"A sorcerer is here?" Satsuki's question echoed faintly within the chamber of the sewer system. Her heart palpitates behind her ribcage as she could sense cursed energy being used, as well the death of curses down the tunnel. Whoever was killing them, they were strong.
"Looks like it," Mahito said as he walked past her. "You might be fine if you stay here, but just in case, you should take one of the tunnels and get back to your hideout. Be careful though, it's still daytime outside."
Satsuki was a little surprised by the curse's suggestion, clutching her red bow. "Don't you... want me to help? This is your first time meeting a sorcerer, right?"
It'd been some time since Satsuki lingered within Mahito's lair, particularly whenever the sun was out. Her distrust in the curse remained, but considering that he was her only supplier, their relationship was more or less a passive one. She didn't have much worry for the curse personally, especially seeing how calm he was now, but should something happen to him, she might lose her one and only source of intake that's been keeping her sane and pain-free for what felt like an eternity.
"Hmm. It'd be interesting to see how a sorcerer fights a vampire," Mahito said before turning to Satsuki and smiled at her, "But I want to do an experiment on them first. I just hope he's not too weak, or too strong like Satoru Gojo. If it's the latter, I doubt that even with you, we could fight him together and win."
An etch of nervousness in Satsuki as she heard that, recalling the name from one of Mahito's stories a while ago. "Gojo... that's one of the sorcerers your curse buddies fought with?"
"Yup. And barely survived at that. He came back with just his head, after all."
She visibly gulped, believing his words despite never facing a sorcerer before, much less anyone who weren't as weak as the people she and Mahito hunted. If they find out I'm responsible for the murders, they'll kill me.
They wouldn't be wrong to do that, since she was a monster, but she can't let herself be killed. Not only wanting to live, but she had something important she needed to do. She was also worried about Junpei. If the sorcerer were to find out about his involvement, would they kill him too? Ah-! He was supposed to come by today! She needed to call and warn him, but there's no signal here in the sewers.
"Don't worry. If it's anything too troubling, I can slip out and escape easily," Mahito stated, giving Satsuki an OK sign. "I'll meet up with you and Junpei later. We'll regroup at your base tonight."
Satsuki looked back at the tunnel where the trespassing sorcerer was deep within. With a nervous nod, she quickly dashed away from the scene, disappearing into another tunnel. Mahito cracked his knuckles, preparing himself for the confrontation with the sorcerer.
"Such a cute girl," the curse said to himself. "And a fast learner too. At the rate she and Junpei are going, they'll make pretty good fighters."
With Junpei, it was nurturing that hidden talent of his, able to see the light of day since meeting with the stitched curse, and perform feats that usually took a sorcerer years to develop. Satsuki, on the other hand, was quite a curious and rare find. Her vampire-status aside, the level of control over her abilities was really phenomenal. Was it because she was a vampire, or was it a natural talent she had as a human? It could even be both.
It had definitely been an interesting experiment. Both Junpei and Satsuki were not only able to grasp the concept of cursed energy quickly, but they had already achieved their first techniques. Junpei's shikigami and his poison, and Satsuki's ability reminiscent to her vampiric nature, an absolutely dangerous technique not simply by bringing death to another.
"I have to say, though..." Mahito whispered as he went into the tunnel, "I didn't think I'd be teaching someone who'd become my natural enemy. Well, it probably should have been obvious from the start."
He'd been wanting an even closer examination to her vampiric state, but it was obvious how little she trusted the curse. In that regard, she was at least smarter than the boy, probably due to the like-mindedness between killers - her and Mahito, whereas Junpei had yet to taste blood despite how much hatred he held for other humans, and thus couldn't comprehend Mahito's nature in the slightest.
It's amusing how hypocritical the boy was. How clearly lost Junpei was mentally and emotionally. A naivety meshed with fascination, and a loneliness that had him reach out to creatures like Mahito. It's no wonder that Junpei and Satsuki got along, they were both alike in that manner, and it's clear how much Satsuki had already begun to care for Junpei.
So long as I can provide for her, and with Junpei keeping her company, I shouldn't have to worry about her double-crossing me. Though, that all depends how well she'll take his next batch of transfigured souls.
Satsuki sprinted like a cheetah across the dark tunnel. Her red eyes able to see the path clearly. Not an ounce of exhaustion or burn in her lungs from such an inhuman feat as she made her way for the surface.
I better hurry-! Junpei said earlier that he'll be stopping by his place first. That should give me enough time to tell him not to come-!
Her instincts suddenly shrieked, and she immediately halted. Her feet skidded a few centimeters to a complete stop. Satsuki held in her breath as up ahead, she saw the wandering transfigured souls being swiftly killed by what appeared to be black swords. Piercing through their bodies like bullets.
