A long yawn and a nice stretch were enough for Clementine to be ready for the day. Despite having a room allotted for her on the ninth floor, she preferred to sleep on a thick tree branch on the sixth floor, where no one of note bothered her. Of course, she did return to her room daily to wash herself and clean her equipment, but this was this and that was that.
Out of habit she crouched down and moved through the forest without making a sound, practicing her old ways. No twigs broke under her plate boots, no leaves rustled, a feat few could pull off. Her very nature was that of a silent predator lurking in the shadows, a weapon for her God to use however he saw fit. She was nothing but a hidden blade, always ready to be of use and she would perform the best she could whenever she was needed.
It was by Lord Pero's will that she still drew breath. It was by his will that she was cleansed of her sins. Her last victims and the reasoning for her God's wrath were calling her insane, thinking that the cleansing had broke her, taking away her mind in the process as well. It couldn't be further from the truth. Finally, she was sane; finally, she had a clear purpose in life and that is to be in service of her God.
It was the insanity of the emptiness that was her previous life, devoid of purpose and what she had now. No mortal should ever live without purpose and only pursue trivial desires. That was the true insanity. No, she finally was sane. She finally found her true calling.
"It's you again." Lord Mare's annoyed voice interrupted her prowling. The timid son of the Goddess had sneaked up on her again without her even noticing. Such a thing was expected. No matter how much Clementine trained or grew in power, she would never compare to the floor guardian and his impossible might, nor his sister as well. Even Zesshi would fall before such power.
"Good morning, Lord. I hope I didn't get in your way." Clementine first straightened out and then bowed deeply as befitting of the immense difference in their statuses.
"As long as Uncle lets you stay here, I don't mind," Mare replied while walking past her, determination on his youthful face.
Before she was cleansed, Clementine would have dreamed of breaking a boy with such a pretty face and of drinking in the screams only prepubescent boys, untainted by the world could make, but now she couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship of the Gods in crafting such a perfect lifeform. The works of the Gods were divine in their appearance, she shivered at the possibility of possibly receiving even a fraction of their favor.
There wasn't much time to dwell on the boy's looks as he quickly disappeared into the shadows of the huge trees growing on the sixth floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the realm of the true Gods of the world.
Her first destination was the nearby arena to see if anyone of note was present. 'Maybe Ninya was at her morning training. She was becoming so powerful. She was blessed, and I am… not. Maybe one day I will earn my right to become more. I wonder what sort of creature I would ascend into. Something, fast, silent, and deadly.' Her smirk grew wider as she reached the arena entrance and walked through the tall gates, blades always at the ready.
The mere idea of discarding the weak human flesh and growing into a proper monster made her too excited to think straight, the mere thought of enjoying the Gods' favor flooding her mind.
The familiar sand-covered floor of the arena came into view, but to her disappointment, no one was there. Not even a single soul.
"Why are they not here? How dare they not put all their effort into growing stronger for the Gods?" She quietly growled and glared at the opposite wall.
"The Swords of Darkness went to patrol the forest today, and uncle's consorts are attending some sort of meeting." Another familiar voice informed her from behind.
Clementine flipped around, finding Lady Aura sitting in one of the regular patron seats with a glass of dark, sweet liquid in one hand and a luxurious picture book in another as she slowly drank the bubbling beverage through a straw. The elven girl was leaning against the stone backrest with her legs crossed. Her unruly hair gently shifted in the artificial wind that occasionally rose within the arena, gracing the place with her presence.
"Oh, I see. Thank you for informing me, Lady Aura." Clementine bowed towards the floor guardian.
"Sure… I could summon some of my pets if you want." The daughter of the Goddess muttered absentmindedly as she put down her drink and flipped a page.
"I would be honored, my Lady, but I'm afraid my only use would be to serve as a meal and to stain the sand with my insides should I fight one of your pets." Clementine reminded Aura how the last attempt at her helping with the beasts went, even if she too wanted to train against such strong foes blessed by the Gods.
The creature tore through her with such speed and ferocity that she nearly instantly bled out on the arena floor. With the healer present it wasn't a big problem, but it clearly showed that she couldn't provide much use for the niece of her God. She was simply too weak.
"Aah, right, you were too low of a level to fight anything besides Wisey who is patrolling the forest. I guess you can go on a patrol then.'' Aura glanced up for a moment, but quickly returned her attention to the reading material.
"As you command," Clementine agreed, bowing and walking away to fulfill the command of the young elven girl.
The only floors she could safely move around besides the ninth and the sixth floors were the first three. The fourth floor was a lake with few islands, the fifth floor was a frozen wasteland, and the seventh floor was a burning hellscape. The eighth floor was off-limits to anyone but the Gods themselves.
Another reason for picking the first three floors was the fact that the guardian of those floors was the daughter of her God, one who was instrumental in her having a chance to serve. And any chance to serve was a chance to be utilized.
There was an unspoken mutual agreement to respect each other for their devotion to him, and with that came the privilege to patrol the three floors Lady Shalltear watched over. She hadn't spoken directly with the young vampire, but such privilege surely would come one day if she proved her worth.
Clementine walked towards the nearest portal to ascend upwards in the Great Tomb and soon enough found herself in the catacombs with the permeating aroma of death, something she was intimately familiar with before she had found her true calling.
The patrols of liches and skeletal undead paid no attention to her. She did meet the occasional vampire bride on her path, but like the rest, the beautiful monsters chose to ignore her, favoring performing their duties.
