Free Web NovelBitten by a vampire.
Vieya froze—then stared blankly as Rania unbuttoned her clothes, revealing two small puncture marks on her chest.
The pale skin was almost dazzling to look at.
Wait.
Where exactly did that vampire bite you!?
Slap!
Vieya hastily pulled her student’s clothes closed and buttoned them up tightly, her voice flat and emotionless.
“It was that Vampire Queen, wasn’t it? Fine. I’ll remember this grudge for you. Next time I see her, I’ll put two holes in her too.”
No! That’s not why I showed you! I wanted comfort!
Comfort, you know? You’re supposed to hold me, whisper gently, and maybe even lick my wound a little!
Though her thoughts were indignant, Rania sniffled and sobbed like a scolded child running home to cry in her parents’ arms.
She wrapped her arms around the golden-haired girl in front of her—smaller in build than herself—and clung to her like a frightened child hugging her mother, whimpering softly.
“Uuuh... I really thought I was going to die there... It was so dark, so cold, so painful... That vampire wasn’t even human!”
“N-no, it’s okay!”
Caught completely off guard by the sudden embrace, Vieya stiffened for a moment.
She awkwardly patted the girl’s head, her expression puzzled. Hm... something about this student felt off.
Could it be that being bitten by a vampire... alters your personality to some degree?
Or maybe the trauma was just too much. Her entire body was covered in wounds—it hurt just to look at her. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Vieya’s fingers brushed gently over Rania’s skin, and almost instinctively, she started channeling a healing spell again.
A green light flashed.
Rania’s whole body trembled, and she burst into tears.
“Uuuh... it hurts, don’t touch...”
“Sorry!”
Damn it.
Vieya’s worry grew heavier. Her once-stubborn, proud student had turned into a trembling, tearful mess.
Even her healing magic only made things worse. Could it be that... Rania’s body really was starting to turn into that of a vampire?
But wait—there had never been any recorded case of a Hero being infected by a vampire before.
Still... those vampires in the records were at most A-rank. This time, it was the Vampire Queen herself.
The more she thought, the more confused she became. She knew too little about vampires.
They weren’t native to the southern continent—they came from the western lands.
Even back when she was a Hero, Vieya had rarely encountered vampires.
The only high-ranking one she’d met was that Queen—and they’d only fought once, with no real conversation between them.
With that in mind, Vieya looked at Rania and asked softly,
“Do you feel anything strange in your body? Like... hunger, thirst, or the urge to drink blood?”
“The urge to drink blood?”
Rania shook her head. “I’d rather die than drink blood. But...” her voice grew anxious, “I was bitten by that thing—does that mean I’ll really turn into a vampire later?”
Her already pale face turned ghostly white.
“What if I end up like them—living only to feed, nothing but an animal driven by instinct? I’m supposed to be a Hero... but what if one day I lose control and attack innocent people? You should just kill me now, before I hurt anyone.”
...She must’ve been scared out of her mind.
Vieya wanted to say something comforting, but she honestly had no idea how vampire infection worked—or if there was any way to stop it.
“Rania,” she asked carefully, “do you want to become a vampire?”
Rania shook her head.
“Do you still want to remain a Hero?”
Rania nodded.
“Then... once we get out of here, I’ll take you to the Church.” Vieya’s eyes lit up slightly. “They’ve got centuries of history. They might have a way.”
Rania hesitated, lowering her gaze. “Will you... protect me?”
“What kind of question is that? If you’re not infected, everything’s fine. If you are, then I’ll personally keep watch over you.” Vieya added with a little laugh,
“Even if you do turn into a vampire, I’ll just buy blood packs to feed you. Now, rest for a bit.”
She gently propped Rania against the wall and «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» stepped outside.
The air on the lowest floor of the castle was foul. The walls were old, cracked, and decayed—completely unlike something that had supposedly been built less than three years ago.
“Looks like they modeled this place after the mirage towers in the Eastern Seas... If they’d had more time, they really could’ve swallowed up all of Fengxiang Town.”
Leaning against the wall with her arms folded, Vieya’s gaze swept over the sprawling garbage field ahead.
She dispelled her disguise—her golden hair gradually fading like the sun giving way to the moon, until it returned to its original silver-white color.
“How strange... The Vampire Queen vanished. And she left me that key—was it coincidence, or something planned?”
She’d examined it. The material matched the one from that letter, but the engravings and teeth pattern were different.
Who had sent it? Elizabeth?
No, that didn’t fit.
Vieya dismissed the thought immediately, her bright eyes dimming in thought.
Whatever the vampires were plotting, she wasn’t about to let a race capable of threatening her daughter keep expanding in this city.
They’d kidnapped children—some about the same age as Jasmine—just to use them as blood bags.
That alone was enough to make Vieya furious.
She wasn’t the best mother, but she’d been trying her hardest to become a good one.
Either way, the vampires had no place in Fengxiang Town.
If one of those degenerate bloodsuckers ever bit Jasmine, she’d have nowhere left to cry.
And to make matters worse, her outside avatar—the figure she’d left to watch over things—had been destroyed.
She could only hope the mirage slime had survived. It was the only thing compatible enough with her slime attributes to serve as a proper seventh-tier “battery.”
But right now, the biggest issue was still Rania—bitten by a vampire, and acting... strange.
Vieya wasn’t sure how to feel about it. Anything related to vampires just seemed wrong to her.
Still, Rania was her student.
If she didn’t take care of her, who would?
After sorting her thoughts, Vieya went back into the shabby hut.
Rania was leaning quietly against the wall, her breathing even. The black cat lay sprawled nearby, sound asleep.
After a moment’s thought, Vieya took off her jacket and draped it over Rania, then picked up the plump black cat and set her on her lap.
“Meow?”
The cat blinked up sleepily at Vieya, then, reassured, adjusted herself and went right back to sleep.
Vieya absently stroked her fur. They’d broken through the vampires’ siege, fled from the top floor all the way down—and it had been the black cat doing most of the heavy lifting.
It was the first time she’d ever seen Helcat grow so large—nearly two stories tall.
Even a simple swipe of her paw or flick of her tail carried enough power to shatter every bone in an ordinary person below the seventh tier—and that was her holding back to avoid destroying the fortress.
Otherwise, she could’ve leveled the entire structure in under a minute.
But if she had, none of the humans inside would’ve survived.
They were underground. If the fortress collapsed... Fengxiang Town above might cave in—half the residential district could fall with it.
The people on the surface must’ve noticed something was wrong by now. Had they sent troops yet?
Vieya idly turned these thoughts over in her mind, then looked down, her emerald eyes clouded with quiet melancholy.
Her hand brushed softly over the cat’s ear.
Sorry, Jasmine, she thought. Looks like I won’t be home tonight...
