OF THE EXCELLENT DIALOGUE IN WHICH OUR EXCEPTIONAL INFORMANT LCD DEPARTMENT HAS PASSED INTEL TO US IN OUR SECOND COMMUNICATION (before battle)

W-well, does anybody wanna take a quick stroll around the empty lot while we wait...?

After nervously looking around the room, Rodya tried to leave the tent. But Vergilius stopped her.

No, stay. I have something to share.

Oh, come on. Can't you give her a moment, at least until the mission's over with? I know the lass really botched it this time, but nothing came of it in the end, did it?

... The company has some exclusive information they'd like to share with you. That is the only reason I asked you to stay.

Ah... ahem... Sir... Lord... R-Red Gaze... E-earlier, what I had done...

... I won't hold it against you. So be quiet and pay attention.

Sob... O Red Gaze the illustrious... I swear to pledge mine undying loyalty to thee...

Vergilius produced a small tablet and began loading something up on its screen.

The one who will now brief us on this exclusive intelligence cannot be with us in person, due to... personal reasons.

She wanted me to tell you that she regrets having to deliver the information remotely via this device.

Hello. One, two, testing. Am I coming through?

Huh? Didn't the Hana Fixer ban any unauthorized recordings or video feeds earlier?

Of course, but we've received prior authorization. Besides, P Corp. is already recording the conversations of every participant in this mission.

That just sounds like a roundabout way of saying they've got us all bugged.

Of course, the authorization was not free. We had to convince them that the information would be pertinent to capturing the entity at the origin of La Manchaland.

LCD On-site Investigative Reasoning Team Leader, Moses here. I've been studying and investigating the Distortion phenomenon for a long time. And -

That reminds me. We did have a quick call with someone from the LCD back when. She had a pretty bubbly personality, I think, and her name was...

Hey, hey! It's me again, Ezra! Been a while!

Hunting Bloodfiends this time, huh? Don't tell me you were about to jump headfirst into that business without even asking the detec - I mean, our Team Leader! I'm tellin' ya now, she used to bust plenty of Bloodfiend heads back in the day.

You tell 'em how you used to whoop 'em, boss. You'd go sshhhhhh on that smoking pipe, and went whirr! Whirr! And -

Well, yes. I do have some experience with investigating and battling Bloodfiends. I've even met one of the Bloodfiend Elders... also known as the First Kindreds.

Wait, one of the First Kindreds?

Uhh, let's see. The one we fought last time was a Sixth Kindred, and a Seventh Kindred...

Well, I don't want to waste your time by talking your ears off about what happened that day, so I'll get straight to the point.

…….

... Didst thou... slay the First Kindred?

Of course not.

Yeah, 'cuz she went easy on 'em, I tell ya.

No, the Bloodfiend took mercy on me. Our meeting wasn't as bloody as the scene you might be imagining at the moment.

In fact, she was generous enough to give me a place to sit. And we even had a moment to converse.

What? The Bloodfiend gave you a seat?! You expect me to believe that shite?

Hey! Rude! You do *not* talk to the detec - I mean, our Team Leader like that, capiche?!

Hm, I do understand that the public's perception of Bloodfiends is... far from amicable. But I do know that at least some of them, including the Elder I met, wish for a peaceful coexistence with humans.

Back then, I used to be able to state with absolute certainty that the Bloodfiends weren't special, that they were no different from the Distortions I'd faced in the past. Those wells of blood, splashing inside their pupils were my evidence. But when I shared this thought with the Elder, she did not confirm nor deny my assertions.

But now, I would like to make a correction to my prior theory. Bloodfiends cannot be explained only through the simple lens of viewing them as Distortions.

Their essence is similar to that of Distortions, yes. However, we eventually drew the conclusion that the Bloodfiends cannot be filed under that category. Our attempt to 'resolve' a Bloodfiend as one does a Distortion failed.

Studies into their true origin are currently underway.

If your team is looking into the Bloodfiends, I suppose you have some publicly unavailable information to share with the rest of us?

... Yes, I suppose we do.

