The Vampire's Bride

Mallory's question irked Zorek. Raising an eyebrow, he asked irritatedly, "Huh? Body? What does the body have to do with this? We're talking about the real creator here, little girl."

Noticing that Zorek would not answer her question, she turned to face Jillion, "Master Jillion, was the body found?"

"N-No... it wasn't," Jillion stuttered. They were also stunned and confused as to why she would ask such a question at that moment. But the what she said next made them realized why...

"Then, isn't Master Orpheus also a victim? All he knew was that it could help him find his friend and not to turn her into a zombie," Mallory said.

"How could he be a victim? He shared it to me! I'm the victim!" Zorek proclaimed.

Frowning, Mallory was annoyed at how he kept saying that he was the victim, "You still don't get it?"

"Get what?"

This time, Aldo was the one who spoke. He asked Mallory, "Do you mean that... Leo never had her body to begin with therefore it was impossible for him to know?"

Based on what she had seen and heard, to turn a vampire into a zombie, you need three main things. First, the process and the materials/ingredients stated there; second, the vampire must be dead — or at least at the brink of death; and lastly, the body. Without the body, how can you do the process? Without the body, how can you turn them into a zombie-vampire? It was the same as those seen in the movies. Some scientist or guy will perform some surgeries on a dead lover or relative and will turn them into a zombie. Mallory was not a fan of horror or thriller movies but she had seen a few of those.

"Yes. If Master Orpheus had her body, then it would be suspicious and what he said about helping him locate his friend would be a lie. But since Master Jillion stated that there was no body, then Master Orpheus was... tricked by the person who gave it to him," Mallory said as her eyes locked with Leo's.

Leo was surprised, "How did you know it was given to me?"

"If Master Orpheus made it, then he would have tested it before sharing it to his friends but you didn't. You asked for help. If you found it in a book, then there must be some information about it. But you said that you were told so I concluded that someone gave it to you," Mallory explained.

Everyone was dumbfounded at her explanation. Was Mallory always this smart?

"Then how did Zorek know that it could turn vampires into zombies?" Jillion asked.

Looking at Zorek, Mallory slowly spoke, "Most probably... with his experiments."

"Yes! It worked!" Zorek shouted. But what surprised him was that the supposedly dead man suddenly stood up. "W-Wha—?" Suddenly, Zorek could see a dot in front of him. As the dead man moved towards the other end of the room, the dot moved simultaneously. Indeed, it could help locate people... but only those that you have turned into a zombie!

Zorek knew that what Leo told him was only a part of what he was seeing therefore it took him a while to tell Leo that he had finally succeeded... but Leo's reaction was not what he had expected.

"What? You did it? What happened?" Leo asked. They raced towards the room where Zorek kept the surprise. With a huge smile, Zorek opened the door and exclaimed, "This happened!"

Inside the room, the zombie was just sitting at the corner of the room. Must a few steps aways from him was a pool of blood — who knows what happened. Leo was unable to maintain his composure and was immediately filled with fear. "T-This... What happened? A zombie?"

"That's right! Leo, you're not just going to locate her, right? You're going dominate the whole world!" Zorek said excitedly.

World domination! For someone that Zorek admired, indeed, it will be a piece of cake. Thinking he helped him achieved his dream, Zorek was like a puppy waiting for his owner to praise it.

However, Leo got angry at him, "Are you an idiot?! What world domination? What I want is to find her! Stop this at once! Destroy that! We will not harm the others! If that's the result of the process, then I'm gone! Tsk! That d*mn woman tricked me!"

Harm the others... Zorek laughed as he recalled that day. Looking at Mallory and then Leo, he spoke softly yet with force, "Do you remember what you told me when you left me that day, Leo?"

Leo gulped, "What?"

