The longer I stared into the Devil's eyes the more my vision wavered. I needed to look away before my mind was lost to that sea of blood, but I just couldn't. Those eyes had a supernatural grip on me and refused to let me go. I was just about to start screaming my head off until the winged demon spoke.

"You took your sweet time awakening, childe. I was beginning to worry that I had messed up the embrace," the devil girl said as she scanned me with those blasted eyes of hers.

This girl and the girl in my dream sounded exactly alike. No matter how much I tried to deny that fact, their voices were one in the same, their eyes were the same, their hair was the same, their TEETH were the same. Every single inch of this girl was exactly like the one in my dream. It was absurd beyond reason.

The devil girl circled me, her eyes finally leaving my field of vision, but I was not relieved of their unholy hold. Even though her eyes left mine, I was still tuck standing in the exact same posture as I was the second she gazed upon me. My body refused to move to my command. Again, I just wanted to start screaming.

After a full circle around me, she stopped in front of me and pondered to herself. "Hmm… Everything looks like it's in working order…"

My chest was burning and it was at that moment that I realized that I wasn't breathing. Choking and gagging, I raced to get air into my lungs. My body had unfrozen for me to do so and I fell to my knees, my hands going out in front of me to keep me from going face-first into the marble floor.

I'm not sure how long it took me, but after a while I got my breathing under control. Now all that was left was to get control of the impossible situation that I had been thrown into.

I put my wrecked brain to work, trying with all of my might to remember what had happened the night before. It was only that dream and the girl within it that would come into mind, no matter how hard I tried to push it aside. There had to be a reason for the girl in my dream and the girl in front of me looking and sounding exactly alike. Maybe I had come across the girl sometime during the night and that is why I had a dream about her? That had to be it. It would also explain why I knew her name. It was the only sane explanation for it. It was the only explanation… that was keeping my mind from crumbling into pieces.

"If you are done thinking to yourself then I would like for you to return to your feet," the devil girl said.

The strength in my legs had yet to recover so I remained where I was. I slowly lifted my head, moving my vision from the marble floor to the winged girl. She looked annoyed now. Why? I didn't know and I didn't care. I had to get my shit together and get the hell out of there. I had enough of whatever game was being played. With new found resolve, I rose to my feet.

The devil girl continued to look upset about something. "When I say rise then I expect you to do so that instant. Not when you feel like it," she said with aggressiveness in her voice.

This little punk – this nobody – just tried to give me an order. Now I was angry. Whatever joke these people were trying to pull was not tickling my fancy. Not that it was a bad thing. Being angry was way better than being spooked out of my mind. I didn't even need to make a sensible connection with this dumb girl and the one in my dream. I just didn't care and I certainly didn't need to. Needless to say, it was time for me to get my stuff and walk out.

"Who ru-runs this place?" I asked as calmly as I could, stuttering a little on accident. I bit my teeth together to get my jaw under control before continuing. "I want to get my stuff so I can get on home."

The devil girl answered me with a disgruntled sigh, looking at me like I did something wrong to her or something. "You don't have any stuff. You own nothing anymore. Be silent and listen to me, for I do not like to repeat myself."

The little bitch was being condescending and all it did was piss me off. Maybe if I didn't have a hangover I would find it cute, but that just wasn't going to happen in the current state that I was in. In fact, I stopped caring about my wallet. I could always come back for it another time when I was feeling better. That actually sounded like the best course of action that I needed to take.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves then turned around on my heel, facing the silver-haired girl. "Could you lead me out of this place? I really need to get going," I said, hoping to get a better response from another grownup. Why I even bothered trying to talk to the kid was beyond me.

"Turning your back to your master? You are off to one rocky start, childe," the devil punk said loudly, but I simply ignored her. I seriously shouldn't be getting upset over this, but I couldn't help it.

I headed for the door. "Your friend here is a cute little bugger," I said lightheartedly to the Boss Maid.

"Return your eyes to me. Now," the devil girl ordered.

