Vampire's Slice Of Life

1129  How Do You Know They’re Pests?

On top of a dusty stone pillar, a raven-haired, purple-eyed lady stood, watching two figures below. In the last human city, they carved glowing magic circles into the parched earth, their movements precise and synchronized.

"How did they figure it out?" she wondered, a glimmer of astonishment in her otherwise calm expression.

The two's faces were filled with panic as they engraved the magic circles. It did not go unnoticed by the lady perched on the pillar. Maxim engraved the last line of the circle on the ground, finishing which caused it to glow brightly. Within the circle, footsteps appeared out, and this time, they could see someone's foot along with the steps. From the footwear this person wore, which were a pair of straw sandals, the two men figured out it was a woman. This one clue had significantly narrowed down a lot of suspects.

The lady perched on the pillar knew about it as well. She wondered whether she should kill these people to keep the information hidden or let them continue on with their investigation. After some thought, she decided on the former. It wasn't everyday that someone could find her traces. Not to mention, they had some strange ways to not die after touching the magic circle. This was the most fascinating point so far. The two men walked away from the city as they found clues to the person, finally reaching the fortress. Here, they could see the figure of a robust man near a cannon, and this shattered their whole perception of the person being a woman. The robust body of the man was slowly being built from the foot to the head. To their dismay, however, it stopped once the neck was formed. Maxim cursed and kicked the ground. "Right when we were close!"

Young yellow was frustrated as well and kicked the ground beside Maxim. When the two felt helpless, they decided to take help of the mysterious red-eyed man. The two walked away from the fortress and went to a secluded alley and then inside an unknown door of a random house. The lady couldn't watch them from such a distance, hence she shot in the air, then flipped her way down to the same door and walked right in without any fear. As she entered the place, her vision distorted as if she was suffering through vertigo. Soon, she heard a ding and found herself in a small, dimly-lit room.

A black-haired, red-eyed man in a fine suit was seated by a table, calmly sipping tea. There was nothing noteworthy in the room, and the entire focus was on him. "Have a seat." The man said, as if expecting such an outcome. The lady's interest peaked here. She smiled and took a seat opposite to him, then poured herself a cup of tea. "If I have to be honest, I'm quite impressed with how easily you found me. Even my own clan members cannot do it." The lady said. Lith calmly took a sip of tea and replied, "I'm flattered, young lady. But to find someone so prideful, it isn't much work."

The ability to stay calm in front of an apex predator like her, along with having the confidence to speak so freely was rarely seen. The lady was getting more and more interested in this now. "So, what do you seek from me? Surely it wasn't just to have tea, was it?" The lady sipped on the refreshing lavender tea. She had never had such a flavor before. Lith put the teacup down and shook his hand. "I am not interested in your beauty. I have wives far prettier than you."

"Oh?" The blatant insult threw the young lady off guard. She put the teacup down and answered, "You're quite bold, I have to give you that. But do you know that my nails are sharper than the sharpest object you could ever find? I am suddenly itching to give you a demonstration of it, preferably on your neck."

Lith was unfazed by the threat. He continued to look at her calmly and asked, "Are you rebelling against your own clan?" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The lady dropped her threatening aura as she heard that and took a sip of the refreshing lavender tea once again. "What if I say yes? And what when I say no?"

"If yes, the talks will continue. If no, someday you will be killed along with them by my hands." Lith answered honestly.

"Hoh?" Lith speared right at the lady's pride once again. "You're all talk, but I can see that you are nothing but a King Rank. How exactly are you going to kill me? In your dreams?"

"The future is uncertain. Who may be a carp might one day leap into the dragon gate. Or… who you may be thinking of as a carp…"

Lith's eyes flickered. "…may already be a mighty dragon."

Lith then leaned back on his chair and shook his hand, dismissing the serious atmosphere almost instantly.  "It's all up to your comprehension."

The man in front was getting more and more interesting as minutes passed on. Did he think of her as a normal person? Could he not see and make out the renowned Asura God Clan crest on her chest? This crest was only given to a select few and was recognizable to everybody of the Shen Ze star system. Or perhaps, did the man know, yet was still saying all of this because he did not fear death? Was his will to live so broken that death meant nothing to him? Or was he so broken that he was trying to suicide like this? Or perhaps… perhaps this man was autistic and did not know how to respond properly? Given by the way he was speaking with such chuuni tone, the young lady could not make out which was which. She propped her elbows on the table and leaned her chin on the back of her hand. "Let's hear what you want from me."

"Information." Lith said it straight. "My plan is to destroy the Asura God Clan. But my only concern is hurting the innocent ones or the ones who did not deserve it."

This was such a strange thing to say. Especially to a higher authority from the clan like her. By now, the young lady was starting to think that this man had gone mad. Should she kill him right here and now to eliminate potential threats? Or should she let him do what he wanted?

To be honest, if she killed him, then there was no way of knowing how her clan would fare off against such a crazy man. The clan was strong and had the capabilities to protect itself. But what if this man was right and could do as he said he would? Will her clan actually fall due to one single person?

Her curiosity to know this got the better of her. "Why should I answer you? What am I getting in this?" Despite being curious, she was rational and asked the important question. "You're planning to destroy my home, do you think I'll let you?"

"I don't plan to touch your home. I'm removing the pests residing within, for once and forever."

This statement was ambiguous. Lith meant that he wouldn't touch the ones that weren't involved with his grandparents. However, if everyone was involved in that… then yes, he would wipe them all out without any exception. The young lady could sense something off from it as well. "How do you know they're pests?"

"That's where you're going to come. You'll tell me." Lith answered without any hesitation. "…" the lady was baffled. "Do you know what you're saying?" She asked. "You're asking me to list you the names of the people you should kill. Do you think I am foolish enough to let my own clan members die?"

"As I said. It's up to you. They're going to die either way. You can only help curb the number of innocent ones involved."

"Who exactly is determined innocent and who's a pest?"

"The ones involved with my grandfather are pests. That's the only thing I'll tell you." Lith said and took a sip of tea. The lady frowned. She rubbed her temples and thought, 'So he's one of those…'

The clan had not killed a small number of innocents. There was a high chance of this person being someone related to one of those and was out here seeking revenge. The lady lost all interest temporarily, but then thought that this man had a lot of intelligence and strange ways to do things. Killing him wouldn't be beneficial as he could serve as a warning to the clan and help them understand their shortcomings and improve. She had no other interest in Lith. She only wanted to see how her own clan would fare off when he would go against them. Plus, she would be the one handing him the information, so it would be limited and shouldn't cause much harm. After some thinking, the lady nodded her head and said, "Alright. I'll indulge some pieces of information to you."