Devil’s Whisper (3)

"When did you alter Elmenhilde's memories? I monitored your movements, and you didn't do anything to her..."

"I didn't alter her memories — she did it herself based on my telepathic messages. Had you read Elmenhilde's mind earlier, you would have collected her real memories..."

"Telepathy, huh? No wonder you didn't make any obvious moves..."

"What about you? How did you find so much evidence against me despite Ajuka and Alice covering after me?"

"I have been doing this work for a long time. Of course, I have my methods. It'd be embarrassing if I couldn't even do this much..."

"Sounds convincing enough..."

"Although, for someone so young, Beelzebub's cover-up was better than expected; it took me a while to uncover everything..."

"That's the least I'd expect from my brother..."

"Now, for my next question... How did you determine my corpse's age? Another spell?"

"Yes. I explore the world in an attempt to find interesting things regularly, so a spell to check how old things are comes in handy..."

"Your abilities are so weirdly versatile that remembering all of them is starting to hurt my head..." With a small laugh, Lyra grabbed and moved a piece on the chessboard, her lips curling into a smile. "And that's my win..."

"To think you defeated me only after four games..." Azrail leaned forward, staring at the chessboard with a bland expression, his face resting on his palm. "That's amazing..."

"You weren't even trying..."

It had been a few hours since Lyra and Azrail gave up on smashing each other into walls and decided to sort things out like sophisticated people.

Lyra took a drop of Azrail's blood to heal her injuries instantly, and he proposed to talk over a game of chess.

Since it was her first time playing chess, it took her a few tries to understand the game properly.

As for their conversation, the two just asked questions that interested them instead of negotiating.

"I mean, I made it to the Underworld's top rankings with the same attitude, so that's a serious accomplishment..."

His bar for accomplishments was lower than expected.

"If that's the case, I'll be worried about your race's future..."

"I know, right?" Azrail chuckled at Lyra's nonchalant remark, watching as the chessboard rearranged itself. "Another game?"

"No. I've had enough..." Lyra raised her arms above her head and arched her back to stretch her body. As her head went back, she continued with a slow, loud yawn, "Maybe in another decade or two..."

Chess was entertaining, but the stakes weren't enough to catch her attention.

Even during the games, she focused more on their conversation than the game itself.

"A decade or two... I still can't grasp how little supernaturals value the passing of time."

Azrail scoffed, and Lyra leaned forward, resting her face on her palm while looking into his eyes. "Your perception of time changes as you age... A decade might be a significant portion of your life, but for me, it isn't even a fraction of what I've lived through."

In Lyra's opinion, their world wasn't vast enough to accommodate nigh-immortal beings that resided within it.

There was only so much a person could do.

At one point, Lyra almost got bored of fighting and killing — the two things that brought some pleasure to her life, and to prevent that, she significantly reduced the number of assassinations she accepted.

She even studied magic out of boredom despite her lack of talent.

It could have been different if she had some goals in life, but alas. She had already accomplished what she wanted to do.

That made her wonder, what would a person like Azrail do after nothing remained to do in this world?

A man driven solely by his desires and ambitions — would he become like her after accomplishing his goals?

Maybe not.

After all, Lyra rarely interacted with the world and spent most of her life sleeping inside her coffin.

While Azrail lived, she existed. That was the main difference between them.

"By the way, does anyone other than me know about your reincarnation?"

"About that..." Although it was a random question, Azrail leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms, pondering for a few seconds before answering. "I haven't told anyone myself, but there's a chance Ajuka knows about it..."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well..."

Azrail explained how Alice seized his soul with [Incinerate Anthem], and Ajuka kept it with him for a few days.

According to Azrail's hypothesis, Ajuka might have studied his soul like Lyra and learned he wasn't a natural-born devil.

"I don't think that's the case, but I can't be certain since the one in question is Beelzebub..."

"Why?"

"See this..."

Under Azrail's curious gaze, Lyra extended her free arm towards him and tapped the table with her index finger.

A pitch-black, hollow circle appeared on the table with her fingertip at its centre.

"I realised your soul is different from devils because I examined it from the inside out. It'd be nearly impossible to accomplish without [Soul Corridor] unless..."

Lyra traced her finger out of the circle and tried to move it inside again, but when she did, the circle's edge collapsed under her strength.

"You don't care about what happens to that soul..."

Lyra wasn't sure about this because she based Ajuka's accomplishments in [Soul Manipulation] on how the Evil Piece affected her soul.

She even accounted for how much he could have improved, but in the end, geniuses were hard to predict with logic.

As for her second reason—

"You said you were inside your consciousness the entire time, right? That wouldn't be possible if someone tried to examine your soul..."

Not to mention, Azrail's soul had little to no life force remaining.

Unless Ajuka wanted to collapse his brother's soul, he wouldn't have tried something with such a high risk.