Though the girl had spoken only slightly loud, her order seemed to scream in my ears. Her commanding words rang in my head, making me cringe as my thought process was scrambled. After a moment, I found myself sweating and feeling nauseous. The girl's command still hung in the back of my mind.

What the fuck was that…?

I shook my head, pushing the girl's words out then turned to face the haughty wench. "Alright, what the hell is going on?" I asked. I'm almost willing to do anything right now that will shut the girl up so I can leave.

The devil girl huffed at me. "I will overlook your disrespect considering the confused state you are in," she said.

So, now I'm confused?

"I will get straight to the point. As you already know… I am Remilia Scarlet, mistress of this mansion and to all those under its roof."

I seriously don't care…

"My role here is to take care of the everyday administrations as well as protect all those who serve me."

Good for you… Whadd'ya want? A fuckin' cookie?

"As expected, you think me to be younger than you when you cannot possibly be any further from the truth."

I need a drink already and it's not even nighttime yet… Or a cigarette. God, I'd love me some tobacco right about now.

"Even the years of your past life do not come close to matching the years I have lived and it is through my vampiric blood that has allowed me to live those long years."

I couldn't remain quiet any longer, not after hearing the word vampiric. I raised an eyebrow and looked her dead in the eye. "So… You're telling me that you're a vampire?" I asked, trying to sound as serious as I could without chuckling like an idiot.

"That is correct," she replied, making it sound like she actually believed it. "You obviously have not realized it, but my blood now courses through your heart and veins."

"So, now I'm a vampire?" I asked.

"Correct," she nodded. "Be proud, young man. To have your heart filled with my blood is an honor like no other. From this day forward, you will serve me, your sire, for the rest of your days until your final death."

I must have had the most glorious shit-eating grin to ever grace the face of the Earth at that moment. I turned around to face the maid girl, my expression frozen into place.

"Cute kid," I said to the maid.

I turned back around to face the self-proclaimed vampire, swallowed hard and just continued to smile. I was seconds away from exploding into laughter. I could feel it all the way down to my balls. If I were to start laughing, I would surely pop at least one of them. The little vampire, on the other hand, didn't seem to want to smile back.

"I'm sure you make a good vampire, sport, and I would love to play as your servant, but I really need to get a move on. Life's a bitch and then you die and I got plenty of things to do before that happens," I said softly. I then patted the cute kid on the head then turned to leave the office.

I was letting myself get angry over nothing. I felt bad for it too. Some rich kid apparently just wanted some people to play her little game with her. It looks like she has plenty of people to help her out, so I'm sure she'll do fine without me.

Suddenly, the little vampire girl started to laugh, and what a laugh it was. It nearly made me piss myself. She's one hell of an actress, I'll give her that. I turn around to face her, only to feel my blood run cold when I did. The girl was laughing, yeah, but she did not look happy beneath that laugh.

"Ah… I knew this would happen. Did I not say this would happen, Sakuya?" the vampire girl said.

"That you did, Milady," the maid girl replied.

"Thank you, Sakuya."

"You're welcome, Milady."

And I just fell into uncontrolled, hysterical laughter. This was certainly the most bizarre moment of my life. First the little girls with fairy wings then the girl with silver hair. And finally the so-called vampire with wings standing here in front of me. It was now time for Jesus Christ to make his glorious return and bust through the walls wielding two Samurai swords and save my poor white ass from the pint-sized vampire and her sexy maid and the fairy brigade. I seriously half expected at least something similar like that to happen within the next few seconds.

I covered my face with both of my hands and continued laughing into them. I tried my damn hardest to get a hold of myself. After who knows how long, I finally caught a break and was able to respond.

"Alright! You got me!" I said, still laughing a little here and there. "You play one hell of a vampire, kid. I'm sure your parents are proud to have a little blood-sucker like you. I mean that in the kindest way possible. Honest."

The vampire girl's face was beat red as she glared intensely at me. The girl was determined as all hell to not drop the act.

I about-faced and smiled at the Boss Maid. Sakuya, if I recall correctly. "I'll go ahead and find my own way out. Thanks anyways," I told her then took my leave. I walked out of the office and into the throne room, or whatever it was, shaking my head in disbelief as I continued to smile.