At the last transfigured soul falling into the water, the assailant looked into the tunnel, and spotted Satsuki's figure.
That person-!
It was a shared recognition. Despite the distance and darkness between them, they were able to distinguish their familiar figures. It had been several weeks since they last saw each other. Their time together at school somewhat fleeting. Yet nonetheless, they were able to remember one another.
"S...Senpai?" Satsuki uttered.
"Yumizuka-chan?" Ciel asked back, her turquoise eyes widened at the sight of the other girl, and her glowing red gaze.
"Senpai... Why are you...?" Satsuki held her red bow close to her chest, able to feel her hammering heart underneath her fingers. Enemy. Enemy! Her instincts told her as she looked at the nun-garments Ciel wore, and the weapons held at hands.
"Don't tell me..." Ciel started, her eyes narrowing. "Yumizuka-chan. You're...!"
Satsuki stepped back. A chill in her body as she realized her eyes had been red to keep her night vision active. There was no point hiding it. No. It would have been useless even if she did hide her gaze. Not with this person here.
The shock in Ciel's expression dulled, and her eyes became cold. An instant switch in the blue-haired girl that had Satsuki's memories of the sweet, kind, and caring senpai disappear from the vampire's mind.
Memories... Satsuki lets out a trembling breath. Could it be...? Could it have been like that? All this time?
There was never a "Ciel-senpai" in her school. No. This person hadn't been with them for 'years', but less than a month.
"...So that's how it is," Ciel said in an empty tone. No warmth. No tenderness. The gentle girl that didn't exist before, she now stood in front of the vampire as the hunter who extinguishes monsters.
"S-senpai...?" Satsuki didn't know why she called her that. It was obvious now. The ruse Ciel had put up in school. Yet, even so, Satsuki couldn't help but refer to the other girl as her upperclassman. That was just the sort of impression Ciel left on her.
"Yumizuka-chan. I'd like to ask you first before I should make my judgement," Ciel said as she held her black keys by her side. "How many people's bloods have you sucked?"
Satsuki gulped, clenching her hands into a tight-curled fist. Refusing to answer, or more so, too frightened to answer.
"...I see. Then it wouldn't be wrong for me to assume..." Ciel began, her accusation unsheathed and pointing its blade at the other girl, "That you are the vampire responsible for the murders."
It doesn't look like she'll listen to anything I say... Satsuki acknowledged. I know I've killed people, but it's not my fault. I just wanted to survive.
If you want to live, then fight for it.
"Judging by your scent, you've only become a vampire around the time you stopped going to school," Ciel surmised, surprising Satsuki by her accurate assessment. "You are as much of a victim as the dead who wandered the streets. However, I will not allow your killings to go on any further."
The latest victims to be uncovered in broad daylight. It's only a matter of time before Satsuki would do it again, perhaps even more victims than before.
The image of Yuuji Itadori came to mind. His smile that always welcomed her home every day. His clear compassion and care for others, and his anger to their inhumane deaths at the hands of monsters. An anger that, most likely, will drive him to hunt down those very killers regardless of his training. There were also the other sorcerers to consider. Ijichi, Nanami, Ieiri. And so many others who would have the misfortune to cross paths with a vampire, enemies they have never dealt with before. All of them as likely to be killed, or worse, to be turned.
Ciel won't let that happen, not even if it was at the face of an old acquaintance. Someone she would even call a friend, however fake Ciel's persona as a classmate had been.
"Whoever you are aligned with, they must be responsible for the number of disappearances in the city and have been feeding into your blood lust," Ciel deduced, the muscles in her legs ready to launch for the vampire girl. "I will at least make this painless, and instantly return you to dust. I will end your nightmare here."
"...I'm sorry, Senpai," Satsuki finally responded, parting her feet in ready to retaliate. "But I can't let you do that. I know you don't want to hear any excuses..."
Cursed energy slowly swarmed Satsuki's fingers, her vampiric gaze shifted from fear to something a little more fierce. Her red eyes brightened in newfound hunger. Ciel's eyes slightly widened at the show of cursed energy before she steeled herself once more.
"But as much of a nightmare it's been, I'll do whatever it takes to live. I won't let anything kill me. Not even you, Senpai."
"STOOOOP!"
Yuuji caught the fleeting Flying Head curse in time. The plan had not gone the way either he or Ijichi expected. The moment they released the curses, they realized too late that another civilian was with Junpei. Aborting the mission at once, Yuuji made quick work to catch the first curse, albeit garnering strange, startled looks from their suspect and the overweight man with him.
Yuuji noticed at once though that Junpei looked at the curse in his grip. After some impressive gymnasium, stuffing the curse in his pocket, Yuuji stood in front of the suspect and spoke to him upfront. "Hey. I have something I want to ask you about."
