Darkness wasn't just the absence of light for Cecil; it was his playground. Here, his heightened senses reigned supreme. He could feel the frantic thump-thump of Elisha's heartbeat echo in the confines of the pulsating black chamber. He could smell the metallic tang of her blood mingling with the dust kicked up during their fight. This wasn't just darkness; it was a symphony of chaos conducted by his will.
He would always be the king in the absence of light.
In a matter of minutes, he brought Elisha into a desperate situation.
"Can't we..." She coughed up some more blood under his aggressive choking, "arrange a deal of some sort between us?"
He didn't respond, just took out his anger on her with his blows.
"I can make...cough... Edmund be lovey-dovey with you, isn't that what you wanted?" She would never have guessed that Cecil would be this lost being, literally the last thing left in the world that could drag her from her heavenly utopia to the dirty earth.
Cecil stopped just to spare her one sentence: "If I wanted it to be like that, don't you think I would have done it from the beginning?"
He went back to continue to treat her like an inhuman punching bag, ignoring her potential answer. He just felt the urge to explain the pure relationship between Edmund and himself, even if it was only to a dying bitch.
When they are finally gonna end up together forever, he didn't want to be any doubts about his dear Edmund's sincerity towards him.
Cecil couldn't wait for that day to come.
Suddenly, he felt bored playing with this thing.
It was the time to end it, so he could have his and Edmund's happy ending sooner.
Elisha could feel the murderous intent coming from his fist, the upcoming pain- this could very possibly be her last moment breathing.
She used these few seconds as a bet for more time, only a few more seconds: "If I die, Edmund dies! Everyone dies!"
The fist stopped an inch from her face.
She had no time to recover from this near-death experience, she had to continue. "As long as the contract holder dies all his subordinates will also die, in fact," she stretched her arms leisurely, feeling much more confidence, " from right about... now unless you let me go this very second, Edmund will die anyway."
It was not an empty threat.
As a vampire, Cecil could feel it too.
He waited too long, and sunset has came.
The night of the full moon fell upon them.
He was careless, as someone whose power was barely affected by the moon's movement he never paid attention, unlike other vampires, when his power grew stronger or weaker. After all, does it really matter if his strength is infinity plus two or infinity minus two?
He was too used to getting what he wanted in the end, to be patient.
Cecil's expression, normally empty of any content he doesn't want to externalize, shrieked with a discordant note. It wasn't the metallic tang of blood or Elisha's ragged breaths. It was a primal fear, a gnawing anxiety that threatened to consume him.
He's now endangering Edmund with his own hands, this is all his doing.
Elisha, sensing the shift, threw her head back and cackled, a horrifying sound that echoed in the void. "The power you take for granted now binds you," she wheezed, a cruel smile twisting her bruised face. "The stronger you get, the more complacent you become. It's a double-edged sword, wouldn't you say so?"
Seeing that he didn't respond, she teased him more: "Tick tock, Cecil, the clock is ticking."
She felt a twisted pride that she could make a noble creature like him bend his back in submission, something that had only been reserved for her fake, obedient brother before.
Cecil had no choice, he released the space.
As if they never left, they both stood in the student council room. The only signs that something ever happened are Cecil's grim expression and the wounded body adorning Elisha's smile.
Cecil's eyes widened as he saw the hypnotized Iris pin a sharp stationery knife to Edmund's neck, whose hypnotized body wouldn't allow him to respond.
All the pent-up emotions within him erupted at this moment, he took out all his rage, which he could no longer take out on Elisha, on Iris.
Before anyone could see what happened, Iris' head was not attached to her body anymore.
No one knew what happened first, was it her neck that exploded in a glorious fountain of blood, staining all the tapestries? Or was it her hand, that finally dropped the stationery knife that led to her death?
He carried the unresponsive Edmund and left the student council chamber for good. Leaves behind him the echoes of a sentence without expecting a response, knowing there was no other possible response than yes:
"Make him normal again, or I'll fucking hunt your nightmares tomorrow."
He could probably kill that despicable woman at the end of the night, but it didn't change a thing.
Cecil no longer thought how Edmund would feel, whether he would be happy or sad.
Because regardless, they are leaving this cursed place.
★
Hey guys! I am so, so sorry for the long absence.
I have chicken pox, and it took me a while to gather the strength to write again.
Thank you so much to everyone who sent me gifts, I find it so moving to be appreciated for something I have taken up as a hobby.
I promise to return to my usual frequency and my chapter's usual length soon.
Special thanks to Nori_TheNoriEater, Kyen_Syr and UsagiUnko, I cannot express my gratitude in words (kind of a bad trait for an author to have, I know).