An Unexpected Arrival

"What's not enough? Tell me; I want to know." Amia seemed so saddened and obsessed. This sight made her want to know more and understand why it was like this. She didn't want Amia to go through this alone.

"You don't need to worry; I am fine." Amia said while she stood up, her back turning towards Aurora. The obsession and guilt she felt were beginning to overwhelm her. Even though Aurora said she'd helped enough and a feeling of happiness sprouted from it, she could not find peace. "Please… I ask you: Let me do this for you. I was lacking…"

"Don't say that." Aurora interrupted, not letting her finish her sentence. She didn't want to betray her true emotions to Amia, especially when she was acting in such a way. However, her answer made Amia even more distressed.

Amia lowered her head while chewing on her lips. Aurora looked at this sight and saw the blood drip from her clenched fists, but didn't say more. Her heart felt pained that she couldn't be of much help to Amia, but at this point in time, there wasn't anything she could do. For her to help, she would need to know what this was about. Other than the fact that Amia obsessively craved to help her, she didn't know what was wrong.

"Aurora… The dark energy left in the bear is beginning to run out. I'll go out and hunt for another. Stay here and wait for my return. I'll tell you what's going on when the time is right." Amia promised as a light smile adorned her face. This smile, though not bright or vibrant in any way, was genuine. It was the first sincere smile she had shown in the last few days.

"Thanks for caring about me."

With that smile, she exited the cave and began her search for additional sources of dark energy.

'She didn't avoid answering me on purpose, but she still hasn't made up her mind about the dilemma that she has. At least... she's willing to tell me when she's ready.' Deep down, Aurora felt incredibly relieved.

Her worry lessened slightly, but it didn't disappear completely. No matter how much relief she got from this, there was no way that it would disappear in a short amount of time. It would probably last until Amia told her everything. It might be a long time that she'd have to wait, but to her, it was worth it.

…

Upon Amia's return from her hunt, she devoured the remaining dark energy that was inside the bear. This was to restore her expended dark energy and make more room for the few bears she hunted. In addition, she scouted the area, ensuring that there were no nearby threats.

During the search, she had, either by coincidence or not, found something.

"Are you sure? You did say you were in a hurry. Could you have seen wrong?" Aurora's brows furrowed as she looked at Amia.

"No, I'm certain of what I saw. I might've been in a hurry, but you should know I wouldn't have made such a crucial lapse in my judgment." Amia insisted.

What she had seen on her way back from her hunt was a reconnaissance party of vampires, numbering in the tens, all appearing to be searching for someone or something. Without a doubt, they were searching for them, as each of them held their own weapon. They didn't appear to be a normal group of vampires, either. Not once did Amia see them lower their guard as she spied on them.

"It's been two days since we killed Lethia. They should've only recently heard the news of her death. How could they have already made their move?" Aurora asked.

"I don't know. There were no traces left behind by Lethia's death that we saw. And if they were, we collapsed the cave, which should've erased whatever evidence still remained. Perhaps Lethia had some kind of pendant or spell on her body where, when she died, it'd alert the kingdom of her death." Amia hypothesized.

Not everything would've been destroyed with the fall of Lethia. The weapons that held the power of 'Vampire's Bane' didn't affect spells previously cast or items on the target if they weren't tainted by vampire's blood.

This meant that if Lethia did leave some kind of spell or artifact on her body that was not powered by her blood, it would have remained intact long enough to send a message to the vampire kingdom before the cave's collapse.

Consequently, several groups of vampires would have been sent out, with half of them examining the cave and the other half looking for the culprits. But without knowing who the culprits were and their potential whereabouts, finding them would become impossible. Eventually, they would give up after searching for a few days and return.

That's what Aurora had planned. She would kill Lethia, collapse the cave, and erase their trail. However, it didn't seem to be going according to her plan.

"Something doesn't feel right. The vampires didn't look like they would cease their search any time soon, nor did their caution decrease. If it wasn't for me being adept at stealth, I would have been spotted."

Unlike Malik, a noble vampire who mostly cared about his pride. A man who didn't grow his strength for any other reason than defeating Lethia, leading to his death because of his lunacy, these vampires were considerably skilled and well-trained. It wasn't hard to determine this, as their stance and the way they acted and moved about were the proof she needed.

"What about their strength? What level are they at?"

"They shouldn't be close to or stronger than Lethia. My guess is that their lowest level is around the same level as you, with the highest being near the peak of the same stage and one stage above. However, we should take into account that their strength may be higher than their sta—" Amia was interrupted as she turned her eyes. "Hm."

Aurora ceased what she was doing and stood up. She turned to look in the same direction.

"They came quicker than I expected. But it would've only been a matter of time before they caught up to us."

The group of vampires was approaching their location quickly. If they wanted to, as professionals, they could have hidden their presences and tried to surround Aurora and Amia, but instead, they were approaching with a blatant display of their arrival. It was so they could alert Aurora's side, giving them time to prepare. In a sense, it was them showing their superiority.

"How kind of them." Aurora muttered sarcastically.

"How many times do you think you can conjure the vampire's bane? Will you be able to handle conjuring in a battle such as this?" asked Amia.

"I'll be fine. I've reached a higher stage since then. I'm confident that I can conjure two swords at the minimum without running out of dark energy. Anymore than that, I'm not sure."

"That's good. We'll need them. I know my limits, and I won't be asking you to let me do this all alone." Amia reached her hand in the direction of the dark bears. "Let's fight together, this time."

Fwoosh~

All the dark energy stored inside the two dark bears poured out of their cores and entered Amia's body. This action was not to devour the dark energy, as she did not have the time. She greedily absorbed all the dark energy, storing it in her body. It was something she discovered during her hunts these last few days. She could temporarily store more dark energy than her core could hold. However, once it was spent, it wouldn't return.

'That's fine. I can be of help to her with this amount.' At this thought, a sense of relief filled her heart.

Aurora's thoughts skimmed over what to summon. A sword wasn't an option, nor was a hammer, nor was any heavy or double-handed weapon. Something small, but at the same time, it didn't decrease the efficiency she would need in this battle. Her options dwindled until there was one option left: daggers.

Aurora covered her hands with dark energy. She then formed the dark energy into the shape of a dagger and condensed it as her 'Imagination Creation' took effect, creating two black daggers with the power of 'Vampire's Bane.'

'Will the two of us be enough? We have the means to kill them, but they outmatch us in every way. Our level, numbers…' Aurora wryly thought as the vampires grew nearer.

The two stepped forward to greet their new adversaries.