Kurai grips Ahiru in her arms as the storm blasts around them.
"The city!" she thinks. "It's being blown away!"
Buildings rip apart, pieces flying into the air.
"It's too late! I can't last through it by myself! Such power! This is nothing like the enemies before!"
The woman before her chuckles.
"This is... a hallucination!" Kurai thinks.
"We'll get everyone back! We'll get them back to their original forms! Right away, we will become one and defend the clan!"
The woman floats toward her.
"Is that so...?" she says. "Really, if your allies really all gather again, will your friends' bodies return to normal?"
The chalice glows.
"But... Whenever we always become one... We'll continue the fight through the future..."
"Is the future you know, really the future?"
The woman presses a finger to Kurai's forehead.
"Will the future you know, really come?"
She presses lightly, and Kurai tumbles backward, pulling Ahiru and Darren with her.
"What's wrong? Is this the end? With this, this planet will be no more."
As Kurai falls, Ahiru glares at the woman.
As the Vampirates run toward the park, the buildings of the city come back together.
The woman gasps.
She vanishes in the wind.
The sky calms. The city is dark.
"Kurai!" Arra calls. "Ahiru!"
Ahiru holds Darren up, sitting in front of the unconscious Kurai.
"It's all right," she says. "The enemy attacked, then disappeared!"
"The city is back to normal...!" says Alice.
Debbie holds Kurai. "Without transforming, she has such re-creation power!"
"She held her own fighting against Reiko," says Arra. "So this is the power of the Vampire Priestess."
xxx
Reiko sips a drink in a crowded bar.
"Do you know the place where stars are born?" she says. "Strong stars, weak stars, their light, their power, all of it is born from there."
"Where is that!?" says the man, holding a bottle and glass. "So if I took that place, I could run stars freely! And if I can rule stars, space will belong to me!"
Reiko puts her drink down.
"Trash," she says, "will be as trash until its death."
She stands up and leaves.
"Wherever I go," she thinks, "only trash. Only stars of trash. This wasn't my planet either. All the power I have, I am the one who has been chosen by god. I want greater power. It must be somewhere. The bright star that will give me more power, suitable for me."
A cloaked figure in black sits on the ground, a glowing ball before him.
"The place where stars are born?" he says. "Yes, I know it, certainly. The home of the galaxy. The place where stars gush out as if from a fountain. Zero Star of Sagittarius. That is the center of the galaxy."
"The center of the galaxy," thinks Reiko.
She floats in space, staring at the stars.
"Come, come, my pretty little children. Where is the true star you desire? Tell your mother. Tell me, Destiny, and it will all be yours."
Reiko's eyes open, and she finds herself lying in bed.
"A dream...!"
She gets up.
"A dream let loose from long ago, of the wandering in search of home."
She approaches the steps in front of the large crystal held in the air.
"Before long, Kuri will come here. I can call upon Destiny for her to come here. So you can know the truth, come quickly, Kuri. Such a tiny planet, it's not suitable as the stage for our battle, not even for you. Come quickly, to where I stand, so you and I can release our true power!"
Vapets kneels before her.
"Reiko, my Nezumi has..."
"I apologize, Reiko!" says Nezumi. "One more! Just give me one more chance! This time I'll do it!"
"You shamelessly come back here after disgracing yourself?" says Reiko. "Trash cannot be made into a star!"
"Reiko!"
The bracelets on Nezumi wrists unclasp, and fall to the ground.
Nezumi cries out as her body disintegrates.
xxx
Kurai floats through empty space.
"Where am I...?"
She hears a noise.
"The sound of water?"
She approaches a giant light.
"This is..."
"The Galaxy Cauldron, of Zero Star of Sagittarius."
Reiko pulls down at Kurai's ankle from below.
"It is your grave."
Kurai's eyes open.
"Kurai!" says Ahiru.
She sees the Vampirates and Darren looking down at her.
"A dream!?" she thinks. "I thought I was being pulled, into that dark consciousness. The Galaxy Cauldron, what on earth...!?"
She feels a hand holding hers.
"Ahiru... You saved me, didn't you. I always felt it, the strength of your hand pulling mine. Thank you, Ahiru. Amazing, that I can have such faith in you. Could it be because you're an ally? Maybe you're an angel sent to me from everyone in the future. That's right... When I wake up, there are always friends watching over me."
"In every time," Kurai thinks, "my friends devote their lives to protecting me. But still, even though I'm grateful that I'm the High Priestess..."
"Kurai..." says Alice.
"Put together, it's all up to me. And so now, I want to devote my life to restoring all my friends. Arra, Alice, Debbie... We aren't the only ones worthy of life. These bodies, too, are us. We are ourselves, body and all. They give us support, we live together. We look at them, call to them, embrace them. Our power is amplified by these bodies. Being with everyone, using strong power, that is a Vampire."
"Will your friends' bodies really return to normal?" Reiko said. "Will the future you know, really come?"
"It will come," Kurai thinks. "I believe! They aren't all dead! Our future will surely come! I'll use all the power I can, and I will rescue everyone! I'll bring back peace! I'll put everything back to normal! Surely! Reiko, what are you!? Why have you started this fight!? I must go, right away, to the place where Reiko stands!"
Xxx
"Kurai!?" says Larten. "You know of Zero Star of Sagittarius!?"
"Reiko told me. I'm going now! Reiko! I'm going to you!"
A voice from somewhere else speaks . . .
"Come quickly, Kurai, to the place where I am. I'll knock down more and more, I'll take more and more. Then with your one last remaining piece, I will show you the truth!"