40 Much to His Frustration, Another Curve Ball is Thrown (End)

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Walking out of the hall, I soon found myself in the open garden on the rooftop. The hotel where the gala was held was a high-end one, so there was no one on the rooftop at this hour. The loosehead Aseru was standing in front of the rail, enjoying the view below. I was about to sneak attack him, but he immediately turned around and faced me with a wry smile.

Scratching his neck, he remarked, "You don't talk much, do you? Why don't we waste some time talking about who is wrong and who is just overreacting?"

"What do you want?" I asked calmly.

"That's more like it! You see; the reason why I did that to that girl was to lure Lady Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade out. It was just unexpected that her thrall, you, whom I didn't know about until then was capable enough to stop me."

"What will you get from luring Kiss-Shot out?"

"Some fun."

I didn't need to hear any more words. I dashed at the bastard, appearing before him in the blink of an eye. I slashed my hand diagonally, cutting his face with my nails. I would have split him in two if his reflex was just a shy weaker. Taking a few distance from me, he looked at me apprehensively. He seemed to be quite flustered by the development. I dashed at him again, causing him to defend himself in panic.

Bam!

Surely, he didn't expect me to dive into the shadow when I was right in front of him, get out of the shadow below him, and then send him flying with my punch. As he was still in the air, I propelled myself upward and then landed a solid kick in his stomach which further launched him above. I turned my arm into a long and thick root before wrapping it around his waist. With everything I got, I yanked him down.

I heard his gasp which immediately turned into a wheeze as soon as he was slammed into the floor. I had half-expected the floor to crumble, leading to another trouble, but was very glad when it was dented but fine nonetheless. The bastard coughed up a mouthful of blood as I squeezed his body with my root-like arm. I could feel his struggle, but it was futile.

Thinking about my desire to use Kokorowatari, I pulled it out of my body with my left hand. The bastard looked at me with bulging eyes as soon as I held its hilt. He knew what was to come, so he struggled even harder. I didn't know what kind of face I was making but knew it was scary enough to make his soul tremble.

"No, no! You will regret ever doing this to me! You don't know what I have done to those people. You will kill hundreds of humans if you kill me!"

"What did you do?" I asked threateningly.

"You might not be able to tell because the food served to your table was separately cooked, but the others are eating food that is mixed with my blood. AH!"

The loosehead's smirk instantly disappeared as soon as Kokorowatari was planted on his chest, a hair's breadth away from his heart. He looked at me in horror, completely losing the last shred of confidence he had.

"Deactivate your Art and I will think about sparing you," I said calmly while still glaring at him murderously.

"Bah! Do you think I will believe you?"

"Right."

I dragged Kokorowatari upward, cutting his chest open. He screamed and I worried about someone hearing it but soon calmed down upon remembering that I had locked the door. I smirked and dragged Kokorowatari horizontally this time. He screamed and wiggled in pain as blood was spouting out of his mouth.

"Those people will remember what happens tonight!" he shouted indignantly. "My thralls have surrounded the hall. Even if Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade manages to stop them before they can kill anyone, they will know about us! You will have to kill them with your hands to keep everything under wraps. Think about it, Hikigaya Hachiman!"

My frustration got the better of me, so I slammed my foot on the bastard's face. I heard a satisfying crunch and my mood got better slightly.

"Tell your thralls to retreat and I will let you live for another day." It left a bitter taste in my mouth, but it was the best decision.

"Hah! How would I know if you are not going to kill me afterward?" the bastard scoffed.

"Tell your thrall to come here to pick you up."

"You are strong enough to beat. Why do you think my thrall is capable of defeating you?"

This motherfucker is testing my patience, huh? I looked at the Aseru silently before a realization hit me. "Your Art will stop working when you die, won't it?"

In response to that, he cackled madly. "My Art is pretty useless but a unique one. Even if I die, it will still take effect! When you kill me, my thralls will take action and everyone there will—Ah!"

I ended his speech by dragging Kokorowatari down. He bit his lip in indignation but could do nothing other than that. He had to thank his vitality as a Vampire. If it wasn't for that, he would have died long ago with the amount of blood pooling on the ground. I sighed and then swallowed Kokorowatari. We were at a stalemate as killing him was not an option.

