56 Even Death Doesn't Want You

Asher sat on the edge of the bed where Milas' body lay. Asher was currently in Milas' room waiting for Milas' parents or guardian to come pick up his corpse. It had been two days since the incident in the forest and nobody had shown up to claim Milas' body. As for himself, he knew that no one would show up if it was him on that bed.

With a heavy sigh, Asher left the room to stretch his legs and get some fresh air. The school was eerily silent. The students had left after the attack and he was probably the only one who stayed.

Outside the dorm, teachers could be seen rushing across the courtyard. There was also a group of investigators moving around the school. They had already asked him a lot of questions about the incident and were now questioning the teachers.

Asher was doing some stretches when he felt a strong breeze pass by him. He completely ignored it and continued with his stretches.

In Milas' room, a man stood beside his bed with a frown on his face. Blood energy oozed from his palm in the form of mist and covered Milas' head. His frown deepened as time went by and he eventually retracted the blood energy. It swirled around his index finger before condensing and solidifying into a razor like blade.

A cut was made but the blood that left the wound didn't flow naturally, it levitated just above Milas. The man let the wound on his hand heal once enough blood had gathered. The levitating ball of blood forcefully entered Milas' mouth and flowed to his stomach despite his inability to swallow.

'That should be enough to wake him up.' The man thought as he pushed Milas aside to make enough space for him to sit on the bed. The door suddenly opened as Asher walked in.

They made eye contact for a second and Asher bowed immediately. His hand was placed over his heart as he spoke with reverence.

"Asher Kiner greets the Great Elder." Asher was panicking, hundreds of questions were running through his mind. He was beyond confused as he stayed in the bowing position. 'What is one of the Great Elders doing in the academy? No, more importantly, why is he in Milas' room? Did Milas do something crazy enough to get his attention? This is bad! This is very bad! '

"What are you doing here, Asher?" The man's voice seemed to put pressure on Asher's mind forcing him to answer.

"I've been looking after him."

"And why would you look after a corpse?" Asher could hear the scepticism in the Great Elder's voice and knew that he needed to explain himself.

" I owe him a life debt and I decided to stay with him till his family or guardian comes to take the body. I only wish to meet them so that I can pay the debt I owe." Asher gave a clear answer and could only wait to see how the Great Elder would react. There was a tense moment of silence before the Great Elder spoke.

"Fetch me his bracelet and don't disclose my presence here to anyone. You may leave." Asher left the room and shut the door behind him. He quickly headed down to the front desk where the boarding master spent most of his time.

"Good morning, may I get the bracelet belonging to Milas? Room number 57. I just need it for…" Asher was surprised when the boarding master into a drawer and handed the bracelet to him.

"If you're wondering why I gave it to you just know that it's because I don't really care. You can't use it without the owner and I know that he's dead so it's basically useless. So you can just keep it as a reminder." The boarding master then leaned into his seat and shut his eyes signaling the end of the conversation.

" Come in." The deep voice of the Great Elder reached Asher just as he was about to knock. Closing the door behind him, Asher then passed the bracelet to the Great Elder.

"Here's your bracelet and I'm leaving. We'll finish our conversation once you get home." The Great Elder then got up and left but not before leaving Asher with some parting words. "Asher, consider the life debt paid because I dictate the worth of Milas' life and fetching that bracelet was more than enough."

Asher could see Milas sitting on the bed fully awake. He was shocked but he maintained his composure as he left the room and came back a few seconds later. "Sigh! He's gone."

Shifting his gaze back to Milas, Asher approached the bed and stood right beside him. "Are you okay? Cause you were pronounced dead but I guess that even death didn't want you ."

"I don't feel like I died, it's like I just got a long rest." Milas answered with a neutral tone. He wasn't dazed or freaked out by the fact that he had possibly died and resurrected. That's because he knew that he wasn't dead in the first place.

"Are you sure? Like you aren't experiencing any pain or discomfort?"

" I'm fine, you don't have to worry." Milas was surprised that Asher cared about him. It was really weird.

" Then that's good news."

SLAP!!

Milas felt his head spin and his ears ring. Asher hadn't held back with his slap. "Why the hell did you slap me!?"

"Why was a Great Elder in your room?"

"Tell me why you slapped me and I'll answer your question."

"Sigh, I slapped you because you keep attracting trouble. Now tell me why the Great Elder was in your room?"

"First of all, I'll get you back for slapping me. Second, I don't know who you're talking about. Now tell me what you and Deogratius meant when you talked about a life debt. " Milas actually wanted to slap back but couldn't so he was gonna get payback later.

"You called a Great Elder by his first name! You are either retarded or ignorant beyond measure cause bravery doesn't include a death wish like yours." Asher could see the confusion in Milas' eyes. "So you really don't know? If I didn't know any better I'd think that you aren't a vampire."

"I am a vampire but I'm also a slave so I don't exactly have the privilege of knowing things others would consider basic knowledge." Milas with his voice rising a little. He would always feel angry and frustrated everytime he remembers his situation.

"Wait, you're a slave!" Asher sounded shocked by the revelation which Milas found really weird.

"You're acting like you can't see the slave mark on my chest."

"That's because I can't. Slave marks are only visible to the master and the slave." Asher said before quickly asking. "Does that mean that you're the Great Elder's slave?"

"Why else would he be here?" Milas raised an eyebrow at Asher's obvious question. "Anyway, can I get some time alone?"

"Sure thing, just meet me at the front door in two hours."

"How would I know it's been two hours?"

"Sigh, your bracelet does a lot more than just store things. You should use your brain for once and check it out." Asher left the room and headed back to his own room. Too much had happened and he needed time to process everything.

Milas returned the empty container into his storage space and allowed the energy from the fresh blood to revitalize him. Goosebumps rose and Milas sighed in pleasure. ' I'll never get used to this and I'm not going to resist cause it feels so damn good. '

"It grows old in a few centuries." The deep beastly voice of Van echoed in Milas' mind. Normally, Milas would be startled whenever the phoenix suddenly spoke but this time was different. He had been listening to that voice so much in the past few days that he was basically sick of it.

"What do you want, Old Bird?"

"Step into the conciousness space and say that to my face." Van said knowing fully that Milas wouldn't do it.

" Just tell me what you want and I'll stop calling you old." Milas just wanted to see what his bracelet had to offer but he knew Van wouldn't let him do so in peace.

"Do you feel any discomfort in your body?"

"There is this heavy feeling in my chest like something is pushing against my lungs. Do you know what is causing it? Cause the blood isn't healing it." Milas was getting a little worried now that Van had pointed it out. The energy that courses through his veins after drinking blood was avoiding his chest even when he tried to force it.

" It won't heal because it's not a wound. It's the excess blood energy from the blood crystal. You are about to breakthrough to the bloodborn rank but I don't suggest doing so yet. Before you ask why I'm stopping you just know that you progressed too fast. Your body hasn't reached its peak for your current rank. So you'll be performing a false breakthrough in order to reach your current bodily limits."

" Is it dangerous or painful or worse? " Milas knew that something like that couldn't just be simple. There's always a cost when gaining strength.

" I find it amusing whenever you ask such questions. You make it sound like you had a choice in the first place."