Sending people to investigate yielded little results. Ever since my Lharus disappeared, life has been difficult for me… I regret not raising him better, he could have been the greatest warrior my nation would ever see.
The two boys and the Obborik glared at the thing with as much caution as they did fear. Shivers ran down their spines as the too-tall-to-be-described creature walked toward them. It didn’t seem scared, bothered, nor intimated by both of them pulling out their swords and enhancing their bodies to the limit in the span of a few seconds.
No, it seemed amused, clear by the fanged, sadist smile creasing its horrifying lips. Raising the spear, it let out a low growl, sharp enough to petrify the two but not loud enough to alert anyone of its presence. Kai’s boots shook in fear at meeting such a terrifying, smart enemy. However, another part of him boiled.
For one reason or another, his pupils constricted, and the crimson of his eyes shone with a terrifying light. The fangs that usually sat hidden away protruded out of his mouth, stabbing his lower lip. He too let out a growl, which startled the young prince. He got into a fighting position, with the violet sword hung low and his feet planted forward. Onyx’s ears dropped, as he knew that his companion could lose control of himself.
Brower, you smell. Cwontrol youwself. He said through the link between them. That brought some clarity to Kai’s eyes, just enough to not attack the demonic thing. Kai didn’t know what happened to him, but he knew that this feeling he had was very similar to the anger he felt toward the parasite. There has to be a connection between the two, I need to find out what!
However, from having that goal to accomplishing it, the path he had to tread would be difficult, yet short. For one he wasn’t sure what that thing was capable of. More than that, it didn’t attack yet, besides the initial javelin throw. The three of them could feel that something wasn’t right, however. They just couldn’t put their finger on what.
The forest was quiet, even more so than usual, despite the time of day. The wind blew, but not too strong, and the sound of their beating hearts was slightly disorienting. A weird feeling of vertigo and nausea washed over them, which made their guard rise even more.
Kai didn’t want to fight, though. He knew that if they did the chances of them winning would be low. At the same time, he didn’t know what would happen if they did fight and he lost control of himself again. Would Léandro kill him on the spot upon finding out about his true nature? Would the inquisitors be alerted? He couldn’t say, but one thing he knew for sure. He didn’t want to find out.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the thing moved. Not to attack, but to speak. The mouth it so proudly used to growl with didn’t budge, though. Instead, its belly split in two, revealing a second, larger mouth. A dark tongue hid behind countless layers of razor-sharp teeth, and it licked its inexistent lips - nothing more than flopping skin - much to the two boys’ horror.
“Son of Blood… your master… awaits.” It said in a raspy and deep voice, devoid of emotion or sensation. A thrill of horror rushed down Kai’s spine as the creature’s words echoed in his mind. They resonated with him, and his heart almost burst from how fast it was racing. “He will forgive your insolence… this one time…” It continued, its ghastly eyes staring straight into Kai’s soul. “Join us… He is waiting.” After it said that, the belly mouth closed as if it was never there, and the thing disappeared as abruptly as it appeared, with a javelin throw.
Kai fell to his knees as soon as the pressure from it disappeared, gasping for air. He clutched his chest, feeling his heart beat faster than it ever did. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead, and he almost didn’t want to believe that thing spoke to him.
Léandro kneeled next to him and patted him on the back, unaffected by the thing’s words. He brought out a water pouch and helped Kai put the mask aside. Onyx was the same, though he couldn’t do much outside of barking and yelping. The boy drank from it but couldn’t hold it down, and immediately threw it up alongside what he ate the last time around.
“What happened, what- Did you understand it?” Léandro asked, his concerned expression seeming hazy in Kai’s vision.
“You… didn’t?” Kai asked with much difficulty. “I-” However he stopped himself mid-sentence as he threw up again. I need to eat before… Yet again, though, his train of thought froze as he remembered that his fangs were still out, and his mouth stood uncovered. His eyes snapped to Léandro, whose skin glistened in the morning sun. He almost wanted to jump at him and dig his fangs into the boy’s flesh. Devouring nobility, Kai couldn’t help but wonder what he would taste like.
What if he-
“Kai!” Léandro’s voice broke him out of his trance, and he made haste to cover his mouth with the mask.
