Alice had run straight into Tyler.
Yet she didn't feel afraid of him—not even a little. What startled her was how close he stood. Closer than she had expected. Close enough for her to catch the faint scent of blood in his breath… and to feel the dark energy radiating from his body.
Her eyes held a hatred she could barely conceal.
At the same time, Edward was searching the entire school building for Henry. He checked the corridors, the stairwells, even the courtyard—but there wasn't a trace of him.
Only when Edward stepped back into the classroom did Henry finally appear, emerging from the shadows near the back wall.
With a quiet whisper of power, he cast a spell.
In an instant, the entire room froze.
Students stopped mid-movement. Pens hovered above paper. Even the drifting dust in the air seemed suspended in time.
Only Henry and Edward remained free to move and speak.
"What's going on?" Edward asked, his voice a mix of confusion and concern. "Why freeze everyone like this?"
Henry's expression was unusually serious.
"Young master… you need to be careful these days."
Edward frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Tyler," Henry said quietly. "He has taken the position of the school's new administrator."
Edward's eyes widened slightly.
"Master Alfred already knows. He ordered me to warn you personally. But I couldn't say it in front of everyone else. If panic spreads… Tyler might notice and become suspicious."
"Tyler…?" Edward murmured.
He inhaled slowly.
"That explains the strange scent around here. It's similar to his—but the stench of blood is much stronger."
Henry nodded grimly.
"Two nights ago, he destroyed the previous school owner. Completely."
Edward's jaw tightened.
"And now," Henry continued, "he needs more victims to restore his strength."
A heavy silence fell between them.
"Young master… the students here are his targets."
Edward clenched his fists.
"He's using children as prey…?" he growled through gritted teeth. "That bastard."
The surge of hatred burning inside Edward traveled far beyond the classroom.
Somewhere in the distance—
Tyler felt it.
"You're still human," Henry continued. "You should carry protective charms. Master Alfred is arranging a safer place for you to stay for a while."
Edward shook his head immediately.
"Leave? And go where?" he demanded. "What about Father Hill? How could I abandon him?"
"Father Hill can take care of himself," Henry replied calmly. "But Master Alfred asked Uncle Alfred to look after you."
Edward fell silent.
Then suddenly he looked up at Henry.
"…Bite me."
Henry blinked in surprise.
"Bite me, Henry," Edward repeated quietly. "I want power like yours. Then I could protect everyone."
Henry's expression hardened.
"Please don't act impulsively, young master."
His voice was firm now.
"Don't forget—you still have responsibilities. You must protect Father Hill… and Miss Alice."
Edward looked away, his jaw tight.
"…Then release the spell," he said after a moment. "If anyone notices something strange, it'll cause trouble."
Henry nodded.
With a flick of his fingers, time resumed.
Students shifted again. Pens continued writing.
No one realized that reality had paused for a moment.
At the front of the classroom, the teacher began explaining the next lesson.
But Alice couldn't concentrate.
Her mind was still tangled with thoughts of her encounter with Tyler.
Something felt wrong.
Then she smelled it.
A foul scent brushed against the edge of her senses.
Rotten.
Metallic.
Like old blood.
Her eyes slowly lifted toward the front of the class.
The teacher stood there—but something about him looked terribly wrong.
His body seemed thinner than before. His skin stretched pale and dry over bone. His eyes were bloodshot red.
Too red.
His movements were stiff… unnatural.
The other students noticed nothing.
They continued taking notes, completely unaware that their teacher…
Was no longer human.
Alice slowly turned her head.
Across the room, Edward and Henry were already looking at her.
The smell of blood in the air had grown stronger.
All three of them realized the same thing at once.
Danger was only a few steps away.
After class ended, the teacher assigned one student to deliver the homework to the faculty office.
The unlucky volunteer was Billy.
Billy—the troublemaker who always picked fights with Edward.
"You're really going to take it yourself?" Edward asked, frowning.
"Of course," Billy replied with a smirk. "Just hand over your work. I don't want to go home late."
Edward hesitated.
"…Then take this."
He handed Billy a small cloth bundle.
Inside it was fresh garlic.
"Just in case something happens."
Billy stared at him like he'd lost his mind.
"Are you crazy? Keep that for cooking."
He rolled his eyes.
"Are you submitting your work or not? Alice, give yours too."
He ignored the warning completely.
Henry slowly handed Billy the last notebook.
"You won't make it back," he said quietly.
Billy glared at him.
"What's wrong with you people today? Why are you suddenly cursing me?"
"We're warning you because we care," Alice said calmly, speaking as the class representative.
Billy crossed his arms.
"Then why don't you go instead? You're the class leader."
His voice was tough—but his eyes flickered with hesitation.
Henry stepped forward.
"Then I'll go."
"Henry—" Edward started.