Truth be told, there wasn't much point in putting patrols anywhere beyond the first floor as even most of the Black Scripture wouldn't easily get past the hordes of monsters standing as the first line of defense, and without a divine artifact, nothing would be able to defeat Shalltear Bloodfallen herself, even on the off chance that another entity with divine artifact showed up, it still wouldn't be enough, since surely the Gods already had counter-measure prepared against such scenario. But since there was nothing better to do, Clementine performed the given task with due diligence, scanning the halls.
As she walked in a random pattern throughout the three floors, to throw off any unlikely, but still possible, intruders, she stumbled into a larger room where a group of vampire brides stood in a circle with one of them standing in the middle.
'What are they doing?' Curiosity got the best of her, and she joined the circle to see what was going on.
The vampire bride standing in the middle took out a long knife from the sheathe and held it above her head. "As the God of Murder's chosen, I call for every aspirant to ready themselves, for our God has given part of himself once again."
'Chosen one!? That knife, I have not seen such a weapon before. Its tip looks like it was made out of bone.' Clementine tensed up, sensing the divine touch in this event.
"Only one can be worthy. Show your dedication. Once I leave the circle, you can start." The vampire bride pulled out a long feather from her cleavage and dropped it on the floor.
'It's the Lord's feather!' Without thinking, she leaned down, assuming a catlike position, the feather her sole focus of attention as her instincts kicked in.
'[Ability Boost], [Greater Ability Boost], [Flow Acceleration], [Greater Evasion], [Invulnerable Fortress], [Pace of Wind].' Clementine applied all the martial arts she could to increase her chances against the dangerous monsters, empowering herself to the maximum. Every single one of the vampire brides was a threat on their own, capable of slaughtering entire villages if a strong enough hero with proper gear wasn't around, and there were fifteen of them to contend with. If not for them competing against each other, she wouldn't have any hope of being one of her God's chosen, and as far as she knew, the first mortal to reach such honor in the realm.
The moment the lead vampire bride left the circle, all of them sprang into action. Clementine ducked under a swipe and lunged forward, dashing for the goal. A wave of sharp pain rushed through her body. Her liver had been pierced by the sharp claws of one of her competitors, ripped out from her body. The Lord's cleansing had prepared her to withstand such agony though, this much was nothing. At the corner of her eye, she assessed the attacker's position and with surgical precision jammed one of her stilettos into the vampire's neck, using their body as a springboard.
Another vampire was already grabbing the coveted grand prize. There was no time to waste. Clementine masterfully kicked her competitor in the face, feeling the satisfying crunch of a nose breaking. She used the momentum and with a roll, grabbed the feather, feeling dozens of stabs in her unprotected lower back and legs as she curled up, protecting her prize.
The pain didn't matter. The religious ecstasy she felt surpassed it a thousand times over making her forget whatever kind of injuries she had received. She won. She did it. She was finally one of her God's chosen ones.
The vampire brides stopped the competition and glanced at one another, unsure how to proceed. In the excitement of the contest, none had paid attention to the fact that a mere human had joined in. What's more, the human had won and was firmly grasping onto the Lord's feather while rapidly bleeding out, turning pale right before them.
"What should we do with her?" One of the vampire brides asked the chosen vampire in particular, as they all watched the human woman stain the floor with her blood.
"We should get a healer. This one belongs to Lord Pero. Her life is not ours to take," The chosen one of the vampires replied.
"We can't just demand a healer to come to the third floor without Lady Shalltear's approval," Another one spoke up, nervous.
"We don't have much time. Humans die fast from such injuries." Another vampire bride voiced her concerns. If this human died on their watch, Lord Pero might get displeased, and if Lord Pero was displeased, then Lady Shalltear would be beyond furious. And while the vampire brides would be devastated if they made their lord displeased, they felt more fear towards the wrath that would no doubt be brought upon them by their vampiric master.
"You, run to the ninth floor and find a healer. You, report to Lady Shalltear." The chosen vampire bride ordered her two peers, taking control of the situation. Time was of the essence, and pointless arguments would not achieve anything. If the human woman died, she likely would be resurrected by either Lady Pestonya or one of the Supreme Ones, and wasting their time was unforgivable blasphemy no servant should or would ever consider.
As her peers departed, she knelt before Clementine and pressed her palms against the woman's open wounds to slow down the bleeding. Another of her peers followed her example, ripping off some cloth to bind the wound.
The seconds slowly ticked by, and the smell of blood roused their senses with multiple vampire brides licking their lips. Human blood was a delicious treat most hadn't had a chance to enjoy, and now this precious substance was staining the floor, wasted.
"How did this happen!?" Shalltear's shrill voice could soon be heard screeching throughout the floor.
'Mistress is rightfully angry. I hope she will understand.' The chosen one flinched. Dying by their mistress's hand was a fate she hoped to avoid as all servants did.
Shalltear barged with a dog-headed nurse in tow and shrieked, "Heal her now! If my father's pet dies you will all pay!"
Luckily, the human woman still drew breath and could be brought away from death's door. One healing spell later, Clementine stood up and knelt before Shalltear, exclaiming and presenting the feather, "Look, Mistress Shalltear, I won! I am Lord Pero's chosen!"
Shalltear stared at the feather in stunned silence and then asked, "You all fought for my father's feather?"
"Yes! I won it. He chose me. I am a worthy weapon in his hands." Clementine explained, her breath growing shallow with excitement.
'Did father drop them on purpose? I better get to the bottom of this and not do any rash actions.' Shalltear resisted the urge to distribute punishment freely among all those involved. A far safer and wiser opinion was to contact her father and find out his intentions for such an act. She knew that the human was shallow in mind, whatever had led to this likely wasn't her fault for the most part, and punishment would be of no use. Her vampires she could deal with anytime.
Editing by aidan_lo.
Proofreading by LionLover, clagan, Sluethen, x4x, Milk, fvvck, aidan_lo, and NuggetLover.
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