Chapter 18

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Somewhere far from Mahora, five people were walking through one of the corridors of a building, where minutes earlier, they had teleported.

"I can't believe they beat us!" Akuro exclaimed annoyingly.

"Stop complaining, it happened because we trusted us too much." Hoshi sighed, not stopping. "We're lucky they let us retire."

"I agree with Hoshi." Satoru nodded looking at him.

"Akuro, you bastard, how dare you inject that thing into me while I was unconscious." Takeshiro grunted angrily, looking at him seriously.

"It was for a good cause, you know, we needed to win."

"Then why didn't you inject it yourself!"

"I had to prove it." Akuro shrugged, not flinching.

"You are an-"

"I'd be more worried about something else." Suichiro sighed. "As we'll tell Airon we didn't bring the girl."

"We will tell him to give us another chance." Akuro replied.

"That is if he doesn't lower us of rank." Takeshiro mused.

"They're going to put us to mop floors." Suichiro sighed, looking up.

"Shut up!" Akuro muted them with an angry expression. "Stop saying stupid things, we are the best he has! He'll give us another chance, and then when I get back in that place, I will eliminate them all for having humiliated me, especially that stupid vampire!"

"Sometimes I envy that credulity and carelessness of yours, Akuro." Satoru shook his head.

"What do you say? I remind you that you were defeated too!"

"At least, I wasn't skewered as if I was a brochette."

"Excuse me?!"

"You guys, stop now." Hoshi interrupted. "Akuro, I remind you that we must not kill the girl, which gives me the impression that you are not sure." He looked at him seriously, implying that he shouldn't have acted that way.

"Tsk, I know perfectly that." Akuro snarled, staring at him.

"Are you sure? I remind you that, if Takeshiro had not been rendered unconscious, she would now be dead." Satoru glanced at him sideways.

"Well, we have arrived." Suichiro stopped, in front of a large solid black oak door.

"Let me do the talking." Hoshi demanded, looking at them seriously, the others nodded, knocked at the door with a few minor blows and entered, as they entered, saw Airon looking out one of the windows in the room, it was a dark room in which only the light of the candles that were around lighted slightly the dark place, there was almost no furniture, except a table with its respective chair, on the table, there were several files of different people.

"Sir, we are back." Hoshi reported, bowing to his chest in a sign of respect, Airon turned around and stared at the five of them.

"I see, tell me, how did it go?" Airon questioned with an eyebrow raised.

"Well you see, things didn't turn out as we expected." Hoshi replied in a nervous voice.

"I can imagine, because I'm not seeing the girl anywhere," Airon said in a cold voice.

"We couldn't bring her, sorry, we have failed you." Hoshi replied, with a heavy voice, there was an uncomfortable silence, the others seemed more and more nervous to see that none of them said anything, until Airon decided to speak.

"First of all." he sighed. "I would like you to tell me the reason why you failed, because I find it difficult to understand how it is possible that by sending you, you have not fulfilled your mission."

"Well, you see..." Hoshi looked at him, then he began to explain everything that happened to him and when it was over, Airon sighed.

"Will you give us another chance? This time we will do what you asked for." Akuro assured, looking at him seriously.

"Another chance?" Airon narrowed his gaze, staring at them. "Another opportunity… You know, time is passing, and my patience is running out, if I were to devote myself to giving opportunities to everyone, how many would I have to give? How many times would they fail me?"

"Sir?" Hoshi asked, who was becoming restless.

"You have failed me, but for the first and last time." Airon replied with a narrow look and contempt in his voice.

"What? That means-"

"I don't need you at all." Airon said cruelly.

"What did you say?! After all we've done! Without us I doubt you can do anything! ! We are the ones who have the highest level in this place and the best you have!" Akuro exclaimed with an angry expression, pointing to him with his index finger.

"Akuro!" Hoshi shouted at him.

"Really?" Airon smiled cruelly. "Do you really think all of you are the strongest here? Do you know how little it costs me to replace you with others who have your level?" Airon asked with a sneer. "I just have to choose other idiots who want to get a higher power than they have now, of course, it doesn't always turn out like one expects, but I don't mind having some losses."

"You." Akuro snarled in a threatening tone, with an angry expression, then went to him to attack him.

"Akuro!" Hoshi shouted trying to stop him, but within seconds, Airon pierced him with his hand and before he fell to the ground, grabbed him by the neck and raised him to his height, Akuro began to scream in pain, a few seconds later, Airon released him and fell to the ground without life.

"What an idiot." Airon looked at him coldly.