I was certainly not going to forget about this strange, but hilarious, encounter. Though, I really wished I could remember how I even got to the building in the first place. Not that it really mattered at the moment. For now, it was time to go home.

I reached out to push the black double doors open, but I stopped suddenly. I found myself staring blankly at the doors, the humor in me having died at the realization of just how much I was devoid of memoires.

"Where… is my home?" I muttered under my breath. When I got no answer from myself, I sneered in irritation and decided to worry about where my home was later. I needed to get out of the clown mansion first.

I pushed the heavy doors open to find that vampire girl waiting on the other side for me. I cried out in shock once I spotted those foreboding eyes gazing up at me. Her expression was dark and deathly serious. I struggled to catch the breath that her sudden appearance stole from me.

"Your home is here with me," she answered.

"What the fu-fu-fuck… How did- how did you…?"

I searched for some other way the girl may have took to beat me here, but I found none. The only entrance to that office was the one right behind me, and I sure as hell didn't see this girl sprint by me. Not that it really mattered, but it still creeped me out.

"It would seem that you have taken me for a fool. A fatal mistake for a newborn vampire," she said in a voice that went darker and darker with every word she spoke.

Her fucking eyes… are glowing… just like in the dream…

I shook my head hard, determined not to let someone half my size scare me. "Listen, kid… I'm not far from losing my temper right now so will you please just get out of my way?" I asked politely, but my voice trembled a bit.

The vampire girl's wings unfolded, spreading out behind her in a proud and startling display. I cried out in fright as I jumped back.

Those things can move?!

The vampire girl slowly walked towards me, making me take steps backwards in order to keep some distance between us. "Oh, there is so much for you to learn, my pet," she said with a dark grin. "Teaching you will be a chore, certainly, but I expect it to be a rather enjoyable experience… for the both of us…"

I had broken out into a cold sweat, but instead of showing any more irrational fear for the short wench, I let my top blow. "Alright, I've had enough of this shit. I tried to be nice, but now you're forcing me to be an asshole!" I shouted in my anger. "Now get out of my way before I kick your little ass down those steps." This could have been a very entertaining day, but that possibility had been thrown out of the window by this dumb girl.

The blasted girl said nothing, choosing to try and subdue me with those hellish eyes. It wasn't working, and I lost my patience waiting for an answer and just pushed my way passed the girl, swatting those damn wings out of my way.

"Fucking ridiculous…" I murmured under my heated breath.

"Is this really the path you wish to take, childe?"

I stopped when I heard the girl's strangely ghostly voice and turned to face her, but she had not moved. She still had her back to me, not looking like she was going to pursue me. I wasn't complaining. Last thing I needed was to start screaming at a younger girl just to get her to leave me be.

I looked away from the girl and continued down the large set of stairs. I came to the large, open hall and picked a random direction to start walking – straight on forward. I spotted a triplet of fairy girls and decided to see if one of them would give me the directions I was becoming desperate for.

I approached the rather frightened looking group with a smile that was clearly forced. "Hey there, girls! Could you point me to the exit? I'd really appreciate it," I said graciously, but my voice was still a little shaky.

The girls said nothing and just stared at me blankly. I must still look freaked out, freaking them out in turn. One eventually pointed down the hallway. My eyes followed and I spotted a large set of doors all the way at the end of the long hallway. The sight of those doors to my freedom nocked a sigh of sweet relief out from me. I gave my thanks and away I went.

I'll be back for my wallet, but until then… Adios, freaks…

I was sweating badly I noticed, but I just ignored it. Once I got outside I would feel a lot better, I figured. I longed to feel the sun's warmth on my face.

But I didn't get far. I had blinked only a single time and suddenly that short devil was standing there in front of me once again, the light around her dimming as if it was afraid of the winged creature. Her face was hard to see, being covered in an unnatural darkness. It was only those accursed red eyes that I could see with absolute perfection.

