You've saved millions of lives

In the depths of the hospital, hidden beneath the surface, laid a clandestine underground laboratory...

As Hideaki regained consciousness, he found himself tightly bound to a lab table, positioned diagonally. Wires and cables were attached to his body, monitoring his heartbeat and the flow of magic in his hands.

"W-what the hell is going on here!?" He shouted in a mixture of fear and anger. Suddenly he felt an invisible force blocking him from using his Magic Ability

"What the..."

He grew increasingly anxious.

"What are you doing to me!?!?" he asked, his voice rising with a panicked pitch.

Panic and fear flooded his mind, but then he saw a familiar face - Doctor Yuki, smiling as usual.

"D-Doctor Yuki! What is going on!? Where the hell am I? Why am I locked on this table?" Hideaki started to ask questions. He needed to have answers NOW.

"Don't worry. You're in safe hands, Miyahara-san. You see... We've been hunting for you for quite some time since you were in Tokyo's General Hospital..."

"H-huh!? What are you talking about? And where the hell are we!?"

"We are beneath the hospital. In our laboratory. We do all sorts of things here. Research, tests.... but... we got you here for... a kind of different purpose than just some basic tests..." The doctor's smile transformed into an inscrutable smirk, betraying the hidden agenda.

One of the other doctors - doctor Suzume, smirked "We just need to run a few 'extra tests' on you..."

Hideaki snapped, "Extra tests?! What kind of extra tests?!"

Suzume remained unfazed. "Just some... Necessary ones — Necessary for the well-being of our next patients."

"W-what..?? Next patients!?"

"Our future patients." Doctor Yuki chimmed in "You see... You possess a rare Magic Ability. An Ability that, if used properly, can save millions of lives... The case with your twisted ankle even though it was a coincidence, became a perfect opportunity to finally do what we NEEDED to do."

"What you 'needed' to do!? W-what does that mean??" Hideaki panic kept growing.

Doctor Yuki raised calmly his hands "Don't worry, Miyahara-san, we're doctors - we know what's best."

Confusion and panic swirled in Hideaki's mind with each passing moment.
"Help! H-help! Anyone!!!" He desperately longed to escape this place.

"Don't even bother to moan for any sort of rescue from outside. This place is only known for only us." Another doctor - Yamada, quickly added.

Hearing that, Hideaki thrashed around, trying to free himself from their clutches. "Let me go!!!" he yelled, but his efforts were cut short by a sharp pain as one of the doctors struck him in the groin.

"Stop struggling!" Another doctor - Sakamoto, said harshly.

Hideaki glared at him with eyes filled with a burning desire to get free.

Doctor Yuki firmly gripped Hideaki's cheeks, forcing their eye contact. The killer's fiery gaze met the doctor's calm, yet very intensive brown eyes.

"Did you hear what doctor Yamada told you?" Doctor Yuki asked him

"Tch"

"Even if you scream for help, it will be useless... We are deep underground. No one will hear you, and to add... We all know who you are... One wrong move, and you'll be sent back to jail!"

"Tch! In your fucking dreams! I'll kill you all if I want to!"

"Ha! Look at him, Doctor Tatsumoto! He's so arrogant, even while bound to our lab table!"

Doctor Tatsumoto - an old aged doctor, responded with a condescending and assured tone,

"Let's not provoke him too much, Doctor Yuki. He has the power to control our blood... If it weren't for the magical restraint bracelets we placed on his hands, he could have easily ended us minutes ago..."

"True... Ugh,"
Not taking any more time he announced "Let's gather the information we need and dispose of him," Doctor Yuki said.

The doctors proceeded to conduct various tests.

Suddenly, Hideaki felt a drill bored through his hands — not a machine, but a white-hot, living pressure that crawled along his veins.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" the scream of agony that reverberated within the walls of the underground lab.

He screamed until his throat tore. The light above him swam; every second stretched into a century of fire. Blood pooled on the metal, slow and traitorous.

"Make it stop!!! MAKE IT STOOOOP!!!!!!" a loud scream escaped from his mouth.