"What has he done to him?" Suichiro asked, looking at him in a voice shattered by horror.

"I absorbed all his energy, it would have been a waste not to take advantage of it, and it is exactly the same thing that is going to happen to you, all that power you have been accumulating, will now belong to me." Airon smiled broadly, after a few minutes, the others lay lifeless on the ground.

"Raisel!" Airon shouted, a woman entered the room.

"Tell me, my lord."

"Take them and get rid of them."

"As you wish." Raisel nodded, bowing and taking a few steps back without looking at him, Airon sighed and went back to the window.

"I'm surrounded by idiots, well, not everything has gone wrong, I thought to bring her here, but… Now that I know she's become an apprentice to this so-called vampire, it may serve me well for what I want, the stronger she gets, the more it will benefit me, and I know she won't let herself be controlled by what we did to her." Airon whispered, turned around and went to a table, then took one of the files and a cruel smile formed from his lips. "For now, I'll let you stay there for a while, when you've become strong enough, then I'll come and get you, and this time, I'll get what I've wanted for years... The immortality, I will be the strongest being that exists in this world." He laughed as he looked at Leona's file.

/Grace of Destiny/

"She hasn't woken up yet." Asuna sighed worried, as usual, Negi had gone to train at the resort of Evangeline and Asuna had gone to accompany him and see if Leona was ok, Setsuna and Konoka were also with them.

"The doctor told us she would wake up; we must have patience Asuna." Setsuna reminded, Asuna sighed. "I know Setsuna." she nodded. "Is Eva-chan still with her?"

"Yes, even if it doesn't seem like it, it also worries her." Chachamaru replied with a calm voice, in one of the rooms, Evangeline was sitting in a chair next to Leona, in her ten-year form, reading a book, minutes later, Asuna and the others knocked on the door and entered.

"How is she, master?" Negi asked as he approached.

"She's still unconscious." Evangeline answered without looking up from the book, suddenly, she noticed that Leona was beginning to wake up.

"Where am I?" Leona whispered as she opened her eyes.

"Leona!" exclaimed Asuna relieved.

"You finally wake up, girl." Evangeline said, looking up from the book to look at her. "You're in my room."

"An angel? ..." Leona said looking at Evangeline half asleep.

"Ah! She's worse off than we thought!" Asuna's eyes widened and her pupils shrank.

"What did you say? What did you mean by that!" Evangeline demanded with an angry expression.

"Master…" Negi muttered with a nervous smile.

"Welcome to hard reality, ke, ke, ke." Chachazero smiled sitting at a table.

"E-Evangeline?" Leona whispered, then she immediately sat up in bed. Why am I here? Where are they-"

"You're at my resort, we thought it was the best option, and if you mean those guys, we let them go." Evangeline sighed.

"What?"

"Don't worry, if they come back, we will take charge of them again." Setsuna said with a serious look.

"Just know it's been 82 years while you slept." Chachazero said ironically.

"Lie." Asuna replied quickly. "It's only been three days."

"Three hours outside to be exact." Chachamaru added.

"You had us worried." Negi gave her a relieved look.

"The mistress was, too."

"What do you mean?"

"Who was worried? I wasn't." Evangeline closed her eyes, frowning as she closed the book.

"I know, mistress, we all know." Chachamaru nodded several times with her eyes closed.

"I'm not quite convinced by the way you said it." Evangeline looked at her, narrowing her eyes.

"We took you to the hospital for the injuries you had, they told us that you had lost quite a lot of blood and had quite a few wounds, but luckily none of them became serious." Konoka explained looking at Leona. "We were able to bring you back thanks to Grandpa because he convinced the doctors, it was a good idea to bring you here, since time passes faster."

"Thank you." Leona whispered with a weak voice, Evangeline rose from the chair and left the book on one of the tables, then picked up a bottle that had a reddish liquid.

"Drink this." Evangeline said, giving the bottle to Leona.

"What is it?" Leona asked, looking at the bottle.

"It will help you recover."

"But what it is, exactly?" Leona stared at Evangeline.

"Just drink it." Evangeline crossed her arms under her chest, Leona looked at the bottle hesitating, but began to drink.

"It's human blood," Chachazero smiled, immediately, Leona spat out the liquid abruptly.

"Chachazero!" Asuna shouted as Leona coughed. "Is that why it has this strange taste?!" Leona shouted wiping her lips with her fist.

"It's not that, it's- "

"You better not tell her, Eva-chan..." Asuna interrupted.

"I'm not going to drink this without knowing what it is." Leona retorted staring at the bottle.