"Eh-?" Junpei was taken aback, though not as much when he saw the emblem on the boy's uniform. Is he…?
"Hold on, I'm the one talking to him right now!" The large man, Satomura - a teacher of Junpei, informed. "Don't just butt into other people's conversations. That's rude."
"Sorry, but this is pretty important," Yuuji answered, "So… can you leave?"
"E-excuse me?! What's so important?! And who are you to say that to an adult?! What school do you go to, young man-?!"
In quick motion, Yuuji pulled down the pants of the teacher. The action was completely unprecedented, both Junpei and Satomura were stunned. Yuuji then proceeded to fight the older man for his pants and sprinted away with it, gone in an instant.
"W-wait! Wait! Give that back!" The teacher in his boxers forced himself up and ran after the boy who departed like a bullet.
Junpei didn't understand what just happened. He simply stood there for a brief moment, and before he knew it, he heard a voice from behind.
"Alright. Let's go then." It was Yuuji again, having rounded the entire block in a few seconds.
"S-so fast! You already did a lap?" Junpei was baffled by the teen he was certain is a sorcerer that Mahito told him and Satsuki about. "W-was all that necessary? You could have just pulled me aside."
"Ah, well…" Yuuji scratched the back of his head, "I could have, but you hated that guy, didn't you?"
Junpei flinched at the insight. He noticed? Was he… did this guy notice that Junpei was about to kill his teacher? No. He definitely would have done more than just talk to him if that's the case.
"Ah-! Sorry! Did I misread you?!" Yuuji asked.
"No…" Junpei assured, relaxing his fingers that he was about to use to call for his shikigami.
A mere moment. It would have taken a moment in broad daylight. Regardless of any witness in the area, Junpei had been this close to murdering his teacher right in front of his own home, after what that fat man said to him. Calling those bullies who died in the theater to have been 'looking out for Junpei' in school. Offering to take him to their gravestones to give their 'respects'.
The man was blind. He knew absolutely nothing, or better yet, he willingly turned a blind eye to what those trashes of human life put Junpei through. His teacher was nothing more than a child in a grown man's body. He didn't deserve to live.
If what Satsuki said about Junpei, Mahito, and herself being a group of monsters is true, rather than heroes, then all that's left is for Junpei to complete the criteria of one – to take a human life by his own hands. He wouldn't be the odd one out anymore. He would have shed blood just as they had. Maybe it would have helped his mentality better once he gets turned into a vampire, and maybe have Satsuki feel less lonely.
But all that was thrown out of the window when this oddball of a teen suddenly intervened, and what's strange was that Junpei wasn't even mad.
"You don't want someone you hate lingering in front of your house forever, right?" Yuuji asked Junpei, taking lead down the path opposite of where the teacher left. "Come on. Let's go somewhere else, okay?"
"…Okay," Junpei didn't know what to feel exactly, but seeing as how the guy – this sorcerer, an enemy of Mahito and Satsuki – went out of his way to get rid of the man he hated, he didn't feel all that against following Yuuji.
"Huh?" Mahito raised his head towards the trembling ceiling, where bits of debris fell. "Is that... Satsuki-chan? Did you bring a partner with you?"
The shape-shifting curse asked the sorcerer as he swayed his deer-legs over the edge. Below him, Nanami bled from the side of his waist, the fresh wound staining through his shirt that had just got out of the cleaners today. But the adult was unphased. Though injured, he merely took a look at his watch.
A partner… Nanami might agree that a backup was in order against this intelligent curse, except he didn't call for one at the moment. 'Satsuki-chan', he said. That sounded like a human name. Whoever they are, if they're making the sewers shake like this, could they be…?
Was it the vampire they have been looking for? Or another unregistered curse like the ones Gojo confronted. Both are extremely bad cases, yet what concerned Nanami the most was who else was fighting this curse's ally?
"…Who knows?" Nanami merely answered - great, now he's being vague, just like the curse had been when he questioned whether the body or the soul came first, the chicken or the egg type of conversation. The First Grade sorcerer hated delivering vague questions of interpretive answers just as much as he hated receiving them. "But regardless, it seems I've worked past my shift."
"Look whose giving vague responses now…?" Mahito teased until there was a sudden change of air over the sorcerer below. His mismatched color eyes widened. His cursed energy is increasing?
Nanami reached up and loosened his tie. "It's unfortunate, but from here on out, I'm officially working Overtime."
Satsuki wailed with her cursed energy infused claws, slashing through the air for the fast-footed executor. It tore through the walls and shattered through the stones as black keys fired and rites were ignited, withering the movement and body of the vampire.
