The Sudden Appearance of the Stand

The blinding magical light instantly shattered the darkness within the basement.

The Vampires recoiled instinctively, their faces turning away—but none retreated.

Vampires feared sunlight, whose ultraviolet rays seared their flesh and burned their skin to ash. But pure magical light? They merely disliked it. It was a mild discomfort, not a threat.

"Scheiße! Turn off that damned light orb!"

It was Daniel, slumped on the battered leather sofa near the door, cursing through squinting eyes. His vision swam with blinding spots, tears leaking uncontrollably down his cheeks.

A cold snort, dripping with contempt, echoed through the room.

The man lazily waved his wand, and the brilliant orb hovering above dimmed to a more tolerable glow.

Selene lowered her hand, which had shielded her eyes, and studied the man standing confidently before them.

"Kai Adler?" Her voice was cautious, gun lowered—but her finger still rested on the trigger.

The man's appearance was plain, unremarkable—a face designed to blend into crowds. But beneath the ordinary features lay an undeniable, rigid arrogance etched into his expression—the sort only old families bred into their bloodline.

"You rabble summoned me here, and now you're asking who I am?" Kai Adler's gaze swept across the group, pausing momentarily on Selene's face.

What a delightful coincidence.

Minutes ago, Kai had been cursing his luck. His investigation into the assassination attempt had hit a wall, thanks to the Soul-Locking Curse embedded in his would-be killer's mind. But then, an unexpected message arrived—an opportunity.

A group calling themselves "allies" reached out to Oka Ebo, requesting help. Their polite, unfamiliar wording made it clear: they didn't actually know Oka well.

Perfect.

With Oka already incapacitated, Kai had no qualms using the Old Man's signature Black Magic to assume the man's identity—another trick taught during those brutal years in Berlin's underworld. He'd infiltrate, investigate, and hopefully trace the Ebo Family's involvement in this mess.

An explanation was the least they owed him for sending assassins.

But fate had its amusements. These "allies" weren't Wizards or diplomats. They were Vampires. And leading them? Selene—the stunning, formidable Vampire he'd encountered once before in the Forbidden Forest. The same one whose silver brooch still rested quietly in his pocket, gifted months ago during a peculiar winter exchange.

Between old debts and new questions, Kai set aside thoughts of violence or Legilimency for now. Besides, Vampires—particularly old ones—knew things. Things like secrets about Werewolves, a puzzle piece in the tangled mystery of his origins.

Ever since Berlin, he'd known his blood carried ties to them. Finding Vampires might just fill in the missing pieces.

Kai's calculated insults didn't endear him to the room. Scowls and narrowed eyes answered him, but Vampires were used to arrogant Wizards from ancient families—they rarely cared for courtesy.

"Mr. Adler," Selene's voice was cool, measured, "watch your words. We aren't rabble."

Kai smirked, settling into a nearby chair, legs crossing in one fluid motion.

"Then tell me, why am I here?"

His fingers snapped lightly, levitating a goblet from the table toward him. But as the thick, crimson liquid within caught the light, his face twisted with disdain. With a flick of his wrist, the cup vanished into thin air.

The Vampires exchanged glances, silent. If they weren't desperate, they never would've contacted a Wizard for help.

Only Selene's frown deepened. That smirk of his… it stirred a faint, unsettling sense of familiarity.

"And yet," Kai's voice cut through the silence, "you don't even know the enemy's already lurking nearby?"

Tension instantly rippled through the room.

Weapons raised, eyes narrowed—but the basement remained eerily still.

Daniel, still rubbing his stinging eyes from earlier, scoffed. "What kind of trick are you playing, Wizard?"

He pushed himself upright, handgun leveled at Kai's chest.

"Are you even Oka Ebo?"

"You doubt me?" Kai's head tilted slightly, expression unreadable.

Daniel's lip curled into a bloodthirsty grin. "Let me verify."

Finger tightening on the trigger, but—

"Daniel!" Selene's sharp command cut through the air.

Too late.

Splurt!

A sickening rip echoed across the basement.

The Vampire in the far corner stood frozen, crimson gushing from a torn artery in his neck—blood spraying like a grotesque fountain, coating those nearby.

"Back from Bob—now!" Selene's reflexes took over. She twisted her lithe body, dodging the crimson spray, vaulting the sofa, guns raised as her eyes swept the room.

A Vampire's blood didn't flow like humans. Their slowed, nearly stagnant circulation meant severed arteries trickled, not sprayed.

Blood bursting like that? Suspicious. A clear message.

"What the hell did you do?!" Daniel snarled, finger jerking on the trigger.

Bang!

Selene's figure blurred. In a flash, she gripped Daniel's wrist, yanking his gun skyward—the bullet harmlessly embedding in the ceiling.

"Calm down, Daniel. It wasn't him."

"If not him, who—? Bob died the second this Wizard walked in!"

"Heh." Kai's smirk returned, lazy and mocking. "Rabble."

Daniel's jaw clenched, fury simmering—but Selene's glare silenced him immediately.

The others exchanged uneasy glances as Selene exhaled, eyes narrowing.

"If it were him…" she began, but her voice cut off abruptly.

"Kyle—step aside, now!"

Selene's pupils contracted, hand snapping her pistol up.

Kyle turned, confused. But it was too late.

A thin, glistening tendril of crimson light shot from her slightly parted lips, piercing through the back of her skull. Her body crumpled to the floor.

Finally, the true killer revealed itself.

A shifting mass of liquid hovered mid-air, tendrils reshaping into sharp, claw-like appendages that flexed tauntingly before collapsing to the floor with a wet splatter, vanishing into the cracks.

"It's one of Dio's lackeys!" Erica's voice rang out. They'd fought Dio's forces in Cairo—they recognized the grotesque, liquid manipulation abilities anywhere.

"You recognized it from the start?" Erica shot Selene a questioning glance.

Selene, still tracking the room with sharp eyes, shook her head.

"No."

"Then how did you know Adler wasn't behind it?"

Selene's eyes lingered on Kai, cool and calculating. "No motive. If he wanted us dead, he wouldn't waste time with parlor tricks."

She paused.

"And his words—'the enemy's already nearby, and you don't even know it.'" She glanced toward Kai. "Mr. Adler, you sensed them?"

Before he could answer, the liquid creature attacked again—targeting Selene.

But she was faster. A side roll carried her clear, both guns barking, riddling the liquid hand with bullets. The crimson mass splattered to the floor, pooling harmlessly.

But Selene knew better. Bullets wouldn't kill it—not unless they found the host.

Kai's lips curled slightly at her question, offering only a vague nod.

"You knew… and you didn't warn us?!" Daniel's temper flared once more.

Kai shrugged, entirely unfazed.

"Didn't I?"

Daniel's mouth opened, but no words came.

For once, even he couldn't argue.