"It's no poison, take it at once." Evangeline looked at her seriously.

"No."

"Don't make me make you swallow it." Evangeline said in a menacing tone.

"Here we go again, ke, ke, ke."

"It has a very suspicious red color, anyone would hesitate." Leona looked at Evangeline.

"Because it has tomato." Chachazero replied.

"Liar! That tastes awful!"

"Girl... I remind you that you swore loyalty to me, so drink it!"

"Loyalty? This has nothing to do with it because it is not treason!" Leona replied, a vein of anger appeared in Evangeline's temple, throbbing.

"I'm losing my patience..."

"Sometimes I get the impression that they argue like a couple in love." Konoka smiled with her index finger on her chin as she titled her head to one side.

"Is that what you think, Konoka? ..." Asuna whispered with a drop behind her head, watching Evangeline take the bottle and try to make Leona drink.

By the way Leona..." Kamo intervened who had been on Negi's shoulder the whole time. "There's something I want to ask you..." he said seeing how Evangeline had managed thanks to Chachamaru to make her drink it.

"Nothing can express how bad this tastes..."

"Nothing can express how bad this tastes..." Leona made an expression of disgust as she coughed. "What is... Kamo..."

Konoka tried to cure you with his magic, but... he wasn't able to, you know why?"

"Ah, that's right." Konoka nodded, remembering.

"Healing magic doesn't work on me." Leona looked at Kamo. "For some reason, it doesn't work."

"How is it possible?" Asuna was surprised.

"It must be because they experimented with you, vampires are able to regenerate, but healing magic doesn't work with us, even if you don't want to admit it, you're not entirely a human since you have some traits of a vampire, so it prevents healing magic from healing you, and by having a human part, you can't regenerate like a vampire either, you have some advantages, but also drawbacks." Evangeline explained with her arms crossed under her chest.

"And where are the advantages? I see only disadvantages." Leona sighed.

"Don´t be so sure, you killed that brat like nothing, ke, ke, ke."

"What do you mean?" Leona looked at Chachazero, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't you remember? Suddenly you transformed and you won." Kamo looked at her, surprised.

"Transform?" Asuna made a confused expression.

"Leona made a pactio with the mistress." Chachamaru replied.

"Eh?!" Asuna looked at Evangeline with a wide gaze.

"What?" Evangeline stared at Asuna, then Leona blushed as she remembered it.

"Really, master?" Negi asked in surprise.

"Are you so surprised?"

"It was your first kiss, wasn't it?, ke, ke, ke." Chachazero whispered to Leona in her ear, now beside her.

"?!" Leona blushed even more.

"Leona, is something wrong, you are red." Negi looked at her.

"No, don't worry about it..."

"Did you like it? ~ Ke, ke, ke."

"I am not going to answer that wicked puppet!" Leona exclaimed, blushing furiously.

"Leona? Are you sure you're okay?" Negi asked again as the others looked at her.

"It's nothing!" Leona shook her head with her hands raised in defense. "Now, what do you mean I transformed?"

"It was like the card of the pactio... But it didn't look like you." Kamo replied. "Did something happen the time you weren't with us?"

"Eh... I remember I was almost unconscious, I took the sword and I felt as if it wanted my blood, so I said to take it to confirm it... After that, I don't remember anything else." Leona replied, placing her hand on her head.

"What kind of pactio creates a weapon to take your blood away!" Asuna looked at Evangeline with a narrow gaze.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"In some way, if it can have anything to do with it..." Kamo intervened, putting one of his paws on his chin. "As Eva said, Leona is not entirely a human, and besides, if I remember correctly, she has that seal, therefore what should have happened, is that by making the pactio with Eva... This must have caused that part of it was released and now it's fused with her blood."

"What-" Leona stared at him, starting to panic.

"Eva is a vampire, vampires are dark beings, you already had some of it, although sealed, that's why that happened to you."

"Look on the bright side, you already have some advantage, ke, ke, ke."

"Eva-chan, take responsibility!" Asuna pointed to her with her index finger.

"What?!"

"Now it has materialized with her blood and already the closest thing she is going to become is a ghoul because of you! The least you can do is take responsibility!"

"She agreed to do it!" Evangeline exclaimed in her defense.

"A what?" Negi blinked confused, looking at Asuna.

"A very ugly thing!"

"Don't worry... Anyway, I have assumed I'll end up being so." interrupted Leona with a depressed glance.

"Leona..." Asuna looked at her worried.

"Are you sure nothing can be done?" Konoka asked worried, Leona shook her head. "I asked who helped me with the steal, but the person said there was no solution."

