-----

As Ervas and Veronica saw Gaius slowly recover back the life on his eyes, they walked to a group of humans, the only humans in the entire tribe.

​​

They were four women that were captive in Oggoth's lairs, and had their memories cleansed, from the horrors they went through… for the most part.

That their memories were cleansed did not mean that all the trauma and psychological trauma was not there, or at least their effects, such as shyness, timidity, fragility, and other effects.

This group of four women, despite having the memories of the horrors cleansed, still had dead eyes… although they didn't remember anything of the most terrible of things such as their time while being used as tools for reproduction, they still remembered how their party members were massacred and killed by the monsters and then themselves made into workers for countless months, being badly fed and nourished, amongst many other things.

The four women present originally came from different adventurer parties, of at least four each, and all of such members were killed in their respective fateful days. Ervas and Veronica knew this as they took a peek at their memories when they were trying to cleanse things.

It seemed impossible to cleanse too many memories, as this would make them even more confused and insane, and it might end up in the four falling into insanity and losing their complete sense of self.

They were incredibly fragile now, and after going through so much, even when the most terrible things were cleansed off their minds… they were still desiring their lives to end one way or another.

Ervas and Veronica needed to cheer up the girls before this were to happen, and so, they wanted to help them feed themselves while giving them better clothes other than the white blankets they were wearing above their nude bodies.

"Have you eaten yet?" asked Ervas while carrying many plates with a soup that carried big pieces of meat and boiled potatoes.

The girls seemed alarmed by Ervas' voice, and jumped from their beds, sticking together like alarmed young kittens. Although they were not hissing but fearful.

"Please, calm down…" said Ervas.

"We came here to give you some food, you're all malnourished… and there is a limit in how magic can help your bodies, you also need to ingest food to gain energy," said Veronica at Ervas side.

The girls trembled even more, but as Ervas and Veronica glanced at them, their atmospheres converged together and embraced the group, slowly diminishing their guard as they felt the familiar presence of Veronica, who had once guided them through a dream, and then that of Ervas, whose aura held the embracing warmness of life.

It was a strange feeling, both life, and death living in harmony and embracing their fragile bodies, both energies that would often be the opposite only wanted to help them.

The girls then glanced at Ervas and Veronica's crimson eyes, and felt attracted to them… what they seek the most was death, and as they had Death Attribute Charm, they slowly grew attracted and fascinated to them instinctively.

"Please… please…"

"Please… oh lord of death… please"

"Bring us death…"

"Please kill us, kill us…"

Ervas and Veronica sighed.

"We cannot let you die, that's now how we work in here," said Ervas waving his head.

"Yeah, sorry about it… you're alive and we would prefer for it to stay that way… killing you and making you undead would leave a bad taste in our mouths," said Veronica.

"No…?"

"But…"

"What can we… what can we do then?"

"Death is the only thing… bring us to it, you two… the heralds of life and death…"

"Sorry but no," said Ervas, gently using Telekinesis to move aside the girls that were grabbing on his leather shorts and feet, imploring him to bring upon 'salvation'.

"We can only take good care of you four until you finally feel like living, I suppose," said Veronica, offering the four girls' pieces of bread, cups of water, and soup with meat and potatoes.

The girls glanced at the food with dead eyes… they were hungry, had their throat dry and their bodies would appreciate the food and water… but they couldn't bring themselves to do it… they were incapable of doing what brought them to survive, as they desired death amongst everything else… or to at least be close to it.

"This will be complicated; we cannot simply force them to eat…" said Ervas.

"Yes…" muttered Veronica.

Then, a voice from within Veronica's hollow body appeared.

"Well, how about you convert them into a new race closer to you, who are the heralds of death by them?" asked Shade, Veronica's Light Spirit, who was taking a nap until now.

"That's…" muttered Veronica.

"That should not be possible. The only Vampires capable of transforming other races into Vampires are the Vampire Progenitors, and those are usually the fathers of each Vampire Family in the Demon Continent… I am a mere Dhampir, and I wasn't even originally a Vampire, nor I am a Pureblooded Vampire," said Ervas.

"Exactly… even if Ervas has the characteristics of a Vampire, it doesn't mean that he can make others into them," said Veronica.