"Hmm..." Azrail stared at Lyra's hand with a thought-provoking expression. "I see..."

In any case, Azrail couldn't do anything, even if Ajuka had some suspicion.

It'd be best to account for the possibility that his brother knew and move forward.

After a few seconds, Azrail let out a small, tired sigh. "Moving on, there's something I want to ask..."

"What is it?"

"[Shadow Merge]... Why can't I use it to its full potential?"

Azrail raised his hand, and from his index finger, a pitch-black, liquid shadow dropped on the table's surface, merging with it.

"I don't see a problem..."

Lyra tried to touch the table, but her hand passed through it without resistance.

The [Shadow Merge] was perfect.

"This is the problem..."

The liquid shadow moved away from the table and wrapped around Azrail's arm, but rather than merging with his body, it disappeared.

"What about other life forms? Can you merge shadows with those abysmally weaker than yourself?"

Azrail shook his head as he retreated his hand. "I can't merge shadows with organic matter regardless of the target's strength..."

'He can't merge shadows with any organic matter...?'

Lyra understood his problem, but it didn't make much sense.

[Shadow Merge] worked similarly for all matter — organic or inorganic. Lyra could merge herself with shadows moments after she learned this application of [Darkness Manipulation].

The only problem was using [Shadow Merge] on other strong supernaturals, as they subconsciously resisted it with their aura.

However, that wasn't the case with her own body.

After all, why would she subconsciously resist her own shadow?

"It can't be your immortal body. Otherwise, you'd be able to merge your shadow with other weaker life forms..."

Azrail's mastery and knowledge of [Darkness] were enough to use the skill, so what was the problem?

"Hmm..."

As far as Lyra knew, no such case had ever happened in the Vampire Race.

A Vampire could either utilise [Shadow Merge] to its full potential or never learn it at all — there was no in-between.

'Maybe that's the problem? No matter how much affinity his soul has with [Darkness], he's not a Vampire but a Devil...'

With those thoughts in mind, Lyra spoke, "I think it's a matter of potency..."

"Potency?"

Azrail tilted his head in confusion.

"You created [Darkness Magic] based on the Vampire Race's [Darkness Manipulation], right?"

"I did."

"That's the problem. Your [Darkness Magic] is an external skill, unlike our [Darkness Manipulation], which is an ability inscribed on our souls..."

Lyra explained as she leaned back on her chair and rested her hands on her thighs, interlocking her fingers.

"As it currently stands, [Darkness Magic] is but an imitation of our race's [Darkness Manipulation]..."

Although those words sounded condescending, Lyra wasn't looking down on or mocking Azrail.

Her words were simply the truth.

It was also why a Magician's [Light Magic] always remained inferior to an Angel or Fallen Angel's [Light Power] — a power inscribed on their souls.

"[Darkness Magic] can no longer keep up with my understanding of [Darkness]..." Azrail didn't deny Lyra's assumption, and he held his chin. "Even in our first battle, the last attack only worked because of the immeasurable amounts of Demonic Power I momentarily generated..."

"Since it's a spell, you can always improve it..."

Azrail replicated almost all of Lyra's [Darkness] based abilities, so it wouldn't matter if he replicated [Shadow Merge], too.

'For all I know, he might even learn to cast a [Shadow Domain]...'

That'd be a sight to see.

Even Lyra couldn't utilise the full potential of [Shadow Domain] because of her limited Magic Power Reserves, as she just used it to trap her targets and block the usage of [Spatial Magic].

"No. That's impossible..." Azrail shook his head with a somewhat disappointed expression. "[Darkness Magic] is already at its highest potential — I can't improve it further just by studying the Vampire Race's [Darkness Manipulation]. Not with my current knowledge of magic, at least..."

"You don't seem to care, though..."

"My knowledge might not be enough to improve [Darkness Magic] for now, but it does meet the minimum requirement to do something else..."

"And that is..."

Azrail's lips curled into a smile as he continued from where Lyra left off, "To develop my Demonic Power Nature..."

'Demonic Power Nature, huh...'

Lyra was curious about how Azrail would develop his Demonic Power Nature, and just as she was about to speak, he spoke, "But before that, we need to talk about something..."

"What is it?"

"You said you will work for me in exchange for the right conditions... Was that true?"

"Yes."

"In that case, I'll be blunt... What do you want?"

His words sounded sincere, which made Lyra smile.

"You barely know anything about me, yet you wish to make me your subordinate... I thought you weren't the type to take such gambles..."

"That's true, but I do know one thing..."

"And what might that be?"

"Your skills are incredible — the information you gathered on me speaks for itself, and you'll be far more useful to me alive than dead... That's reason enough."

'So for him, the benefits of keeping me around outweigh the threat I pose...'