With my feet glued in place, I slapped my hand over my mouth to keep myself from crying out in shock again, but there was nothing I could do to keep my eyes from widening in complete astonishment. My body betrayed me, shivering nonstop. The speed of my breathing had tripled to meet the speed of my beating heart. These people had to have drugged me with something in my sleep. What my eyes were seeing wasn't normal.

"You made a decision, young man… A decision you must now follow up on. You agreed to be my servant and now you must obey me for all eternity… You and I are forever bound to one another… by fate and by blood."

Her voice echoed in my mind ceaselessly, but the horrifying thing that got me was that her mouth did not move when she spoke. My sanity was beginning to crumble again. I was losing grip on my senses. The only desire that existed in me now was the desire to get as far away from this person as I possibly could.

"Ah- MOVE!" I erupted then stormed passed the freak, my teeth squeezing tightly together.

"So be it… My hand has been forced. I will need to show you of your new place in this dark world of unlife. Remember, boy, it was YOU who said yes to me!"

The senseless voice in my head plucked the right cord in me. I whipped around and screamed at the devil's back. "Shut your fucking mouth, kid!"

Silence. There was nothing but silence suddenly, save for my trembling bones and pounding heart, my horrendous panting and chattering teeth. I held my fracturing sanity in my hands, tightly holding onto it in a desperate bid to keep it as one, but that winged thing was trying her best to pull that sanity from me and smash it at her feet.

I noticed then that those maid girls with the fairy wings were staring at me. Why were they staring at me like I had already lost my mind? Couldn't they hear the demon's evil words as I did? Please tell me they could hear the demon's voice too! Don't tell me I was the only one!

The demonic girl slowly turned around, piercing my aching heart with her ghastly gaze and incasing my legs in what felt like ice. Her wings expanded to monstrous proportions, sending the light into a full retreat. The lit candles on the walls and in the chandeliers hanging above us had their flames snuffed out by a dark hand, being replaced with dark red, lightless flames that seemed to bleed blood. From the wings came forth a hideous cloud of darkness. It moved with malicious intentions, expanding outward in all directions. But the darkness wasn't darkness at all. It was a swarm of demonic bats, the beating of their wings making a terrifying sound that rattled the very air and foundation of the building. Everything I was seeing was impossible. It simply could not be.

Then it dawned on me. I gaped in horror as the most cruel of realizations struck me hard. It was a realization that was painful to admit, but it made too much sense given what was placed before me. The dream I had was no dream at all. I had truly died and now I was going to pay the ultimate price for my sinful life. Forget fire and brimstone. This mansion was the true Hell and the bitch before me was the Betrayer himself.

"Oh, Jesus!" I gasped in a shrill cry. I felt a shivering liquid fall from my eyes. I, a grown man, had been brought down into tears by the dark revelation.

Once the unseen ice around my legs broke, I took off running, breaking out into a full on sprint away from the dreaded monster. I did not think at all about looking back, only to get to those doors that seemed so far away. It was then that I heard that nightmarish voice again, its echo pulverizing the insides of my skull.

"Running away, are we? How far do you think you could get without me? Do you really think that there are any humans out there that would take you in and comfort you? A MONSTER like you? You no longer have a place in the world of the living, boy. The only comfort you will ever know is the comfort found by my side."

The sheer weight of the demon's words forced me to my knees. I scrambled franticly back to my feet and continued fleeing in terror. "Oh, Jesus! Oh, Jesus!"

From everywhere around me came the booming voice of the Devil. "CHILDE! YOUR MASTER CALLS FOR YOU!"

The Devil's terrible voice brought with it a wave of those demonic bats. They lifted me off my feet and threw me down the hallway, sending me skidding across the marble floor. The pain of being thrown was practically numb against the mind-boggling fear I was overwhelmed by. I jumped to my feet again and ran, ignoring the two walls of black bats that flew by on either side of me. The entire ceiling had become covered in the screeching horrors.

Those doors, the doors to my salvation, were not getting any closer. No matter how fast I ran, they were always far away from me, taunting and laughing at me every time I reached out for them. Even as I ran passed the countless fairy girls – no – malevolent demons in the form of young girls, I wasn't getting any closer to those doors.

