The Fallen Vampire

She was kissing Taira!

And he didn\'t pull away!

To make matters even better the feeling of his lips was every bit as intoxicating as she could have imagined.

It was way better than anything she ever wrote about in her fan fiction!

She couldn\'t imagine this moment becoming any better than this!

Almost cue, Taira\'s hands found their way from her waist down to her large round ass.

\'It just got better!\'

At that moment, Taira became unfocused and broke their kiss as he laughed loudly at her thoughts with all of his heart.

For lack of a better description, Vermeil was briefly stunned by this side of him that she had never seen before.

On his best days, the most he had ever shown her were small smiles or dry chuckles.

But this was true laughter that held no defenses or false appearances.

It was a very mischievous and musical sound that filled her chest with a warm feeling and a fervent desire to hear more.

"I\'ve never heard you laugh like that before… I promise I\'ll keep finding new ways to embarrass myself so can you just keep making that sound for me..?"

Smiling, Taira suddenly reversed their positions in an instant and loomed over Vermeil like a predator.

"I don\'t think I mind that, but what sort of noises are you going to make for me?"

"I-If you keep talking to me like that you\'re going to find out real fucking soon!"

"Hahahaha!!"

Vermeil and Taira\'s conversation ended up waking Lucia and Enyo who were still resting in bed.

"…"

"…"

When they saw their husband almost completely undressed and with his body pressed against hers, they briefly wondered if they were still asleep.

They unanimously rubbed their eyes a few times to ensure that they were indeed seeing the right picture.

"Oh… So I guess you finally won him over, Vermeil?" Lucia asked.

"S-Seems like it…"

"That\'s good then… congratulations." Enyo yawned sleepily before dropping her head back against the pillow and going back to sleep a moment later.

Lucia shook her head before she crawled along the bed to get towards Taira.

"You seem to be feeling alright ... You sure you aren\'t hurting anywhere?"

Taira pulled Lucia in closer and brushed her hair out of her face.

"I\'m fine… There\'s no reason for you to be concerned."

Lucia and Vermeil tilted their heads to the side as they stared at Taira with a noticeable degree of suspicion.

Usually after a near death experience people show some degree of being traumatized, but Taira didn\'t seem to be one of those people.

He was somehow a bit more pleasant and soft spoken than before; making both girls wonder exactly what had happened to their favorite furry earned grouch.

"Taira… Are you sure you\'re alright?"

Vermeil took one of his hands and held it close to her chest; as if she was trying to read his mind with the same accuracy that he read hers.

Placing his hand over her heart, he smiled at her gently while inwardly fumbling around for an answer.

"I am. Don\'t let me worry you too much."

With his assurances that he was fine, the girls showed a small degree of relaxation before pulling him into bed, and the four of them lie down motionlessly as they stared up at the ceiling.

"Guys..?" Vermeil began.

""Hm?""

"I know that we still have our lives and all… but I can\'t help but feel like something has been taken from us.."

"Yea…"

"…"

"Everyone always said I was supposed to be strong and talented since I\'m supposedly a hero, but… in that moment I didn\'t feel strong. I felt like a fraud." She admitted.

Taira looked like he knew exactly what Vermeil was talking about.

Whether it was the talent he had been in possession of since birth or the unique makeup of his body that was supposed to make him peerless across this realm; none of it mattered.

He was utterly helpless against an enemy that went so far beyond his comprehension and could muster no noteworthy defense or attack.

"Power cannot be faked. You either possess it or you don\'t. However for those who do, the line between mediocre and immense power is drawn with the blood of those who disregarded the absolute gap."

Taira and Lucia both sat up and looked at Vermeil strangely; as if they were not expecting for her to say something so well thought out.

"Where... did you hear something like that?"

"No offense, but there is no way you pulled that out of your stupid vampire books."

A vein bulged in Vermeil\'s head and she punched the two of them in the stomach. "I-It comes from my favorite webtoon, you bastards! B-But that doesn\'t mean I couldn\'t have came up with it!"

""Yes it does.""

"What\'s a webtoon...?" Enyo asked sleepily.

"I hate all of you so much!"

*Rumble*

As Vermeil threw a small fit, the entire cavern started to rumble furiously as if it were all about to come crashing down.

"W-What\'s going on?!"

"It doesn\'t matter, everyone outside now!"

At Taira\'s direction, all four of them scrambled to get out of bed before getting dressed and rushing downstairs.

But once they were outside... they realized the cavern wasn\'t coming down at all.

Instead, some sort of light show was taking place with a very naked Aveena at the center.

The oni was engulfed within a column of water that crested far above their home; and even from here they could all sense the abnormal amount of power flowing through her.

She finally started to float down towards Ayame and Keran who were outside watching the entire process, and they hurriedly wrapped her up in a blanket.

"What was that?"

Keran looked over her shoulder and offered everyone a warm smile when she saw that they were up and about.

"Ah... This place has a special ritual that is usually privy only to the owner. Sect members are laid to rest in the waters and their life energy becomes apart of what fuels a great number of the functions of our home.

But bathing in the waters can also heal grievous injuries by imbuing one\'s body with the remnant powers of our fallen. It\'s a very intimate and meaningful process that I wouldn\'t normally subjected any of you too, but I think it suits our Aveena perfectly."

At that moment, the oni with everyone\'s focus on her finally stood up and looked at her hands in disbelief.

"I can feel them... They are in my blood... my flesh... my hair... I-I can feel them all around me..!"

"That shouldn\'t be all." Keran suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder and passed her qi through her.

Immediately, Aveena shivered as the cold but familiar feeling washed through her body.

"I-I can cultivate again! I-I am no longer inept!"

"Yes, you ca- Gah!"

Aveena immediately lifted Keran up and squeezed her tightly as she spun her around. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"..an\'t... breathe...!"

"Thank you so much, Keran! I promise that I\'ll be in your debt for the rest of my life and I won\'t try to steal your husband for the rest of the week!"

While the werewolf princess was gradually becoming bluer and bluer, Ayame suddenly received a small tap on her shoulder.

Turning around, she found Taira and the girls staring at her with a small amount of reverence.

"You saved all of our lives. I am in your debt." he said sincerely.

"Yes, well... Don\'t think anything of it. You have already given me back something as well so as far as I\'m concerned, we\'re even."

Perhaps because she was unused to dealing with mushy sentiments, Ayame quickly tried to run away from this conversation while waiving the group goodbye.

"You\'re all up and moving now so Keran shouldn\'t need me to keep her company any more. I\'ll visit in a few weeks if I feel like it."

Turning purple in Aveena\'s grasp, Keran held out her hand to stop her mother before she could walk by.

"...other... a..ve me..!"

"Hm? Right, right, I\'ll see you soon sweetheart." Ayame ruffled Keran\'s hair like she was a little boy before continuing her exit.

While Enyo and Lucia worked to free their sister from an untimely death by snuggle, Taira and Vermeil seemingly had the same idea at once and rushed to stop Ayame before she could leave.

"Wait."

The werewolf queen looked over her shoulder a the two followers and it was easy to tell that she was already exhausted.

"What do you want? If you\'re going to propose then do it without the entourage and somewhere more-"

"You are very lucky I am not capable of harming you yet." Taira said exhaustedly.

Vermeil gave him a small nudge to keep him silent before she bowed in front of Ayame respectfully.

"That technique that you used to kill Dunan... Can you please teach it to us?"