01 | First Encounter

01 |  F I R S T

E N C O U N T E R

***

Darkness is something most people fear the most, apart from meeting their exes, and running out of internet credit, of course.

    But without darkness, there would be no light. It is in the dark that the light can shine brightly. Plausible contradiction.

    For Michelle, darkness is not the only thing she is afraid of. She never fears the darkness because only in the darkness can she rest comfortably. No matter how many bones cracked, the bruises were torturous, and the stinging of the wounds stabbed, only in the darkness could Michelle be calm.

    Because when the light comes back on, the only torment will she get from her master.

    More precisely, the vampire master, of course. And this is the seventh time Michelle has changed masters after her old master just dumped her by the side of the road with her whole body covered in bruises. Letting her struggle on the sidewalk and wrestle with the cold of the night. Until she was picked up again by another noble vampire who was even way crueler than her previous master.

    This room is dark. Almost no air gets in if there are no holes where rats can enter and exit. It was narrow, and there was only a medium-sized mattress that still stood firm, even though the sheet was torn here and there.

    But it was on that pitiful mattress that Michelle lay weak without a cloth to cover her body at all. With wounds all over her body, she lay in the darkness of the room, waiting only for two things; something to eat, and the master who at any time will come back and 'eat' her body for the umpteenth time.

    It had been eight hours she had been lying still. She did not want to move much because it would only cause the wounds all over her body to hurt again. All she did was close her eyes, enjoy every breath she took--the only thing that reminded her that she was still alive. She spent eight hours of silence in the darkness until the door to her room is open, and the lights come back on. In front of the door stood a vampire with pale skin, long blonde hair tied back, and wearing expensive clothes like nobles. In his hand was a plate of plain bread.

    The vampire entered and locked the door from the inside, looking straight at her weak body which, was not covered by a single thread, her white skin was full of bruises, and her wounds could still shine under the light of the lamp.

    The vampire took off his clothes one by one, leaving his black boxer shorts, bringing the bread plate closer to Michelle, and putting it on the floor.

    The vampire violently grabbed her dark brown hair, which made her scream in pain, sniffed her neck briefly before throwing the poor body onto the floor.

    He pulled back her hair and dragged her head toward the bread plate. Michelle, who understood, immediately ate the bread while lying on her stomach on the floor, making the vampire grin. He let go of his boxer pants and started doing what he had been doing to Michelle all this time.

    And once again, Michelle had to feel the cruelty of her master.

***

    The roar of the Range Rover Sport exhaust can be heard by the front of an old building on the edge of the city. It is where the noble-class vampires are looking for their new cattle. The car back door opened, two burly low-class vampires came out by dragging a girl who had cuts and bruises all over her body. The wounds became an accessory to their fair skin.

    Followed by a vampire who appeared to be from among the nobles, with long blonde hair tied back. The noble-man vampire was being welcomed by the owner of the slum.

    "Lord Ridfield, it is nice to see you. How can I help you?" asked Kashmir, a fat vampire who owns the slum with brown skin and a thick mustache like most men in one of the countries in Asia.

    The nobleman glanced at Michelle, the girl who was being dragged away by the two well-built vampires. "I want to bring this bitch back. She is no longer of use to me. Get me fresh cattle, under eighteen if possible."

    "As usual, you are a very nice person, going to the trouble of bringing a lowly animal like her to this place, when you could just throw it by the side of the road or maybe the trash," Kashmir said while smiling broadly at the nobleman. "But for your request, I am sure we can understand each other because lately there are groups of people who claim to be rebels, it becomes difficult for us to get a good slave ... I mean, cattle."

    The nobleman also smiled crookedly at Kashmir with an instant. His hand was already gripping the very fat neck, lifted him, and slammed the fat guy on the ground making the cement covering it crack.

    "Kheuukkk! ~ ..." shrieked Kashmir in great pain while the nobleman was still choking him. "Are you fucking insulting me? How dare you try to negotiate with me! Just find me what I ask, you know too, that I do not like anyone doubting me like that!"

    Kashmir could only nod in response to his anger as soon as the nobleman released his chuckle from Kashmir's neck. The fat man also hinted that the two burly vampires brought Michelle inside to back into the cage, while Kashmir was busy with the request.

    Banggg~! ...

