Now let me feast!

….

"Haa!" Rugged pants echoed throughout the battlefield as Malik stood before the lifeless body of the shadow demon, holding his blood-stained sword.

"If I didn't have greater strength and stamina, he wouldn't be the one that died. Instead, I would have, and everything that we started would've all gone to waste… I need to become strong, or I'll be the one who dies in place of my enemies."

Malik knew that facing demons was dangerous. However, it was only now that he truly realized how dangerous it was. He was already unfamiliar with the terrain, and his enemies were strong here.

What was worse was that there were elemental demons that were leagues above the ordinary demons, with seemingly profound abilities and dark energy. Moreover, only fighting one was this difficult; if he were to fight two or more at the same time, killing them would be the least of his worries.

The Shadow Demon was, if not the strongest, then one of the strongest members of the Shadow Clan, which consisted of all who possessed Shadow Magic. Unfortunately, the shadow clan wasn't the best enemy for most, as they could kill without anyone realizing that they were killed!

However, that wasn't all! They also possessed the biggest advantage, as the dark lands were completely dark. It was no different from fighting in someone's domain, as they had absolute control over the element of shadows.

"Thanks to my perception ability, I wasn't the one to die today." He glanced at the shadow demon's body and commanded. "Stand up!"

Strangely enough, the lifeless shadow demon, who was supposed to be dead, stood up.

As the demon stood, Malik revealed his sharp fangs and brought them closer to the demon's neck. He felt euphoria from the feeling of feasting on his prey. After a long battle, he felt delight in receiving his rewards.

The sharp fangs of Malik finally stabbed into the neck of the shadow demon, digging deep into his veins in search of fresh blood.

"Hmm?" Malik was taken aback. He knew that poisonous blood was common, but that wasn't all one could find! There was a small possibility that one could receive the element of a demon by feasting on them.

'I must say, I'm suddenly very fortunate. Not only was there another person inside the mine who wanted to assist him and who gave me the chance of revenge, but I also received an element from one of the ten elemental demons I've killed.'

The demon's eyes slowly turned more lifeless as his body turned even more pale with the last of his blood leaving his body. The black fur that covered his body slowly lost its color as his element drained from him, leaving his fur a pure white.

Malik moved his head back, pulling his fangs out of the demon's neck. He licked his bloody lips, which were covered in the demon's blood, as if wanting to savor every last bit of the taste that he had just experienced.

The demon's body dropped to the ground as it lost the ability to stand.

"He was really tasty… Worthy of being an elemental demon." Malik smirked and turned to look at the capital, Zakiki, in the distance. "Soon I'll taste the blood of that bitch!"

He licked his lips again, this time imagining the euphoria he would feel after tasting the blood of Lethia.

****

Back in the capital, Zakiki City, Lethia had fallen asleep hours earlier under the darkness, as the piercing chill of nature refreshed her body.

"…Hia!"

Lethia frowned slightly as she heard something. The voice wasn't clear initially, but as she came out of her slumber, the voice became clearer.

"Lethia…" the voice came again.

Lethia opened her eyes, noticing that she was still on the roof of her estate. However, now that she had some sleep and was away from the problems of her future, she felt a little better and more refreshed.

Unfortunately, this didn't last long.

"Lethia…" the feminine voice repeated again.

Lethia's expression quickly changed to anger and irritation. She disappeared from the roof as if she were a shadow that had been erased by sunlight, such was her speed.

"What?" The maid grew confused. Where did she go? She disappeared when she was here to inform her of something.

She silently appeared behind the young woman who had called for her, stabbing her hand into her chest.

"Argh!" The maid let out a scream, and she lowered her gaze, looking at her chest. Right before her eyes, Lethia pulled out her blood-covered hand, leaving a big hole in her chest. Her hand wasn't empty though... The maid's heart was in her hand, which was still beating.

"I might've been exiled, but you shouldn't call me by my name… I'm still a royal after all." Lethia coldly stated, bringing the heart to her lips. "For your punishment, it's death!"

Her sharp fangs dug into her heart, draining all the blood from it.

At the same time, black nerves spread across the maid's entire body as she turned rigid. She fell to the ground, lifeless. Even after her last moment, the maid couldn't believe what had happened. The person who was supposed to be weak was this strong. How was it possible?

If she knew that Lethia had the strength to back up her position, she wouldn't have so blatantly called out her name and been so defenseless. However, she didn't realize that even if she did show respect, she would still die. There were only two things Lethia hated the most: one of them was her father, and the other was anything that disrupted her rest.

Even though she didn't have any dreams as everything around her was dark, trapping her inside the darkness, she still cherished her rest as she didn't have any problems. It was much better than having problems that wouldn't stop increasing.

Lethia crushed the heart that had already been drained of all of its blood before lightly tossing it towards the maid on the ground.

"Mm?" Lethia frowned, seeing that the blood wasn't that good. "The blood's too sour; it needs to be sweetened. You should certainly get that checked if you have the chance in your next life!"

Lethia grabbed the maid by the neck, dragging her lifeless body with her as she disappeared into the shadows once again.

****

Under the all-embracing darkness, a shadow could occasionally be seen on the roofs of houses. However, none could even catch a glimpse of the shadow with how fast it was moving.

The shadow soon appeared in a lavish castle in the center of the city of Zaciki, where a young man was seated on a throne with a glass of blood in his hand and his eyes closed.

The shadow appeared before the man, carrying a young woman who was dressed in a maid's dress.

"It seems you've killed another of my maids. Are you ever planning on learning to control your emotions? Vampires shouldn't kill for the simple reason of being disturbed, should they? Lethia, my daughter!" Kazimir opened his eyes, taking a sip from his glass of blood.

"You know I hate when someone disturbs my rest, but you dare to send someone to look for me? Don't you care about your life, old man?" Lethia asked. Kazimir might have looked as if he were in his twenties, but his real age was well over ten millennia. He was considered one of the oldest of the vampires and dark dependents alike.

Bang~

Hundreds of maids all rushed in at once, quickly surrounding Lethia as they pointed their blood swords at her, noticing the lifeless body of a maid.

"Your highness. You have intruded on the grounds of the castle and murdered one of us. I suggest that you come with us. If needed, we will use force!" The maids stated, not showing fear before the princess. They thought the same as the maid before: Lethia was weak!

"Father!" Lethia ignored them, turning to face her father. "You don't mind if a few of your maids die, do you? Their asking for death after taking me for someone who's weak."

"It's their choice… If they want to lose their lives here, I won't interfere." Kazimir responded. He wanted to see just how much his daughter had improved since the last time he saw her. He wanted to see if she truly had the strength to back up those words—and if she didn't, he still wouldn't interfere.

"Thanks for the free meal… Now let me feast!"