NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 17: Vampire Household
Chapter 17: Vampire Household
As duties called him, Noah reluctantly left Eleonora alone, leaving Nocturne with her. Its eyes, hidden in the drawer, kept staring at her adorable sleeping face and let Noah peek at her whenever he wanted.
He did not know that watching someone you loved sleeping could be so comforting. He wanted to keep stroking her hair and even hold her, but that would surely wake her from her well-deserved rest.
He also needed to find supplies and check the mansion. He had fought a lot today, yet his stomach never grumbled. There was a chance Night Elves received nutrients from the Moon or darkness like humans got vitamins from the Sun. Even so, he wanted to eat and drink something.
Heading downstairs with Athena, Noah noticed more couples entering the mansion through other hidden underground pathways. Some came in smaller groups, some as a single couple, and others in full teams. All of them collapsed in relief at finding a safe zone.
Noah understood them well and did not intrude on their moments of rest. Holding Athena's hand, he wandered around the large mansion until they found a storage room. Various vegetables and fruits were scattered in wooden boxes, and further inside, Athena discovered boxes of raw meat. They were so well preserved that blood trickled from them. Next to those boxes stood a stack of blood packs with different shades of crimson.
"This mansion belonged to a vampire household," Athena said. "It makes sense, given that we have faced ghouls so far. That weaker undead race is not native to any world. It resulted from vampire blood curses."
It could be that the trial summoned ghouls just because they were lesser undead, but Athena now believed the vampire race was tied to this Trial of Loyalty. This could be a clue to overcoming it.
Noah stared at the blood packs. "I only know about vampires from books and movies, but they were romanticized there."
"An affectionate vampire would indeed suit thy image, dear. Yet vampires are usually bloody and follow a strict hierarchy. They often see others as mere flesh and blood to devour," Athena said. "I have not smelled any vampire near us, but considering these supplies, we should focus on something else."
"Which is?" Noah asked.
"The limited amount of food. Counting us, there are at least fifteen people, maybe twenty if more arrive. Each race needs different nutrients, and we have a mix of them under one roof. I expect the food to run out in less than a week. In the worst case, four days, since everyone might relax here," Athena explained.
She had a good point, and Noah realized he had never handled food for anyone but himself. He was only eighteen, often bought cheap noodles or fast food, and sometimes ate leftovers at home when his family ignored him. That was the extent of his food management.
He also saw that his money habits were poor, which was unbecoming of a man who now had two women depending on him. Determined to change, Noah wanted to speak with others about their needs. Someone had to lead, and he did not mind stepping up.
Just as he decided this, Nocturne noticed two men sneaking into Eleonora's room. They might have been checking for ghouls, but once they saw her asleep, they silently shut the door so no one else would hear them. Their expressions reminded Noah of that bronze-skinned man, and his aura turned cold.
"Dear?" Athena asked, sensing his mood shift.
Noah answered, "Someone wants to hurt Eleonora. She is safe with my Nocturne and Tenebris Spiders' Robes. No harm will come to her."
Inside the master's room, the two men yanked the blanket away, only to see a black cocoon around Eleonora. Threads spread over her sleeping face. They tried to stop it, but the dark threads were too fast. Eleonora was covered from head to toe, completely safe.
They tried to tear the cocoon apart, but nothing worked. As they cursed and tried everything to reach the fox witch, Noah and Athena quietly arrived and caught them.
"What are you doing?" Noah asked.
The men flinched and turned. They clicked their tongues and glared, annoyed that their plan had failed, then shrugged.
"We were checking for ghouls in here. That cocoon looks weird, but if it's yours, no problem. We're out," one said.
"Yeah," the other muttered.
They moved past Noah as if nothing had happened, but he pushed them back a few steps into the room. At once, tension filled the air, and they glared at each other.
"What's your problem?" one man asked.
Noah calmly said, "Have you sworn loyalty to yourselves?"
"Huh? Obviously," he scoffed.
"You want me to trust some extra baggage? Ha!"
"You all came here needing someone loyal to you. You got that chance, yet you threw it away and kept acting like filth," Noah said.
"What will you do about it, huh? It's my choice! Trash is trash!"
"I'll make my own choice now," Noah replied.
Upon hearing him, Nocturne leaped from the shadows and bit one man's calf in the same style Athena used with her wolves, dropping him to the floor. Noah drove his dagger into the man's eye, taking half his vision.
Athena did the same to the other man, scratching away his eye. Both men howled, blood pouring, and their screams brought the others upstairs.
Noah and Athena stood there with blood dripping from their weapons as the two fallen awakened screamed in agony. Nobody knew the full story yet.
"My beloved is sleeping. Can you all leave us in peace?" Noah said, letting the wounded men go and shooing everyone else away from his room.