Ocelio’s body jumped from roof to roof in fluid movements, his eyes peered at the streets below, surveying the citizens that were returning to their homes.
Using the darkness of the city, his silhouette became a blurring shadow, dashing across the trading district in silent steps.
When he reached the control point, he increased his speed in a sprint, his figure crossed the wall above the guards at his maximum speed.
On the other side, his feet stepped on the air, slowing down until his feet came to a stop above rows of houses and manors.
Tall columns made of white stones with red crystals on top of them light up the paved road, creating shadows on the walls surrounding the manors. Most of the habitations were completely dark and only the guards patrolling in the streets could be seen moving about.
The dark brown crystals shone down on his black cloak; he stood in the air motionless while his glowing red eyes went through a change. The white buildings, the red crystals, the yellow garden, everything turned grey. The next moment, the world seemed to come alive as hundreds of red dots appeared around him.
His eyes narrowed at the sudden change. His lips curved into a mysterious smile, then his expression froze.
His nostrils inhaled the night air a few more time before whispering words brimming with delight.
[My blood sense evolved!]
His attention focused on a dot of blood, his nose twitched for a few seconds, a scent of leather accompanied by an acrid sourness entered his nostrils. His upper lip pulled up as his nose wrinkled.
His sight moved to another dot and another, but all of them had either a sour or a bland smell.
His figure moved deeper into the district, standing on a rooftop, he took in all the scents without leaving a single one unattended.
After coming down, the nearby smells became stronger. A disgusted expression was drawn on his face each time the sourness akin to rotten food was identified by his sense, yet he did not give up and continued to examine each manor.
All of a sudden, his expression brightened. His eyes locked into a manor from which a familiar sweet smell of honey and banana emanated from.
He breathed as much of the scent as he could, an intoxicated expression covered his face as he took a step forward. The next instant, he was standing in front of the manor.
His head rose to stare at the building, he clenched his fists before jumping out of the property.
His stomach grumbled in protest but he did not turn back.
After searching for a few more minutes, he sneaked inside a white manor through the garden. In his eyes were reflected all the inhabitants of the home he was trespassing in.
Following a bland, unrecognisable scent, he entered the bedroom of a young man in his twenties. Seeing his sleeping face, Ocelio turned around and closed the door.
The house was large, a few sour scents came from the ground floor.
On the third floor, three blood shapes emitted flavourless scents. His figure could be seen walking in rapid steps through the manor as if he was part of the darkness. Each time his feet fell, an invisible layer of energy would cushion his step, leaving all the residents unaware of the arrival of a guest.
A door on the third floor opened in a slow-motion, making way for a dark figure with red eyes inside the bedroom.
When his sight landed on the young woman sleeping in the bed, a faint trace of surprise could be seen on his pale face.
She was lying on her side with her short brown hair falling on her rosy face. The hair at the crown of her head was the same colour as her red lips. The dark brown blanket covering her body reached up to her stomach, revealing her exquisite skin and loose underwear.
Ocelio stared at her lithe figure exhaling short breaths, making her chest rise and fall in a calm rhythm.
A hand was resting by the side of her pillow with her palm facing up.
He grasped her hand and brought his face closer, the scent of a flower escaped from her mouth but it was too faint and insipid to be distinctive.
His glowing eyes stopped on her hand, he showed hesitation before bringing her skin directly to his mouth.
When he bit her palm, her blood flowed in his mouth like a vigorous stream. He stared at her face that was lighting up with pleasure, however, he remained expressionless. The next moment, he took his canines away from her hand.
He lifted one of her eyelids before putting her in a deep sleep. Taking off the blanket, he lifted her body by the arms into his embrace.
She wore nothing but her underwear, her head was lying against his dark cloak. The cold hands on her waist made her shudder in her sleep, yet, the next moment, when his canines inserted themselves into her neck, her body heated up as a long moan leaked from her soft lips.
His cold eyes stared at her skin as he drained her body of her blood, after filling his stomach to half of his capacity, he removed his mouth from her skin.
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He threw her body back on the bed without sparing another glance her way.
[Dull woman.]
A single comment left his mouth as the door closed.
He jumped back in the air, returning to the task of smelling the scents of all the residents of the prosperous district.
After screening half of the district, he came upon a familiar manor.
He looked at the blood dots within the building with narrowed eyes.
The next second, surprise showed on his face at the distinctive smells entering his nose. It was not just one, but 3 different enticing scents that escaped from the manor.
He moved his blood to forge a key and unlocked a side entrance of the manor. He made hurried steps toward the fourth floor, ignoring the sweet smell that leaked from a room where another person was resting.
He was facing two bedrooms. He hesitated for a moment before entering the one on the left.
However, barely three seconds passed before he returned to the hallway.
[As expected, the last one must be you.]
In the last bedroom, in a queen-sized bed with a brown blanket laid the unconscious body of a blonde woman in her early twenties. She slept with a pained face as if she was having a nightmare. Beads of sweat had already covered her face.
