help me score higher on the exam. When he saw my results, he got pissed and cut me off completely."
The disdain in her voice was obvious. She clearly didn't have the best relationship with her father. Even her look screamed 'rebel'.
Her hair was unevenly chopped, short and rough—like she'd cut it herself in a fit of defiance. Lloyd could imagine the scene easily.
"Yeah, that sucks. Some parents just… suck," Lloyd said simply.
He wasn't speaking from his own experience—at least, not 'his'. The original Lloyd Noir's father hadn't cared much about his disappearance.
It wasn't hard to guess why. To his father, Lloyd was just a failure with a defective Grimoire. Of course, 'this' Lloyd had already awakened the Grimoire of {Nothing}.
"Tell me about it," Jaz sighed, then leaned forward slightly. "Though to be honest, I couldn't really help it. Your scent was… tempting."
"Oh?" Lloyd grinned. "So you *do* admit I'm irresistible?"
"Totally," she said, inching closer with a teasing smile. "As food, obviously."
Her tone softened as she moved closer, and Lloyd felt a shiver crawl up his spine.
"So, are you gonna eat me?" he asked, keeping up the joke—though it was getting dangerously close to not being one.
Jaz placed one knee between his legs, leaning in until that sweet berry scent surrounded him again.
"Why does she smell so damn good? That's cheating. Is this her hunting tactic? Lure them in with honey before she strikes?"
"Does that mean I have your consent?" she whispered into his ear, her arm wrapping gently around his head, fingers running through his hair. "Blood always tastes sweeter when the prey wants to be eaten~"
Her voice was hypnotic. Lloyd felt his body grow weak, his mind slipping.
"Damn seductive vampires… I think I'm losing this one."
He nodded faintly, surrendering to her spell.
"Bon appétit~"
Her lips brushed his neck softly before her fangs sank in deep.
A sharp pain jolted him—but it faded almost instantly as her fingers began to massage his scalp, melting the tension away.
Her lips returned to his neck, sucking gently this time. Pain and pleasure blurred into something strange, confusing, but undeniably good.
Jaz let out small, muffled moans as she drank, she was clearly enjoying it. Their bodies pressed closer; Lloyd could feel her modest chest against him, her thigh brushing against his lap, awakening another kind of hunger inside him—
Fear.
In an instant, everything flipped. They crashed to the floor—Lloyd twisting midair to take the impact on his shoulder, shielding Jaz from the fall.
"W-what the—?" Jaz blinked rapidly, dazed. "Did I drink too much? I-I'm sorry, I—"
That's when she saw it.
Deep claw marks carved into the wall where they'd just been sitting.
No normal animal could've done that. The grooves were massive—inhuman.
Cold.
The temperature dropped sharply, frost creeping across the windowpane.
Terror.
The air grew heavy. Jaz's instincts screamed in every direction at once; her heart hammered like it was about to burst.
Her muscles tensed, teeth chattering. Sweat trickled down her forehead despite the chill.
It wasn't normal fear—this was something worse. It was 'pure', tangible dread, seeping into her bones.
Then, a dull thud.
Lloyd stood in front of her, arms raised defensively.
An invisible force struck him a moment later, hurling him across the cabin and through the door.
Only then did Jaz realize—They were under attack.
By something they couldn't see… Only fear.