"EMBRACE YOUR FATE!"

Another loud boom of the Devil's voice. A blast of air crashed into my back, sending me flying forward. I hit the floor hard, tumbling a number of feet before stopping. Hurting, I pushed myself back to my feet. I was now in the shadow of the most horrible being of them all. My breath was torn from me as I found myself facing the great evil.

"Oh, God," I gasped in horror.

"I'm your god now, boy!" the Devil answered cruelly, the glow of her evil eyes annihilating a chunk of my sanity. The skin of her face was pulled back across the surface of her skull, wiping away any beauty she had in favor of a more monstrous appearance. "I am your entire world. Your only reason for existing. The number one focus of your affection. The one who owns your SOUL!"

The demon flapped her black wings with but a single beat, sending a howling blast of wind crashing into me and knocking me to my back. The back of my head bounced off the floor, leaving me cringing in pain. I rolled over and pushed myself up onto my knees.

I punched at the floor over and over to the point where I nearly shattered my knuckles. Anger brought upon denial was mixing in with the hysterical fear for a cold blend of insanity. "No, no no no no! This isn't real… This isn't real at all! Not real! Not real!" I screamed till my throat burned.

Slowly, but surely, I made it back up onto my feet, cursing wildly out loud. I faced the nightmare, shook my head in rejection of her existence and sprinted for the doors. If I could just make it to those doors–

At long last, I had made it. Freedom was now at hand.

With no hesitation, I shoved the overly large set of doors open. Never before have I longed for the sun's light with such ache. A flash of light blinded me as a greeting, along with a cruel gesture. I felt my skin burning underneath the light, forcing me back out of the sunlight.

I stood unmoving as I stared out at the lush green courtyard, dumbfounded. "Wha… What?"

My freedom was right there before me, yet all I could do was stare out into the gorgeous outside of Heaven. I just stood there, terrified of the sun's blissful light as much as if not more than the heinous darkness behind me. No matter how hard I screamed at my legs to take me out into the light, all they did was disobey me. I had actually begun to take steps back further away from the light. The Heaven in front of me turned out to be nothing more than a cruel illusion. God had abandoned me.

It was all over. There was no way for me to deny the fact that I had truly gone mad.

Left with no other options, I turned to face the Devil. I called out for God's forgiveness in my mind, but I had lost any and all hope that he could even hear me anymore. Despairing acceptance was settling in.

The doors were slammed shut behind me by the swarm of bats, signaling to me that I would never see the sun ever again. The demonic horror before me reached a hand out to me, her hand so small yet burning with a sinister power. I could feel that power tugging away at my brittle soul.

"It is time for you to take a knee, boy," she declared. "Surrender your heart, and accept me as your eternal lord and master."

My spirit was not totally destroyed just yet. A very small piece still remained burning deep within my miserable form. I shook my head at her in refusal. "This… This isn't fair…" I insisted, my voice choked by despair.

"You still hold a good deal of stubbornness in you…" the Devil determined. Her outstretched hand slowly moved and she pointed to my left. "Look there, childe… See the truth of what you are."

Confused, I did as she said and moved my sight to where she pointed. It was that silver haired maid and she was holding a large mirror in her hands, a mirror framed in obsidian black. Thanks to her, I was now able to see the miserable mess that I was in from the outside and – with the heavy thump of my heart – along with a truth more terrible and more impossible than simple damnation.

"That's… not… possible…" I said, nearly choking on my own words.

The Devil's eyes had taken residence in the eye sockets of my skull. I stared back at myself with eyes that did not belong to me, a set of eyes that glowed in sync with that of the monster's own pair. And as I gawked at the petrified man in the mirror, I spotted two fangs that painfully reminded me that of a mythical vampire. Then the dream returned…

"No…" I slowly shook my head while that dream repeated itself over and over in my head ad nauseam. What stood out most from that dream was my foolish answer to that winged girl – the word to my true damnation. "No, no, no, no…" I repeated strenuously, with each repeat coming out in increasing volume and desperation, as if to drown out that accursed word I answered with. "No, no! NO!"