"You said that we will not harm the others... tell me, during your experiments, have you not harmed others?" Zorek asked. Raising an eyebrow, he continued in a louder voice, "You have harmed hundreds of innocent lives yet you claim to be innocent? You have harmed hundreds of innocent people yet you claim to be the victim and not the murderer? Harm? Ha! Don't make me laugh! You did not harm them but you killed them! You even killed... me, Leo."

Remembering his past, Leo was scared. He kneeled down and held his head, trembling as he mumbled, "You're wrong... I... I didn't purposely do it!"

"Didn't purposely do it? Ha! Not only are you a devil but you're also heartless! You have killed therefore you are on the bad side like me!"

"You're wrong. He's different from you," Mallory interrupted.

Feeling irritated ay Mallory, Zorek gritted his teeth, "How so?"

"He stopped. He changed. The moment he knew the results were different, he stopped. Unlike you, who kept on going," Mallory explained.

It was not that Mallory was alright with what Leo did but if she were asked whom she would she follow, she will pick Leo. Not because she wasn't against his past, but because she was looking at the present.

Glancing at Leo, she continued, "Master Orpheus stopped. He changed his ways. He tried to amend for what he did. While you... stayed stuck in the past."

"You're pretty cheeky for someone who just entered our lives. Don't bite more than you could chew, little girl," Zorek reminded.

"Don't worry, I won't. You see, you shouldn't just underestimate a little girl. Didn't you teach that to little Kai?" Mallory said with a smirk as she felt a presence running towards them.

Just as he asked himself this question, he realized that there was someone missing...

Ah sh*t! Looking around, Zorek tried to locate Kai but he had forgotten one important thing — Kai was never a zombie.

"Young Master, I've retrieved the little girl safely," Brian said as he emerged from nowhere. In his arms was a sleeping Kai. Brian went nearer to his Young Master but received no response. As he observed him from a distance, he knew that he was shocked. But because Brian left for quite some time, he cannot conclude what had happened.

"You purposely did it!" Zorek said as he pointed at the man who was still kneeling on the ground, "You devil! Just because you have someone protecting you doesn't mean that you are forgiven for your sins!"

"You're the only one who cannot move on, Zorek," Jillion said as he cast a barrier around them.

"Ha! Little girl, even if you protect them now, you can never be sure when they'll turn against you!" Zorek said as he noticed that Mallory was the most weakest among them. Despite losing Kai, he still needed Mallory so he thought that if he let her realize that she can never trust Leo fully again, then she will come to his side.

Well, at least that's what he thought. Mallory simply relaxed and said, "Well, even if they'll be against me, I am fine with it."

"Huh? Why?" Zorek was dumbfounded.

"Because... they all saved me. Isn't it my duty to repay them? What you did to Aldo was different... you did not save him, instead you made a robot copy of Aldo," Mallory slowly explained.

"Don't forget, little girl. Leo is the reason why I learned how to create zombies. Aldo was the one who introduced the girl to us. Jillion was the one who helped Leo wash his slate clean. Without them, the truth would be exposed. Without them, none of these would have happened. They are, especially Leo, nothing but murderers," Zorek recalled.

"Sorry, Zorek, but their past got nothing to do with me. I'm not living in the past. I'm currently in the present. I will only judge them now. At least I know that they've change. Besides these people you call murderers... are my heroes," Mallory said as she signaled the boys to get ready with their next phase.

Their past got nothing to do with me...

Currently living in the present...

They are my heroes!

Her words hit Leo hard. He could still remember the faces Aldo and Jillion gave when they learned the truth. He could still remember the days when they did not mind him. He could still remember the curses of those he killed... yet there was actually someone who was willing to put his past behind and look at him at the state he was in right now. Someone was actually calling him a hero when he, himself, knew that he was a murderer. It was as if the chain was starting to break. It was as if the first lock was opened and it gave him hope in the middle of nowhere.

When Leo lifted his head, all he felt was a powerful aura radiating from Zorek. "Don't mess with me, little girl! I gave you a chance and you wasted it. Now, you will perish with them!"