As Tsuru ran down the forest path to the vampire's lair, the sun was beginning to set.
That meant that the vampire that kidnapped Mara had to be a vampire lord to be able to walk
in the sunlight. She must have kidnapped the little girl as a snack for her minions... that
meant she only had until nightfall to save the girl.
Bakra should have been able to make it inside and as Tsuru headed to the castle's
entrance, she was glad to see the door was already open. Tsuru could feel his presence
within the halls and called out his name.
"Bakra! Bakra! Where are you?"
She found herself in a dining room and went up the stairs. Mara was probably being
kept in a room, rather than in a dungeon. Tsuru came to a halt as she heard footsteps,
running around.
"Tsuru?" Bakra appeared in front of her, out of breath.
"Ark went and got me, but do you know where Mara is?"
"No, I've been searching all around this hallway without any luck."
Tsuru spotted a large door and pushed it open. Bakra followed her without hesitation.
The pair ran down more halls, stone steps until the demon stopped. He pulled out a red jewel
that was shining brightly. He let out a little laugh.
"The first time you met Mara she went out to get this jewel for me. Pretty ironic that
it's really a tracking device - when two parts of the same jewel are close, they shine,"
Bakra said, looking over at her with a slight smile. "She's gotta be down this way."
Tsuru nodded and could feel the presence of the vampire lord from a different
direction. "You go get Mara and I will take care of the vampire lord-"
"Like hell you are - the two of us are going to get Mara and leave. If you lose,
you're going to become their next meal, ya crazy girl," Bakra said, grabbing her arm.
"If I can't take down a vampire then I deserve to be eaten," Tsuru said with a laugh.
"Plus, the vampire is going to come after us the moment we get Mara. I have to stay behind
and stall for you. It's almost nightfall."
Bakra let out an annoyed sound, but headed down the hallway. "You better come visit
us, Tsuru!"
She smiled as his remark and continued down to what she assumed to be the vampire's
lair. Tsuru stopped in front of the door, taking a deep breath. If it was a really strong
vampire... well, if it was her time to die, then so be it.
Tsuru entered the room, immediately spotting a woman sitting on a throne, her eyes
closed in thought. Her bluish silver hair was done up with an ornamental hair clip and she
leveled her red eyes at Tsuru.
"I thought I felt someone come in here... Did you want to stay for dinner?" The
vampire asked, chuckling at her own joke.
"No, I came here with a friend to retrieve the little girl you kidnapped," Tsuru said.
The vampire gave her a dull look until she realized what she was talking about.
"Really?" The vampire sat up. "She's supposed to be dinner for my pets..."
"I'm afraid she's already been rescued so you'll pets will have to do without. I'm
guessing you keep a lot of other vampires here?"
The young woman grinned, her fangs glistening in the light. "No, not quite. It's a
privilege I save for the lucky few. The pets I refer to... are well..."
She trailed off and raised up one hand. An ominous shadow began to build and Tsuru
stepped back with some shock as she saw it morph into a dragon. She'd never actually
encountered a shadow beast, but she'd heard of them.
"Sorry, but he must be very hungry," The vampire said as the beast lunged at Tsuru.
She jumped to the side, avoiding a swipe of its claws. She slashed at its arms, watching as
some of the shadow dissipated. This would be hard...
The vampire was content to sit back and watch, until Tsuru decided it was time to kill
it. "Banishing Art: Light Pillar!"
Tsuru watched in relief as light erupted from the ground and completely engulfed the
shadow beast. It disappeared without a trace. The vampire stood up and gave her an
appraising look. "An exorcist? That was very impressive for a mediocre skill... tell me your
name?"
"Tsuru and I want you to stop preying on the innocent people in the demon settlement
nearby."
"Really now? I could really care less about the settlement. Tsuru... do you want to be
my plaything tonight?" The vampire grinned at Tsuru's flushed face.
She'd just been propositioned by a vampire. Great. In the back of her mind, she
wondered if the young woman knew Isaka... "No, I would never degrade myself to such a
level."
The vampire shrugged. "Alright - time to die."
Tsuru was completely caught off guard when the vampire started to summon shadow beast
after shadow beast, until no more could fill the room. Tsuru let out a cry as one knocked
her against the wall and all the others lunged at her.
The vampire watched in amusement as Tsuru kept all their claws at bay using her two
swords as shields. "Tsuru, if you would like to reconsider, now would be the time."
"Hell no!" She succeeded in pushing all the monsters away and using that momentum, was
able to concentrate on her strongest skill. "Seventh Seal: Heaven's Flare!"
The vampire covered her eyes as the whole room flashed. Once her eyes adjusted, she
was upset to see every beast had been killed. Tsuru expected the vampire to become angry,
but she started to giggle instead.
