Danmachi: Echoes of a Vampire God

The buzz of the city was everywhere.

Cars slid like metal beasts over endless rivers of asphalt. Neon signs flickered softly above the crowded sidewalks. Towering buildings, with windows like a million eyes, silently watched the crowds moving beneath them. It was a modern city—steel and glass, ambition and indifference, all wrapped in the noise of progress.

Digital screens blinked with ads on every surface. Phones in every hand. Headphones in every ear. People walked with their eyes glued to their screens, completely ignoring the world around them. Even the moon in the sky seemed distant, drowned out by concrete and artificial light.

It was the perfect scene of the heart of a city that never stopped beating.

But not all parts of that place sparkled.

Some streets were darker than others. And some corners… were completely forgotten and ignored by the world.

In a narrow alley between two aging buildings, with rusty dumpsters, torn trash bags, and broken bottles everywhere. The smell of rot, urine, and motor oil filled the air. A few orange lights flickered above, barely keeping the darkness at bay. The rain had just begun, leaving every part of the ground's surface slick with a slippery sheen.

A voice was heard.

A scream.

Not once. Several times. Loud. Desperate.

It was a girl's scream.

Her voice broke from the effort as she cried for help with all her strength. Her dress was torn at the shoulder, her knees covered in scrapes. She struggled. Kicked. Scratched. Her long white hair clung to her face and neck, soaked by the rain.

But the world didn't stop.

People passed by the entrance of the alley. Some glanced sideways… but quickly looked away. Others pulled out their phones, but only to look at their screens again, ignoring the noise.

No one wanted to get involved.

No one wanted trouble.

The five men surrounding her knew it. They laughed cruelly, like echoes of something rotten. Their eyes glowed with desire. They wore hoodies, jackets, and tattoos peeked out from beneath their sleeves. Thugs. Urban predators. It wasn't their first time doing something like this. Maybe not the last. For them, it was just another night.

The tallest one grabbed the girl by the arm and slammed her against the wall.

"Scream all you want, bitch. No one's coming."

She trembled, her voice raw, still begging —"Please… stop… someone… please!"

One of them yanked her purse from her shoulder and threw it away. Another approached with a disgusting grin. She kicked him in the groin with all her might. He stumbled in pain, clutching his precious area for a few seconds, then slapped her so brutally she hit the ground.

"Fucking whore. You're only making me want to rape you more."

And then—when everything seemed lost for that girl.

A voice.

Firm. Low. But sharp as a knife.

"Leave her alone."

All five turned at once.

A young boy —no older than 18— was standing at the entrance of the alley, wearing a black hoodie soaked by the rain, fists clenched tightly. His eyes fixed on the scene—fixed on her.

"And who the hell does this guy think he is?" said the tallest, voice barely hiding mockery.

"Look, it's the hero. Where's your cape, Superman?" another one laughed with disdain.

The rest didn't take long to speak once they saw he wasn't moving.

"Stay out of things that don't concern you, asshole."

"If you don't leave, brat, you'll end up worse than her."

"Five against one… your math sucks. Idiots like you are why society's like this."

"You don't know how things work nowadays, kid?"

The thugs' comments rained down like daggers.

'What am I doing…?' the boy —Kael— thought.

Even he couldn't understand what he was doing. It was like his body moved on autopilot when he heard the girl's cries for help, and before he knew it, he was there, defending someone he didn't know, someone he could have easily ignored, like everyone else. But still… there he was.

Standing in front of five men surrounding the poor girl.

His heart pounded like crazy. But he didn't hesitate. He couldn't. If he did, everything would end—for him, and for her. So…

He ran toward them.

The men cursed louder as they braced themselves.

"Tch… fools like you end up on the news with your face smashed in," said the tallest, the group's leader.

The first one who lunged at him took a direct punch to the nose. A clean crack. Blood instantly. Kael grabbed the second by the jacket collar and slammed him into the wall, driving his elbow into his throat. Another tried to hit him from behind, but he ducked just in time.

But there were five.

And they weren't unarmed.

A metal pipe struck his side. Kael barely let out a gasp of pain as he staggered. A kick to the stomach bent him like a twig. Another took him down to the ground.

Then...

Fists fell like hammers.

He blocked one. Another. Then a third landed on his jaw, bursting his lip.

They didn't stop.

Another blow. To the ribs. Then to his face.

They showed no mercy.

He was losing. Spectacularly, in fact.

He could've handled two easily. Three might've been manageable.