“Wha-”
“Kai, did you hear what I said?” The prince said with urgency, but Kai didn’t even know how much time had passed since they last spoke.
“I don’t think… so? What did you say?”
“We need to leave, quick. I don’t know if any more of those things will show up.”
“I- al, alright.” Kai said as he rose with difficulty, propped up by Léandro. This bout of weakness didn’t come solely from the creature, it came from the unslept night and lack of blood. All he did was throw up and use his mana, the only downtime he had was during the bath. Though that wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences either.
…
The three finally arrived at the camp, where a new tent had been built and the old one, still tainted with the smell of the candle, stood destroyed. Kai dragged his feet and Léandro dragged him, something that happened way too often in a single day.
However, the gloomy atmosphere they had gotten used to had been replaced by something more cheerful. Zeliph’s and the bald man’s expressions weren’t all gloomy, and a new face Kai had never seen before also showed up. It was a tall man surrounded by a mysterious aura and a dark energy that gave Kai the chills.
More than that, though, the once pale, unmoving woman who sat unconscious now sprung to life. Her emerald green eyes shone with life, and her freckled face smiled upon seeing Léandro. However, she ignored him afterward, her gaze fixated upon Kai, who seemed to have taken her previous role.
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She didn’t question it, however, and simply crawled forward from under the sheets and kowtowed.
It wasn’t a bow of respect like one would give nobility, nor a bow of submission. No, she did it methodically, slowly. The tip of her fingers furled and her forehead touched the ground between her arms. Léandro let go of Kai after making sure he could stand up on his own, not intending to interrupt what Lilith was doing.
“Thank you for saving me.” Her soft yet trembling voice echoed. “Zeliph told me everything you did for me. I will forever be indebted to you, savior Kai.”
Seeing Lilith, a much older woman, kowtow before him and speak in such a way, made Kai’s cheeks blush with an unnaturally pink color. However he didn’t have much blood left to waste on being embarrassed, so he shook his head. “That’s fine, you don’t need to do all that.”He said weakly and sat down, leaning against a thin pillar of support. “We came to check up on you… but I guess there was no need to worry.”
Lilith raised her head and looked at Kai with an earnest expression, her still pale lips parting. “Thanks to you, my life has been saved and my suffering ended. I-” The others looked away upon seeing Lilith acting like that, and Léandro held in a chuckle, not to disturb such a serious moment.
“Seriously, it’s fine.” Kai interrupted her with a groan. “I did it because I wanted to. I am quite hungry though and I want nothing but to forget the past few hours of my life for a bit.” He said with a hoarse, depressed voice. Fatigue resonated alongside it, and he wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and let the tiredness disappear. However, just as he was tired, he was also hungry.
And not just for food… He felt… a thirst.
…
Back in the inn, the cook, Melon, finished preparing most of the dishes. A table was set up in the middle with enough bottles of alcohol to drunken up a small party, and enough snacks to be considered a full meal. The door slammed open, startling the man, but not enough to stop him from cooking. Kai and the rest entered the room, some more excited than others. The bald man’s eyes in particular beamed upon seeing all the food.
The last to enter was Lilith, her small, skinny figure falling right into Melon’s eyes. Seeing the woman like that, he dropped what he was doing and immediately bolted to her. Without hesitation, Melon grabbed Lilith and made her sit down at the table, then placed countless foods in front of her. He let out a ‘hmph’ and then walked back to his cooking station.
Kai watched all that happen but didn’t comment, whilst he was surprised, he was too tired and hungry to care about how the man had done that. Lilith didn’t look to be light, even after the illness took over.
He sat down at the table and grabbed a glass which he then filled with water. Turning his mask, he drank it like someone who hadn’t seen water for weeks. Yet his stomach churned, and even that threatened to rise back up his throat.
Eugh, fuck this shit… The others joined him and Lilith at the table, with the bald man in particular eating without any restraint or care for etiquette. Léandro sat next to Kai, and looked like he wanted to say something, but held his tongue. Zeliph sat next to Lilith, and Onyx sat wherever he could, licking his snout.
They started eating and drinking, everyone at their own pace. Everyone except for Kai. Any food he tried to get down would threaten to come right back up, as did the water. He was thirsty, though, and he licked his dry lips, trying to not think about it too much.
