Staring coldly upon the scorched vampire which was riddled by pain. Ciel’s mind was in full churn. It appeared that she was suffering under the effects of a terrible power, one perhaps made for the sole purpose of countering her immortality. That alone was quite the intriguing thought, as well as the first risk he would have to consider if he was to move forth with this gamble. 

Was she attacked by another monster, or is she being hunted by the NSRA? 

The answer to that question would be the deciding factor for his choice. With both possibilities carrying troubling implications. 

If it was the first scenario, then it meant that a monster powerful enough to not just damage but continuously suppress the immortality of a vampire was out there, perhaps even still in pursuit and just moments away from sweeping down to claim the life of its escaped injured prey. 

Ciel would have no means to kill such a foe, much less fair a better chance of escaping their grasp than the vampire herself has. 

On the latter side, if it was instead the NSRA which was behind the royal creature’s abhorred state, then it meant that no less than a full unit of Arbiters were behind its hunting. 

No. For a vampire, they might even deploy a Senior Paladin or Saint Disciple from the start.  

Those were humans which were worthy to be called the spears of humanity and could match the strength of any mighty beast. Being found harboring one of their targets would only lead to unwanted trouble, if not direct execution. 

The more he pondered it, the more the thought of taking such a gamble appeared to be a foolish one. However, that was only so on the surface. In truth, Ciel had no knowledge of the creature before him. 

Where did she come from? and why was she so injured? Naturally, those were questions he did not have answers for, and yet before him was the means to obtain them.  

No need to take risks, such is the usefulness of interrogations. 

Moving closer to the ashen woman, Ciel first leaned in and flicked her head with his index. The sound of the minor impact echoed while the area where his finger touched began to simmer with a red glow for a moment. 

Paying no special attention to this, Ciel spoke. 

“Hey there fiend. You look to be in quite the sorry state so I will make this quick. Be sure to be honest with me, okay?” 

He was mimicking a casual tone, however, the coldness which his voice carried, as if engraved into it, made his words sound eerie and unnatural. In that moment, it was almost like a creature was attempting to mimic the casual speech patterns of a human and falling just short of it. As such, no one would be mistaken for thinking that two monsters had sparked up a dialogue. 

Uncaring of this fact, Ciel continued. 

“Where did a vampire like you come from? Has your race been inside Bastion this entire time? Who did this to you? Was it another monster race, your own kind, or maybe even a human like me?” 

The blinded ashen vampire had ceased her pained movements, suddenly attentive of the voice addressing her. All the while, her empty eye sockets remained hidden behind a stream of smoke.

She waited for Ciel to finish his questioning, then finally, her scorched lips first shifted into a rigid smile, before parting to answer.  

“Human… You? Hah. Hah. You could have f-fooled me. Hah—” 

Ciel listened to her weak chuckle for a moment, his vision cold. Then once she finished, the fiend continued. 

“W-Why do you wish to know? So that your kin may praise you? I-If you will slay me then do so and be done with it. I-I am in no mood for a drawn-out death.” 

Her voice was chopped and weak, yet somehow, Ciel found it sweet, like a soft pleasant melody. In that instant, he found himself thinking that he could listen to her speak forever…

Shaking his head slightly, Ciel quickly banished such a thought. 

The charm of a vampire is truly a terrifying thing. If I was not in my current state then I might have already succumbed to it…

Whilst pondering such a bleak alternative, Ciel’s actual retort was riddled with mockery.  

“Mood you say? What would a foul thing like you know of death? Just how many times has it come to grace you with its touch? I would bet none until now. Do me a favor fiend, stop pretending as though you understand the courage it takes to accept death’s embrace. You want to continue living, yes? If so then start answering my questions.”

The faint rigid smile of the scorched woman froze then quickly dissipated. 

“I-I was attacked… No. I was punished…” 

She paused, seemingly hesitant to say anything further. 

“Go on, who punished you?” 

Ciel pressed. 

“T-That is all I can say about their identity. Should I say further, then… Then gather the courage which you spoke of and prepare for death itself to descend upon us.” 

Hmm. 

Ciel did not understand. The creature before him appeared calm, however the hesitation which attached itself to her tongue suggested that whatever it was that her warning meant, it could not be treated as merely hollow words. 

