In a large room, a thin and gentle cry is heard, though it is loud – it's a child's cry – with some laughs full of joy in the background.
A child whose body was once covered in blood now looks clean and wrapped in a white blanket, a white as pure as she is. The child, in turn, is handed to a beautiful lady who, by her physical features, doesn't appear to be more than 30 years old.
"Here she is, my Empress, your daughter," said a woman dressed in white, whose clothes still showed some stains of blood from the birth, as she handed the newborn child to the beautiful woman lying on the bed.
"Oh, she's so tiny… so beautiful…," said the woman on the bed, as she held the child in her arms, which seemed to be for the first time in her life. "It even gives me a certain fear that I might end up hurting her just by holding her…" "So perfect… her skin is so white and pale it looks like porcelain… My little daughter, you are so beautiful, my dear…"
Despite the clearly tired expression, it was possible to see a genuine and gentle smile on her face. The beautiful lady was truly happy – this was probably the happiest moment of her life, more so than even her wedding – and even though she was exhausted from the difficult labor, she wished to enjoy this moment to the fullest.
In that room, a silence hangs when the newborn baby falls quiet upon feeling the sweet and gentle love in her mother's arms for the first time. Everyone just watches all the fraternal love and affection that the beautiful lady, with long hair and eyes that looked like rubies, dedicated to the child who had just been born, her daughter.
It was a scene worthy of a work of art.
But the silence is then interrupted by the sound of the room's double doors, which are abruptly opened in a discourteous manner by a man who rushed through them, running in a desperate and abrupt way.
"My lord, please, contain your nervousness. Your highness, the queen is already well!" said the midwives who were previously in the room.
"My dear, are you alright?! You don't know how much you worried me...," said the man who, despite being well-dressed and with a crown encrusted with precious stones on his head, immediately threw himself to the ground, kneeling beside the bed where the beautiful lady lay, his eyes welling up with concern for her well-being.
"Hehe... Would they laugh if they knew that the great emperor, who has single-handedly wiped out tens of thousands on the battlefield, is in such a state for a simple woman like me?" inquired the lady, in a clear tone of jest and lightheartedness toward the man who had thrown himself beside her.
"Let them laugh. But... if a woman who has such a big heart and has saved hundreds of thousands of individuals is a 'simple' woman, then all the others are just a pile of nothing," the man replied in a serious tone, with a slight smile amid the marks of dried tears that had run down his face. "In any case, I'm happy to see that your sense of humor is still intact, as is your beautiful face and body, my dear."
"Oh, now you're making me shy. I must look horrible now; after all, I spent the entire night and early morning in labor," the beautiful lady replied, with the apples of her cheeks clearly more pronounced after blushing from her beloved's unexpected words.
"But... Hehe... She's so beautiful, look," she added, gently pulling back the blanket that covered her precious child, so that the man could see his daughter's face for the first time.
"Yes, she is indeed beautiful; almost as beautiful as you are, my dear." The man's expression was already relaxed at this moment, and his eyes lit up upon seeing the child for the first time. "But, my dear, at this moment you are still as beautiful as you were the moment I met you more than 300 years ago... No... in reality, you continue to become more beautiful with each passing day."
"And you, with each passing day, become more of a flatterer, huh. But... thank you for choosing a simple and unworthy... I mean... a woman like me to be by your side. Now, after so many years, we finally have a daughter, and... forgive me... I know it would have been better for the kingdom if a boy had come...," the beautiful lady, at this moment, had her happy expression replaced by an expression of sadness and suffering, as she apologized to her beloved. "We can try to have a boy later on, I just ask that you wait for me to recover so that I can give birth to a strong boy..."
"Hey, what foolishness are you talking about?" the man replied in a tone of reprimand, as he held one of the lady's hands tightly, without hindering her from holding the child.
"She is our daughter, I don't care if it's a boy or a girl. The only thing I ask is that she be like you and save lives, unlike me, who only serves to take them. I ask that she never has to set foot on the battlefield and can live her life with peace and happiness. Besides, I doubt I could handle going through something similar again. And you always dreamed of having a daughter, didn't you? That's why I'm even happier that it's a girl. I never want you to go through something so risky again, please…," the man's voice was serious at that moment, and his expression, despite being gentle, still showed certain traces of seriousness.
"But then, what do you want to call her?" the man concluded, in a calmer and gentler tone.
"My dear, don't forget that the only reason I have saved so many lives is because of our agreement… I will always save at least two lives for every one you take... So, let's not talk about this, please. Don't forget that this was our promise that day: for you to be the emperor you needed to be and to win any conflict, I would become an empress capable of supporting you and making sure our allies were always on their feet and that no innocent person was forced to suffer," the lady said, while affectionately stroking her beloved's head.
