Legacy World 4.30 I'll Be Here

The next morning, Vlad woke up first, as usual. However, this time, he spared a lot more time to gaze at Vanora’s sleeping profile. The thought to wipe her memories from last night crossed his mind. /I probably should ask her first.../

Her brush with danger last night was far too close for comfort. Blaming himself for what happened to her, he vowed to tighten his security further and be a lot more careful. He sighed softly as he brought his fingers to her face and stroked her cheeks ever so lightly. "You're so precious." He whispered then kissed her forehead.

Vanora frowned a little, then her eyelids slowly lifted. She looked at Vlad with sleep still in her eyes, "Morning..."

"Sorry for waking you up. You can sleep some more."

She shook her head and slowly sat up.

They then went about their morning routine like nothing was any different between them. While she drank her tea, Vlad finally found the courage to bring up the idea of wiping her memories clean.

"Thanks for your concern, but there's no need to. Don't you see that I'm fine?"

"I don't know. Maybe you're just hiding it?" He said a little sulkily.

She laughed a little at his remark.

"What?"

"It sounds funny coming from you. All you need to do is check my aura.”

Vlad laughed dryly. “If only you were so easy to read. Why haven’t you mentioned a thing about last night then?"

She shrugged. “What’s there to say?”

Silence resumed, until Vlad broke it, again. “I really can’t tell if you’re really fine or not… Your colour… Is the same as ever. Sure, there are slight changes to it depending on the situation, but they’re SLIGHT. There’s this ever present… Hate.”

Vanora revealed a smile but it did not reach her eyes. So, it looked empty and sad. "Exactly. With or without last night's memories, I'd hate myself the same. So, if I could choose, I’d rather keep my memories."

“Why?”

Vanora fell silent. Then, she continued in a whisper, "I already know how pathetic, powerless, and weak I am. Last night was just another confirmation of that fact."

Vlad’s brain stalled for a moment. He had not expected her to continue. Once he registered that Vanora was finally opening up to him, his surprise further delayed his response. However, after his brain fully processed what Vanora said, his mood dipped back down. He frowned as he sadly questioned, "Why do you say that of yourself? I don't know what happened to make you believe that about yourself, but in a world where everyone only looks out for themselves and are unkind to one another... Why are you doing this to yourself too? Only you can treat yourself well."

Vanora kept her head lowered. Her hands moved but she was only picking at her food. Vlad took her hands in his, then continued in a softer and gentler tone, "I don't know what I can say or do to help you see your good qualities. When you're like this, anyone's sincere acts or words would only appear as superficial or words of comfort.”

Vanora chewed on the inside of her lower lip, because what he said was exactly how she regarded any compliments showered on her.

“Regardless, until the day comes when you see yourself in a better light, I'll be here to remind you of how good you are."

Vanora’s head snapped up and she looked at him with wide disbelieving eyes.

/He… He’s serious? So, he’s really serious about this? About me? Well, I guess everything would make sense then. Even if this is just a phase... I can't deny that he's done nothing to harm me so far. And there's last night's incident too… But when and WHY did he go out of character?/

Her brows drew together to form a deep furrow. /WHY? Why does he give off the same vibe I get from my family? What's there to like or even love about me? Why do they treat me so well?/

He grinned helplessly and ruffled her hair. "I really wonder what's going on in that little head of yours."

A slight blush crept up her cheeks. She hastily turned her head away from him then grumbled under her breath, "I wonder where you learnt to say such things."

He blinked innocently while he explained, "I'm just saying what I feel."

Vanora sighed lightly, then gulped down her drink. "I'm done, let's go."

"We'll make a short detour first. I have some business to settle." He informed her while making his way to her.

Vanora found themselves on the street of the inn that they have been frequenting. The first thing that caught her attention were the lewd sounds and sight of an orgy in the middle of the street. However, the look of the participants instantly made her skin crawl. She would recognise them anywhere, as their looks were forever etched in her mind. She involuntarily flinched away from the orgy, but Vlad’s movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention.

Vlad calmly approached the orgy with a picture-perfect smirk that did not reach his cold unfeeling eyes. The participants were so involved in their activity that they did not notice his presence.

Rosa shrieked and cried in rage, but they continued to violate her. The incubi no longer looked to be in a sorry state. Instead, they wore hate-filled expressions while they did whatever they wanted to Rosa’s body, venting everything they felt onto her. No one would suspect that they were under Vlad’s control.

Suddenly, Rosa felt a strong force at the back of her head push her face into the dirt. She turned her face then shrieked, “You bastard!”

"Hold on." He commanded the incubi.

Rosa froze, immediately recognising the voice, then called out with joy, "Lord Vlad! You've come to save me!"