The Devil – or more correctly, the impossible vampire – was now behind me, embracing me from behind and hanging over my shoulders. She stared into the mirror as I did with a dark and chilling grin. One of her cold hands was down my shirt, caressing my chest.

"Aww, how cute. We have matching eyes," she chuckled. She moved her lips closer to my ear and whispered to me with dark words. "And now you know… in your heart… that we are the same… You are forever mine. All mine. Mine. Miiine…"

She suddenly gave the side of my face a lick with her vile tongue, pushing me off the brink. I shook the vampire off of me and quickly backed away from her, the dream that was no dream playing endlessly like a sick torture in my mind as I desperately denied the truth with what might I had.

"No! Nooo! I did not agree to this!" I screamed in my hysteria.

"Ah, but you certainly did, boy," the vampire insisted as she took a menacing step towards me.

"I was half-dead and delirious! It was a mistake!"

It was a mistake and I had to do everything within my power to convince this impossible being that it was. The answer I gave was not from me agreeing with anything. It wasn't even given out of seriousness. How the hell was I supposed to know that this girl was truly a supernatural vampire? There was no way I could have known. Absolutely none!

The vampire was not pleased with my choice of words and she glared at me with wrathful eyes. She may not be the Devil like I had thought, but she was no less terrifying. This monster was the night given form. Beautiful, horrifying form.

"A mistake? A MISTAKE?!" she roared, unleashing a tempest that howled like a murderous banshee.

The powerful winds knocked me backwards off my feet, but before I could hit the floor, the great black swarm of bats caught me. The swarm wrapped around me, forming into the shape of a hand that clenched me tightly in its grip. The bats suddenly vanished, leaving me in the pale hand of the vampire. I looked up to see the bats finishing their shaping into the rest of her. She had now transformed into a giant and she stared down at me with endless cruelty.

I had no senses left to lose at this point. This monster had taken everything from me, all except for my soul that I desperately convinced myself was still mine. My only defense against such a monster was to deny she even existed. Vampires simply do not exist, but my eyes knew what they were seeing and my heart knew what it was feeling. They refused to let me believe otherwise, no matter how much I pleaded with them.

I thrashed wildly in the vampire's grip. "No, no, nooo! This is just a nightmare! Just a fucking nightmare! Let me out of here! Let me go!"

The vampire's breath had the cold touch of death on my person. "It is too late for you to go back on your word, boy. You agreed to become a vampire and to serve me."

"No! I didn't want this! I never wanted to be a vampire so please just let me go!" I cried.

Her grip tightened around me, making it even harder to breathe alongside the terror I was submerged in. "You were awfully clear with your answer. A clear and resounding yes, it was."

I pushed on her fingers in an attempt to loosen them. "For the love of God, lady, cut me some damn slack! I was dying! I was fucking dying! I didn't want to upset you before I died, damn it! I didn't really want to become a vampire! I didn't mean it so please, PLEASE, let me go!"

Her lips fell slightly into a frown. "Oh? Is that so?"

"Yes!" I shouted vehemently, getting a mouth full of my tears.

"That's too bad…" she sighed with the shake of her head then looked at me sadly, looking like maybe she has a heart and understood me. "I guess if you are going to refuse the blood bond between you and I then…" Her lips curled into a horrid grin, crushing any hopes of freedom I had. "You leave me with no other choice but to destroy you."

And my heart sank like a brick. "N-No… No, please don't!" I begged her.

"But it would be such a waste not to get some use out of you… Ah! How about you become my light snack?" she asked me before licking her lips in anticipation.

Rage for the unfairness of my predicament was the only thing driving me at this point. I knew I was done for, but I was determined to fight all the way to my doom so I punched wildly at the vile hand in a last ditch effort to save myself. "NO! NOOOO! Let me the fuck go, you son of a bitch! Let me the fuck go!"

"Too bad, young man. I think you would have discovered the ultimate pleasure in catering to my every whim. But alas… That honor is no longer available to you." She ended her boast with a soul-crushing laugh.

