Free Web NovelChapter 23: Unwelcome Reunions
Deeper within the dungeon, Yuki and Vee navigated the winding corridors. Yuki walked along as his usual blissful, idiot self, completely unworried about a single thing, while Vee remained hyper-vigilant on guard. They were currently traversing a path that would lead them straight to an Ascension Trial to rank up. That meant there would most likely be a lot more people around, and history proved they wouldn’t all be friendly.
"Yuki, listen up," Vee said firmly, her ears twitching. "Not everyone we meet out here is going to be nice, so don’t go giving them free stuff. Stay on guard, okay?"
"Kay, I won’t," he answered cheerfully. Then, he paused, blinking. "Oh, by the way, someone is coming. Their mana is quite dense."
"Slow down then!" Vee said nervously, quickly picking up her pace to catch up right behind Yuki. "Be ready to fight if they move first."
Meanwhile, just around the corner, a matching conversation was taking place.
"Malakai, you said that the person you picked up is a Pureblood Vampire like me?" Carmilla asked, her voice filled with skepticism.
"Yes, indeed. Their mana signature is almost nonexistent, so it’s safe to say they are quite young and not a mage."
"A young Pureblood? That would mean there are still other groups of Pureblood Vampires out there having children—" Carmilla started, turning the corner only for her expression to drop instantly.
The two groups came face-to-face, and the air immediately froze. It took less than a second to realize that Vee and Carmilla already knew each other.
"You’re still alive? Ha," Carmilla chuckled bitterly, crossing her arms. "It seems that filth like you just keeps coming back."
"Hello, Carmilla," Vee said, folding her arms tightly in annoyance. "I see that you haven’t grown a single bit. Still a walking dwarf who hasn’t even reached Rank 1 yet, I see."
"It’s a lot more complicated than you would think! But then again, you don’t do much thinking anyway, do you?"
"You’re one to talk about intelligence, Miss Expert Mage," Vee scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. "Everyone else has to rank up to get stronger abilities, and all you mages have to do is read a damn scroll. Yet, somehow, you’re still only using one main spell. What was it again? Crimson Barrier?"
"And so what?" Carmilla snapped, her brow furrowing deeply. "It’s still better than just punching and kicking like some mindless brute!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Vee said, rolling her eyes.
Carmilla ignored her and pointed a sharp finger past Vee’s shoulder. "You there!"
"Me?" Yuki asked, pointing to himself in confusion.
"Yes, you. Are you a Pureblood Vampire?"
"Ye—"
Before Yuki could utter another syllable, he felt Vee violently yank him back against her, tightly wrapping her arms around his waist in a protective, possessive grip.
"He is a Pureblood Vampire and he is ’my’ master!" Vee yelled fiercely. "So, whatever sick plans you have for him, you can forget about it! My Yuki is not going anywhere with a freak like you! Who knows what kind of twisted experiments you want to put him through... or if you’re trying to use him to revive your dead race!"
Carmilla’s jaw dropped. "Excuse me?!"
"What? Am I wrong?" Vee taunted.
"I have my own familiar, Malakai, who is a Shadow Spawn and an ancient demon at that!" Carmilla shouted, gesturing wildly to the massive man behind her. "Why would I ever want anyone else but him?!"
"What, did you force him to become your familiar?" Vee asked smugly. "Because I highly doubt anyone would willingly join forces with you."
"..." Carmilla’s eyes flashed a dangerous, crimson. "I dare you to say that again... you bitch."
"What did you just call me?!"
"I called you a bitch, because that’s exactly what you are, you oversized, tits-for-brains rabbit!"
"How about I come over there and shut that flat mouth for you!" Vee roared, releasing her grip on Yuki and storming directly toward Carmilla.
"Go ahead, try it!" Carmilla barked, stepping forward to meet her and readying her sharp claws. "I won’t even need to use my magic for this!"
Malakai and Yuki looked at each other over the girls’ heads and shared a silent, mutual nod. Both of them knew they had to interfere before things got physical.
Just as Carmilla and Vee lunged to hash out their problems, they were effortlessly stopped by their companions. Malakai reached down and scooped Carmilla up into the air, lifting her off her feet as if she weighed nothing, while Yuki reached out and firmly caught Vee, tugging her back by her fluffy tail.
"Mal! Put me down right now so I can rip her face off!" Carmilla demanded, kicking her legs in the air.
"And ’I’m’ the filth?" Vee chuckled mockingly, struggling against Yuki’s grip. "You’re just a—"
"Vee, behave yourself," Yuki said, giving her tail another soft, warning tug.
"But she started—"
"No," Yuki interrupted firmly. "Fighting isn’t going to end well for anyone. The two of you clearly have some sort of past, so either you talk it out like adults, or you aren’t eating anything tonight but dry monster jerky."
Vee froze. "What?! But... but that’s not fair!" she protested, pouting heavily. "Why am I getting punished because of her?!"
"Well, I can’t really punish a stranger that I just met," Yuki said, releasing her tail and placing his hands casually on his hips. "Now, let’s go. We need to find a good place to set up camp and get ready to traverse the rest of this dungeon."
Vee’s ears drooped slightly. "Does that mean... I don’t get the honey-roasted steak anymore?"
Yuki’s expression softened, a bright smile returning to his face. "If we find a safe place to set up camp, I’ll cook it for you, okay?"
"Okay! Sounds good!" Vee said, her face instantly brightening up at the mention of food.
"Sorry to interrupt your domestic conversation," Malakai chuckled smoothly from behind them, still holding a fuming Carmilla under his arm. "But would you mind if the two of us joined you in exploring this dungeon?"
Carmilla tilted her head completely backward, staring up at Malakai in utter confusion. "Why in Chaos’s name would we do that?!"
"Because, Princess, you are going to run out of real food very soon, and frankly, you aren’t very good at navigating dungeons," Malakai teased.
"...I’m not that bad," Carmilla muttered, frowning.
"You’re still not even at Rank 1..."
"Well, that’s only because the Ascension Trial was built for ancient heroes, and it was too difficult to complete entirely on my own!" Carmilla snapped defensively. Realizing she had just admitted her weakness out loud, she clicked her tongue in defeat. "Tch. Fine. We will join you to explore the dungeon. But I’m not helping ’her’ if she gets hurt," she added, pointing a glaring finger at Vee.
"I don’t need your help, you—" Vee started to bark back, but she quickly caught herself, clearing her throat nervously as Yuki leveled a steady, warning stare at her. "...Never mind."
"Right! Time to find a place to set up camp!" Yuki announced cheerfully.
Without a care in the world, he turned around and walked off down the corridor, happily humming his tune as if the intense, life-or-death tension in the hallway had never existed.
