Chapter 31: The Blood Curse

"You have such captivating gray eyes, and that eyeliner looks absolutely stunning on you!" She complimented me, gently turning me toward the mirror.

I was dressed in a vibrant yellow tank top, paired with a stylish jeans jacket and white pants. With my high heels, I felt like a completely different person from my past self.

As we were halfway through our conversation, we spotted you with your skateboard.

That was the day we first encountered you, and Christine whispered to me, "This is the girl!"

Befriending you became our first mission. I had always been used by people I met in the past, which is why I made a promise to myself to never get too close to anyone, no matter what.

But things changed, and I started to develop a deep affection for you. I considered you as my own sister.

Because you were kind to me, no one has ever been that kind to me before.

And about the dark lord, I thought that he wanted to love and protect you. I couldn't imagine in my darkest dreams, that his intentions were far more sinister - he planned to harm you.

Consider this, why would someone like me, who has experienced physical assault by seven men, ever think of inflicting such pain on another girl?" She looked at me, tears welling up in her eyes.

"It was Christine who cast that spell to make you numb, but I managed to distract her so that Vincent could rescue you from that situation!" She lowered her gaze, filled with guilt.

"Hate me if you must, for I deserve it. This isn't the only terrible thing I've done since then. Let's talk about the day we first met you in class, for example.

That day was the brightest day of my life. I never experienced such attention before, all eyes were on me, and when Vincent laid eyes on me, he was surprised.

Not because of my appearance, but because I was the girl he buried by himself and now I was standing in front of him.

I could have told everyone about what he did to me, but I thought I hated him, and this thought led me to see him suffer.

In the evening, as I had waited, he arrived at my home. Aware that conversing inside my house was not an option, I guided him to the park.

I exploded on him, shouting and shedding tears as I expressed how he betrayed me that night.

However, he surprised me by doing something unexpected. He embraced me, leaving me in a state of numbness. He cried and pleaded for my forgiveness, but I ask you, Everly, was his apology enough for what he did to me?

Pretending to forgive him, I was about to leave when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me.

He thought that physical intimacy would make up for what he did, which only fueled my anger.

I convinced myself that this was all the more reason to take revenge, and so I led him to the chapel.

As we engaged in a passionate kiss, I forcefully pushed him toward the altar and wiped my mouth.

He gazed at me, but as he began to feel weak and numb, Christine entered the scene.

"What are you doing?" he smiled, but soon realized that I had transformed not only on the outside but also from the inside.

"Do you think sharing intimacy with me will make all that suffering go away?" I cried, gripping Christine's hand tightly.

Together, we began reciting an incantation in a blend of three ancient languages. At that moment, women cloaked in shadowy veils emerged through the chapel door.

They were completely shrouded in black fabric, with only their necks visible through the veils.

A swirl of smoke covered their feet, an addition to the horror.

The was a stone altar that time in the place of the one you saw that evening, and this altar had ancient runes engraved on it.

Surrounding this altar were black candles emitting an unsettling glow that could cause one's heart to fill with sorrow just by gazing at them.

Scattered around each candle were animal bones and bowls filled with poisonous herbs.

As we chanted the incantation, a sharp pain shot through his head and body, causing him to collapse to his knees, clutching his head and screaming in agony.

Helpless in the hands of his suffering, he ascended the altar and laid upon it.

Following the completion of the incantation, Christine and I positioned ourselves back to back behind the altar.

With our hands raised in the wind, we recited another spell, and as we lowered our hands, we found ourselves holding a pigeon.

To complete the ritual, we had to end the lives of the pigeons by snapping their necks and tearing them apart.

Once we successfully tore them apart, we approached each other, forming a circle of pigeon blood around Vincent.

Reciting yet another incantation, we now held bats in our hands and collected the bones of a python.

Slitting the throats of the bats, we poured their blood into a chalice that rested on the ground before the altar.

This chalice, an ancient relic, was nearly as large as a modern-day champion's trophy.

With our preparations complete, we made our way to the center of the chapel, where the benches were located.

If you've ever noticed, there is a circular ventilation point on the ceiling.

Summoning the blessing of the original vampires, we asked for their blood, which rained down into the chalice.

We forced Vincent to drink this blood, leaving him with no choice but to obey.

Using sturdy chains, we bound him tightly to the altar. The veiled women, gripping bars with runes at their tips, recited a spell that caused the runes to ignite like molten lava.

They forcefully pressed the scorching metal bars into his flesh, targeting various areas, and causing unbearable pain upon him.

He cried out with helplessness, his screams piercing the air.

Witnessing his torment, my heart filled with pain and empathy.

However, just as I moved forward to reach him, Christine firmly grasped my wrist, stopping me, saying "It's no use now!".