Richard watched as Erin was moving towards the village. In his eyes, there were mixed feelings. "Let"s see what your decision will be. Will you be able to ma.s.sacre the village or not? Don"t disappoint me, Erin." He sighed and looked at the sky. There wasn"t a moon at that moment. It was the perfect time for those sorts of attacks.Anna was next to Richard. She was a bit nervous. Of course, she knew that Richard gave that task as a test, so she didn"t say anything earlier. She just hoped her master could pa.s.s the test. No matter what the outcome was at the end, she would still follow Erin, but there would be some difference. She didn"t have much of a choice anyway, as she was a blood slave.
"Lord, are you sure about that? Isn"t it a bit inappropriate to test her like that?" Finally, she asked.
Richard looked at her direction, not saying anything. For a few moments, Anna became even more nervous. She didn"t have the right to question the Lord, and still, she did it. Would he be mad? Contrary to her expectations, Richard only sighed and turned to look at the village again. Her body relaxed and she nearly fell down from that, since she was too tense before that. Calming herself, she started looking at the village too.
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Erin neared the village. There were two guys patrolling around the wooden fences. They were talking at that moment. Out of curiosity, she decided to check their conversation first, so she got near them to eavesdrop.
"Sigh. Without the hunting party, we are really screwed. So much time pa.s.sed and they did not return! Guess there is no hope. It is more likely that they are already dead."
"Yeah, most likely. Who knows what beast or demon killed them? After all, the forest is too dangerous. They knew the risks from the beginning, but still, they failed to return. Now our situation with the food is getting worse."
"Don"t mention that, we"ll handle it somehow. Hopefully, we can live through the winter. It will be a big challenge."
As Erin listened, she finally realized where she was. That was the village of the hunters she had killed. She started hesitating. Could she really ma.s.sacre the whole village? Taking a deep breath, she calmed down again, her eyes resolved. With nimble steps, she neared one of the two guards and slit his throat with her nails.
"Hey, let"s make one more lap around and rest..." As the other guy started talking and looked back, he saw Erin"s b.l.o.o.d.y hand and his friend"s body. He froze on the spot, not able to react at the scene before his eyes. As he was about to draw his dagger and cry for help, Erin moved next to him and slit his throat too. She couldn"t help but start drinking his blood. The human blood was just too intoxicating, nothing like the other races.
As she drank, her body changed again. Red eyes, red hair. Her form now was just another form of beauty. But that beauty was deathly. She became more and more excited from the blood. Finally finishing, she separated herself from the guard. His body was now dry, slowly falling down to the ground. A small thud was heard in the darkness, and Erin"s silhouette wasn"t there anymore.
Going into a house next, Erin started checking it. It wasn"t a big house, there was only one door in front of her. It seemed like the house was separated only in two rooms. Going through the small room which looked like a kitchen and a dining room, Erin opened the other door. There was one big bed. On it, she could see a middle-aged woman sleeping. In her embrace, there was a small girl about six or seven. The small girl was huddled to her mother, her face lined with dry tears. The mother wasn"t any better. She had wrinkles and dry skin, a lot of cuts on her hands and face. That was a typical village woman, who had seen a lot of work and suffering throughout her life.
Erin neared the bed, still excited from the blood of the guard. But she started hesitating again. Those were innocent people before her. Was she a killer? A butcher? Shaking her head, she moved slowly to the bed and prepared to use her nails and end the lives of the mother and child.
"Sam.." The woman murmured in her dream, a silent tear dropping from her eyes to the child"s cheek. Erin stopped at her tracks, widening her eyes. Is this Sam"s wife? The good guy she first met? Memories from the past started surging through her mind. Her hand, which was ready to strike, started trembling.
She remembered Sam who tried to help her out and his ending in her hands. The ecstasy she experienced as she drank her first blood, and the despair after her mind cleared. Shuddering, she looked at the pair in front of her again. It seemed like they were crying for him, for Sam. And she was now about to kill them.
Could she really kill them?