The Demonic Capital: New York

It was the vampire Eve had warned me about!

A murderous aura came rushing from behind, accompanied by a surge of crimson blood qi. I rolled across the ground with Mimata Chieri still slung over my shoulder and barely managed to dodge.

“Wait! We’re not from that Black Moon Company or whatever!”

“Hmph! Shut your mouth!”

I needed her to listen if I was going to clear up the misunderstanding, but this was way too aggressive! I set Mimata Chieri down beside me and turned to face the vampire. She was a beautiful woman with blood-red hair and golden eyes featuring vertical pupils like a reptile or a cat. Her leather jacket, white t-shirt, and jeans gave her a bold, striking impression, yet her gaze toward us was filled with pure killing intent. That look alone told me she harbored a massive grudge against Kurotsuki Dojo.

Her hair and eye colors were unusual, but she looked East Asian… And the fact that Japanese worked on her made sense. If she’d been a Western vampire, we probably wouldn’t have been able to communicate at all, so she was most likely a vampire of Japanese origin.

“We’re just tourists!”

“Hmph! What kind of tourist dodges my attack like that?”

The vampire came at me again, nails extended. The way she coated her claws in blood qi looked similar to how I used the Abyss. I covered my palm with the Abyss to block her strike and knocked her hand aside. Sure enough, she possessed monstrous strength that didn’t match her appearance. My hand actually throbbed from deflecting the blow.

“Kuh! So you do know how to fight! Then how about this?”

Deciding close quarters were disadvantageous, she retreated several steps and fired blood qi at me like a shotgun blast. Fighting vampires was always tricky. If you took a wound, their authority over blood would make it gush out instantly, draining your life force in seconds. Avoiding injury was the most important thing.

I instantly wrapped my entire body in the Abyss to defend against the blood qi. The layer rippled violently from the impact but didn’t break.

“You can block even this? Then one big attack should settle things!”

“Bring it on.”

I’d only been defending until now, and I was starting to get heated. I took up a stance from Shinkai Yatsude. Vampires were hard to kill, so I’d incapacitate her first and talk afterward.

“Hyaap!”

The vampire swung a massive blood qi blade that looked like a greatsword. The low humming sound made its tremendous power obvious. I couldn’t lose here. When it came to blades, I would answer with a blade of my own.

The black energy and blood-red energy collided, unleashing a massive shockwave that swept over the surroundings. The impact shattered the glass windows of nearby buildings in a noisy clatter, but no one came to investigate.

It looked like most people had already fled the area, which had turned into a battlefield between Kurotsuki Dojo and the vampire.

The winner of the clash was me. One of the vampire’s arms had been severed and was flying through the air. But that severed arm turned into a blood mist and was absorbed back into her body. She recovered completely, as if she had never been injured.

This was exactly what was annoying about fighting vampires. In games they had ridiculous regeneration too, so it was usually better to avoid them if possible.

Come to think of it, her combat specs felt similar to mine.

Despite her delicate female appearance, she possessed monstrous strength, used strange energy as a weapon, and had incredible regenerative power. Our styles were quite alike. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The slight differences were that I added proper martial arts on top, giving me higher offensive power, while she held the advantage in regeneration.

At this rate we could fight for three full days and nights without a conclusion… And she didn’t look like she would stop the fight, so we charged at each other once again.

My lightning-fast kick struck the vampire’s midsection, but she instantly turned into blood mist and nullified the blow. A normal attack probably wouldn’t have done any damage, but Shinkai Yatsude was a Mythic-grade martial art. The Abyss permeated every strike, allowing it to deal damage even to intangible opponents.

“Krgh! You’re pretty good.”

“You’re not bad yourself.”

I touched my cheek, which had been lightly sliced and was still bleeding. Even while taking my energy wave, the vampire had launched a counterattack and wounded me. A small cut like this should have healed instantly, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it refused to close and kept dripping. It seemed some kind of curse or similar effect was preventing recovery even from minor wounds.

We were about to charge at each other again without another word when—

“Stop it this instant!”

Huh? That was Eve’s voice. A robot slightly larger than the food-serving ones used during possession sessions came rolling out of the Black Market New York branch entrance. The serving robot had a speaker attached, and Eve’s voice was coming from it.

“Mr. Ryuta left without taking the item, so I came out to deliver it—what on earth is going on here?!”

“Eve, isn’t this girl from the Black Moon Company?”

It seemed Eve and this vampire knew each other. I walked over to the serving robot Eve was controlling.