"I'm sure she will be happy and will find someone who loves her as much as I love you... As for the battlefield, well... you, more than anyone, should know that when a woman is determined to be with a man, she is capable of passing through a sea of flames, blades, enemies, or whatever it may be, just like I did to be by your side. Hehe." "Let's call her Ayan, just like the one who united us. She will be Ayan Enom," the beautiful lady concluded with a beautiful smile of satisfaction on her face as she looked at the child in her arms.
"Ayan, huh? Then I hope she inherits all the strength and resilience that this name carries. Ayan Enom, the next empress of the vampires." "May you grow up happy and free."
And as the years went by, the child's life was just as her father had wished upon her birth: a happy life full of freedom. Even though she was not only a member of the royalty, but also the future empress and only heir to the great Sansu – the vampire empire – she could still run everywhere without having to worry about anything other than enjoying her childhood.
Thus she grew up until she was seven years old. All the castle's servants and maids adored her, not only for being the heir princess, but also because, just as her mother had taught her, she was kind and respectful to everyone, regardless of their origin, social status, opinions, personal prejudices, or anything else. After all, all those born sharing the same sky are equal and, therefore, should be treated accordingly.
✧✧✧
Upon doubling her age, she soon reached her fifteenth year, the age at which many individuals leave their homes after finally reaching adulthood, with the purpose of creating their own legacies and families.
She, in turn, had no need to be bound by such a custom, after all, due to her race's great life expectancy, they do not see much significance in reaching that age. For them, it is just another year, like the ones that preceded it.
But, despite her not caring about finally reaching the legal age of majority, she was still nervous, as all high nobles, regardless of their race, were always expected to be present at the meetings presided over by the gods every five years – the Divine Noble Ball – which had as its main purpose to further unite the races and make them, each time, more united, thus reducing political friction so that, in the future, such conflicts would reach zero.
As the highest noble of her race in her generation, she was expected to be an impeccable example of purity, delicacy, etiquette, and elegance. Something common for any noble, but she always did everything to keep her spirit free.
So, she was soon forced to be with other nobles from her kingdom who had also reached adulthood within the period since the last Divine Noble Ball.
The group of nobles representing the Vampire race consisted of: the first and only Princess of the Empire, 5 princes, 7 princesses, 13 sons of grand dukes, 9 daughters of grand dukes, 7 sons of dukes, and 11 daughters of dukes. In total, 53 nobles represented the elite of their age group.
On the day of the event, located on the Central Continent to be the fairest location for the other four continents, a huge celebration began. Besides all the great nobles of various races who were present, at this Divine Noble Ball, an individual arrived by surprise with his father and mother. This individual was none other than the son of two divine beings, a god who had completed fifteen years just a few months ago and had decided to participate because he knew that a beauty known as "the Beauty of Blood" would be present, and he had his sights set on her.
"Wow, correct me if I'm wrong, but it shouldn't be so loud, since it's still only the first of the ten days of the Divine Noble Ball, right?" a girl asked a large group of individuals who were about to enter the event's main hall.
"No, my dear, you are not mistaken. It's just that I heard earlier there would be a big shot here today. It must be because of that," replied one of the boys present in the group.
"Hey, call me 'my dear' again and I'll show you why very few have the courage to even have a simulated fight with me, kid," the girl replied in an aggressive and discourteous tone, while giving the boy an angry look.
"Not only do you not thank me properly, but you also call me 'kid,' even though we're about the same age and I'm a few months older than you…" "Now I understand why they asked our group to stay on your tail and not let you do anything wrong. Right, Miss 'Beauty of Blood'?" the boy concluded.
"Ugh, this title they've started calling me is even more detestable than the way you address me… They could at least be more creative," she said with a frustrated sigh.
The large, ornate doors then opened for the group to enter, their names and places of origin being announced as they stepped inside.
Everyone in the hall fell silent when the last member of the group entered and turned their gaze to her.
She was a stunning girl with long, curly hair and large ruby eyes. Her long, puffy blue dress contrasted with her hair and enhanced her white, somewhat pale skin – it was the well-known Beauty of Blood who had just entered the hall.
Various murmurs and whispers started circulating almost immediately.
"Ugh, here we go again…," the girl thought as she entered the hall and saw that the nobles, just like at all other events, were only concerned with judging others through gossip and appearances.
"It is a great honor to finally have the pleasure of meeting you, Beauty of Blood. And I ask you to forgive me for saying this, but all the rumors about your beauty do not even come close to your real beauty," said a boy with indigo-colored hair and eyes, dressed in a luxurious white garment with gold details.
"I see, so this is the 'big shot' who was coming... A prismatic… Ugh," were the only words that ran through the girl's mind at that moment.
"I have a name!" the girl replied in a sharp, direct manner.
Everyone whispering in the hall fell silent, seeing her audacity in responding to him that way. The silence then remained for a few not-so-brief moments.