Lyra had to admit — that was a bold gamble on Azrail's part. However, it was better than having a complete fallout with her.

If a fallout happened, it'd be disadvantageous to both of them.

"I have two conditions..."

"Go on..."

"First, let me in on your experiments. If you're doing something interesting — murdering, abducting, torturing, or massacring people, let me in on it, too. If you're visiting an interesting place, let me tag along. If you find something interesting, tell me about it."

Azrail frowned after hearing Lyra's words.

His reaction wasn't out of her expectations.

After all, her request would, in a sense, give her more sensitive information about him in case she rebelled against him.

It seemed like harmless curiosity on Lyra's part, but for Azrail, he might as well be digging his own grave.

"What about the second condition?"

Lyra placed her hands on the table and leaned forward, staring into his eyes with a serious expression. "I'm not your slave, so don't treat me like one."

"You don't have to worry about that. I already accepted you as an equal after witnessing your capabilities. Not to mention..." Azrail smiled at her, placing his hands on the table. "If it weren't for our situation, you would have tortured me to death thrice by now..."

Lyra's expression relaxed, revealing a small smile. "I'm sure that feeling is mutual..."

"It very much is, but you know... I'm surprised you didn't ask me to release my control over half of your soul..."

"Would you have done it if I asked?"

Azrail chuckled at her question. "Of course not."

That was understandable.

After all, half of Lyra's soul was one of the main leverage Azrail had against her. Why would he willingly give it up?

Not only that but right now, freeing her soul wasn't her priority.

'I first need to do something about this body of mine. Stressing about [Soul Corridor] is pointless as long as he can control my body...'

That was what worried her the most.

Azrail's control over her body threatened her more than having half her soul under his control.

She could resist [Soul Corridor] with her [Soul Manipulation], but she had no defences against [Anatomy Control].

"Although, I'm curious... Beyond our current situation, what's your motivation for helping me willingly?"

Azrail probably knew by now, but there was only so much he could get out of Lyra, even if he controlled her life and death.

She wouldn't be as cooperative as she was if she agreed to work with him out of pure necessity.

"I want to know..." Lyra spoke with a serene expression, appearing mesmerised by Azrail's blood-red eyes. "Unprecedented success or a grand demise — with those eyes, only one of the two outcomes awaits you. I want to know which one it'll be. That's all..."

Whatever the outcome, she believed it'd be a historical event regardless.

Of course, that was assuming Azrail didn't get himself killed before even realising half of his potential.

She'd need to make sure that didn't happen.

If he were to die, the only one who could kill him was her.

"What's with women and eyes..." Azrail's face distorted a little. "First Serafall and now you..."

Lyra scoffed at his words. "You dare compare me to that child?"

"That 'child' is stronger than you."

"And I can still kill her. What's your point?"

For Lyra, strength meant who'd survive a battle — not who had more raw power or destructive capabilities.

"You're an assassin, of course, you can kill her..."

Their eyes met, and neither of them backed down.

The vampire stood up for her pride while the devil stood up for his favourite magical girl.

.

.

.

"I know I agreed to work for you, but..."

Whoosh!*

Lyra moved backwards, dodging the barrage of punches and kicks from Azrail, occasionally countering his attacks with the bare minimum movements.

"Why exactly am I the one training you in hand-to-hand combat?"

The two of them had been fighting for almost four hours now, and during their battle, Azrail didn't use magic, solely relying on his physical attributes.

Lyra was the same, only utilising [Aura Enhancement] to boost her physical attributes.

According to Azrail, he needed to spar with someone to get used to fighting without [Aura Enhancement] — a skill he could no longer use.

"You've been complaining for a while now... What's the problem? It's not like you have anywhere else to be..."

"Unlike you, I don't have three bodies to do multiple things simultaneously... You can train with Alice, remember?"

"I plan on training with her, too..."

Even as their conversation continued, Azrail kept attacking Lyra relentlessly.

The more she tried to take it easy, the harder he attacked her.

'Although, this isn't too bad...'

Lyra stepped aside, avoiding Azrail's punch aimed at her stomach.

'After all...'

Before Azrail could retreat his fist, Lyra rested her right hand above it and jumped lightly.

'I can beat this brat up in the name of training...'

She aimed her left leg at his face, but just as her kick was about to land—

Boom!*

He blocked her attack with his free hand.

'I guess the same move won't work twice...'

Noticing that her attempt to kick Azrail into the ground failed, Lyra retreated, creating some distance between them.

She could have continued to attack from that position if she wanted to, but there was no point in putting in extra effort.

"That's enough training for today..." Azrail summoned a tablet from his shadow, holding it in his right hand. "Let's try again with weapons tomorrow..."

Lyra walked over to his side and leaned forward, staring at the tablet's screen. "What are you doing?"

