“So you’re telling me… you’ve been dating a vampire,” asked Aunt Charlie with a toothy grin on her face. She stood next to him, leaning on a tree with her arms crossed as Sean himself sat under the shadow of the tree, on the grass —where he’d been sitting before. Except, this time he wasn’t looking at the mansion, and instead the other way.

They were back at the mansion now, Max being treated by Sean’s mother. They could have used Fairy Blood on him, but they didn’t. If you constantly rewound time whenever you were damaged, your experiences would also fade —that wasn’t a good thing. Apparently, it also caused amnesia if used repeatedly. And he’d used that to heal his eye less than a week ago.

“We weren’t dating,” said Sean. He was confused but he felt a sort of bitterness now. It was like the regret last time, but it wasn’t as strong as the one he felt when he thought Clara was dead, it was a similar one.

While the people that were outside to meet them had their mind control canceled, Mr. Ishida and his family weren’t there. Sean could only assume they’d been killed or worse yet, shipped off somewhere.

“And she’s a Daywalker, too,” said Aunt Charlie, “That means she’s a big shot. So… did you do that? I’d assume they’re better than normal ones, with mind control and all.”

He wanted to be alone but someone always managed to come out and annoy him. This time, it was Aunt Charlie, trying to infect him with her optimism.

Maybe, just maybe, he had to leave the manor and his family to be alone.

“Aww, the little brat’s turned into a grown-up, all shy and that,” said Aunt Charlie, “You can tell me just about anything, you know? And I have more experience than you in just about everything.”

“Not in magic,” said Sean, “And why are you here and not there? With the other adults.”

The other adults and everyone that were staying in the manor were now at the haven, securing it.

“Doing what I do best —babysitting,” she said, “Because apparently, you suck so much at that that you managed to make it there faster than us. Good job there.”

“It’s the daytime. The monsters shouldn’t be out,” said Sean. There should be no reason to babysit him at all.

“Well, you kids ran into a Noble so I’m basically looking after you so that you don’t start burning down the house or something. With their Charms and all,” said Aunt Charlie.

That made sense.

Sean’s Presence negated the vampire’s Charm so he was safe. He didn’t know about Liz and Chris but Sean heard that she and Rex had a skill that protects them from the mind-controlling effects. Said that it was a Class Skill, like his Mana Sight.

“Aaaaaaaaand,” started Aunt Charlie. She did that whenever she wanted something.

“And what?” asked Sean with a sigh. He couldn’t just say no or chase her away. And even if he did, Sean doubted that she’d just go away. She was the clingy kind, always managing to annoy people until they gave in. That’s the tactic she’d used on Uncle Edmund.

“I want you to fix up my baby. Like you did with the motorboat,” she said, “Then there are all the other cool weapons in the second basement.”

“Second basement?” asked Sean, his eyebrow raised. He didn’t know that there was something like that. Heck, he didn’t even know there was any basement before he had to look after Chris and Liz.

“Well, yeah. It’s practically impossible to open without electricity. You might be able to, though. It’s one of those high-tech ones with facial recognition and all. Technically, we could have smashed our way in but you know, the stuff inside is basically unusable,” she said, “Your Uncle Edmund’s made most of them so they’re more or less one-of-a-kind. Except, now you can at least fix up my bike.”

“I’ll try,” said Sean.

What he’d done with the boat wasn’t using electricity. He’d just poured Mana into it like a moron and had managed to make it work. Hell, he didn’t even know how he thought it’d work. It somehow did, due to some miracle.

“So, how’d you do that? How many can you fix?” She asked, extending a hand to help him get up. She almost casually pulled him up to his feet as if he was a rag doll. That was welcome.

“I don’t even know. It has something to do with petrol being charged up with Mana so I guess as much as I want?” explained Sean. He didn’t know how much Mana he needed to ‘restore’ it to the fuel, “I don’t know how much it’d need, though.”

Aunt Charlie chuckled and shook her head, “Damn, using the word magic so casually feels weird. Well, I guess you kids can do some nifty stuff now. Way more impressive than those creepy cultists.”

Cultists?

Wait, was there… Magic that humans could use before the System?

Well, at this point, he didn’t even care. His family was full of monster hunters, there were monsters everywhere and he’d found out Clara was a vampire. Now, you could even say that the gods existed and he’d believe it.

“What was it like?” he asked as they walked back to the mansion. They were heading for the basement, after all, “You know, Magic. Before the System came.”

“Weird, I guess. It was creepy,” she explained, “They had to do weird rituals and prayers and stuff and created fire and stuff. It was mostly discreet effects, though. Like hexes, teleportation and all.”