I noticed on the video feed that Moses intently, yet briefly, stared at Outis before continuing with her briefing. Maybe they knew each other from somewhere.

Which brings us to... this. The following is what we learned about Kindreds of true Bloodfiends, those in the same vein as the one you've already encountered. I'm not talking about the ones that manifested as Distortions after the White Nights and Dark Days incident, mind.

It is said that the primogenitor, the very first Bloodfiend, wielded unimaginable power and could embrace countless humans and turn them into their Kindreds. However, starting from the Kindreds of the first generation after the primogenitor, which are referred to as the First Kindreds, they were restricted to creating only two Kindreds of a lower generation in their long existences.

Something about how they can't just create 'families' willy-nilly, or something like that~ I drew this chart, by the way! Not half bad, huh?

Huh, yeah. I think that Cassette guy was pretty disappointed about choosing Sha-sha as his Kindred.

... Faust finds the inaccuracies in your statement difficult to correct due to their egregious nature.

When a Bloodfiend of a higher generation creates a lower-generation Kindred, the one that embraced them is called a 'higher Kindred', while the one that's been embraced is called a 'lower Kindred'. It is often the case that Kindreds higher up the bloodstream wield a much greater power than the ones beneath them.

You started your sentence with the conditional 'it is often the case'. Therefore, it can be interpreted as a statement that there are cases in which such is not the case.

You're right on the money! Just like how each Distortion is different, Bloodfiends are also different in ways -

<…….>

- that our Team Leader will explain!

Haah... Yes. Each Bloodfiend's powers and idiosyncrasies often vary depending on the higher Bloodfiend's abilities. However, it is usually impossible for lower Bloodfiends to revolt against someone higher up the bloodstream. While there is no physical barrier stopping them, there is an intense psychological barrier preventing them from doing so.

... Like a parent and their child, huh.

Yes, like parents and their children. Considering that they even call one another with familial terms such as 'Father', 'Mother', and 'Child'... it is no mere metaphor. That is why they call such acts of revolt, going against the bloodstream... 'filial impiety'.

Just as how 'blood' becomes their axis of value judgment, so does this idea of the inviolable relationship between family members get imprinted into the core of their very being. Upon being turned, Bloodfiends experience that extreme level of twist in their moral judgment.

And that's why the Bloodbags, who are at the bottom rung of the family tree...

Bloodbags are... a different story. Bloodfiends and Bloodbags are the furthest two groups of beings could be from family.

Dregs that failed to become Kindreds. To Bloodfiends, they are... quite literally, portable bags of blood to replenish themselves at times of need.

Detective, I mean... Team Leader, you should mention this too. You know, when I snapped their necks and smashed them right into water -

Yes. Bloodfiends have an irrationally extreme fear of water. Water doesn't physically harm them, but every Bloodfiend I have seen thus far has been afraid of it.

Huh? Sounds like an easy solution, then. Can't we just spray them with water to keep 'em off our backs?

Since you're about to visit their den that's crawling with Bloodfiends... good luck finding even a drop of water in there.

Oh, and I was informed that one of you can 'sense' a Distortion. I learned this through unofficial channels, but I still wished to share.

<Uh...>

Glad to know there's someone else out there who understands this particular sensation.

I'd very much like to meet you in person one day.

Real shame we can't be there to see it for ourselves. Are there any famous Fixers there? I heard earlier that stupid Camille kid'll be there too... Kick his ass for me, won't ya? I tried to pull a prank on him, but the bastard banned me from the chat!

Well, he already kicked one of our asses...

Oh, Vespa! Come on! I told you to hold the line!

It appears that they are partaking in... quite the activity themselves.

I think we can end the call here, Moses.

Very well.

Got any last words of advice?

Any last words...? Hm.

I once heard that some Kindreds higher up the bloodstream have overcome their fear of water. Blood eventually does get thicker than water, after all. Now, let's see if there's anything I left out...

Ah, I must advise you against underestimating their bloodlust. Because no matter how hungry for blood you think they are…

They will be worse.

What's that supposed to mean...?

With her last words, which left us wondering what they were supposed to mean, the call dropped.