"Tch, she's just a fucking vampire and has the audacity to treat me, a handsome and unrivaled god – the best of my generation – like that?! If I didn't want the vampires to participate in the war, I wouldn't even waste my time putting this filthy bitch in front of me," the boy thought, as he struggled to maintain a gentle smile and expression.
"Yes, you are indeed right, I apologize for being rude. I am Redus Blayrmonth and I would like to express the enormous happiness I am feeling at this moment for finally having the honor of meeting the great Ayan Enom, who will be known to the world not only for her incomparable beauty but also for her incredible combat abilities. For a lady, this is something worthy of praise," he replied with an ironic tone.
"Heh, another piece of shit noble who has never done anything. But almost all prismatics are a bunch of shits, so he's just a fruit that didn't fall far from the tree. I would love to provoke him, but my mother told me to behave, so be it," she thought.
"Alright, just remember never to call me by a title as ridiculous as 'Beauty of Blood' again. Excuse me," was all Ayan replied before giving a quick, slight bow of her head and walking away, leaving the young man standing there, staring into space.
"Tch, I'm going to kill that bitch," the young man thought, clenching his fists.
"Calm down, don't forget our main objective here. Tonight, we will have both the mother and the daughter to get our revenge and use as we wish," the boy's father said, whispering in his ear.
Meanwhile, the young Ayan was with her mother in another part of the hall.
"Hehe, it was amazing to see her treat that prismatic boy like that, but I can't praise her because of the environment we're in… When we get home, I'll find an excuse to give her a present for that scene. Hehe," Ayan's mother thought.
"Is that how you behave? I know you hate the title you've become known by, and I understand you, after all, being called the 'Bloody Saint Healer' also irritates me. But it's up to us to just accept it, since it's practically impossible to change people's minds, as they are all so superficial and ignorant," the Vampire Empress was saying.
"I know, Mother, I apologize if my previous behavior makes the gods treat us even worse, or start calling us 'demons' as well," Ayan replied, looking down due to the fear she felt for the uncertain future of her race.
"But... seeing these wretches happy and calm while thousands are dying in a war they themselves started disgusts me... And, in the end, one of the main culprits for this war is also one of the only worthwhile prismatics in that cursed race. I wonder if she would be happy or sad to know that her act started a war." "Ah, I'm sorry, Mother, I got carried away and said more than I should have. I will remain silent so as not to cause any more trouble. I promise," Ayan finished. In her expression, although well-hidden, sadness and anguish were noticeable.
A few hours later, with the moon almost at its highest point, Ayan and her mother left the hall.
The two, holding hands, had happy expressions as they chatted with each other, making it clear to anyone how much they loved and got along. It was a beautiful display of fraternal love and affection.
While they were on their solitary night walk along a small road surrounded by beautiful ornamental trees – which, despite being lovely and in bloom during spring, were now losing their leaves as it was nearing the end of autumn – Ayan suddenly stopped and began to look around incessantly, as if searching for something that was bothering her.
"Wow, my little one has improved her mana sensitivity a lot, but she still has a long way to go if she only noticed them now… In fact, by the way she's not acting impulsively, she hasn't even truly sensed them, she just feels something is wrong," Ayan's mother thought, upon seeing her daughter's behavior.
"There's no need to look anymore, Ayan, we've already been surrounded…"
"What do you mean 'surrounded,' Mother?" Ayan replied.
"Gwahahaha. Is this the so-feared Beauty of Blood? She can't even identify us, even though we've been following them since they left the ballroom. Pathetic," said a voice from the darkness.
"Hey, wash your mouth before you talk about my daughter. Just because I'm known as a healer doesn't mean I can't blow this entire place up," Ayan's mother said. Her tone and expression were clearly irritated by the unknown man's words.
After Ayan's mother finished speaking, the sound of clapping and footsteps came from the darkness.
"Look what we have here, two bitches, and the older one is still trying to protect the younger one… How touching," said the new voice from the darkness, which got louder with each step.
"That voice… I see… So, in the end, it's you, Lidio Blayrmonth. I never imagined you'd have the courage to show your face to me again after the humiliation of more than three hundred years ago. Did your scar finally stop itching after all these years?" Ayan's mother said mockingly, having clearly recognized who was speaking.
"Ah, just seeing you tonight and talking to you right now is enough to make that scar you gave me itch, in fact," the man replied.
"You know him, Mother? With that last name, don't tell me that…" Ayan's voice was filled with concern and curiosity.
"Yes, it's probably just as you thought. This pig is the father of the piglet who bothered you at the beginning of today's event. No… not a pig… more like two cockroaches, since they still refuse to die," her mother replied with a voice full of resentment.
"Calling me a cockroach is even cruel for you, but so be it. Today, I will finish playing with you, since you didn't let me finish that night, 319 years ago. And of course, no new scars," the man disgustingly licked his own lips and drooled as he spoke. "You can have fun with the little bitch in the meantime, son."
