Ryo thought of the various uses a shadow could do. Since it is undetectable, he could have it spy on someone without their knowledge. A shadow could blend in on their prey's shadow to hide it's existence. He could use it to spy on Rei to finally find out how Rei was being controlled.
'Damn, I'm spending so much effort on this.'
He could only sigh and hope to solve this mystery sooner. Although playing detective is fun, it's consuming too much energy from him. He wants to resume his postponed leisurely life.
His only concern was the amount of blood his tiny body could spill and the success rate of summoning a 'shadow'. Although the Shadow summoning requirement was only the vampire blood, the success rate depends on the quality of the blood. Even if the royal family's blood was used, it could only guarantee 95% success rate and since he was only a noble vampire, his success rate was only 70%.
Nevertheless, even if the success rate was not so reassuring, at least there's still a possibility of success so it didn't dampen his mood. Since the summoning circle has slightly complex runes, Ryo decided to practice drawing it first. He doesn't have too much blood to waste. He was relieved though that tonight will be a full moon so he could finally summon a shadow.
He felt like he was pressed on time, although he doesn't know why, so he wants to summon a 'shadow' as soon as possible to finally get some information on the nanny's plans. After having his lunch, Ryo locked his room and practiced drawing the summoning circle on a piece of paper.
He was doing well at first but for some reason, he would always mess up in the middle of it. Sometimes the runes sizes were uneven so he had to draw everything all over again but he didn't mind and continued drawing without rest.
When nighttime finally came, countless crumpled papers were scattered carelessly all over the floor. Ink stained the table he was drawing on. Ink was also smeared on his palm and fingertips that were slightly shaking from being overused.
The fingertips that were slightly trembling were holding a piece of paper as a satisfied and proud smile blossomed in his pretty face.
"Fucking finally!" He said, rejoicing at his success. He pumped his fist in the air as he proudly congratulated himself.
He was finally resting after a few hours of drawing nonstop with a satisfied smile when a knock disturbed his peace. He couldn't help but sigh as he spoke.
"What is it?" He said without even moving from his chair and didn't even bother to unlock the door.
"Ryo-sama, it's time for the evening meal." The servant reminded him.
"Alright, I'll be there in a jiffy." He said with a yawn and stood up lazily to clean himself up.
He ignored the crumpled papers on the floor as he stepped on some of it on his way out.
…
The moon that was high up in the sky was illuminating the night at its brightest, outshining the stars that used to twinkle brightly.
It's light illuminated the room that was filled with darkness through the opened casement door by the balcony. It's light dazzling the space in the room that the gap was allowing it to.
A boy was standing alone in the room that was illuminated by the moonlight, silently gazing up at the full moon. The boy appreciated the beauty of it and then gazed down on his forearm with firm resolution in his eyes.
The boy was holding a sharp object that glinted when light shed upon it. He stabbed his forearm without even batting an eyelid but to his dismay, instead of penetrating the skin, the sharp object fell apart upon contact with the boy's skin. A slight surprise was evident in his face and was soon enveloped in confusion.
However when he thought of something, the confusion in his face was gradually cleared away as he recalled the information in his mind.
He's a vampire that successfully overcame the ceremony so naturally his body wasn't as frail as before. His skin won't be penetrated by anything unless it is coated with silver or a werewolf's fangs or if a vampire's claws with the same or higher standing than him was used.
'What a bother...'
He clicked his tongue, dissatisfaction was evident in his face. He looked at his hands and focused on protruding his claws. The feeling of how his claws were extending outwards was an uncomfortable sensation for him since it was his first time experiencing something like this.
Since it was his first time, he couldn't separate his control and focus on a specific part so his fangs were also protruding in the process. He sighed as he tapped the protruding fangs on his lips using his claw.
Without further ado, he raised his hand and slashed his skin using his claws. The claws penetrated deep enough that it severed the radial artery, causing blood to spurt out.
He was expecting this outcome so he covered the wound with a tube like object the moment his blood spurted out. In that way, he could control the blood's direction. Just like filling up ink in a pen. He immediately drew a summoning circle, putting every drop of blood to use. If a normal person were to do this, they would be unconscious within 30 seconds and their life would be snuff out in two minutes.
Thanks to his vampire attributes, his self-healing ability was rapidly working to save the boy's body. It prevented him from fainting as it slowly healed his severed artery.
When he was done drawing the summoning circle with his blood, the wound stopped bleeding and was still in the process of restoring the garish wound. His claws retracted and turned to normal along with his fangs.
He was drenched with sweat all over, his tawny skin looked paler than ever. His lips were purplish as he panted heavily. He felt weary from everything that he directly collapsed on the floor on his butt outside the circle.
It was obvious that this kind of task was too much for his young body. It was admirable how he was able to hold up after doing such a laborious task.
The moonlight illuminated the summoning circle and Ryo waited with obvious anticipation in his eyes. He waited for a few minutes but nothing happened. He couldn't help but to feel slightly anxious.
'No way, did it fail?'