Thankfully, he was not suicidal. If he hadn't been suicidal, he would have ordered his thralls to move regardless of his survival. It still didn't bring me any good news, though. I need something to keep him in check. At the thought, my eyes widened in realization. A Vampire master was given the privilege to control his thralls. He could order them to die and they would do it in a heartbeat. If I could successfully turn this loosehead into my thrall, I would be able to keep him in check.

I lifted the bastard, transformed my hand back to normal, and then held his neck tightly. He clawed on my hand to pry it off but failed miserably. I stabbed his neck with my nails and then injected my blood into his veins. His eyes widened before a maniacal smile appeared on his face.

"Ha-Ha-Ha! What a brilliant solution you have come up with! Alas, it won't work. You are unique, but you are just a mere—what!? This is impossible! No, stop it! AH!"

I sighed inwardly upon looking at his facial expression. My enslavement worked. Whoever had the stronger blood would be able to subdue another Vampire. Kiss-Shot was arguably the strongest Vampire in the world, so very few would be able to beat her blood even if it was heavily diluted in a thrall's body. I would have some fun with the bastard later.

At that moment, I heard someone's hesitant footsteps. My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach.

***

[Yukinoshita Haruno's POV]

Hikigaya-kun, or I should say, Hachiman was becoming more and more interesting these days. He had been interesting since the day I met him, but he was way more interesting now. His straightforwardness was now backed up back by his confidence. He didn't only easily withstand my teasing but also teased me back. It wasn't a fake bravado which was why he was interesting. He looked more charming now.

As I idly looked for him, I unconsciously recalled what happened during the dance. I was rarely flustered but his action managed to make me. His husky voice evoked something within me and his breath sent my body tingling in arousal. I wondered if dating Shinobu-chan turned him into such an experienced player. My face flushed as I thought about it.

"Do you see where Hachiman, Yukino-chan?"

Yukino-chan grimaced as soon as I asked her about him. It was obvious that she liked him. Unfortunately, she was so out of touch that she didn't even realize someone had snatched him. She was too passive too, so she was missing out on a lot of things. With how things were going, by the time she realized it, she could only cry about it. Unless, she was willing to do everything she could to get what she wanted, which I doubted she was.

"Hachiman-kun walked out of the room over fifteen minutes ago. I don't know where he went," Yukino-chan said with a guarded look. "Why are you curious?"

"Who knows? Fu-Fu-Fu."

I could see Shinobu-chan sitting at the table with Chabashira-san, so Hachiman-kun must be having his manly alone time. I figured that he would want to get an open space, so I headed to the rooftop. As I reached the door to the rooftop, I found a nervous woman standing there. She smiled as soon as she saw me and asked if I wanted to go to the garden. I found it weird but nodded nonetheless.

When I got into the garden, I heard two people conversing. Only one of them was properly talking—the other one was yelling. My mind told me to go back, but curiosity got the better of me since one of the voices sounded familiar. When I got closer to hear better, I found Hachiman swallowing a sword as tall as I was.

When I took a closer look, I saw that one of his arms had turned into a root-like appendage. It made me forget that his ears had turned pointy. Then, it morphed back into a normal human. At the same time, he was holding the bloodied man who also happened to be Kawagoe Aseru by his neck. Kawagoe-san screamed as if he was going to die, making my blood run cold.

I didn't know what got into me. Maybe, I couldn't accept what I was seeing. I walked out of my hiding spot, attracting his attention. When he turned around, I was greeted by his radiant murderous eyes. I froze but immediately calmed down when they softened.

"What are you doing here, Haruno?" he asked harshly, making me flinch. He seemed to notice my fear as he softly said, "I am sorry. I am quite frustrated right now. Just…give me some time. Go somewhere else as I take care of this bastard. You may stay if you want, but I assure you that you won't like what you see."

Noting how sharp and long his canines had become, I nodded docilely. As I sat down on the floor somewhere away from him, I wondered if he would kill me next.

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Honorary Mention:

Venerable Immortal Bowzer

Venerable Immortal Funéral

Venerable Immortal Keksimus Rex

Venerable Immortal Orion

Venerable Immortal W. James