"You can count on it, Father. I'll make sure to enjoy this gift you gave me tonight," Redus assented.
After the father and son spoke, the night suddenly began to get brighter. Where there had only been the light of the stars and the moon, a growing red now permeated the air, produced by flames that appeared behind Ayan's mother and grew larger and larger.
"Finish what you started more than 300 years ago, you say? Indeed… today another god will die, then. Today, no one in this world can save you, even if I have to die with you," Ayan's mother said, radiating an overwhelming pressure.
Ayan had never seen her mother talk like this. After all, what she was saying didn't make sense – to kill someone, or even to die to be able to kill – because it went against everything she had been taught by her own mother.
Her mother had taught her that she should be willing to forgive, to use her strength for the weak, her power for those who have none. That she should fight only for a better world and without involving or harming innocent people in any way. But at that moment, the same mother who had taught her all this was radiating enough mana to blast the entire region within a 1-kilometer radius into the air, leaving nothing but ashes; and a murderous aura strong enough to make even the most experienced warrior have to hold back from trembling in fear.
At that moment, Ayan remembered something her father had told her a few years ago when she had asked him why her mother was treated like a saint, while he was treated as a tyrannical destroyer of sorts. Of all the explanations he gave, the only phrase Ayan remembered vividly, echoing in her mind, was:
"Oh, my little one. I have indeed committed countless massacres, while she has saved countless lives, so being known that way is understandable."
"But… make no mistake… If they consider me a wolf that hunts sheep, your mother would be a lion that hunts wolves; no, in reality, more than that, she would be a hunter." "A hunter capable of hunting both lions and wolves. You know, I have a piece of advice if you want to live for many years…"
"If one day, for even the briefest moment, you feel that your mother wants to kill someone, run. Run as far as possible and as fast as you can. Because when she is thirsty for blood, she becomes something even I don't have the courage to stand in the way of."
After recalling her father's words, Ayan tried to follow his advice. She used all her strength, using the little magic she had—due to a certain deficiency—to strengthen her body as much as possible and run away. But, to her misfortune, it was too late.
An explosion of flame magic, powerful enough to devastate the entire area within a one-and-a-half-kilometer radius, destroyed houses, animals, innocent people, and even part of the ballroom, which was originally designed not to be easily affected by external forces.
All the nobles still present had their attention turned to the ground zero of the great explosion, where a woman known for her kindness, compassion, and indulgence now stood with parts of her clothes scorched, and on the other side, a divine being was sprawled on the ground while another struggled to stay on his feet.
"See, just as I said. A cockroach," Ayan's mother affirmed as she hovered in the air, preparing for an even more powerful attack.
"Tch, you damn bitch. And to think you'd still have so much power after years of doing nothing," Lidio replied amid groans of extreme pain.
"Well, at least the mana dissonance poison I had put in your and your daughter's drinks is starting to take effect. I can tell by your mana failing."
"Damn it, I set up a bunch of artifacts all around to stop her from using mana, but in the end, I almost died with just one attack… What a monster."
"But wow, I still didn't expect you to almost kill me. Look, I think you killed my son and I don't see yours… don't tell me you killed that little bitch too. Gwhahaha."
As he coughed up blood after laughing, the Bloody Saint Healer fell to the ground, with no strength left to move. The dissonance poison, which is not lethal, is used to incapacitate someone from using mana. But in Ayan's mother's case, she still managed to use it by forcing herself, which left her on the verge of death.
"Come on, don't blame me. Everything would have been different if you had agreed to be one of my toys before… Now I have to have someone carry you out of here. Damn, it hurts too much, I think my arm is gone," he said, stumbling toward the ballroom.
The nobles who were watching and listening to everything from there just pretended that nothing had happened and did nothing—they were complicit.
"FIND THAT DAMN LITTLE BITCH, I'LL PLAY WITH HER IN FRONT OF HER MOTHER," he yelled as an order.
At that moment, everyone there—from soldiers to high nobles—followed his command and went in search of Ayan, who they assumed was nearby. After all, there was no time or way for her to have fled.
"Ugh, where am I? I just remember trying to use my mana to run away, but after distributing the power to my body, I just blacked out. I can't move my arms or legs, not that I'm trapped, I just don't have the strength to even open my eyes… What the hell is going on anyway… Is my mother okay…? Damn it, if only I were strong enough," these were Ayan's thoughts during the brief moment she regained consciousness.
She didn't know why she was unable to move, but it was because of the drug that the group of vampire nobles who accompanied her had injected into her when they found her unconscious. It was a heavy drug, forbidden by the Council of Sages, to make her unable to react to anything for at least the next 72 hours.
And now, with the target of the hunt unconscious and completely defenseless, they continue through the dark night.