He bit his pale lips as he anxiously waited for the magic to happen, still holding on to that guaranteed 70% success rate as his only hope. He shed too much blood just for this. It would really break his heart if this turned out to be a failure and turn his efforts into waste.
Just as he was slowly sinking into despair, the summoning circle glowed with blood red light, seemingly absorbing the moonlight's essence. It glowed brighter and brighter that it started to sting his eyes. Vampires have sensitive senses and he was young so he had no choice but to close his eyes and save them from going blind.
The summoning circle was glowing at its peak when Ryo suddenly felt extreme pain all over his body. He felt like his blood was boiling at the highest temperature as if wanting to melt his entire being. He collapsed on the ground in pain.
He couldn't even move a finger or howl in pain. It was so painful that he started to hope for someone to save him from this agony. So painful that he almost thought that it would make his dead heart start beating again.
His self-healing ability didn't help alleviate his situation, instead it pulled him deeper in pain. He couldn't even fall unconscious because of his self-healing that was working rapidly making him go mad from the pain. Tears streamed down his face as he suffered in silence. Snot flowing freely as he couldn't even move a finger, much less wipe the tears and snot on his face. It was unsightly.
'Shit...please somebody save me...'
He recalled his sister's smiling face without worries. Their parents were happily singing along with them even if their voices were out of tune. They were so happy and content with their simple life. He hoped that peace and happiness could last forever.
Their parents were good people and raised them up properly to keep them from being led astray. They didn't do anything bad to anyone but heaven didn't let their family off. Heartlessly retrieved their parent's lives.
They were too young, too vulnerable to be suddenly left all alone like that. He couldn't help but feel the resentment, anger, and sorrow he had already buried at the deepest part of his heart. He couldn't stop it from resurfacing from the pain he was currently feeling. He thought he already got over it but it seems like he was wrong. Too many negative emotions were wreaking havoc in his entire being.
He wanted to know why it has to be him and his sister to lose their parents. He wanted to question all the Gods out there, if ever they were real, why they had to ruin his peace and happiness. He wanted to know what he did so wrong for them to suffer like that.
Why was the criminal who killed their parents, living so freely as if he didn't ruin a family. Why was that guy not dead. Why was that criminal not even suffering like his sister and him? He felt so wronged and aggrieved.
He felt like dying.
He was on the verge of collapse when the pain finally stopped. His whole body was trembling as it recalled the pain it experienced just a moment ago. His tears were still streaming down his face as snot freely flowed out from his nose. He was gasping air so hard as saliva trickled down his lips to the floor.
His eyes landed on the summoning circle and saw the dark entity he was hoping to see. He forced himself to sit up, his arms still trembling but he paid it no mind as he wiped his snot, saliva, and tears using his drenched clothing. It was gross but he doesn't have the energy to spare any thought about it.
The dark entity's outline has the slightest bit of semblance of a human but it has no legs. It's body extended to the summoning circle like a dress, only the upper body was quite similar to a person. It was a faceless creature. It has very long spread-out digits covered with a thin membrane.
"This humble servant salutes my liege." The dark entity said, its croaky voice filled with utmost respect.
Ryo stared at the dark entity who was still in a half-kneeling position, it's right wing placed on top of it's chest, and it's head was deeply bowed down. He recalled that in the book, it said that once the summoning was successful, the summoned 'shadow' is automatically bound to him with a master-servant contract.
The shadow would do everything the master ordered for it to do with utmost respect and without any reservation. The book also noted that to amplify the shadow's aptitude, naming it would be a necessity.
Granting it a name would enhance it's intelligence and skills. So asserting your dominance over it should also be done to gain full control of it if it's given a name.
Also, he wasn't thinking too much about it before but he couldn't help but recall the sudden onslaught of negative emotions he felt while he was in agony. It receded so peacefully as if he never felt it earlier that's why he unconsciously overlooked that part.
He wondered if the process of summoning of the shadow not only relied on the blood of the vampire but also fed on the negative emotions of the one summoning the shadow.
It was such a sadistic summoning method. It only required the blood and the moonlight's essence to activate the circle but the process of summoning the shadow was demanding. It seems to submerge the host in great agony to amplify the negative emotions they feel.
The greater the negative emotions, the greater the amount of negative energy it can absorb to succeed in summoning a shadow. It also seems to challenge the willpower to withstand the agony and negative emotions of the summoner.
That was all just his speculations though, but he knows there was some truth in there. The book didn't say that he would undergo such agony. It only explained how to draw the summoning circle as well as the requirements, also a little explanation about the shadow. It looks like the book was missing some information so it was not entirely reliable. He sighed as he wiped the sweat off his forehead using his still trembling hand.
"Withdraw for now." Ryo said as he stood up weakly, not paying any more attention to the thing he summoned.
"Yes, my liege." The shadow said with it's croaky voice and blended into the darkness.
The summoning circle was already gone as if it was never there. He felt relieved that he didn't have to clean up the crime scene and closed the casement door. His ruby eyes were glinting in the darkness as a triumphant smirk blossomed on his pale face.