"Determining the best ways to use [Anatomy Control] during fights... I did the same with [Demonic Power Enhancement] a few years ago to maximise its efficiency..."

'How unnecessarily thorough...'

Lyra remembered doing something similar when she created her [Aura Enhancement] method during her childhood.

'I focused on efficiency because of my lacking Magic Power Reserves, but he's doing it to maximise his abilities in all categories...'

A perfectionist to the bone.

Azrail's alteration of his own body continued for a few minutes, and after that, he turned towards Lyra.

"Now, teach me how to remove the 'mark' you placed on my shadow..."

"A method like that doesn't exist. Once placed, the mark won't disappear until the target dies."

"My [Lie Detection] says your words are true, but I have already placed a 'mark' on your shadow, and..." Azrail looked into Lyra's eyes with a small, knowing smile. "There's no way you'd teach me a method to keep tabs on people without having the means to nullify it..."

"How did you reach that conclusion? Do you know me so well, or is it because you unconditionally doubt everything I say?"

"The reason I know is because..." A shadow wrapped around Azrail's forearm, devouring the tablet in his hand as he continued, "I'd never teach someone an ability that could be detrimental to me..."

Lyra maintained eye contact with him for a few seconds before she let out a small laugh.

The reasoning wasn't satisfactory, but the conclusion was spot on.

Indeed, Azrail knew her a bit too well.

"I wasn't lying — not entirely, at least. The mark on someone's shadow will remain until their shadow disappears, and that can only happen after they die..."

Lyra raised her forearm, and her shadow detached from her body, collecting above her palm and condensing into a small orb.

After that, the shadows inside her body emerged from her mouth and merged with the pitch-black orb levitating about her palm.

"However, someone skilled enough in [Darkness Manipulation] can detach their shadow from themselves and temporarily erase it..."

As she spoke, the pitch-black orb of her shadow dispersed into thin air, and when it did—

"The mark disappeared..."

Surprise overcame Azrail's face.

"Yes. Once a person's shadow disappears, so does the mark..." Lyra's shadow reappeared on the ground, and she smiled a little. "You'll need to place the mark again if it disappears..."

"Does anyone else know about this?"

Lyra shook her head. "No."

She was the one who created [Shadow Mark] and never taught it to anyone besides Azrail.

Except for them, no one knew about this skill's existence.

"I see..."

'Since he can't even use [Shadow Merge] with his [Darkness Magic] yet, detaching his shadow from himself and erasing should be impossible...'

At least, that was what Lyra believed, but contrary to her expectations—

"Removing the mark is a lot simpler than I thought..."

He smiled.

"What are you..."

Before she could finish her words, a circular barrier appeared around Azrail.

'Huh?'

A blinding light emerged from within the barrier, and Lyra squinted her eyes in discomfort.

'This suicidal maniac...'

The light remained for almost fifteen minutes before dispersing, and from within, Azrail emerged, his body rapidly regenerating the outermost layer of his skin.

Lyra blinked at the scene, somewhat dumbfounded.

'How can someone trust their magic power control and healing factor to this extent? One wrong move and his body would've vaporised...'

If 'this' Azrail died, it'd be no different from him losing more than half of his soul — a setback almost impossible to recover from in a short time.

"The mark on this body disappeared, right?"

"It did..."

.

.

.

"Alright, I've decided what I want from you in return for your first condition..."

"What is it?"

"You said you'd become the 'path' for my soul, right? There's no need to do that. Instead..." Azrail smiled at Lyra, leaning back against the wall. "Teach me about souls..."

"Why not make me a 'path,' too?"

"Because I don't trust you... Unless my accomplishments in [Soul Magic] are comparable to you, I'd never entrust my soul to our [Soul Corridor]..."

Lyra smiled at his blunt answer, and her reply came out almost instantly. "Sure. I'll teach you, but I have one condition..."

"What?"

"Leave our [Soul Corridor] as it is and never alter or improve it — no matter what."

With her body already under his absolute control, Lyra couldn't let Azrail's control over half her soul increase further.

While she taught him about souls, she needed to find a new vessel for her soul, free from his control.

Until that happened, her freedom was but a mere illusion.

"I don't mind... However, there's something I want to know first..." Azrail's smile widened slightly, and he stepped forward. "Who are you, Lyra?"

Lyra had expected such a question, so the smile on her face remained unchanged.

"Does it matter?"

"Not really... It's a question out of pure curiosity. As far as I care, 'Lyra Darkvein' is an Exiled Noble Vampire from the Carmilla Faction..."

The Carmilla Faction had records of Lyra's existence — from her birth to her banishment, but she knew Azrail wouldn't believe them since he knew her actual age.

And he was correct not to.

She created that identity for convenience.

"You know so much about me, so can't I at least know your real name? It's not like your real identity will be as controversial as mine..."

