Aozaki Aoko Case File

After a period of searching, Akiha Tohno had already found traces of SHIKI Tohno slaughtering ordinary humans.

The private guards of the Tohno branch family discovered the bodies of young women who had been devoured and drained of blood at multiple locations in the Souya region. In some cases, the bodies were missing, leaving behind only partial remains.

Akiha had been tirelessly traveling during this time. She had even taken a leave of absence from school, leaving the management of the family enterprise to her deputy, devoting all her energy to tracking down SHIKI.

Although many of the victims in these cases appeared rather unusual, it wasn't entirely strange for a member of the Tohno family bloodline to develop varied abilities and preferences after undergoing a reversal. For SHIKI to exhibit vampire-like tendencies and drain people dry wasn't particularly surprising.

Even Akiha herself occasionally felt the urge to drink human blood to suppress her inversion impulses, but she managed to suppress them with her sheer willpower.

However, what Akiha did not know was that the current SHIKI was no longer her brother. He wasn't a product of the Tohno bloodline's loss of control and inversion impulse.

This monster, which devoured humans and drained their blood, was merely a hybrid creation of a vampire's memories and the residual memories of SHIKI. It was a pathetic, half-formed failure.

Although the Tohno family was part of the mystic world that bore the demonic bloodline, their knowledge of the world of magecraft was limited. As such, they had no understanding of the Dead Apostles, a phenomenon rarely seen in Japan. Naturally, they would not associate the imprisoned SHIKI in their dungeon with vampires.

No, Akiha had read a few scattered notes about the Dead Apostles in her father's journals. However, the knowledge was akin to the vampires described in fantasy literature—simple concepts like as long as you're not bitten, you won't turn into a vampire.

The reincarnation properties of the Akasha Serpent entirely bypassed these classic elements. As long as it targeted someone unless they were a professionally trained magus or a powerful supernatural being, their body would be taken over to complete the reincarnation ritual.

In truth, the real SHIKI had died long ago. Given the Tohno family's current capabilities, Akiha had no chance of finding the elusive and knowledgeable vampire Roa, who was intent on hiding himself.

However, hybrids like this often acted irrationally. The entity that thought of itself as partly SHIKI, now possessed by Roa, was exactly such a case.

Before his inversion impulse, SHIKI had been a super siscon, with his love for his sister Akiha surpassing even the physiological phenomenon of inversion impulses.

After being possessed by Roa, SHIKI still believed this to be true. However, in reality, as his vampiric transformation progressed, the unyielding moral boundary he had once held dear had long since disappeared.

Thus, at the critical moment when Akiha personally set out to a hiding place of SHIKI, SHIKI decided to reveal himself. He wanted to persuade his sister to join him, to become a Dead Apostle like him.

He knew that his sister's bloodline talent far exceeded his own. If Akiha were to become a Dead Apostle, his strength would increase dramatically. At the very least, dealing with the hounds of the Holy Church would become much easier.

At this moment, Roa was unaware that two magicians and another Dead Apostle Ancestor had also joined the hunt for him. The only thing on his mind was increasing his power and completing his Ritual, which would ensure he no longer feared the pursuit of Arcueid.

Previously, during the incident in France, he had been forced to temporarily reincarnate into the body of a village girl, Elesia, to conduct his ritual.

On the bright side, Elesia had extraordinary talent, which allowed him to recover nearly all his power. On the downside, another Ancestor had appeared to disrupt his ritual, ultimately leading to his death at the hands of the True Ancestor princess who arrived later.

"Akiha, you've grown even more beautiful." SHIKI emerged from the shadows, gazing fondly at Akiha Tohno. "During my time in the dungeon, I hadn't seen you for so long. I missed you…"

Akiha, whose heart had long since hardened, felt no emotion in response to his words. She merely scoffed at how her brother had harbored such inappropriate thoughts toward her even back then, which she found revolting.

"There's nothing left to say between us," Akiha said coldly. Her long black hair had fully transformed into a crimson red, her presence growing more imposing with each passing second. "You know the rules of the Tohno family. Once you cross the line into inversion, there's only one path left—death."

"Is that the case?" SHIKI, no, Roa smirked. "Then why didn't Father kill me when he discovered my inversion impulse? Why did he only lock me in the dungeon?"

"Perhaps Father believed that, since you hadn't killed anyone yet, there was still hope for you," Akiha said sorrowfully. "But after seeing what you've done now, I can't say the same."

"…I have no brother named SHIKI Tohno. In this generation, the Tohno family has only one heir—Akiha Tohno." After a brief pause, Akiha continued coldly.

Hearing these words from her, SHIKI's expression faltered, as though he was lost in painful memories.

But he soon broke free from those memories. The expression on his face no longer resembled that of a boy with complicated feelings for his sister.

Instead, it was the face of a vampire—a being who had slaughtered countless humans, caused endless tragedies and was filled with betrayal and schemes.

Roa extended his right hand, instantly activating a magic circle he had prepared in advance. A massive explosion erupted in a short span of time.

The subordinates Akiha had brought with her were, at best, low-level hybrids stronger than ordinary humans. They couldn't even fully develop their innate abilities.

Although these combatants had undergone rigorous training and were armed with modern firearms, they were no match for a vampire well-versed in magecraft.

Bullets rained down on Roa, but this level of attack was meaningless against a Dead Apostle of his caliber.

Amid the explosion, Akiha immediately manipulated her hair, the crimson strands flowing like living flames. They stretched out to shield herself and several of her subordinates, protecting them from the blast.