"What a problem." Kamo muttered.

"Do you want to stop lamenting? Don't help her in that deplorable state, or have you come here to spend your time depressed? Because if so, you can get out of here now, and disciple! Now you can take that sorrow face off and stop making things worse for yourself! If I hear something like 'I'm going to become a horrible thing again, it's going to devour me and I'm not going to be able to avoid it, I have no solution' or whatever stupidity it looks like, I'll personally take care of ending your suffering by putting you in an eternal dream, have you understood me?"

"Yes... Ma'am..." Leona nodded with a drop behind her head.

"Eva-chan, there are other ways to encourage people."

"She's my disciple, don't tell me what to do, Kagurazaka."

"Anyway, you're right." Asuna sighed. "Don't worry, Leona, we'll find a way to do something to help you."

"That is optimism." Chachazero thought.

"Besides, we don't have to worry since Eva-chan will make sure nothing happens."

"Why should I?" Evangeline asked, crossing her arms under her chest as she raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have any objections? Because you are partly to blame for what's going on." Asuna looked at her very closely with a frightening expression.

"Asuna..." Setsuna smiled nervously.

"What a frightening look, Kagurazaka." Evangeline smiled with irony.

"Well, we must go." Konoka said next to Setsuna.

"It's okay, Konoka." Asuna nodded. "We'll stay one more day."

"All right," Konoka smiled slightly, saying goodbye to them. "Get well, Leona."

"Yes... thank you."

"Goodbye." Setsuna said goodbye as she left the room with Konoka.

"I'm going for a walk on the beach, do you want to come with me, Negi?" Asuna asked him.

"Yes." Negi replied. "Ah, Leona, I suppose you will stay longer to recover from injuries, if you get bored, we can go over something you didn't understand, I seem to remember Professor Nitta talking something that you didn't do well on a surprise test."

"No... That won't be necessary... Anyway, thank you for saying it." Leona looked away.

"Okay, but if you have any problems, you can tell me." Negi smiled.

"Yes." Leona replied, watching Negi leave the room with Asuna. "Oh, it's true, I almost forgot." Negi said, stopping. "The day of the play is coming up."

"What play, Negi?" Asuna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've been talking to the headmaster, you know soon there's going to be the Cultural Festival where all the classrooms participate, our class will take charge of doing a play, I will tell the class the next day."

"Will I also have to participate in that play, bouya?" Evangeline asked with a stern tone and narrowing her eyes.

"Ah... We will talk about it next day, master..." Negi replied with a nervous voice.

"You will see to choose the play..." Asuna sighed deeply. "By the way Negi... Did Professor Nitta say anything to you about my test?" Asuna asked, closing the door behind them.

"You aren't a very good student, are you?" Evangeline said, grabbing the book again and sitting in the chair.

"Look who's talking, the one who falls asleep in class." Leona thought.

"Do you want to tell me something?" Evangeline looked up from the book she was reading.

"Nothing." Leona replied, lying down in bed, later, Leona was staring at the ceiling without knowing what to do.

"What a boredom." Leona thought, turned around and saw Evangeline reading the book. "What must she be reading? I wonder why she stays here." Leona thought as she looked at her, then blushed as she remembered what Chachazero said, Evangeline looked at her as she realized and Leona turned around quickly.

"Is something wrong? You are blushing."

"Maybe it's fever, mistress, maybe she caught a cold, sometimes it happens when you are weak." Chachamaru assumed, she had come in to bring tea to her.

"What- No, that's not it." Leona replied as she sat on the bed. "I'm fine!" Leona looked at Chachamaru, Evangeline left the book and approached her.

"What?" Leona said nervously, Evangeline touched her forehead and put two fingers under her neck to feel her pulse, seeing that she was so close to her, Leona began to blush more.

"You don't seem to have a fever, although your temperature is going up, anyway, it's better to look at it, Chachamaru."

"Yes, mistress." Chachamaru nodded, leaving the room, and when she returned, she gave Evangeline a thermometer.

"I said it is not necessary!" Leona protested.

"Well, now you're gonna let me take your temperature willingly, I mean, the normal method or this is going in your ass, your choice." Evangeline stared at her.

"No, please..." Leona said with a frightened expression.

/Grace of Destiny/

After having already spent several hours at the resort, Asuna had left the building to go look for Negi who had been training on his own.

"Negi." Asuna called him, approaching him.

"Asuna."

"You've been training for a few hours, we are going to rest, it's late."

"Let me train another hour."

"No way, I'm okay with you training, but you also need to think about your health!" "Stop being so stubborn."

