Vampire's Slice of Life

Vines cascaded down towering marble pillars. Frost flowers bloomed everywhere, showcasing the magnificence of winter.

In this ethereal wall that radiated with white and blue, the androgynous Frost Devil stood like an erect spear in front a five foot two inches tall Human with short brown hair, his gaze neutral.

Miwa, looking at the devil, blinked and stared at it in confusion.

The Devil did the same and stared back at Miwa.

An awkward silence befell with neither of the parties speaking. They simply stared at each other.

After a long silence, it was Miwa who broke the ice, asking, "So… you are my Master now?"

The beautifully handsome Frost Devil nodded its head lightly.

"You were the one who put me in an illusion?" Miwa took a step forward and fiercely stared at the Devil, unafraid of the consequences.

The Frost Devil nodded its head again and didn't speak, what was going in its mind was something only it knew.

Miwa's eyes moistened. She took another step forward and held the Devil's collar. "Why… Why did you…"

Miwa's throat felt heavy, a drop of tear threatened to leak out, and her breathing turned into short gasps as she struggled to contain her emotions.

The Frost Devil maintained an expressionless gaze, unlike its previous self that talked with Lith in the cave.

"…why did you play with me like this?" Miwa clutched the collar tightly. "What did you gain?"

The confines of her eyes could not contain the tears any longer. "Why… Why… Why did you do it!?!"

Miwa aggressively shook the devil, and her sobs reverberated throughout the frost hall. She kept asking why and did not loosen her hold even slightly.

The frustration, anger, and sorrow she had previously bottled up erupted at once like a volcano.

Miwa had tried her best. She thought the feelings had been washed away after Lith comforted her, but no, such wasn't the case. The emotions were still there, just highly suppressed.

No one could relate with the loss Miwa suffered. From losing her parents to having hope rekindle to save them again, and then being told it was all just a dream…

It was too cruel.

Miwa's sobs turned into wails. Her hands clutched into fists, and she furiously punched the Devil.

The eyes, the nose, the jaw, the chest… She did not see where she was hitting or wondered what the aftermath would be for her actions.

Whether it was a powerful Devil or almighty God himself, it mattered not. Miwa was angry and agonized. Her emotions took over her rationality and after a point, she did not know what she was doing. She kept punching, kicking, sobbing, and was zoned out.

The Frost Devil was still calm. It took all the hits from Miwa, but there was not a single scratch on its body.

After what felt like a long, long time, Miwa's hits slowed down. She felt weak and powerless, a stark contrast to the Devil that stood expressionlessly in front of her.

At this point, as her motions slowed down, the Devil finally showed some movement.

It extended its hand out and gently brought Miwa in its embrace, hugging her softly.

Miwa continued sobbing on the Devil's chest as the Devil gently patted her back, a gesture completely unexpected from a being associated with evil.

A while later, when Miwa's sobbing ceased, and she felt herself fall into slumber, the Frost Devil's lips parted, and it said,

"A Devil shows no mercy. Beings born from malice know nothing but evil. Don't blame me for being cruel, young lady. Like how it's natural for you to breathe, the same is performing cruelty for us."

The Devil's whisper fell in Miwa's ears, but she was half asleep already, tired from the outpouring of her heart.

The Devil did not care and continued, "I am your Master now. I bear your responsibility, and for being my disciple, I'm showing you my true nature."

The expressionless and serious face the Frost Devil was showing now was partly its true nature. None but Miwa possessed such a privilege in this universe.

The Frost Devil's eyelids drooped as it lowered its gaze on the almost asleep Miwa.

"What I did and what you suffered from, I have no regrets about it. I am not apologizing, neither am I asking you to forgive me. As your Master, I'll train you, and make you powerful. By the end, if you have the strength, feel free to execute me."

Miwa was asleep by the time the Devil finished its words. Its comment fell on deaf ears, but it wasn't bothered by this.

The Devil snapped its fingers and a bed as well as a chair appeared before it.

Miwa was put to rest on the soft bed and the Devil sat on the chair, gazing at her.

The Devil with an unknown gender crossed its legs and pondered out loud, "It's my first time taking in a disciple. As a Devil, am I supposed to continue being cruel to her like everyone else? Or am I supposed to show kindness?"

"Kindness… hm… Devils don't show kindness to anybody…"

The Frost Devil rubbed its chin and stared at Miwa's sleeping figure.

"Oh well, it doesn't matter. Since others don't show it doesn't mean we are restricted from doing it. Being a Devil means gaining freedom to whatever we want to do. In that case, I'll make my only disciple an exception and show some kindness, I suppose."

The Frost Devil had never been in such peril before where it had to think of things so deeply.

With an expressionless gaze, it continued, "Very well. I'll begin with teaching you ways with which you can kill me. That should be a good starter for you. This way you won't develop a heart demon and also calm those raging flames in you."

Saying so, the Devil took out a quill and a parchment. It began writing down the things it would teach Miwa and the things she had to do.

A while later, Miwa's eyes fluttered and she slowly woke up.

Her hazy vision soon cleared up and the first thing she felt after waking up was…

"Phuuu… So cold…" Miwa rubbed her arms and shivered, her sleep finally vanishing and her vision becoming clear.

"I hope you had a good sleep, young lady." A gentle voice rang in Miwa's ears, startling her.

Miwa yelped and fell back on the bedrest, then saw the Frost Devil's blue-haired face.

"You…" Miwa knitted her brows. Sparks of anger were starting to ignite, but they extinguished eventually and Miwa did not get angry.

"If you're awake, shall we begin our lesson? In case you don't remember, I'm your Master now, young lady," said the Devil with a poker face.

"Why would I—"

"I'll teach you ways to assassinate me. You can even use artifacts from my treasury. How about it?" The Devil's seductive whispers rang in her ears.

"Huh?" Miwa rubbed her eyes, wondering if her ears were playing a trick on her. "What?"

The Frost Devil titled its head. "Is there some problem?"

"You said you're going to teach me… me…" Miwa pointed at herself. Then at the Devil, and continued, "you… kill you…"

"Indeed. Is this not what you want to learn?" The Frost Devil asked, curious.

Miwa rubbed her temples and felt a headache coming. Just what was happening?

A few breaths later, she sighed and said, "Right. You are the one who played with me, and then you became my Master, and now you want to teach me how to kill you?"

The Frost Devil nodded. "I believe this is something you would want to learn, since you resent me."

"Yeah. I loathe you. Hate you from every inch of my being. However, if you can get me my parents back, I'll stop doing that." Miwa said, unfazed.

At the end of the day, Miwa was not an ordinary girl. After the venting, her mind was back to normal and she was thinking rationally, thus negotiating with a Devil was nothing out of the blue, but something normal for her.

The corner of the Devil's lips curled up. "Interesting. You appear nothing like the girl a while ago."

Miwa didn't comment on it and continued to stare at the blue-

haired man/woman devil.

The Devil leaned back on the chair. "If this is my disciple's request, as your Master, it's my duty to fulfil it. Though, I shall make no promises. And… You must have strength equal to a Basegod first."

"Huh?" Miwa was dumbfounded and rubbed her ears. "Come again?"

The Devil merely flashed a faint smile and said, "The days to come are sure going to be interesting, hehe…"