The burn of the black keys and its rites had Satsuki shriek and back away instantly, but Ciel did not allow her the chance to recover. The executor dashed forward and fired two swords directly for Satsuki's head and heart.
"Ah-!" Satsuki clawed away at the black key. Cremation Rite burnt her hands, but due to her cursed energy, it did not instantly melt her flesh. She nonetheless struggled to keep on the offense as the executor pursued relentlessly.
Suddenly, black keys swarmed Satsuki. Tracing across the stone through telekinesis, their blade alighted in pink energy.
Don't get caught in them!
Heeding her instincts, Satsuki dashed forward, daring to attack the executor head-on, and hurled her claws for the other girl's body. Ciel blocked the attack with a cross of two black keys on each hand and swung her leg for the girl's stomach.
Satsuki was able to grip the swords, however. Despite how much they burned, her newly developed ability guarded her flesh as she hoisted herself over the girl at a great leap. By sheer instincts, Satsuki clawed at the ceiling, and large chunks of debris fell into the sewer tunnel.
Ciel rushed out of the way. Shattered stones piling between her and Satsuki, and the vampire girl finally had her chance to breath.
"E-energy..." Satsuki said between breaths, and grasped for a piece of transfigured soul from her skirt's pocket and placed it in her mouth.
"-?!" Ciel spotted the action through the dark and over the pile. She could sense a bit of life force from that item the vampire was consuming. A living thing? A soul?
She thought back to the pictures Nanami presented to her. Of the individuals who were killed in that movie theater and transformed into distorted images of themselves. Was it possible-?
She is faced with a dangerous vampire who is able to use cursed energy. Furthermore, the vampire - despite having only been turned fairly recent, was already well-versed in combat and can replenish her energy with those souls. Either through her vampiric instincts, or taught by her accomplice whose battle proceeded somewhere else in the sewer system.
Satsuki lets out a breath of relief, and the wounds, burn marks of her arms under her incinerated sleeves, and other scratches instantly healed.
Being able to see it for herself, Ciel's theory was confirmed. "I understand now. So you truly are in allegiance with the curse user who murdered those people at the theater."
Satsuki held her chest as she attempted to regain her breathing, though satiated and recovered, she still felt the terror of facing such a scary and strong opponent. Just... one strike. I just need to make one strike.
An attack strong enough to draw blood.
"I insist that you stop resisting, Yumizuka-chan," Ciel said in that even, cold tone of voice. "The more you struggle, the more it'll hurt. Not only by my attacks, but eventually, your bloodlust will drive you to hurt others. Becoming insane, desperate to drink. You'd risk the sun if it meant feeding off of others. What you took right now, I imagine it's a temporary fix, and as for its source... do I even have to say it?"
"Ha..." A soft gasp from Satsuki, before she lets out another faint laugh, "Aha... That's right. That man gave them to me. We met after he killed those people and found me in an alleyway while I was 'feeding'. He wanted to tell me off that I've been leaving a mess, but..."
Deciding to leave Junpei out, Satsuki resumed, "We came to an agreement. He helped me escape that... messy scene, then started giving me these... I guess you could call them humans. Or what they used to be. Transfigured souls are what he calls them."
Controlling her breathing once more, Satsuki looked at the executor over the rubble. "I didn't ask for them. He just gave them to me, and I took them because I was hungry. Eating them calmed me down right away, and I've never struggled for food since. I knew what they were. I knew what that man had been doing, but it'd be hypocritical of me to call it wrong, wouldn't you say? In any case, if I wasn't going to eat them, they were just going to suffer."
"That would happen regardless if you were feeding off of them or not," Ciel swiftly countered the excuse. "Who is your supplier? A sorcerer?"
"Ah. Well, he looked human, but with stiches all over his body, and different colored eyes. He calls himself a curse, but I'm sure you must know what those are, right Senpai?"
A curse... Ciel hid the discomfort upon hearing the information. Not a rogue sorcerer, and to also refer to him as a person. Able to hold a conversation with him. This curse is an intelligent life-form. Could he be a Special Grade?
"To be honest, I don't really trust him," Satsuki said frankly, "He's a bit creepy, but without him, I would have kept struggling for food. Beggers can't be choosers. And I... I never asked to eat people. I never asked to become a vampire."
"You have my sympathy, but not my mercy," Ciel declared unflinchingly, holding up her black keys, "Once you've tasted human blood, there's no going back. You become completely reliant on it, and the death toll speaks for itself. We didn't know each other for that long, but I could tell that you were a sweet girl, Yumizuka-chan. I like to believe that you're still a good person, even after becoming a vampire. That's why I'm offering you the chance to die as humanly as possible. Not only that, but if you honestly don't trust that curse, then you should listen to that gut-feeling of yours. Curses cannot be trusted."
