Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires

'Easy!' Zaroth thought as he solved the questions one by one. While he was sure he was going to make a mistake or two, he was confident that he would pass with flying colors.

After completing the test, he asked his friends for their opinions, and it seemed that everybody thought they had done well, so they would pass as well.

'Well, now that this is done, I can't wait to brag to Midnight that I have managed to learn Darkgaze!' he thought.

After all lectures were over, he headed to where he and Midnight usually held their training.

Entering the recovery room meant for sparring, he didn't bother to turn on the light as he sat in the middle of the room and waited.

Not long after, the doors opened, and a stunning woman with crimson eyes and hair entered the room. Seeing that the room was pitch black, she muttred.

"I guess… he is late to—" but she stopped mid-sentence as she noticed that Zaroth was sitting in the room, waiting for her with a smile.

"... Why are you waiting in the darkness?" she asked.

"Darkness? Oh, it just doesn't bother me that much anymore…"

She raised an eyebrow at his words, and a moment later, she realized what he was telling her.

"Are you trying to say that you have learned Darkgaze?" she asked.

Zaroth smiled even more widely. "Yes! I did. Isn't it surprising?"

She scoffed as she crossed her arms. "Not really. We have been sparring for a week in the darkness now. On the contrary, I would have been worried if you hadn't shown signs of learning at least one of the two skills."

"Oh, come on! Give me some more credit, at least!" he complained as he got up.

Midnight sighed. "I will when you learn both of the skills."

Not waiting for a second more, she was already upon him with her fingers raised to his neck.

He was startled for a second but didn't move.

Her nails made several large wounds on his body, yet the man was smiling.

If he had managed to learn one skill, then he would surely learn the second.

*****

The hour they had for training was close to ending. Zaroth was bleeding profusely, yet he refused to give up.

He wanted to use Darkveil today. One skill wasn't enough for him, he was greedy and wanted it all. Discover exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire

For the thousandth time today, Midnight was about to attack him, making a large wound on his body.

But before her nails could reach him, it seemed as if his body trembled. It didn't want to be hurt anymore. It didn't want to feel pain anymore. It was going to use everything it could to defend itself.

The darkness in the room trembled.

And a part of it moved, wrapping around Zaroth's body at the spot where Midnight was about to attack.

Her sharp nails collided with the darkness around his body and created a screeching sound like metal scraping across metal.

Both Zaroth and Midnight froze as they stared at each other's eyes.

A second later, he muttered, "I… did it?"

The doors opened, and Sylvia—the healer—showed her head through the door.

"Your hour is up," she spoke, and then exited. Originally, Roderic was the one who was supposed to keep an eye on them, as Elysia had instructed, but it seemed that the man had been gone for about a week now, so Sylvia had taken his place for the moment.

Taking a step back, Midnight sighed. "Well, good job. You did it."

Zaroth shifted his gaze around the room. "Have I really?" he muttered and tried to command the darkness to wrap around his body, protecting him.

To his surprise, the darkness obeyed his command. He was able to control the darkness! And not only that, it felt as natural as breathing! Midnight had really been correct.

Taking a moment to calm himself down, he shifted his gaze to her and flashed her a smile.

"Now that I have learned them, will you tell me why you're here in the capital?"

She raised an eyebrow, and a moment later, she began to walk. "Sure, but not here. Follow me."

*****

"Wow," Zaroth muttered in awe.

She had led him to a secluded place with a clear view of the beautiful moon in the sky.@@novelbin@@

"It's not really that interesting, to be honest," she spoke, not shifting her gaze from the moon.

"In my country, there was a problem that arose, and it seemed that everybody, including those who were supposed to be my family, have abandoned me and have the sole goal of killing me."

By the heavy breaths she was taking, it was clear that it wasn't easy for her to remember the past, but she continued nonetheless.

"I was hunted, and you could even say that there has been a price set on my head, so I was left with no choice but to run… but it seemed that the price for my head was so grand that a lot of vampires began to follow me wherever I went. In the end, I concluded that the demon continents were too dangerous for me to remain in. As such, the only option left was to go where demons were hated and hunted, the human continents."

Her voice began to show a hint of anger. "But I didn't want to run. I want revenge… and for that revenge, I need strength, so I came here. There are Purifiers here, and while they exist to hunt demons and vampires like myself, I've found that drinking their blood greatly powers me up and takes me closer to evolution."

Parting his lips, Zaroth finally spoke, "So, basically, you have to hunt people here to evolve, and once you do, you'll go back and get your revenge on those who have wronged you?"

She nodded her head.

His lips curved into a smile. "I… like that."

Midnight's eyes widened as she shifted her gaze to him. "You like that? That I am killing so many innocent humans just to get stronger and get my revenge on my kind?"

Zaroth burst into laughter when he heard her words. "Innocent? The Purifiers are as far from that as you could get!"

After taking a moment to calm down, he added, "Plus, don't you know me already? I don't care what happens to people I don't know personally."

"I… just… you're the first person that I've told my plan to, and… I didn't expect to receive support," she trailed off, lost for words.

Zaroth's eyes widened for a moment as he got an idea. "Hey… say, to get stronger, you just have to drink blood, right? Not kill?"

Midnight took a moment to respond. "Yes, that is correct."

"And if I'm not mistaken, from what you told me, if I began to kill people, then the demonic skills I learn will get stronger, right?"

"Yeah, if the voice you hear in your head before really wants you to kill, then that is certainly the case."

'Then… I can kill a few birds with one stone.' Before he proposed his plan, he messaged Elysia just to make sure. It might have been late into the night, but from what he knew, she rarely slept.

-----

Zaroth: Just a quick question—are Purifiers allies or foes?

Elysia: Foes

Zaroth: Let's say that their number begins to dwindle. Would this benefit you, and would I earn a reward?

Elysia: Possibly.

-----

Zaroth smiled. He now had all the information he needed. Shifting his gaze to Midnight, he spoke.

"Hey, you just have to drink their blood, right? While I just have to kill them. What do you say that I join you in these hunts that you do against the Purifiers?"

Midnight's crimson eyes widened for a moment.

"Join me? You really want to help me?"

She was so shocked that he had offered his help that she didn't even think to question how he knew she had been going out and regularly hunting the Purifiers.

"Yeah, our goals align, so it will benefit us both, wouldn't it? I kill them, you suck their blood. Not to mention, if it's the two of us, we'll be able to kill more rather than if we fight alone."

Midnight glared at him, considering his words.

She had spent so long alone, watching over her shoulder as even her own kind wanted her dead.

And yet, a human was offering his help? When she had been taught that she should be most careful around humans, it turned out that she could rely on one more than on her own kind?

She had been struggling with her emotions for so long, wondering if it was right for her to be with him.

Midnight opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.

Zaroth watched her beautiful face that was illuminated by the moonlight.

Before he realized it, he had placed his hand on her shoulder and went for a kiss.

She didn't stop him as she used both her hands to wrap around him and sat on his lap, both of them in each other's embrace.

In that moment, Midnight had made her choice.

She would trust him. She would trust the human.

She was going to trust Zaroth.