Henry stopped him with a look.
"I'm the same kind as it," he said quietly. "If I go, everyone else will be safer."
"No."
Edward stood abruptly.
"I'm not losing someone who feels like a brother again. I'll go myself."
Henry's voice suddenly rose.
"Have you forgotten your duty, Edward?"
Before Edward could respond, Henry grabbed all the notebooks from Billy's hands and walked out of the room.
Faculty Office Corridor
The hallway was eerily silent.
Henry could hear his own breathing.
His footsteps echoed softly along the cold walls.
Late afternoon sunlight filtered through frosted windows in pale streaks.
When the light brushed his skin, a brief burning sensation ran across his arm.
He clenched his teeth and kept walking.
Finally he stopped in front of the faculty office door.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
The sound echoed strangely in the empty corridor.
No answer came.
Only silence.
Henry pushed the door open.
It creaked softly.
Inside, the room was completely dark.
Every curtain was tightly shut.
No sunlight entered.
The air was thick with dampness—and a rotten scent like dried blood clinging to the walls.
"Close the door…"
A low, rasping voice came from the darkness behind the desk.
"…now."
It didn't sound human anymore.
"I brought the assignments," Henry said calmly. "May I turn on the light?"
"NO!"
The roar came instantly.
"I don't want the light… and I don't want to harm my own kind. Don't force me."
The voice trembled with agony—and hunger.
Henry smiled faintly.
From inside his coat, he pulled out a small glass vial filled with animal blood.
The metallic scent filled the room instantly.
Something in the darkness began breathing faster.
Steam fogged the glass on the desk.
Then the teacher moved.
He crawled out from beneath the desk—
Like a starving animal.
His skin was pale enough to reveal dark veins beneath it. His face twisted with hunger.
His eyes were white.
No pupils.
Long fangs pushed through his cracked lips.
"Blood…"
He hissed.
"Give it… to me…"
Before the creature could leap—
Henry dropped the vial.
Crash!
Glass shattered across the floor.
Blood spilled everywhere.
The undead teacher froze—
Then collapsed onto the floor, clawing desperately at the blood like a starving beast.
His long nails scraped against the tiles.
Henry stepped back, watching coldly.
"…You're no longer a teacher."
The creature looked up again, blood smeared across its mouth.
It growled.
The sound was like bones grinding together inside its chest.
Suddenly—
A curtain shifted.
But there was no wind.
From the corner of the room, a tall shadow slowly appeared.
Henry's eyes narrowed.
That thing…
Was no longer human either.
Without hesitation, he flicked his cloak.
And vanished.
Outside – In the Car
Edward sat in the passenger seat, his hand clenched tightly.
"It's begun," he murmured.
Alice, sitting beside him, turned toward him with worried eyes.
Then Henry emerged from the shadows near the back entrance of the school building.
His expression had returned to that of an ordinary student.
But something dark still lingered in his eyes.
"He didn't survive," Henry said quietly as he entered the car.
He closed the door slowly.
Only the wind whispered through the trees.
"Let's go home," Henry said. "It's almost dark. It's not safe."
Edward studied him carefully.
"You're alright?"
Henry shook his head slightly, wiping blood from his sleeve.
"It didn't even have the strength to bite me," he said.
Then his voice lowered.
"But the smell in that room… there was more than one presence."
The words hung in the cooling evening air.
They drove through the dim streets.
Soon they reached Alice's house.
Henry stopped the car.
Alice looked at both of them, worry clearly written on her face.
"See you tomorrow," Edward said with a small smile.
Alice hesitated before answering softly.
"…Please stay safe until tomorrow."
Edward laughed lightly.
"You say that like you think I won't survive tonight."
The porch light reflected briefly in her eyes as she stepped inside.
The moment the door closed—
Henry accelerated.
The car shot forward faster than any normal vehicle should on a city road.
Within seconds they turned onto the private road lined with towering black pines.
The wind howled past the windows.
Then the Holler Mansion appeared—rising from the darkness like something alive.
The sun had completely vanished behind the horizon.
Only a dark red glow remained in the sky.
When the car stopped, Henry stepped out.
His footsteps echoed strangely across the stone courtyard—
As if someone else were walking beside him.
Edward looked up at the mansion.
Lights flickered in an upstairs window.
As if someone had just passed by.
But no one should have been inside yet.
"…Something's wrong," Edward said quietly.
Henry didn't answer.
He pulled on his coat, his eyes cold and ready.
Above them, bats and crows circled endlessly in the darkening sky.
Then—
The mansion's front door slowly creaked open by itself.
No one touched it.
The hinges groaned like an invitation to another world.
Edward inhaled deeply.
"…Tonight won't end easily, will it?"
Henry gave a faint smile.
He already knew the answer.
"No," he said softly.
"Tonight… has only just begun."