The Fallen Vampire

Of course, the ship the group was sailing on was another of Velreth's artifacts from the vault.

It was one of the hundreds of thousands of fleet ships that he used to have under his command back in the upper realm.

Their destination was a remote island on the complete other side of the world. If they sailed or flew, they would have had to have left at least a week and a half ago to make it to their destination on time.

But with this handy little contraption, the cult would reach their destination in two nights.

Taira didn't even have to steer.

Because this was a warship, it had quite a few amenities and features that were as dangerous as they were fun.

…But unfortunately most of those needed a precious material to charge that was not native to the lower realm.

So for now, the most fanciful thing that this hunk of wood could do was turn invisible to those below, and was virtually indestructible to any power in the lower realm. freewebnσvel.cѳm

On board the ship were over 100 different rooms, a cafe, and a few other special places that were being curiously explored by the cult.

However, the Dai-Shi had gone straight to their room not long after arriving.

This was a vacation for them too, mind you.

And what vacation is complete without that sweet, sweet, S word…

Sleep!

Running a cult could be tiresome work!

Taira and Aveena didn't yet feel that they had raised up Vaal and Shakti enough to carry on instruction in their place, so they were still getting up five days a week and helping the cult train, in addition to giving their two direct subordinates their own very special lessons.

So really, it wasn't much of a surprise that the pair of cult leaders stripped off their clothes and crawled into bed as quickly as they could.

Enyo didn't miss her chance to sleep either and peeled off her dress right behind them.

She was followed by Lucia, then Vermeil, and even Keran.

Inadu was the last to get into bed and the one who had the hardest time falling asleep.

Her mind was currently a jumble with other thoughts that were a bit less appropriate for general audiences than sleeping.

It had been several hours now, and Ina alone remained awake and flustered.

She felt her face get hotter hotter as the seconds slipped by and she dragged her gaze over everyone's faces.

They were all so

attractive.

Just looking at their uncovered bodies and seductive, alluring faces was like breathing in an aphrodisiac.

The space between her legs became damp, and she resisted the urge to slip her own hand underneath the covers.

She had to get out of here now, or risk the loss of her sanity.

Inadu shrank into her spider form so that she could get out of bed without waking anyone.

Keran, who she slept next to, seemed to stir when she no longer felt her warmth.

However, Yukiko used that moment to slip into the fox-girl's embrace and Keran fell back into a state of slumber.

Now that she was free, Inadu quietly tip-toed around the room looking for clothing.

She eventually settled on stealing her husband's robe out of the closet and using it as a simple covering for her body.

Finally, as the last part of her daring escape plan, she opened the door to their cabin and stepped outside for a little fresh air.

-

Taira and Aveena's room was the only one that had a sort of balcony to it that was inaccessible to others.

It provided a nice view of the main deck below, in addition to the cloudy night sky they were still sailing through.

Ina leaned over the railing and let out a sigh.

{Who is this?}

"Eep!"

Ina almost flung herself overboard when she suddenly heard something talk from within one of Taira's pockets.

She fished out the golden medallion sitting within his clothes and gave it a series of small inquisitive pokes.

"M-Master Velreth..?"

{Oh, it's you, little one. How many times must this immortal one tell you that knocking is unnecessary?}

"I-It just seems kind of rude not to though…"

*Sigh.*

A wisp of smoke left the old piece of metal.

Velreth emerged in all of his ancient and wise glory; giving Inadu a small sense of awe.

Out of the entire Amarok family, Inadu was the old Immortal's favorite.

She was the only one who referred to him as 'Master' other than Aveena, and she also spent a lot of time listening to the stories of the olden days while he was in the upper realm.

He also referred to her as 'Little One' because she was the youngest member of the group- being only 38 years old.

"Is there a reason why you're out here sulking instead of inside?" Velreth asked openly.

Inadu smiled sheepishly and twirled her thumbs. "W-What? I'm not even-"

"Little One, I have raised three children over the course of my long life. None of you are very good liars at all."

Ina kind of deflated at the revelation that she was a bad liar.

Her gaze became locked onto the floor and she absentmindedly twirled her fingers through her braids.

"It's… about my family, I suppose. I'm having improper thoughts about them." She quietly admitted.

"Improper…?" Velreth didn't understand.

"S-S-S-Sexual." Inadu's cheeks darkened.

Velreth blinked several times.

"…You married two fox spirits and a dragon. I'm pretty sure that sexual thoughts are par for the course with them."

Inadu shook her head as she leaned over the balcony railing.

"Mine are not… pure. Sometimes when I think of lying with them, I become so desperate for them to overwrite every hand that has ever touched me with their own…

I want to use them like a drug to help me forget… that's not love. I don't want to use our intimacy for something like that."

Velreth wasn't expecting the focus of the discussion to be so…

heavy

.

Living in the upper realm, he had seen more situations like Ina's than he cared to admit.

She had actually ended up with a rather good outcome.

Not only was she no longer a captive, but she had married a good man and found a loving family instead of dying in obscurity underneath the body of a cruel noble.

… So Velreth honestly didn't know what he was supposed to tell her.

On paper, she already had everything that she could ever want, and a life that many would die for.

But how was she ever supposed to work past these last few kinks that she hadn't quite ironed out yet?

"…Have you tried picking up a hobby?" Velreth sputtered.

"Eh? A hobby?"

"Y-Yes. Something uniquely immersive that you can put all of your darker emotions into and let them out. Something to really liberate your mind."

Inadu wracked her brain for a bit, but she really didn't have anything like that.

She liked sewing, but that was closer to being a kind of work than it was a hobby.

Velreth was pushing her to find something that was closer to Taira's love of painting.

"Do you like music..?" The ice god suddenly asked.

Inadu tilted her head. "Music?"

Velreth held out his hands and strained his power to their limits.

Ina covered her eyes when a flash of light was emitted from his body.

When she looked back up, a floating instrument was dancing above his outstretched fingertips.

It resembled a smooth wooden plank approximately 5 feet tall that was painted over with a black glossy finish, and faint gold etchings.

Seven long strings made from a material thousands of times finer than her silk were tied down the front.

"A guqin..?" Inadu asked.

"Indeed. I think this might be the perfect thing to help you with your troubles. Music is a cathartic experience for most any who try their hand at it."

He passed the floating piece of wood towards Ina and she ran her fingers along the material.

Even before she touched it she knew it was the most priceless thing that she had ever seen in her life.

And that wasn't all…

"This is a soul-weapon..!" Inadu realized.

Velreth nodded sadly.

"This is Tián Huā. It belonged to the only woman I ever loved… and that brat's ancestor; Bao Si."

If Inadu didn't feel like she was holding a priceless treasure before, she certainly did now.

Ever so gently, she lifted the instrument up as if she were trying to get Velreth to take it back.

"I'm sorry… but I can't except such a gift from you. It would be wasted on me since I have resigned myself not to-"

"I know about your wish not to take any more lives, Inadu. But you should still have a method to protect yourself at all times. This will help you keep yourself safe and ensure that you do not have to harm others."

Velreth pushed the instrument back into Inadu's arms.

"Besides… music is meant to be played and shared. Such a fine instrument as this one shouldn't be collecting dust in the soul of this old immortal."

Tián Huā flashed with a violet light before entering Inadu's body.

A small little gem showed up just on the small of her back right above her butt.

Finally, Velreth touched the young girl on the forehead and transferred to her mind the full manual for the Illusory Eclipse Sound Art.

"It seems I have a new disciple now… I like you better than the other one."