My Horny Stepmom Turns Me into Her Vampire Slave-Chapter 36: Levreeshka Dulcar

Shit... shit... shit!

Alexander Azuralis runs desperately through a dense forest on the outskirts of New York.

Only faint moonlight filtering through the trees lights his path.

He stumbles and crashes into tree trunks, but he doesn’t stop. The heavy, threatening footsteps behind him keep getting closer.

Alexander chose not to return to N’Raeth with the rest of his house. Julius, Victoria, and Rudeor searched for him all day and tried to contact him, but once the sun set, they were forced to return to their world.

"If he still hasn’t returned a day after fleeing the Platinum Death, then he’s either dead, or he chose to abandon the house out of shame — after disobeying my order and leaving a companion behind on the battlefield. Either way, continuing the search is pointless."

That was Julius’s conclusion, and Victoria had no choice but to comply.

W-What the fuck are those monsters? I’ve never seen anything like them!

He’s been running from the creatures for almost twenty minutes, but his body is already at its limit. Only sheer desperation — knowing that stopping means death — keeps him on his feet.

But the farther he runs, the thicker the vegetation becomes. The moonlight fades, the path grows darker, and a large root jutting from the ground turns into a deadly trap.

Alexander tumbles to the ground, slamming his face against pebbles and hard soil. Blood gushes from his nose, his mouth, and a deep cut on his forehead.

He spins around, terrified. The creatures are almost on him. They’re so close he can see them even in the dark.

There are four of them, abominable beings with white skin, large claws, and blood-red irises. Primordial vampires.

N-No... I can’t die before avenging my sister... I can’t!

Alexander slams his open hand against the ground.

"Elemental Invocation ● Earth: Stone Wall!" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

A massive wall of rock rises just in time between him and the primordial vampires. They crash into it, cracking the surface, and Alexander uses that moment to get back on his feet and run again.

He runs a few dozen more meters at full speed, slowing with every step, growing more exhausted.

His legs and lungs burn from the effort, and he feels bile rising in his throat.

Then he stops abruptly.

A figure blocks his path. It’s not one of the monsters chasing him.

A woman in her thirties with long pink hair streaked with black. She wears a low-cut black metal corset with a red symbol engraved over her heart. A long red shawl falls from her shoulders, and she wears high black leather boots.

Alexander has never seen her before, but his eyes fill with tears of joy as soon as he sees her scarlet irises shining in the dark and the symbol on her corset. A red bird — the emblem of House Dulcar.

He drops to his knees, gasping for breath as blood and sweat drip from his dirt-smeared face.

"B-Behind me..." Alexander pants, barely able to get the words out. "M-Monsters... behind me... d-do something, I beg you... I d-don’t want to die..."

The woman smirks.

"Monsters behind you? Oh no, how terrible. But what could a young maiden like me possibly do against such creatures?"

"T-That symbol... you belong to House Dulcar, right? A vampire from such a powerful house can surely deal with those creatures..."

"If you know that much, you’re clearly not just a human. Tell me, boy, what’s your name?"

"M-My name... is Alexander, of the mercenary House Azuralis... Your king hired us to kill Princess Mia and recover the Tear of Azkarith... y-you must know us..."

"King Markus has hired so many mercenaries, you can’t expect me to remember them all — they’re all worse than the last."

The vampire looks down at Alexander with clear disgust.

"A whining little boy, scared of mere primordial vampires. I didn’t think my house was so desperate it had to hire someone like you. What a waste of money — now I see why they sent me."

"P-Primordial vampires... so that’s what those monsters are?"

Terror suddenly floods Alexander’s face.

"W-Wait... how do you know those are the ones chasing me?"

At that moment, he hears the stone wall shatter and the creatures’ heavy footsteps start pounding the ground again.

"That’s the second time you’ve called my little ones monsters. I could tear you apart myself, but I’d rather let them do it. They won’t be gentle — but try to understand, they’re very hungry... poor things."

"N-No, please, don’t do it... I beg you!"

The four primordial vampires close in on Alexander. They bare their jaws and raise their claws, ready to tear him apart and devour him.

He drops to his knees at the woman’s feet and bursts into desperate, uncontrollable sobbing.

"L-Listen to me, please! You’re here to kill the princess and recover the pendant, right? I... I can help you! I spent the last four years pretending to be the princess’s stepbrother’s friend... I know things that could be useful to you!"

The primordial vampires leap to attack Alexander, but stop abruptly at a gesture from the woman.

"Princess Mia has a stepbrother...?"

Alexander lets out a long sigh of relief, and a glimmer of hope returns.

"Y-Yes, his name is Chris Valakis, and he’s a vampire too! I know many other things about them — things only I know! P-Please, let me help you! T-The Platinum Death killed my sister, and I don’t want to die before avenging her!"

The woman bursts into loud, amused laughter.

"You think you can kill Isabelle Valakis? Get real, brat. An insect like you would die just from getting too close to the overwhelming energy she emits. Leave that to people who are actually capable."

Alexander’s eyes widen in shock.

"Y-You... can really kill the Platinum Death...?"

"If I couldn’t, King Markus wouldn’t have sent me, don’t you think? But don’t think brute strength is enough — that woman isn’t called the Platinum Death because they ran out of cool nicknames. Still, if you can give me useful information about the Valakis... I might decide not to let my little ones devour you."

"I-I’ll tell you everything I know, I promise!"

Alexander is still kneeling in front of her when she extends a hand to help him up.

"Oh, how rude of me — I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Levreeshka Dulcar."