Alice grinned and motioned for the trainee to attack first. One thing about fighting is that physical prowess isn’t the only important thing . You have to be mentally prepared too. Once the enemy has broken you from the inside, it will be hard to win.The trainee quickly attacked. Alice easily dodged his careless attack and quickly went behind him, "You were bitten by your enemy. You’re good as dead." She whispered, teasing the man around twenty two or three. He seemed to be the eldest in the class too.He quickly tried to elbow her in the face, but Alice was fast enough to dodge, duck, and kick his leg to subdue him."You can’t head into the fight with a hot head and no actual plan. A combat like this was the last thing that should happen. No matter what we do, vampires are stronger and faster than us. You can’t just attack me like a hoodlum. Think before you attack, and don’t fall for petty taunts. Do you know how cunning vampires can be? You’ll lose even before the actual fight if
"Well that wasn’t so bad." Karina commented after they finished the class. They would still have to attend the same class for several days, but it’s better than being stuck in her house. Furthermore, they are permitted to enter the headquarters and continue to train in this manner."It wasn’t bad until you realized that you had to wake up early again." Alice answered and sipped on her coffee.Karina’s face crumpled in realization, "I should sleep as soon as I get back to the house…" Alice just stared at Karina, wondering if she'd agree to replace her as a leader once she quit the group.The woman immediately noticed and accidentally played a staring game with Alice until Arianne arrived at the locker room.She looked at the two with confusion in her eyes, "Why do I feel like I interrupted something?" Arianne asked, more to herself than to the two."Ask her, she suddenly glared at me like she’s going to eat me alive." Alice wasn’t sure if Karina was just overreacting or she was really
"You said it yourself, Alice. All of them marched in that very place in their own accord because they wanted to save their friend. If you managed to convince them, then they believe in you. That no matter how dangerous the situation was, you would lead them. Now that is a true leader. You might not see it, but you’re more than capable of leading a team. Especially that kind of team."Alice heaved a sigh and finally decided to give up, "You perfectly know why I am doing this, Clarisse. Please don’t make it hard for me anymore. I just wanted to keep those people out of my mess. I’ve seen what Elijah could do firsthand, and you also experienced what it was like to fight a pureblood. I can’t let them be in that situation because of me." Her voice broke. She was almost pleading, and it surprised Clarisse.She has always been strong willed and good at hiding her true emotions. Seeing Alice break that mask also breaks her heart. Clarisse stood from her seat and quickly went to embrace her, k
Allen immediately ran towards his master and didn’t even dare make eye contact with the other pureblood. She suddenly appeared while he was on his way to accompany Elijah after his hunt, but was blocked by a random pureblood who ordered her to bring him to Elijah. He doesn’t want to do it, but purebloods could be very terrifying.Elijah once told him that purebloods could sense who a blood servant belonged to. It was the scent of their blood that became similar to their masters to some degree. Of course, she wouldn’t know if she didn’t personally know Elijah. He feels guilty that he led the woman back to him, not knowing what she actually wanted to do.It wasn’t the first time that he encountered a pureblood, but it was the first time he actually had the chance to interact with one.Allen was the only person who knew that Elijah wasn’t really a pureblood. He was born human and was cursed to have a pureblood body until he could kill all twenty lives of her. That is why he could turn a
Everyone except Alice was surprised when Black Lotus pulled them out of the class."Did we do anything wrong?" Arianne couldn’t help but ask as they watched Clarisse check out papers that looked like the profile of a vampire. She was concerned that they had done something wrong and that one of the trainees or even the new mentor would complain about any of them. She already felt very guilty about them being suspended, and an extension wasn’t really ideal.She lifted her head and took a good look at everyone before speaking, "Not really. In fact, I called all of you here to tell you that I’m shortening the duration of your suspension." Clarisse went back to reviewing the information about the vampire that they needed to hunt.Karina looked at Alice for an explanation, but the latter chose to let Black Lotus do the explaining. She’s been agitated thanks to a nightmare that kept her up the whole night. It was the same memory she had recently been remembering from an older life. Until now
The pureblood still struggled to get away from Elijah’s hold, but she knew that one wrong move could kill her."It wasn’t me that you should be worried about. I’m even ready to protect you. The others… they are coming after you. Believe me. All of them are coming, and you should be careful." He pulled out his hand, and he saw how her long life flashed before her eyes. Elijah finally let the woman go, and she ended up on the ground. Ethel quickly stood, her eyes showed both anger and fear. Her wounds immediately healed after he spared her life, but she was still too stunned to speak. She felt betrayed, not expecting that Elijah was so ready to kill her.Ethel’s complexion went back to normal and the only thing that reminds the pureblood of her almost death was the hole in her clothing. Elijah, on the other hand, was busy contemplating on the words she said.He knew that she wasn’t lying. He had made enough enemies in his lifetime, but he had lived two centuries of peace without encount