…
By the time he was able to keep some food down, the sun had already set. Léandro and the rest were already drunk, with half the bottles empty and the other half almost completely gone. That also meant Kai didn’t even taste the beverage, though he could barely stand the smell. It made him nauseous, and, even though he wanted to drink, he couldn’t. His body didn’t allow him to.
He looked around, his vision hazy. Everyone laughed and cried, and cheered for Lilith’s health. All including Melon, the bald man, and Léandro. Zeliph was more restrained, but a drunken smile still creased his lips. The only person who wasn’t abbreviated was Onyx, who ate all the leftovers he could while sitting next to Kai.
The Obborik’s white snout was now decorated with countless flavors of meat and carbs, as well as water and fruit. He ate whatever he could at any given chance, and the fur around his neck had gotten as dirty as it could get.
Kai approached him took a whiff, and decided that he needed to bathe Onyx as soon as he could. However, for that moment, he only wanted to lay down on his soft fur. The Obborik intercepted the thought and made way for Kai to sit down on his belly, adding his tail as a soft cushion. The boy appreciated the gesture, and let himself fall on his companion’s warm fur.
He sighed and adjusted the mask on his face, though he really wished to throw it away. However, before reaching a good enough level to cast a strong disguise magic, such a thing would be impossible. Kai became afraid, even more than before, of people finding out who he was. Being content that silver or white hair wasn’t as rare as one would think wasn’t enough, he had to do something about it, and soon.
Luckily he still had some of the dye Aina had given him, just not the time to use it. However, whilst the hair could be changed, his eyes couldn’t. There were no contact lenses in this world, so he could only rely on magic. Unlike his silver hair, red eyes only belonged to a single humanoid species - Vampires.
“Kai.” A voice broke his train of thought. He didn’t need to raise his head to know who it was that talked to him.
“Yeah?” His weak voice escaped his body.
“Thank you. Thank you for saving Lilith… You- You’re a good frien-d” Léandro managed to say through hiccups and laughs. The alcohol had done a good number on him, but not enough to completely slur his speech.
Kai, however, felt a tinge of guilt appear in his chest upon hearing Léandro call him a good friend. Such a good friend…
“You’re welcome man, don’t worry about it.” He brushed off Léandro’s words like dust with a broom. He didn’t want the gratitude, he couldn’t accept it. Some part of him felt that he didn’t deserve gratitude or goodwill, yet he selfishly accepted it every time it was given.
“I won’t worry about it,” Léandro said slowly, picking his words as carefully as he could. “I won’t forget it either.”
Silence descended upon the two, and Kai rose his head to see whether or not they fell asleep. Everyone except Léandro… He thought with a sigh and lowered his head.
The prince didn’t sit still for too long though, as he tried to stand up, but then fell on the floor. Kai didn’t bother to ask whether he was alright or not, someone at his level wouldn’t get hurt even if he fell from higher up. His Body Core should be stronger than mine by a lot… Kai guessed and decided that he’d survive.
“You know… I didn’t like you much at first.” Léandro began, his drunken speech sounding as cliché as it could get. “You were weird and didn’t want to kill the bandits. I saw you, you had so many opportunities but didn’t take any of them. Why did you not murder those evil-doers?”
As someone from the modern world, that question sounded stupid to Kai. Why would he kill people? That went through his head more or less whenever someone else attacked him.
Yet he couldn’t shake off the thought that he would have died so many times if he weren’t saved. He had the power to kill, he just refused to do so.
However, he didn’t want to think about it. Kai didn’t reply to Léandro’s question either, as the young prince would keep talking whether or not he did.
“Then you went looking for me, I thought it was funny, you know? A weakling like you… but then you found me. I was careless, and my warning shot missed.”
What warning shot? Kai thought as he remembered the arrow flying straight toward his head. Warning to whom? He didn’t voice them, of course, but found it funny regardless.
“But then it turned out you were an alright dude, and I could speak to you like an equal. You didn’t bow to me or try to suck up to me, despite the obvious wealth I was wearing. I liked that, you know? It felt different, that, for a change… I wasn’t a prince or a rich person. I was… Léandro.” He said softly, his slurry voice muffled by his rapid breathing.
All around me are...
