“They’ll be nailed to the city walls, their blood drained drop by drop for all the vampires to see the fate of traitors. Or… they’ll be thrown into the blood beast cages, listening to their own bones being snapped one by one.”
Klal’s gloomy voice slithered over Sylvie like a venomous snake, sending chills through her entire body.
“Sylvie, you have disappointed me far too much.”
Those final words rang out like a death sentence.
She suddenly opened her mouth wide, her sharp fangs piercing directly into Sylvie’s neck, drawing blood even more frantically than before.
Glug… glug… glug…
Sylvie could clearly feel her life rapidly draining from her body. Her vision blurred, and the only sound in her ears was the horrific slurping of her blood being sucked away.
Consciousness was swallowed by darkness.
So cold…
So painful…
So agonizing…
This icy sensation of blood being pulled from my veins.
This helplessness of having my body, my thoughts, my freedom, even my soul controlled and imprisoned by another.
This… despair of feeling death approaching without mercy or limit.
It’s really… so terrifying…
But… she couldn’t struggle.
She absolutely… could not struggle, could not resist, could not make any pathetic plea for mercy. Even whimpering was not allowed.
Because Sylvie knew that would only make Klal’s punishment more frenzied, more cruel.
She would enjoy the feeling of her prey thrashing… Sylvie knew that all too well from experience.
The fastest way to end this banquet of pain is…
Klal’s greedy sucking showed no sign of stopping. Then, the girl held tightly in her arms did something even she hadn’t anticipated.
Instead of instinctively struggling to survive, Sylvie reached out with both arms and tremblingly wrapped them around Klal’s neck. In the midst of that prison-like embrace of death, the gesture looked utterly ridiculous.
In that instant, Klal saw the girl’s emerald eyes.
There was no fear, no pleading.
Only a near-empty numbness, calm, and… absolute obedience.
That look inexplicably enraged Klal, even infuriated her.
She was too calm…
Calm to the point where it didn’t feel like punishment, but like performing her daily routine of service.
She wanted… to see this girl break.
Klal’s arms slithered from behind like vipers, binding Sylvie’s body in an even more aggressive and possessive way. The strength in those arms was terrifying, as if trying to crush Sylvie and meld her into Klal’s own blood.
Another eerie silence began to spread…
Compared to the last time, this one lasted even longer. The chilling sounds of swallowing and sucking echoing through the grand hall grew louder.
One minute… three minutes… six minutes… nine minutes!
The arms that had once wrapped around Klal’s neck had long since lost all strength, becoming limp and powerless.
Finally, those hands went completely still, dangling weakly in the air…
Her body, pressed down by Klal’s frame, was forced to arch backward, her slender neck exposed without any resistance.
“…Ugh… cough…”
Her emerald eyes grew unfocused and dim, with only remnants of fear still struggling within them. Her throat could produce no sound, only intermittent, broken whimpers escaping.
Drip… drop… drip…
Fresh red blood trickled down her neck…
After what felt like an eternity, Klal finally ended the prolonged punishment. She straightened up and licked her bloodstained lips.
Thud…
The girl’s body slid from the throne and collapsed onto the floor. Her eyes half-open, her body still twitching unconsciously, her lifeless pupils stared at the pale bare feet below the throne.
“Hmph…” Klal let out a cold snort, gazing indifferently at Sylvie lying on the ground.
…The blood livestock’s punishment was over.
And Sylvie… from beginning to end, had never shown any sign of “losing control”?
Even as she fainted, she never removed that infuriating mask of obedience.
Like a emotionless puppet.
But no matter what, next… it was time for that fool who dared overstep.
“Utia…” she suddenly called.
The moment the words left her mouth, whoosh—Utia’s figure appeared below the throne.
She knelt on one knee, head bowed, though her eyes involuntarily drifted toward Sylvie, who lay collapsed nearby, still twitching with half-open eyes.
“Ara, looks like I’m being called for cleanup duty again. How unlucky, my dear. You still couldn’t hide it.”
Being sucked unconscious and then having her handle the aftermath wasn’t exactly a rare occurrence.
