Adele knew she was weak, powerless. But that wasn’t an excuse to run away. She could at least be a cheerleader. And with her charm and charisma, she would be a damn good one.

Tang Linlang, seeing the determination in Adele’s eyes, sighed softly. She knew Adele was a kind soul, her heart pure and untainted by hatred. Even after enduring countless acts of cruelty from those vampire princesses, she harbored no resentment, only a bewilderment and a strange desire to repay evil with kindness.

It seemed foolish to many, but the reality was, Adele’s unwavering optimism had touched the hearts of those around her, creating this… miracle.

Two powerful vampires, Hermione and Celeste, willing to risk everything for her.

“Linlang… it’s okay,” Adele said, her voice soft and reassuring. “We have to trust Hermione and Celeste.”

Tang Linlang, unable to refuse Adele, nodded reluctantly.

But then, a thought occurred to her.

“Adele… can you… stand up on your own?”

“…”

Adele blinked, confused. Was she being underestimated *that* much?

Sure, her legs were a little shaky, the adrenaline from her encounter with the twins still coursing through her veins. But standing up? Of course she could do that!

“Yes! I can!” she declared, puffing out her chest, trying to sound brave.

Her attempt at bravado was so adorable that Tang Linlang couldn’t help but stare, her heart melting.

*If only I could have Adele all to myself…*

But such a thought was pure fantasy. A wistful sigh escaped her lips.

Since Adele could take care of herself, Linlang decided to contribute to the fight.

Kuro and Shiro, already struggling against Hermione and Celeste’s combined elemental magic, suddenly found themselves facing a new threat: a swarm of strange, slender insects, slithering towards them with insidious stealth.

“Sister, watch out!” Shiro cried, her voice sharp with alarm.

The insects descended from the ceiling, a scene terrifying enough for any girl, regardless of her supernatural abilities.

Kuro was furious. Why was everyone interfering with her fun? Adele was just a toy!

*Hermione, are you insane? Are you trying to start a war between the vampire factions?*

She dodged the insects, her gravity magic crushing them into dust before they could reach her.

But Kuro and Shiro didn’t realize that Hermione wasn’t the only one who had lost her mind.

Celeste, the unexpected golden-haired warrior, was already a force to be reckoned with.

And now, another figure entered the fray, her presence sending a chill down everyone’s spine.

Her pink hair swirled around her like living tendrils, her footsteps echoing in the hearts of those around her. Debris and dust flew towards her, only to be pulverized into nothingness by an invisible force.

Dorothy, the Vampire Princess, had arrived.

But her usual playful, manic grin was absent. Her expression was dark, her crimson eyes burning with a cold fury.

A wave of bloodlust, thick and suffocating, washed over the room, overpowering Celeste’s scorching heat and Hermione’s icy chill. Gravity couldn’t pull it down, and gravitational pull couldn’t draw it in.

Shiro shuddered, her instincts screaming at her to flee. The momentary lapse in concentration gave Hermione an opening. An ice dagger materialized in her hand, piercing Shiro’s arm.

“Aaahhh!” Shiro screamed, her blood staining her sleeve and skirt. She stumbled back, clutching her wounded arm, her teeth gritted against the pain.

“Run… sister!” she gasped. “We have to go!”

“Shiro!!”

But Kuro, her eyes blazing with rage, refused to retreat. She wasn’t as cunning as her sister. If they fled now, they could lay low, wait for Dorothy’s anger to subside…

But Kuro couldn’t abandon her sister, not when she had been injured, humiliated.

It was a common human flaw, this ability to feel one’s own pain so acutely, to be outraged by the suffering of those we love, yet to be blind to the pain we inflict on others, on those who are equally cherished by someone else.

Dorothy’s arrival had sealed the twins’ fate.

They were doomed.

………………

Ten minutes later, the Student Council and the Black Feather Society arrived, like cleanup crews after a disaster.

Lady Edith, the president of the Black Feather Society, met Lin Baiyuan, the acting president of the Student Council, at the entrance to the ruined classroom.

Edith chuckled, gesturing for Lin Baiyuan to enter first. “After you,” she said, her voice deceptively sweet.

Lin Baiyuan, feeling the weight of Edith’s gaze, swallowed nervously.

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony,” she said, her expression serious.

Years of working alongside the Student Council president had shaped her personality, her demeanor reflecting her leader’s no-nonsense approach. She had no patience for pleasantries or fake smiles. She was direct, efficient, and utterly ruthless.

And that, Edith thought, as she watched Lin Baiyuan enter the classroom, was precisely why she found her so annoying.

The damage was extensive. The classroom was a wreck, the entire building in danger of collapsing.

Lin Baiyuan, filled with a sense of responsibility, stepped inside, her heart heavy. This had happened on her watch, while the president was away…

She covered her nose with a handkerchief, trying to block out the acrid smell of smoke. Fire magic, despite its destructive power, had one major drawback: the lingering stench of burnt flesh and charred wood. Ice magic, in comparison, was clean and refreshing.

The battle was over. Even a fool could tell who had won and who had lost.

But among the victors, Dorothy, Hermione, and Celeste, Adele, the small, delicate girl with black hair and pink eyes, looked out of place, like a lost lamb who had wandered into a den of wolves.

And yet, it was this “lamb” who had sparked the conflict between Dorothy and Hermione, their animosity simmering, threatening to erupt into another battle at any moment.

As for the losers…

Lin Baiyuan didn’t know how to face the Amaterasu twins. They were battered and bruised, slumped against the wall, barely clinging to life.

Kuro was unconscious, while Shiro’s eyes fluttered open, her gaze unfocused, her expression a mixture of pain and bewilderment.

For a moment, both twins had thought Dorothy was going to kill them. But just when they had given up hope, when they believed no one could stop the enraged princess… Adele had intervened, pleading for their lives.

It was an exaggeration, of course. As Sequence Ones, the twins were incredibly resilient. But they were temporarily incapacitated, their bodies covered in wounds, their bones broken, their state so pitiful it was nightmare-inducing.

Like broken dolls.

But one fact remained unchanged.

They had been saved by Adele, their supposed “victim”.

*****

T/N:

Author notes:

(Adele wasn’t being a “saint”, though. She hadn’t forgiven them. She simply felt that Dorothy had punished them enough, and she knew Dorothy wouldn’t actually kill them.)

(She still disliked the twins, and she would definitely get her revenge later.)