He couldn't reach the command to heal. The magic that had always answered him now refused. Panic ate the edges of his mind.

'I w-want to live!!! I don't w-want to die!!!' he screamed within his mind

"What an annoying prick..." Doctor Yuki muttered under his breath, then turned to a man standing beside him. "Doctor Suzume, can you silence him, please?"

"Of course," Doctor Suzume responded, approaching Hideaki with the clinical calm of someone who has seen pain enough times to be bored by it.

Tears streamed down Hideaki's face as he felt his mana being drained

'Now I understand how others felt at that damned Pixie's place! F-Fuck! I'm going to kill them! I'm going to KILL T-THEM!!!'

He felt desperate. Similar desperate to survive, as he felt back when the bulgar attacked Seiji's apartment.

He needed to do something to not let to hurt himself more from these evil doctors...
Then...

Something snapped inside him — not thought, not plan, but survival.

As Doctor Suzume drew near, he swung with the police baton at Hideaki's head,

"Now, please don't move." He said attempting to render him unconscious,

However

In that one moment Hideaki stretched, despite the terrible pain he felt in his wounded hands and with a swift move, he bit into the doctor's neck, much like a vampire quenching its thirst.

"AAAGHH!!!" From the doctor's mouth escaped a terrible moan from a painful bite. The baton landed on the floor. He tried to release himself from the sharp teeth grip, but Hideaki's bite was too strong, too prickly.

Blood dripped from Hideaki's mouth and the doctor's wounded neck, leaving a shocked mark on the scientist's face.

Hideaki left all the doctors stunned by the sudden twist.

"DO SOMETHING TO ME AND I WHILL SUCK ALL HIS BLOOD!!!" he snapped, threatened with his mouth digged into the doctor's neck.

Doctor Yuki grinned, though more out of disbelief at Hideaki's words "Ha! You can't! Your Magic Ability isn't-"

But then, he witnessed Hideaki, earnestly drinking blood from Doctor Suzume, resembling a vampire in his actions.

All the doctors were shocked, while Hideaki showed no signs of stopping.

"Ah will drink his blood and Ah will gain my blood control magic back! So bhewhare! One move thowards me and he whill be dead!" He menacingly warned.

'W-What the hell!? People can't do such things!' Doctor Yuki was filled with fear, his belief shattered by the horrifying reality before him.
'Yet, he seems so sure about it...' he grabbed his head 'Damnit! Get on hold of yourself! Suzume needs help and this man is draining blood like a vampire from him!'

"S-Stop it! Or we will call the police!" a threat emerged from his mouth.

At that moment, another doctor crawled towards Doctor Yuki, whispering into his ear "But, Doctor Yuki, won't calling the police ruin our research?"

"Shut up! I'm aware of that! I just want to scare him. He's a God-damnit escaped criminal. He definitely doesn't want to go back to jail. Threatening him with the police is our best option. He needs to release Doctor Suzume from his bite," Doctor Yuki whispered in response.

"Huh!? Police!? Bringh them on and Ah will suck blood from them too! I'm sure they will give me plenty of power!" Hideaki defiantly proclaimed, refusing to release his grip on Doctor Suzume and with that he sucked blood few times.

Each swallow sent a wave of nausea through his stomach. His body instinctively rejected the taste and texture — thick, metallic, unnatural. But he forced it down, trying not to let it show. His face stayed tense, his breathing ragged, but he masked the discomfort behind his frantic urgency.

Drips of blood clung to his lips as he gritted his teeth.

'Disgusting... but I need it to scare them enough... I can't pass out... Fuck... it would be cool if drinking blood really gave me more power.'

Meanwhile, on the doctor Suzume's face was pleading expression as he was perfectly aware of how in fucked up situation he was in,

"Please, have mercy on me..." Suzume begged him. His words were embellished with a gradual loss of breath.

He thought that such pleasing would melt Hideaki's heart... But oh how wrong he was...

"Huh!?" Hideaki angered "You all thried to khill me and now you're begghing to have a mercy ohn you!?"

"Y-yes!" Suzume hardly took a breath "I know... It is wrong... But, I b-beg you, young man... Have... a... Mercy..!"