“Utia will take her down for treatment now,” she said softly.
But just as she reached out, another pale hand suddenly seized her wrist.
“…Huh?”
Utia looked up in a daze and found Klal standing right in front of her at some point, her face cold as she glared down.
Then, she questioned her.
“You’re quite concerned about my blood livestock, aren’t you, Utia…”
She couldn’t possibly think that she was the one who had bitten Sylvie!
“Utia does not know what Your Majesty is referring to,” she replied respectfully, keeping her head low.
The grip on Utia’s wrist tightened gradually, nearly crushing her bones. The intense pain made her body tense up.
“Ara, do you think I’m truly a fool, Utia?” Klal’s voice was low and dangerous.
“Your disgusting scent of desire is all over Sylvie… Filthy, revolting. Just standing near you nearly suffocates me.”
“Your Majesty misunderstands. Utia merely… urk!” Utia hurried to explain, but in the next moment, her throat was seized, cutting off her unfinished words.
Klal choked Utia’s neck with one hand, slowly lifting her up. That icy voice carried tangible killing intent.
“You didn’t really think I was unaware of your filthy deeds, did you? What you’ve done to those other lowly blood livestock—I don’t care. But… you should not touch what is mine.”
Klal’s fingers tightened slowly. Utia’s face paled from lack of oxygen, her legs kicking weakly in the air as faint, powerless moans escaped her throat.
“This child is my private property, my most perfect collectible.”
Klal’s voice carried a spine-chilling smile, her crimson eyes gleaming with near-mad possessiveness.
“Every inch of her skin, her first drop of blood, every breath, even her pain, despair, pleasure, and fear… all belong to me, and only to me.”
“I will not allow anyone to overstep, to dare touch her… Do you understand?”
As she spoke, the pale hand choking her throat tightened further. Utia instinctively reached to pry those life-stealing fingers away, but even with all her strength, she couldn’t budge them an inch.
In the end, she could only plead pathetically in a gasping voice.
“Please forgive Utia, Your Majesty… Utia… will never do it again.”
Utia’s plea echoed weakly in the vast hall, but the madness in Klal’s crimson eyes did not fade. Instead, a cruel smile emerged.
Her fingers slowly traced over Utia’s trembling shoulder.
Rip—
A hair-raising sound of flesh tearing suddenly rang out in the silent hall. Utia’s right arm… was brutally torn off.
Blood sprayed like a fountain, splattering dots of crimson across Klal’s pale face.
She released her hand, letting Utia’s body collapse limply onto the cold stone floor.
“Ah—!!!”
Utia let out a heart-wrenching scream. The agony from her severed arm nearly made her faint on the spot.
She curled up on the ground, clutching the gushing wound with her remaining left hand, her body shaking violently.
Klal watched indifferently as Utia writhed in a pool of blood, casually tossing the severed arm into a corner of the hall.
Her voice was like ice as she wiped the blood from her hands and paced the hall.
“I know you don’t like me, Utia. The blood of that woman still flows in your veins, but that doesn’t matter.”
“As long as you behave, I can tolerate your existence. Six years ago, the reason I didn’t kill you was simply because I thought your strength could be useful to me. Nothing more.”
Klal’s voice echoed through the empty hall, laced with condescending disdain.
She walked up to Utia and lifted her pain-twisted face with the tip of her foot.
“But remember this: tolerance is not indulgence. To me, you’re nothing but a useful dog.”
“A dog should know its place. Don’t touch what you shouldn’t, don’t think what you shouldn’t. Otherwise…”
Her gaze turned utterly frigid once more.
“Next time, it won’t be just an arm.”
Utia gritted her teeth, cold sweat mixing with blood as it trickled down her forehead. Enduring the excruciating pain, she responded in a trembling voice.
“Utia… will obey Your Majesty’s teachings…”
“Hmph…”
Klal merely snorted coldly, returning to her throne. She crossed her plump thighs and declared arrogantly.
“You should feel honored and grateful, Utia. If anyone else had touched her, they would already be nailed to the city walls. I’m giving you one chance…”
“Now, take your gratitude—and that child—and get out…”
“…Yes.”
…