"So we finally meet again, Beatrice, or should I say teacher?"
Merciless murmured under his voice as he regarded the blond-haired beauty, and Beatrice was by far the most intriguing of all the females he had encountered. She casually exited a conference convened by his father, and no one questioned her nasty behavior; nonetheless, he thought that this woman and he were similar in many ways.
However, the source of these similarities is unknown. But he was quickly pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Hector speaking to him and saw Merciless in the rearview mirror.
"My alpha, we have arrived. Just give me a moment so I can get the door for you."
With those comments, Hector departed the highlander and made his way to the back, unlocking the door for Merciless to exit.
Merciless exited through the rear door, giving Hector a serious look as he was ready to give him an order; but, before he could complete his words, Hector went on his knees as Hector instructed.
"My alpha, don't worry about the girl; I will see to it that I retrieve her from the asylum at all costs."
Hector said surprising Merciless, who was surprised because he didn't even need to speak for Hector to comprehend his intentions? Was he really this easy to read at this moment?
"There's no need to be surprised, my alpha; it's only common sense to understand what your next orders would be given the events you've just gone through." And once again, I express my sincere condolences for your loss; the gods will pay; you have my complete support in this affair."
Hector spoke up, glancing up at Merciless, who had suffered a heavy blow to his undead heart. But seeing Hector's supportive assertiveness made him smile, and he responded in kind.
"Hahah, Hector Goodmen, my friend... I see. So, I'll leave it to you; it's better not to dwell on it too much, right? Otherwise, we won't get anything done; haha! "Well played, well played indeed."
Merciless commented, and Hector returned his alpha's smile; however, both of them were taken aback when they heard an approaching voice.
"Kywhuuuahakyahahaha... my, my, it appears you two have already become quite close; good, good, strong bonds between master and servant are supposed to be like that." Anyways... It's great to see you again, Merciless! and you too, Hector."
Beatrice spoke up, turning towards Merciless and Hector. Merciless then turns to face Beatrice and greets her.
"Agh. Elder Beatrice, it's good to see you again."
Merciless commented: Beatrice then placed her right finger on her lips and gave Merciless a serious look, her eyes surveying him from head to toe.
"Hmmm Ah!" Haha... oh my, this is... this is just incredible, two days in, and you've already begun to shed your dead body; good, fantastic; that's how a future artist should be... heheh!"
"Shed my dead body." An artist? Heheh... Um! Yeah, yeah! Sorry if this sounds stupid, but I don't understand what you're saying. Please adapt to English!"
"Artist, bio-users terminology for vampires capable of evolving their undead bodies due to their Ichor, which can cause one or multiple physical changes in themselves or others." Like me, and from what I can tell, you as well. Hehe! Good, good, you have extraordinary talent... assistant."
Beatrice said this with a wide, sneaky, and adorable smile on her face as she chuckled suspiciously, her eyes darting from side to side at times as if trying not to appear oddly eager.
Merciless, on the other hand, simply stared at her mischievous antics. And he promptly shut them again, regaining his demeanor and control. On that point, he responded in kind.
"I see; that's some interesting information, but based on what you said, I assume you notice my lack of vampirism, am I right?" You're glancing at my left arm and chest with quite, the great ordeal of interest."
"Am I fufu? I get what you mean; there's no reason to be shy as a teacher or an assistant. We'll spend a lot of time getting to know each other's bodies. After all, anatomy is a branch of biology."
Beatrice remarked this as she approached Merciless, staring up at him. Beatrice was incredibly short in Merciless's opinion; at this point, she appeared like a cute doll, while Merciless was like a handsome and charismatic giant in Beatrice's opinion.
Beatrice stood at 4'11 in natural height and 5'2 in red high heels. Being concealed beneath her blood-red ball gown, which sags somewhat on the ground. On that note, Merciless responded to the adorable and cunning big-breasted Lolibaba.
"Has anyone ever told you that your mouth is a work of art? Hehehe... you talk strangely, even though I know nothing." I feel like I can still comprehend your encrypted crap; it's just amazing; this has indeed amused me."
Merciless chuckled to himself, amused by her strange discourse.
"Oh my. Fufufu! Look who's all pompous right now, heheh... Very amusing. In any case, how about we move on? "Could you please tell me how good you are at fighting?"
"How... good am I at fighting?"
"To be honest, I'm a total rookie, but if I had to say, adding Hector as standard battle equipment and treating him like a conscious sword with arms and legs, I got to say I'm pretty fucking good at fighting and killing." But why did you ask me this in the first place? Are you being harassed or something?"
Beatrice was questioned by Merciless. Who smiled even more suspiciously at his question and responded in kind.
"Is that correct?" That's excellent; it's 11:54 p.m. right now, but as things stand, we won't need to act for another twenty minutes; isn't that great?"