'This begging... His troubles with taking a breath... Hehe... More... MORE!!!' Hideaki screamed thrilled in his mind. The adrenaline, the insanity made the pain in his veins feel less and less painful.

In response, Hideaki bit even harder, causing Doctor Suzume to scream in pain as he continued to lose blood.

A small sinister smile appeared on Hideaki's bloody covered face — it was a clear sign, that he was diving into his own growing:

sadistic madness.

"Just give up already!" Doctor Yuki shouted.

"Nevher! Hehehe! Me or him!" Hideaki retorted.

A difficult decision weighed on the minds of the doctors. On one hand, they had a valuable source of data - the rarest Magical Ability in the world. On the other hand, their colleague was suffering.

'Doctor Suzume or the Magic Ability... Doctor Suzume or the Magic Ability...' Doctor Yuki's mind thought rapidly, the seconds ticking away as Hideaki grew increasingly impatient.

"So!? How whill it be!?!?" Hideaki asked angrily. "What are yohu whaiting for!? CALL THEM!!!" He urged, occasionally taking more sips of blood from Doctor Suzume's neck.

Doctor Yuki lowered his head, deep in thought, considering the possible options.

'He heals with blood... the more he drinks the more his power grows...'  Then he gazed at the mana detector monitor to check how much of a sucked power grew, but...

Nothing changed.

Nothing suddenly rose.

It was as it was.

'Wait... His Magic Ability...' and then, something clicked in his head 'I am stupid... Hahaha... I am VERY stupid...'.

After a brief pause, he lifted his head, looking Hideaki straight into the eyes,

"Your Magic Ability... isn't powered by drinking blood like a freaking vampire. No Ability-user is able to have an alternative option to reload power. Your little trick isn't working anymore."

Hideaki flinched pausing the drinking.

Doctor Yuki started to chuckle under his nose "I can't believe how I could be so naive... Blinded with fear..." Then he gazed at his colleague.

"Doctor Suzume. You're slowly loosing breath. There's not much time for you. I'm surprised you have survived for so long."

Suzume glued his feared eyes at Yuki
"Yuki-san... Please..." He pleaded sending that he will face the death in no time.

Yuki paused before saying his next words.

He took a deep breath and exhaled, staring at doctor Suzume intensively.

"Sayonara."

The statement from their colleague left all the doctors in a state of shock.

"Doctor Yuki! How could you!?" they exclaimed in disbelief.

Doctor Yuki turned around to his colleagues, acknowledging the weight of his decision

"I apologize to all of you for my choice. But consider this: we have numerous doctors in our hospital and only a small percentage of people around the world, possess the Blood Control Magic Ability. You've dedicated years of effort to our research. And now, everything will be jeopardized?"

"But he's one of our finest cardiologists!"

"I'm certain there are many talented cardiologists in Tokyo. With all due respect, Doctor Mitsushi," Doctor Yuki replied, his demeanor appeared cold.
It seemed his desire to gather data from Hideaki outweighed any concern for his colleagues.

"Doctor Yuki..." Doctor Mitsushi spoke, his voice filled with disbelief. He could hardly recognize his friend in the man standing before him. Then gazed at others "M-maybe there's some way to save him? Suzume-san needs to live, he—"

Then

The last faded scream, escaped from Suzume's completely dry out throat.

Doctor Yuki remained silent, his attention fixated on the suffering Doctor Suzume.

Hideaki ended the doctor's life by completely biting through the carotid artery.

Then... All of them heard a maniacal chuckle... laughing like a psycho.

The limp body of the doctor Suzume was laying lifeless on the ground.

Hideaki licked the blood dripping from his lips.

Doctor Yuki gazed intensively at Hideaki "A real-life vampire... Is this a dream?"

Hideaki locked his eyes with Doctor Yuki, "You'll be the next one I kill! Hehehe!" Hideaki threatened, his gaze bloodthirsty.

"Not if we get to you first!" Doctor Yuki retorted, swiftly activating another large machine.