    A bullet shot through the head of one of the vampires that dragged her body, causing the other vampire to look around, looking for who killed his partner. And another bullet had already pierced his heart before he realized where the bullet was coming from.

    Banggg~! ... Banggg~! ...

    Two bullets shot from a distance, aiming straight at the noble-class vampire's head, but the two bullets were repelled by only his palms that had turned into iron.

    That is a special power possessed by Ridfield, one of the noble class vampires of the Trinity Kingdom.

    Banggg~! ...

    Another bullet shot out, but he repelled it again. The noble vampire walked towards his car, grabbed it with one hand, and threw the Range Rover Sport car to the spot where the sniper who had been shooting his bullets had been hiding.

    Yep, that noble vampire threw the car with one hand.

    He is Ridfield Goshawk, a top noble-class vampire who can turn his body into iron and has extraordinary physical strength. It was he who was just about to find a new slave to replace Michelle.

    The sniper died instantly when the Range Rover Sport car landed on him.

    Three people came out of hiding, three humans to be precise with their weapons each; large spears, sickles, and hammers. The three of them advanced simultaneously and attacked Ridfield with all their strength.

    The result was, of course, the three of them lay lifeless on the ground.

    Ridfield sighed in exasperation. "These stupid cattle, who do they think they are? Dare to fight me like that? Their stupidity really makes me--"

    Stabbb~! ...

    Ridfield's eyes opened spontaneously wide. He glanced down, where a blade could be seen sticking out of his body. To be exact, someone had stabbed his stomach with a sword from behind. A person wearing an all-black robe and covering his head with a black hood.

    The man in the black hood pulled back his sword and jumped back, trying to get away from Ridfield a few steps.

    Ridfield smiled, "You think you can kill me with a small wound like this? You useless trash, why don't you aim for my heart straight away? Did you do that on purpose? Are you looking down on me?"

    The hooded man only smiled, most of his face was blocked by shadow, only the smile on his lips could be seen.

    "You idiot, you are going to die--" said Ridfield hanging when his body suddenly screamed. The stab wound was so hot as if it was burning him from the inside. And the feeling of heat seemed to focus on his heart.

    Ridfield turned his gaze back to the sword wielded by the man in the black robe and was shocked again until his eyes were wide open.

    "Th-that sword ... Y-y-you!" Redfield pointed at the robed man with an angry look. "You insolent bastard! It turns out that you were the fucking traitor for all this time! Damien, I am going to kill you right n-- ... Aaaakkkhhhh!~"

    Ridfield screamed in pain as his body turned to ashes. I happened because if a vampire is dead, his body will immediately turn to ash.

    The man opened the hood and carefully put the sword back into the sheath, not wanting his hand to get scratched because even a scratch from the blade could kill him. Several people who were wearing the same robes were now standing behind him.

    Damien also ordered them to enter the old building and free the humans who were turned into livestock and bring them to his house, more precisely in the luxurious mansion he owned, where he housed the human slaves he had been saving so far.

    The black-robed humans who claimed to be members of the rebel army immediately entered the old building and began to slaughter the low-class vampires guarding the building while freeing the human slaves.

    Just when Damien wanted to turn around and leave, his eyes caught a naked woman who was creeping up near the entrance to the building. Her whole body covered in wounds, and her face was hiding by her dark-brown hair that very messy.

    The girl was crying. Even though in a low voice, Damien could still hear the girl's crying voice. But somehow, strangely, the girl sobs hurt his heart.

    Damien slowly walked towards the poor girl. There were still a few more steps until Damien got to the girl's place. But he already realized who is the owner of the crying voice that could touch his heart.

    It is the first time he felt pain in his heart since he turned into a vampire. The first time he felt that he was back to being a human again when he heard the girl's crying voice.

    And the first time Damien cried, his tears came out quite profusely. Very quickly, Damien grabbed the girl's hand, raised it so that he could see the poor girl's face.

    Their gazes met, and for the first time, Damien felt his heartbeat again, even if it was only one beat. But it was enough to tell him that this girl in front of him was the person he had been looking for, the one who was his reason not to lose his human side, even though he was has become a top-class, noble vampire.

    "Michelle! It's me!" said Damien trying to speak "It's me, Damien!"

    Before Michelle had time to answer Damien's call, the girl was already unconscious

    “Michelle! ... “