Slowly opening his crimson-red eyes, Luciel inspected his surroundings.
The sun was slowly setting down, indicating the start of a waking hour for vampires, but Kai was still sleeping next to him, being covered with tree branches.
"I'm surprised to see that you are still here," Luciel said to Scarlet who had her back turned towards him.
"Well… You did spare my life after I tried to take your life." Scarlet glimpsed over her shoulder, taking a good look at Luciel before approaching him.
Kneeling down in front of him, she stared right into his eyes with her hazel brown ones.
"So, how does it feel?" She questioned, glancing at Luciel from head to toe.
Humans were curious creatures and Scarlet was no different. It wasn't every day that a human would turn into a vampire.
Luciel frowned at the question, feeling anxious with the way Scarlet was staring at him.
She had the same eyes Luciel had when he was looking at a vampire he was about to kill.
Scarlet might have kept her end of their unspoken truce, but she couldn't see Luciel the same way when he was a human.
The current creature that was in front of her would gladly take her life if given a chance.
"Hell." Luciel finally answered, but sometimes it felt even worse than that fiery pit.
Controlling his new body and strength wasn't such a big problem as trying to keep his urges in check.
"Well… You seem to be quite adapted." Scarlet sneered.
From what she had seen while clashing against Luciel and observing the battle between him and Kai, Luciel didn't really have any problems matching the savage fighting style of a vampire.
"It's not like I got a chance to catch a break. Learn fast or die." Luciel remarked, remembering the number of fights he already went through.
There was the werewolf attack when he just turned, the fight with Kai, werewolves, the zombie, Scarlet, and feral Kai.
"Huh," Scarlet shrugged her shoulders, she didn't believe that Luciel's accustomization was just because of the chaotic lifestyle she had heard from him.
She got up and turned her back towards Luciel again, with her long, apple-red hair falling down all the way below her waist.
"The next time I see you, I'll have to kill you. You understand it too, Luciel, you would do the same thing if I were in the same situation."
Luciel remained silent. Scarlet was right, if she had turned into a vampire, he would have done the same thing.
And if Alex had turned, he would chase him to the end of the earth just to have his head, but not because of hate, but because of mercy.
Ever since vampires made a public appearance, followed by other supernatural creatures, the world had gone to hell.
It didn't take long for the politics to fall apart and people started to flock around those who were hunting the supernatural in secret before they got revealed.
For a human that got turned, usually into a bloodhound, they would experience a never-ending thirst.
Being forced to walk as the monster you despise sounded worse than dying and Luciel could confirm that, but his time hadn't come yet.
"Oh," Scarlet looked up towards the clear night sky, seeing an uncountable number of shining stars, "And don't forget to say hi to Alex in my name before you see him." She raised and waved her hand before leaving Luciel so he could continue with his business.
She figured that if Luciel still had his sanity, he must have made contact with Alex.
It was without a doubt now that he saved him back then on the battlefield.
Luciel drinking his blood right after was probably just an act to shift the focus from their friendly interaction so people wouldn't believe he sided with a vampire.
'Clever guy,' Scarlet smirked, wondering how this whole situation would develop, but she was also concerned about Luciel.
She didn't know on whose side he was now and with the speed he was adapting, it was possible that they might have another powerful vampire to deal with in the future.
'Maybe I should have just cut his head off while I still had the chance.' Scarlet bit her finger, now feeling a little bit concerned.
Letting out a sigh, Luciel crossed his fingers behind his back and looked up.
He didn't like what he heard from Scarlet, the fact that he seemed to be well-adapted.
He found himself slowly accepting himself faster than he had expected. The need to kill vampires was almost non-existent now.
They tortured his mother in front of him and his siblings. They turned her into a bloodhound and they had to watch her slit her own throat, not wanting to hurt her children.
Luciel, his two brothers, and a sister almost followed the same fate, but they got saved by a party of hunters led by his dad.
It was supposed to be a simple trip to the clothing store, but they got attacked on the way back, right when the sun started to set.
His siblings, including Luciel, were never the same anymore.
His sister, the oldest one among them, went to become a researcher, just like Helen, the only difference between the two was that Helen was researching vampires and other supernatural creatures biology and anatomy while his sister, Aisha was busy in a weapons department.
The old and traditional vampire hunters would use divine swords and such that were blessed by the Church, but there are those that use more modern weapons.
The year currently was 4056., but unfortunately, not a lot of people got to experience the technology of today due to those that had money only became more rich, stomping on those underneath them.
'Hm… Maybe I can do something about that.' Luciel thought while thinking about the current power system.
He moved his hand in front of him and extended his claws, licking his lips as he thought about feasting on those on top.
They kept all that wealth for themselves, spending not even a penny on those below.
As an ordinary vampire hunter who did their binding, Luciel could do nothing but follow their orders.
Many vampire hunters didn't mind following those above them because they got paid a pretty nice sum of money, so Luciel could forget about doing an uprising.
All he could do to protect the people of the colonies was to kill the vampires that threatened their existence.
Luciel was about to slap himself when he noticed that he was literally drooling at the thought of drinking the blood from those in charge but stopped his hand right before it made contact with his face.
'That doesn't sound so bad actually.' He thought.
Luciel finally had an opportunity to get stronger, to kill those who were causing the same amount of suffering as the vampires, but the problem was what to do next.
He or someone else will have to take the lead of the colony otherwise there will be chaos.
"I wonder what would Helen do if she were to see me now." He bit his lower lip, wondering about Helen's reaction.
Would she still love him, even if he was a vampire now or would she reject him?
They spent four wonderful years together and watched each other's back. It would be a shame if she were to just toss him aside.
Sure, he might be a bit different, but he was still the same Luciel, but not a lot of people shared the same opinion, except Alex.
'I wonder if she would run and scream or hug me at the sight.' He tried to imagine meeting her after a month had passed of not being able to see her, but he just couldn't.
Even after knowing her for four years, he couldn't predict her answer about this.
He wanted to see her. To hug her, hold her close. Kiss her and lift her up, taste her blood, and sleep with her again." Luciel closed his eyes, remembering their nights together, including the hot moments. Holding her by her slim waist, feeling the warm skin against his. He wished that they could do it again, at least once.
Unfortunately, Luciel's daydreaming, or… Better said nightdreaming, didn't last long once he heard groaning from Kai.
Luciel quickly got up, getting into a battle position, anticipating an attack from feral Kai.
"What is all this?"
Hearing Kai speak while removing the tree branches that were on top of him was a signal to Luciel that he could relax, proceeding to help Kai with the removal of the tree branches.
"What happened?" Kai asked, rubbing the top of his head. It felt like he got hit by a truck.
"You lost control, but that saved my head, I owe you one."
Kai took a big breath, tightening his jaw while crossing his arms, continuously tapping his elbow.
"How bad is it?" Luciel asked, seeing Kai's worried expression with slightly furrowed brows.
"Currently, I would say a few days at best."
"Anyone that might help?"
"Nosferatu might know what to do. But I don't know if he'll be able to help."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go." Luciel went to assist Kai to get up, having a soft expression on his face.
He wanted to reassure Kai that everything will be fine, but he can't just lie to him, especially since Kai knows better than anyone else what is going on with his body currently. There might even be things that he was not telling.
"Lead the way," Luciel said to his friend, stepping away for a little bit to give him some space.
"As you said earlier, let's go…" Kai sighed and extended his claws, starting to climb up the trees with Luciel doing the same.
The two vampires continued to navigate through the trees, with Luciel assisting Kai since he got even weaker, but eventually, they managed to reach the nest.
"Here we are! Welcome to my clan!"