The battle was about to begin. A figure in a black robe dove down from the ceiling, swinging red claws at my throat. I drew my sword in a flash and caught her blood-red, razor-sharp nails with a clang. The force sent me staggering backward, but I lowered my center of gravity and steadied myself. My silver hair swept through the darkness, and my blood-red eyes traced a line through it.

The next second, the gleaming blade and those blood-red nails clashed three times, sending dazzling sparks flying through the darkness. With my stats boosted to Lv. 31, I moved like lightning—so fast I even surprised myself. Her ambush had failed, and the robed figure promptly leaped back to put some distance between us. She flicked her wrist and threw three knives at me. I ducked beneath the first two, knocked the third aside with my sword, then dashed in and swept my blade across the vampire’s black robe.

Ragged scraps of cloth fluttered in the firelight, revealing the vampire’s true appearance. She was a voluptuous woman with curly blonde hair. A highly revealing evening gown hugged her curvy figure, while sexy stockings ran all the way up to her thighs. The high heels on her feet gleamed brightly.

This woman was a vampire? Apart from the fangs in her mouth, there was nothing else about her that looked remotely vampiric.

I glanced around. We’d been fighting for ages, yet nobody had stirred. Even the alert hunting dogs were lying there with their mouths open, drooling as they slept soundly.

This wasn’t normal. It was seriously strange.

“Heh.” The vampire licked her bright red lips. “When you lit the fire, the hypnotic potion I’d hidden in the stove spread throughout the house. I’d planned to let you all leave this world without pain. Consider it a little act of mercy. But, little girl who can use Holy Light, I’ve changed my mind. You’re the only one I’ll torment before I slowly enjoy you. Hahahaha!”

Everyone’s asleep. Oh yes! This is great.

Clang—!

I sheathed my sword, turned around, and set it on the ground. Seeing me disarm myself, the vampire burst out laughing.

“What’s wrong? Scared out of your wits? Hoping I’ll be gentle with you?” She spread her arms wide. “It’s too late for that. You’ve piqued my interest. How could I pass up the chance to torment such a beautiful girl? I’ll peel off your face as it twists in pain and terror, then add it to my collection!”

“Cur,” I said, lifting my chin as I coldly gave my command. “You may give me your name.”

The next instant, the vampire was crushed beneath the sheer force of my presence. She took a frightened step back, then fell to her knees with a thump.

“Your Majesty, my name is Mary.” She suddenly realized something. “Damn it, why am I using honorifics for a little girl like you? Who do you think you are? My only master is Lady Lilith!”

So this fool still couldn’t shake the reverence for the True Ancestor that was rooted in her blood.

“Vampire Mary,” I said, spreading my hands. “You’ve overstepped your bounds.”

The next instant, the blood scattering through the air gathered in my hands and formed two swords. But they were nothing like the swords you usually saw. A hollow blood groove ran down the center of each blade, stretching from the hilt to within five centimeters of the tip. The weapon’s proper name was a “Bloodletting Sword.” Vampires had invented these vicious weapons specifically for bleeding their victims. Once one pierced a victim’s body, the hollow groove became a channel like a syringe, and blood would gush out in a steady stream!

“Wait, that’s… Blood Armament!”

As Mary’s face twisted in shock, the red blades had already severed both her hands. The moment she saw her prized claws fall to the ground, she let out a scream.

“Impossible! Impossible! My… my power! My immortality! It can’t be!”

“Hey, hey.” I rested my sword on my shoulder and smirked. “You’ve only lost both your hands. Hurry up and summon your familiar to repair your body, then keep fighting.”

“A familiar?” Mary looked horrified. “Why would I have one of those?”

“You don’t?” Disappointment crept into my voice. “Then use the power in your blood to regenerate your body. Hurry up! Didn’t you eat everyone in the village? Use their blood to repair yourself!”

“I… I don’t know how to do that.”

“Huh?” I was completely disappointed. “Aren’t you a vampire?”

“Yes, I’m a vampire!”

“No, no, no.” I wagged a finger. “Vampires can’t be this weak. You’re a ‘blood thrall,’ aren’t you? Ahahaha! What a pitiful half-breed. You’ve got some nerve pretending to be one of my kin!”

Wait, wait, wait. What am I even saying? My excitement’s getting out of control, and now I’m babbling!

“I… I’m Lady Lilith’s loyal servant,” Mary snarled like a beast. “I’m not some ‘half-breed’!”

But the next second, the Bloodletting Sword in my hand pierced her heart first. Bright red blood surged through the groove running down the center of the blade. The droplets dancing in the firelight gleamed like dazzling red pearls. I stuck out my pink tongue and caught one of the suspended drops in my mouth. Wait, this taste… The moment I tasted the impure vampire blood, I finally understood.

The wonderful taste melted on my tongue like cream—not even human blood was this delicious! At last, I understood: to me, vampire blood was a rare delicacy. Human blood was as sweet as wine, but compared to vampire blood, it was like cheap street wine next to the finest vintage.

“Hahaha, so that’s how it is.” My eyes glowed red. “You vampires are nothing but livestock to me!”

Mary stared at me as I advanced, her eyes filled with terror. She turned to flee, but red chains shot up from the ground and wrapped around her body, leaving her unable to move. I sneered and traced a finger along her pale neck, then sank my teeth into her carotid artery. Sweet blood sang across my tongue and gushed down my throat.

“Ah… Lady Lilith… save me… ngh… ah…”

Mary’s eyes had gone unfocused. Her cheeks were flushed, and breathless gasps escaped her lips. In the end, she even lost control of her bladder. After drinking her fill, I released the empty, pallid shell. I watched coldly as Mary, wearing a dazed expression, turned to burning ash and vanished in the firelight.

(System Notification: Gained 15,000 EXP. Level Up: Lv. 31 → Lv. 33.)

I stood there for a full ten minutes before I recovered from the thrill of Blood Sucking. Then I put away the Bloodletting Sword and the red chains that had pierced the floor, hurried to fetch a broom, and carefully swept Mary’s ashes into a small bottle. I planned to use them as Alchemy materials later. After making sure I’d left no evidence behind, I returned to my original spot, wrapped myself and the sleeping Luka in a blanket, and pretended nothing had happened as I stared at the fire again.

Damn it. After drinking my fill of blood, I was so excited I couldn’t sleep at all.

And the beautiful girl sleeping beside me was only making it worse!

It was all that vampire’s fault.