Silence fell and the hearts of those poor adventurers froze. The terrifying scene had petrified them on the spot. Those crimson eyes held danger like no other and looking at the vermillion eyes of Lilith’s family their souls felt indescribable horror. As for Lilith, she had no ulterior motive. She had been alone for two years in this forest. She still has her family but it’s not the same. Even if they are as intelligent as human their behaviour is more like that of loyal pets.

Lilith’s longing for social interaction comes from the desire ingrained in all sapient species created by the eight gods. Even if she is nothing more than a half-breed she can’t go against such a base instinct. Much less after becoming a vampire. Her thirst for interaction with others comes from her own hunger and instinct for survival.

As such, she only wants to make her family grow. Have someone to talk to and regain some of her lost normalcy. She knew that if she drank their blood, just like her family, they would become loyal to her. She understood that if she did it, they would never be able to go back to society but at this point, she didn’t care. She felt starved for interaction and she would get what she desired.

“W-what d-do you m-mean”

Mia’s eyes couldn’t help but look around in an attempt to find a way to scape. Her heart pounded on her ears as her breath grew fast and unstable. Her fight or flight instincts were telling her to flee but her reason told her that she would die as soon as she tried. Lilith took Mia’s chin and looked straight into her emerald eyes and an impulse took over her. A strong desire to taint those eyes with the colour of her family took over her. Soon enough her fangs dug on Mia’s soft neck.

“Mia!”

Both her friend’s screams could be heard in the background alongside Mia’s groans. Mia instinctively tried to resist but as soon as she moved her arms they were held by Lilith. Such a small child held enough strength to kill beasts with her bare hands much less hold down a struggling elf. Mia’s struggle became weaker and weaker as her skin turned a sickly pale white.

As Lilith kept drinking she enjoyed the flavour. It was akin to that of a sweet herbal tea alongside the normal ferrous taste of blood. Because of this she almost forgot to stop herself from draining her dry. Her life force had been drained to the point were only a tiny bit remained.

“Y-you killed her! Monster! Even if you kill us other adventurers will come and kill you!”

“Damnit! I will kill you myself!”

Stan and Evangeline stood up and ran towards Lilith with newfound courage. They knew that they would be killed by the beasts that seemed to protect this monster child. However, the nightmare wasn’t over. In the next instant, their charge was stopped by a heavy blow to the gut. Looking up they saw their dead friend looking at them with a pale white skin and vermillion red eyes. A soft smile on her lips.

“Kill master Lilith? I am sorry but I can’t allow it. Why would you want to kill such a wonderful master?”

Mia’s eyes held adoration towards her beloved master. When she was dying the pain suddenly vanished and the memories of past grief became dull and grey. She lost interest in the world and the only thing that seems to bring colour to her life was Lilith. She made a bow in her heart to serve this person forever.

“M-mia? What did she do to you?”

“Mia! It’s us, your friends. Come on listen to us!”

Stan and Evangeline tried their best to reason with their beloved friends. In the past, this trio had gone through thick and thin together. They had fought many beasts and monsters. They had shared happiness and grief as such they refused to believe their friend had become their enemy.

“What master did to me? She gave me a gift! Isn’t it lovely!? It doesn’t hurt anymore and I feel so happy! If you join master too you can also be happy”

“I will never join such a fucking monster!”

In the next instant, Stan’s neck was cut by Mia’s nails. Due to her profession as an adventurer, she preferred her nails short. However, now they had grown a few centimetres out of nowhere resembling claws. The poor guy could do nothing more than hold his neck as blood continued to flow out. A few seconds later, he died.

“I won’t allow anyone insulting master. Death is the only punishment for those that commit such a sin”

Hearing this Lilith felt immense joy. She knew her beast familiars were the same, she could feel their feeling through their bond. However, hearing it was different and it made her happy. On the other hand, Evangeline was horrified. Mia had killed Stan right in front of her. That gentle soul that would heal them whenever they were in trouble. That kind person who had a hard time with bloodshed. She had killed him in cold blood.

