Chapter 24 – Mina Nosferati

Mina’s POV:

My name is Mina Nosferati, and right now, I may be in trouble. I’m waiting for my turn to speak with a 6-year-old kid who happens to be the lord of this territory. He looks harmless, but first impressions are often deceiving, despite his age and looks, he is a capable magician able to draw a massive soul contract magic circle, and he has managed to convince hundreds of people to accept the said soul contract. Even those most reluctant to accept it seem to have done so in the end, I’m not sure of what kind of mind magic he has used on them, but I won’t let him affect me! He is talking with a dwarf at the moment, and for the looks of it, soon it will be my turn to speak with him. As for why I am in my current predicament, it all began three years ago in a faraway land…

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Vampire territory, in the Kaltena continent. Three years ago…

Mina: “Mother, do you really have to go?”

Mina’s mother: “I’m sorry, sweetheart, I don’t really have a choice! Mommy will be back before you know it, ok? No, dear, don’t cry, please!”

Mina: “But -sob- I don’t want you -sob- to go away!”

Mina’s mother: “Mina, dear, hear me out! You are a very special girl, and many people will want to use you. Don’t trust any vampire! As someone with my blood, you’ll always be in danger, so I’ve arranged for you to enter an academy in the Klasten continent. The headmistress' name is Hildegarde Hexenwunder. After meeting her tell her these words ‘Ich habe das Blut des Grimm, und ich bin hier die Zukunft zu schützen!’, she’ll know what to do! I’ll be back in a year, but if I don’t come back, promise me that you’ll leave this cursed land and go to the academy!”

Mina: “I promise, mother!”

Mina’s mother: “One last thing! Take this marble, and bond it with your blood!”

Mina: “Mother, why did the marble disappear?”

Mina’s mother: “It didn’t. It just entered your body, I just hope that you will never have to learn about its function… Goodbye, dear!”

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That was the last time I ever saw my mother, and after she left, everything went wrong. The following morning, the news of her departure had already spread like wildfire, and numerous representatives from other vampire clans came to ask my father for my hand. I was only a 10-year-old little girl, yet they were asking my hand in marriage, I guess that was the reason why my mother told me not to trust any vampire other than myself!

I’m a variant vampire, a daywalker, who can eat normal food and survive without consuming blood. Technically, I should be a half-vampire, given that my mother was a human, but due to her special lineage, I turned out to be a pureblood variant vampire, which makes me really valuable in the eyes of the other vampires, because I might be able to pass down my daywalking trait to my descendants, empowering that way whichever clan that manages to obtain me.

The only thing sheltering me from this dispute among the vampire clans, was my mother’s presence, but now that she was gone, that pack of wolves wouldn’t back down until someone obtained me as a prize! Even my uncle Rüdiger asked my father for my hand, and he was directly related to me by blood! I never thought that my mere existence would lead to a civil war in the vampire territory, and to the demise of my own clan!

In the end, my uncle Rüdiger enlisted the help of the Teppes clan, and killed my father. He really thought that after my father’s death, he’d be able to have his way with me, but his own allies took his life, for they wanted to keep me for themselves. They tied me up, and put a slave collar on me so that I’d be forced to obey their every order. For two years, I was moved from one place to another, while the civil war continued taking lives of fellow vampires.

When I turned 12 years old, I was deemed capable of bearing children without risk for my life, so they took me to the room of the clan’s head, the reason being crystal clear even for a 12-year-old girl like me. I desperately tried to call for help, but the slave collar impeded me to do so. Helpless, I watched my own body move towards them against my will, and when ordered to strip, the slave collar didn’t leave me any other option but to do so, therefore, they really thought they’d have their way with me… until something unexpected happened!

Right when the clan’s master was about to take my chastity, the marble my mother had gifted me before departing appeared in front of me, created a magic shield around me, and discharged a lightning bolt to his manhood, literally burning it to ashes. Not even with the high regeneration vampire trait would he be able to recover from that, for the head, and that part, are the only body parts the regeneration is unable to recreate.

All the men in the room were utterly terrified, and they waited until the magic shield wore off before approaching me. They were so scared of me they didn’t even dare to directly touch me, so they gave me orders to move, through the slave collar. After holding a meeting, the elders of the clan decided to give it a last try, but when there was a similar occurrence, they agreed to give me away to some other clan. Two clans later, rumors about what happened to whomever dared to touch me had spread through the vampire territory, and no clan wanted anything to do with me anymore. Finally, the civil war came to an end, and they sold me to a slave trader for just 1 silver, under the condition that I was to be taken away from the continent.

Half a year later, I ended up in the basement of a slave shop, in a city in the middle of nowhere. The slave trader knew better than to put his hands on me, so I ended up being much luckier than other female slaves in the shop. A couple of weeks after my arrival, I saw through the bars on the door that the slave dealer and his guards were bringing in two little beastman girls, but I didn’t expect at the time that just a few hours later someone would come rescue them, freeing the rest of the slaves in the shop in the process.

