Taming the Vampire

CHAPTER NINETY-ONE

M I L L E R

"What!? Where did the massacre happen?"

Agad na na-drain sa katawan namin ni Axel ang l*bog na naramdaman namin kani-kanina lang. Hindi pa man nakaka-sagot ni Mateo, Axel immediately walked to his closet to change his clothes.

"Saan ba 'yan? Should I come? I should come," I suggested and was convinced that I had to come. Yet, Mateo suddenly raised his hand.

"No, you can't come, Miller."

"Bakit hindi?"

"Because you're coming with me. You just got a mission."

You just got a mission. The words echoed in my ears. Para bang katumbas nito ang mga katagang congratulations, you just got promoted.

"M-Mission? Ano 'yun?"

To be honest, it kind of made me feel important. I mean, sa wakas! I got to have a mission – an actual vampire mission.

"Miller got a mission?" biglang sabad ni Axel na katatapos lang magbihis.

"Uh, it seems so that I have..." Oh, right. The final say would be from Axel.

I don't want to make him worry.

Lumampas ang tingin ni Axel sa akin, lumusot ito sa likod ko and when I saw the person behind me, it was no other than Mateo.

"Are you still sheltering your lover?" he mocked.

Pero hindi nagbago ang ekspresyon ni Axel. His eyes are still dead and his lips didn't even bother to raise a thin smile.

"No, I'm not," Axel sighed, para bang katatapos niya lang pakalmahin ang isipan niya. He just looked relieved and calm. "I said he can do anything. I just hate you interrupting our... cuddle," ani ni Axel bago tumingin sa akin.

"Be careful," he mouthed to me, to which I responded with a smile. I guess I just received the permission.

Dumepensa naman si Mateo at sinabi na, "It's not my fault."

"I don't care. Tell me where's the site so that I could tend to the investigation as quickly as possible."

Ibinigay na nga ni Mateo ang mga detalye na dapat malaman ni Axel. The location is quite far from the Red Mansion, and the clan was of a vampire living deep in the mountain woods.

The clan was living in peace while still adhering with the will of the Supreme. They follow rules while living among humans without any trouble. They get their blood supply by posing as shamans and often prefer animal bloods. They save people in shadows also. They are pretty decent people. At akala rin nila Mateo ay malalayo sila sa sigalot na nangyayari sa pagitan ni Lord Maximilian at ng Ronaldo na iyon. Pero nagkakamali sila. Because just now, they got news about that clan getting massacred.

Yes, a clan got massacred. Hindi lang ang clan leader nila. After staying in the Red Mansion for a while, I still got to learn that Ronaldo was able to expand his territory and was able to forcibly influence other vampires by killing their clan leader. Axel told me that there are two reasons why he does this; una, ito ay dahil sa dumadami ang mga sakop niya. The more clan leaders he kills the more remnants he could steal. Pangalawa, ay dahil sa imposible rin naman na patayin ang isang buong clan. The vampires are almost immortal. They heal fast. Bago pa sumiklab ang pagrerebelde ni Ronaldo ay wala ni isa ang nangahas para pumatay ng kapwa bampira. Pero dahil kay Ronaldo, the gypsy thing poison has finally got in use, at patuloy na nagsasaliksik ng paraan kung paano mas madaling pumaslang ng mga siyentipikong bampira na nagtatrabaho sa kanya. Sa madaling salita, it is the vampire's ability to not die easily that's keeping him from doing a massacre.

Pero ngayon, after hearing this news, everyone in the Red Mansion became alarmed. Ano kaya ang ginamit ni Ronaldo para patayin ang isang daang bampira ng clan na iyon?

Kung ako ang tatanungin isa lang ang masasagot ko, it seems that he just found the perfect weapon to easily kill a vampire.

After Mateo explained the details to Axel we left immediately. At first, I don't know why I had to come with them if I have my own mission.Yet, I realized that my mission is somewhat connected with the massacre. Iisa lang naman kasi ang kalaban namin dito. It's always Ronaldo.

Ngunit bago pa man ito, the moment we reached the crime's location, one thing spontaneously popped into my mind; It's my first time to see this many dead people. It is really a massacre.

Noong una ay akala ko nasa iba't ibang location ng komunidad namin matatagpuan ang mga bangkay ng mga bampirang pinatay ni Ronaldo. I didn't expect to see all the one hundred and twenty-six corpses inside a big hut.

Their hearts are all pierced and bleeding. Some of them are still children yet they were mercilessly killed by whoever monster who did this.

Matapos na makuha ni Axel ang test samples ng mga bangkay ay bumalik na ulit siya kaagad sa laboratoryo niya. Habang ako naman ay naiwan sa location kasama sila Mateo at mga tauhan niya.

"Alright, so what do I do now?" I asked Mateo who was giving his last instructions to Leo and his other subordinates.

"You've seen the blood outside the hut?"

"Oo. Anong meron doon?"

May mga dugo silang natagpuan sa mga puno at damuhan malapit sa kubo. Sa palagay namin ay mga bakas iyon ng namuong tensyon at labanan sa pagitan ng mga tauhan ni Ronaldo at ng mga alpha nila dito. In the end, they were sneaking into another vampire's den kaya imposible na walang nanlaban sa mga biktima.

"Some of those are not from the victims' blood. I had my clan's doctor test the sample before discovering the hut. And we found out that those are from a vampirized human."

"Then, what's that supposed to indicate?"

Hindi ba't marami na ring vampirized sa mga clan ngayon? Or are they saying that it is not the case I thought about.

"This clan doesn't have a vampirized human. They have been living in this mountain's forest for so long and believe in the purity of the vampire's blood. They knew about the consequences they would bring if they bite a human. It's not only unethical in our kind but also to humans. They treasure harmony. That is why they wouldn't do as harmful and unnecessary as wars and turning a human into a vampire which could cause death to the latter."

Oh. So, that's how it's going. "Kaya ba nakumpirma niyo na si Ronaldo ang may gawa nito dahil sa dugong natagpuan niyo?"

"Right. Also, we have matched the vampirized human's blood that we found to the previous blood sample we had every time we receive news of an attack. We discovered something."

Apparently, the blood they found at the site of the massacre was from a vampirized human na pinag-sususpetsahan nila na kabilang din sa mga dumudukot ng mga taong gagawin nilang bampira.

How immoral is that person? Dati rin siyang tao, tapos ngayon gagawin niya rin ang nangyari sa kanya sa dati niyang kalahi. He knew how dangerous the vampirization process is, and not everyone is lucky to have a strong body to be able to withstand the vampire essence.

"Miller, I want you to help me find this person. I know you're the perfect man to do this job."

"Sure. Tutulong ako," walang pag-aalinlangan kong pagpayag. "Saan ba tayo magsisimula?"

Well, we started to where my vampire life literally began – we went to the red light district.