Hideaki felt his mana being drained once again, only this time it was even faster, making him scream from this terrible pain, once again.

"—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!—"

The other doctors stepped back. Unsure if their doings are still in any way, moral. Near Hideaki, were only some of them, that remained surprisingly unshaken by their colleague's death.

Yuki stared at the suffering murderer with a smirk.
"You're probably asking yourself, why we're doing this all to you?"

"Aaarghhh!!!! Tch! H-Huh!? I-its.. —AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" His screams pitched around the room as the drills went deeper, "P-probably some stupid shitty reason!!" he gritted his teeth hard trying to endure the pain.

Doctor Yuki snorted indignantly, his patience thinning. "How do you have the right to talk down on our project?"

His voice grew serious, the weight of his ambition clear.

"Our actions aren't stupid, and they certainly aren't something you can dismiss so easily if you're a scientist. You see, Miyahara Hideaki, our goal is to unlock the secrets of your blood control magic and harness its power.

"In other words... We're gonna use your unique Magic Ability to advance science. We want to understand it at its core so we can reproduce it in others." Doctor Sakamoto added,

"This could revolutionize the world of Magic Abilities. And there's more... by mastering blood manipulation, we could transform surgical procedures. Imagine performing operations without tools, controlling blood flow directly for precision, healing, even stopping fatal bleeding instantly." Doctor Yamada joined,

"You see, this isn't just about us, it's about pushing the boundaries of what's possible!" Doctor Yuki finished. His voice carried the weight of desire, driven by both ethical blindness and ambition.

"H-HUH!?!?!? ARE YOU FUCKING GONNA STEAL MY MAGIC!?!?!?!?!?"

"Not steal... But rather... Borrow... Replicate... In general, have it if you want to put it that way."

Hideaki's mind remembered Pixie's words. She wanted to 'have' his Magic Ability too...
"Tch! You sick fuck! I will fucking murder you all!!!" The thought enraged him further.

"Hahaha! The only 'sick fuck' here is you. You could've used your Magic Ability in a completely different way - a way to help people. And who knows? Maybe you could have been one of us? But no... You decided that it's better to slice and kill people up. What a pathetic way of thinking... I'm really sorry for you, Miyahara-san."

Hideaki's breath hitched at the memories of his mom, telling him the exact same thing, in the past...

"You could have become a doctor!"

"Tch!" He clinged his teeth. "I'll kill you!!!"

Doctor Yuki chuckled "You can't do this from the place where you currently are... So good luck on that..."

Yuki moved toward the monitor, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he observed the vital data collected on Hideaki.

The machine hummed softly, revealing patterns of his blood control ability.

"Yes... yes... YES! All these years, I've waited for this moment. The key to unlocking blood control magic - it's right here! So many lives... so many lives will be saved! You don't even realize how monumental this is, Miyahara-san!" he exclaimed with fervor.

He laughed maniacally, his voice filled with obsession.

"Thank you! You've truly made my day. And the days of countless doctors around the world! Hahaha! You're the one who brought this revolution to us! This is what I've been waiting for!"

Despite the intense pain coursing through his body, Hideaki struggled and thrashed, desperate to free himself.

Tears from the terrible pain poured down on his cheeks. His hands were shaking like crazy. His mind was a whirlwind of fury and frustration, each pulse of pain adding to his boiling rage and feeling of hopelessness.

His hands faintly twitched, but nothing happened. 'With a simple gesture, I could've killed them all!'

His thoughts raced, feeling the suffocating weight of despair and helplessness press down on him.

'Why the fuck does this asshole have to ruin everything!? Tch! I could have-'

Suddenly, the sound and agonizing pain from the machine stopped dead. It was as though the world around him had frozen.

'Everything came to a halt!' he gasped.

For a split second, Hideaki dared to hope that it was over. His body relaxed in that fleeting moment of relief. But something was wrong. The pain had ceased, but an eerie emptiness settled in its place.

He squinted his hands, feeling the familiar buzzing energy in his veins, but it felt... different.

'I can still feel my magic, but... Weaker.'

