Chapter 54 - Dhampir

The darkness was warm.

Not in the suffocating way of a cell or a coffin—she knew both well—but rather in a strange, gentle kind... as if someone had wrapped the night in cotton blankets and the scent of lavender.

She blinked.

The light, clearly filtered through a lilac curtain, stung her sensitive eyes, but not harshly. It was as if even the light in that place had good manners.

...Where am I?

Her body felt heavy, as if she had slept for days. Maybe she had. Memories returned with the subtlety of a nightmare with an abrupt ending.

Her older brother, Marius...

Her eyes widened. The last thing she remembered was the face of that grinning demon approaching, and then... nothing.

She sat up with difficulty, the blankets sliding off her pale shoulders. The clothes she wore were different, a purple silk nightgown that clearly wasn't hers.

This is starting to get way too weird! Who took her clothes off?

Or rather...

What the hell is going on?

Her mind spun, trying to piece things together. Then, a faint rustle caught her attention.

On the other side of the room, a blonde woman with long, flowing hair tied in a loose braid was rummaging through a wardrobe.

She was humming softly, but upon noticing her movement, the woman turned her head for a moment, and her violet eyes met hers, sparkling with a mix of curiosity and kindness...

"You're finally awake, huh? I was starting to get worried..." the woman said in a light tone. She closed the wardrobe door with a gentle push and turned fully, asking with a soft smile, "Are you okay?"

Valerie blinked, confused, her voice coming out hoarse and hesitant. "Who... who are you? Where am I?"

She clutched the sheet to cover her body, as if the fabric could shield her from the uncertainty. The woman before her didn't exactly seem like an enemy, but she wasn't naive enough to let her guard down.

"My name is Jeanne. Jeanne d'Arc, a pleasure to meet you, Valerie Tepes." She gave a slight bow before explaining, "As for 'where,' well, you're in a safe place. You're under the care of Chaldea."

Valerie frowned, her mind struggling to process Jeanne's words.

"Safe?" she repeated, her voice tinged with suspicion. "Why should I trust you? And how do you know my name?"

Jeanne smiled faintly.

"I'm not asking you to trust me so easily, but I won't harm you, rest assured. As for knowing your name, it was my Master who told me."

Valerie felt a chill run down her spine.

Master? What kind of place was this?

She gripped the sheets tighter, her knuckles turning white.

"Your... Master?" she repeated, the word burning her tongue.

Unpleasant memories flashed through her mind. One of the vampires she had known, Vladigor Tepes, loved to call himself that. He was the type of vampire who reveled in the sound of his own voice, every sentence dripping with dramatic flair and calculated pauses, with the insufferable habit of referring to himself in the third person: "The Master does not tolerate this... The Master observes with disappointment." He was utterly irritating... But beyond his dreadful personality, he genuinely believed everything he did was art, whether it was punishing someone, manipulating a servant, or "correcting" someone else's room decor. In other words, he was the kind of vampire her little brother would call terrifying...

So, when someone referred to another person as "Master," it always brought that to mind and left a bitter taste.

"Yes..." Jeanne looked at her deeply and said with a faint smile, "His name is Ryougi Kazuya... Master is just how we refer to him, since we were summoned by him as Servants. He's the one responsible for us here at Chaldea..."

Valerie stared at her again.

"And what does this 'Master' want with me?" she asked in a clinical, almost bored tone. "Is he going to use me too? Run experiments? Throw pretty words at me and then lock me in a softer-than-usual cell?"

Her life had always been like this. Ever since she helped Gasper escape from the vampires, awakening her Longinus in the process, she had been used by the Tepes Faction to gain more power and influence than they'd ever had before. No one in her family cared that it was indirectly harming her the more she used her Sacred Gear.

Jeanne took a few steps closer.

"My Master is not a bad person. In fact, he always puts others first." She closed her eyes for a moment and said, "And that's a bit concerning."

"He won't harm you, I can assure you of that..."

Valerie wanted to say something but couldn't find the words to retort. She pulled the sheet tighter and muttered, "I don't remember the last time someone cared about me without wanting something in return. Really... only Gasper ever did that..."

"It might take time for you to believe it. That's okay." Jeanne smiled again and said, "But I ask that you give my Master a chance to earn your trust..."

Valerie looked away from the Saint, feeling she should believe her words... Jeanne seemed like a kind person, and she doubted she would deceive her. Though she didn't let her guard down immediately, she decided not to act with suspicion and to give her a chance.

The silence that followed was brief.

Valerie was still staring at her own lap, her thoughts tangled, when the doorknob turned with a soft, polite click, as courteous as everything else in that place.

Jeanne turned, but she didn't seem surprised.

Valerie instinctively raised her gaze. The man who entered didn't look like a "Master," at least not the kind she was used to. Nothing about him screamed authority, domination, or theatricality like Vladigor...

Was he ordinary? No...

The man before her had a beauty that gods would envy. He was devilishly handsome, around eighteen years old, with messy white hair and flawless, pale skin—not the vampiric pallor she was accustomed to seeing, but a vibrant, beautiful hue that seemed soft to the touch. He wore a black shirt with a white overcoat and loose black pants, his clothes doing little to hide his muscular frame...