Hexes?

Teleportation?

And she called that discreet?

“I guess you can call what those fairies do magic as well. They can create the elements and control them way better than that girl in Jason’s group. To be fair, I liked to think of it as superpowers back then. It was easier on my sanity,” said Aunt Charlie, “Now, I’m thinking that I’ve been fighting Magic all along. Since you can use it and all.”

If Sean remembered correctly, Uncle Jeremy’s Class was Ranger and his father’s was Slayer.

Sean used Appraisal on her —Aunt Charlie and his mother were the only ones he hadn’t appraised. Hell, he hadn’t even thought of appraising her. Whenever you were with her, chances were, you’d be too annoyed and want her to go away or enjoy it enough to not remember about your worries.

Skill ‘Appraisal’ has been activated!

Name: Charlie Turner

Class: Slayer Lvl 9

Title(s): Survivor, Messy Eater, Fearmonger, Reaper

Mana: 360/360

Four titles. That was the first time Sean had seen so many titles on someone. Then again, he did have a lot. On the other hand, all of Aunt Charlie’s seemed like big deals. What sort of monster had titles like Fearmonger and Reaper?

Survivor was a title his father also had.

But more importantly, she also had the title of Messy Eater.

If Sean’s hypothesis was correct, then the titles appeared starting from the least impressive and ended at the most impressive —for him, Legend was the most impressive one and Glutton was the second most important one. As his Monster Hunter title had turned into Messy Eater and Messy Eater itself had merged with his Big Eater to form Glutton, he still only had three —the other one was Practitioner of the Arcane Arts.

Then there was her level —that was the highest level he’d seen.

“How’d you get the Reaper title?” asked Sean, wondering about it. That was her most impressive one, after all.

“That? Well, I got that for hunting down and killing more than a hundred sapient beings,” she said, “Apparently, monsters spawned by the System don’t count. Otherwise, everyone from the Goblin Stage should’ve gotten them. Anyone that killed a hundred goblins, anyway.”

Right… he’d heard that she’d killed more than two hundred monsters —that had to be impressive.

“Then I got Fearmonger for basically being famous. Apparently, when you rack up a headcount like that, people start shitting their pants when they hear about you,” she said with a shrug, “Then I got Survivor for… well, Jackie boy will probably explain that for you.”

Yeah, killing two hundred was a crazy feat if she got the title of Fearmonger via the virtue of being a murderer.

Otherwise, everyone else in the family would have it. They were hunters.

They were in the basement now and Sean created a Mana Ball for light, letting it float up. The torture tools were all around them, hanging from the walls, very much like how Uncle Edmund’s tools hung in the garage of Chris’s home back when he was alive.

Aunt Charlie walked up to the far wall opposite to the straight stairway that led down to the room and looked at it. Then, she tapped on a spot on the wall and the very building seemed to move. The area she’d pressed gave way, very much like a button, and had initiated a sort of engine.

The walls opened up by moving sideways to reveal a steel door you’d see on space shuttles closed shut. To its right, there was a small black screen the size of a laptop screen. Above it, there was a small black hole in the shape of a rectangle. Probably where the camera was.

“The wall’s mechanical but this one isn’t. Blame the boys for being paranoid enough to have this be built,” she said, “It’s not locked now, though. Just basically impossible to open. Even if you were a vampire or a werebeast let alone a human.”

Sean walked closer to the screen and he could see wires in the hole. He inserted his fingers and let gaseous Mana flow. Even after he’d filled the entire hole with his Mana, it did nothing. He turned to Aunt Charlie and shook his head.

“Meh, electricity’s annoying. Trust me, I tried to study physics,” she said and grabbed a crowbar hanging from the wall.

“Wait, you’re actually going to-” started Sean but an audible clang on the door sounded out, drowning out his voice and confirming his suspicions. There was a small dent there and the crowbar was also bent the wrong way. He added softly, “I think that’s not going to work.”

“Doesn’t hurt to try,” she said, “Well, I’ll be damned. This really is monster-proof.”

“What about a hammer?” offered Sean. Surely, that’d be better than a crowbar?

“Nope, not going to work. A damned crowbar almost broke off. You think the wooden frame of a hammer’s gonna cut it?” she asked in return.

“I meant a sledgehammer,” he corrected, “That should work.”

“This place is for tortures, Sean, not building stuff. Everything over here is so damn delicate and our best was the damned crowbar!” she almost shouted. That was a first, seeing her angry. Then again, she was hot-tempered. At least people said that she was.

