Chapter 14: A Strange Visitor, P1

~14.1~

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In the dead of night, two cloaked figures walked down the street together in a city that looked very different from the likes of Arslade, Atlantis, or New Tokyo. Skyscrapers dominated downtown, but smaller buildings were far more common throughout the city.

“What’s your goal tonight?” asked the first cloaked figure, a handsome young man with shoulder length black hair and red eyes.

“Some young man, I think. I’ve had only girls in the past few months.” The second cloaked figure was a pink-haired girl also with red eyes. “Girls taste sweeter, but I’ve been craving sour lately.”

“You say that like guys are all sour,” he said with a raised eyebrow.

“Huh? Don’t put words in my mouth. You know male blood is more consistently sour.”

What is this? They’re talking about the taste of blood?

“Meet back here an hour before dawn?”

“Sounds good.”

Gotta be vampires. But there are no vampires in the connected realms. So... I’m dreaming?

Splitting up, the young man wandered off while the girl strolled downtown. The street was lit well, but the light fell off quickly further out. After half an hour of trolling around, the girl found a young man. He looks to be about nineteen or twenty. Let’s find out if he’s got a heavy mind. Better chance of his blood having a sour tinge if he has worries.

What the hell? I can hear her thoughts? Well, if I’m dreaming, that makes sense. Hey! Can you hear me, vampire girl?

The girl turned toward where Kye’s viewpoint was and raised an eyebrow. Strange. It’s like a person is there, but there’s nothing. Huh...

I guess she can sense that I’m here, but can’t see me or anything. It’s almost like Ally is cloaking me with void magic.

Well, whatever. Probably just a stray cat or something. She turned back toward the young man. He was sitting on a bench. He looked like any other random guy. Black hair, blue eyes, a hoodie, and jeans. “Hi hi! Whatcha up to?”

“Nothing much. Just chillin’ while I wait.”

“Yeah? Waiting on something or someone?”

“Nothing important, really. I was just thinking of getting a drink. Want one? I’m buying.”

“Nah, I’m good. Thanks. Care for some company while you wait?”

“Sure, I don’t mind. Let me just run over to that vending machine really quick.”

“Mhm.” The girl sat down and waited while he fetched his drink. He came back with two drinks and sat down, then handed one to the girl. “Well, maybe I could drink something. Oh, it’s orange! I like orange. Thanks!”

He smiled and opened his drink. “What brings you here tonight?”

“Oh... you know. Just wandering around. I’m a bit of a night owl and had nothing important to do tonight. And-”

“Didn’t feel like doing the unimportant things?”

She smiled and nodded. “Pretty much.”

I’m guessing her method is to seduce him or some such, wait until he’s asleep, then get a drink while he’s out. Probably trying to keep a low profile.

“So, hey, you doing anything later?”

“Hmm?”

“On lazy nights like this, I like to go to things like karaoke or bowling or whatever.”

“I’m not much of a singer, but your voice sounds nice. Think you’d be okay singing for me? Maybe I could work up the courage after a nice performance from you.”

“Perhaps. You gotta promise you’ll sing at least once, though! You’re cute, and all cute guys can sing with the right motivation!”

“Yeah? Well, alright. With encouragement like that, who would say no?”

With a smile, the girl began to lead the unsuspecting guy to the nearest karaoke box.

She mentioned finding out if he has worries. Is this her- WHOA!

The girl grabbed the guy’s wrist and started to run. As soon as she was facing away, she fell forward. Her hand and most of her arm suddenly flew over her head.

“Huh?” She spun around and fell flat on her back. Her arm landed just behind her. From her perspective, it landed in front of her on an upside down sidewalk. “What?” She looked up at the guy and saw a jet black longsword with her blood dripping from it. “A black sword?” Her eyes dilated as she understood what she had just said. “No... The Black Sword!”

“I’ll give you a moment to ask Goddess Elysia for forgiveness.”

What the...

“Aisha the Vampire Princess... pray and you shall be forgiven-”

Let me in!

“-for your sins against humanity as you...” The girl turned toward the spot where Kye was watching the scene unfold. The young man saw her look away and followed her eyes. “What are you looking at?”

She can sense me again! If I try a little harder... But this is a dream, right? But it feels... nevermind. It doesn’t matter. Dream or not, I’m not letting this happen!

In a bright flash of silvery white light, Kye appeared in front of the two. “It worked!”

“The presence I’ve been feeling tonight... it’s you!” Aisha said.

“That light...” the young man said.

Kye formed her aethersteel bracelet into a longsword and pointed it at the man. “I have several things to say to you, Mister Black Sword.”

“Who are you? To possess Goddess Elysia’s light... are you an apostle?”

“One, you will not harm this vampire girl any further. Two, what the hell is an apostle? Three, stop calling me a goddess!”

“W-what?” The young man backed up, unsure what to think about the last part.

Kye helped the vampire girl to her feet and was getting ready to use healing magic, but Aisha waved her off. Aisha picked up her arm and said, “I’m okay. I’ve had worse.” To Kye’s surprise, the girl put the arm back, and it healed after a few seconds.

“Royal vampires are a pain in the ass,” the young man said. “Your healing factor is ridiculous. And you...” He glared at Kye. “One who would so thoughtlessly say what you’ve said as if you are Goddess Elysia in the flesh... even if you possess the divine light, this is unacceptable.”

“Yeah?” Kye smirked as she unleashed her mana. Better be careful how much power I use here. This is clearly a different realm, though they do have strong mana. “That’s right.”

“You must either be joking or seeking severe punishment from the church.”

Kye glanced from the guy to the girl. “Uhh... I’m as surprised as he is to hear somebody say that.”

“What? Whatever.”

Suddenly, the young man brought his sword down on Kye. She easily blocked it and kicked him far down the street. “What’s his problem?”

“To be honest, I’m shocked that you are claiming to be the goddess.”

“Well, it’s more than just a claim, but perhaps I should have composed myself better.”

Aisha glanced over in the direction the black sword wielder was kicked. “Damn, he’s still not back. You kicked him pretty far.”

“Yeah, well. He got on my nerves.”

“Well, I’d be concerned, but that bastard cut my arm off. No sympathy here. Thanks, by the way. His sword is scary.”

“That black sword?”

“Yeah. Hey, listen, do you want to get out of here before he comes back? You seem alright. I could introduce you to my friend and see what he thinks.”

“Oh, sure. I don’t mind.”

Aisha nodded, grabbed Kye’s wrist, and jumped onto the nearest roof. “You have some power, but can you travel by roof? I can carry you if not.”

Kye floated into the air and nodded.

“Whoa, you can fly? What the...?”

Kye smiled. “Lead the way.” She doesn’t know about flying? The difference in what’s common is wild here.

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Revision: 2024-4-26