But four? Even he would've struggled.

And there were five.

They overwhelmed him before he even realized.

'No… not like this…'

The rain fell harder. Mixing with his blood. His vision blurred.

"STOP! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM!" the girl screamed. She tried to pull one back, but they threw her again like trash. They weren't interested in her anymore… for now.

Kael's chest rose and fell, barely. Each breath stabbed. His arm wouldn't move. His leg burned like fire. His whole body was a mass of dull, aching pain.

But then—

Sirens.

Far off. Then closer.

Red and blue lights lit the end of the alley.

"Shit!"

"Someone called the cops!"

"Run!"

The attackers scattered like rats, spitting curses as they vanished into the shadows.

Silence.

Only the rain could be heard, and the ever-closer sound of patrols.

The girl crawled to Kael, her hands trembling as she touched his face.

"Hey—hey! Can you hear me? Stay with me! Help is coming! I'm calling an ambulance! Just hold on!"

Kael blinked. Her face was close. He tried to focus… but it was blurry, like covered in fog. He could barely make out her trembling lips and the drops falling from her cheeks. Only one thing was clear—

Her hair.

Long.

White.

It slid over her shoulders like wet silk, glowing even under the streetlamps.

He could still hear her.

She was crying. Saying his name, wait... his name?

'How… does she know me?'

Everything around him was fading. Her voice seemed far away, like from underwater. Her words urgent. Distressed.

But he couldn't move. Couldn't respond. Only… look at her.

The drops fell on his face, mixing with the blood on his lips.

But just as his consciousness faded, and his eyes closed—

The girl's aura changed. Kael barely saw it, but he felt it.

She stopped crying. Stopped screaming. No sound escaped her lips. The tremble in her hands… vanished.

The desperation in her lips disappeared. And in its place…

A smile.

Slow. Unsettling. Insane.

The girl blushed, she began to pant—an erratic, uncontrolled pant. She leaned in toward him. Closer to his face.

Kael was seconds from passing out.

But still, he heard it —the whisper.

"I found you…"

Kael's heart skipped a beat. Those words echoed in his chest.

'Found me…?'

But before he could form a thought—

Nothing.

The world vanished.

No more sound. No more pain.

Only darkness.

Cold and silent.

Kael floated, or fell. He didn't know exactly. There was no ground. No sky. Only a void stretching in all directions.

He couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Only exist.

Thoughts came slowly.

'What was that… was it real…?'

Blood. Rain. The girl. Her voice. Her white hair.

Why did everything feel so… familiar?

He tried to remember her face. He knew he'd seen it, but for some reason… he couldn't.

It was like every time he tried to recall it, something blocked it halfway.

Until… a thought struck him out of nowhere.

As if something buried deep inside him awakened.

'That's when… I met her…'

But before he could remember who "she" was.

A sound.

Faint at first. A whisper in the dark.

Then clearer. Words. A voice.

"...Ka...el..."

Again.

"Ka...el"

Stronger each time. More intense. Like coming from beyond the void.

His heart began to pound. His breath returned. He closed his eyes. More by instinct than will.

And then, like thunder…

"KAEL!"

He woke up.

The first thing he felt was pain. A searing burn in every fiber of his body, as if he had been struck with a thousand swords, each one made of fire. He tried to scream, but couldn't. Only a broken moan escaped his lips, muffled, weak, almost nonexistent.

He didn't know where he was.

He didn't remember if he had been dreaming or dying.

He was just there, trapped in that broken body, feeling how each breath hurt more than the last. And then, he felt it — droplets.

Falling softly onto his face. Cold, constant. One… two… three.

'Is it… raining again…?'

But it wasn't rain. It was something warmer.

More… trembling.

And at that moment, his eyes opened. It took a few seconds to focus.

The confusion was dense. Like a fog trapped in his mind. But slowly, very slowly, the shapes made sense. And then he saw her.

Or rather… he felt her.

Marie.

He was lying down. His head resting on something soft and warm. The faint scent surrounding him felt so familiar, almost like his own breath. Cedar, dew… and something more. Something that belonged only to her.

Her lap. He was resting on Marie's lap. And when he looked up a bit—when his eyes finally managed to focus on the figure above him—he saw it.

Her face.

Pale. In pain. With eyes full of tears. They streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks, sliding down her chin to fall onto Kael's skin, one after another, as if each tear wanted to wake him. Her lower lip trembled.

