The high school I applied to was called Hong Kong Magic Academia. It wasn't the best high school in the city, but it wasn't a bad one, either. Since this was a public school, anyone could attend as long as they were within the age range and were living in Hong Kong, free of costs. I had a citizenship here - the woman who took me in got me one. Therefore, my registration process went through with no problems. They even provided me with special treatment because of my little pitiful act - I received one of the best dorm rooms apparently, right on the second floor for ease of travel.

And so, just like that, I slipped my way into a school within human territory.

Humans...are really foolish and gullible creatures, huh?

But unfortunately...once they found out about your true nature, they immediately become the cruellest race on this planet.

*****

It happened on a rainy day. Around 5 months had passed since I first entered the school. I made some friends, learnt a lot of things, and managed to pass by without exposing my succubus nature. But on this day, all that changed.

It was gym class. It had already been 3 days since the last gym class, which was when I got to feed off the sweat of the human males. In other words, my inner succubus was starving, craving for some nutrients. And so, just like usual, I made an excuse to the teacher to leave for a moment, then slipped inside the boys locker room while no one was looking.

Inside the locker room, the sweaty shirts of high school boys lay around, and I couldn't help myself. I was too thirsty. Sweat is the least tasty form of human fluids that we succubi need, but it was the safest option. I picked up one of the sweaty t-shirts, and squeezed it so that the sweat drops dripped out into my mouth. I repeated this process with around 5 more shirts...before someone suddenly pushed open the room's door and froze in shock at the sight of me.

"Mo...Mei...? What are you doing inside the boys locker room...? And...what are those...things on you?"

I looked down at my body.

Oh...no.

I was so focused on drinking sweat that my succubus features began to show. My tail, my horned ears - everything. I turned back to the boy who had stumbled in on me - his name was unimportant, but I assumed he probably forgot something in the locker room and now came back to retrieve it. I cursed, then after a short mental debate, lunged myself at him.

Like I said...the easiest way to silence someone...is to kill them.

But the boy was far stronger than I thought. He pushed me away with ease, since he beat me in physical strength.

Fine...no choice, then.

"Level Two Curse Magic - Hypnosis."

I pointed my hand towards the boy, who found himself staring back into my palm. For a second, I thought my hypnosis had succeeded - but then, the boy suddenly slapped himself on his face, and snapped back to his senses.

"Damn it...you actually dare to use magic here?!"

With these words, he immediately left the locker room, leaving me frustrated, nervous, and torn.

*****

Things after that incident, were abysmal for me. The boy who found out about my secret told it to everyone in the school. The teachers and staff couldn't find any evidence to expel me or anything, but the students didn't need any to isolate me.

My friends left me, and my teachers neglected me. This was the harsh reality of this world. Discrimination is everywhere, albeit for different reasons - from anything as grand as race to something as trivial as hobbies. Discrimination is everywhere. And now, I was on the receiving end of it.

So, just like before, I ended up all alone. Receiving looks of disgust as my fellow schoolmates passed by me in the halls, excluded from any fun activities they do together, and treated as if I was a contagious virus. For the next two years, this was how I lived. All from one tiny incident.

But then, he came. A transfer student, he was a good-looking guy with black hair and black eyes. He ended up being allocated to my class - sitting right beside me, in particular. Immediately, he became the topic of conversation all around the school. Many girls were vying to be the first to ask him out, but whenever someone did, he just turned them down.

On the other hand, he tried talking to me many times, since I was the person sitting right beside him...despite all the rumors about me. I ignored him at first, since nothing good would come out of me talking to him other than getting the girls to hate me even more than they already do, but after a while, I couldn't just keep pretending he wasn't there.

For the first time, we made conversation. And I found myself drawn into his deep black eyes, warm laughter, and outgoing personality. Eventually, without even realizing it myself, I had fallen in love with him. This boy...despite all the rumors about me and my abysmal reputation, actually tried interacting with me. And so, one day, I made up my mind, when we were eating together in the cafeteria.

"Will you...go out wi-"

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked, suddenly cutting me off.

"...Huh?" I blinked in surprise, too shocked to say anything.

"Uh...it's fine if you don't want to, I just thought I'd at least give it a shot..."

"No no...sure. I am willing," I replied. "I was just a bit...caught off guard, that was all."

"Really?! That's great!" he exclaimed, bursting into a sunny smile.