Alice remained confused. Her emotions were all over the place, and now that there was only Clarisse and her in the room, she could finally sit and think about the peculiarity of her life."What’s happening?" Black Lotus asked with obvious concerns. She could see Alice’s hands trembling, from fear or any other emotion— she wasn’t really sure.She shook her head, "I don’t know why I feel so sad and furious…" Alice was having a breakdown from memories that one of her old lives shared.She felt emotions from the memories she could see in her dreams, especially when she was younger, and doesn’t know what she is dealing with yet.But it was never this intense. Her heart felt like it had shattered into a million pieces, and she couldn’t mend it no matter what.It felt... hollow.Clarisse immediately stood from her seat and knelt in front of Alice, "Listen to my voice. Breathe with me." She wasn’t new to what Alice had been experiencing. She had seen it happen to many of her colleagues and ev
Kate raised her hand as if she was in a class and everyone’s eyes darted towards her.“What is it?” Alice quickly responded, knowing that it was a decent question coming from the ones that rarely talks.“Do we happen to have the list of the guests too?” Last time was lucky for them as they went on a masquerade ball but their faces will be out this time. She saw enough people that could have recognized them if they weren’t wearing masks and went enough parties at the last mission. Alice simply nodded and shifted scrolled the screen for what Kate asked. Meanwhile, Art was wondering why the list of guests are important for the mission.“Uhm, excuse me but why do we need to know the guests? Is there a vampire among them?” He had to ask as it seems like he’s the only one with no idea.“Just in case someone would recognize either Kate or Klaver.” Carl was the one who responded but he still doesn’t get what was happening at all. Karina clicked her tongue, knowing that Art didn’t have the s
"Why are we called here?" Klaver asked as he arrived late and had no idea why they were called by Black Lotus again. Karina shrugged, "Not sure. Maybe we’ll get a new mission?" They all went inside Clarisse’s office with anticipation. None of them did anything wrong lately, so they were confident that they were not here to be scolded by their head. Clarisse took a moment to look at each of them. They even held a birthday party for Alice and Carl the other day. She saw how happy they were. It’s just a shame that Alice couldn’t live as a human, even if their circumstances had already changed. "Did we mess up again? Please don’t tell me we’d have to attend trainee classes again." Art spoke up after he couldn’t take the silence anymore. She smiled, "No. Unless you did something else I wasn’t aware of." "We haven’t broken any rules… lately." Carl promptly answered as he was tired of being reprimanded. She pointed at the envelope Alice left for her group, "I called you guys to give yo
"You need to feed." Elijah kept looking at Alice. She was pale as she refused to drink any human blood. Louise continued to alternately look at Alice and Elijah. Alice was his enemy one moment, and now she appears in their house as a vampire. She demanded to join Elijah in fighting off the purebloods, which Louise still thinks is a suicide mission, but he has no abilities to stop his master or Alice. "I’m still Alice, and my hunter pride is still intact. I’ve been alive longer than you think. I could handle this." She simply refuses to drink human blood, even if everything in her is screaming to feed. Unfortunately, even a human soul couldn’t maintain her body as a human. Her body naturally went back to its natural form right after her mind fully awakened. Her abilities came back to her almost immediately. "Why are you insisting on coming anyway?" Elijah doesn’t know how he would treat Alice now. He remembers everything, along with all the feelings that he shared with Alathea. They
"Alice, Alice, wake up." Elijah had already gotten the location from Black Lotus and also received the blood flowers he requested. He was on his way to the given location when he felt a very ominous feeling. Instead, he rushed his way towards Alice’s house and found her unconscious with the charm he had gifted her on the ground. He checked if she was still breathing before lifting her towards the bed. Elijah has been trying to wake him up for five minutes straight, but to no avail. By experience, she looked like she was remembering her memories again. He doubts that the doctors would find anything wrong if he brought her to the hospital. "Alice!" He exclaimed and finally opened her eyes, and Elijah saw her eyes turn red, as of a vampire. She gasped and lifted herself from the bed. Elijah was staring at her with complete shock in his eyes. "Who the hell turned you into a vampire?!" There was fear in his eyes. He had killed all of her past lives, but now that he didn’t have to kill h
