In the dark, moonless night, a tentacle crawled among the trees like an oversized worm. The night was silent, but Hiro still crept carefully. Hiro needed to find out whether Elizabeth could convince the other batkins.
Hiro was worried about the fate of that vampire girl. The way the vampire turned hostile like that, Hiro wondered whether it was just a momentary impulse or a lifelong grudge. Once evil humans tasted power, it would be impossible to go back.
Hiro could feel that the batkins were about to split into two factions—one who chose to stay batkins, while the others chose to return to being vampires. Rebecca didn't think batkins could split into factions since there were barely two dozen batkins here. But Hiro thought otherwise. As long as there were more than two humans, factions could form, and civil war would follow, no matter how small the community was.
It took a while to reach Elizabeth's house. The house was empty, and its doors were wide open. Hiro tilted his tentacles. Doors were rarely locked in this village, as there were no valuables here. People knew and trusted each other. But leaving them wide open was weird. Bugs and wild animals could sneak in, after all.
Elizabeth had gone missing. That was Hiro's conclusion. But where could she have gone? Unfortunately, Hiro had no tracking ability. He could only rely on his instincts.
Now that Hiro knew something was wrong, he slithered faster, slipping inside every house nearby. Most houses were empty, while others had batkins or dovekins sleeping together. Hiro was frustrated. Then, at the furthest house, he finally found Elizabeth and Sara bound together with several batkins.
No. They were vampires.
Their skin was no longer pale or jade white like normal batkins. Their skin had turned purple, with a beastly look.
"What do you think you are doing? Stop it!" Elizabeth pleaded.
"We should not deny our fate. We should never deny our calling. Elizabeth, we are vampires, not batkins," the batkin chuckled as he towered over a dovekin.
"Just look at this livestock we have raised for centuries—docile and stupid." He choked Sara. Elizabeth stopped pleading. She realized it was too late.
"…You have turned to the dark side. Those who go to the dark side will forever be cursed in hell! You have been enslaved by it!" Elizabeth grieved. "You have wasted 500 years of struggle our forefathers endured for us."
"Wasted? No, our ancestors were foolish. They were up against nature. We are vampires. We should not be shackled like this."
"If you want to become a vampire, begone! Go and turn into beasts somewhere else! Don't drag us into this!" Elizabeth roared.
"That's unfortunate, but we can't do that, my princess. Despite going against nature, people still follow you. Even after killing your own people and sacrificing them to those outlanders, more than half still followed you," the vampire said. Hiro contemplated whether he should save them now. Through his telepathy, Hiro warned the others who were still inside the cabin.
"W-w-what are you going to do?" Elizabeth backed away as one vampire closed in on her. He grabbed her cheeks and forced them open.
"Don't judge us before you taste… the bliss." Another vampire cackled as he slit Sara's wrist and raised it before Elizabeth's open mouth, forcing her to bite it.
"…No. No!!!" Elizabeth shrieked, trying her best to resist. But when a drop of blood entered her mouth, she jerked. Her chest thumped as addicting pleasure ran through her veins. Her consciousness flew to the sky. She felt as if the world was in her grasp. Her problems vanished, replaced by momentary euphoria. Her throat thirsted for more. Mere drops of blood were not enough. She looked at Sara—her childhood friend with whom she had grown up.
They were right. Sara was just livestock. She existed solely for her nourishment. This isn't right? How come drinking blood by biting was so different?
"Elizabeth…" Sara was aghast. Her bosom friend, whom she had trusted her entire life, had changed. Her eyes were bloodshot.
"No… Get away…" Elizabeth gasped. That momentary thought had sent her reeling. Just a mere drop of blood from humans had brought such ecstasy. She wants more. She wanted to bite her neck, suck all of her blood through her fangs.
"See? Can you feel the power that has finally blossomed within you? This power! This excitement! It feels as if I have lived for this! Alas, this power is not enough. We need something more. Yes. If a virgin girl becomes a vampire, she shall be throned as a vampire princess. With your power, I believe we can crush those Litmus dogs!"
"..." Elizabeth's body jerked. The words of these vampires no longer entered her ears. All she wanted was blood. Blood. Blood from Sara. Blood from her friend tasted the best. She was not livestock. Elizabeth loved her. Because she loved her, wouldn't it be right to drink her blood? Friends are supposed to help each other. How could Sara…
"No…" Elizabeth closed her eyes. She kept finding excuses to push Sara down, to bite her. If she drank more, Sara could die. Just a drop is fine, right? No. If she tasted more, Elizabeth wouldn't be able to stop.
