DARK MOON: THE BLOOD ALTAR (DARK MOON　-黒の月: 月の祭壇-)

Twenty years ago, the world changed.

Vampires, once the stuff of shadowy old fiction,

stepped forth into the cold light of reality.

They disguised themselves as humans,

seamlessly integrating into society,

and freely preying on their victims

under the cover of darkness.

Helplessness birthed fear,

and fear, in turn, gave birth to rumor.

For vampires possess powers beyond human understanding.

Those who are bitten by a vampire

become one themselves,

and killing them has proved impossible.

They could well be living right next to us,

undiscovered, lying in wait.

Is it any wonder, then,

that more and more people are jumping at shadows?

Miss Sooha, welcome to Decelis Academy.

As you well know, this venerable institution

operates as a night school.

Classes begin at 9:00 p.m.

It may be a difficult adjustment at first,

but you'll quickly get used to it.

Yes, ma'am.

I must apologize.

We don't often get transfer students this time of year.

The new dorm building

doesn't have any vacancies at the moment,

so I've taken the liberty

of preparing you a room in the old dorm.

I must warn you, however, it may be a bit messy.

That's all right.

And do be aware,

academy rules prohibit students

from leaving the campus confines post sunset.

Though, for safety's sake,

it'd be best if you didn't go out at all.

As you might have heard,

there was a murder nearby in the city not too long ago.

And rumor is,

it was the grizzly handiwork of a vampire.

Yes, but rest assured,

our school is famous for its thorough entrance exam.

Owing to which, you'll find only humans here.

Not a single vampire walks the halls of Decelis.

Huh?

Excuse me.

This is it.

I'm sorry that we've had to sequester you

over here by yourself.

As soon as a room opens up in the new building,

I could arrange a transfer.

No, I actually prefer this,

but thank you all the same.

So then, this is my new room.

It looks even better than I dreamed it would!

This is Riverfield's most prestigious school.

And, while it's renowned for its academics,

it's absolutely famous for weeding out vampires.

This time,

oh, I can actually live

an ordinary school life!

Besides, with my power,

I can quickly just...

-Uh. -Uh.

- Run! She's a vampire! -

- -Oh, hi.

I just came to grab a book.

Wait, this isn't what it looks like. Really!

Don't freak out. It's merely a misunderstanding.

Please, believe me.

I'm not a vampire.

I promise.

I believe you.

Huh?

Vampires can't enter this place, right?

I know that's what everyone says,

but still, I don't want even a murmur of suspicion.

You see,

there isn't a soul in this world

that hates vampires more than I do.

Uh, but I'm ranting.

You said you came in here to retrieve a book, didn't you?

Do you remember where you left it?

I've sort of been moving things around.

-Uh... -It's fine.

-You don't have to. -Oh, I think I found it.

Wow, this book looks positively ancient.

Uh, yeah.

I have a thing for the myths and legends of old.

Ooh, that's so cool!

You mean like fiction, or folklore?

I actually love to read, too.

So, if you ever wanna get together

and do, like, a book exchange...

Oh, oops, sorry.

You just want your book,

and I'm here talking your ear off.

-I, uh... I'm just happy is all. -Hmm?

This whole thing is kind of a first for me.

Meeting someone who saw me do something like that,

and hasn't run,

or treated me like a freak.

Uh, here.

Thank you. Take care now.

- - Yeah, uh, later.

- - Wait.

Your name.

That was the perfect opportunity

to finally make a new friend,

and I screwed it up again.

- -Might I ask your name?

You want to know my name? Well, it's Sooha.

My name is Sooha.

Sooha?

That's quite a cute name.

Don't you want to ask for my name too?

Oh, right. Yeah.

I'd love to know your name.

Well, you can call me Heli. I'm a Year Twelve student.

It's very nice to meet you.

Yes. Yeah. Likewise.

All right. I'm leaving for real this time.

Heli.

What? A transfer?

You haven't heard about this, Jino?

It's a girl, isn't it?

Yeah.

It looks like she moved into the old dorm room,

the one we've been using for storage.

Ah, then I guess we can't mull around there anymore.

I'm sure we could still visit if we made friends with her.

And with your happy manners, that should be easy.

Yeah, true.

Hang on, didn't we leave our stuff in there?

Like, all over?

Then we'd better go get it quickly.

Yeah, we should.

It sounds to me like you two have gotten chummy already.

- - Huh?

Right, go on then. Who's getting chummy with who?

Heli and that transfer student that just arrived.

Seriously?

I simply said hello to her, that's all.

And her name's Sooha, by the way.

Heli, Solon's right and you know it.

We can't go making friends with the other Decelis students.

Nothing good ever comes from getting close to others.

And I get that. I do.

But still, there's something different about her.

Are you trying to say this girl's like us?

No way. There's not much chance of that.

Heck, our kind can't even step foot on--

There's no one else out there like us. Period.

We're the only ones, and that's the reality.

I know that well.

Still, I find myself strangely drawn to her.

Are you being serious, Heli?

Was it like love at first sight or something?

You actually think that would happen to us

after all this time?

And besides,

even if we get close to them, it always ends the same.

They'll never accept us for what we are.

That's the reality.

And it's in her own best interest too.

Proximity would only put her in danger.

Wait, hold on.

What the heck are you all doing in my room, anyway?

Heli,

something tells me I'm right where I need to be.

Uh.

Enough of this.

I mean it.

Stay away from the transfer student.

Hold on. Sooha?

Here, too?

Once again, I won't be...

So, you're the famed Sooha.

It's good to put a face to the name.

You've just transferred in, haven't you?

My name is Shion.

-Let's be friends, yeah? -Uh...

Sure. It's nice to meet you.

-Uh... -Shion's a proper problem child.

Best you keep well away from him.