Master Of Myths

After their exciting stroll in the jungle the trio returned to the villa with a bag packed with blood filled bottles

Upon arriving the two women decidedly went toward the bath for a good scrubbing

Meanwhile YuJu, having refused Subrina's bathing offer, accompanied the happy Iānus absorbing whatever blood essences they deemed useless for research

"Your way too susceptible to change"

He couldn't help but comment seeing the roots seemingly twist and sprout some weird things after each essence consumed only for them to wilt not much longer due to the small quantity of this said essence

The roots whipped forward in agreement, also realizing how super effective this blood was to them

"It might lead to an abomination of an evolution of you absorb too many too quickly"

The roots fell to the ground dejectedly, it was true but the thirst for blood running through them was intolerable

"Here, let me lend a hand"

Gripping at one of the roots he activated one of his skills for its third time resulting in blood red light once more shimmering between his fingers as it formed chains that quickly sank into Iānus, sending shivers across its body as it adapted to the new change within

"All better, eat all you want from now on, youl get to choose which bloodline you'd like to follow through later"

Whip whip~

Happily swinging about Iānus returned to its vigorous drinking, emptying the bottles in no time

Seemingly not yet satisfied, and with the newfound resolution to drink as much as it could, Iānus gave what YuJu could only interpret as a cute wiggle dance in askance of more food

"Heh, you will get your fill don't worry, for now though I need to help you 'digest' what's been consumed so far"

He then performed an action most familiar to this guard of his, pricking his finger with a knife as one drop of blood fell onto the bloodthirsty root before his blood veins started to swell, something that happened unknowingly to YuJu every time his conscience was absorbed into the blood drop

Unlike before however he didn't wake up all dizzy and nauseated, instead he looked completely fine except for being a little paler

"Don't worry, with the chains in effect I won't be easily banished from your body"

He assured before plunging back into the purification process time and again

During this time Subrina and Zero finished with their bath, chancing upon his peculiar state when they came over, his weird state gaining more attention than the roots skin transitioning into bark

"Are you okay Master?"

Subrina was the quickest to worriedly call, Zero meanwhile seemed tranced herself, standing her ground silently until a word came out on it's own

"Beautiful...."

Cold as she may be the blood sucker couldn't help but marvel at this delicate control of blood, it may not seem much to the ordinary eye but to those of her nature the process ahead was one that made blood boil over in excitement

Pulsing through her lord's veins was a rhythm of blood unlike that of the heart, it didn't follow a certain beat but flowed much like words, one's of archaic origin

"Are you okay? Hello?"

"Huh?"

Flinching she noticed a hand waving in front of her, Subrina's voice filtering into her ears once more

Sending a confused glance at her she noticed the maid wearing a new set of clothing, one that was casual and not at all fancy

"You've finally woken up, thought it would take you forever"

"?"

Not quite understanding she looked around only to see her lord nowhere to be found, the root drinking blood in it's all new hard like wood look, and most importantly, soft rays of the sun perforating through the smoke from time to time

'Its daytime already?'

She thought but Subrina seemed to catch onto her thoughts and corrected

"You've been out of it for two days straight, Master said it's better to let you have your time but when I saw how pale your skin was becoming I tried to wake you up"

When she mentioned that the pangs of hunger held down by her deep thoughts came about causing a red ting to surround her blue iris, mixing with the blue to create a dangerous glow

"Haaa....haaa...haa"

Breathing hard Zero tried to suppress the heavy desire, hard as it may be for a newborn like her

"Is there any human settlement nearby?"

"Human settlement? I don't believe so, everyone in the town nearby died before earth was even invaded and the nearest city is the one you came from"

Zero grunted, she suspected this but hopefully asked nonetheless, without humans she'd have to resort to beast blood, though she entertained asking for some of Subrina's for a moment before forgoing the thought with how important she seemed to her lord

Whip! whip!

Seemingly sensing her hungered state Iānus waved to her, offering some of its blood rations, reluctant to share as it may be

Zero declines at first, until the sweet scent wafted from the whipping making her gulp

"...Alright, I guess it will have to do for now"

"No need to share with Iānus, you have your own portion, me and Master went to procure some when were out yesterday, allow me to pour your you some"

Taking her back to the villa and into a room prepared for her she brought out a flask and poured some crimson blood into a wine glass, handing it to the comfortably seated Zero

Swirling it lightly she took a quick whiff, finding it pleasing to the nose, then again it could be her hunger making everything seem tastier, one way to find out however

Sip~

Tender upon touching her tongue yet thick as it coated it, a spicy flavor spreading across her mouth before the blood rode up her fangs instead of sinking into her gut, numbing her as a burning sensation filled up her body

"Like it? It's from a fire lizard we found I'm the nearby town, apparently they made quite a population for themselves there"

"Mmm, it's quite good, much more filling than human blood"

"Oh..."