Memories of Sukuna's cruelty and savagery was all the proof Ciel needed, even if the other girl could not see it. But Ciel could tell that Satsuki was smart. Surely, she must know that this supposed 'partnership' between the vampire and the curse could not last nor end well.
"I have a feeling that he's only using you for some ulterior motive," Ciel said, hoping to convince, however unlikely it would be, "And if my feelings are right, it'll likely be an even worse fate than what you deserved. You could very well become those transfigured souls you enjoy consuming so much."
Despite this warning, this very high and likely possibility, Satsuki didn't express much towards it. She only looked down, the bangs of her hair hanging over her eyes, "Ah... Even when you're trying to kill me, you're still looking out for me. I wonder if that part of you is real? I wonder if any part of you had been real..."
Satsuki's hands trembled against her chest, "I'm sure you're right, but you could also be saying that just to get my guard down. Not because you care. I really did like you, Senpai. But you made me sad. You lied to me. You lied to everyone at school. But most of all..."
You lied to Shiki.
"I can't forgive you, Senpai. You... dirty liar. But I also can't win against you." She took a step back. "It's only a matter of time, though. I'm going to get stronger, and when I do..."
Vampiric eyes glowed viciously red at the unmoved executor, "I'll make you cry, and then kill you. I wouldn't even want to drink all your blood afterwards. I hate to know how the blood of a liar taste like."
With that, the vampire suddenly bolted towards the pile. It was an instantaneous speed that even the executor was caught off-guard by, as the strength of the vampire burst through the pile.
Remnants flew to her, and Ciel struck away each and every piece. "-?! These rocks-!"
They're infused with cursed energy. But such a practice would usually take years to hone, and Ciel was certain that Satsuki wasn't even a curse user when they first met. Was it because she was a vampire? No, even as a vampire, someone who managed to avoid zombification yet for some reason is living independently, the growth Satsuki showed in her vampiric state, it's unusual. Could it be-?
"-?!" Ciel looked to the side and found Satsuki against the wall. The vampire quickly launched herself over the water and swung down her curse-infused claws. Ciel darted back, only for her eye to suddenly be pierced.
"Gh-?!"
She felt the hot, wet substance over her face and smelled its iron. She was struck by a splash of blood that was shaped into a claw, Satsuki's blood. The sensation of cursed energy was evident, and if that wasn't bad enough-
"Blood Transfusion: Insertion."
Ciel felt the instant course of Satsuki's cursed energy burn through her system. The executor shrieked even louder and further put distance between herself and Satsuki.
"Do you feel that, Senpai? That's my blood traveling inside you," Satsuki said in a pleasant voice, grasping her bloodied hands behind her back. "It's my cursed technique. It works like a virus, and since you hunt monsters like me, I'm sure you're already aware of what happens when a vampire puts their blood inside another person. That person becomes the vampire's slave and turns into a vampire themself."
Ciel clutched over her wounded eye. The agony evident in her expression as she sweated through the pain.
"But it works a little differently from how I normally try turning others into vampires," Satsuki continued, "When I do it, they either die too quickly because I put in too much blood. Or they don't listen to me because I put in too little and become nothing more than mindless corpses. Sometimes they just die painfully. It was a little horrifying at first, but later, it felt good knowing that I wasn't the only one suffering."
"Yumi...zuka..." Ciel gritted her teeth from the pain. The vampire was explaining her technique, which meant that in a moment, upon revealing her cards to her opponent, the technique will become even stronger.
"But in your case, it doesn't really matter whether I put in too much or too little. A lot of it would speed up the process, but all I need is to put even a drop of my cursed blood in your blood stream. Right now, your blood has become my blood. Your energy has become mine. Your body, it's mine now too. But you'll still have your consciousness. Your free will too. You could even move freely if you like, however..."
Ciel was flabbergasted. That sort of power, to turn others into this vampire's personal puppet, and not another addition of servants for Satsuki's parent vampire. This is on the level of a Dead Apostle! In such a short timeframe, Satsuki had already climbed up the ranks from a servant to self-sufficient, retaining her independence. Such a quick level of control, the executor's presumption was correct. This girl, Satsuki, she was amongst the rare exceptional people who had the qualities to become a full-fledged vampire from the get-go. There also had to be some innate ability at work, and Ciel suspected it wasn't just cursed energy, but she lacked the evidence to effectively decipher what.
"My blood is like me in every way," Satsuki said, "It's quiet, it blends into the crowd, nothing particularly special..."
Ciel began to gasp heavily as she felt suddenly lightheaded.
"And it's hungry. Right now, my blood is eating away yours. But since it has nowhere to go, it'll just vanish into nothing. I'm basically draining your blood without even tasting them. I'm sure if you had protected yourself with something like cursed energy, it could have saved your body from its effects."
