The bedroom door opened with a soft creak, revealing the figures of Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima. They expected to find their Bishop curled up in his box, but what they saw instead was a young boy standing with composed posture, dressed in the male uniform.
The surprise on their faces was evident. Rias stepped forward, her crimson eyes scanning the drastic change in her servant. Akeno lingered behind, an enigmatic smile on her lips.
"Gasper, what happened to you?"
Rias's question cut through the silence. Her voice was a mix of concern and authority, demanding an answer for that inexplicable transformation.
'Act like the original. Weak, confused. The truth is a weapon I can't reveal now. They must believe I'm still the burden they sealed.'
Gasper blinked, forcing a disoriented expression onto his face. He looked at his own hands, then at the two women before him, as if awakening from a long dream.
"Rias-senpai..."
His voice came out trembling, a carefully rehearsed act.
"I... I don't know. I was fine, but suddenly I got so hungry... Growl... After that, everything went dark. When I woke up, I was like this."
He gestured toward his body and clothes, the performance of innocence serving as his first line of defense.
Akeno let out a soft giggle, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Ara, ara. That's to be expected, President."
"We were negligent. The hunger of a vampire, especially one so young and with unstable powers, can cause a lapse of consciousness. He must have acted purely on instinct."
Akeno's explanation was logical, plausible. She offered the perfect excuse, one Rias accepted with a sigh of relief and a sting of guilt. The suspicion in her gaze softened, replaced by compassion. The deception had worked.
'The hunger... it's real. More real than I could have imagined. I have to control it, or the mask will fall.'
"I was so scared..."
Gasper's voice sounded weak, a thread of sound in the silence of the room.
"I don't want that to happen again."
His eyes, however, betrayed the performance. For an instant, they fixed on Rias's neck. Pale, exposed skin, the delicate curve where a bluish vein pulsed with a slow, steady rhythm.
A subtle aroma, almost imperceptible, reached him.
His gaze then slid to Akeno. Her neck, partially covered by dark hair, seemed to emit a different energy. The scent of her blood was interlaced with the crackling power of a fallen angel.
It was intoxicating.
He abruptly lowered his head, his face flushing in a perfect imitation of shame. The movement was quick, but not quick enough.
Rias felt the weight of that stare, a prickle of instinct making her briefly bring a hand to her neck. Akeno, on the other hand, didn't move, but the enigmatic smile on her lips deepened slightly.
'The plan is working. The excuse of hunger was the perfect bait, and they swallowed it. Now, I just have to keep the mask in place.'
Akeno stepped forward, her movement fluid and deliberate. She tilted her head to the side, exposing the pale skin of her neck in a silent, provocative invitation.
Her smile widened, violet eyes shining with amusement. She enjoyed the expression on his face, a mix of feigned fear and a desire he could barely hide.
"Ara, ara, Gasper-kun. You look so thirsty."
Her voice was a seductive whisper, full of promises.
"If you need, you can drink a little from me."
Gasper stepped back, his eyes widening in rehearsed panic. The offer was tempting, but accepting it would be a catastrophic mistake for his plans.
"P-please stop, Akeno-senpai!"
His voice broke, exactly as he intended.
"Don't tease me!"
Rias watched the exchange in silence, her mind racing. Akeno's explanation made sense, but something still bothered her. The power she had felt, the hole in the wall...
'That wasn't just an accident. It was a display of brute force, even if unconscious. If he can control this... maybe... maybe he's the key.'
Her thoughts turned to her unwanted engagement, a chain that bound her.
'A piece strong enough to free me from Riser. I sealed him to protect him, but perhaps, in doing so, I deprived myself of my own salvation.'
The hesitation on Rias's face vanished, replaced by cold resolve. She stepped forward, her presence filling the room as she placed herself between Akeno and the young vampire.
"Akeno, that's enough. I'll take care of this."
Her voice was no longer that of a concerned club president, but of a queen assuming command. The responsibility for her servants was hers, and hers alone.
Gasper watched her, his head slightly tilted. The mask of fear and confusion remained, but beneath it, genuine curiosity stirred, analyzing the sudden shift in power dynamics.
With firm, deliberate steps, Rias Gremory walked toward him. Each movement was measured, the sound of her shoes on the wooden floor marking the advance of her newly formed plan.
'It worked. The bait of hunger not only deceived them, but also awakened her ambition. She no longer sees a burden, but a weapon. And a weapon must be kept. My thirst will be sated by my own jailer.'
Rias stopped before him, her shadow falling over his small frame. Without warning, she knelt, the motion fluid and graceful, bringing her crimson eyes level with his. One gentle yet firm hand slid behind his back, while the other slipped under his knees.
With a strength that belied her elegant appearance, she lifted him from the floor. He was raised in her arms, held against her chest, the soft fabric of her uniform pressed to his face. The gesture was so unexpected that, for a moment, his confusion was genuine.
'What? I expected her to bring blood, perhaps even offer her own. But this... being carried like a child or a bride? What's the purpose of this act?'
Akeno, watching from the door, let out a soft laugh, the sound like delicate bells in the silence of the room. Her smile widened, full of malicious amusement.
"Ara, ara, Rias..."
Her voice was a teasing purr.
"What a... maternal scene. Are you going to rock him to sleep too? Or is this rehearsal for something more intimate?"
Rias ignored Akeno's taunt completely, her crimson eyes locked on Gasper's. Her Queen's mockery was irrelevant; a new purpose had solidified in her mind.
She adjusted his weight in her arms, pulling him closer. With a slow, deliberate motion, she tilted her head to the side, exposing the pale, unblemished skin of her neck.
"Aren't you hungry, Gasper?"
Her voice was a low, hypnotic whisper, charged with authority.
"Drink. That's an order from your King."
That overwhelming scent returned in full force. The closeness was torturous, a sweet and potent mix screaming directly to the most primal instincts of the body he now inhabited.
The mask of confusion and fear began to crack under the pressure of primal need. The protagonist's mind resisted, but the vampire's body answered on its own.
His eyes widened, pupils dilating. The soft pulse of the vein in Rias's neck was a beacon in the darkness of his growing hunger. Control slipped away like sand through fingers.
'No. Not like this...'
With a sudden, spasmodic movement, he leaned forward. The fangs, once hidden, extended instinctively.
'I was supposed to be in control...'
Chomp.
The sharp teeth pierced soft skin, and Gasper's world narrowed to the hot, metallic taste of the Gremory heiress's blood.
A low, restrained moan escaped Rias's lips. Her fingers dug into Gasper's shoulders, a mix of pain and surprise coursing through her body.
She did not push him away. Instead, her head tilted slightly back, a shiver running down her spine as she felt her vitality being drained.
From the doorway, the sound of a soft, melodious laugh drifted into the room. Akeno watched the scene, her enigmatic smile now tinged with pure amusement.
Her violet eyes gleamed with predatory interest, savoring the young vampire's loss of control and his King's reaction.
The protagonist's mind shattered. All plans, all deception and meticulous control were swept away by an overwhelming wave of instinct.
There was no more strategy, no thoughts of the future. There was only hunger, a primal, absolute need consuming him entirely.
The taste of blood flooded his senses, hot, rich, and powerful. Each pulse of the vein beneath his fangs was thunder in his ears, drowning out reason.
His consciousness unraveled, leaving behind only the starving creature, lost in the act of feeding on his master. The outside world vanished.
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