That was true.

Compared to Azrail's identity as a reincarnator, Lyra's might as well be non-existent in the current era.

"It's hard to explain, but... I used to be Vampire Royalty."

On second thought, it wasn't that hard to explain.

"Royalty...?" Azrail tilted his head a little. "Are you related to the Tepes or the Carmilla Royal Families?"

"Of course not. Don't lump me in with the servants..." Instead of answering directly, Lyra crossed her arms and asked, "Do you know why the Vampire Race split into two different factions?"

"Wasn't it because they couldn't decide whether their true ancestor was a male or a female? The misogynists followed the Tepes Royal Family while the misandrists followed the Carmilla Royal Family, and they made hating each other their personality..."

Azrail's description summarised the Vampire Race's history better than most historical records.

"You got one thing wrong, though. The Tepes and Carmilla Families are not Royalty..." Lyra corrected him. "The actual Vampire Royal Family are the descendants of our True Ancestor..."

"Then, the Tepes and Carmilla Families..."

"Were once direct servants of the Vampire Royal Family. They are descendants of the first humans whom our True Ancestor turned into Vampires..."

"Vampires came from humans...?"

"Yes. Traditionally speaking, only those with our True Ancestor's bloodline are 'real' Vampires, as the rest can trace their origins back to humans turned vampires..."

Noticing Azrail's expression, Lyra's lips curled into a small smile. "As for me, I am the last living member of the Vampire Royal Family..."

"Wait a minute..." Azrail frowned after hearing Lyra's explanation, and she tilted her head in return. "Does that mean the rumours were true?"

In the current era, hardly any people knew the Vampire Race's true history.

However, considering Azrail had read the memories of numerous Old Vampires and Dhampirs, he might know something about it.

"Rumours...?"

For Vampires, the worst sin one could commit was consuming the blood of their kin.

After all, a Vampire's source of power was blood, and if someone drank blood from their relatives, it'd grant them an enormous boost in power, but it came at the cost of their sanity.

The rumours Azrail knew were about one such sinner — the Vampire Race's Crown Prince.

In his thirst for power, the Crown Prince killed his twin sister and sucked her corpse dry.

He couldn't resist the sudden surge in his power, and overnight, he massacred his entire family until nothing remained.

The Crown Prince's powers transcended the limits of their species, and in the end, he became a mindless beast who killed and drank the blood of anyone in his sight.

All the Noble Households of that time combined their strength to defeat the Crown Prince, but they couldn't do anything against his unfathomable powers.

The Crown Prince massacred most of his subjects with a hysterical smile on his face, shedding tears of blood to express his happiness.

The rumours didn't mention how it all concluded, as the legend ended on a vague note which said, [Before the Vampires faced complete annihilation, Crimson Death disappeared, never to be seen again.]

Following that incident, the survivors relocated to a new location.

The highest-ranked households back then — Tepes and Carmilla, forbade passing down the knowledge regarding the Vampire Royal Family and established themselves as the rulers of their race.

Over time, the stories about the Vampire Royal Family and Crimson Death vanished, and the current hierarchy of Vampires came to be.

"Are you related to the vampire who massacred the Royal Family?"

"In a sense, yes, because..." Lyra's smile widened at Azrail's question, and she pointed at herself with her index finger. "I am the one who annihilated our bloodline..."

Maybe it was because she hadn't remembered the past in a long time, but her voice contained a trace of nostalgia and warmth.

The pleasure from back then, she wondered if she'd experience something similar again.

"Wait a minute..." Azrail's frown deepened, and his eyes wandered all over Lyra's body, checking her out from head to toe. "Crimson Death was a man, though..."

"Crimson Death is my twin brother's epithet, not mine... He drank our parents' blood in an attempt to kill me and avenge their deaths. Although, it didn't end well for him..."

Unlike what the legends said, Crimson Death's tears of blood didn't symbolise his happiness.

The tears represented his pain and suffering in massacring his innocent subjects with his own hands.

To the very end, his consciousness fought desperately against his bloodlust to spare the lives of his beloved people.

After suffering for what felt like an eternity, Crimson Death conquered his bloodlust for a brief moment, and the Vampire Race avoided extinction.

"Because of the immense guilt and hatred he felt for his actions, my brother tried his best to kill himself..."

Lyra remembered how her brother tore himself apart in a frenzy of despair.

He clawed at his chest, destroyed his heart, gouged his eyes out, yanked organs from his abdomen in futile rage, and had his blood-soaked fingers curled around his throat to crush it.

However, nothing worked.

No matter what he did, he couldn't end his life.

"What happened to him after that?"

"I killed him, of course."

Lyra never wanted to kill her brother and even warned him not to pursue her, but it didn't matter now.

After all, she couldn't even remember his name.

The only thing she vividly remembered was the massacre her brother committed.