But her point was valid.

Even the hammers were probably for tortures. What that entailed, he didn’t know, but he assumed it wouldn’t be a sledgehammer from her reaction.

“If I hadn’t been babysitting you lot, I’d have been raiding a store,” she said and scratched the back of her head, “Fine, I’ll do it later.”

And now, it was quiet.

Finally!

“I think that’s enough time spent trying to see whether I’m affected. I think the others need more attention,” said Sean, gesturing back at the stairway, hoping she’d go and haunt some other people.

“I guess,” she said and let out a sigh, “Well, have fun alone. If you need any love advice, then come to me. It’s not like I haven’t slept with a few you-know-whats. Oh, also, don’t even think about calling for that asshole from before. Running into him while you’re alone is basically suicide.”

He was alone now.

He could actually be alone now!

Then he bounced right back to confused. His heart often got filled with warmth, glad that Clara was actually alive and then it went cold, feeling betrayed that she’d hidden her identity from him for so long. He’d never asked nor did he even know about vampires then, but still…

He then turned his attention to Magic and all the good things about this new world. He could fight for himself and there was no distant future that he was so unsure of now. There was only… reality.

Sean glanced at the Mana Ball floating up above, the blue light letting him relaxing. Every single time he saw yellow light nowadays, it felt like something bad ended up happening.

But when it was blue?

Well, nothing ended up happening, but that was still better than bad things happening.

As for the meeting with the vampire Sean assumed was Evan, Sean fully planned on meeting him. Before he did, however, he had to get stronger. Otherwise, he’d end up being murdered, just as Aunt Charlie said.

“I should read,” mumbled Sean underneath his breath. He did it again… wait, he hadn’t talked to himself ever since coming back to Earth, had he?

That was some progress there, at least.

***

The Undercity seemed empty. The center was as crowded as always —where all the outcasts lived, but the parts that actually mattered had changed irreversibly. Many had died. Most of the demons had been imprisoned while the undead and werebeasts had been mostly eradicated.

It wasn’t very much of a challenge, all of them under a Glamor. It was a massacre, and Evan… he took great joy in the fact. Sadly, he couldn’t squash them with his own hands. Not that he could, though. His Telekinesis would do the job instead, but they’d still scream and beg for mercy the same.

Joy…

That was one of the things he’d been denied so very long ago when he was young and ambitious —arrogant. He ended up angering someone that deserved the utmost respect and was forced to serve, even as a Noble. It was a stigma to force a Noble to serve, for they were proud creatures.

Evans wasn’t an exception. But he had to serve Carmilla for all of eternity now —that despicable harlot.

Unless he managed to get rid of the annoying curse that they’d put on him, though. And that was very close.

The area where the vampires resided was vast but it didn’t account much for living space. There was little to none provided. They were to roam the world and ‘conquer’ the lands of uncooperative Children of the Night at all times. Without the need for sleep, there was no need for them to even live in the Undercity.

They were actively discouraged from doing that, and as such, there were no quarters for them to live in.

Not that many of them minded. Well, unless you were one of her obedient dogs. There was a surprising amount of them, strangely. Maybe it had something to do with how the brains of the Knights were wired. But Evans was a proud noble.

“You are to be situated at the Haven, are you not?” asked a crude voice from behind him, one belonging to Guard Captain Dmitri. It was one of Carmilla’s lap dogs, at least in loyalty. No one was close enough to that witch to sit on her lap.

“Well, what can I say? The Huntress said otherwise,” said Evans with a grin and shrugged. Dmitri wouldn’t be able to see the grin, but there were others. Too many of them. He was outside one of the human farms, after all.

“Your loyalty is to Her Highness. If a hunter comes, then you kill it,” said Dmitri as he tapped on Evans’ shoulder. It was heavy and large. He was a giant among vampires, standing at almost two meters and twenty or so centimeters, donning a red Day Armor, a massive halberd in hand. The hand was almost crushing his shoulder with its heavy grip.

“Hmm, I think she’s still there, actually. Do you wish to go out there alone?” asked Evans as he turned to look the Knight in the eye, not showing a single sign of discomfort, “I’ll even give you a ride on my back. Since you’re far more physically inclined than little old me. I wouldn’t dare think of tiring your bulging muscles.”

He knew the answer to that question, but he still asked. He could see something flash in Dmitri’s eyes. That was most likely fear.

“If it was the Huntress, then I suppose it may be excused,” said Dmitri quietly. Evans spotted a few of the guards sniggering but a hiss from Dmitri silenced them —he deserved that for being a clown.

