Prologue Arc -Start-

"What does it mean to be human? I spent a long time searching for that answer, but I was asking myself the wrong question. What I should've been thinking about was how to live true to myself. I was fixated on the idea that I had to turn myself back to normal, afraid that I would become a monster. During the Shioto war when you were about to kill us all, I accepted that I was a vampire as an excuse to take my comrade's lives just to be able to kill you. Yet I still wasn't strong enough and had to live with the fact that I became a true monster of my own will. After my long journey, I realized it didn't matter that I was no longer human. What I've become has nothing to do with how I decide to live my life. My soul is still the same. To this day, I regret killing those people. I wish I had the way of thinking I do now back when I truly needed it, but that wouldn't be possible. It was because of my grave mistake, that I was able to reflect and arrive at where I am now. If it was my fate to die by your hands back then, I would go back in time and fight true to myself till the bitter end. Even if we all got killed anyway. But I wasn't supposed to die during that war, and I'm grateful to have experienced everything I have since I became a vampire. There were countless hardships, but the fun we all had together far outweighed them. So yes, I'm even grateful to you. Now, let's finish this once and for all."

These were the words spoken by Chifuyu before he engaged in his final battle. Now, let's go back to where it all began.

Year 2023. March 9th.

The day had just started, yet somebody was already fighting for their life.

"Gaaahh..."

A teenage boy was currently facing his biggest challenge, if a threat level had to be given to this monster it would more than likely be S+ tier.

"It's 7 in the morning. Why is this happening to me?"

The young boy was loudly voicing his discontentment with his current situation.

"It's because you had Taco Central last night, Chifuyu."

"We warned you not to eat from that place unless you were ready for the consequences."

"Heh. I shouldn't complain, this is a fair price to pay."

"Uh, the tacos were $14, you had several which I paid for."

The current predicament was a battle of life or death, on the toilet that is. Chifuyu, who had consumed 10 tacos last night is facing the consequences of his actions. Outside the bathroom, not surprised by the situation were Chifuyu's parents.

The story just started and the protagonist: Chifuyu Kyotani, is already making a fool out of himself.

"Oooooooooooora!"

Chifuyu let out a battle cry for his final push, the job was almost done. There was one thing left to do.

His parents wait outside with tired faces. The toilet flushes and water from the faucet starts running down. Seconds later, Chifuyu comes out of the bathroom with a smug face, holding his right hand up in a fist. There could only be one meaning for that.

"Victory."

His parents who looked unamused couldn't help but start chuckling at their son's goofiness.

Slapping Chifuyu on his back, his dad tells him "Get your butt to school already."

"Yeah, I am. After I get you back that is!"

The two start horsing around as Chifuyu's mom enjoys the sight.

Finally ready to go, Chifuyu slips his shoes on and opens the door.

"I'm off!"

"Have a good day at school."

Chifuyu leaves with a blast of energy as his mom waves him off while his dad is flicking him off. They have a great relationship.

Chifuyu Kyotani, 15 years old turning 16 in a few months. Energetic and can get along with just about anybody. Second year in high school, and already the star player on his basketball team. He greatly contributed to his team making it to the finals in his first year, earning them a promotion from third to second division. This year he had a stellar performance becoming his team's lead scorer and winning them the championship in their league. His school is a 15 minute walk from his home so he walks there and back each day, usually meeting up with one of his friends partway through who's there today.

"Chifuyu!"

A girl the same age called out to him. With a smile, Chifuyu ran over to her with his hand in the air.

"Morning Erika."

"Good morning to you too."

The two high-fived as they were greeting each other. The girl's name is Erika Tohska and she has known Chifuyu since the start of middle school. They decided to go to the same high school along with their other friend. Chifuyu has had a lot of impact on Erika's life. She only had one friend in middle school but has gained enormous popularity since high school began. She's sweet and polite, but a bit shy. Although she's come a long way, she still lacks confidence. A few months ago, about 70% of the boys participated in a ranking of the cutest girls in their year and Erika dominated it. Somehow they managed to keep that under wraps because if the girls caught wind of that ranking, they would've looked down on the boys with utter disgust until graduation. Erika has distinct blonde hair that reaches below her waist. You'd be able to point her out in a crowd of thousands of people at a concert.

Chifuyu and Erika make small talk as they walk to their school as they usually do. But Erika brought up a rather big question out of nowhere.

"Um, Chifuyu."

"Yeah what's up, is something wrong?"

"It's just... I had a dream last night that you were taken somewhere far away. I tried reaching for you, and you were within my grasp. But you didn't extend your hand for me, like you didn't want to be saved."

Chifuyu listens to her, completely at a loss for words. As they were walking, Erika had just been looking down while saying this, but she looked up right at Chifuyu as she asked this question.

"I have no idea what that dream meant. It was probably just some nightmare. It seemed like you cut yourself off from me, and that you were bearing a whole bunch of burdens by yourself. I know you're not the type of person to not let others help you. But, please let me ask you this. If something ever happens when you feel like you can't handle it by yourself, will you reach out to me?"

They maintained eye contact for a couple of seconds while walking before Chifuyu replied to her.

"That sure came out of left field. You really surprised me there."

"I'm sorry, uh... On second thought just forget what I said."

Embarrassed by asking such a weird question, Erika's face was flushed red and she put her head down. Chifuyu couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't worry Erika, we've known each other for how long now? Over 4 years! If I feel like I'm facing my biggest problem ever and I'm not sure what to do, you'll be the first person I ask for help."

Chifuyu reassured her, Erika gently smiled and gave him her gratitude.

