Sir Thrinn was thoroughly dead. Tom quickly picked up the dagger that had fallen to the ground and hurried towards Llsa. The vampire's eyes were wide open as she struggled to move back.

 "Hey, don't be afraid!" Tom came up to her, speaking through the wooden cage. "This was necessary. You saw how cruel the baron's men were! You said you could outsmart them, but I couldn't take that risk!" His face was tense but concerned. "Once they found the cave, both of us would have been done for-especially you, Llsa. I can't even imagine what horrors they'd inflict on a girl like you! So, I made my own decision to gain their trust, then take them out. It was a bit dangerous," he glanced at the knight's corpse, "but we pulled it off!"

Llsa's fear began to fade. She relaxed, and her lovely eyes showed a hint of relief. "But I still need to apologize, Llsa. I'm sorry." He lowered his gaze, his lashes trembling with guilt. "I didn't expect that scoundrel to shoot an arrow at you... That arrow was like a stab to my own heart-it hurt like hell. But I had to keep calm, play the part, not give anything away... Can you forgive me?"

Despite the torment of this betrayal, Llsa struggled to nod slightly.

 "I knew you'd understand!" The boy smiled with relief. "Now, let me get you out of here!" He rushed to Sir Thrinn's body, bending down to search. "Got it!" Tom returned to Llsa, holding up a ring of keys. "The knight used this to lock the cage." He pulled out the largest one. "Let me unlock this for you!"

Llsa's eyes glimmered with hope as she watched Tom's hand move towards the large iron lock. But just before the key touched the keyhole, Tom stopped.

Llsa's hopeful gaze turned to confusion.

Tom let go of the lock, dropping it, and then casually attached the keys to his belt. He gave Llsa a mocking smile.

Llsa's confusion turned to fear.

"Haha!" Tom burst into laughter. "I love that look on your face!" The boy clasped his hands behind his back and leaned forward, bringing his face close to the cage. "You look so much better afraid than you did when you were all high and mighty." Llsa realized that the boy's voice had changed entirely, nothing like the way he spoke when they first met. "Let you out? Don't be ridiculous, vampire. You're my prize-a gift that fell from the heavens. I can use you to clear my name and win the baron's favor. A vampire is enough to make the people of his domain flock to him for protection and support. That idiot," he tilted his head towards Sir Thrinn, "probably thought of that too. Only, he didn't expect to die at my hands."

Llsa's breathing quickened; betrayed twice, her anger was boiling.

 "Oh, don't get worked up, I'll tell you everything." Tom lifted his head, staring down at the vampire with an arrogant, smug expression. "The old fox spiked the wine, planning to drug me and kill me. I smelled it, so I didn't drink much. When I came back, I knew Bun was already dead, because that wine was obviously meant for the fat fool. The old fox wanted to keep all the reward for himself-we were perfectly aligned in that regard!" He chuckled. "Even if he hadn't drugged me, I would have killed both of them anyway, returned alone, and taken the credit. Good thing he killed Bun for me-though that fool was kind of endearing. I might've wasted a lot of time enjoying his struggle..."

Their roles had completely reversed. In front of Llsa was no longer the boy she had known, but a monster. It seemed she had never truly known Tom at all.

 "Relax, I'm not going to touch you. Only a lunatic like the knight would want to mess around with a vampire. Men like him die between a woman's thighs, and maybe finishing him off was an act of mercy."

Llsa's nostrils flared in fury, her throat producing low, guttural growls.

 "Oh, come on, don't pretend anymore. No one's coming to save you. The queen of the forest? Please!" Tom spat. "If they cared, those beasts would've rescued you by now. Instead, here you are." Suddenly, he reached out, grabbing Llsa's hair, yanking her head up. "Maybe they just don't want to get near you anymore. After all, you're even uglier and more disgusting now that you're a vampire." He smirked as he gazed at her face, savoring the humiliation and despair mingling there. "You'll die, my dear Llsa. A stake and flames are what await you. But I don't hate you, honestly. We have no quarrel. In fact, you're even kind of my benefactor. The ones I hate are my parents, my foster brother, and that bastard Sir Thrinn. You can't imagine how good it felt to kill those people!"

Llsa Glory couldn't believe her ears.