Ervas and Veronica had investigated a lot about the demon races when they were Anastacia in their previous lives. Vampires were one of the most interesting and diverse of the Demon Subspecies.

Born as Pseudo Undead, Vampires were night stalkers that were damaged by the sunlight, were weak to silver, and drank blood for nourishment. Their characteristics were remarkably similar to the Vampires on Earth's fiction, and so did their caste system.

Vampires were cold-blooded Demons with pale white skin and crimson eyes, they were perhaps one of the oldest subspecies of Demons and also one of the strongest.

It was said that they originated greatly from the 'Death' aspect of Kelsus' corpse, giving them their unique existence as 'pseudo undead'.

Their weakness to sunlight came from this aspect as well, as they embodied the 'Darkness' or 'Night' from Kelsus, and the 'Light' or 'Day' from Anir naturally clashed against their existences.

Vampires were often depicted as cold and ruthless demons by most of the intelligent races outside of the Demon Continents, but since long ago that they had stopped being savages, and were perhaps one of the most refined of Demon races, preferring to talk and negotiate things out than to fight if a dispute were to someday occur.

Their thirst for blood was connected with their superhuman strength, augmented five senses, and other abilities such as a talent for magic and physical combat, and the more blood they digested, the stronger they would be.

However, because monsters existed in Kritias, drinking the blood of a strong monster was more delicious for Vampires than that of an innocent and virgin woman. Unlike tales about them created by humans or elves, Vampires would not hunt down intelligent species for blood, and they were not controlled by this thirst either. Vampires are also capable of eating food normally and do not need blood for everything.

Vampires were separated in a simple caste system, as the Vampire Progenitors were the first Vampires to have been born, and created the first families of vampires.

Vampires are capable of reproducing sexually with other vampires or most of the 'compatible' races of demons, humans, elves, beastmen, and more, but would usually choose to 'reproduce' by converting other races into their own kind, through a ritual of blood.

Like this, the Vampire Progenitors offered strength in exchange for royalty, gathering large families of many demons, beastmen, humans, elves, and dwarves as subordinates.

Vampire Progenitors are capable of converting most races into either Pureblood Vampires or Subordinate Vampires.

Pureblood Vampires are capable of transforming other races into Subordinate Vampires and are generally stronger than Subordinate Vampires.

Meanwhile, Subordinate Vampires are weaker than Pureblooded Vampires, but are easier to produce than Pureblood Vampires, often composing large groups and even armies, while Pureblood Vampires command them.

Dhampirs, the race that Ervas was currently, was the result that would happen very rarely between a Vampire (any caste) with another compatible race. Dhampirs would often inherit the characteristics of both parents, being considered as 'hybrids' but with a race name.

Dhampirs are often seen as filthy and as a bad omen by most Vampire Families, especially those led by Vampire Progenitors with very conservative minds.

Dhampirs are usually recognizable by their odd-colored eyes, but Ervas was an exception as both of his eyes were crimson red.

Naturally, because he was a Dhampir, he should not be able to create new Vampires through the blood ritual, which was simply as letting the desired subject drink a large quantity of blood from the Vampire.

"Hmm… but Ervas is certainly someone different than a conventional or 'true' Vampire, right? It wouldn't hurt to give it a short" said Shade.

"I guess…" muttered Ervas, as he took a cup and filled it with his blood by opening a small hole on his index finger with his claws.

"Well, this is awkward… but try drinking this," said Ervas, offering the cup to the nearest girl to him, who had long dark-colored hair and chestnut-colored eyes, with a petite physique and a slightly chubby complexion, she seemed to be half-dwarf.

"The blood of my lord… yes… I shall!"

The half-dwarf girl took the cup as she drank the blood, the other three girls glanced at her with eyes wide open, desiring the blood of Ervas as well.

But after she drank it all and a few minutes passed, nothing seemed to have changed…

"I told you, it is not possible for me- Eh?"

Then, although it took some time, the half-dwarf girl changed slightly. Her skin slowly turned pale white and her chestnut-colored eyes became crimson red. Her canines grew to like those of a Vampire, her lips turned red and coquettish, and her body slowly changed more, enhancing her natural beauty, and unleashing a charming presence from her body.

"Aaahh! This... This is it! I... I... I have… I have been reborn!" she said.

"It was worth giving it a shot, it seems," said Shade.

-----