Vampire Nightlife

"So, here's something that I think—maybe it's possible to find a way out of the forest, but I don't think it's a good idea to try to head back to Nyx on foot." Lukas said.

As much as he wanted to say the truth, admit it, somehow he just couldn't say it. It would mean that they'd know that it was his fault and the possible repercussions of others knowing his abilities over the possibility of being killed by Rhea was far weightier.

"Or not. We'd be dead already if that was the case." Lukas muttered.

"Sorry? Dead?" Anthony frowned.

"All four of us can lift the van together if we try." Matthew said.

"Based on how you dealt with the spiders from earlier, I wouldn't even be surprised if you could lift it up by yourself." Philip said. "But yeah, if that thing isn't there anymore, stalking around the van—that's a good plan isn't it?"

"Do you think that there's someone in the Nyx city that can take care of a threat like that?" Lukas asked. "That… that thing seems like someone who needs a powerful ability to take care of it. Is there something like relics in Nyx?"

Lukas didn't know what he was saying anymore, there had been relics in Blood Work. But why was he saying all of these now?

"Of course there are." Anthony finally let out a smile and something like relief washed over his face. "Actually, now that I think of it, if we manage to get to Nyx, then we can ask for the help of the Aurelius House or the Durand House. I'm not sure if Carmilla House has any weapons, or if Argenti House is willing to use theirs—but they have weapons from ages ago that are still in their hands."

"Right. We just need to get there, and we're more than enough witnesses." Philip said, hope surging within him. "Crossbows won't work, but something like the Blazing Sword of Aurelius or Black Hammer of Durand can definitely vanquish that thing without a problem."

"Then that sounds like a plan that we'll have to do." Matthew nodded firmly. "We all need to get back to Nyx. Let's go for it."

Lukas wanted to say that he was relieved as the others—or that he also had a freaking relic in his hand that belonged to the Sanguise House, but he couldn't.

'Hey, they all sound confident that those relics would work… and they should right? So shouldn't this Sanguise House dagger also be capable of doing something like that?' Lukas asked silently.

"… Perhaps. Surely, someone who created this to contain me for all of these times should be capable of slicing through creatures like ghosts and even a Dream Eater, but I was under the assumption that you would like to save her, or at least be able to control her for your benefit. Killing her off wouldn't do that." Drusilla said.

Lukas pressed his lips together and took a deep breath.

Saving Rhea.

'Do I feel responsible for what happened to her—I mean, I am. I am. She killed those two Vampires… but I don't think she would have wanted to do that. But is there really something in her still? Her energy was familiar and yet she didn't acknowledge me when I get there—'

"Hey, Lukas. I know that you're worried and scared, we all are." Matthew reached out and grabbed his shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze.

"You are?" Anthony asked, surprised.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be terrified too?" Matthew said with a frown, and then shaking his head. "Just because I'm holding myself down doesn't mean that I'm not afraid like you guys are. We just have to keep it together or else we'll all just die out there like the others."

"Thank you for reminding us of that." Philip looked uncertainly in their surroundings.

"But what I mean to say is that, just because we're scared doesn't mean that we'll let this defeat us. I wish we could have done something for the others, but right here, right now—this is what we can do. Get back to Nyx and find help. So how does that sound?" Matthew asked.

"That sounds… great." Lukas' shoulders sagged a little, but he forced a smile. "Let's go with that."

"Alright, then we should head back." Matthew said, taking a deep breath and tried for a smile. "It's probably gone by now, it should be."

"That's not the most relieving thing to hear." Philip said.

"It's not like it's any better staying here and waiting for it to find us." Anthony said.

Lukas took a deep breath and concentrated.

He tried to imagine the thread of connection between him and Rhea, and it was still there—changed in a way that the thread seemed like it was made of a material that was different before, but still there.

'Don't… tug on it.' Lukas thought to himself, but then allowed himself to breathe and got a general direction of where Rhea was.

"Yeah, I think we're safe. Let's head back." Lukas agreed.

Surprisingly or not, retracing back their steps was actually an easy thing. They had more or less ran at a straight direction, even with the twists and turns of the woods.

Lukas and the others didn't encounter anything on their way back either, almost as if everything in the forest had fled and was choosing to hide.

Soon enough, they came back to the Dark Forest's entrance and it looking the same as they left it. The corpse of the two Vampires were there, but the three other Vampires did their best to move past it.

'…I'm the one who's responsible for their deaths.' Lukas thought. He couldn't pull his gaze away from the bodies.

"People died during that time in the Veiled Forest too. Are you responsible for their deaths as well?" Drusilla asked.

'That's… that's different. I had nothing to do with that, I was just there when the fight happened. But this? I could have prevented this.'

"Lukas, we don't have time to look at that."