Chapter 12: A Reason to Live

"Happy birthday to you... Happy birthday to you... Happy birthday to you..."

As I descended from the high building, a cheerful song suddenly drifted into my ears. I paused and turned, only then realizing I was standing outside a restaurant. Through the transparent floor-to-ceiling windows, I saw a plump girl surrounded by a group of people. Her round face was covered in smiles; she looked so happy.

My tight lips curled into a smile, and I instinctively took a step forward, my fingertips touching the cold glass. After staring blankly for a while, I turned and walked away.

Rounding a corner, a familiar scent flooded the air—the scent of blood! I moved forward instinctively, but then recoiled sharply.

In a dim corner, a black wing twitched. What was that?

The light before me dimmed as a tall man stepped out from around the corner.

"I am not human," I said, quickly stating my identity as he approached, lest he take me for prey. But what was he? How did he have black wings?

"A vampire of the Camarilla?" The man narrowed his eyes dangerously, never breaking his stride.

As he drew closer, the silver moonlight spilled across his face. Fresh, crimson blood still clung to the corners of his mouth.

"Are you... also a vampire?" I couldn't see his face clearly because he wore a white mask.

The night wind tossed his slightly wavy, wine-red hair. He was shrouded in an aura of pure, wicked charm.

I noticed several twisted corpses piled in the corner and couldn't help but take a step back. I turned to run; this masked man radiated danger. In the next second, a gust of wind swept past, and before I could even cry out, I was engulfed in darkness.

Struggling, I scrambled backward on all fours until my back hit the wall. I watched him warily. "What on earth are you?"

"I have been considering that question for four hundred years," he replied slowly, appearing to give it genuine thought. "I suppose... a vampire."

"You suppose?" I was dumbfounded.

"Mhm. Many people have told me as much."

Feeling his gaze upon me like a predator assessing prey, I managed a strained grimace that looked worse than crying. "That’s great... since we’re both vampires... we’re from the same root, why be in such a hurry to consume one another..."

"The taste of a vampire... isn't bad either." He had somehow drawn close to my ear, his voice a soft murmur.

My body went rigid. No way!

"You, you... you degenerate... you pervert..." I stammered incoherently, not knowing what I was saying.

He blinked, then suddenly burst into loud laughter, as if he had discovered an amusing toy.

"You don't like your identity?" He crouched down, catching my chin in one hand to look me in the eye.

I froze, wanting to pull away, but I couldn't move.

"What should we do?" he asked softly, his voice so tender it was hair-raising. "Since you loathe yourself so much, how painful must this long, never-ending life be for you as a vampire... You will see your former kind as food; you will watch your friends and family grow old and die one by one... until only you are left, struggling alone in this strange world... how painful that must be..."

"I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I have no friends and no family," I snarled through gritted teeth.

He seemed slightly surprised, then laughed again. "What a pitiful girl. Perhaps... I should be the one to end your life... that way, you’ll be free."

"You perverted psychopath! Where did you get the idea that I want to die? What makes you think I hate myself!"

"Because... you called yourself a 'vampire.' A true member of the Blood Kind would never use such a loathsome term to describe themselves."

I stiffened.

"So... let me help you find peace..." He lowered his head, slowly opening his mouth.

I instinctively closed my eyes.

So... I really did dislike myself that much...

Ten years ago, with no memories at all, I had mysteriously appeared in a trash heap. My arrival had brought death to others... Before she died, old Mrs. Wang from the East Gate said, "A demon has come to the world"...

And then, I truly did become a demon—a blood-drinking demon.

No friends, no family.

Unexpectedly, a face as gentle as an angel's appeared in my mind. I snapped my eyes open. No! I can't die! I have Gareth! I have been waiting for him to come back; it is because of this belief that I have worked so hard to live until now!

I can't just give up! I have to find the vampire who bit me, I have to find a way to become human again, I have to... see that gentle, angelic man from my memories again!

He is my entire faith...

I have a reason to keep living!

"I do not want to die," I said, staring at him and emphasizing every word.

The masked man paused, then chuckled and leaned down to bite.

"I want to live... I have to work hard to stay alive so I can see him again..." A sharp pain shot through my neck. I hated him so much my teeth ached, yet I remained paralyzed.

The man stopped and stared at me coldly.

I glared back at him. "What right do you have to decide my life and death! If you love death so much, why don't you go die yourself!"

"I cannot die. No matter how much pain I am in, I must work hard to live on. Only by living can I see him again." He slowly stroked my face and spoke softly, saying the exact same words I had.

Suddenly, he spread his black wings and flew straight into the night sky. I could only stare up blankly as he vanished before my eyes.

"We will meet again." He suddenly turned back and gave me a faint smile.

I was stunned.

Framed by the clear, bright moon, his face looked both cold and wicked. Though they were contradictory terms, they suited him perfectly.

"Rory, are you alright?" Alastor’s voice suddenly rang in my ear.

I snapped out of it to find Alastor standing before me, looking at me.

Had that fellow left in a hurry because he sensed Alastor’s arrival?

"Did you see him?" Alastor looked toward the night sky with rare solemnity, in the direction the masked man had gone.

"How did you get here?"

"I was tracking the Sabbat Covenant’s Inquisitor-General, Sol." Alastor looked at me.

"You mean that guy just now..."

Alastor nodded.

What? That pervert was actually the Inquisitor-General of the Sabbat Covenant?

Was he... the one Malachi was waiting for?

"Argh!" Alastor suddenly let out an agonizing, blood-curdling scream.

"What’s wrong?" I looked at him in alarm.

"That... that bastard actually had the nerve to hurt my most precious, darling Rory! I’m going to kill him..." Alastor yelled theatrically.

I pressed a hand to my forehead.