It was something she could never forget — the screams, the endless suffering, and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of her people.

Those were Lyra's most precious memories, watching her kin writhe and hearing their pleas from a safe distance.

At that moment, she realised how mesmerisingly beautiful the outside world was.

Unknowingly, a light blush appeared on Lyra's face, and she elegantly covered her mouth with her hand, hiding her bashful smile. "Just remembering it makes my heart flutter..."

"And here I thought Ajuka was a bad sibling, but man..." Azrail closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. "Why did you kill the Royal Family, to begin with?"

"They wouldn't let me leave the Royal Palace... I was a bit hot-blooded back then, so..."

Azrail blinked at Lyra, completely dumbfounded. "Just for that?"

Without waiting for her to reply, he turned towards the nearby wall with a creeped-out, somewhat disturbed expression.

"Ajuka, Krens, Hydra, Pythagoras, and now you..."

Soon, Azrail's mouth went agapae in realisation, his hand resting on his forehead as he continued with doubt evident in his voice.

"Why do I keep running into insane nutjobs one after the other? Are there no sane people in this world?"

The corner of Lyra's mouth twitched at his obnoxious comment. "Have you not looked into the mirror lately, bastard?"

He was the last person she'd accept a remark about her sanity from.

"Even I'm not that far gone..."

After watching Azrail overdramatise her past actions for a few seconds, Lyra spoke with a small sigh, "Three hundred years."

"What...?"

"That's how long I spent confined within the Royal Palace — Three hundred years."

Since her birth, Lyra never stepped outside of the Royal Palace for the first three hundred years of her life.

The only people she knew were her father, mother, brother, and a maidservant.

Her knowledge of the outside world was limited to the stories her maidservant and brother sometimes told her.

The more she heard about the world, the more her desire to see it increased, but she held herself back for a long time.

After all, it was 'for the betterment of her race' — the race she never knew.

"Why confine you, though? Your Magic Power Reserves or natural potential aren't even that impressive compared to the current Vampire Race, much less those from the past..."

Azrail's assumptions were correct.

Most of the strong vampires died in the fight against Crimson Death, leaving behind the weaker ones who didn't fight or ran away.

Although the Vampire Race avoided extinction, their descendants' overall and individual strength plummeted forever.

For example, the Tepes and Carmilla Factions combined barely made up for a fifth of the original Vampire Race's strength.

It was a loss that time couldn't recover.

"Such cruel words. Even I have feelings, you know..."

Lyra suppressed a laugh at Azrail's rude statement, not taking it to heart.

"Am I wrong?"

"No. You're correct. My natural potential was the lowest in my bloodline..."

If it were someone else, they'd be considered an embarrassment to the Royal Family.

However, that wasn't the case for Lyra.

She used to be the Royal Family's — No, the entire Vampire Race's prized treasure.

"As for the reason of my confinement... I was the first [Daywaker] to exist..."

Daywalker. A Pure-Blooded Vampire who had evolved past their racial weakness against sunlight.

That was what made Lyra indispensable to her race.

Back then, the world was in chaos since the 'legends' of today were still happening.

Dragons and Evil Dragons ran amok.

Mythological Pantheons formed, and numerous supernatural races fought against each other for various reasons — territory, resources, ideologies, followers, or superiority.

Conflicts and wars were commonplace.

In such a world, the Vampire Race couldn't allow their only hope of ever conquering the sun to roam free.

"I wanted to leave but lacked the courage to face my parents, so I created [Shadow Mark]..."

Lyra marked her brother's shadow and watched the outside world through their connection.

At first, she watched out of curiosity, but when she saw how incredible and vast the world was, she started resenting her family for locking her inside a small castle.

The resentment soon turned into hatred, to the point where Lyra couldn't even stand the sight of them.

"Over the years, I developed [Shadow Teleportation] from [Shadow Mark] and used it to sneak attack my parents..."

Her parents were too much for her to confront in a fair fight.

Not to mention, Lyra didn't even know [Shadow Merge] back then — one of the many abilities passed down within the Vampire Royal Family and something her parents excelled in.

After hearing her entire story, Azrail chuckled.

"Considering what happened when you stepped out of the Royal Palace, you should've stayed in confinement for another millennial or two..."

"You're heartless — taking the deaths of millions of innocent people as a joke. That incident is the sole thing I regret in this life, you know?"

Lyra walked over and sat on the nearby chair, placing her left leg above her right.

"No matter how sad your backstory is, I'm the last person you should expect sympathy from..."

"I don't need your sympathy. It's just..." Lyra interlocked her fingers over her thighs, dropping her head forward. "If I could relive that moment, I'd do things differently. It's something I think about ever so often..."

Maybe it was because of her soft and helpless voice, but Azrail remained quiet for a few seconds. "And what would you do differently?"