The vampire gives a cheerful smile with a sinister glare, "But doing that would leave even your cursed energy exposed, so if I can't have your blood, I'll take your magical power instead."
A parasitic-type of ability. It's cases like this where having something like Nobara's power would prove to be especially useful. But Ciel didn't have that. There wasn't anything particularly worrying about it, since if it's true that Satsuki's blood would consume Ciel's until nothing remained, then it'll be an eternal battle. The issue would be how much of a hindrance it'll have on her, and likely how much of a pain it'll be to deal with.
Before Ciel could consider her options, Satsuki dashed for the executor, moving even faster than before. The vampire had yet to stop evolving. Ciel raised her black keys but moved too late, and was carved from her side by Satsuki's claws.
"Ah-! I almost forgot! I can do it up close too!" Satsuki said in prideful glee, forcing her bloody sharp fingers further into Ciel's waist and causing the executor to utter out in pain. Satsuki's other hand grasped against the handles of the black keys, protecting herself with cursed energy from its holy effects as the vampire pushed through. "Blood Transfusion: Reduction."
Ciel kicked the vampire away. She gasped out at the release of Satsuki's claws. She could feel her blood fighting with Satsuki's, and right now, her magical energy had just depleted to an astonishing degree. At this rate-!
Satsuki lifted her hand and licked Ciel's blood from her fingers. Power surged through her system, and the vampire's eyes alighted with delight. "Oh wow. You're very strong, Senpai. There's a lot of magic you know. I'm... kind of surprised you didn't use any of it first. Did you think I was still the meek girl you tried to deceive every day?"
Ciel's jaw clenched as she held around her bleeding waist, the handles of her black keys pressed against it. The blood assault there was already in effect, even quicker than the first attack. Direct contact means a more effective technique. Not good. I'll lose myself to exhaustion before I can do anything.
"I'm almost considering turning you into my servant. You'd be especially pretty to dress up and play with. But I don't want a liar like you around, so-" Satsuki stopped abruptly when she felt a strange sensation in her throat. Her uvula was disturbed, and she nearly vomited. She spat out the blood she had just drank, all of Ciel's blood. "W-what? What just-?"
She watched as the blood suddenly retreated back to Ciel. The executor, with her black keys still clutched and the pain excruciating, sends several of her swords towards the vampire. Satsuki flinched at the inexplicable surge of remaining strength in her opponent, and she leapt back, covering meters in a single movement. She's still so strong-?
What a truly tenacious senpai Ciel was. But it was fine. Satsuki had already delivered two decisive blows. It's only a matter of time before the executor would collapse. However, what was strange to her was how that blood she spat out just went back to Ciel. Was it some kind of Reverse Cursed Technique Mahito once mentioned?
Satsuki was caught off-guard when more black keys emerged from the waters and shot for the fleeting vampire. She swatted a few of them away, but the rest were able to carve through the flesh of her limbs and she yelled in pain. The shock of their burning sacraments had her trip over her own foot, and she tumbled to the ground.
"Idea Blood: Bell Tower!"
Satsuki stood up too late. Surrounding her were black keys that ignited with yellow energy, and lightning hailed from each of them into an encompassing cage. The vampire screamed. Unending pain unleashed into her unholy body. The executor held out her hands towards the embedded black keys, putting in what's left of her energy to completely stop the vampire in her tracks.
Ciel really didn't want it to come to this, but there was no other option now. She must deplete the magical energy Satsuki robbed her of before she would have the chance to use them, and then execute her in one blow. I must also completely cease her movements before she'll reach for another transfigured soul to replenish herself. This should- eh?
From the pocket of Satsuki's skirt, a few transfigured souls fell out of it. Blood was smeared all over them, and they suddenly expanded.
"No way-?!" Honestly, Ciel learned her lesson with Sukuna, but how could she predict this would happen?
Satsuki, before she was surrounded by Ciel's black keys, was able to reach into her pockets with her bloody, sharp fingers and puncture her nails into the transfigured souls, feeding them her blood. The souls responded violently, and after a moment, they mutated.
The vampire girl remembered when Mahito was teaching her cursed energy, and the curse had suddenly wondered out loud. "You know, even though I can't transfigure the souls of the dead, I wonder if it can be done the other way around?"
"Huh? The other way around?" Satsuki had asked.
Mahito had pulled out a small piece of transfigured souls and showed it to Satsuki. "These guys' souls are still leaking out even in this state. If you, a vampire, could turn other people into vampires, then what about these guys?"
"Um, I'm not sure if... well..."
"If you want these bean sprouts as your servants?"
"Th-that's kind of mean to say..."
"Is there a nicer way to put it? Did you take your victims out to dinner first before you killed them?"