A heavy weight settled in his chest as he realized it. His magic was still there, but it felt diminished, drained - just a little.

His rage exploded silently, building inside him like a volcano about to erupt. His body trembled, the muscles in his jaw clenched tight, but his power...

'It had been drained. . . The doctors. . . the machine. . . — THEY'VE STOLEN IT!!!'

His vision narrowed, pupils dilated, hands shook in desperation.

Doctor Yuki, confused and panicked, exclaimed, "Huh? What happened? Why did it stop!?"

His eyes widened as he witnessed Doctor Tatsumoto holding a cable plug in his hands. "D-Doctor Tatsumoto! W-what are you doing!?" Doctor Yuki stammered.

"I'm saving lives," Doctor Tatsumoto replied calmly.

"What? But that was my job!" Doctor Yuki protested.

"Yes, it is your job too. But you can't accomplish it with so many victims surrounding you," Doctor Tatsumoto retorted, gesturing to the lifeless body of Doctor Suzume and exhausted Hideaki.

"It... It was a priority! Doctor Tatsumoto!"

"A priority? Are you joking? We could have handled this in a more civilized and less harmful manner. But we agreed to your plan. Look at what it has led to!" Doctor Tatsumoto's voice was filled with frustration.

Doctor Yuki, was slowly getting to know what he just had done... feeling the weight of his actions, glancing around at the terrified faces of his colleagues. He glanced at Suzume's bloodied lifeless body sprawled on the floor. He felt guilt once again, washing over him for frightening them in such a manner.

'I didn't mean to make such a mess there...' He thought to himself 'A madness of it all... Corrupted me... Me! A great doctor! This... This can't be! What have I DONE!?!?' he thought in despair.

His mind was overwhelmed by his passion, by his devious plan... He was so sucked in it, that he forgot about one thing...

Medical ethics...

The need to keep his status hit him, he simply couldn't be the one whose hands got dirty! He needed to repair this mess he let himself into...

"I... I think I let my passion cloud my judgment, Doctor Tatsumoto. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry all of you! And I especially sorry doctor Suzume..." he added, with a voice full of true regret...

Seeing what he did, drew him insane...

He wasn't that kind of doctor....

He wanted to be seen as a normal, stable and worthy co-worker.

His sick passion blinded him, to the point that he wasn't thinking sober...

"You should be... And now... please clean this u—" Before Doctor Tatsumoto could finish his sentence, a swift and unexpected force severed his head from his body, blood gushing out as his lifeless form crumpled to the floor.

Shock and panic overwhelmed the doctors, but none felt it more than Doctor Yuki. His mind raced, trying to process the horrific scene before him.

"W-what just happened!?" he asked himself, only to in one moment later meet the intense gaze of freed Hideaki.

His face was smeared with blood, and a wicked grin stretched across his lips. His arms were completely healed from wounds they inflicted on him, but still shaking and in one of them — he clutched a scarlet bloody scythe.

Turning toward Doctor Yuki, Hideaki's smile widened as he uttered,

"Next, it's your turn! Ehehehe!!"

Doctor Yuki's heart raced, but he was paralyzed with fear, unable to flee. "H-how is it possible!? He should be imprisoned! He—" and then the man made a quick gaze at the table where the killer previously was.

The handcuffs and bracelets were released...

"Oh shit! Oh no no no no! By stopping the machine all locks have been released! We need to get him lo—" In an instant, he felt that his head was being severed just like Doctor Tatsumoto.

Another headless body joined the macabre scene on the floor, making Hideaki erupted into maniacal yet hysterical laughter,

"AHAHA- HAHAHA!"

The adrenaline, the madness, the creeping realization that he was used... again, but this time more violently, more painfully - hit him like a stone.

"AHAHA- HAHA -HA!" Hideaki’s laughter burst out again — broken, too loud, wrong. It scraped his throat raw, more a reflex than joy.

"Y-you.. You all! Hehehehe!! NOW, YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH" His words tumbled out between gasps, half-screamed, half-choked, as the scythe moved again.

Soon the room was drenched in blood as Hideaki was butchering his new victims with his scythe.