“So, will you accept my master’s gift, Evangeline?”

“Mia, I, I don’t want to die. Please don’t do this”

“Will you or will you not!?”

“No! I don’t want to become a monster! I don’t want to d-”

Her words were cut short as her neck had been cut too. Just like Stan, she died soon after. Mia’s heart was calm, all her feelings towards these people had been alienated. She felt like they were nothing, and in fact, she only gave them a chance because that’s what her master wanted. Suddenly she realized something and a cold sweat began running down her spine. A primal fear took over her body as she felt like her life was escaping her.

Looking at the floor the spilt blood was everywhere and her heart sank to the bottom of the abyss. She had wasted her beloved master’s food in a fit of anger. Desperation took over her as tears began to form. She felt like a puppy abandoned in the rain to die. Would her master hate her? Would she discard her? Had she become a burden?

“It, alright”

Lilith felt her Family’s feelings through their bond. She understood that Mia was under distress and she knew why. After drinking Mia’s blood Lilith discovered that she could read some of her memories. And from those, she understood a few things about Mia. For starters, she is an outcast of elven society. The reasons are still unknown but the feeling of alienation from her kind is there.

Because of this Mia had been alone for a long time and after meeting new people she was extremely afraid of being alienated again. Now her transformation seemed to have turned the dial to eleven in this aspect and her fear had grown even stronger but it was now only directed towards Lilith as well.

“But master, I wasted your food. I must be punished! I will do anything you ask of me!”

Mia threw herself onto the floor begging to be punished and from the bond, Lilith could tell that Mia was unwilling to receive any other answer. Because of this Lilith fell into a dilemma. She loves her family, even Mia. After Mia turned and the bond was established this love grew instantly like with any other of her family members. Thinking about this Lilith took a decision and so gave an order.

“Hug”

“What!? But that is more like a reward I can’t accept that!”

“Disobey, bad. Hug”

“That, I, even so, I still need to be punished”

“Hug!”

Lilith didn’t want to hurt her family no matter what so she decided that the best way was to end it with a simple hug. Mia couldn’t refuse and so she hugged Lilith. In the beginning, it was a bit awkward, however, soon enough they grew used to it. Mia’s body was still warm, after all it hadn’t been that long since she had died. On the other hand, Lilith’s body was cold to the touch. Even so, neither cared and instead they concentrated on enjoying the feeling.

Both feel warm and cosy in each other embrace and it made memories surface in each other’s mind. On Lilith’s side, she was reminded of her mother and she wondered if this is how it could have felt like if she had an older sister. On Mia’s side, she was reminded of her dead sister. She had died due to an illness at the age of thirteen. In her heart, the image of her Lilith slowly superimposed itself over her sister’s image. In the end, Mia’s sisterly instincts took over and so she felt like Lilith had become her own sister.

Their bond became mature at that moment and it had changed into a sisterly bond between the two. One being a vampire and the second being it’s loyal thrall and yet in the heart’s of each other they were extremely important to one another.

After the event, they enjoyed the remaining blood from Stan’s and Evangeline’s corpses. Stan’s blood tastes earthy with a hint of mint as for Evangeline it was the same sweet and greasy taste. The rest of the day flew by peacefully as the two talked while playing around with Sapphire and the others.

Lilith learned a few things about the outside world and her own location. Currently, she is in the deepest parts of Elmer forest. Mia also explained about the Liberty association, also commonly known as the adventurers guild her team’s ranks. The three adventurers were D ranked adventurers and they had gotten lost in the forest. Without knowing the went into the deeper parts and got attacked by the spider-bear which is a C ranked monster.

Mia made some calculations and from the looks of it, the town they came from, which is the town of Tarkove, should be about a three-day walk. A three day walk if they went at a normal human speed. Thinking about it Lilith made a decision. In the future, she will go to the city and try to reintegrate herself into society!