She was crying. Desperately. But she didn't say a word. She only hugged him tightly, her small body trembling over his, as if afraid he would vanish.

And then Kael understood. She thought she had lost him. He wanted to speak. To calm her. Tell her he was alive. That he was with her. That he had kept the promise. That… But no voice came out.

His throat was a knot of pain. Only a dry, clumsy groan managed to escape. Even so, it was enough.

Marie reacted instantly. Her eyes widened with a glimmer of hope, and her body leaned closer over him, holding his face with both trembling hands.

'Her hands… they're so cold…'

'How long… was I unconscious…?'

'How much… did she cry… for me…?'

"Kael…"

Her voice was barely a whisper. But to him… it sounded like a miracle. Marie leaned in closer, resting her forehead against his. Her tears kept falling, now mixed with a trembling voice escaping between sobs.

"You're alive… you're alive…"

He wanted to nod.

But his body wouldn't respond.

He could only look at her.

And in his gaze, he said it all.

'I'm here.'

'Sorry for making you cry.'

'Thank you for not letting me go…'

She seemed to understand. Because she closed her eyes tightly, and hugged him again. Pressed her forehead against his once more and cried harder, letting her pain, her fear, and her relief mix into one shared breath.

Kael felt how her tears soaked his face, how her warmth merged with his. He felt every second like an eternity… and at the same time, like the only place he wanted to be.

Kael didn't know how long they stayed like that.

He only heard her crying. He only felt her warmth.

But then, something else made him react.

A strange sensation. Sticky. Metallic. Liquid. And strangely… familiar.

'What…?'

He looked down a bit, with effort. His neck cracked with the simple motion. His whole body was a mass of dull, latent pain. But he forced his eyes to see.

And then he saw it.

A stone.

Small. Ordinary. Sharp.

Lying to the side, a few centimeters from his face. Like any other dirty stone in a cave… except for one thing.

It was completely covered in blood.

Not just that. The ground… was red.

And then he felt it. A warm liquid… that kept sliding over his chest, over his neck, soaking him.

Kael tensed slightly, barely able to move his head a bit more, looking for the source —And he saw it.

Marie.

Her left arm had been deeply cut from the wrist to the forearm.

A long wound. Precise. Still bleeding.

It dripped endlessly, as if time didn't affect it, as if her body had ignored its own regenerative ability. As if… it didn't want to heal yet.

Marie was soaked in her own blood… And so was he.

'What… did you do… Marie…?'

The image was terrifying. Beautiful and terrible.

Marie, crying. Bleeding. Wrapping her arms around his head in desperation. Ignoring her own wound. Her own pain.

Just… for him.

Kael tried to speak again, with more strength. His voice was still weak, broken, but this time… it came out.

"Marie… you… why…?"

She lifted her face abruptly when she heard him. Her eyes were red, swollen, but still shone with infinite joy.

"Kael…" —she whispered—"you weren't moving… you weren't breathing…"

Her voice broke. And the tears returned, more intense.

"You were so cold… your heart… wasn't beating. Marie refused to believe it. Marie refused to accept that…"

She lowered her head, burying her face in the hollow of his neck.

"So she tried again… like before. Like when Marie saved Kael for the first time…"

Kael listened with difficulty, but understood every word. Every fragment of emotion in her voice.

"The first time, Kael's body became warm. The wounds closed. Your heart… started beating again." —her voice became quieter and quieter—"But this time… nothing happened. Nothing. Nothing!"

Her hands clutched his clothes tightly.

"And Marie… could only keep… bleeding. Pouring everything out… everything… until Kael came back. Until he woke up!"

Kael felt a knot in his throat. Not from the physical pain. But from the other one —The emotional one. The sharpest.

'Marie…'

'How much did you suffer… while I was…?'

'How desperate were you… to do something like this…?'

He tried to move his right arm. It hurt like hell, but he managed. Slowly… very slowly, he raised it.

And with the tip of his fingers, he touched her cheek.

Marie stopped. Froze. As if she couldn't believe what she had just felt.

And then she looked up. He was looking at her. While touching her.

"That's… enough…" —Kael murmured, with the weakest voice ever. But firm—"Don't… cry anymore… I'm alive… I'm not going anywhere."

Marie pressed her lips tightly. Then… she collapsed. She sobbed violently, letting her forehead fall once more against his chest. Her wound still bled, but Kael felt it was less intense. As if her body, at last, began to heal.

'She did it… because she thought she had lost me.'