"This time, I won't assassinate my parents like last time. Instead..." Lyra's fingers clenched, and she raised her head, her eyes gleaming with pleasure as they met Azrail's gaze. "I'll torture them to death and make sure that the Vampire Race faces extinction..."

The three hundred years of control and isolation — A painless death was far too merciful for her parents.

"There's no redemption for you..."

Lyra scoffed at Azrail's sarcastic comment, leaning back on her chair. "You talk as if there's one for you..."

"I'm as far from redemption as a finite number is from infinity..."

It seemed like the two of them had something in common.

"But that's enough about my past. For now, let me introduce myself properly..."

Lyra placed her right hand on her chest with a beautiful smile, revealing her sharp fangs.

"I'm Althea Ebonrose Ataraxia, the last living descendent of the Vampire Royal Family. I look forward to our time together, Michael..."

"Althea..." When Azrail heard her name, he laughed out loud. He tried to surpass it by covering his mouth with his hand but to no avail. "That's so ironic..." [1]

"Says the Devil named after an Angel... If Azrael were still alive, he wouldn't have let such humiliation slide..."

"Please..." Azrail took a deep breath to calm himself. "The whole point of naming me Azrail is to mock Azrael's death..."

After all, the one who lured out and killed Seraph Azrael during the Great War was Krens Astaroth. [2]

Azrail's name was both an appreciation of his ancestor's accomplishments and a mockery of Azrael.

It also showed the Astaroth Clan's high expectations for Azrail, as they believed he'd achieve something equal to or greater than Krens.

"Anyway, I'll stick with calling you Lyra..."

"Do as you please."

Althea Ebonrose Ataraxia or Lyra Darkvein — both were nothing more than disposable identities for her.

Although, at this time, the two of them were most likely the only people who knew each other's true identities and names.

"Hmm..."

Lyra intently stared at Azrail's face for almost a minute, and the latter tilted his head. "What?"

"At first, I thought it was my imagination, but..." Lyra stood up and walked towards Azrail, taking a closer look at his face while holding her chin. "There's no doubt about it, you look strangely attractive today..."

It was weird.

Never once in her life had she found someone so eye-pleasing and attractive.

"Don't even think about it..." For a brief second, Azrail was confused, but he soon covered his chest with his hands and closed his legs in self-defence despite being fully dressed. "Only Alice can groom me..."

Lyra could tell it was an act, but when she heard those words, the intrigue on her face turned into pure disgust and repulse.

'Is this really the man I fear the most?'

She was reconsidering her life choices.

"That's not what I'm talking about... You activated the Vampire Race's [Charm (Passive)], right?"

"Yeah. Is something wrong with it?"

"It's not necessarily a problem, but... I think the skill is working a bit too well."

"How so?"

"Devils and Vampires are both creatures of seduction, and [Charm (Passive)] increases the user's natural attractiveness several times. For someone already attractive by the supernatural's standards, the skill is too much..."

It was the same reason Lyra learned to suppress [Charm (Passive)] to the best of her abilities.

She was naturally attractive, which made the skill more of a hindrance than an ability, and she stopped utilising it entirely.

"I'll think about it. No matter what, I want to study how [Charm (Passive)] works, so never using it is out of the question..."

"Suit yourself."

"And I doubt it'll make someone interested in a child like me..."

"You're correct, but if you run into someone who likes them young, they won't let you go..."

Even Lyra, who despised Azrail from the bottom of her heart, couldn't deny that looking at him relaxed her mood.

The effects would be even more potent for someone naturally attracted towards him.

"I don't know someone like that, but..."

"You..." Noticing how Azrail was in deep thought, Lyra narrowed her eyes at him. "You're thinking about trying it out on Alice?"

"Who knows..." Azrail turned towards Lyra with the most diabolically unhinged grin, and the latter's eyelids twitched in response. "Maybe after I learn how it works..."

"Forget it. Before my opinion of you falls even lower than it already has, take this..."

Lyra shook her head in disbelief, summoning an old book from her shadow and tossing it towards Azrail.

"What's this?"

"One of the skills passed down within the Vampire Royal Family called [Disguise]. As the name suggests, it lets the user change their Aura to match another person..."

Lyra released her Magic Power, and a pure white glow appeared around her body.

It was the natural colour of her aura, something that didn't change even after half her soul reincarnated into a Devil.

However, at this very moment—

"That's..."

The pure white glow turned yellow, which caused Azrail's eyes to widen.

Lyra smiled at his reaction, continuing from where he left off, "Alice's aura... I copied it when she came to save you."

"Even your Magic Power Frequency changed... How? My [High IQ] can't sense anything special..."

His surprise was a given.

There were thousands of spells to alter or hide someone's aura, but none were perfect.

