‘…There must be some lingering mental side effects from the 【Binding Contract】 that I wasn’t aware of. It forces familiars to obey their contractors…’
Van Drake had resistance to mental interference caused by vampiric magic or sorcery.
But right now, Todd was so overwhelmed that he couldn’t even recall that fact.
Yeah. This is all because I was enchanted.
Otherwise, at this moment, there’s no reason for Vasha’s face, of all things, to keep flashing through my mind…
‘Still, I’m glad she’s not here right now.’
As Strigon’s spear closed in on Todd with each passing moment, a flood of thoughts and emotions surged through him.
Todd’s eyes, now a bright hazel, reflected the crimson spear rushing toward him like a mirror.
And in that moment—
“How dare you!”
A piercing voice tore through the darkness like the sound of a bowstring being scraped—
Along with it came a rich scent of roses that completely filled Todd’s lungs.
Even as his vision blurred and the world spun dizzyingly around him, the arms holding him felt unmistakably familiar.
Todd, finally recognizing the one who had rushed in and pulled him away to safety, cried out in despair with a voice like clashing metal.
“Vasha!”
***
The scent of roses was soon overwhelmed by the stench of blood.
Vasha had just barely managed to knock Todd out of the spear’s path, but she herself had failed to evade it.
The crimson spear, condensed with magic, pierced straight through Vasha’s thigh—and then vanished without a trace.
What was left behind was a gaping wound and blood gushing out in waves.
Normally, for Vasha, such an injury would take a considerable amount of time to heal.
But right now, her power was overflowing. In the blink of an eye, the wound closed as if it had never been there.
Still, even though her body was healed, the heavy scent of blood lingering in the air could not be erased.
“Huff… Huff…”
Surrounded by the thick stench, Vasha panted heavily.
More than the pain of having her thigh pierced—what truly made her blood run cold was the thought that, had she been a second too late, Todd might have died.
Her whole body felt dry, like her blood had been drained.
Vasha held Todd tightly once more.
Todd squirmed as if trying to break free and shouted.
“Damn it, why did you come here!”
It was hard to believe that someone who had nearly died just moments ago could yell with such intensity.
Then again, if near-death experiences were enough to shake him, he wouldn’t be Van Drake.
It wasn’t until she felt the strong pulse of life from within her arms that Vasha could finally let out a sigh of relief.
Under normal circumstances, she might have coaxed and comforted Todd.
But right now, she didn’t have the luxury to indulge his tantrums.
Her attention was focused on the ominous presence looming in the waterways—Strigon.
‘So that’s Strigon… A hardliner among hardliners—one who doesn’t even flinch at sacrificing humans or their own kind.’
The malevolent energy radiating from Strigon was fitting for someone of his nature.
If Vasha had still been in her lower state, she wouldn’t have even dared to lift her head.
There was no telling how many humans and fellow vampires he had devoured.
Sweat gathered in the palm of Vasha’s hand.
Strigon seemed surprised by the unexpected interference. His expression hardened as he glared at Vasha.
His eyes were razor-sharp, as if they could peel away her skin layer by layer.
His gaze, like a tongue licking across her body, didn’t miss a single twitch or breath.
Vasha clicked her tongue softly.
‘He’s trying to guess my lineage, isn’t he?’
Right now, Vasha held the power of a high-ranking vampire.
And someone like Menorah—who kept close tabs on the elite—would know every notable figure among them.
From Strigon’s perspective, a high-ranking vampire had just appeared out of nowhere.
No wonder he was observing her with such caution.
‘Still… I’m relieved he didn’t strike immediately.’
Silently letting out a breath of relief, Vasha calmly gauged the magical energy left within her.
Even though her powers were now unsealed, the amount was still finite.
She might be able to buy a little time against Strigon—but holding back while facing someone of Menorah’s caliber was impossible.
And she wouldn’t be able to drag this out for long, either.
That’s why she gave up on the idea of protecting Todd while fighting Strigon.
She had to evacuate Todd before Strigon made his move.