“Well, if you would kindly stop bothering me, I’d very much rather report to Her Highness. Unless you wish to delay me. It’s really important news, too,” said Evans, the grin still on his face.

“Excuse my rudeness. You may pass,” said Dmitri as he stood back and bowed his head slightly. He was pissed off, but then again, pushing his buttons was too easy. Evans couldn’t resist.

Such a pussycat.

Would Dmitri die of fright if he ever told him that Carmilla had dismissed him? Honestly, Evans wouldn’t put it past him.

“Well, I’ll be passing by,” said Evans, but he stopped. He turned to Dmitri, “Actually, my throat is a bit parched. It wouldn’t bode well if I told Her Highness that her Guard Captain, of all people, was inhospitable to someone that has veryimportant news for her.”

Evans could practically see the murderous thoughts in Dmitri’s eyes.

“I jest, I jest. I’ll just say it was the Huntress. What’s a favor or two among fellow Knights, hmm?” asked Evans with a wink. Dmitri owed him one now, that was for sure. If he ordered the fool to eat dog shit, he would.

They were loyal for all the wrong reasons.

He glanced at the farm. It was basically large rooms meant to hold people. They were fed and were allowed basic necessities just enough to be healthy. Very much like the prisons that humans had devised for themselves with many in a cell. Except, they had more freedom but less space.

She’d gone the extra mile to assure that they were healthy.

Most were housed in the almost desolate corner of the Undercity that had been vacated for the most part but some were kept close for convenience’s sake. In fact, the closer ones were luxury blood bags, fed the best meals and supplements, forced to work out as well.

He could see them working out at the moment by running across the room they were held in through the one-way windows meant to observe them through. Normally, he’d drool while staring at them but Carmilla graciously allowed him to feed on anyone that he wanted to while he sent the humans in the Haven to the Undercity.

They’d collected many. Not being able to enter the homes of people didn’t stop them from dragging them to the Undercity when they came to seek refuge somewhere. The ones that ran into Evans were lucky, in fact. Willingly marching to their enslavement was better than being dragged into it, to be sure.

But for now, he had to meet the one he wanted to.

He stared at the black door at the end of the hallway. That was where Carmilla lived. Only when she wasn’t busy torturing the prisoners or admiring herself in the throne room. Suffice to say, that was almost never.

But someone spent a lot of time holed up in the room.

Someone that had Carmilla’s trust, enough to have this annoying curse lifted if she asked.

Evans knocked on the door thrice, lightly. The Werebeasts could smell well but vampires could hear far better than humans. This would reach the ears of the princess, surely, even if she was sitting on the other edge of the royal bedroom.

The large door opened, but unlike he expected, it was opened with brute force and physical strength.

That wasn’t the telekinesis the princess would have used.

“Oh, it’s the mutt,” said Evans as he looked at the filthy werebeast dressed in a tailcoat suit. He reminded Evans a lot of a certain asshole he used to know, “Would you mind calling the princess for me? I have very important news for her, actually.”

He had important news for Carmilla but he also had some news for the princess.

“She is asleep at the moment. If you have any news for her, I will be sure to pass it on to her when she wakes,” said the mutt, talking like an actual person. Then again, they did look like humans, just like the vampires. Except, they turned into beasts whenever exposed to the full moon or angered. Then again, they could turn into one at will too.

“Hmm, that is an issue. I would very much prefer to pass it on to her myself,” said Evans, humming a cheerful tune in-between his sentences.

This was another one of her toys so would he be jealous?

He would most definitely be.

“I cannot do disturb her while she sleeps,” said the mutt, “And anything that she may wish to know, I will be able to pass on to her.”

“It’s fine,” said a voice from behind her. That was undoubtedly the princess herself, “That’s not some mindless knight. That’s a guest.”

“I see,” said the mutt and stepped back, opening the door as he did so.

The bedroom was as neat as ever, the color scheme being red and black. It was lit by torches hanging from the walls. The princess herself sat at the far end, behind the desk, with one leg over the other. She had a red dress on and she looked absolutely gorgeous. If he still had warmth in him, surely, his first thought would be to make love.

But he no longer did and such a mortal problem no longer fazed him.

“Without the mutt, if you would,” said Evans, with a soft smile. He knew the princess. They’d talked several times in the past, often pondering about why there was no one with a brain among the vampires.

The princess glanced at the mutt and he simply nodded his head. Promptly, he left the room and the door was closed, leaving them alone.

