"Well, here we are, welcome to the Serene Clan!" Kai proudly announced, raising his arm in the air, but Luciel thought that his vampire friend finally went crazy because he couldn't see anything.
"Um… Where?" Luciel was glancing around, trying to spot any clues.
"Here!" Kai raised his voice, approaching the rocky rift in the ground covered with moss, surrounded by shrubs and trees.
"It's down below, hidden from most threats. The only ones that might invade the nest are those with a human form, but rarely anyone dares to explore it due to its narrow passage and slippery stones." Kai explained, sounding proud at the natural defense of his home.
If someone tried to invade, they would quickly be dealt with since there wasn't a lot of room for maneuver.
Many who already tried to climb down lost their lives by slipping and falling, but for vampires with their regenerative abilities, the drop shouldn't be deadly.
The only ones that posed a threat to their nest were werewolves. They could shift into human forms and the fall won't kill them either.
"No wonder that you guys managed to stay hidden for so long." Luciel couldn't help himself but be impressed.
He approached the rift and stared deep into the darkness that seemed like it was leading into an oblivion, but he could see inside the large crack clear as a day.
From the rough walls that were covered with dark green and orange moss to the thick tree roots were coming out.
Staring deeper into the cave, Luciel could see the passage getting more and more narrow.
"I'll go first, watch out not to slip and fall on me." Kai warned before starting with his descent.
Luciel watched how Kai started to navigate through the cave entrance like it was a walk in the park but to be fair, he probably went in and out countless times and didn't have to worry if he would get hurt in the process.
At first, Luciel felt hesitant, going inside some weird rift that leads to a vampire nest, full of creatures that might want to tear him apart, didn't sound welcoming.
Tightening his lips, Luciel went to follow Kai's lead eventually, trusting his body to navigate him through obstacles.
He didn't want to do it, but Kai already earned a little bit of his trust, even if he was a vampire.
Climbing down, Luciel placed his hand on the rock that was sticking out of the wall, but quickly moved it away and grabbed the root that was above him.
The stone was extremely slippery like someone put butter on it.
Gulping, Luciel extended his claws with a flick of his hand and placed his palm on the rock again, trying to get a good grip.
During his trip, Luciel noticed numerous claw marks across the bulges coming from the cave wall, indicating that the others had the same idea as him.
Going deeper, Luciel arrived at the place where the passage got smaller. He could barely squeeze in.
'If I can barely go through, what about those who have a stronger build.' Luciel thought to himself.
He wasn't claustrophobic, but this place was creeping him out, especially because the previous rocks and bulges turned into sharp spikes.
His whole body got covered in cuts and the rough wall wasn't helping either.
There was a strong odor of moisture in the air, making it hard to breathe while his body was getting covered in sweat.
Mixed in with a damp smell, there were also traces of blood, but it wasn't human blood, but vampire's.
"How much till we arrive?" Luciel asked, hearing the echo of his voice.
"Just a little bit further!" Kai's voice bounced from wall to wall towards Luciel.
The newly acquired information put Luciel at ease, knowing that he didn't need to endure this chilly hell for long.
He could hear the water droplets falling down, some even dropped on his face. Luciel's clothing and hair became completely wet due to the amount of liquid in the air.
Right when Luciel was about to find his next footing, he couldn't feel anything, all there was empty air.
Looking down, Luciel saw that he had finally reached an end and that Kai was already standing below him on solid ground.
"Come on, jump!" Kai encouraged him, wanting to finish the journey.
Luciel hopped off just as Kai had instructed, landing in a crouching position before getting up, and dusting his wet clothes.
"This is where you guys live?" Luciel asked, noticing that there wasn't even a single light source, but he could still see just fine.
"Not yet, we still have a small distance to cross. Watch your step." Kai warned before heading deeper into the huge cave hall.
The cave hall through which Luciel was walking through looked more than impressive.
On the light brown ceiling, there were numerous stalactites hanging down like icicles, fusing with some stalagmites coming from the ground like spikes, forming a column.
Kai seemed to be walking towards a small entrance that was on another side of the hall. As they were walking, they passed through a small lake that formed in the middle. He could see some isopods crawling around, along with salamanders.
There was a continuous sound of insects flying around and tiny creatures crawling on the ground, with sounds of water slowly dripping on the cave floor.
Approaching the entrance, Luciel could see a set of stairs going slightly in spiral, but nothing could prepare him for what he saw next.
On the ceiling, numerous shining blue spots were lighting up the darkness.
"Pretty neat, right?" Kai grinned, hitting the cave wall lightly with his hand, "Wait till you see the rest!"
"Wait, you want to tell me that there is more?" Luciel asked, still staring at the sight above him.
The trip here might have made him anxious, but it was definitely worth it.
"Of course! This is nothing!" Kai hurried down the stairs. He wanted to finally go home, to rest.