This was her chance—Strigon was still sizing her up, not acting yet.
While staying alert to his movements, Vasha glanced at the unfamiliar man who was with Todd.
And yet… something familiar about the stranger caught her eye.
“…Matteus?”
“How do you know my name…?”
Matteus looked baffled, his words trailing off.
From his perspective, it was only natural—why would this vampire, who had just appeared and saved Laurus’ grandson, know who he was?
But to Vasha, recognizing him was no surprise at all.
There was a faint resemblance to Melina in his features, and a subtle trace of holy energy lingered around him.
On top of that, she already knew that Melina’s older brother, the Paladin initiate, was attending the auction.
So failing to recognize him would’ve been the strange thing.
‘Though to be fair, in the past, I wouldn’t have sensed such faint traces of divine power…’
Indeed, ever since her magic had been unsealed, her senses had sharpened dramatically.
So much so that she could even see the red threads tightly wound around Laurus and Matteus.
As long as those crimson threads remained, they couldn’t escape.
Cutting them would free the pair—but doing so would immediately alert Strigon and provoke an attack.
Sending Todd alone was also out of the question. That headstrong, reckless foal would just come charging back in.
‘Looks like I’ll have to act quickly and all at once.’
Vasha’s crimson eyes gleamed as she swiftly finalized her plan.
Still, the fact that Matteus was there with them was a small stroke of luck in an otherwise dire situation.
‘At least now I’ll have something to say to Melina.’
Melina had never explicitly asked Vasha to save Matteus.
But the moment she’d heard something had happened at the auction where he was present, her face had gone pale—and Vasha hadn’t missed that.
Just as Melina had stood up to Bernardo for Vasha’s sake, Vasha too was determined to send Matteus back alive—for Melina.
What’s more, Matteus was a physically capable man,
making him well-suited to help Todd and Laurus escape.
The only issue…
‘He may be a knight apprentice, but he’s still a paladin. Will he really follow a vampire’s orders that easily?’
On top of that, Matteus had probably realized by now that Todd, Laurus, and Vasha all seemed to know one another.
So his mind must be in chaos right now.
Still, considering how close Strigon’s threat loomed, there was a good chance he’d follow Vasha’s lead—at least for the moment.
‘And if the Flint guy already broke into the villa… then Strigon probably already had an idea of my existence anyway.’
Having weighed her odds, Vasha spoke in a low, urgent voice to Matteus.
“There’s no time to explain. Just focus on escaping this place. Take Todd and Laurus and get as far away as possible.”
“Escape? What are you talking about! What about you?!”
Todd shouted, cutting in furiously.
Vasha’s tone made it sound like she intended to stay behind, and that set Todd’s blood boiling.
She shouldn’t have come here in the first place.
‘She’s just a low-ranking vampire—how does she expect to take on Menorah!’
Even now, Vasha had already been gravely wounded, her thigh pierced just trying to save him.
She’d lost a lot of blood, and healing that wound had surely consumed a large chunk of her power—
So much so that her thirst for blood must be pressing dangerously close to the edge.
Considering how ruthless Strigon was—even among the hardliners—if Vasha were captured, she wouldn’t be killed easily.
More likely, she’d be skewered through all her limbs like a hunted beast, her blood slowly drained until none was left.
‘There’s no way she could endure that kind of pain… She used to be scared just to draw blood from her palm!’
And now she dares to say she’ll protect someone else?
Even now, she looked like she was in agony—clearly barely holding it together.
Todd could see the pain etched between her brows and clenched his teeth, gripping her clothes tightly.
Against Menorah, a mere lower-rank vampire didn’t stand a chance.
A young Van Drake like him would actually have better odds.
Todd spoke with determination.
“If we’re running, then I’m going with you. I’m not leaving you behind. If you use my blood—at least you—”
“Todd.”
Vasha interrupted calmly, calling his name as she looked directly into his eyes.
She checked to see if the charm she had crafted for him was still working.
The color of his eyes, once molten gold, now appeared as a deep caramel—like well-cooked sugar.
~~~
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