About twenty minutes later, the police station door was pushed open, and a woman in a black ladies’ suit walked in.
She wore rimless glasses, her high heels clicking sharply against the station’s concrete floor.
Her expression was so severe it could almost be called sharp.
Every officer sitting or standing in the station unconsciously cleared a path as she approached.
Nanase Chitose finally opened her eyes, and the moment she recognized the newcomer, her tense expression instantly relaxed.
“Ah, Nana-nee…”
Before she could finish, a crisp snap cut her off.
The strike landed with precise accuracy, and the mild sting made Nanase Chitose let out a small, instinctive hiss.
The Silver Hunter named Nana withdrew her hand and gave a slight nod to the duty officer nearby.
“I apologize for the trouble. I’m taking this person with me.”
The Patrol Chief stood up, his expression serious and his attitude respectful.
“Understood. Thank you for coming in person.”
***
Five minutes later.
Nanase Chitose sat on a bench in the small park near the police station, a bottle of ice-cold mineral water pressed into her hand.
She hung her head, her flaxen hair falling on either side of her cheeks, her green eyes quietly fixed on the bottle, silent and unmoving.
Nana stood before her, arms crossed, looking down at her from above.
“Talk. What was it this time that caused a scene?”
“…Species habit research.”
“You’re a Demon Hunter, not a researcher.” Nana’s tone was cold. “Don’t keep wandering around stirring up trouble during your idle leave.”
“Pure and innocent children are the most worthy beings in this world to protect…”
“We’ve corrected you on this countless times.”
Nana pushed up her glasses, the cold gleam of the lenses hiding her eyes, her expression utterly impartial.
“Personal preferences must not interfere with your duties. If there’s a next time, I won’t come clean up after you.”
Nanase Chitose knew she was in the wrong and hung her head even lower, her long hair nearly covering her entire face.
The silence lasted a full minute.
She suddenly looked up, her demeanor shifting from her earlier carelessness to something serious and steady.
“But Nana-nee, I just saw a news bulletin at the station.”
She set down the mineral water bottle and made a simple gesture with her hand.
“The string of suspicious abduction cases happening recently.”
Nana listened quietly without interrupting.
“I didn’t think much of it at first, but I just pulled up the organization’s internal mission files to cross-reference.”
Nanase Chitose lit up her phone screen and turned it toward Nana. “Look here.”
Nana took the phone, glanced down, and skimmed it in seconds.
Her outward expression didn’t change, but her fingertips tightened almost imperceptibly.
“Vampire activity traces.”
“More than one location.”
Nanase Chitose stood up straight, her tone grave.
“This city is harboring multiple Vampires of unknown whereabouts.”
She casually set the water on the bench, her gaze resolute.
“Nana-nee, report to the organization for me. My leave ends early. I’m taking this case.”
Nana gave her a flat look. “You’re still on leave.”
“Children are facing unknown threats one after another. I have no heart for rest.”
Nanase Chitose spoke with righteous conviction, her face alight with resolve. “Protecting the citizens is our duty as Demon Hunters.”
Nana calmly saw through her. “You just want to use the case as an excuse to…”
“Nana-nee, how can you wrong me like that!”
Nanase Chitose clutched her chest, her face full of grievance and indignation. “I am seriously carrying out my Demon Hunter mission!”
“You’re both.”
Chitose fell silent for a brief moment, then sighed helplessly. “Fine. I do have a fondness for protecting pure, innocent children, but my missions are always taken seriously and never neglected.”
Nana watched her quietly for a moment, then finally let out a soft sigh.
“Do as you like. You’re a senior Black Iron Rank Demon Hunter with sufficient clearance to operate independently.”
Nanase Chitose’s eyes immediately lit up, a mission-driven smile spreading across her face. She waved goodbye to Nana, turned, and quickly jogged out of the park.
At the core of her heart was the righteous passion to protect the innocent; the rest was an unyielding obsession to eliminate every trace of the Vampire threat.
When she walked out of the organization’s intelligence office, Nanase Chitose was holding a thin, confidential document.
With her Black Iron Rank clearance, she had pulled the complete registry of aristocratic Vampires registered within the city.
The list was short. Only a handful of aristocratic Vampires had verifiable records in the city.
Her gaze swept across the list and finally stopped on one name.
Kurose Hisaki, Viscount.
Detailed address, range of activity, disguised human identity—all recorded clearly.
“A Vampire Viscount…”
Nanase Chitose folded the document and tucked it into her pocket, her green eyes narrowing slightly, her expression solemn.
“A high-ranking Vampire hidden within the city, highly likely connected to the child abduction cases. An extreme threat.”
She left the intelligence archive alone, without contacting any teammates.
The greatest advantage of acting solo was being able to quietly and meticulously investigate clues without interruption.
As evening fell, she stood by the greenery beside a high-end apartment building, looking up to cross-reference the floor and location against the file.
“Twenty-third floor, Apartment 2302. That’s the floor-to-ceiling window.”
After confirming the target, she circled around to the rear of the building and picked an area with no surveillance and an exterior wall structure that was easy to climb.
Nanase Chitose rolled up her sleeves and flexed her fingers.
The physical enhancement exclusive to Demon Hunters allowed her to accomplish feats ordinary people could never dream of, free-climbing the high-rise exterior with no protective equipment at all.
Her fingertips caught the decorative gaps in the wall, her toes planted firmly on the brick grooves, her body pressed close to the surface. She moved with clean, swift precision, ascending rapidly.
Silent.
***
Moments later, the twenty-third floor.
Nanase Chitose hooked one hand onto the windowsill and flipped over gracefully, steadying herself.
The floor-to-ceiling window reflected the soft evening light. As she peered through the reflection into the room, her entire body went rigid.
In the bright, clean living room, a small, slender figure sat on the plush sofa.
Silvery-white soft hair spilled over her shoulders, and she wore a simple, clean light-colored house dress.
Her feet dangled in the air, swaying lightly and lazily, completely relaxed and at ease.
The girl had a small piece of food in her mouth, her cheeks puffed out softly, her clear light blue eyes gazing innocently at the clear sky outside the window. She looked pure, clean, quiet, and well-behaved.
She had no idea that someone was watching her from high above outside the window.
Until Nanase Chitose slowly pressed closer to the glass.
Her flaxen hair was tossed wildly by the high-altitude evening wind, her green pupils wide, locked dead onto the figure inside.
The dangling feet in the room suddenly stopped. The girl sat still, slightly stunned.
Outside the window, Nanase Chitose slowly broke into a smile.
It was an extremely gentle smile, full of soft affection.
Her eyes curved warmly, her clear gaze brimming with pure tenderness and cherish. Looking at the clean, beautiful girl inside, her heart held only genuine peace and a deep desire to protect.