"You're so strong, Tsuru! Are you sure you're human?" The vampire licked her lips
suggestively. "Never mind about being a plaything - do you want to be my knight?"
Tsuru pursed her lips in disgust. "No, you creature. I don't want to be anything of
yours!"
The other woman laughed again. "Please, my name is Carmilla. I'm sure you will be
calling it out a lot later on tonight..."
Tsuru tensed up as Carmilla walked towards her. Like she was going to let a vampire
take advantage of her... Just as she was about to use another art, the vampire smacked her
across the room. As Tsuru skidded to a stop on the ground, she was shocked by the speed of
her enemy.
"What's the point of your powerful little exorcist skills if you aren't quick enough?"
Carmilla asked, watching Tsuru get up and remove her eye patch. The vampire was intrigued.
"A Demon Eye? You have a Demon Eye? How wonderful!"
Tsuru took a step back as Carmilla continued talking. "I get to have a sweet little
knight to play with, who's so physically strong and has a demonic attribute. You're perfect
Tsuru..."
The exorcist just wanted to run away now... When the vampire came at her, she was at
least able to block the hit. Tsuru was able to track her movements with her Demon Eye, but
that still didn't make it easy.
Carmilla easily avoided each one of her strikes and when Tsuru messed up-
The ebony haired girl let out a low groan as Carmilla's fist sunk into her gut. As she
sunk to her knees, the vampire gave her a merciless kick into a wall. The room swam in front
of her.
"You are quite strong as a human and I would have died if I were any other vampire...
too bad you were dealing with a vampire lord," Carmilla murmured before laughing.
Tsuru tried to get up as Carmilla walked over to her. "Wha... what are you going
to...?"
"Make you my knight, of course."
This wasn't how it was supposed to end - Tsuru was supposed to die in battle, if not
of old age. She was supposed to have found someone to live for, to care for... not this. Not
become a slave to a vampire.
Tsuru groped for her katana, wanting to end her life herself, but Carmilla kicked it
away. "Oh, no, no, no. Can't have you leaving me, Tsuru."
Tears pricked her eyes as Carmilla leaned closer to her. "I'm sure you have such
delicious tasting blood, but I'll be saving that for a different part of the ritual... hmm,
I sure you don't mind, do you?"
The vampire laughed as she bit into her own wrist, filling her mouth with blood. Tsuru
tried to turn away from the bloody kiss, but Carmilla caught her lips. Tsuru let out a
muffled cry as the blood seeped into her mouth. She didn't want to swallow it, but the
vampire's insistent kiss made it impossible not to.
Carmilla began to laugh as Tsuru swallowed, the coppery liquid slithering down her
throat. "Now, that wasn't so bad, my precious knight..."
She tenderly licked at the blood on Tsuru's lips, the young girl having already passed
out. Carmilla was about to pick up her prize when she felt a presence behind her. Without
hesitation, she summoned a shadow beast to take care of her guest.
The vampire swiftly turned around when the beast let out a sharp cry. It had already
been killed...
"I think you have something of mine," came a clear, distinct female voice.
"Really, now? Too bad, you shouldn't have let her go, then."
Isaka stared at the vampire in disgust. "What have you done with her, you parasite?"
"A demon? Are you the one that gave her that eye?" Carmilla started to laugh. "I'm
afraid you're a little too late. Tsuru already drank my blood and by morning, I will have
turned her."
Isaka frowned and stepped forward. "Not if I can help it - the girl's life is mine."
Carmilla shook her head. "Why don't you just leave? She's already on her way to being
my knight."
Isaka didn't stop walking. "No. Hand her over if you want to live."
*****
"Her fever's not going down..."
Tsuru wondered who it was that was speaking... Bakra? It sounded like him, but... What
happened to Carmilla? Was it... all a dream?
"...I see. I should have hurried. I didn't think that vampire Carmilla would do this
to her."
Isaka? Isaka was there too? Tsuru's body hurt too much to move and it was hot... too
hot. She opened her eyes to see a ceiling. Out of her peripheral vision, she could see Isaka
and Bakra discussing the matter.
"What's going to happen to her?" Bakra asked.
"Carmilla made it so that Tsuru would be unable to resist her," Isaka murmured. "At
least, that's what she said before she ran off. Tsuru will probably be driven to find
Carmilla if I don't stem this off now."
"...stem it off?" Bakra asked, his expression growing grave. "As in..."
Isaka gave a sad laugh. "This isn't exactly how I wanted things, but... hell, it's
much better than her becoming slave to a vampire."
At that point, Tsuru tried to sit up, gaining the attention of both demons. She'd
heard enough. "What... what's going to happen to me?"