And the one responsible for all that was the little 6-year-old kid who was talking with a dwarf in the tent in front of me. I really don’t know what to think about him, he is way too young to do most of the things he is said to have done… therefore, I’d usually think those were just rumors, but seeing him draw and activate the soul contract magic circle proved me otherwise. Well, the dwarf has finally come out of the tent… and he has stepped into the magic circle too, so is my turn to go into the tent now. Let’s see how it goes!

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Merlin’s POV:

That dwarf was really hard to convince, he only agreed to remain here, at my service, after I showed him a clepsydra and promised to teach him how to make one, and also how to make other new mechanisms I know of. I made the clepsydra for the girls, I never really thought I would end up using it this way…

Oh! The beautiful vampire girl has just entered the tent, it may be unbecoming of me thinking this, given that I’m currently a 6-year-old, but she’s hot, like crazy hot! Almost every model back on Earth would be considered plainly attractive compared to her, and she’s just 13, I can’t wait to see how beautiful she becomes when she finishes developing. Now that I think of it, it is really strange that she was left untouched and unsold, given her looks… not that I’m going to pry into it, if she doesn’t want to talk about it herself I won’t ask. She seems to be on guard against me, I don’t like it, but it’s better for her to be that way than being too trusting. I’ve got a feeling that this one won’t be staying in Ragnarök… let’s hear what she’s got to say!

Mina: “I won’t let you bewitch me like the others! I’ve got a mission to accomplish, and I will not let you to stop me!”

Merlin: “Ok… I have no idea why you think I put the others under a spell to step into the circle and make the contract, but I didn’t. I’m good, but not that good! May I ask what that mission you mentioned is?”

Mina: “I need to go to Klausna Kingdom and enter their top academy to meet with its headmistress, Hildegarde Hexenwunder. That obviously means I can’t remain here any longer, however I thank you for saving me back then, I’ll make sure to repay you in the future!”

Merlin: “Ok, I think I’ve started to understand your situation, but there are several flaws in your plan!”

Mina: “Really?! Would you be so kind to point them out for me, please?” *You are not going to get me little boy!*

Merlin: “Well, for starters, there are 8 months left until the beginning of the new academic year, so you won’t be able to enter any academy on the continent before then. Then there is your mission, which for what I understand, requires you meeting with Lady Hildegarde Hexenwunder. You said you were going to Klausna Kingdom’s top academy to meet her, didn’t you?”

Mina: “Yes, what about it?”

Merlin: “You see… I’ve received a scholarship for Hexenwunder Royal Academy, here in the Shephiran Kingdom. This is only a wild guess, but given the name of the academy, and that my scholarship was signed by the academy’s headmistress, Lady Hildegarde Hexenwunder, I’d say even if you were able to enter Klausna Kingdom’s top academy without falling into slavery again, you wouldn’t be able to meet her!”

Mina: “If you say so…” *Damn! Now that I think about it, mother said Lady Hexenwunder was the headmistress of an academy in the Klasten continent. She never specified in which kingdom of the continent her academy was located! From the bits of information I gathered from the other slaves, I just assumed the academy was in Klausna Kingdom, fortunately, I’ve discovered the truth before going there!*

Merlin: “Now that the matter of your mission has been sorted out, will you join my city?”

Mina: “Sorry, but I won’t, as I previously said, I don’t want to be forced to serve you for life!” *There is no way I’m going to put myself in such a disadvantageous position… it’d be different if it were an equals contract instead of a master-servant one…*

Merlin: “Ok, then. I’ll make arrangements for your accommodation until you head for the academy.”

Mina: “I’m thankful for that, but there is still the matter about the soul contract…”

Merlin: “Eh?! What do you mean? Didn’t you reject the soul contract just a second ago?”

Mina: “I rejected the master-servant soul contract that you did with the others, but if it’s an equals soul contract, then I wouldn’t mind!”

Merlin: “Master-servant soul contract? Equals soul contract? Do you mean to tell me that there are different kinds of soul contracts from the one I use?”

Mina: “So you didn’t know! No, they are actually the same soul contract, but based on the terms agreed in the contract, soul contracts are divided in those two categories. The only actual difference between the two is that a master-servant soul contract only applies the penalty upon breach of contract to the servant party, while an equals soul contract applies the penalty upon breach of contract to either of the parties.”

Merlin: “Ok, let’s do it then!”

Mina and I agreed on the terms for the soul contract: 1-Never betray me, my family, or the city of Ragnärok. 2-Anything pertaining to the city that is said to be secret, mustn’t be told to outsiders. 3-I too must never betray her.Any breaking of the rules will lead to the death and destruction of the soul of the said individual. It was similar to the contract accepted by the others, with the exception of the third term of the contract "You must follow me until the day of your death" which made the other contract a master-servant one.

In Mina's contract, however, "I too must never betray her" is a term that not only puts us as equals in the contract, it also ensures I won't misuse the contract and take advantage of her through it! She's a really smart girl! I drew a second magic circle to make to make the soul contract effective. During its activation, we drank each other’s blood, as per the vampire customs. We went out of the tent to meet with the others afterward.

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