"O-okay. I get it."
Mahito had only laughed and patted the girl on the head, though she flinched away from his supposed friendly gesture. "Let's give it a try and see what happens. Who knows? It might come in handy for you one day."
The two transfigured souls grew into monstrous proportions. Their increasing size able to endure the electrocution of Bell Tower and were able to shatter through the black keys. The entire surroundings trembled at the souls constant thrashing. Water splashed everywhere as the earth cracked under their weight. The whole tunnel rumbled with excessive force being unleashed.
Ciel retreated from the rampaging onslaught of the two souls, removing her hands from her wounds. Her blood not only brought them to life, but it also increased their mass?
To take and to give blood. Was this another effect of her technique, or was this a combination of her power and the powers of her supplier? What an awful combo, especially as the two massive souls in front of her were howling, begging for the sweet embrace of death. Its mutilated limbs struck the ceiling, and the stone above them cracked.
It's going to collapse!
Ciel sprinted away, avoiding the raining stone of the ceiling. She ran and ran, and the more she exerted herself, the more Satsuki's gluttonous blood ate her insides. She nonetheless forced herself to keep moving. Even as her limbs were growing numb, she resumed until the collapse behind her finally ceased.
Stopping with a heavy breath, she held over her wounded waist and left her injured eye alone. Looking back, it was a complete cave-in, the tunnel blocked along with her access towards the vampire. She couldn't force her way back to Satsuki unless she had a big weapon to blast through all the rubble. I'll have to find another way around. It's almost sundown. If I hurry, I could intersect her before she would escape into the night.
Her chest suddenly lunched from within, and she hunched over. Clutching her mouth as she coughed out whatever she could. Blood that sprinkled up her throat and onto her tongue, only for the drops to retreat back into her struggling system. A warzone happening inside her body.
I see... Yumizuka's cursed technique... Ciel thought it over as she tried to breathe, but her lungs hurt as she did so. Until it consumes all my blood, it won't cease its attacks.
And since Ciel is immortal, this task will literally be impossible. But considering that it's also depleting her magical power, it was nonetheless sucking her life away. The only fate she foresaw in this was death after torture, again and again. An exorcism was in order to completely extract the cursed effect. By force if she must.
With a deep breath, Ciel sat down and pulled out a black key. "I'll just have to do this the hard way."
Holding the sword in both hands, she pointed the tip of the blade against her wounded, blood-soaked eye. "It's a shame, but after this, I don't think I'll be coming home for dinner tonight. I really wanted to try his cooking too..."
Counting from three, she stabbed her wounded eye with her black key. The sharp pain of the blade a familiar, cold sensation. Her shoulders shook as she bared with it, and her hands glowed a warm color, igniting her Cremation Rite.
"If we both end up alive, I hope we meet again," Nanami said to the fallen curse whose legs was severed through, and left the amazed Mahito under the falling weight of the ceiling rubble. The First Grade sorcerer made his quick escape as the sewer chamber was slowly being buried, and he ran into the nearest tunnel.
There had been another cave-in somewhere, Nanami deduced as he ran. His side resumed to bleed but he ignored the sharp pain of it as he made his way to retreat. I should avoid them. It's best to return with back up, and until I can tend to this wound, I'm in no condition to fight.
Though, if indeed that this Satsuki person was the vampire Ciel's people had been looking for, then he could only assume who else was fighting against that bloodsucker.
...If it is her, I should confirm it first, then leave.
But absolutely no fighting. He's simply not at that age anymore, and he refused to work nightshifts also.
As he drew closer to where he sensed the direction of the cave in, reaching an intersection of four tunnels, he heard the unmistakable sound of screaming. A familiar sound of young girl's voice.
"-! Ciel-!"
He immediately changed course and darted for the tunnel that carried the scream. Potentially fatal wound be damned, he doesn't have it in him to ignore the cries of a child. With Overtime still kicked into gear, he readied his weapon and his fist wrapped in his tie.
There was a glow of a fire up ahead, and he found the girl encompassed by it. "Ciel-san!"
The executor's head shot up and she stood at once, backing herself against the blocked tunnel and its rubble. Nanami raised his hand, passive and non-threatening, signaling ease to the girl who held up several black keys in her other hand, having been close to firing them.
"N-Nanami-san...?" Ciel managed to say as she still held the burning black key inside her eye. "A-ah! P-please wait a moment. I'm-! Mmgh! I'm in the middle of something."
"..." There was no words from the stiffened and expressionless Nanami as the girl hunched down once more, steadying her breathing as she bared with the pain. Upon Ciel lowering her weapons except the one she needed, the man rushed to her side and knelt down with her. "Tell me what happened."
"I-it's nothing to worry. I-I'll explain it in a moment. I just... need to... concentrate-!"