"Let's welcome our new queen. I think she will be ready in an hour." The vampires laughed and left while removing Elizabeth's chains. Elizabeth didn't move. She sat still like a doll, trying to keep her hunger at bay.
"…Elizabeth. Come on. You can do this. You need to fight it," Sara tried to encourage her.
"..." Elizabeth opened her eyes. Tears flowed from her eyes. In that moment, Sara knew Elizabeth had lost to her desire.
Elizabeth's hand trembled as she pushed Sara down. Sara was a non-combatant; her stats were way below Elizabeth's. No matter how she struggled, Elizabeth didn't budge.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Elizabeth said as she drooled. Her fangs grew at the meal presented before her. Hiro had already called his girls, but they were naked inside the cabin. They would need some time to arrive.
Hiro then took the plunge. Elizabeth was so out of it that she didn't see the wiggling tentacle above her. Hiro latched onto her back. His tentacle tried to bind her. But Elizabeth's stats were still above his. She ignored Hiro's tentacles and sank her fangs into Sara's throat.
[Name: Elizabeth
Race: batkin
Age: 17
Class: Tribal Chief
Host Affinity: 0/100
Nutrients: 10/30
Level: 54/100
STR: 116
Dex: 117
Mag: 129
Skill:
Dark Mastery Lv. 1
Mana Manipulation Lv. 4
Mana Sense Lv. 4
Sword Mastery Lv. 3
Dagger Mastery Lv. 1
B/W/H: 26/20/28
Trait:
Vampire Heritage (Awakening)
Blood Dependency (Addicted)]
Hiro went deeper inside Elizabeth, parasitizing her. Hiro contemplated. Should he kill her? With his parasitism skill, it would be easy to drain Elizabeth and kill her. But Elizabeth was not beyond saving. Her status still declared her a batkin.
"A blood ritual. Once I kill you, I will be a vampire. Your soul will be sacrificed so I can gain power I don't want. Then I will be a slave to dark lords… Hiro. Please… kill me," Elizabeth muttered. She knew Hiro had invaded her body, and her last wish was for him to kill her—kill her so she could save her best friend.
Now that Elizabeth had drunk some blood, some consciousness had returned. But this was not enough. She yearned for more. Sara was already pale. A bit more, and she would definitely die. Once she died, her best friend's soul would be condemned to hell. Hiro did his best to restrain her, but it wasn't enough.
"No! I refuse to let any of you die!" Hiro yelled in his mind. Soon, his girls would come. He just needed to hold on a bit longer. Elizabeth could still be saved. Her status was still that of a batkin.
Hiro then took drastic measures. Just as she was about to bite Sara for the last time, Hiro put his tentacle inside her mouth. Tentacles could bleed. If what Elizabeth wanted was blood, Hiro would prefer her to drink his rather than an innocent bystander.
Then, Hiro split his tentacles and went to Sara, trying to use his nuutrients to replace her blood.
[Name: Sara
Race: Dovekin
Age: 18
Class: Tribal Chief
Host Affinity: 0/100
Nutrients: 3/15
Level: 4/100
STR: 6
Dex: 7
Mag: 0
Skill:
Jump Lv. 5
Glide Lv. 3
Dance Lv. 2
B/W/H: 40/22/30
Trait:
Nutrient Efficiency Lv. 5]
Hiro eyed Sara's nutrients. Sara's nutrients were abnormally low, and she was barely conscious. Hiro used flesh mending to seal her wounds and injected synthesized nutrients into her mouth. He literally forced Sara to consume his tentacle.
Elizabeth bit into Hiro's tentacle, and blood poured out from it. When she drank it, she felt the same euphoria as when she bit Sara. No—Hiro's blood was more delicious. His blood was rich, unlike Sara, who had suffered from malnutrition since birth, just like her.
The euphoria washed over her. She felt as if she had found a lake of pure water to sate her thirst. No matter how much she drank, blood continued to flow. She drank and drank until she could drink no more.
At that moment, Cecile and her team burst open the door.
"I swear, if there is a race I hate the most in this world, it's the batkins!" Nana burst through the door and poured arrows into the vampires' eyes. Then she nailed them to the wall. With Hiro's doping, killing them was easy.
"Elizabeth! Are you okay?" Rebecca opened the door. Blood dripped from Elizabeth's mouth. She then turned to Rebecca with tears in her eyes.
"Please… kill me," Elizabeth cried. "I have done something unforgivable."
But of course, Hiro refused. She could still be saved. The blood ritual had failed. Sara still lived. Hiro would not let his vampire girl die.
He would turn them into one of his harem!