He sighed. 

“Okay then, do not tell me who. However, tell me this, why were you punished?” 

The ashen vampire grew stiff at his words, then she allowed a soft chuckle to escape her lips. Her body quaked slightly from such an action, reigniting her infernal cycle of being burnt, then healed, only to be burnt again and again in whichever area she dared to move. She did not seem to care however, her chuckle quickly transforming into a proper laughter. 

Her sweet alluring laughter echoed within the cramped softly lit tunnel, slowly becoming more and more pained with each passing second, until finally, from within her empty eye sockets a red glow surged forth. Deep crimson blood rose, appearing like molten lava. It sizzled inside her empty eye sockets, like how boiling soup does inside a pot. However not long after, the crimson blood grew too plentiful and began trickling down her scorched cheeks. 

Amidst her laughter, the vampire had begun crying.      

Only after a few more seconds of her infernal shedding did she finally answer. 

“B-Because I did not belong…” 

Left utterly baffled, Ciel did not know what to answer with. Luckily he did not need to, the scorched fiend was not done speaking just yet.

“T-This is to be my fate… I-I had accepted it at first, truly I had… However, the more death creeped near the less I was able to accept this outcome… T-Tell me human. W-What is it you desire? Should you become my aid, then once I regain my strength and before we part ways, I-I will use my might and grant your wish. Are you willing to accept such an agreement?” 

The longer she spoke, the more the sweetness of her voice became drowned by pain… Ciel found the sight to be a truly pitiful one.  

Guess I did not even need to bring it up… Still, she did not mention humans which means the first scenario is likely the case here. Was she abandoned by her kind? Does Bastion have more vampires within its borders? And more importantly, is the NSRA aware of such a possibility? 

If something was holding her tongue, be it fear or a more insidious bind, then Ciel would not gain much through further questioning. Regardless of that though, he felt he had gained plenty. 

She had been betrayed by her kind most likely, though the possibility that she was attacked by another powerful creature was also not unlikely. Regardless of which scenario rang true however, only one thing mattered now. Depending on what the answer to that was, he would be able to make his decision. 

Thinking such, he asked. 

“Are the ones who did this to you aware that you are still alive? If I help you, should I expect a battle of survival to follow?” 

The ashen woman did not linger to answer, moving her neck side to side slightly. 

No she says huh… 

Of course, she could always be lying. Ciel knew full well that monster races possessed more cunning the stronger they were, and yet, he believed her.  

He did so not out of trust, but simply a result of the evidence before him. Given her state, even with Ciel’s help, recovery would take a substantial amount of time. If a being, or much worse a herd of them,  powerful enough to bring her to this pathetic state were still actively hunting her then Ciel saw no reason for the fiend to continue believing that she could survive long enough to recover, or even that Ciel had the means to protect her. 

In other words, a damn monster has to be placed at death’s mercy to barely be trusted huh.

He would need to be cautious nonetheless, however, had Ciel possessed the means to obtain a one hundred percent guarantee then making this choice would not be worthy of being regarded as a gamble.  

The risk was high, but the reward was just as high. 

Making a choice, Ciel sent forth his hand and tightly grasped the ashen woman’s delicate neck. 

THUMP!

The back of her charred head slammed violently against the wall as she let out a pained screech. Ciel felt his hand begin to experience the protest of her smoldering blood, however he ignored the burning sensation it spawned and spoke coldly.

“Very well, we have a deal. However, know this, if you lied to me then not only will I not help you regain your strength, but I will end you myself before anyone else gets to do the honors.” 

His grip tightened, pressing onto the ashen creature’s windpipe with terrible force.

“Nod in affirmation if you understand.” 

She did not hesitate to comply and quickly did just that. Ciel nodded in return, mimicking a satisfied expression…

He released his grip and allowed her body to fall. She fell to the ground with a thud, then immediately curled her body as a reaction to the sudden pain. Sizzling steam followed shortly after, signaling the continuous motion of her infernal cycle. 

Ciel watched this scene coldly, uncaring for her pain.   

Before him now was a new weapon at his disposal. A dangerous tool which he would use to its fullest. 

Of course, when the time comes, there is no future where we both walk away from this alive. 

He knew that well, and most certainly, she must know it also.