"Thanks Chifuyu."

"Don't mention it."

As the two wrapped up their conversation, they arrived at school.

"Alright Erika, I'll see you in 2nd period."

"Yeah, I'll see you then."

As they walked to their respective classes for homeroom, Chifuyu was greeted by several other students along the way. The same could be said for Erika. There were rumors that they were going out around the beginning of their second year, but once Chifuyu heard about that he immediately set everybody straight and cleared up that they aren't dating. He respects their relationship as friends and genuinely wants to keep it that way. He helped Erika out a ton in middle school, and Chifuyu himself isn't oblivious to this fact. They spend a lot of time together and he truly cherishes their friendship. He's thought about if there's a chance Erika has feelings for him, but it was just a momentary thought. Chifuyu isn't one to worry about the future too much, or the consequences of eating 10 tacos at once. He also thought if Erika started dating someone, he'd support her 100%. That's the kind of guy Chifuyu is.

On his way to class, he hears footsteps darting in his direction. He knows what it is and prepares himself for a counterattack.

"Chifuyu... Gah!"

A boy with short purple hair was running towards Chifuyu, he yelled his voice monotonously and was answered with a chop to the neck. The boy is another one of Chifuyu's friends who he's known since they were 7. He goes by the name Dakota Smith. This comedic routine is something he does every morning when a big assignment is due. He runs up to Chifuyu and grabs him by the shoulders to beg for the answers. Today was one of those days.

"Dakota, how many times are you going to ask for my answers? After high school, you're going to have to seriously study without relying on cheating from somebody else."

"Hmph, bold of you to assume I'm going to a university."

"Right, you're gonna go pro as a streamer."

Dakota is a self-proclaimed pro gamer. He spends most of his time playing fps games and single-player story mode games. He definitely has the skills to go pro as he just turned 16 and is already top 500 in one of the most popular fps games. On the other hand, he lacks social skills and without that, he won't be able to engage his audience. Streamers are also entertainers, so sitting on camera live and just gaming without saying anything won't benefit you in the least no matter how good you are. Posting gameplay clips would be a better idea in that regard.

"The assignment due today was pretty big, you should've asked me yesterday if you knew you weren't going to do it."

"I had actually planned to do it. At least I was going to try, but I got caught up reading this new series in jump. By the time I was done with that, it was already 2 a.m and I'd just decided to ask you in the morning. I guess I should've looked at how long the assignment was."

"Get your priorities straight man. That new series is good though."

"Isn't it? I was just going to check out the first few chapters but I got completely hooked."

"I hear you on that. Jump series never disappoint."

Jump is a manga publisher that releases new chapters every Saturday. The series Dakota binged last night is a new hit that's sold over 2 million copies with just 3 volumes. He and Chifuyu are both what you would call otakus. Chifuyu knows how to manage his time though and gets his school work and sports training done first before he indulges himself in entertainment. Though he does have a couple of series he reads and watches if they're out before he leaves for school. Back to the main question at hand.

"So, can I see your answers for the assignment?"

"You're lucky it's math, just make sure you remember the equations for the test so the teacher doesn't get suspicious."

"You're a lifesaver."

Before making a beeline for the library, Dakota smacks Chifuyu in the butt to express his thanks. Nothing wrong with some brotherly love. Chifuyu pulled out his phone to check the time and saw he still had 9 minutes until homeroom started, so he decided to go to the gym to get some quick shots in.

***

Ring Ring Ring Ring

"Yo."

"Don't 'yo' me Shoyo, where the target?"

"I lost him, my bad."

"God dammit you imbecile, do you understand how dire this situation is?"

"Relax, he was just craftier than I thought he'd be. All I have to do is patrol the area he's heading to. Besides, this is information that was supposed to be top secret for over 200 years. If she gets unsealed, isn't it the fault of you guys up there who had a rat this entire time?"

"Watch your mouth brat, she won't be unsealed as long as you do your job. Make sure to uphold your title as the strongest hunter."

Beep Beep Beep

"What a disagreeable middle-aged man. Top secret information only a handful of people should know gets leaked to the enemy and now I have to clean up their mess. Though of course, I didn't actually lose him. I like pretending I'm a little incompetent sometimes. The vamp took to the sewers with impressive speed. My eyes were off him for no more than a second and he'd already opened the manhole, entered it and cleanly closed it without making much noise. That sewage has a few dozen other routes he could take. And I know exactly which one he'll come out of."

The man currently speaking was atop a rooftop, clad in a white uniform indicating the highest rank with a sheathed sword by his waist, earning stares from the neighborhood citizens. His occupation is a hunter run by the Hunter Agency. The job description entails hunting vampires and keeping the peace of Shioto. That's right, this is no normal world.

Shioto is the only continent in this world with some dozen islands scattered around. The world's population numbers at 901 million. The continent is divided into 31 districts, each having their own hunter branch. The hunters have been at battle with the vampires for over 200 years, but they've been dying down in numbers gradually, at least on the surface. The world has also been relatively peaceful over the last 8 years. Vampire incidents have been at an all-time low due to the presence of the current strongest hunter, Shoyo Kusakabe. He's 25 years old and is above average for male height, standing at 6 feet tall. Although you wouldn't be able to tell, he's very well built. Slicked back black hair and bright blue eyes with a cross earring on his left ear.

Growl

Shoyo's stomach grumbles, he's been pursuing this vampire for 2 days and hasn't eaten anything.

"Alright, where's the closest fast food place? I need to attend to more important matters."

Dismissing his current mission that could put the world at stake, Shoyo goes to grab some grub.