“We’re alone now. Speak,” commanded the princess, staring at him with stern eyes. Then within moments, the stoic facade gave way to the real her, “Is what I’d have told a knight. A drink?”

“I would very much like that,” said Evans with a slight bow, “Your Highness. Is what I’d have addressed Carmilla as.”

The smile on his face didn’t change. He liked the feel of a smile. It reminded him that he still had a face. Evans took a seat on the comfy chair and leaned back on the soft pillows. There was a similar chair opposite to it with a small wooden table between them.

She slowly poured a cup of blood from a white teapot with floral patterns on it, standing up. The smell of healthy blood filled his nostril. He could have done if it belonged to a female, though.

“Excuse the blood. The only ones that drink this are me and mother. She has a taste for males, as you may expect,” said Clara as she brought the cup to him on a small plate. Evans gladly accepted it with a nod of his head and quietly sipped on it. Almost instantly, the shoulder that had been squashed up cracked and fixed itself.

“It is still excellent,” said Evans with a nod, “Not to worry, though. I was in charge of the Haven. I have no shortage of luxuries. But as I was saying, I do have news for you.”

“And what would that be? Surely, it would be no small news for you to leave your duties and come here, almost at dawn, to boot,” said Clara as she stared at him after taking a seat on the other chair.

“That is news for Carmilla. I have another news for you,” said Evans, “Ah, but first, how many toys did you have? I mean before the System came.”

She raised an eyebrow and asked, with a confused expression, “Excuse me?”

“Hmm, I may have found one of them,” said Evans, “But to think you have been playing around with a hunter. I didn’t expect that at all.”

“I’m not following,” said Clara, honestly. The satirical and joking tone from before was gone and she was staring at him intently now.

“Sean Morris. Does that ring any bells?” he asked with a smile.

“Sean… He’s a Morris?” she asked, dumbfounded. Her eyes were wide open and her mouth was slightly agape, “That awkward Sean… Are you sure it’s the same one?”

“Oh, you didn’t know? This is turning out to be an interesting story,” asked Evans with a wide grin, “Oh my, oh my. A hunter and a vampire, in love, not knowing each other’s identities. The heirs to the Original Hunters and the Vampire Empress.”

“He was something of a friend,” clarified Clara, “That is shocking, though. Apparently, the one I was searching for was right underneath my nose. I let my guard down.”

“Not to worry, he’s under your Charm. You could just order him to kill everyone in his family, you know,” said Evans.

“It’s not that simple. He was partially resistant to my Charm and if I go and meet him now, he’d have developed a full resistance,” she said, her eyes wandering wildly, “I failed mother.”

“Ah, no, you actually don’t need to Charm him again. He’s already under its effects so if you order him to do something, he will, even if you don’t use it again. He’s head over heels for you already,” said Evans with a wink. Afterward, he added after a few seconds, “And the things humans do for love.”

She slowly sipped on the blood that she’d poured into her cup and closed her eyes for a moment, as if in deep thought.

“Where was he?” she asked, “If the Morris bloodline is gone before they inform the Coalition, then none will contest us in Broica.”

“I don’t quite know but he did run into me in the Haven. He and his merry band managed to slaughter all the cute Nosferatu I had,” said Evans with an exaggerated frown, “I did offer him to call for me if he wished to meet you and I assume he will come begging to see me soon. And if you wish to thank me in any manner, you know what I want. It has been on my Christmas list for a few hundred years.”

“I will be sure to put in a good word for you to mother,” said Clara with a frown, biting the fingernail of her thumb, “And I assume word of my failure will not leave this room.”

“Not at all,” said Evans, lazily waving his hand, trying to reassure her, “I’m still loyal to the crown. That also includes you, princess. It’s a neat thing about the servitude contract. That said, I’ll send a shade to spy on him to see if he ever leaves the Morris Coast and inform you at my earliest convenience.”

“No, I’ll send Hugh,” said Clara, “He isn’t as limited as us. He’ll be more at home in the forest as well.”

“Oh my, are you sure you wish to use your pet dog as a hunting hound? That is a dangerous place even for us,” said Evans, with a raised eyebrow.

Sending a werebeast to a den of hunters… That was basically sending him to be killed.

“Especially for us,” said Clara, “To a werebeast, not so much. Now then, I suppose you have news for mother. She doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

“Ah, of course, of course. I wouldn’t dare to keep Carmilla of all people waiting. I’ll be leaving then,” he said and hopped back to his feet, “Thank you for the drink. It was a lifesaver, quite literally.”

The princess would keep her word…

At least he hoped.