"Wait, what are you even talking about?"
"You will see; now follow me. This is rather important."
Beatrice made a remark as she entered the golf club. Merciless then looked to Hector, who raised his shoulders, suggesting that he, too, was perplexed by what Beatrice was leading him into. Merciless then turned at Beatrice, who was casually walking into the golf club, gesticulating with her hands and signaling for him to follow.
Merciless eventually began to pursue Beatrice as he approached her, rapidly catching up with her the instant he did so. As he remarked, he began to question Beatrice further.
"So, are you into golf? I never took you as the sporty type, Ms. Beatrice."
"Just call me Beatrice, and to answer your question, I don't play golf." We've come here for something far more essential. I could do it myself, but I believe it is preferable to get acclimated to it early on. After all, we'll be doing it rather frequently in the future."
"Doing what exactly?"
"Shopping without paying."
Beatrice responded, further perplexing Merciless as he pondered for more information.
"Shopping? Without having to pay? So, essentially, robbery."
"Nothing like that—I am an elder vampire; don't compare me to the ruffians on the street." This golf club is nothing more than a ruse; what lies beneath is what matters."
"Underneath, and what exactly is underneath this place?"
"You'll find out soon enough why I summoned you here." Aside from that, it is not the appropriate place to ask such queries; you never know when a rat is observing. There are eyes and ears everywhere on the surface. Just keep quiet for a little while longer, and you'll realize why I've brought you here in due time."
Merciless was even more bewildered as a result of Beatrice's words. On that note, the two of them walk till they reach the club's front desk, where they meet a chubby-looking security man behind multiple computers. The obese man bowed respectfully as the crowd passed him.
Beatrice, on the other hand, entered the elevator near the stairs of the two-story building, along with Merciless and Hector, as they all began to descend. The stillness and silence made the mood awkward, but it soon died down when Merciless heard Beatrice talk to him as she had asked.
"Say, Merciless, that pillar of fire that illuminated the entire night sky of Lavatos, that was your doing, wasn't it?"
"Ha. Oh, yeah! I lost my cool earlier after hearing some awful news about a human friend I once knew; why do you ask, or better yet, how did you know I was the one responsible for the light show that occurred earlier?"
"Every individual has a distinct aura to their being; some describe it as the color of one's soul or lifeforce. Vampires can see and manipulate souls in a variety of ways, and the first time I see you, I remember the color of your soul, or better yet, your life essence, given that you no longer have a soul, being a vampire and all. However, your life force is supposed to have the same color as your soul. And those flames were saturated with your life energy, so I knew it was you who was behind that vile exhibition of destructive power you displayed earlier. If I'm being honest, that was quite a lovely display of colors."
Merciless was surprised when he heard this because he could see these colors through his third eye but didn't know what they were. For one thing, when he closed his eyes, Beatrice had a very oppressive and violent red aura, whereas he had a gold aura, which appeared divine, which was odd given how much he despises the mere concept of God. Hector's aura, on the other hand, was completely violet in color. If Beatrice's aura was frigid and oppressive and his aura was vile and charismatic, Hector's aura was oddly peaceful and collected, even if Beatrice and his aura were like fires and their bodies were like fuels. Hector has a profound, silent aura that wraps over his entire body like an extra layer of skin, almost as if he could control the intensity of this aura.
'Hmm... so these hues are one's life force, egh? Strange, given that I no longer have a soul and am thus not living. I'm curious if this so-called life energy is like the embers that remain of oneself after death or a representation of someone's entire being; there are so many questions. But, at the very least, I've learned a lot either way.'
Merciless thought to himself; on that note, the elevator rapidly halted as it opened up, but what shocked him was that Beatrice immediately put on a red blindfold over her eyes, which she pulled from her cleavage. She then began to speak to both Hector and Merciless, ordering them to join her.
"Merciless, I know you can view the world better when you close your eyes. Which is fortunate, given the current circumstances; as such, starting from now on, I need you to close your eyes and under no circumstances reveal them; Hector; you're not a vampire, so you should be fine; but Merciless, keep those eyes of yours closed at all times, got it."
Merciless obeyed Beatrice's directions and closed his eyes, and the world around him burst into a horrific scene the moment he did so. They were previously in a standard elevator, but on the other side of the elevator was an entirely different world that showed a vast forest being illuminated by several full moons, all blood red. But what shocked Merciless was the fact that across from the door was a slew of people with extremely large auras, the smallest of them being ten times larger than his own, with a small few of them having the potency to rival Beatrice's violent aura. That was like a bloody flame that craved nothing but violence.
