"Reina!" Mary let out a terrified cry for help as she felt the knife's cold steel pressing against her skin.
"Leave her," Reina spat through gritted teeth. "Killing her would accomplish nothing! It won't save you from me!"
"Are you sure?" Lucas tilted his head with a psychotic grin. "If that's the case, then try taking a step forward and watch me kill her."
"....tsk!" a troubling expression washed over Reina's face as she realized what Lucas was trying to do. He had taken Mary hostage.
Despicable! Reina couldn't believe that humans could fall so far as to use their own kind – a child, at that – as bargaining chips.
Mary struggled to break free from Lucas' grip until he pressed his wrist knife on her throat harder, causing her to shriek in pain as yet another drop of her blood dripped down the blade, "Heik!"
"Okay!" Reina's tough expression softened as she saw Mary's suffering. "Stop it…."
Nothing in this world mattered more to her than that little girl's life.
She may have only spent a little more than two years with her, but she was ready to sacrifice anything for her.
Even if that meant giving up her chance to reach the pinnacle of strength again, she had already been there once. She was, after all, one of the seven strongest vampires.
But without any ally keeping her company at the top, it was a lonely existence. She'd rather live weak with one person by her side for life than live strong in solitude.
Heaving a deep sigh, Reina raised her hands and dropped her head.
Her appearance shifted back to normal again– her muscles shrunk, her claws retracted, and her charcoal-ish skin turned back to its human-like color.
"I-I'll give it to you," she spoke while clenching her fists, her nails digging into her palms. "I'll hand you over the beast egg. Just don't harm her–"
Before Reina could admit her defeat, Lucas cut her off. "It's a little too late for that now," he declared."I want more than just the egg."
Confused, Reina shot him a hostile gaze. "What do you mean?"
"I've gone too far with you," Lucas explained. "I've killed your halflings and threatened to kill the girl you care about. If I take the egg, you'll come after me one day. I can't spend my whole life looking over my shoulder for you."
Lucas paused briefly before continuing, "I'm a cautious man, but I know I'll make a mistake eventually. Not now, but in two years or maybe three. One day, I will slip up and let my guard down. And when that happens, you'll be there, waiting to take revenge for what I've done to you."
A deafening silence took over the whole place, with only the sound of the wind howling through the air.
Reina's eyes darted around, scrutinizing the wreckage of the run-down slum house that she had started to grow attached to.
As she took in the charred and twisted remains of the small children, a sense of sadness and rage washed over her.
Amidst the rubble and ash, she caught sight of the faint outlines of their small bodies. They were the burnt corpses of the children she had chosen to turn into her own kind the day she bit them.
Her eyes filled with tears as she gazed upon the tragic scene. She had made a promise to these children - a promise to protect them and give them unimaginable strength.
But before their transformation into full-fledged vampires could be completed, their lives had been cruelly snuffed out.
Now, their bodies lay broken and lifeless amidst the ruins of what had once been their home.
As she took in this sight, she fumed, barely controlling herself for Mary's sake.
Yes, the silver-haired boy was correct. She will definitely go after Lucas after today.
Although she can't follow him into the Global City, she will lay in wait for the perfect opportunity to strike and kill the boy, even if it takes her whole life.
She will take her revenge if she's left alive.
After all, she is a noble vampire. And there's a saying in this world `Vampires don't forget faces` – meaning they always exact their revenge no matter how long it takes them.
That is the reason why Lucas tried to negotiate with her, hoping to get the mythical beast egg from her without shedding blood.
However, in the end, he did end up shedding blood.
So now, if he leaves any loose ends here, he will have to suffer the consequences of these actions in the future.
He can't afford that. The story will already get very messy in the future as is.
Not to mention there are already too many unknown variables popping up, like Hugh Jass and Kai Wiseman.
He doesn't need more trouble to look out for when the time for the final scenarios of this story comes.
Thus, all he can do is eliminate any future threats before they even become threats. It's the most efficient way.
So that's what he decided to do here too. He took the most efficient option.
"I want you to kill yourself," Lucas demanded, his grip tightening around Mary's throat. "Kill yourself or I'll kill this girl."
Reina's eyes widened as she heard that. Her mind numbed as she felt cold.
It wasn't something she hadn't expected him to demand, but it was still ridiculous!
In fact, the moment she decided to cross the border and run away from the vampire territory, she knew a day would come when she'll have to choose between saving Mary's life or her own. After all, she was surrounded by enemies here.
However, she had no idea that this day would come this soon.
"...Are you out of your mind?!" Reina yelled, trying to reason with Lucas. "She is a human, just like you! I am not versed in your laws, but doesn't your government forbid you to take another human, dwarf, or elf's life?"
"They do, but who's going to know?" Lucas scoffed. "People, especially children, die in slums on a regular basis. That law that you speak of is only applicable if you're rich enough to live in cities. No one will know if I kill one slum girl."
"Tsk!" Reina clicked her tongue, knowing that any further attempts to reason with the silver-haired boy would result in failure.
The emotionless look in his eyes told her that he really would kill the girl without a speck of hesitation if it came down to it.
He truly was a monster….
He was really ready to kill an innocent human girl just like that.
Reina clenched her fists as she conflicted over her next move.
What should she do?
No, it's more like….
What could she do?
"No! Reina, don't listen to him!" as Reina was calculating her options, Mary shouted while struggling to escape Lucas' hold. "Do not kill yourself for me! Do not listen to this— Heeik!"
Slash—!
Splurt—!
Before she could continue screaming and kicking the ground, Lucas seized her neck with a tight grip and brushed down the razor-sharp edge of his wrist blade against her delicate cheek, slicing open a fresh wound and spilling her blood once more.
"Okay! Okay! Stop!" Reina's heart raced as she heard Mary's cry, and panic consumed her.
She lifted her hands in a gesture of surrender and shouted at Lucas to halt.
A defeated expression crossed her face, and she let out a resigned sigh as if she was accepting her fate.
"I'll do it," she said with a hint of pain in her voice. "But just promise me one thing - don't hurt Mary… Please."
"No!! Reina, please! No!"
"It's fine, Mary… I knew this day would come someday…."
As Mary continued to scream and cry, Reina tried to calm her down.
When she crossed the border that day, she had steeled herself for the possibility of facing death at any moment.
And given the choice of how to meet her end, Reina would have gladly embraced the opportunity to perish while protecting Mary.
But at last, when her time came, she only had one regret… she couldn't spend more time with Mary. She won't be able to watch her grow up and live her life.
But it's fine. Reina could content herself, knowing that she would at least get to live.
So as Mary's cries of helplessness echoed in the background, Reina fixed a firm gaze on Lucas and issued a stern demand.
"If you have any shred of humanity left in you, promise me that you won't take her life. She's just a child and innocent at that," she said, a hint of contempt still visible in her tone. "I didn't bite her so she could blend into your society and return to her human life. So please… don't take it away from her."
Hearing Reina's earnest plea, Lucas looked upon the terrified girl that he was holding as his heart panged in remorse.
He didn't want to do this either– take a little girl hostage and demand such a cowardly thing. However, he wasn't strong enough.
So he nodded in response. "In my name, I, Lucas, Morningstar, promise you this– I won't kill this girl."