Luciel couldn't see it, but Kai was constantly gritting his teeth and furrowing his eyebrows as the pain was spreading towards his neck and arm, getting stronger as each hour passed.
He could feel something wicked inside him, trying to take control.
As he was heading down, Luciel's focus was everywhere but the stairs in front of him. He almost tripped, but luckily managed to keep his balance.
After walking for a little bit more, Kai and Luciel finally arrived at the entrance that was guarded by two vampires who were on a lookout for any possible enemy that might have gotten through, wanting to sneak in.
"Don't worry guys, he's with me," Kai reassured the guards, patting one on the shoulder while Luciel was right behind him.
"With you?" One of the guards didn't sound too convinced and sent a glare towards Luciel, staring into his soul.
Luciel returned a gesture to the vampire that was staring at him. He recognized the guard as the vampire that saved him from the werewolf before running off laughing.
"I still have a bone to pick with you." Luciel growled, raising his sleeves, the vampire might have saved him, but he wouldn't let him get away for making fun of him on the night he turned.
The two guards cracked when they heard what Luciel had said. A lowly vampire dared to challenge them.
"Oh, I would love to see you try." One of the guards hissed, extending his hand and closing his fist before opening it again, revealing a hot, orange flame that danced around his hand.
"Whoa whoa whoa! Guys, calm down!" Kai quickly went between the two, spreading his arms to make some distance. If a fight were to appear here, Luciel won't stand a chance.
"Let's go Luciel, ignore those two," Kai said to Luciel before turning towards the vampire that had his hand surrounded by fire.
Kai extended his claws and pressed them against the vampire's neck. One could see a transparent liquid coming off from Kai's claws as he glared at the vampire in front of him, "Don't you dare move." He hissed, not interested in playing games.
Kai started to feel dizzy and his vision started to go black again, but he was giving it his all to look like he was in the best shape.
If he would collapse on the ground right here and now, it would mean the death of him and Luciel.
"Go on in front of me. I'll keep a watch on those two." Kai ordered, there was a hint of panic in his voice that Luciel managed to catch.
Luciel wanted to punch those two in the face so much, but unfortunately, that will have to wait. He was aware of Kai's condition and they had no time to waste.
"Fine." Luciel spitted out, heading through an entrance with Kai following right after.
"We just had to run into that jerk," Kai whispered under his chin, but Luciel didn't listen as he couldn't get his eyes off from what he was seeing.
Down below him was a huge hole, with a spiraling path leading all the way toward the bottom.
On the ground floor, in the middle, one could see a huge battle arena and one fight was currently taking place!
The whole cave wall looked like it was carved in, with every space being used up. Some parts had holes in them that served as a small market, other parts looked like housing and then there were carved-in hallways that led to different places.
But what stood out the most was the fact that the walls were covered in all kinds of colors, from red to green, that some crystals seemed to give off.
The whole cave was glittering. Luciel couldn't describe the sight of it with words alone.
"Where to now?" Luciel asked, still not being able to process the wonder in front of him, but unfortunately, that was the only thing that the cave had going for it.
The rest wasn't so nice. The cold air didn't bother him, but what he didn't like was a strong lingering scent of vampires.
It didn't have an unpleasant smell, it was sweeter than the odor of a human, but the idea that he was being surrounded by so many vampires made him feel like wanting to throw up.
"Let's go to Melisa's room. We can't have a vampire see me in a weak state." Kai said. This was the hardest thing that he had to pull off - tricking all the vampires he walked next to.
"Is her room far away?" Luciel asked, pulling up his black hood so he wouldn't grab too much attention onto himself. His face was familiar in his line of work.
"Not really, only five more minutes," Kai answered before starting to walk towards one of the hallways with Luciel right behind.
Luciel only hoped that Kai's five minutes were accurate because when he told him earlier that they were close to the entrance while they were descending the rift, his "little further" turned into something that felt like half an hour.
And Luciel was kind of right, Kai's five minutes did seem way longer than they should have.
After navigating through dark tunnels, Luciel noticed one interesting detail, there were no doors at all. He could see in each room and look at what the vampire inside was doing, including their hot moments, but no one seemed to care.
'Savage beasts.' Luciel thought.
Every hallway, every room and piece of furniture was made from stone, there was not even a tiny piece of wood.
Everything was constructed from the same material. It looked nice on the surface, but now when he was walking around, Luciel could see the poor state the vampires were living in, but they didn't seem to mind it too much.
When they finally arrived, Kai entered Melisa's room.
"Call Nosferatu…" Kai said before collapsing to the floor. He couldn't take it anymore, he barely managed to crawl here. Now when in a place that was safer than before, his body finally collapsed.
"Kai!" Melisa shouted, running towards her brother, and kneeling down next to him.