He looked down at her with a deep frown and wrinkled nose. Anyone who saw it could tell how disgusted he felt with Rosa. With her head still under Vlad’s foot, Rosa was the only one who remained blissfully unaware of it.

"Save you? I'm the one behind all these. This is your reward for being gutsy enough to scheme against my precious love."

Refusing to believe what she heard, she laughed weakly. "I was right to believe in you."

He ignored her delusional ramble and proceeded on with business. "You'll NEVER achieve sexual gratification. Every sensation you feel will only be pain." The black mark of a rose covered her entire face.

He removed his foot, then gestured for someone to clean it. Rosa angled her head upwards and watched several hell beings scramble forward to curry his favour. /It can't be. It can't be. It can't be./

She looked at the pair of black obsidian eyes that she had long burned into her memory. However, with the contempt it held towards her now, the same pair of eyes looked so strange and foreign. "You're not Lord Vlad. You’re not him. You're impersonating him. You fake!" Her voice was shaky and tears filled her eyes.

"You'll be their sex slave for as long as you live and you can never kill yourself.” He turned around, then commanded, “You may continue."

The incubi resumed their actions. This time, the skies got filled with cries and shrieks of agony and pain.

Vlad headed towards a particular pair of hell beings. While everyone else was down on one knee, only this pair prostrated themselves before him.

"It's you."

The young demon started apologising profusely without lifting his head off the ground.

“You consider that your sincerest apology?”

The older demon lifted the younger demon’s head then bashed it against the ground. “That’s how you beg!”

The younger demon kept it up without question, still begging Vlad for forgiveness and mercy. The older demon did not dare to look up even once, but he did not have much hope for himself, much less for his son. In his entire life, he had never heard a single love rumour surrounding this demon lord. Now that there was one, his son had to fuck up this badly.

Just as Vlad brought his foot up, the innkeeper exclaimed, "Lord Vlad! It's presumptuous of me but I beg for you to show mercy to the rest of us! In exchange for my son's life! You don't have to dirty your hands or your feet! I'll do it for you!"

The cold-hearted words of his father pierced straight into his already wounded heart. He was already blaming himself for everything, how could his father say something like this? "You old geezer!"

However, he was greeted with a hard punch to his face that knocked out several of his teeth. “Since you know I’m old, shouldn’t you watch your darn mouth?! You really only know how to court death!”

The young demon was painfully reminded how they only got stronger, never weaker, with time.

Just as the old demon prepared to throw another punch, Vlad interrupted, "If you're looking for mercy, aren't you in the wrong place?"

Everyone knew what Vlad meant. There was no such thing as mercy in hell. It was pathetic to ask for mercy. The only way was to swindle or butter one’s way through such a difficult situation. With the hope to appease some of his lord’s rage, he went crazy, torturing his son in various ways, making sure to also prolong his death. After all, the show had to go on long enough for it to be entertaining.

Vlad was indeed pleased. He would have wanted to enjoy the entire show, but he was ever conscious of Vanora’s presence behind him. He knew that Vanora disliked wasting her time, and he was already taking up her precious time to exact revenge. Something that satisfied him, not her.

Thanks to the time pressure, Vlad changed his mind a lot sooner than he normally would, thus cutting short the young demon’s torture. Vlad wanted to wipe out every life on this street, but ended up merely destroying all the property in sight. Within a blink of an eye, everything vanished as it all disintegrated to dust.

Vanora watched return to her side with a spring in his step and a satisfied grin. She briefly glanced at everyone behind him and caught them sighing in relief. Only the innkeeper continued to torture his son, lest Vlad changed his mind. Vanora hid her shock behind her poker face. /What kind of sick power play is this? With power, you seriously can do whatever you want. No wonder it's so addictive./

"Did I do good?" He asked her unabashedly. Everyone heard his question and it sent a chill down their back. From his behaviour and question, they surmised that their new Lady had full control over their demon lord, which meant full control over their lives as well. Their bodies tensed again, waiting for her judgement.

Knowing how his question likely drew all the attention onto her, she gritted her teeth in annoyance. /What should I say in this position and this situation? Do I act all high and mighty? Do I revere him like everyone else?/ Her mind reeled with all the possible reactions she could give. She did not know enough of hell and its culture to know the appropriate response. Furthermore, her response was now linked to one of the leads of this world. Her choice carried far more weight than usual and she did not trust herself to make the right decision. So, she chose the safest option of not reacting at all. /Just walk away./

In the end, the sight of her coldly walking away from their demon lord and having their lord chase after her only cemented everyone’s understanding of the power dynamics. Inevitably, she earned a reputation of being more cruel than Vlad.