"Beatrice... Beatrice... come back to me... come...."

Rattle

The sound of metal clanging echoed through my skull, making my ears ring. Everything around me was dark. My world spun so wildly I felt like vomiting, and I could barely feel my body at all. Pain was the only thing that stayed with me.

Where am I? I hope… Beelzebub and Elira are safe. I really hope he found her…

A dull ache pulsed in my chest, right where her sword had torn through me. I was lucky to still be alive… but at what cost? My own overconfidence had landed me here. I had just received a strong power-up in the cave and immediately decided my word was law. Heh… fucking idiot. I should've checked her strength first, or at least followed her from a distance. And now look at me: injured and… shit… where did that crazy woman, Silver, drag me?

I forced my eyes open, just a little, straining with every bit of strength I had left.

However, even with my eyes open, there was only darkness… and a damp, heavy smell of wet mold. Wherever I was had to be either a dungeon or a very badly ventilated bath. Jokes aside, the familiar bite of chains around my wrists and ankles told me everything I needed to know. It reminded me far too much of how John treated me when I first came into this world. I guess things really do come full circle…

I lifted my head, my arms pulling weakly against the restraints, making the chains rattle even louder. I was suspended in midair, my body stretched out, and the chill in the air clung to my skin. When I glanced down, I could barely make out the pale outline of my own naked body in the faint light.

Stripped... That fucking pervert must have done it.

Growl…

My stomach twisted painfully, begging for food. The bloodthirst washed over me in a sudden wave, but there wasn't a single soul nearby. I couldn't smell anything, couldn't sense anyone.

"Fucking hell… let me out…" I tried to scream, but what came out was a weak, broken rasp that barely carried in the darkness.

Time slowly began to pass. I slipped in and out of consciousness so many times I couldn't even remember the number. It felt like a full day had passed… or maybe a month. I wasn't sure anymore. I felt forgotten, suspended in this place with nothing but the sound of dripping water. Drop after drop… the only thing that kept me from losing what little sanity I still had. Whenever I was awake, I counted them slowly.

But there was one more thing that kept me sane: my clone inside the system trial. Every time I lost consciousness, I was dragged back into that place, fighting endlessly. That trial became a kind of salvation, giving me something to hold onto, letting me keep my strength, at least mentally. On the outside, I was rotting away, but in there, I was still me.

Yet even after countless attempts, I still couldn't reclaim my acupuncture needles. She beat me easily every single time, and the challenges only grew more merciless. It was like every failure demanded an even harsher version of training afterward.

It pissed me off… but it also kept me craving life.

My stomach twisted more and more until, at some point, it just… stopped. I had likely reached the stage where hunger no longer bothered me. Which was dangerous. It meant my body had started eating itself, and if this went on long enough, I would starve to death. I wondered how long it would take a vampire to die of starvation. Was this the time to run experiments? I really didn't want to find out…

"I'll kill her… I'll kill all of them…"

Eventually, insanity started slipping in. I found myself muttering to the darkness, over and over, until my eyes fully adapted to the lack of light. But then, something bright suddenly snapped into existence in front of me, burning my eyes.

[Darkness affinity gained]

"Fucking shit… what a welcoming entrance, only to give me something so useless? Hey, shitty system! Help me out instead—get me out of these chains!"

My words were heavy, my throat raw, and the sound barely left my lips. Even I could hardly hear myself. And then the darkness wrapped around me again. The system came and went whenever it pleased. It really didn't give a shit about me unless I was in actual danger. Or… did I fail it as a user?

That thought gnawed at me too. There were still so many things I didn't understand.

Tap… Tap… Tap…

Suddenly, a sound I hadn't heard in what felt like ages slipped into my ears. Footsteps against cold, hard stone. The shoes sounded heavy… maybe metal. Armor, most likely. I lifted my head, waiting for whoever decided to pay me a visit in my lovely little home.

One after another, the creaking groan of old, cranky metal gates opening echoed through the darkness. More footsteps followed, each one louder and closer. I licked my lips without thinking, the hunger flaring up again, consuming me so fast I felt myself slipping toward that shadowed place in my mind, the one I always fell into when the bloodthirst took over and I couldn't control it.

A silhouette came into view, wearing the brightest armor I had ever seen. She wore a smile so sweet it made me wish I could rip it right off her face.

"Silver…" I said faintly, and that only made her smile widen.

"Oh? You still remember? How cuuute! Ahhh, my cute little vampire, did you miss your master?" She curled her fingers around the iron bars, her face almost pressing against them as she leaned in.

"I'll never have a master."

I gathered what little strength I had left and spat at her face again, landing it right between her eyes. Bullseye.

She wiped it off with her palm… and then, right in front of me, she licked it clean.

The hell—?!

"Mhm… delicious…"

Fucking creep…

"I know what you're thinking, my cute little slave. But even if you try to deny me, you'll have to submit eventually. I'm the only one who can save you from public execution, after all. Or would you prefer to die in front of thousands in the capital? Oh? Do you want Hera to watch you take your last breath as well? Hihi… hahaha!"

She laughed like a maniac who had already decided my fate, but her words made my heart drop.

Execution… huh?

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