Chapter 001: Encounter with the queen

"My name is Alex and i'm one of the greatest vampire hunters that exist in this world. I'm from the great region of Nazaria and since i was a child, i vowed to exterminate all the vampires to give humanity a better future"

I was walking trough the night. I could feel the cold wind caressing my skin. 

The moon shone through the clouds, illuminating the path before me. It was the only light shining upon everything during these hours.

I was alone on this journey. I've decided to do my job without the help of anyone. I've lost too many friends in my battles. 

I was sent on this mission by the master of our organization.

He told me "Go take a walk at this hour at this place and be sure to come back".

I had to be a human bait on this path. 

We are in Nimroa. One of the few places where civilization didn't reach big levels.

People still lived here in harmony with the nature.

This place used to be beautiful and peaceful. With humans and demi-humans living together.

But all the villages here have been targeted by vampires so most of all escaped away and left this place.

I'm probably the only human being here.

I kept walking with my hand on my sword. Prepared to everything.

All i felt was adrenaline.

My only mission was to destroy every last inch of those filthy creatures. They have been killing innocent people by decades now. Even my parents lost their life because of those creatures. They are not like any other monsters; they have an intelligence and cunning beyond anything else I've ever seen.

Whenever i hear the word "Vampire" my eyes start glowing with rage. I can't think straight when I see them. I don't know how many times I've tried to calm down over this. I just can't get rid of the hatred inside me. 

I kept walking and walking, with only instinct guiding me trough the night. I was walking without any idea of where to go. I knew that some vampire would've attacked me.

Everything around me was made of nature. The sing of crickets was giving me some company and the moon was the only light shining with the stars. The place around me was so uncontaminated by the hand of men: so beautiful, so calm and yet so terryifying. All i saw were only trees and a small river flowing on my right side. 

I am one of the few hunters who can use magic thanks to my mother's blood. She descended from a family of warrior mages. I'm probably the last descendant of them.

I kept walking for some more. No vampire attacked me.

It was pretty strange.

They told me that Nimroa was full of vampires. 

But suddenly i found myself in front of an enormous ancient castle. It came out of nowhere. I didn't remember seeing it along the way.

It was dark outside; no lights shone through the windows. There were several small towers around the building. I couldn't tell if it was abandoned or not.

Everything seemed so "dead". But somehow i knew that someone was inside the castle. And that scared me a little.

I approached slowly, feeling the ground beneath me with my feet. I could feel something strange. Something that wasn't right. I took another step forward. Then I heard a scream. A woman's voice. It sounded distant.

I stopped moving and listened carefully while closing my eyes to concentrate. I could barely make out the sound. It was coming from somewhere near the entrance.

I then opened my eyes walked towards the door with my hand still on my sword.

"Maybe it was just my imagination..." I said, while i started analyzing the entrance of the castle. I touched the ground with my hand. Dust placed all over it. 

The entrance of the castle was collegated to the forest with a small , ancient and little bridge made of mere wood. I crossed it quickly and entered the castle.

There was silence everywhere. I looked around trying to find the source of the screams.

Then I noticed a faint light. Coming from a room inside a window of the castle.

"It's one of those... they want to trick me." I said, getting ready for a fight.

I decided to investigate further. I entered the castle by breaking the main entrance and i moved forward really slowly, taking light steps, following the light.

As I got closer, I began to notice more details. The walls were covered with paintings and carvings. Everything was old and dusty.

"Uhm... I surely made a lot of noise by destroying that entrance. Why nobody came?" I said.

I reached the end of the corridor and then i inspected the door.

I then placed my hand on the door and used magic to analyze it.

Nothing special. Just a wooden door. No magic coming from the room.

After that, i opened the door.

Inside, I saw a beautiful room. It was filled with expensive furniture. An elegant bed, a large fireplace, and a table. All of it was decorated with gold and silver. It seemed like that someone actually was living here, but even so, everything was almost covered in dust.

I then got out and went into the next room. It was empty.

I continued down the hallways until I arrived at the end.

I found myself in a huge library. It was filled with books and scrolls. The shelves were lined up neatly, each one holding a different volume.

As soon as I stepped in, I could hear a rustling noise.

I turned around and saw a figure standing in the doorway.

For just a second, i saw two big red eyes glowing in the dark and long white hair. I could feel an immense bloodlust. 

"Oh... Here you are, finally." I said while taking out my sword and smiling.

But i didn't even realize what i saw since it completely disappeared from my sight.

"What the...?" I said. "WHERE ARE YOU? COWARD!" I screamed.

Vampires have a lot fo ego and they hate being called cowards.

No one came out.

"What...?"

Suddenly, my body stopped listening to me.

I was shaking, unable to move. I felt paralyzed.

"What happened?" I asked myself.

I was still trembling. It never happened to me.

I wanted to go back outside and leave the castle.

But I couldn't. I felt fear for the first time from the start of my career.

I knew i actually had to go deep into the castle.

I knew something was hiding here. Waiting for me.

