Free Web Novel“Hahaha... Welcome, welcome, my fellow vampire elites, our young talents, and our supreme Queen!”
Inside the lavish European-style castle, a blond vampire youth descended the staircase with a bright smile, raising his glass toward the assembled guests seated below.
“Every year around this time, our vampire kind holds the ‘Vampire Celebration Banquet’ here in Her Majesty the Queen’s castle. We hope more of our kin will continue to support the flourishing and ever-growing cause of our blood race!”
“This past year marked a turning point—our first step into human cities! Under Her Majesty’s guidance, our race has changed with each passing day, thriving like never before! Countless outstanding humans have joined our grand family, and countless powerful beings have been born from glorious rivers of blood!”
“Now, with the wholehearted support of our human allies, our kind has taken deep root in this city. Tens of thousands of vampires have successfully integrated into human society and now live in harmony among them.”
“For this event, we were originally going to invite two remarkable representatives of humankind to speak on stage. However, at this very moment, they are fighting above ground for the shared prosperity of humans and vampires alike.”
“My friends... let us raise our glasses, let music fill the air, and offer our blessings to their noble efforts!”
Clap clap clap clap!
Thunderous applause filled the hall. Men, women, young, and old—all the vampires present joined in, cheering both the speaker and the absent “outstanding humans” they had supposedly allied with.
“And so... I won’t keep you with more words. Everyone, please look forward to the grand performance about to begin!”
Clap clap clap!
Applause erupted once again. Vieya stood motionless among the crowd, but beside her, Helcat Red clapped along eagerly with the others, eyes gleaming as if genuinely moved.
“My, my! Who would’ve thought these vampires were such good ghosts after all!”
The black-haired catwoman beamed, her twin tails twitching cheerfully behind her.
If one didn’t know her background, she might have seemed truly adorable.
But at this point, Vieya couldn’t tell whether this cat was actually stupid—or just pretending.
Or maybe, once freed from the rules of human society, she’d simply let her instincts run wild.
Either way, there was no time to dwell on it. Vieya grabbed the cat’s sleeve and tugged her away from the crowd. freewēbnoveℓ.com
“Eh... but I wanted to keep watching! They’re starting to dance! I wanna see—”
“What, you wanna dance too? Do you even know how?”
“How can you underestimate me! I worked as a maid in the Demon King’s castle, you know? There’s no etiquette I haven’t learned. I just don’t bother using those boring manners anymore... If you weren’t a little pudding right now, I might have humored you with a dance.”
“......”
Pushing through the mass of vampires, Helcat plopped down on a sofa, grabbed a can of tuna, popped it open, and started pouring it straight into her mouth.
“So,” she asked between gulps, “why are you here too? And why the new outfit?”
“I came to find you lot...”
Vieya wasn’t hungry, but she sat down and joined Helcat in devouring the free banquet food anyway. She might need her strength soon, so better to stock up now.
Picking up a small cake, she said quietly,
“After you all disappeared, Jasmine’s been worried sick.”
“Really?” Helcat’s eyes gleamed with curiosity. “Then... did you worry about me too?”
“You’ve been alive for centuries—why should I worry?” Vieya said around a mouthful of cake. “You’re getting less mature with every decade.”
“You could at least say something nice, you know! I’ve been hunted from one hole to another these past days, couldn’t even get a sip of fish soup! You heartless brat!”
“Shut up, stupid cat.”
Vieya shoved her unopened cans of tuna toward Helcat. “Now—did you find any trace of Rania?”
“That rude little human brat?” Helcat clicked her tongue. “Turns out she got trapped in one of the vampires’ blood pools, stuck and unable to move. If it weren’t for that Hero’s Seal of hers, she’d probably already have been turned into one of their blood dolls.”
She paused, eyes glinting mischievously. “You know what a blood doll is, right? They strip the human completely naked, tie her to a cross in a plaza, and every passing vampire gets to take a bite or two—”
Smack!
Helcat shrank back at once, scooting away from the golden-haired loli whose expression had turned dangerously dark.
“Why’d you hit me?!”
...
The sky dimmed to pitch black, the rain pounding harder and harder.
Anna stood by the window, her deep blue eyes reflecting the chaos thousands of meters away.
Her brows furrowed. Even from this quiet estate deep in the commercial district, she could sense the heavy scent of blood from the residential area, and faintly hear the screams carried on the wind.
“Vampires showing up here... Has the balance between the Seven Demon Kings finally broken?”
“And from the looks of it, many of them have entangled themselves with humans. They’ve probably been active in this city for a long time—and only now are they being exposed.”
“Heh. I knew politics would crumble the moment we let those parasites get involved.”
“Teacher Anna...”
Jasmine had just finished the last line of her rune inscription. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and noticed Anna standing motionless by the window. “I’ve memorized all these sigils. What’s next?”
“You memorized them all?”
Anna turned around, genuinely impressed. Most people couldn’t stay focused on something like this for long—beyond eating, drinking, and distractions.
But Jasmine had done it. From six in the morning until nearly seven in the evening—thirteen straight hours of work. Not a moment of distraction, not even a word about her mother, who was always on her mind.
Sigh. With that kind of focus, this child would probably have an easier life studying scholarship than magic.
But Anna wouldn’t tell her to change paths.
There are people in this world who can only survive by holding onto an obsession.
Take that away, and they become like candles without a wick—hollow, incomplete lives.
“Jasmine, next I’ll teach you a simple spell. Want to learn it?” Anna checked the runes, smiling softly. “Do you want to?”
“Is it a combat spell?” Jasmine’s eyes sparkled; she rarely looked so happy without her mother around.
“No.” Anna shook her head, exasperated.
How could such a sweet little girl have a brain wired exactly like her mother’s—always fighting, always punching first?
“Aw...” Jasmine’s excitement deflated.
Anna sighed again. “It’s a spell I found in an ancient ruin. In the distant ages, it was called Thousand-Mile Eye. Once you master it, you’ll be able to see through barriers—thousands of miles away, even from inside an iron box.”
“Wow... That’s amazing!” Jasmine’s eyes lit up again. If she ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ could learn that, then even if her mom was far away... she could still see her!
“Teacher, I want to learn it!”
“This spell isn’t easy.” Anna cooled her down again. “Even after you start, you’ll only be able to see a few meters around you.”
“So... it’s worse than just using my own eyes?” Jasmine said blankly.
“But even that’s useful,” Anna added. “Once you get the hang of it, you could use it to cheat at small-time casinos with loose rules—and make a fortune.”
“Cheat?” Jasmine blinked, confused by the word.
“Simple—you can see through things. You’d be able to peek inside the dice cup and know the roll before anyone else.” Anna explained patiently. “Once you know the numbers, you can—”
“See through?”
Jasmine’s bright eyes shone with awe. She raised her hand eagerly. “Teacher, I want to learn that one!”