Given how dense these auras were, it meant these people who were all here were extremely powerful, making Merciless nervous. But what surprised him was that he was aware that all of these people were vampires and that they were all wearing blindfolds, with the only difference being that these blindfolds were black in color rather than red, like Beatrice Blindfold. They were all arranged in a line. Some were chatting amongst themselves, while others were simply dancing to the music. If Merciless had to guess, these folks were celebrating some kind of event in a different dimension, and they all appeared to be nobility as well, given how elegantly they dressed.
Beatrice seemed to notice Merciless' shocked expression as she turned towards him and commented on it.
"Fufufu... Lord Seventh, was indeed right; those third eyes of yours are quite the ability to have; you kind of remind me of a Lovitar vampire instead of the typical Michellian."
Merciless looked back at Beatrice, and at this moment, he had questioned her.
"All right, Beatrice, I think I deserve an explanation; where are we, and why is everyone wearing blindfolds?" Not to mention what kind of lion den you've brought me to; I could feel it; everyone out there is extremely strong."
"So much so, I already sense five people who are on par with you based on their auras; geez, is this some kind of party for elder vampires or something?"
Merciless inquired of Beatrice, and she responded in kind.
"Ok! Ok! I suppose we are safe from inquisitive eyes; after all, we are no longer on Hellmora but on planet Valcar in the Triplodismos Galaxy; we are exactly four billion light years away from Hellmora. Don't worry, we're still in the same universe, but let me explain. As your biology teacher, I will teach you many subjects and branches of biology and introduce you to many individuals along the way as well. But, in order for me to kindle a sense of creativity in that dull and unenlightened mind of yours, I must first shatter that human logic of yours to the point where you can no longer question anything that comes your way. As a result, you will be baptized as a new member of the House of Ghal, an extremely powerful cult that has established several strongholds around the multiverse in the hopes of gathering kindred minds who strive for the same purpose."
Merciless was taken aback when he realized he was on another planet, so far away from his own, and that this elevator was a portal to another universe. Given their insane powers, he wondered if the Sephiroth family was behind the construction of this space at first. However, the truth turns out to be even more absurd.
"The House of Ghal?" A cult; no offense, Beatrice, but you know I despise God, right? That includes evil ones as well."
"I understand, Merciless, but you're making a lot of assumptions." Yes, the House of Ghal is a cult, but what we worship isn't a god or a devil; no!" To be honest, we worship a belief or a notion of exceeding God by crafting and treating our bodies, souls, brains, and essences like works of art to attain the final objective of being the best version of ourselves possible to surpass this omnipotent concept so many have strived to reach. This isn't a cult, but rather a group of powerful Bio-User vampires who enjoy art; we are also called a group of sadistic artists among the hunters and supernatural races who know of our sect. Everyone here has no respect or affection for those who call themselves gods; to us, the term God is more like a blueprint we use to become better than it. You will soon find out how serious this cult teaching of self-transcendence really is; after all, everyone here is some of the most power-hungry individuals you will ever meet in your life. The only God here is ourselves, so in a way, a cult where the believers worship only themselves."
"And Merciless, tonight we all gather here to welcome a new member, and seeing that the House of Ghal is run by the vampiric race's upper echelons," only nobles were invited to tonight's special baptism, as we welcomed a new member of our sect, a brother of like mind. Now, let us not spend any more time; the ceremony will soon begin. Oh, and before I forget, trust no one; everyone here just cares about themselves in the grand scheme of things, and they will use and abuse you if they sense vulnerability. And if you are insulted in any manner, don't back down regardless of authority; at the very least, stand your ground. This is not a place to exhibit weakness; here you will meet a variety of characters; but, because this is a sect of like-minded people, everyone here is some of the most cruel, nasty, sick, repulsive, and straight-out vilest of vampires to grace to exist."
These were Beatrice's warnings, and Merciless simply nodded his head in agreement. Hector, on the other hand, approached Merciless with caution because the area they were in was extremely dangerous. As the dense and chaotic aura of this realm was enough to make Hector anxious, he then began to wonder if he should take on his true form right here and right now to compensate for the power difference.
In any case, he'd already decided to stick close to Merciless; this area was similar to a level one player entering a level 100 enemy zone. Everyone who was behind these doors was in a league of their own.
But what put Hector at rest was the way that Beatrice clasped Merciless' hands with hers and gave him one more look before entering the devil's den.
"As of now, you do not have a blindfold made of the special material to indicate that you are a member of the House of Ghal, nor do you have an enlightened form to boast about; as such, stay close to me at all times." I will guard you with my life until your baptism is completed, not that there is anyone out there who can defeat me; well, maybe only that freak of nature, but she is the child of a worm, so it should be expected. Either way, I am one of the sect's overseers, so my power here is pretty substantial; but aside from that, let's go."
With that in mind, Merciless, Beatrice, and Hector set off into one of the universe's most perilous regions. The primary planet, which is home to one of the most powerful vampiric factions in existence.
The House of Ghal!