“Eve, can you clear up the misunderstanding? No matter what I said, she wouldn’t listen to me.”

“That’s because Yuka is the type who acts without thinking once she gets an idea in her head. Yuka, Mr. Ryuta isn’t from the Black Moon Company. He’s simply a customer who came to use the Black Market.”

“B-but he was definitely carrying a woman over his shoulder!”

As expected, the root of the problem was Mimata Chieri. She had been struggling while slung over my shoulder, so anyone would have been suspicious. Of course, the vampire named Yuka who had attacked without listening to our explanation bore plenty of responsibility too.

“I’m Otagi Yuka. I’m sorry for attacking you over a misunderstanding. I was wrong.”

She gave me a proper, polite apology. In a world where many people would snap back with “Apologize? You crazy bastard, you were wrong too!” the fact that she readily admitted her mistake and apologized probably put her in the top thirty percent when it came to character.

Anyway, Otagi Yuka… I’d heard the Otagi family ran a general hospital, but maybe it was just a coincidence of the surname? It made me slightly curious, but it wasn’t important.

“I’m Taira Ryuta. As the victim who was suddenly attacked, I believe I have the right to ask what the hell is going on, yes?”

“That Taira?”

Being Japanese, she reacted instantly to the surname. I nodded quietly.

“So there was a reason behind your strength. That martial art earlier must be the body technique passed down in the Taira family, right?”

“Yuka, instead of talking about martial arts, I think an explanation would be better first. Standing around like this is awkward, so why don’t we go back inside?”

And so, not long after leaving the Black Market’s New York branch, we returned to it. When Mimata Chieri started fidgeting again because she wanted to buy the items that had been in the shopping basket, I let out a small sigh and spoke.

“Senior, just buy both of them. I’ll send you the points you’re short on.”

Of course Mimata Chieri was probably planning to use those items to make an AV starring me, but after thinking about it, both seemed reasonably useful, so I gave her permission to purchase them.

“Really? Junior, you’re the best!”

Mimata Chieri beamed and hugged me. She looked exactly like a little girl who had just received a Pink Pink doll, crying “Daddy’s the best!” I couldn’t help but chuckle.

While Mimata Chieri dashed off excitedly to buy the drone and hidden camera, we sat down in the reception room Eve had prepared, coffee and cookies placed between us. Once a beaming ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mimata Chieri returned and took her seat, Eve—who had switched back to hologram mode in place of Otagi Yuka—spoke.

“Originally, the Black Moon Company is a massive corporation that plays around with real estate. But New York is so tangled up with power and vested interests that it wasn’t easy for their New York branch to gain a foothold. So the branch manager started getting involved in slightly more illegal activities than the company’s usual methods.”

Hmm. No matter how much of a Black Moon organization it was, they wouldn’t openly commit evil deeds unless there was an incredibly tempting prize like the mithril mine in Akita Prefecture. It seemed the New York branch had gone all-in on criminal activity.

From the way Otagi Yuka had shouted earlier, they were probably involved in human trafficking, drugs, and collecting protection money like in the old Kim Du-han days.

“Actually, Yuka is a high school student. When a friend she had been close to since middle school went missing in New York, she came here herself to find her. From our perspective as the Black Market’s New York branch, the Black Moon Company’s illegal activities here were interfering with our business.”

“So I received information from Eve, and Eve borrowed my strength to wipe out the Black Moon Company.”

So that was the story. A high schooler who immediately came running when her friend disappeared… She really had the vibe of a hot-blooded hero of justice.

“So, did you find your friend?”

“She was addicted to drugs by the Black Moon Company and died. After that, Yuka’s objective changed. She decided to eliminate the Black Moon Company from New York. She arrived during last year’s summer vacation and has been at it for a full year now. It’s almost over.”

Drugging and killing a high school girl… The Black Moon Company’s New York branch really were scum. It was a heartbreaking story, but I had my own schedule planned, so I couldn’t offer help. Besides, judging from Otagi Yuka’s abilities, she didn’t seem like someone who would fall into danger easily.

“It’s good that it’s almost finished. Still, be careful just in case. The Kurotsuki Dojo headquarters might send reinforcements to support the New York branch.”

“Thanks for the advice. And let me apologize again. I’m sorry for attacking without properly checking because I was blinded by revenge.”

“Given the situation at the time, anyone would have misunderstood. We’ll be on our way now.”

After receiving Otagi Yuka’s apology once more, we gathered the items we had purchased from the Black Market New York branch and stepped outside. We had lost a bit of time, so I needed to hurry and search for the next item.