Morning came softly, seeping through the torn curtains of the inn room. The light was pale, almost silvery, washing over the tangled sheets and the faint scent of blood and warmth lingering in the air. It was a sensual, wild, and strangely peaceful aftermath — the kind that left one suspended between dream and memory.
I turned my head slightly. Beside me lay Lilith — serene, her pale skin glowing faintly in the morning rays. The sight was oddly grounding. For someone who had died twice, this moment felt more alive than anything I'd ever known.
Then, rustling.
I blinked awake, instincts still sharp from countless nights of survival. It was Eve — quietly folding the scattered clothes that had ended up across the room. She froze when she noticed my gaze, her cheeks immediately flushing a delicate crimson.
"Why are you not looking?" I asked, still half in amusement.
Her voice trembled softly. "M-Master, that… that is visible."
I followed her eyes — realization dawned — and quickly pulled the sheets over myself with a dry cough. "Right… my mistake."
Eve looked away, her hands fidgeting with the folded cloth. Despite her attempts at composure, there was a shy smile tugging at her lips.
I stood, stretching slightly, the memories of last night slowly fading into the rhythm of the new day. "Now that I've given you my powers, it's time to train. You'll need to learn how to control them if you're to help us in our base captures."
Eve tilted her head. "So, you're planning to make this fort our home base?"
A faint grin curved my lips. "No, not this one. It's only part of the border. The system sent me a message last night — if I secure all borders of the Dark Continent and reach its heart, I can perform a Blood Construction ritual. With a bit of mortal sacrifice, we'll create our own palace — walls, dominion, everything."
The thought alone made my blood hum with quiet excitement.
Eve nodded, her crimson eyes steady. "Understood, Master. I shall get ready to train."
A gentle hand brushed my shoulder. Warm. Familiar.
"You're awake," I said, turning to see Lilith, her expression soft but teasing.
"Hmm." She leaned in, her silvery hair brushing against my neck. I kissed her lightly before we both began preparing for the day ahead.
The sun had risen high by the time the three of us left the inn, heading toward the misty borderlands of the Dark Continent.
Lilith took charge of Eve's lessons while I trained separately, focusing on refining my control over blood resonance. Their voices carried faintly over the wind — Lilith's patient and guiding, Eve's hesitant but determined. It was a strange scene: a once-knight teaching a newly reborn vampire while I carved patterns of blood sigils in the air.
Hours later, we regrouped.
"Let's pack up," I said, tightening my cloak. "It's about time for the showdown."
But as we neared the nearby town, chaos met us.
Screams, smoke, and soldiers filled the streets. The air reeked of blood and fear.
Eve stopped a passing villager. "What's happening?"
"The Empire!" the man gasped, clutching a bleeding arm. "They've attacked! This fort was just the start — the entire country's going to burn!"
I watched the rising flames reflect in Lilith's eyes. Perfect timing, I thought coldly.
"Let's wait for their full assault," I said. "Then we strike."
Both women nodded.
An hour later, we moved through shadowed alleys, slipping between collapsing buildings and shattered stalls. Soldiers clashed in the streets. Children cried. The once-bustling town had become a battlefield of screams and steel.
"We can't do anything here," I muttered. "Let's leave before the chaos swallows us too."
With supernatural grace, we climbed the outer walls of the fort — blood daggers silently slicing through archers as we scaled higher. The metallic scent of death lingered with every step.
We reached the third floor — the prison wing. Broken cages, unconscious guards, and silence.
"I don't see a reason to stay," I started, turning—
And then the system screen flashed before my eyes.
[Alert: Slave #3 – Detected Nearby]
Lucille.
My eyes widened. "Lucille's here. We have to find her — now."
We moved fast. Room after room — nothing but corpses and terrified prisoners. Finally, we reached the last door.
"This has to be it." I pushed it open — and froze.
The strong knight from before was gone. In her place sat a trembling girl, half-broken, crying silently. Her armor was in tatters, her skin bruised and bloodied. One eye was crushed, bones splintered — but her spirit still clung to life.
Lilith's voice trembled. "How could someone… do this?"
Eve's hands clenched into fists. "They must be insane…"
I stared at her for a long moment, anger mixing with something heavier. "I knew she was bullied, but this… this is too much."
The system chimed again.
[New Candidate: Lucille Krieg – Designated as Potential Kin]
"Let's save her," I said quietly. "She's already been chosen."
I lifted her gently, channeling crimson light through my palms. The power surged — wrapping her broken body in warmth.
Her wounds closed. Her breathing steadied. When her eyes finally opened, they glowed with faint scarlet.
She looked fragile — yet there was beauty in that fragility. Her silver-blonde hair spilled like silk, and her once-dull eyes now shimmered with hesitant life.
Still crying, she leaned forward, and I pulled her into an embrace.
"Don't worry," I whispered. "You're one of us now. The world may have abandoned you, but I won't. I was once like you, too."
Her sobs quieted. "You… you were a bad person once, weren't you? So why save me?"
I smiled faintly. "I've developed a bad habit of saving people."
She blinked, confusion softening into relief. "But… my body. The aura of a swordsman — it's gone."
"As I said," I told her, "you're one of us now."
Her lips parted slightly. "So… I'm a v-vampire too?"
"Yes. One of the only ones. Don't worry — you're going to be Queen Three."
Lilith and Eve both exchanged looks — the tiniest hints of jealousy flashing through their eyes.
"Let's get out of here," I said.
As we ran through the halls, Lucille's faint voice called out, "Although I haven't fully accepted this yet… please take care of me, husband."
I nearly stumbled. Lilith and Eve both turned, jaws slack.
Eve sputtered, "You… how can you just—"
Lucille smiled softly. "Before, he wasn't human. But now… we're both vampires. And he might be the strongest man I've ever met. Handsome, too." Her gaze fell for a moment. "For an orphan like me, to be accepted by someone like that… it's like a dream."
Both Lilith and Eve said nothing — their expressions softening with understanding.
We fought our way upward — four figures cutting through chaos and steel. Lucille adapted fast; her movements refined by her old knight training but enhanced by vampiric power.
Lilith glanced ahead. "Is this the final door?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "Behind it should be the system's check-in node. Once I register it, we can move to the Dark Continent's center."
The system screen glowed the moment I stepped inside.
[Checkpoint: Fort Edran – Secured]
[Vampiric Authority Increased]
Then the ground shook. The fort began to crumble around us.
"Alright," I said, turning toward the others with a smirk. "Let's run."
They nodded. Together, we leapt from the collapsing walls into the shadowed expanse beyond.
The beasts of the Dark Continent roared in the distance, awaiting their new masters.
And under the blood-red sky, we ran — toward the heart of darkness, where our empire would begin.