I knew that the moment I left this place, I wouldn't be able to find it again.

I had to face whatever was lurking within. I had to find the source of the screams.

"Something is hiding here... i feel a big sense of danger." The moment i said these words, i heard another scream from upstairs, but this time it was more scarier than before.

My body randomly started movign again and i ran toward the stairs and climbed them.

My sword was still out in my right hand.

When I reached the top, I saw a hallway with doors on both sides. I was afraid to open them.

I stood there, frozen. I was terrified, but still, i knew i had to go further. Adrenaline was flowing trough my veins. I couldn't even feel my hands or legs. 

I was looking for the source of the screams, and now I finally found it.

A door was slightly opened. I pushed it aside and entered the room.

Inside, there was a bed with silk sheets. On the bed, was a young girl. She was sleeping peacefully. I could see her breathing.

She was beautiful. Her skin was pale and smooth. She was wearing a white dress.

Straight, long white hair was filling the red bed.

I sheathed my sword.

The room was really big. Everything was made of gold. I could see bottles of wine on the floor and a lot of famous paintings all across the wall. 

No dust... Everything looked new and fresh.

I approached the bed and stared at the girl.

I couldn't believe that such a thing existed.

A creature like her was not supposed to exist.

I was fascinated.

I watched her sleep.

She was completely gone in her dreams.

Everything in the castle was so silent that i could even hear her breathing. But somehow i noticed that even tough i could feel her breath, her heart was not beating. 

I walked foward next to the girl and i started admirating her beautiful face. She was the most enchanting girl i ever saw in my life. I couldn't possibly think that a girl this beautiful was living alone in this castle.

I knew that what i was doing was wrong. 

I knew it was a risk.

I knew that she probably was a monster but...

For the first time.

I felt at peace.

I was mesmerized.

My mind was void.

I leaned down and touched her cheek. It was cold as ice. I caressed her silky hair. It was like silk, and it smelled of flowers.

I was so entranced by the beauty of this girl. I didn't know what to do.

"Why am i doing this?" I thought.

But my body was moving alone.

My feet suddenly stepped on something hard.

I looked down at the object and realized it was a necklace.

I picked it up and noticed it was made of gold and diamonds.

I held it close to my nose and inhaled the scent of the flowers and... blood, even tough the necklace was actually clean. I also noticed that attached to the necklace, there was a pendant with a photo of this sleeping girl inside and the name "Maria".

"So her name is... Maria...?" I asked to myself. 

I immediately understood that this was the girl's necklace. I decided to leave it on the bed, next to the girl.

I turned around and left the room. I was thinking about leaving this place, thinking that the screams were only my hallucination.

The moment i was about to leave the room, i felt an immense sense of danger and bloodlust.

But despite this, i felt like there was no need to take my sword out.

I headed back downstairs and then I noticed the same thing: The door to the library was slightly opened.

So was the door to the bedroom.

I went inside and found myself in the same situation as before. The same beautiful girl was sleeping on the bed.

This time she was wearing a black dress and she was holding a red rose. On the bed i could see a lot of red spots on the sheets. 

Suddenly, the door closed softly and a lot of words appeard on the walls. The words were: "Maria", "Help me", "Guilty", "Pain", "Blood". 

I could feel a shiver of fear running trough all my spine. I started to feel a lot of fear and the only thing i wanted to do was running away but in that moment, i couldn't even feel my legs. I felt like i was paralyzed and so, i remained watching the sleeping girl.

While she was sleeping i saw some tears of blood falling down from her eyes. I knew that something was off, but somehow, my instincts told me not to pick up my sword.

I was so frightened. I needed to leave this place and never come back. But i couldn't move even a single finger.

I saw the girl's chest rise with a big sigh and I knew that she was waking up. I was terrified and my throat was parched with fear. I couldn't even breathe.

The girl opened her eyes and saw me.

I could feel my heart pounding like crazy.

I couldn't even blink my own eyes.

I kept staring at the girl's eyes. They were red just like the blood. But somehow they were beautiful, magnetic. I couldn't look away. Those eyes were literally capturing all my attention.

She was a vampire.

I knew that something was wrong. I remembered the necklace and the pendant with the picture of this girl.

"What are you doing here, human?" came the voice from the girl. She sounded curious.

Her voice was so soft. It seemed like a warm embrace for my ears.

"..." I swallowed some saliva , maybe from fear. I couldn't speak.

"Don't worry. Don't be afraid." The girl said.

I tried to say something, but my mouth wouldn't work.

"Who are you?" I managed to ask.

"You can call me Maria." She gently smiled to me, with her bloody red eyes.

I could sense that something was off, but my instincts told me that this girl was a good person.

So i decided to stay calm and not run away.

"And... What is your name, young man? You do not seem like a bad person." Maria said, while licking her lips.

"Alex..." I whispered in response.

For the first time in my life, me, Alex, couldn't do anything against a vampire.

I could feel that she was the strongest among everyone i defeated.

I couldn't fight her...

But...