Isaka gave Bakra a look and he left the room. "You ingested some of Carmilla's blood,
which forced you into a... contract of sorts. Her plan was to incapacitate you and then turn
you into a vampire. Luckily, I saved you after she started the first step."
Tsuru gave her a harsh look. "Yes, but what does it mean? What's going to happen?"
"You're going to be driven by lust to go seek out Carmilla so she can finish the
ritual," Isaka said, giving her a smile.
Tsuru could only stare as tears pricked her eyes. "Wh-what? No! No way - I'm not going
to lose my virginity to that crazy vampire! I don't want to be her knight!"
Isaka shrugged. "I'm sorry, that's what's going to happen unless you want to accept
the alternative."
"The... alternative. As long as I don't turn into something else, then it's fine."
"I'm afraid you're not exactly human anymore..." Isaka said with a sigh. "But you're
not a vampire either, if we can keep you from Carmilla. Her original intent was to use her
blood to make you a submissive victim. Then, she was going to suck you of her blood and have
you feed on her."
Tsuru nodded as Isaka continued. "Your only alternative is to have me take Carmilla's
place."
The demon waited as it all sunk in.
"Hell no! I'm not letting you feed on me, you, you - just no!" Tsuru shouted, pulling
up the covers.
"Tsuru, all I would do is make love to you and have you feed on my blood - that's it,"
Isaka said, rolling her eyes at Tsuru's behavior. The girl was getting more flushed and
disillusioned by the second. "At this rate, you'll be escaping and running into Carmilla's
arms in just a few hours..."
Tsuru shook her head, feeling so very ill. "No, no, I can't let you do that..."
"There's no other way," Isaka said, sitting down on the bed. "I'd much rather it be me
than Carmilla."
"Of course you would, but I... no, no, no!" Tsuru's protest fell on deaf ears as demon
leaned forward, capturing her in an embrace. "I can't let you have it... please... my, my
virginity."
"Shh, it will be okay, I promise," Isaka whispered, kissing her delicately on the
forehead. Carmilla's blood made it impossible for Tsuru to resist.
"Please... please... it's not for you, you can't have it, you can't have it," Tsuru
pleaded as her shirt was being unbuttoned. "It's for someone special, not you... not
you...!"
Isaka gave her a sad smile. "I understand."
*****
When Tsuru awoke, she was caught in a warm embrace. She resisted the urge to cry, just
to cry at everything. Why her? Why did all this have to happen to her? She lost everything -
her family, her purity, her humanity.
Isaka began to wake up as the girl in her arms sobbed. They'd made love during the
night and finished it with Isaka making Tsuru drink her blood. The girl before her was
broken and confused, unsure of what to do with herself. The demon wiped at her tears.
"Tsuru... please, don't cry. Don't cry," Isaka repeated. "I will take care of you - I
promise."
It didn't help her at all and she only kept crying.
*****
When the afternoon came, Tsuru was still in her room, fixated on the mirror above the
dresser. Her hair had once been a perfect shade of black. Now it was fading into a bluish
silver, like that of the vampire who marked her. She'd tried to perform an art earlier...
It didn't work. She held her head in her hands, trying again not to cry. She'd lost
everything this time - she wasn't even an exorcist anymore. She had nothing.
There was a knock at the door and Tsuru tried to straighten herself up. It was a ten
year old girl, Mara, holding an apple. "I thought you might be hungry," she said with a
small smile.
Tsuru tried to look cheerful. Could she even eat regular food or would she have to
feed on the blood of others? She bit into the apple, crying at its sweetness. What was she
going to do with herself. She looked at little Mara, so small, so innocent and the feeling
of regret left her.
She'd been able to save a small child, so this really wasn't that much of a loss,
right? Ark came into the room as well, looking rather glum.
"Tsuru, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault - I shouldn't have bothered you-" The young
woman shook her head.
"It's okay Ark. I went in there, knowing what could happen."
*****
"It will all be fine. Let me take care of you, alright?" Tsuru paid little attention
to Isaka's words. "This settlement is filled with kind demons and humans so you'll fit right
in."
"What am I now?"
Tsuru's question surprised Isaka. "Well, you were once an exorcist who wields a demon
eye with the blood tainted by vampire and also crossed with a demon. I don't really know,
but in order to realize you're potential, you'll have to drink blood."
The now blue haired girl tensed at that. "No, there's no way I'm ingesting blood... it
makes me... it turns me into something else."
Isaka shrugged and started to remove her clothes. Tsuru averted her eyes from the
undressing demon. "But you have to accept it. If you don't feed, you won't become the best
you can."
Tsuru felt herself get weak as the naked demon came over to her. "Plus, I don't really
mind you biting into my neck."
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