Is he a Hollow? the vampire thought, watching Levi with unease.
No, that couldn't be it. Hollows were mindless creatures, beasts that had lost all trace of sanity. They didn't speak, didn't think, didn't move with purpose. They attacked anything that breathed, even when their stomachs were full.
But this one, this newborn, was different. There was precision in his movement, not chaos.
"What… are… you…" the vampire managed, his voice trembling.
Levi looked at him blankly.
"I'm a vampire," he said simply. "A newborn Turned."
The man opened his mouth to say something, but before he could form another word, Levi's hand gripped his shoulder, and fangs sank deep into his neck.
Up on the rooftop of the apartment complex, Aly gasped, her eyes and lips wide.
"Wahhh…" Her hands shot up to her mouth in mock disbelief.
"Daddy is indeed one of a kind!" she whispered dramatically, shaking her head in slow motion.
Kai stayed composed, but the faint flicker of surprise in his eyes betrayed his thoughts.
"A vampire feeding on another vampire…" he muttered under his breath. "That's unheard of."
Not far behind them, half hidden in the shadows, stood Duncan. His brows furrowed as he observed the scene below.
Knowing Master and her daughters, he thought grimly, I hoped the father would at least be the normal one. But it turns out he's the worst of all. I better watch my back!
Down below, Levi continued to feed.
The taste was overwhelming. Richer, darker, unlike anything he had ever known. Every drop that touched his tongue burned like liquid fire and velvet at once. Even before turning, he'd never experienced anything so intoxicating.
Maybe he was never meant to be human at all. Maybe this was what he was supposed to be.
The body in his grasp had gone completely limp, skin pale as marble. The blood was nearly gone when Levi paused, his senses catching movement nearby.
Someone was coming.
A new scent hit him. Another vampire.
When she appeared at the corner of the street, her eyes instantly found the motionless body in Levi's hold.
"Orion!" she screamed, voice cracking with rage. Her irises flashed red as she lunged.
In a blink, she was right in front of him, claws out, aiming for his face. But Levi was no longer there.
The man's body hit the ground just as the woman reached him. Levi was already five meters away, standing casually near the edge of the street, licking the blood from his lower lip.
"No, no, no… Orion!" she cried, falling to her knees beside the corpse. Her trembling hands brushed against his cold face, then down to the bite marks on his neck.
Her gaze snapped back to Levi, eyes burning crimson.
"YOU!"
She stood slowly, her crimson eyes burning through the dim light. "What have you done?"
Her voice broke halfway between disbelief and fury. Her expression shifted. Confusion, horror, then pure rage twisting her features.
"You killed him… you killed my husband!"
Levi tilted his head slightly. "Condolences."
There was no empathy in his tone.
Just like with the male vampire earlier, he could see it now – the aura surrounding the woman. But unlike the man's golden aura, the woman has deep violet.
Her dominant sin essence was Envy.
Her lips curled into a snarl, and her eyes glowed brighter.
"You'll regret ever touching him!"
Her hair began to move, strands rising and twisting as if alive. The locks stretched and thickened, splitting into snake-like tendrils. Each one shimmered with a metallic gleam, the ends sharpening into blades that hissed softly in the air.
Levi's gaze followed the movement, a twisted fascination blooming in his chest.
The first strike came fast. Levi dodged, twisting away as one of the blade-tipped tendrils sliced through the air beside his face, close enough to leave a shallow cut across his cheek.
Warm blood trickled down, and the woman smiled in satisfaction.
Levi didn't flinch. He bent backward to avoid another strike, the blade missing his throat by inches. Two more tendrils whipped toward him from opposite sides.
He pivoted sharply, his shoes scraping against the concrete as he slipped through the narrow gap between them. Another tendril shot upward, and he ducked, feeling the sharp wind of its passing brush the top of his hair
Then he stopped, just for a second, when something caught his eye.
The big ruby necklace glinting at her throat.
It pulsed faintly under the flickering light, catching his eye like it was calling to him.
That's a nice stone, he thought absently. Then, What's inside it? Blood?
The thought deepened, turning into a quiet, irrational need. I should get it… I have to see what's inside.
He lunged forward, moving fast, his movements smooth and precise. But every time he tried to get close, the tendrils intercepted him. Each strike came faster than the last, forcing him to block, duck, or retreat.
Another tendril slammed into his side, throwing him against a wall. The impact cracked the bricks and sent dust falling around him.
The woman laughed. A sharp, cold sound.
"You're fast, but not enough," she taunted. Her hair moved like living serpents, circling him.
Levi steadied himself, but his eyes flickered again toward the ruby. The more he looked at it, the more he wanted it.
Then, with a sudden snap, the tendrils coiled around him, binding his arms and torso. The blades pressed against his skin, inches away from cutting through.
The woman stepped closer, a cruel smile spreading across her face.
"Now, you're under my mercy."
Her fangs glinted as she leaned in. "You should start begging for your life."
Levi looked up at her, eyes dull. "Will it change anything? I doubt it."
Her smirk deepened. "Why don't you try? Maybe it would."
He didn't move.
"I don't see why you feel the need to avenge your husband's death."
"What do you mean, you fool? He was my husband! I love him, and you killed him!"
Levi's head tilted slightly, studying her face as if observing something strange.
He didn't understand love, not in the way others did. He knew it as a concept, something that made people irrational and reckless. He could only grasp it logically.
"Why would you love someone who doesn't return your love?" Levi asked.
The woman's eyes flared.
"What do you mean? Of course he loved me!"
"By becoming the person he wanted?"