"NOOOOOO!"

My cries went ignored by the malevolent vampire. Her mouth stretched open to a monstrous degree, her sinister fangs and tongue taking up my entire field of vision. I screamed as she placed me into her mouth, my face smacking atop her cold, slimy tongue. My lower back was fastened in between her top and bottom incisors. In maniacal desperation, I tried pushing against the roof of her mouth and tongue to open it, but to no avail. Painfully, her teeth sank into my body, breaking into my skin and stopping at bone. I thrashed and screamed from the agonizing pain, only for the pain to amplify a hundred times when she began pulling on my legs. The sounds of flesh and cartilage tearing and bone popping as my spine was being stretched apart echoed within the death chamber of the creature's mouth, and in just a few, horrifying seconds, my spine was separated from my pelvis and everything else that went below it with a bloodcurdling rip.

Feeling in my legs vanished with the separation, but excruciating agony overwhelmed the rest of my body in an instant. My arms collapsed as I let out a wretched howl, squirming from the depraved mutilation afflicted on me. It wasn't long before I was drowning in not just the monster's saliva, but my own blood. The blood in my heart was slowly draining, only to be replaced with a burning hatred for the unforgiving beast.

My rancorous howls were warped when my left arm was caught between the vampire's molars and crushed and grinded into mushy meat. I was tossed around the tongue, being joined in the musky hell by my lower half, only to be forced to listen as it was grinded up like my arm. My raped mind was still capable of allowing me to curse the demon's name.

Swirling around in the mutilated mass of flesh that once made up parts of my body, my torso was finally caught between her molars, my head in position to be crushed along with it, but the end to the horror did not come quickly. The monster slowly applied pressure, surely getting sadistic enjoyment with each rib that snapped and popped. Blood gargled in my mouth as I continued to scream out at the injustice until my screams were finally put to an end with a sudden crunch.

A silent darkness was all that remained. The pain had ended, leaving me to feel nothing. Had I died again? I did not know. It was hard to tell if I even had a mind to think with anymore, or if it had been lost in the face of the impossible reality I was confronted with.

The silence did not last though, and a voice soon came to me – the voice of that accursed vampire. That… Remilia Scarlet. Her words were unintelligible to my broken mind, only making the darkness heavy and, strangely, a little less frightening.

At this point, all I could do was wonder "Why?"

Remilia Scarlet had a hand to the center of her chest and her other hand cupped in front of her mouth as she coughed repeatedly. Her coughs were forced, but none had yet to produce her desired result. She had already grown frustrated with the persistent failures.

Eventually, with enough time, she managed to cough up into her hand what appeared to be a very small, newborn bat that was covered in saliva and blood. She sighed in relief after having difficulty with getting the small creature out, but once she did, she smiled warmly at the small thing that now lay quivering in the cup of her hands. With a single finger, she caressed the tiny mammal with utmost delicacy, avoiding putting any unnecessary pressure that would harm him. The pup let out a small, barely audible cry. She murmured to him in a soft melody, and soon his quivering came to a slow end. Seconds later and he was fast asleep.

Remilia's maid, Sakuya, appeared next to her with a towel in her hand and a smile on her face. The vampire nodded in thanks and took the towel. She gave the bat a gentle rubdown with the towel, nudging him awake as a consequence. She giggled when the pup made a few barking noises at her, showing his displeasure, but once she was finished, he was quickly sleeping again. She handed back the towel to the Chief Maid and headed off.

The Scarlet Devil carried the sleeping bat in her hands as she made her way through her noble home. Her destination was a bedroom in the west wing of the mansion on the third floor. During the short journey, she passed many of her other servants – the fairy maids. They all made sure to stand out of her way as she made her way down the hall, smiling as their master walked by them. Once at her destination, she entered the bedroom and headed for the bed. She laid the pup gently on the bed, leaned in close to it and cooed sweetly.

"The chains I have on you… will not be broken that easily, my childe," Remilia Scarlet whispered. "Rest now… for fate has much in store for us…"