He wore dark sunglasses, but as he entered, his strikingly beautiful eyes peered at her over the lenses.

And that was the problem.

Her heart beat faster at the sight of those calm eyes staring at her...

Meanwhile, Kazuya let out a mental sigh, feeling somewhat tired. After leaving his lab with Artoria Lancer, he had spoken briefly with Edmond, who gave a mission report and introduced Artoria Lancer to Asia, who was confused to see a more mature version of Salter. He had finally come up to Jeanne's room to meet Valerie.

He stopped at the entrance, holding an almost-empty coffee cup (something Asia had made for him), and looked at Jeanne.

"She's awake?" His voice was soft and calm.

"Yes." Jeanne smiled. "And she's already asked if you're going to run experiments on her."

"Ah." He scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. "Well, that's... a start."

Kazuya turned his gaze to Valerie.

She stared back, still captivated by his appearance, saying nothing and remaining silent.

He walked to a nearby chair and sat down calmly.

"Valerie Tepes," he said, as if confirming a mental note. "Are you okay? I mean, physically. No pain, nausea, tingling in your fingers, bloodlust, those usual things for a newly rescued vampire?"

According to what Edmond had told him, when he found the Dhampir before him, she was unconscious, courtesy of someone named Marius—his words. Since he hadn't had time to examine her properly, he just wanted to make sure she was okay... He didn't know exactly what the vampires had used to knock her out.

Speaking of which, Edmond had said he eliminated most of the vampires in that world, with only a few escaping during his invasion or scattered outside Romania.

Which was good news.

Vampires are a race of supernatural beings even prouder and more aloof than Demons. In fact, discrimination between vampires and other species is so strong that Dhampirs, like Gasper Vladi and Valerie Tepes, born of Vampire Lords and human mothers, were mistreated even by their own families. Hunting humans is the true nature of a vampire for their food source. Male vampires use human women for their pleasure and to bear children, while female vampires use human men for their pleasure and to give birth to their offspring.

Vampires are ruled by two distinct royal families: the Tepes Family and the Carmilla Family.

Hundreds of years ago, an incident split the vampire world, where vampires debated whether to choose a female or male True Ancestor to maintain the purity of pureblood vampires. This incident eventually gave rise to the Tepes Faction, a male-dominated vampire faction, and the Carmilla Faction, a female-dominated one. Both factions went to war after the Tepes Faction recently seized a Longinus possessor.

Vampires do not get along with other races and maintain a strict, pureblood aristocracy, so arrogant that no family ever cared for their servants even a tenth as much as the Gremory family did. Moreover, any vampire with human ancestry, whether a turned human or a descendant, can never become a noble and is considered a lesser member of the species, even if they're considered vampires at all.

So, exterminating most of them was a good thing...

Valerie frowned. "You talk like it's a common occurrence."

Kazuya gave a slight smile, leaning back in the chair as if they were just chatting in a café.

"I didn't mean it like it's common, just... bad choice of words? I only wanted to ask if you're okay and ended up making a bit of a joke... Don't take it the wrong way, ojou-chan..."

Valerie narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms instinctively, as if trying to create an invisible barrier between them. Her tone was drier this time:

"Hmph! I'm a Dhampir. There's a clear difference between me and the vampires you're used to. And I'm fine..."

Kazuya raised his hands in a gesture of peace, still with a faint smile.

"Hey, hey, no offense. I know Dhampirs are different. Half-human, half-vampire, the best and worst of both worlds. I was just trying to lighten the mood. Let's say humor is my social shield... and my sword, sometimes."

Valerie let out a low sigh, her frown still in place, but her expression softened slightly. It was hard to stay cold toward someone who wasn't trying to manipulate her, control her mind, or lock her in a cell the moment they saw her. And above all... someone who looked at her like a person, not a tool.

It reminded her a lot of her little brother Gasper in a strange way, and she felt a certain warmth in her chest.

"You're weird..." she murmured, looking at him as if analyzing a puzzle with mismatched pieces. "Really weird. And you don't seem like a bad person..."

Kazuya smirked and took the last sip of his coffee.

"That's the trick, isn't it? Be bad only when necessary. The rest of the time, I prefer to be just... someone trustworthy. Still working on that, of course."

Jeanne, who had been watching everything from the side of the room with a calm air, nodded slightly, as if silently confirming every word.

"And why exactly did you bring me here, Master?" Valerie emphasized the word with a hint of sarcasm, testing his reaction.

Kazuya tilted his head, not losing his humor.

"Because leaving a pretty girl unconscious in a sociopathic vampire's castle seemed like a terrible idea."

"Just for that?" She raised an eyebrow, suspicious.

"For now?" He replied, resting his elbow on the chair's arm and his chin in his hand. "Yeah. Saving you seemed like the right thing to do. But if you want to come up with a more dramatic reason later, like 'intertwined fate' or 'cursed lineage,' we can work with that."

Valerie let out a sigh... and against all logic, a small laugh escaped her lips. Quick, dry, but genuine.

"You're impossible," she said, almost to herself.

