Prologue

"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."
- Thomas Paine

Chiropterans. The bat-like creatures that feed on human blood. With Delta67, which was derived from Diva's blood, humans were transformed into these monsters during experiments conducted by Cinq Flèches. Monsters that cannot be killed with ammunition. These creatures could possibly be killed if one were an extremely skilled swordsman, but even then it would be difficult to break through their skin's hard exterior.

Diva's twin sister, Saya, was the one true weapon that mankind had against the chiropterans. When Diva's blood comes into contact with Saya's, the blood begins to crystallize. Since the chiropterans all have Diva's blood, Saya is able to slay them with her blood drenched sword. Saya; her chevalier, Haji; and the Red Shield had been fighting to destroy Diva and the chiropterans since the late 1800s. But the battle between Diva and Saya finally ended in 2007, in New York City. Before Saya entered into her fifth deep sleep, they were finally able to complete their mission to kill Diva and her chevaliers. With the exception of Solomon.

After Saya fell into hibernation, Kai was heartbroken. In a small sense, he wished that he had been able to tell Saya how he really felt about her. But even if she had returned his feelings, he knew it never would have worked out. After a short, active phase, Saya sleeps for approximately thirty years. He had known that her deep sleep was near and that he would be forty-eight when she finally awoke, while she would still maintain the outward appearance of a sixteen year old.

Kai missed Saya terribly. Not a day went by when he did not think of her. He made sure to visit her grave every day. Despite the little hole he had in his heart, he was determined to live every day to the fullest. He definitely had his hands full with the Omoro and the twins. But no matter how busy he was, he always made sure to incorporate the little things that made him happy into his days: singing, dancing, going to the beach, laughing... Kai also kept in touch with David and Julia, who, unbeknownst to him, had been working hard along with the rest of the Red Shield to find a way to mass produce the enzyme that was found in Saya's blood. Their goal was to wipe out the rest of the Delta series. Incidents involving chiropterans had decreased dramatically, but the ones that were left still had to be dealt with. They were also busy planning for the baby.

Mao and Okamura were still traveling in and around the Middle East. They wrote to Kai and everyone else in the Red Shield when they could. From their letters, they seemed to be doing well and possibly on the brink of some "big story."

While most of the people who had come to care for Saya seemed to be doing relatively well, it was unknown as to what exactly had become of both Haji and Solomon. Solomon had not been seen since he had saved Saya from James for the second and last time. Haji had not been seen since Saya, Kai, and the Red Shield had fled from the Metropolitan Opera House the night that Diva was killed. No news either of their deaths or of more recent sightings had been heard.

At least not yet.