Perhaps not yet comfortable with having her fellow humans feasted upon Subrina meekly answered putting the glass bottle on the table beside her and telling her to call if any need arise, meanwhile she would get back to her work

"Where is my Lord now?"

Zero asked as Subrina was leaving

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, he left saying he'd to check up on the rest of your brethren, meanwhile your to stay here and guard the house and bring prey in"

"I see"

Done explaining she exited the room leaving Zero to enjoy her spicy beverage and gaze outward, while there was nothing but smoke keeping out most of the sun she quite liked this dark environment, just as many of her kind would

'Speaking of them I wonder how mother fares with her preparations, she seemed a little too invested in making the grandest welcome'

Ever since she felt the lord coming back from his journey she was frantic about everything being right, even going as far as to make their den into one huge throne room fit for a king

'I really hope he wouldn't be disappointed by it's

At first it seemed excessive and way too much, now after she witnessed the process of him purifying his subjects blood however she changed her mind, that man, simple as he may look, was indeed an existence the current human race could only look up to on awe

'Maybe one day he can even use it to increase our purity...'

She fantasized, all vampires regarded their blood purity as the most important trait for the stronger their bloodline was the further control they would hold over themselves and those of their race, and she was no different in that sense

'Still, that's a scary thought...for some reason'

Something, something deep within her very fiber of being, told her that what he was doing was something a vampire should never be capable of, as if their race wasn't allowed to attain a power like this one

'Is he committing a taboo?'

She couldn't help but question, but whether for good or evil she was stuck with him forever, or as long as their journey would allow, after all….

Upon reaching this line of thought she pulled up her status, fixing her gaze upon the thing that caused the inseparable bond

_________________________________

Name: Zero Myths

Race: Vampire

Gender: Female

House: Myths

Level: 63

Class: Tide Rider

Secondary Class: Vanguard

STR: 241

AG: 30.1

VIT: 39

INT: 5

INS: 1.3

AP Available: 0

_________________________________

"Everything comes at a price"

In exchange for having a second chance at life she was bound to serve the house till death, this was the pact of blood she made

Letting out a heavy breath she closed her eyes and reclined against the soft chair, dismissing the troubling thoughts and trying to savour the good taste instead, a luxury not many could afford to enjoy

.........

While the young vampire was getting used to her new home YuJu arrived at her olden one, standing before the creepy hole of an entrance after a short journey with the vehicle now parked nearby

Any who saw this scene would argue that he was much creeper however, looking nothing like a human with his shadowy figure as wisps of smoke spewed out every now and then, what's more he was bereft of any facial features as the smoke didn't block his sight, all this left no more than a humanoid figure that any would quickly mistake for a creature of a different race

"I suppose they wanted to hide in plain sight?"

He wondered aloud, after all this place was too conspicuous, even a kid could tell something dreadful lived here

Giving a shrug he took small but quick steps ahead, this allowed his figure to look like it was sliding, what with the smoke growing in width the downward it went to cover the form of his legs

Squee squee. Squee squeee

Going through the entrance and out of the sun's range he was greeted by what could only be called a colony of bats, descending in a spiral fashion before each took a place along the rugged entrance, hanging from whatever they could clutch onto

As he passed by them they gave an upside down bow, which actually earned a chuckle from the usually cold YuJu, a small one but enough to save the bats who messed up from the fate of being drained alive

Rubble filled most of the way inside, only a small clear path lead him deeper into the once tall building, passing through one flipped over floor after the other, seeing less and less bats the further in he went until finally there were no more of those smaller beasts, replacing them were five somewhat shady humans, with occasional twitches and glaring red eyes that quickly gave away their identity

'Now these are proper thralls'

He thought in passing

The five bowed deeply, keeping that posture until he was ahead of them after which they followed behind silently

Further in, just before the entrance to a large hall, was another red eyed human, this one however was composed, at least compared to the five behind, giving him an elegant bow before following along as well, a step closer than the others

Finally coming into the hall they found the organizer of this 'grand' entrance, donning a veil over her mouth, a lace up red crop top that boasted a pendent hanging from the laces joining the two sides, further extending from the pendant was a chatelaine of silver that crept over the exposed belly, touching the golden sequined hip chain with its oversized needles to produce a clinging sound with every step as the chains followed her wriggling waist