I smiled awkwardly in return, then he awkwardly reached for my hand. I flinched a little when he touched me, but I gave in and let him hold my hand. And so, we spent the rest of lunch like that, our hands held.

*****

News of our relationship quickly spread throughout the school, and my already bad reputation turned even worse. He, however, didn't seem to mind. Our relationship continued to progress steadily, and we gradually began spending more and more time together in our free time.

One day, after school, he suddenly offered to go to his house.

"Huh? Go to your...house?"

"Yeah, it's not far from the school," he replied carefreely.

"But...why? Don't we already have dorms?"

"Well..." he blushed and turned away. "There are some things that you can't really do in school dorms, y'know..."

I didn't know what he was talking about, but I decided to just go along with him.

"Sure."

"Really?! Alright, let's leave immediately then!"

He grabbed my hand and dragged me behind him as I struggled to keep up.

*****

Around half an hour later, we were at his house. It was just an average house, not too big and not too small. He unlocked the door and the two of us entered. It was dark inside with no lights on or curtains open, and no one else appeared to be home.

"You live all by yourself...?" I wondered out loud as I took off my shoes.

But he didn't respond, which was unlike him. Usually he would immediately answer any questions I had. But this time, instead, he calmly closed the door behind us, then locked it. He then took off his own shoes wordlessly, then turned around to face me. But since it was dark, I couldn't make out his face.

"Um...is there something wrong?" I asked, slightly frightened by his unusual actions.

But once again, he didn't respond. Instead, he suddenly grabbed my shoulders with his hands, and leaned in.

"Hey-!"

But it was too late. He bit down on my neck, and my eyes widened as I felt two sharp teeth - fangs - penetrate my skin.

"W-Wha...."

The moment he sank his fangs into my neck, I was paralyzed, unable to move or do a thing. But I could still think - and I knew immediately that this boy, who had played all nice, was in fact a monster, just like me.

...He was a vampire.

Contrary to common beliefs, vampires weren't actually afraid of the sun. Instead, they just prefer to be in darkness. Sunlight wouldn't actually harm them - the power of it was far too low. They were, however, terrified of powerful Light Magic. But unfortunately...I didn't have an aptitude for that, since I, as a succubus, was also afraid of Light Magic. And so, I stood there helplessly as my blood was drained by this vampire.

After a good minute, he finally let go of me roughly, and I collapsed onto the floor. He then licked his lips, and smiled evilly.

"Thanks for the meal...I will clean up this mess later, since for now...I have some more prey to catch."

Thinking I was dead, he left through the front door. He would probably come back later to get rid of my body - erasing the evidence. But I wasn't dead just yet.

If I were a normal human, having all that blood drained from me would have instantly killed me. But I was a succubus - and my life force was stronger than that of humans. But even then...I was still very weak. The paralysis poison from the vampire's fangs was still in my body, but it was slowly wearing off. I could move a little bit now, and I forced myself to my feet. With great difficulty, I unlocked the door, and limped outside. After making sure the vampire wasn't anywhere around, I headed for a dark alleyway to heal back up. If I went to the school, I would probably run into him. And if I took any main roads, there was a good chance I could be spotted as well, and be asked about why I was in such pain.

Therefore, I crawled into a dark alleyway, then collapsed onto the floor once more, hand covering my neck in agony. It also started raining, and that didn't help.

Again...betrayed...again. Why did I even...trust someone else...? After what happened with that human woman...why did I believe in someone again?!

...They're all fake. They're all fake they're all fake they're all fake they're all fake they're all fake they're all fake they're all fake they're all fak-

"...You there," a man said suddenly, snapping my out of my thoughts. "Let me guess...you were betrayed by someone you really trusted in?"

I looked up at the man. He was clad in silver armor, and looked pretty much like a knight.

"...Go away," I said quietly. I didn't want to interact with anyone else. I would just stay alone. That way, I couldn't risk being betrayed again.

"Just staying alone won't stop you from getting betrayed," the knight said, as if reading my thoughts. "The only way to accomplish your goal...is to get strong. So strong, that no one dares to betray you."

"Strong..." I muttered.

"Join us. I will help you become strong - stronger than anyone here. And once you do, that is when you can take your revenge on everyone who has wronged you."

Revenge? Now that sounds tempting.

"...Fine. How do I...join?"

"You already have," the knight said, then raised out his hand.

I stared into his visor, and took his hand. He pulled me up from the ground, then let go of my hand.

"Welcome...to the Midnight Syndicate."