If it were up to him on where he could go and the consequences of it then he would’ve decided better on the path he took. He had thought it wasn’t normal for him to think like this but under the constant pressure of his pursuers it had caused his judgment to falter.

Had it not caused him great amounts of stress He probably would’ve taken a smarter path like jumping out of a window or running out of a hidden backdoor. But the path he had taken had none of those things and death would await him if he stayed too long in one spot.

It was only natural that he ran in the first direction he could see.

That was a mistake.

He had noticed it a little too late.

When the castle walls started to become more narrow than the other areas of the castle it then became apparent to him that the path he had taken was not quite the correct one. Rubi who still stuck out like a boy wearing a coat in the summer had somehow ended up in an area of the castle where people of importance stayed.

In order words it was where the queen and her daughters stayed, meaning he was in mortal danger if caught.

(Huh, I swear I had turned right.)

Even if this was a big problem that could either be life or death for him it wasn’t the main issue he found himself in. The rooms were side by side like a hotel whose rooms tunneled across the hall like rows of suites in an apartment complex. The ceiling had a beautiful blood like color to it.

To Rubi it was something that a human couldn’t naturally reproduce, even with the best dye in the world. The carpet dye also made it look beautiful as it had a red floral design that drew out the red. But besides that the walls were a normal shade of black and torches lit up the hall from the cage holders on the walls.

The place was like something Dracula would live in as he drank on the blood of the innocent. The only issue of the hallway wasn’t with the color or appearance but of the sensation of never ending. Rubi placed his left hand on the wall and made sure to remember the number of one of the rooms.

Something was clearly wrong.

When he walked ahead he noticed something strange about the numbers on the wall. At the start of the hall the number was 543 and it should’ve ended with number 645 when he ended up at the end of the hall, but when walking for quite some time he would run into number 555. That wasn’t the weird part yet. When walking for longer he would encounter the same number 543 and it would continue as he walked, it was almost like a loop, but the numbers would randomly take turns switching as if someone or something was controlling them, or maybe the entire hallway itself.

Rubi had thought about turning around and going back the way he came, but that proved to be useless as when he backtracked he came across the same number 555 and 543 that rotated in random intervals in the seemingly infinite hallway.

He was without a doubt trapped…

“-Hn!”

Rubi made a grunt sound. The doors did not budge. Rubi twisted the knob but nothing happened, causing him to step back and scratch his head. As he expected the door would not open, even when using his full force the door barely gave way. Rubi kicked the door with his right foot putting all his strength into it, but just as he thought nothing happened. it was only natural he would try this. He began to think.

Whatever had decided to keep him in that hall must’ve known he was there on that floor. But what was the goal here, was it to waste his energy before barging in and killing him when he’s weak, or was it to keep him there until he starved ?

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Rubi had no idea how that power worked, so it was a mystery to even him who had recently seen a lot of strange things. Hypothetically speaking if the vampires somehow did have a strange supernatural power to keep him there for days until he starved then wouldn’t they need an excessive amount of power to keep him there ? Rubi didn’t question if there may have been someone out there like that. Yet he couldn’t stop himself from doubting if someone would really waste energy just to starve a single vampire. Yes, a vampire. He wasn’t human anymore.

Since he wasn’t a human anymore he didn’t have to abide by human rules, he could last weeks before starving but that would still prove to be painful. Vampires did have a craving and unlike normal humans, it would force him into his primal instincts. Rubi would probably have at least a 4 day grace period before all hell would break loose. Still that didn’t mean he was 100% going to be here for that long. Realistically this was an if he was trapped this long scenario.

***

After what felt like hours, Rubi finally felt a yawn. Had it been days, he didn’t know. Rubi sat on the floor next to one of the numbered rooms. His wings covered him like a blanket. As for his primal hunger he hadn’t felt it. For now he was still in the clear, but how much longer would he last ? The rags he wore eventually fell off in his time in the hallway. The only thing Rubi had left on his body was some shorts that barely could be called shorts. It was clear that if he doesn’t get out of here soon then things could go sour really quick.

His gaze wandered off and then he saw it.

Something was off.

Rubi tilted his head and then like a light bulb had gone off in his head something in his perspective had changed. The past few hours or days he had sat perfectly still on the ground, meaning he never moved not once.

So that would mean the numbers shouldn't have moved, or so he thought.

(The numbers move even when I'm sitting, so that means.”

“This might not be real.”

The numbers on the wall quickly shuffled, they never moved; it was just his perspective. Just like that a voice had called out to him.

“Well, I wouldn’t expect an idiot turned vampire would quickly figure out my ability. It's a shame I wanted to play with you some more, but I guess playtime is over. “

As quickly as the voice spoke Rubi turned around to the voice that had come from behind him. When he turned around the numbers on the wall dispersed like a popping balloon while the walls and ceiling crumbled down bursting into some form of gas. Rubi tighten his fist.

Before him in this void was a singular girl. She had long wavy red hair and yellow eyes that glared at him.

She then spoke.

“Since this will be your last time alive I’ll introduce myself. My name is Love Lebethonamy the second, or just call me Love for short, it doesn’t matter. You won't be alive to remember it after all.”

The girl readied herself before he could react and some claws visibly sprouted from her hands. This was not going to be an easy fight, Rubi knew better. Unlike the guards that tried killing him this girl had some sort of ability and a very confusing one at that, if he managed to defeat her then maybe he’ll have a chance at escaping.

But that must’ve been foolish thinking because before he could ready himself the girl had quickly swooped in and swung upwards, attempting to take his head.

Blood fell from her hand she was unable to kill Rubi in that strike but that didn’t mean he was left unscathed. She did manage to draw blood but Rubi had managed to throw himself out of the way just in time.

Maybe if he wasn't in his head then he probably could’ve dodge that attack but there was no time for that. Love launched another attack slashing at his arm that protected his face. It was getting cut to shreds, the little sleeve he had left was shredded and blood arose from the wound. If he didn’t get on the offense she would end up taking his arm and soon his life.

He developed a plan.

It was simple once she came in for another attack he would use his wings to behead her, if everything went correctly then this should’ve been an easy victory with no problems. The girl quickly rushed Rubi with her claws and went in for a horizontal slash. She was in his range and just like a knife would cut clean through butter his right wing swung and sliced through the girl’s tender white neck.

But was that too easy ?

Of course it was.

What Rubi had slashed was not the girl but a mere illusion that bursted into some formless gas once he struck.

“Crap”

The girl had completely disappeared. If the one in front of him was a mere illusion then will the next one be real ? It was hard to say. The ability of hers still remained the biggest problem and having no way to tell if it was activated made it all the worse. But Rubi had come to the conclusion that the illusions were her main source of power. If he could somehow manage to stop the illusions then winning this fight would be as easy as baking a cake.

She then appeared and struck at his temple.

He had ducked, efficiently dodging the girl’s kick that if made contact with his head would without a doubt knock his head off his slender but built shoulders. He kicked at her feet and she jumped back, a smile appeared on her face and then she spoke.

“You’re good, I'll give you that, but could you handle fighting three of me at once ?”

“What are you talking about, is it not just you ?”

The girl stretched her arms backwards overhead and then after that three illusions appeared beside her.

It was her.

Three of her.

“Let's see you face off against this. I have no idea why Scarlet decided to save you, but… This will be your last day alive. I can promise you that.”