Like an unstoppable tide, sudden thoughts slammed into Ciel’s psyche. Before a single second could pass after the ashen figure’s voice reverberated, he had already begun his struggle against its influence. 

Leave… She wants me to leave? Yes… Then I need to leave, I need to. Will that please her I wonder? Will she praise me for following her will? Ohhh I must even more if so. Yes… Yes… Leave, let me leave right now. I can not dare disturb her further! 

His mind throbbed fiercely, and his heart felt a surge of actual emotion for a moment. It was reverence, one drenched in twisted passion. That sparked an unquenchable desire to follow the command he had been given. He had to obey her, then he would surely gain her favor, perhaps even become worthy of her touch. 

N-No. 

Suddenly squinting in agony, Ciel took hold of his head. He pressed against his temple so vigorously that one wouldn’t be wrong to fear it shattering open, like a melon overcome by tremendous pressure. That arduous struggle raged forth, with his very mind being the enemy. 

Huh… What did I just say? Why does it hurt? Damn. Damn. Do I dare placate against her will? Just who do I think I am?! For that I should atone… Yes atonement, I need to die. Ha, that is right, death is the only fitting punishment. Only death.

“F-Fuck.” 

Muttering a curse Ciel bit his lips until crimson blood poured forth, his face remaining a portrait of wrinkles. Then, with the little clarity which the burning pain of such an action brought, his eyes shot open, carrying with them a cold murderous glare. 

He did not linger to retaliate, sending forth his hand and shoving its fingers right into the single dazzling crimson eye, mutilating it.

“Aaagh!” 

The charred figure let out a pained squeal, their hideous body suddenly contorting in pain. As she moved reflexively from the abrupt agony, the ash-like texture of her skin changed for a moment. Beneath her scorched flesh, a red glow bloomed in every corner of her body which she dared to move. That glow appeared alive and infernal in nature.  

“Argh!” 

Once more the woman of ash cried out in agony.

As she did, her already burnt flesh suddenly began to steam, quickly transforming into silky pale skin only for the infernal glow beneath to grow in intensity, as if enraged, and turn that flesh back into blackened charred meat. 

It looked painful, terribly so. It was almost as though her blood was molten lava, one which forever wished to burn its hostess alive. 

Regardless of the gruesome display before him however, Ciel was not prone to care at the moment. Crushing the scarlet eye had calmed his deranged storm of thoughts, returning his state to that of an emotionless void. 

Even so, he could not let down his vigilance.  

Ignoring the woman’s pained state, he dropped the lamp and sent forth his newly freed hand to pierce the second eye, one still hidden behind a scorched eyelid. The moment his fingers tore inside, and much like the sensation of his neighboring hand, they were slowly assaulted by a sizzling heat. 

It appeared that the woman’s volcanic blood, or whatever such a force was, did not take kindly to the foreign presence anymore than it did to its hostess’s own flesh. The pain was intense, and soon the heat would burn past his skin and reach deep into his tissue below. 

For that reason, Ciel quickly took proper grasp of the two eyeballs and with a swift retraction of his hands, he tore them from her eye sockets. 

“Arrugh!” 

The woman, no, the creature, cried out in anguish, however this time she bore her teeth and unleashed a deep hiss. Her teeth were as white as snow, with two long fangs serving as her canines.

Ciel’s eyes narrowed slightly, realization donning upon him. 

A vampire. 

One of the mystical world’s most rare yet powerful creatures of shadow. Among the primordial races of monsters, which were born long before the eternal flames descended upon the world, they are placed as one of the apex creatures. 

They possess a plethora of insidious abilities, many of which serve as perfect foils for both humans and aberrations alike. Their immortality was just as impressive, falling short to no known monster race, only ever possessing equals. 

By all accounts, Ciel had stumbled before a royal creature. A king of aberrations, and even more so rare, one which Bastion was certain had not managed to escape the desolation of Judgement Day. 

Even in a city infested by monsters, the vampire monster race was only ever known before the fall of the old world. They were few in numbers then as well, with only the descendants of those which took it upon themselves to hunt down these immortal creatures bringing forth rich knowledge which they inherited. 

By all records, when the old world entered its second world war, that race was already considered extinct.  

Of course, that is all based on the information I obtained externally, I never properly worked for the NSRA. Perhaps the encounters with creatures at this level were strictly classified.  

That was always a possibility. After all, Ciel only knew of the NSRA’s internal affairs thanks to his time with his mentor and Oliver.

One had been a Stage 4 Esper, a powerful Arbiter which only numbered in the thirties. The second, Oliver Styles, was a high ranking mystical researcher and myst-tech engineer. Although he was young, according to the booster himself, he claimed to be quite the genius and the fastest rank climber within his research department in all of its history. 

As a result, both were previewed to many classified information, including monster races which were potential Disaster Level: Plague, and above.

From what Ciel knew, only one monster race managed to reach the disaster level: Plague. Despite that, the NSRA was far too cautious of an entity to be ill prepared to face any potential threat, even more so when rumors of their terror rang far before humanity was even properly equipped to handle them.  

Crushing the eyeballs between his palm. Ciel’s now burnt reddish fingers shook slightly, as if banishing the pain with the mundane effort. He stared attentively to the creature before him, her empty eye sockets now covered by sizzling steam. 

Is this a fortune I have been handed, or a dreaded curse? 

Whichever it was, one thing was certain. This mighty creature, one older than even the modern calendar, was in a far too weakened state. Realizing that, Ciel was now faced with a choice. Slay it and be done with it, or shackle it and equip this fiend as another tool for his arsenal.

Such an idea was a dangerous one to be sure, however if the benefits were high enough, then even his cautious self was willing to partake in a gamble.