"I hear that a lot..." Kazuya replied with a wink, and Jeanne let out a soft chuckle from the other side.

Valerie grumbled, turning her face away as if trying to hide the faint blush on her cheeks.

"Charming idiot..." she muttered under her breath, almost inaudible, but loud enough for Jeanne to hide an amused smile and for Kazuya to pretend he didn't hear, just to tease her.

"Alright," he said, standing up from the chair and walking to the side of the bed. "Now that you're awake, let's do a quick check-up. I promise it won't hurt. Well... not much."

"That's not reassuring, you know?" Valerie replied with a suspicious look, pulling the sheet closer to herself.

Kazuya ignored the comment with a crooked smile and raised his hand.

A floating green energy began to emanate from his palm. It looked liquid and alive, flickering like a flame underwater. Tiny particles escaped from it like luminous dust, and then, slowly, the energy extended into the air... and gently penetrated Valerie's body, as if passing through her skin without resistance.

Her eyes widened, startled and alarmed.

"What—?!"

Her body stiffened instinctively, her hands clutching the sheet tightly, and her heart raced with growing panic. But, to her surprise, she felt nothing.

The energy coursed through every inch of her body from the inside out. Mind, blood, soul—everything was examined with precision and care, though she couldn't fully comprehend what was happening.

Kazuya furrowed his brows slightly, his eyes narrowing behind the dark lenses as he saw things she couldn't imagine. There were irregularities there... subtle cracks in her soul, mental fissures indicating overuse of power. But nothing that immediately threatened her integrity.

He knew the cause was the Sephiroth Graal: Valerie's Longinus.

The Sephiroth Graal has the ability to connect with the principle of life. Due to its nature, Valerie also absorbs the minds and concepts of the dead, the living, and various other things while using the Holy Grail, which resulted in her current "broken" state due to the overwhelming flood of thoughts entering her heart and soul from the overuse of the Sephiroth Graal.

What he was seeing was the side effect of the corrosion caused by the excessive use of the Sephiroth Graal. Fortunately, hers was a subspecies with a total of three Holy Grails instead of just one, allowing her to survive the removal of two of them, though she would fall into a coma after losing the second. And also... the damage hadn't reached a point of being completely irreparable...

But it was enough to leave her in a state of a broken heart and soul; basically, she couldn't feel things the way a "normal" person would, existing in a state close to apathy...

That was why she reacted "strangely." A normal person would panic upon waking in an unfamiliar place and try to escape somehow. But she stayed where she was...

He slowly lowered his hand, dissipating the energy with a simple gesture.

"You're fine," he said calmly. "Nothing to worry about for now."

Valerie took a deep breath, trying to slow her racing heart, which felt like she had just run through an entire forest.

"What... what was that?" she asked, her voice softer, still trembling slightly.

Kazuya shrugged.

"Just an analysis. That's all." He paused, and then his tone grew more serious. "But now comes the important part."

Valerie narrowed her eyes, still uncertain.

"The... important part?"

Kazuya raised his hand again. This time, the energy that emerged was blue. Not cold like ice, but warm and deep, like an ocean under moonlight. It swirled slowly in thin spirals, wrapped in a subtle glow.

"This will heal you," he said, his voice firmer. "It'll restore what's been damaged. Body, soul, mind. But... it'll probably knock you out. The process is intense."

Valerie hesitated.

"Heal? But—"

Before she could finish, the blue energy began to envelop her. Like a gentle but unstoppable wave, it touched her skin, sinking deep. And then, she felt it.

A warmth.

Not like a fever or burning, but a gentle, comforting warmth. As if invisible arms had wrapped around her body, holding her carefully.

And for the first time in a long, long time... she felt peace.

No screams, no fear, no bloody memories lurking in the back of her mind.

Just silence. Silence and tenderness.

She blinked slowly, her eyelids growing heavy.

Was this... she thought, before sinking into sleep, ...how Gasper felt when he escaped that hell?

A small sigh escaped her lips, and then she slept.

Deeply and peacefully..

_______________________

(A/N:Author's Note

Hey, everyone! 👋

This chapter came straight from the keyboard — literally. I've just started using the computer, so you might notice a slight change in the writing. Maybe it turned out better… or not, who knows, right? 😅

Either way, I hope you enjoyed what you read! I'm wrapping up the next chapter, and I can already say: some exciting stuff is on the way.

In the next chapter, we'll see Sirzechs waking up in the hospital and realizing he's weaker — among other things — and then we'll move on to the arc involving the Youkai.

Thanks for sticking around, and see you in the next update!

💬 And hey — want to just read ahead a bit?

📚 For $2.99, you can read up to 7 chapters ahead, perfect for avoiding spoilers or just bingeing.

📚 For $5.99, you get full access to ALL content, no holding back.

And that's not all — there are some new stories coming your way too 👀

Anyway, thanks to everyone who's reading, supporting, and commenting.

You're the fuel (and the healthy emotional pressure) that keeps this going.

Now let me get back to the keyboard before I almost miss another deadline 😅

Patreon: patreon.com/Adam_Kadmon

For those who can't use Patreon, there's also Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/adam_kadmon