'And even so… she didn't give up.'

'Marie…'

His thoughts were chaos. But one thing was clear— That desperation. That madness. That… love.

It was real. And it was for him.

Kael blushed.

'Damn… despite everything… what she did is fucking sexy…'

He didn't know why he was having that kind of thought in that kind of situation. Maybe it was the pain. Maybe the blood he had lost. Or the nearness of the warmth that still surrounded him.

But he felt like his head was still dizzy from everything that had happened, and his body so exhausted he could faint at any moment. And as if that wasn't enough… he could feel Marie's breath on his neck, her soft body pressing against his, trembling with each sob.

Definitely, a catastrophic combination in his current state.

'…You know what… to hell with it.'

With a clouded mind and confused thoughts, Kael raised both hands with the little strength he shouldn't even have. And held her face.

Marie, feeling the touch, lifted her gaze from his neck. Her eyes were still teary, red from crying so much.

"Kael…?"

Her voice was a vulnerable whisper. Innocent. A pair of familiar red eyes. But this time… they weren't the same as always. Those eyes, which usually looked at her with tenderness, care, affection… They were clouded. Lost. Not entirely present. But… behind that mist, Marie felt something else. Something that gave her goosebumps.

And not from fear. It was different.

A warmth that rose through her stomach. Through her chest. Through every corner of her body. A feeling she only had when she slept on top of Kael at night.

But this time… it was stronger. More intense. Deeper.

And before she could finish processing it—

She felt it.

One of Kael's hands slid behind her neck.

He pulled her toward him.

She didn't resist. She didn't even understand what was happening. Her mind, as innocent as it was, still tried to understand why her body was so hot.

And then… Something soft touched her lips.

A familiar contact. A brush she had felt once, when she…

"¡¿…?!"

Her eyes opened wide. And she understood.

Kael was kissing her.

The world stopped. Her body froze. Her thoughts went blank.

But Kael didn't stop. He pulled her closer. Gentle, but possessive. He bit her lips. Savored them. Not violently… but with need. With desire.

Marie parted her lips slightly, surprised.

Kael didn't waste the opportunity. He held her tighter. His tongue entered her mouth. Hers… Marie was still there. Paralyzed.

But he showed no mercy.

He engulfed her. Made her move. Follow his rhythm.

The entire cave seemed to fall silent. As if even the dungeon itself didn't dare interrupt the scene.

Seconds. Or perhaps centuries.

When Kael finally separated his lips from Marie's, he did it slowly. A thin string of saliva could be seen between their lips.

She was still frozen.

Her lips red. Swollen. Bruised.

Her tongue slightly exposed, as if still seeking more.

Kael looked at her for a few seconds. Observing her expression. The expression of the innocent mermaid. His cute mermaid.

"I think I've fallen in love with you… Marie."

And with that last phrase…

He smiled.

And fell asleep.

As if he hadn't just dropped a bomb on the poor mermaid's mind.

Seconds passed in silence. Only Kael's slow breathing could be heard as he slept.

Marie didn't react. She blinked once. Twice. Three times.

She brought a trembling hand to her lips. Touched them. Gently.

Closed her mouth slowly.

Then… stuck out her tongue. Slid it over her lips, as if tasting what remained of him.

And then… She smiled. Slowly. Widely.

If Kael had been awake… he would have sworn Marie was the white-haired girl that appeared in his dreams. Because that smile…

Was identical to hers. Wide. Mad. Loving. Aroused.

Marie's body trembled uncontrollably. Her breathing became erratic, gasping. As if she couldn't get enough air.

'Kael loves Marie… Kael loves Marie… Kael loves Marie… Kael loves Marie… Kael loves Marie… Kael loves Marie… Kael loves Marie…'

Her trembling hands searched for Kael's face, held it tightly. And then… she whispered it.

First in a low voice. Then with a crazed one.

"Marie loves Kael too… Kael and Marie love each other… Kael belongs to Marie… and Marie belongs to Kael… they'll be together forever", each word came out with more intensity, more heat, more madness.

Her body vibrated. Melted. She was on the edge of emotional collapse.

"Heh… hehehe… hehehehehe…"

A laugh. Low at first. Then louder.

An uncontrollable laugh. Deranged. Happy. And at the heart of it all…

Kael slept. With a faint smile on his lips.

As if dreaming something warm. Unaware…

That he had just unleashed something much, much bigger than he could've ever imagined with his actions.

But everything turned out fine in the end… right?