"You can't analyse it because this isn't an external phenomenon. I'm manipulating my soul, not my magic power..."

[Disguise] wasn't a spell that required Magic Power or a Magic Circle. It was a skill that allowed the user to manipulate their soul as if they were moving their physical body.

Someone on the outside couldn't notice the activation of [Disguise], no matter how good their appraisal abilities were.

Lyra retreated her aura and pointed towards the book in Azrail's hand. "I didn't give that to you out of the goodness of my heart. [Disguise] involves the basics of [Soul Manipulation], so unless you master it first, forget about learning anything from me..."

For a natural shapeshifter like Azrail, this was the perfect ability.

It'd be impossible for most people to identify him if he disguised his aura and transformed into someone else.

"You know..." Maybe it was because he realised the potential of this skill, but he stared at the book in his hands with a grin. "The more time I spent with you, the more I like you..."

"At least try to sound sincere..."

"What's the point? You'll know I'm lying either way..."

Their eyes met, and the two smiled at each other.

"Don't think too highly of [Disguise]. No matter how incredible that skill is, it isn't perfect..."

"Yeah. I know. Aura and appearance aren't the only things supernaturals use to identify others." Azrail surged his demonic power and stored the book inside his shadow. "But coupled with my multiple bodies, [Disguise] will make it easier for me to move around..."

.

.

.

"Strangely enough, your being a part of the Vampire Royal Family makes sense..."

Lyra glanced at Azrail, a bit confused by his statement. "How so?"

There was nothing special about her Magic Power Reserves or natural potential that could represent a powerful lineage.

"Your treasury... That amount of money can't come from assassinations alone. It makes more sense for it to be from an inheritance..."

"What are you talking about? Those were my earnings as an assassin. Nothing in that treasury came from my family..."

"Then, don't you want it back?"

"You can keep them..." Lyra waved her hand nonchalantly. "I do not need things with monetary value..."

She couldn't even remember the last time she bought something with money.

If she wanted something, she'd steal it.

"Wait a minute..." Azrail frowned a little. "If they are your earnings, what about the Royal Family's treasure?"

"I have it with me, of course..."

Lyra created a pitch-black portal on the ceiling, summoning numerous gold coins, decorative items, magic tools, weapons, potions, records, and gemstones from her shadow.

Within seconds, the treasures filled every part of the enormous training hall.

"The Vampire Royal Family was quite well off..." Azrail looked around the heaps of treasures with wide, greedy eyes. "It's almost as much as the Astaroth Clan's entire wealth..."

'How will he react if I tell him this isn't even half of what my family had...'

Although interested, Lyra held herself back from showing off any further.

Some of the remaining things were of value to her, after all. She had no intention of letting Azrail learn too much about her.

"If you think this is impressive, you should see a dragon's resting place... For example, a Dragon King will have at least ten times the wealth I do..."

When he heard those words, Azrail looked at Lyra from the corner of his eyes, but before he could say anything, she spoke, "Don't even think about it. I already gave you enough money."

He wasn't getting another gold coin from her until something interesting happened.

"No. It's just..." Azrail shook his head lightly with a smile, and Lyra frowned at his sudden change in demeanour. "I have made up my mind..."

"About what?"

"Our relationship..."

"Huh..."

"We might have had our ups and downs during the time we spent together, but..."

Azrail walked towards Lyra and stood in front of her.

"I hope we can forget about the past and start a new life together — one built on trust and affection..."

After a moment of silence, he gently took hold of her right hand with his hand, resting his other hand above hers.

"The truth is, I don't want to be groomed by anyone except Alice, but..." Their eyes met, and Azrail stared at her with a sincere and honest expression, his eyes filled with care, compassion, love, and greed. "You can be my Sugar Mommy instead, Lyra..."

'What the hell...'

Lyra didn't know what was worse — the words that came out of Azrail's mouth or that he sounded genuine.

---

Words: 7,226

A/N:

Birds of a feather flock together — this couldn't be more true for Lyra and Azrail xD.

Both of them are so fake and they know it, too.

Lyra's whole theme is being free enough to do whatever she wants, which opposes Azrail's wish to control everything that happens around him.

That's one of the reasons why she rebelled so fiercely against him the first time — he tried too hard to control her.

Also, don't sleep on [Disguise]. It'll be important to one of Azrail's main abilities in the future.

After wrapping up some ends from the previous scenes (before the Lyra situation happened), we're having a small time skip.

Notes:

1. Althea means "wholesome" or "healer."

Her family named Lyra as such because they believed she'd "heal" their race from their weakness against sunlight.

After realising that, Azrail calls it ironic because he knows what kind of person Lyra is and what she did to the Vampire Race.

2. I doubt anyone remembers, but Krens is the Astaroth Clan's librarian who gave Latia advice on Vectors. His Demonic Power Nature is [Space].