"But Asuna, after facing that people, I realized that I still have to train more." Negi answered, trying to get away of her strong hold while Kamo saw them with a drop behind his head.

"There are no excuses."

"All right! You win! Let me go." Negi said, seeing that he could do nothing, Asuna let him go.

"Well, let's go to sleep." Asuna smiled slightly, Negi nodded and followed her.

"What a power of conviction..." Kamo thought with a drop behind his head.

"I can't fall asleep." Leona thought, looking at the night sky through one of the windows. "I'd like to go for a walk, but..." Leona thought, and looked at Chachamaru sideways. "It's impossible." she sighed. "All I do is drink that tasteless thing and stay in bed."

"Mistress." Chachamaru said suddenly, watching her enter the room.

"You can go now, Chachamaru." Evangeline gestured with her hand in the air.

"Understood, mistress, good night." Chachamaru nodded bowing, then left the room.

"Are you still awake?" Evangeline asked, approaching her.

"Yes." Leona looked at her, then saw that Evangeline was getting into bed beside her.

"What are you doing?" Leona inquired, nervous.

"This is my room, remember?" Evangeline replied, without giving it much thought.

"Then I go to sleep somewhere else..." Leona muttered with a slightly crooked voice.

"You can stay here, don't worry, I won't do anything to you."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not going to attack you in your sleep to drink your blood, or were you thinking of something else?" Evangeline smiled mockingly as she watched as Leona blushed furiously.

"I wasn't thinking of anything!" Leona exclaimed, blushing. "Good night." Leona lay down quickly on the bed, grabbed the sheets and covered herself up to her head, turning her back on Evangeline who continued with the same expression, laughing for herself.

"Stupid Chachazero, why did you say that." Leona thought, remembering what she had said hours earlier.

After a while, Leona still could not fall asleep, turned around, and saw Evangeline who had her back to her. "Since a few days I feel strange when I am with her... Why? My heart beats fast and I get nervous... She saved me when I needed it and despite everything, she always ends up helping me, I'm actually... Rachel... I don't know what to do, I don't want to lose anyone else and I get the impression that if I'm here, they will get hurt." Leona remained thinking until she fell asleep, later, Evangeline woke up and sat up in bed then saw Leona suffering while she slept, sobbing slightly.

"What happen, mistress?" Chachazero asked as she watched Evangeline put her hand on Leona's forehead. "Are you going to do the morning snack? Ke, ke, ke."

"No." Evangeline replied with an annoying expression. "I will see her memories."

"Can I come, too?"

"It's okay." Evangeline sighed. "Lic Lac La Lac Lilac..."

"What are you doing Eva-chan?" asked a voice behind her, Evangeline turned around.

"I would have to ask that." Evangeline whispered softly to Negi and Asuna. "Did you think I wouldn't notice you behind the door?"

"We are sorry, master."

"Well, Negi couldn't sleep and I wanted to go to the toilet, so after going, I thought I'd take a walk in case you thought of attacking Leona while she slept."

"But what kind the image you have of me?" Evangeline asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Do we really need to answer that question?" Asuna replied with a narrow gaze.

"I was going to see her memories." Evangeline sighed.

"Are you going to spy?" Asuna blinked several times.

"She wants to see her past, ke, ke, ke."

"That is personal." Asuna stared at Evangeline.

"I am her master; I have the right to know." Evangeline demanded crossing her arms under her chest.

"It actually worries her." Chachazero nodded several times with her eyes closed and her arms crossed.

"What? Really, master?"

"Shut up Chachazero, I don't care at all."

"Aren't you curious?" Chachazero asked, looking at them.

"Well, yes, but... That's not right!" Asuna exclaimed.

"Then you get out of here," Evangeline shrugged. "You have come here in secret in the first place." she said as she put her hand on Leona's forehead again.

"It's OK! We want to see it too..." Asuna whispered.

"This is not a tour."

"Oh, come on!" Asuna asked with an annoying expression.

"Master." Negi insisted.

"It's okay." Evangeline sighed deeply. "Otherwise, you won't stop protesting." Evangeline began reciting the incantation. "Lic Lac La Lac Lilac... Nympha somnii, regina maeve, portam aperiens ad se alliciat me." she pronounced as a light enveloped them.


End of chapter 18.

The next chapter will be about Leona's past, I don't think it's just a chapter, surely it will be two or three.

Thanks for reading, I would like know your opinion about the story so far in the reviews, it encourages me to keep writing. Also, thanks to Miz-KTakase for helping me with grammar and thanks for the reviews I received! :)