Nanami grasped her shoulder that was trembling under the painful exertion of her self-inflicted rite and blade. Behind his specs, he was visibly discomforted by this show of agony in the girl. Yet she toughed it through as the black key continued to burn. He remained there by her side, his hand feeling the abnormal warmth of her body, until finally, the fire in her black key died.
Ciel yanked the sword out of her eye and let out a gasp of relief. Blood poured from her closed eye as her breathing became steady. She felt herself be gently pulled in. Her head rested against Nanami's shoulder, the man keeping her there until she can gather her bearings.
"Ah," the girl breathed out, grasping for consciousness as she attempted to pull herself away. "You don't need to do that. I can-"
"Don't speak," he refused to let her go. "Gojo-san told me of your ability. That doesn't nullify the pain you endure. Just let yourself recover."
Ciel knew it was pointless to argue with the man. Nevertheless, she was also a stubborn one. "I've long grown accustomed to pain. I just need a moment."
"Then take it. Don't mind me."
Good grief, there's no winning with this man.
"What are you doing here?" Ciel asked, opening her other eye to look at the man.
"I could ask you the same question," Nanami shot back in that stoic tone of his.
Ciel sighed, feeling the blood return to her eye. Satsuki's technique was completely exorcised, and the pain finally subsided. "I suppose we both came to the same conclusion. The remnants of cursed energy that led us to this sewer system. Funny, I don't recall you informing me that you would be here. A place that's likely to house the very enemies we're hunting for."
"You never mentioned you would be here either," Nanami's face did not break. He released his hold once he saw the girl fully recovered, the burn marks and wound in her stomach faded away, and her eye 'rewind' to its original state. Not 'healed'. It's never called healing.
Ciel gruffly glared at the impassive man, then stood back on her feet. "So much for exchanging vital information."
"I don't recall agreeing to that," Nanami said as he stood up as well. "That was just your assumption."
Ciel was about one step closer to simply slapping the man. How on earth could anyone be even more insufferable than Satoru Gojo? "I didn't think I had to be so explicit. Are you really an adult? Or are you by chance a child who looked for loopholes, so that he could maybe avoid turning in his homework if it's never asked?"
"I said that we would work together, yet here you are alone with a sword plunged through your skull. Where is this supposed partner of yours? Or did you lie about having one at all?"
"I didn't lie about it. She had another important assignment to answer to. I'm more surprised to see you here alone and... is that blood? Are you injured?"
"Never mind that. We're discussing about you."
"It's not just about me- that looks serious. Let me see that! How did this happen?" Ciel forgoes formalities in light of the serious wound on Nanami's side. The man stopped her with his wrapped hand, however.
"You were set on fire seconds ago. Clearly, we need to respond to your state first," adjusting his specs, Nanami gestured towards the tunnel. "Let's go. We shouldn't keep ourselves here with so many enemies in this place and just the two of us to fend them all off."
"I thought you said you knew about my ability," Ciel said, her irritation clearly known but so did a hint of her concern.
"That doesn't mean you didn't suffer from any psychological damage or shock," Nanami stated, walking back down the path with the executor by his side. "In any case, I would like to deal with this wound, so if we could hurry up and-"
The man's feet were swept off from the floor. His years of harboring a stony disposition remained intact, his emotions on the other hand were an entirely different story. Nanami found himself being lifted and carried bridal style by Ciel, completely undeterred by the grown man's weight.
"My goodness, you truly are unlike anyone I've ever dealt with before," the executor complained. "But alright. I'll help you leave this place and see to your injury. We have much to talk about anyhow."
Nanami said nothing. Ciel then sprinted down the tunnel. Her speed beating that of an Olympic runner, and on par with a vehicle.
"Please put pressure onto your wounds," the girl instructed. "We'll be at the surface shortly."
"...We do not speak of this to anyone."
"Oh? Are you worried the others will make fun of you?"
"I don't care for people's opinions of me. I just don't want to hear it from Gojo-san."
Ciel smiled, a look of complete and total understanding, sympathizing with the man. "I wouldn't either."
Nanami regarded the executor and her, for a moment, free-spirited expression. "...You shouldn't talk as if you're already grown weary of life."
"There's just no winning with you, is there?"
Author's Note: I'm on a binge-writing spree. Pls send help.
I wrote notes last chapter but accidentally deleted it after revising. So here's me writing it again. There might be some inconsistencies of lore between the series Tsukihime and JJK in this story, especially regarding to my own lore for this fic, so if there are any mistakes to be found I'll fix them when it comes to it (like how I mistook Itadori as Yuuji's first name *sobs*). I'm just writing as I go and having fun with it along the way. I hope everyone enjoys it too.
take care y'all! Until next chapter!