"Ah, you're going to die anyway, so I might as well tell you." Tom let go of Llsa's head and leaned his arm on the wooden cage, his body tilted in a relaxed posture. "Yes, I killed my parents. And my foster parents too. But each had their reasons." He scoffed. "I didn't lie to you before. My father was a drunk and a gambler, obsessed with money and booze. He never won a penny, just kept taking from us. Every time he lost, he'd come home drunk and beat my mother, like she was the source of all his bad luck. Two punches would usually knock her down, then he'd kick her in the face with his boots-she used to be pretty, but you can destroy a pretty face easily enough with scars. Over time, she became hideous, her nose broken, teeth missing, and her face forever bruised. She never dared fight back, and me... well, I was her punching bag."

He removed his shirt, revealing the scars across his body. "She started hitting me when I was young. Whenever she got a beating, she'd take it out on me, twice as hard. My father used his fists, she used sticks; my father used his boots, she used knives." Tom's lips curled into a cold smile. "She thought I'd grow up to be just like him, so she 'educated' me. As I got older, I tried to run away, so she drugged me-just like the drug the knight put in the wine. Only she put it in my food. She liked to watch me force myself to eat it, paralyzed but fully conscious. It just made her beat me harder, often breaking sticks over me..."

The boy's head tilted, his gaze cold and empty, as if his mother were right there in front of him.

 "Afterwards, she would hug me, crying and whispering that it was all for my own good. But how could I ever turn out like my father? I just wanted freedom, to escape that hell. But they took it from me, locking me in the cellar. All these years, I waited for revenge. A month ago, I killed them both, beating them to death with the same number of blows they'd given me." Tom's voice rose in a sudden roar. "And when I saw them take their last breath, I was overjoyed..." He raised his head, eyes closed, relishing the memory of their dying moments. "Later, I was adopted by another family. They treated me well, better than before... But then, I killed them too, slit their throats..."

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Llsa groaned.

"I did it because of their brat! That seven-year-old brat who always looked down on me, with that evil smirk!" Rage distorted Tom's face. "One day, he told me that I'd always be just a servant in their house, fetching wood and water, never part of the family. And he-" Tom's voice grew more venomous. "-he would inherit their love, their understanding, their fortune. He said dogs belong in the kennel." Tom lowered his head, his teeth grinding together. "He didn't know what was coming. When he got sick with fever, I killed his parents, drained their blood slowly while he listened to their dying gasps..." Tom's lips curled into a grotesque smile. "The perfect torment for a spoiled brat, don't you think?"

Tom pulled his arm away from the cage. "You know the rest. The brat accused me, the baron wanted to close the case, and here we are. But everything's under control now..." His body convulsed slightly, a twisted grin spreading across his face as he spoke slowly, "Killing takes energy, though. I'm hungry. Time to eat something... That moldy beef almost did me in-my one mistake. Next time, I'll make sure to check what I'm eating. You rest here-sleep, stare off into space, whatever you like." He put on his coat, waved at Llsa, and walked off.

Tom rummaged through his belongings and only managed to find a bit of black bread and bacon. He sat by the campfire and began eating. He thought to himself, the night was still long, and it was finally time to enjoy it.

  Around him, there was only the crackling sound of the campfire.

  "Can you spare me some bread?"

  Tom would never forget that voice for the rest of his life. His eyes widened, the bread stopping near his lips, as he saw Llsa sitting down beside him, stretching her hand out towards the fire. "I'm hungry too. I've been playing with you for so long, I haven't had a bite."

  Without taking his eyes off the vampire, Tom quickly glanced at the cage.

  The cage was in shambles, with broken ropes scattered on the ground and bent shackles.

  "You-"

  "Come on, do you really think vampires need to shout their name to transform?" she mocked, and suddenly, two terrifying bat wings sprouted from her back, her eyes glowing a deep violet-red. "Just kidding, you fool."

  Tom could barely breathe. The feeling was all too familiar, like the nights when his mother stood before him holding her instruments of torture.

  "From the moment I first met you, I knew you'd killed someone, and not just one person-there's a heavy scent of blood on you, the kind even an executioner would envy. That stench has seeped deep into your rotting soul, Tom. I didn't expose you right away because I was curious to see what you'd do, to let you play your little game. But honestly, your actions have really surprised me... Tom?"

  No one was beside her anymore.

  Tom had long since fled. He didn't dare go for his horse; just untying the ropes would give the vampire enough time to tear him to pieces, so he could only run, sprinting madly.

