The Crimson Reaper-Chapter 54: Melisa’s Breakdown

"Scarlet, maybe you should listen to him." George was the first one who dared to speak against her after seeing Luciel’s eyes turn vibrant red.

They were sure Scarlet could take him on without a problem, but they weren’t sure if they could survive the clash.

"Fine," Scarlet answered, clearly not sounding happy about all of this. She was the one that was in control and having this disgusting vampire trying to take it over left a sour taste in her mouth.

Releasing Melisa from her chains, the ginger vampire quickly made some distance from her.

"Thank you." She whispered so quietly that only Luciel could hear while walking towards his side.

Luciel glanced towards his acquaintance before looking back at the three hunters sitting at the table, especially towards George and Dash.

He noticed something odd about them. Their heartbeats would sometimes skip a beat or go out of control, indicating that they were scared or worried.

He was about to ask but decided to let it go, connecting their unusual behavior with his current situation. In their eyes, he pretty much rose from the dead, but he still expected a little bit more reaction from the two.

Glancing at Scarlet, he smirked when he noticed her frustrated expression.

Luciel was well aware of Scarlet’s personality since they belonged to the same training unit. At one point, they were rivals, so seeing her like this when he was slowly taking control of the situation brought a smile to his face.

The fact that he was doing this as a vampire felt even sweeter. Scarlet never revealed her motivations for becoming a hunter, she always acted like she was above everyone else.

"Now we can talk." Luciel approached the table, moving the chair away so he can sit down to have a discussion.

"What do you want to know?" He placed his hand and leaned on the table.

The hunters exchanged looks with each other, but while all of this was happening, Melisa had other plans and attempted to sneak away, not wanting to take part in this situation.

"Just don’t try to run away," Luciel warned her when he noticed her intentions, but he doubted that she would try anything since it was still sun outside and they already had enough of it.

Luciel yawned, an exhaustion on his face was clearly visible with heavy, dark bags under his eyes, but who knows when he would be able to get a good day of rest anyway.

"Don’t worry, I’m just going to take some rest." Melisa placed her hand on the doorframe before leaving towards the living room where Helen was sleeping on the sofa.

’So... That’s his wife.’ She thought, observing her soft expression as she slept.

Melisa had a smug look on her face when she noticed two bite marks on Helen’s neck, knowing that it was probably more than a simple feeding, but how far they went was unknown. It could have been just the two kissing.

She went to sit down in front of the sofa, leaning back and hugging her knees, feeling all alone. Letting out a sight, she started to think about her twin.

’Oh, brother... Why were you the one that had to get bitten...’ Not being able to hold back, Melisa started to sob quietly, dropping her mask when she thought that no one was watching.

Hearing the quiet sobs, Helen slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times, wondering from where was the sound coming from.

She wasn’t passed out, just felt sleepy after what Luciel had done.

Looking down, she noticed a female vampire from before, being lost in her battle.

Helen debated if she should say something or just give her some space.

"Hey... What’s wrong?" She decided to speak, even if the person in front of her was a vampire. This was a good time to try and get some information, as well as to study it. It wasn’t every everyday Helen would see a vampire in tears.

She wasn’t too fond of vampires, but after finding out so much about them, Helen realized that they were way more human than anyone thought. It was just hard to perceive them as highly intelligent and emotional beings since humans would only see their predatory nature.

Melisa flinched when she heard a voice coming from behind her. She thought that Helen was passed out since Luciel was still considered a newborn and even older vampires had a hard time trying not to kill their prey while feeding.

The biggest problem was the vampires who would fall in love with a human, those would always end in a tragedy.

Humans don’t have superior healing, making them unable to replenish their lost blood due to vampires having an instinct to bite and drink each other’s blood during intimate moments.

She started into Helen’s hazel eyes. Melisa couldn’t explain, but she felt at peace while being in her presence.

"It’s my brother..." She hiccuped, needing to vent a little and Helen seemed to be the most reasonable person. After all, Melisa couldn’t just reveal to Luciel or someone else how she felt.

"What about him?" Helen asked, trying to sit up, but her body felt stiff like being surrounded by a hardening cement.

She would frown whenever she would move her hands. There was a painful, tingling sensation when changing their position.