Before he knew it Mia was next to him, bowing gracefully in her magnificent attire

"Welcome back Master"

He nodded to her welcome, then proceeded to the centre of this huge place where the throne awaited him

Mia closely followed behind, the thralls however knelt by the entrance, not daring to proceed further, the more composed one knelt before the throne while Mia stood beside it

Inwardly sighing YuJu took his seat, this ceremonial thing was just unnecessary, it might have seemed grand in Mia's mind but in all honesty it was merely some barely trained bats, some subjects placed on the road according to their rank, and a throne

All in all it was tedious and boring, still she went through so much effort so he went along with it

Now that the formalities were out of the way he could finally start what he came for

"Give me a briefing on the shelter's situation"

"Yes, Master"

Motioning for one of the bats hidden in the high ceiling to come down she took a scroll from its claws, unfurling it before him to reveal a well drawn map

"The bank we once resided in was not safe to stay in after the invasion since it was among the roads taken by one of the Thunder Mammoths, just as you predicted, thus we moved eastward, still in the city but in an a more run down area where there were no tall buildings to attract the larger beasts attention and to allow easy access to the sewers in case of emergencies"

She pointed at the sparsely populated area near the edges of the city

"We set watchers near the borders of this camp, but with how few scouting classes we have we making up for their lack with bats who took the night shifts alone"

She seemed proud of her work but he gave a dismissive nod instead

"I do not care about how the settlement is faring what I want to know is the reputation it gained"

"Oh, then you would be more than pleased Master, after the guidance you provided Sofia and my heavy intervention the woman became quite the force to be reckoned with, among her fellow humans she was nicknamed the holy archer, gaining the admiration and gratitude of many and the recognition of her fellow peers"

"Has anyone founded a guild yet?"

"I have heard rumors of such a case, it's from a far land however which means it will take some time to confirm its validity"

"Good, make her the first to found a guild in this area"

"Excuse me for asking Master but how do I go about doing so?"

"Guilds need to be at least a hundred member strong, each with their second class chosen, there has to be a conquered land under their hands as well as a person with an authoritative Title"

"Hmm, I believe we have a hefty amount of those with their secondary class chosen, as for the Title holder than Sofia would easily fit the bill with her Angelic Apostle Title"

"Oh? How did she go about acquiring it?"

"But of course through your guidance and my help Master"

Apparently she didn't want to speak of the method yet, perhaps not in front of the current listeners

"Hmm, then you can go help her found the guild"

"In the area they reside in currently, right Master?"

She asked knowing it was an assured matter but was surprised to see him shake his head, controlling a wisp of smoke to circle an area closer to the center of the city

"There, that's where the guild headquarters will be"

"Here? But Master this area is infested with random scores of beasts fighting for territory, though they are a lot less than before their number is still quite large, furthermore they are quite strong, probably only Master, me, and my two servants can deal with them, which I'm afraid would take a long time to finish"

"Of course we wouldn't be wasting our time to clear the path of others, after all that's what they are for"

He gestured toward the thralls by the entrance who were now quaking in their boots

"Master, as much as I would like to boast of these thrall's skill I can only say they are merely so-so, they might be more powerful than most of the current human populace but they can not begin to compare with the likes of Sofia who ranks among the few elites"

"Indeed, which calls for the need of a boost"

He smiled, though no one saw that as his face hid under the smoke, what they did see however was the materialization of blood vials in his hands, awing them, though not enough to forgo the fear of going on a suicidal mission

That fear only last so long however, for the next second they saw a green light shine through the smoke from his right hand, attracting not only tier gaze but even their very hearts

"Master?"

"I believe its time I test the limits of my skills"

"As you wish"

Without needing to ask she motioned toward one of the thralls who were entranced, that thrall gulped down their saliva and got up, keep their body somewhat bent however as they eagerly approached this mysterious being sitting on the throne

Taking the blood vial they sucked it up in one fell swoop, a sticky feeling overcoming them after doing so but they chose to ignore it, focusing instead on the approaching shadowy hand which might hold the key to a more glorious  future

'I've been wondering for a while, my skills can be used on my subjects, which should be my soul slaves, but since I now lord over these beings who came about due to my own blood slave….can they also be included as subjects?'

He himself couldn't help but take a deep breath as the light cascaded down his hand and onto the thrall, ceasing with it the breath of every creature in the hall, be they vampire, thrall, or even bat