"Wow! Ruby's Awakened form just keeps getting more and more beautiful, doesn't it?"
"Of course! Do you know how much handsome guys' BLOOD it took to upgrade to a body this hot?"
"Oh! That's so admirable."
Right next to Ethan's ears, the twin sisters Anya and Yara kept chattering non-stop, praising Ruby's figure.
As for Ethan…
He felt a bit disappointed.
Because Ruby's Awakened form…
…didn't match the appearance of the Blood Giver in his memory at all. Not even the scent was the same!
That mysterious Vampire had also been tall and beautiful, but her body had the fullness of a mature woman - so much so that the buttons on her Harmony High uniform looked like they were about to burst. Meanwhile, Ruby's body, though undeniably alluring, wasn't nearly as voluptuous.
Moreover, the Blood Giver had long, disheveled black hair, along with sinewy arms and claws up to 30 centimeters long - strong enough to rip Felix's heart straight out of his chest and crush it into a bloody pulp. Ruby's claws, on the other hand, looked no different from usual.
That bloodthirsty Vampire's body had clearly been transformed for combat efficiency - completely different from the seductive purpose Ruby was displaying here. Ruby's smooth skin didn't even show a trace of bulging veins like the Blood Giver's had in her Awakened state.
"Ruby! You're so beautiful."
Kai exclaimed in awe as his elongated arm, with its massive, vein-covered hand, reached toward her.
"Stay away from me!!!"
Ruby screamed.
She kept intensifying the power in her voice, causing the ceiling to shake violently, sending clouds of dust falling down.
But the magic in Ruby's voice didn't stop Kai. Ignoring the blood pouring from his ears, he continued to stare at the girl he loved with a hypnotized, infatuated gaze as he slowly moved closer to her.
And after swaying precariously for a while, the crystal chandelier crashed down right behind Kai. Some of its decorative shards shot outward, embedding deep into his flesh, adding several more pools of blood across the floor.
That attack had been intentional on Ruby's part, but it seemed that this Vampire, as beautiful as the Goddess Venus, had miscalculated the timing and the landing point - especially when her target, though massive, was extremely slow.
Kai's face, still very human and still strikingly handsome, glanced at the shattered remains of the crystal chandelier behind him with pain and despair. This was how the girl he loved so deeply had treated him. She hadn't hesitated in the slightest to hurt him - both physically and emotionally.
Gritting his teeth, Kai endured the excruciating pain as he forced his newly mutated body to move. After a few steps, he stood face to face with Ruby.
"Let me go!"
Ruby screamed in panic.
Her slender legs were now suspended in the air.
Despite his arm being torn apart by her claws, Kai held tight, refusing to release her delicate neck.
"I'll ask you again. Will you drink my blood?"
"Never…! Who would ever drink the filthy blood of an Infected like you!"
"You'll pay for daring to reject me…"
"You think you can? I dare you!"
Ruby's voice trembled, on the verge of tears. Though she was in pain, the pride of a Vampire would not allow her to show weakness.
"If you're that determined, then…"
Kai's shoulders began to shake.
From his hiding spot, Ethan couldn't tell whether Kai was laughing or crying. But he could sense that something very dangerous was about to happen.
Crash!
The mirror wall at the end of the room suddenly cracked apart as Kai hurled Ruby into it.
In an instant, shards of glass of all sizes rained down upon the goddess-like figure sprawled on the floor, sending blood splattering everywhere.
"Oh noooo! My face!"
The Vampire who had once been the most beautiful, the most arrogant, and the most feared girl in Harmony High screamed miserably as she saw her flawless body now covered in cuts.
Even though the wounds were healing rapidly, Ruby still collapsed unconscious in a pool of her own blood, unable to get back up. It was unclear whether she had fainted from blood loss or from being unable to accept that her body was no longer perfect.
From a distance, Ethan didn't know what he should do.
He had once thought that Ruby's strength must be equal to - or even greater than - Autumn's. After all, Ruby looked much taller and more imposing.
He hadn't expected her to be this fragile. Even outside her Awakened combat state, Autumn was at least several times stronger and more agile than Ruby.
(Okay, maybe "several times" was an exaggeration. But at least two or three times stronger.)
So then…
With that kind of strength and appearance, could Ruby and the Blood Giver really be the same person?
Hmph.
Who knew?
Maybe she had more than one Awakened form.
Crash!
The shattered remains of the magnificent chandelier whizzed past Ethan and the girls, smashing into the wall behind them and making his heart skip a beat. Kai was crying out in rage, hurling everything within his reach.
Now Ethan not only had to shield Autumn, but the utterly useless Vampire twins, Anya and Yara, were also pressing their soft bodies against his thin frame, seeking protection.
What were they expecting from a human like him?
"You two! Do something to help Ruby already."
Ethan turned and urged the twins when he saw Kai lifting the sofa - where Autumn had been lying before - high above his head. His gaze was fixed on Ruby.
But Ethan was utterly disappointed when he saw the sisters doing nothing but clinging to each other, lamenting, "Poor Ruby," and "What should we do? She's going to die."
"You're Vampires, aren't you?! Don't tell me three Vampires can't take down one Infected! Kai may be big, but he's slow - that's why he keeps throwing things around. All we need to do is…"
Ethan hadn't even finished speaking when Yara acted.
She dropped to the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees in a fetal position. And then…
…her light blue hair began to grow at an incredible speed. It coiled around her body layer by layer like a serpent - until her entire form turned into a massive ball of hair.
In a flash, the ball suddenly rolled toward the door at lightning speed.
But despite the effort, it couldn't get past the only obstacle blocking the way - the broken grand piano.
In the end, the hairball - what used to be Yara - got stuck beneath the heavy body of the fallen piano, leaving the remaining conscious beings in the room stunned.
As for Anya…
Before Ethan could stop her, she bared her white fangs…
…and sank them deep into Autumn's neck.