Chapter 24

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Something is shaking me, Yagari thinks dimly as he comes to and feels a firm grip on his shoulder moving him back and forward. Why?

With effort, he opens his eyes. The world is turned sideways. He sees a familiar face staring at him intensely. Purple hair falls to one side as she removes her hand from his shoulder. Seiren, he remembers.

His arms rest on a counter in front of him and support his head. He lifts his head and immediately wishes he hadn't. His head aches and moving his head makes him feel like he's going to fall over. He grips the bar as he waits for the blackness that had appeared in his vision to disappear.

"I guess your bragging wasn't for show," Yagari groans.

"Vampire metabolism," she shrugs.

"No need to put yourself down," Yagari says. "You won this fair and square."

The corner of Seiren's mouth turns up and then she's all seriousness.

"You need to pull yourself together," she says urgently. "Now. There's trouble."

She hands him a glass of water, which he downs. She grabs a pitcher to refill his water, but he takes it from her and pours it over his head.

The icy water bites his skin and sinks deep within his skull. His brain feels like it's been turned into a rock. His head pounds. After a few moments, the feeling vanishes and he feels clearer. Not up to his full potential, but a vast improvement than moments before.

He looks at Seiren and nods. "Let's go," he says.

As they make their way towards the door, everything inside the bar looks normal. There are less patrons than earlier, but there are still folks sitting there lost in their drinks and the bartender glares at him for making a mess with the water. At least that's what Yagari assumes is the reason for him glaring.

"What's going on?" he asks as they reached the door.

Seiren stays silent until they get outside.

"Level E's," she says. "In town."

He doesn't ask how she knows this. She has her ways, he knew. "Where?" he replies.

"Follow me," she says and takes off running down the street.

Yagari follows behind her, cursing himself for his drunken state. He slaps himself a few times as he runs. Each slap brings more clarity.

Seiren makes several twists and turns down various streets, leading them towards the Hunter's Association Headquarters of all places. However, before they get there, she makes a sharp turn and goes down a side street. Yagari keeps up, feeling more and more awake the more they run. The cool night breeze helps him clear his mind.

They run further through the town until they come close to the edge. Seiren stops and steps into the shadows. She points at a run-down building across the street. He nods and pulls his gun from his back.

They approach the house carefully. The night sky has started to lighten. Dawn will soon come.

Yagari looks inside the window and sees destruction. Absolute destruction. Without waiting for Seiren, he opens the door and enters. She does not follow him. Yagari doesn't worry. He's done solo missions before. He assumes she's taking some other approach.

He enters the hallway and notes the destroyed furniture. The blood spattered on the walls. He sees a body lying on the floor, motionless. Quickly, he checks for a pulse while keeping his awareness on high alert. Nothing. The poor person is gone.

He continues through the house, finding several more bodies. Where are you? he wonders of the vampires. It's clear to him that several vampires attacked this home.

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