"I-I think that you could have guessed already when we first met..." Melisa’s voice was shaky and quiet. Seeing how Helen was trying to sit up, she got up, helping her change her position.

She wanted to be on Helen’s good side since she might hold a key to helping her brother. Being a scientist and all, she could find a way to help, right?

"He got bitten by a zombie. Back at the clan, we are doing everything we can to keep him from turning, but it’s just a matter of time before he-" Melisa couldn’t finish her sentence. She was here, playing human games while her kin was on his deathbed.

’A virus that can attack a vampire’s immune system?’ Helen froze for a moment at the shocking revelation. It was hard to believe that something like this was possible.

But when thinking about it, the strange reports and rumors going around for the last month about seeing vampires attacking and biting each other made sense, but that wasn’t the strangest thing.

The weirdest detail in all of this was that some vampires started to feed on flesh! Without being able to get any samples, simply because of the danger the mission would bring, the researchers thought that it was a new, terrifying evolution.

"You can save him, right?" Melisa begged with her big, red wine eyes like a puppy.

"Melisa, right?" Helen sighed, observing Melisa’s trembling lip. She looked at her like she was some kind of a hero, but she was just a scientist...

The thing that this young vampire was requesting was impossible! These things usually take years and years of research, sometimes even longer.

The female vampire nodded when hearing her name, staying quiet as she impatiently waited for an answer.

Helen opened her mouth, wanting to say the truth, but just when she was about to do it, she noticed Melisa’s puppy eyes.

"If you could bring him over to my lab, maybe I can try and do something to save him." She sugar coated her words, not wanting to break her heart, but the probability of saving him was slim.

"Really?!" Melisa gasped. A big smile appeared on her face as she went to hug Helen, being careful not to hurt her due to her strength. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

****

’Poor Melisa...’ Luciel thought while listening to the conversation that was happening in the next room. He knew that the vampire was worried, but he never gave it a moment to think how scared and worried she must have felt for her brother.

Luciel bit his lower lip, feeling slightly bad for treating her the way he did earlier. He knew that it wasn’t his fault for what happened to Kai, but couldn’t help but feel slightly responsible.

He felt conflicted, wondering what would be the best course of action. If he had done just as Kai had said, everyone in the colony might have become mindless zombies.

By getting involved and saving that woman and later talking to Scarlet, he managed to give them a warning, andtime to prepare for what was coming.

"Luciel." Scarlet called out to the vampire, "Will you continue or what? How did you find the kids?"

"Oh, sorry, something just caught my attention." He shook his head, getting back to reality.

He already told those three most of the story, about his activities after becoming a vampire and details about Nosferatu, not leaving out even a single detail except the Blood Cultivation.

Explaining that would also allow humans to discover what makes the vampires tick.

Luciel wouldn’t have any problems with revealing that, but that information would pose a threat to him as well.

He was a vampire now and even if he was one of them, it would be almost impossible to convince the humans that he was still on their side because of one, harsh truth - he needed their blood to survive.

"The problem is, Nosferatu probably has more of those farms. As I see it, those kids were being prepared for transport." He mentioned after finishing the story about the kids.

Scarlet still had a suspicious look on her face, but Dash and George looked a little bit more relaxed.

Scarlet couldn’t decide if she should trust Luciel or not. His actions were telling them that he was still on their side, but he might have joined the other side already and is now trying to infiltrate among humans to serve as a spy.

’We are safe, for now...’ Dash thought, but knew that this won’t last for long. It was only a matter of time before Luciel found out about their illegal activities of selling the kids to Nosferatu.

"This is just too much to take in at once," George complained, putting a hand on his forehead, trying to put the puzzle together.

"First thing first, we need to bring the kids to safety. There is a girl that needs immediate medical attention." Luciel pointed out, looking at George. He was their support, so he might have a way to help the girl.

"All right, I’ll see what I can do." He stretched his fingers, trying to recall a divine art for recovery.

"Also, guys, from now on, try to refrain from using the divine arts," Luciel warned, feeling bad about asking George to use them after finding out that they are shortening a human’s life.

"I don’t care about the consequences. I’ll use everything in my reason to get rid of you." Scarlet got up, slamming her hands on the table before walking off, with her long, red hair swaying behind her.