  "You lot are really something," the vampire's voice echoed in his ears. Tom figured she was flying above the forest, and so he pushed himself even harder.

  "Did I ever tell you why I got kicked out?" Her voice remained playful, lilting. "It was because a merchant caravan from Eaststone was handing out food to the poor in the lower district when they ran into me. The leader-an old man over seventy-asked me if I was an orphan. I had a bad relationship with my family, so I said yes. And guess what? That old geezer actually wanted to buy me!" Her laugh was crisp and sharp.

  "He looked at me like I was just a piece of merchandise. I refused him, of course. But that night, he sneaked into my place in the lower district and tried to convince me again. I resisted, and the next thing I knew, I was hit on the back of the head-the old man's twelve-year-old grandson had crept in and smashed me with a frying pan from the corner of the room! The pan bent, but I stood there unfazed. They panicked. Their plan to kidnap me fell apart."

  In the darkness, Tom almost slammed into a tree. He stumbled, but despite his face now smeared with mud, he continued running for his life.

  "But I decided to surprise them-going along with their plan and even offering to entertain them beforehand. Do you know how they reacted?" Llsa's laughter rang out. "They eagerly ripped off their pants! That filthy old lecher and his twelve-year-old brat scrambled to strip, arms flailing all over! In the end, the old man pulled rank and won the right to go first. I took him to bed, and just as he leaned in for a kiss, I bit into his neck and drained him dry. Naturally, the kid didn't fare any better. He turned into a shriveled corpse in his terror."

  Tom didn't know how long he had been running. Exhaustion overtook him, and he collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air. Sweat dripped down incessantly.

  Wait! His heart clenched. I can see the sweat!

  He looked up with a jolt and saw the campfire.

  And Llsa, sitting by it.

  "Was I wrong, Tom?" Llsa asked, looking at him. "To them, women are just commodities to be bought and sold, to be traded at their whim. I can never forget the look in their eyes-void of any trace of humanity. God knows how many ordinary women they've trafficked and abused. If I were just an ordinary person, I'd probably be lying on the floor of some brothel in the Kingdom of Mego by now. But I'm not an ordinary person. I'm Llsa Glory, an Advance Vampire," she stood up, spreading her wings, her posture strong and graceful. "I'm also a Blood-Deserve. Draining the blood of sinners is nothing less than a public service, don't you think?"

  Tom tried to flee again. Even in the face of certain death, he refused to give up any chance to escape. But just as he turned, he heard a soft snap below his legs.

  Llsa Glory was already standing beside him.

  With a thud, Tom dropped to his knees.

  "Ahhh-!" The searing pain in his ankle told him his tendons had already been severed.

  "I used to think that those two old creeps were the embodiment of human evil, but it turns out, you and that knight have opened my eyes even more." She glanced disdainfully at Tom, writhing on the ground. "When you held me, I thought you were just bold; when you let me drink your blood, I thought you were making a sacrifice... but no, it was all part of your vile conspiracy. You've taught me a lesson-taught me how unfathomably deep, how darkly complex human nature can be..." she sighed.

  "Is there truly a pure-hearted person in this world? Perhaps Bun was one, and I'll give him a proper burial. But as for you-you monsters wearing human skin, more ruthless than any vampire," her voice turned icy, "you deserve the worst deaths imaginable."

  Tom crawled, dragging himself away, inch by inch.

  "You certainly have perseverance!" Llsa exclaimed. "I thought twisted freaks like you weren't afraid of death! Crawl on!" She bent down, stroking Tom's dirty hair. "I'll go dance. If you can crawl back to the cave before I finish, I'll spare your life. Go on, give it your best!"

  Then, as always, Llsa began to dance, bathed in the moonlight. Her movements were graceful, flowing, and elegant, a stark contrast to Tom's pitiful writhing on the ground.

  At that moment, she had no idea that one day, she would leave the Blood Mist Forest, travel across the vast continent, and fulfill her mission, ridding the world of sinners who could not be judged, all while sating her thirst for blood. Nor could she know that, along her long journey, she would meet the wandering swordsman Black-Shrike and the monster-hunting woman Erin, and together, the strange trio would embark on the greatest adventure of her life.

  But now, she was just a sixteen-year-old girl, excited by the birthday gift of fresh blood and content with her growing understanding of human nature.

  She danced, while he crawled.

  Llsa Glory, moving to the rhythm of her sixteenth-year moonlight.