He observed her delicate figure with an indecipherable expression on his face. His red eyes had stopped glowing, returning to their original dark red colour.
He took a handkerchief from inside his clothes and wiped her face in gentle, slow movements. He took his time and only stopped when his tissue had absorbed all the moisture from her skin.
[Will you hate me if you knew the truth? I knew something was wrong with that item, but I still sent you.]
He placed his hand on her forehead. She squirmed under his cold touch, she tilted her head left and right but his fingers did not move.
A thin veil of spiritual energy came to surround his palm, entering her head.
Ocelio was standing in an enclosed dark room with nothing in sight. He took a few steps forward, his hand moved from under his dark cloak, motioning in the air as if he was trying to open a door. A thin layer of spiritual power was covering his hand, the next moment, his fingers seemed to have touched something.
He appeared in a grey temple with dozens of children surrounding him.
An old man sat at the front, reciting a strange mantra, whispers that entered the unconscious children ears and but did not seem to have any meaning.
Ocelio looked down at his body with a calm expression before lifting his eyes to stare at the old bald man.
He was dressed in a loose white robe and his yellow eyes were staring right back at him.
Now the children disappeared, the darkness returned as only the bald man and Ocelio stood in this space. The bald man seemed to be sitting in front of Ocelio, but with each word he muttered, the distance between them grew.
[It’s useless. You are not my opponent.]
As soon as these words left Ocelio’s mouth, waves of spiritual power emerged from his body, shaking the area around him.
The old man increased the speed of his chanting, yet within a few seconds, the sitting figure of the man appeared right in front of Ocelio.
Dark cracks materialised in the space around them with the sound of something breaking apart.
Without warning, Ocelio’s right hand flew to grasp the old man’s head, preventing him from opening his mouth.
A strong current of spiritual power moved along his arm, reaching the old man’s head before spreading to the rest of his body. His figure began to melt under his touch, turning into a pool of grey liquid.
The next second, Ocelio was transported inside a wide hall illuminated by light. Three yellow suns loomed over him and small white stones littered the ground.
A dark grey sphere hovered in the middle of the hall with a few fractures visible on the surface.
[You’re in a bad shape. That Abnormality did not just suck your spiritual energy, I see…it also damaged your soul.]
Images appeared all around him, voices and scenes from her memories inundated the hall but he only glanced at them before focusing back on the grey sphere.
[I’ll take responsibility for it. You’ll be fine.]
When his hand came into contact with the grey sphere, his expression hardened. He bit his lips as spiritual energy could be seen moving from his hand into the sphere.
[You will be fine. You are still young and you smell nice, your life is just starting.]
He continued to whisper to the sphere, a layer of sweat had covered his forehead and came trickling down his nose. His arm had begun to shake.
[Your soul is strong; you will be fine. Come back now.]
As if in response to his voice, a shining light appeared at the bottom of the sphere.
It lit up everything inside, turning the sphere into a silver colour.
[Good you’re almost full…]
He smiled at the silver sphere that only had the topmost portion that remained grey.
Ocelio gave a glance at the young lady that was resting in the bed. Her lips moved from time to time as if she was speaking in her sleep.
He walked back to the corridor, shutting the door behind him.
Instead of heading toward the staircase, his feet brought him to a bedroom he had ignored before.
Taking a peek inside, he saw a middle-aged man sleeping with a woman.
His eyes focused on the man’s face, his nose inhaled his scent, making his lips curl.
[I’m still too soft. I haven’t had my fill yet.]
Hearing footsteps from the street, he jumped the side, hiding in the darkness.
Three men dressed in leather armours with short swords attached to their belts walked in front of the gate of the manor Ocelio was just a moment ago.
[The families behind the art exposition will support the treatment costs or so I’ve heard.]
[But who did it? Don’t they have private guards and what about the Warriors, can’t they also work sometimes…]
[Hey, don’t spout bullshit near me, I have a wife and two children at home.]
The guards chatted, with one of them grumbling and giving envious looks at the manors around him.
[Once again, it’s us city guards that need to handle the blame. Why is life so unfair…]
A guard came to confront him, staring straight into his eyes.
[Did you drink?! Are you tired of living in the city, want to go to the wilderness? I’ll report you to the captain.]
They continued to argue in the road, however, Ocelio seemed too distracted by something else.
He lifted his nose higher, before jumping to a rooftop. His glowing eyes stared at a manor at the end of the street with an avid expression on his face.
[This smell…]
His tongue extended out of his mouth to lick his lips. The next second, he dashed in the air like a starving wolf. The fervour reflected on his face continued to increase until showing a frenzied expression.
[What is it? This smell! I want it, I want to taste it!]
As soon as he landed on the premise of the manor, the curtains on a window moved. A pair of eyes stared down at the impatient figure rushing to the main entrance of the building.
[Such malevolent aura…yet, still weak. Another sacrifice for the Kingdom.]
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