In an epic battle, King Phelios defeats King Dusel, but both monarchs are mortally wounded. As the two lay dying, Dusel prophesies that they will meet again, sometime in another place and another time, and vows that he will be triumphant. The moment of resurrection happens hundreds of years later when Dusel comes back as a menacing baby wildcat who is rescued from the wild and adopted by Ishtar, the great-granddaughter of his nemesis, King Phelios. Ishtar is a playful girl with an iron will and a penchant for pranks, a trait that distresses her caretaker, Sir Keld, and a dashing imperial guard, Captain Dales. Ishtar is not, however, the reincarnation of Phelios, leaving the now-feline Dusel to continue his quest for revenge - without letting his new owner know that he is hell-bent on destroying her family ... but would Ishtar even care about that if she knew?

St. Phelios
A revered monarch and the Kingdom of Pheliosta's namesake. Phelios is famous for defeating the Vampire King Duzell in an epic battle that cost Phelios his life. As they died, Duzell vowed that they would meet again, leading people to believe that Phelios will be reborn into one of his heirs.

Duzell
Feared throughout the kingdom of Pheliosta, Duzell is a vicious vampire king who once slaughtered hundreds of men in a bloody battle for the kingdom. He was defeated by Phelios, but before he died he promised to return and once again face King Phelios in battle, next time emerging victorious. Now, 100 years later, he has been reborn as Princess Ishtar's pet cat.

Ishtar
A precocious princess who finds herself in the center of a century-old prophecy, Ishtar is the granddaughter of Phelios and the heir to the kingdom of Pheliosta. Although Ishtar is expected to live the life of a lady, and marry a proper suitor of royal blood, she would much rather spend her time infuriating Sir Keld and Darres by ditching her magic lessons and pretending to be a knight. It was on one such excursion that Ishtar found her pet kyawl, who just happens to be the reincarnation of the vampire king Duzell. Ishtar not only is aware of this, but is, perversely, more than willing to help Duzell in his search.

Darres
The captain of the royal guard, Darres is also Ishtar's noble, but rather dimwitted, bodyguard. Although Ishtar frustrates Darres to no end, he does care about her and deeply respects King Phelios. Perhaps Ishtar's most closely-guarded secret, however, is that she also cares deeply about Darres.

Sir Keld
Princess Ishtar's caretaker and instructor, Sir Keld may have been a great knight at one time, but he's now a laughingstock. Nicknamed the 'Old Fart' by everyone in the castle, Sir Keld, at the very least, means well.

Written and Illustrated by JUDAL

JUDAL's Vampire Game (Kyuuketsu Yuugi) and Carbuncle were both published originally in Japan by Wings Comics (an imprint of Shinshokan). She is known among other things for her depiction of irresistibly cute shounen-ai relationships.