Humans either worshiped or feared them. They called them gods, not knowing that their belief was the one that strengthened them. At the same time, losing belief in creatures like her greatly weakens them. The more people forget about them, the sooner they cease to exist. She has existed for thousands of years. Time was fleeting, and so many things have changed over time. Her existence was fueled, not by belief but by fear. No one knows what she truly was, unlike other "gods" that humans have encountered. Instead, she was born out of fear of the unknown. It morphed in her over time until she developed a taste for human blood. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t stop what she had become, like all the monsters they had imagined. Before she knew it, she became a creature that survived on human blood and fear, and yet she still fights for her own instincts whenever she can. Alathea, or at least that is what she calls herself at the present time, quickly walked on a shade to protect herself
"Why am I called at such an ungodly hour?" She complained as she entered Clarisse’s office. Black Lotus didn’t tell her the reason why she was hailed, but she hoped that it was for a great purpose. "Alice, why are you here early?" Carl asked with curious eyes. "I was called by Black Lotus. Why are you here too?" She threw back the question. Carl pointed at Clarisse’s office, "She called me too. What is up? She didn’t tell me what this was about." Alice didn’t answer and walked ahead. She was now certain that it wasn’t about Elijah. Carl wouldn’t be called if it was. "Wait for me!" He exclaimed and caught up. They both entered the office and were welcomed by on of Clarisse’s secretary. She pointed at the door, "She’s been expecting you. Feel free to head inside." Alice immediately figured out that something was happening. Still, she went ahead and opened the door. "Happy birthday!" She heard party poppers and confetti flying over her and Carl. Alice looked at them with utter co
Alice went home with a heavy heart. She had had a bad feeling since earlier. It has been a bit peaceful after the incident of them being ambushed by the old gang members of their old enemy, but deep inside her, she knew that something bad would happen. She dismissed the worry, wishing that it was just her being paranoid. Elijah already killed the newborns but the pureblood who turned the humans was still alive. "Two of them were thrown in a dumpster, and the other one was just left on the streets." She recalled the report she heard earlier. Three of their hunters were killed relentlessly by different vampires, whom she assumes were pureblood vampires. The hunters that were disposed of in the dumpster like trash were killed by a woman, while the other one was killed by another vampire. None of them were the purebloods she saw last time, but they all thought the same after seeing the footage of how the hunters were killed. It was impossible that it had been done by a newborn vampire.
Allen let out an annoyed groan after he had just pulled Louise out of the scene when he saw hunters hovering near them. Louise was still out of it because of the high of the bloodlust still rushing to every fiber of his being. "What was happening?" Louise asked. His voice is deeper than usual, but he is slowly gaining consciousness about what is happening. He clicked his tongue, "Idiot. You almost got killed. Wipe that blood off your mouth." Louise’s eyes widened, and he felt more sober after what he heard. He touched his face and realized that Allen was right about the blood on his lips. There was something about blood that the vampire’s body was constantly craving; no matter how much they consumed, it would never be enough. That is why he doesn’t even realize that he is covered in blood as his body casually hangs on for that connection. He promptly wiped his mouth clean and used all the concentration he had to calm himself. They couldn’t walk around with his eyes glowing, and he
"Why are you all here?" Alice complained after seeing the rest of her old team. Art laughed awkwardly. "You didn’t check the notice again, didn’t you?" "What was it about?" She didn’t deny it at all. It was true that she didn’t bother reading it. Carl shakes his head. He was starting to wonder how Alice hadn’t gotten herself into any danger because of her carelessness. "We were set out as a group again. Because of what happened yesterday, we were advised to be careful just in case they were planning any group attacks." Kate was the one who explained the situation. Alice frowned and was about to leave, but Karina quickly managed to stop her. "Anyone is expected to follow the notice, and was told that anyone who would abandon their group will be suspended indefinitely. I think Black Lotus added that part just for you." Alice’s smile was oozing with sarcasm, but she had no choice but to follow them around. It took them an hour to find a vampire, and it wasn’t even a newborn. Elijah
She practiced her aim and poured her heart out while running. This time, she got the rest she wanted, and no one randomly appeared to bother her training. There were trainees who saw her, but no one dared approach her. She realized that they were put into self-training because there were no availability of trainers. It has never happened before when she was still training. If one of their trainers wasn’t around, there would always be someone who would step up to help. They never got to idle like that, and it somehow worried her. She shook her head. "What would be our future with these kids?" Alice couldn’t help but sigh after watching them from a short distance. She wasn’t expecting everyone to have perfect aim, but they were just bad. Alice couldn’t take it anymore and finally stepped up to help them. They all tensed up when Alice suddenly approached them, but she quickly told them that she simply couldn’t take watching them. "Skills are useless if your stance sucks. You’ll always