After a long training session in which Selene beat up Lucien, he now lies on the floor, covered in sweat.
His breathing is heavy, almost shaky, and although all his mortal wounds have been closed thanks to his vampiric regeneration, exhaustion permeates his bones.
He couldn't erase the trace that instinct left in his mind.
His aching heart beat vigorously, as if the beast inside was still trying to claw its way out.
For a moment, he had to clench his teeth to keep from growling, reminding himself that he was still human... well, not anymore.
For a moment, he could only stand there, staring at the dark ceiling, trying to remember how he was supposed to remain "himself" in the midst of all this chaos.
"It seems he has great difficulty keeping his instincts under control." He looks at Selene, especially at her chest, where his eyes wander.
He lets out a long sigh: "It's too difficult to keep my vampiric instincts under control," he said, closing his eyes for a brief moment.
During this brief training session, he lost control several times; the slight balance he had achieved was easily broken.
'And I have to keep this under control for the rest of my life,' he thought, frowning.
Although being a vampire seemed pretty good, the flaw of instinct significantly tipped the balance. Besides, keeping it under control was too exhausting.
Lucien watches Selene, seeing her so calm, as if she were unaffected by it, and asks her, "How are you able to stay so calm? Doesn't that affect you?"
"Of course it affects me." She smiles amusedly: "It took me 100 years of training to be able to control my instincts well."
"A hundred years..." he murmurs incredulously.
"Yes," Selene smiles broadly.
"How old are you?"
"One hundred and twenty-one years old," she puffs out her chest, "I'm still too young."
Lucien opens his arms with a sigh; he has to train for 100 years to control his vampiric instincts.
It was too long.
Then he hears Selene's voice:
"But you are better than I; I should have turned you into a creature of blood a long time ago, but you always controlled yourself."
This, rather than increasing his caution, only made Lucien more cautious, because if he lets his guard down, he will become a creature of blood.
The idea of becoming an irrational creature makes his body tremble violently; his priority now is not to be carried away by that instinct.
He jumps up, using his hands to push himself up. Once standing, he looks at his hand: a ball of blood materializes and, with a thought, changes shape: a square, then a triangle, and finally a rhombus.
This was his power, Hemoquinesis; it seemed that what Selene had said was true: not having been born a vampire, he had awakened only one power, and that was to control blood.
"This is the first time I've seen a vampire awaken the power of blood; there's no record of it either," Selene commented as she watched the blood with interest.
"Hmm..." Lucien looked at his power with interest; it was unique. At least he had something unique after all.
Suddenly, Selene turns her face in one direction and murmurs, "Looks like we have a visitor."
Lucien's expression hardens; his gaze follows Selene, who is already climbing the stairs.
...
At the front door, Selene calmly opens it and, on the other side, sees a man with brown hair, black eyes, and rough features, who looks like a typical American football player, approximately 1.75 meters tall.
He was wearing classic jeans, sneakers, and a team sports shirt.
He was clearly human... or was he?
"Neighbor, I need your help," he said, visibly nervous, looking around desperately.
"Why should I help you?" Selene leans against the doorframe.
"I-It's... I-It's... because..." The man couldn't finish his sentence before he started inflating like a balloon while tears suddenly started streaming down his face...
Pof.
It exploded like a watermelon, splattering the entire entrance with blood and entrails. Selene created an ice umbrella and covered herself with it.
Then she said, "It can't come in like a normal vampire."
"It seems you still don't understand my jokes." From the shadows of a nearby tree, a woman appears, with half-blond, half-black hair, Nordic facial features, and black eyes, with D-cup breasts, approximately 1.70 meters tall.
She wore a headdress that matched her skirt, which fell just below her knees, and an immaculately white apron. It was a French maid's outfit.
"It seems I'm not so crazy that I can't understand your jokes, Mayla," Selene said without the slightest change in her expression.
"I'm not crazy! You have a twisted sense of humor." Mayla moves closer, ignoring all the blood and guts.
Selene rolls her eyes and sighs. "What brings you here?" she asks, gesturing for her to come in.
"I came to tell you something about Lady Arlene," she says, looking around. "This place is as empty as ever."
Then her gaze settles on the man standing there watching her: "So this is the famous 'mistake.'"
Lucien frowns; he doesn't like being called a mistake in the least, but he is curious about what his wife, "Arlene," has to say.
Back in the living room, they each take a seat on the luxurious sofas, and Selene crosses her legs sensually:
"What does she have to say?" she asks, with slight interest.
Mayla straightens up: "Lady Arlene, the cultists, the Inquisition, and the MR9 have been very active in this area and have been hunting vampires." She glances sideways at Lucien and continues: "So I kept a close eye on your 'husband' and was also curious about him, if he wasn't already dead."
"Why would he be dead?" Lucien asks, because of the way the maid Mayla said it, he should already be dead.
She gives him a neutral look: "It seems Lady Selene didn't tell you everything; according to several records, when a human becomes a vampire, they are unable to control their instincts and become a creature of blood."
She gave a brief explanation, adding:
"The fact that I'm here talking is a great achievement in itself. As you've noticed, it's tough to maintain a balance of rationality."
"I see..." Lucien pretended to be calm, but inside he was cursing with all his might, 'Damn it, I'm still underestimating that.' This new information reminded him that he couldn't let his guard down in the slightest.
"So those cultists are more active tonight; we ran into them," Selene said.
"I see, that's what Lady Arlene says," Mayla said as she stood up to leave. She had only come to deliver the message, and that was it, but she turned back: "And was it very close?"
"No, they're on the other side of town, but they were all killed by Lucien," Selene says calmly.
"What's this about cultists? Selene told me that they use the powers of demons by using the Latin language, but it's not as simple as it seems, right?" Lucien asks.
Mayla puts her hand on her chin: "The cultists are an organization... No, they're a satanic sect founded millennia ago; they believe in the Devil, the first demon; they use Latin to borrow from demons..."
She frowns: "But lately they've been very active, as if they'd received some kind of revelation... anyway, they're one of the oldest and most dangerous satanic cults."
Lucien nods, taking mental note; it never hurts to have information and avoid trouble.
"Well, I'm leaving. Do you have a message for Lady Arlene?" Mayla asks, heading for the exit.
"Tell her that her husband is fine and that if she wants to know more about him, she'll have to come and see him herself." Selene smiles gently.
"Isn't sending messages a bit old-fashioned?" Lucien interjects; it was as if he had been transported to another era: "Why don't you just create a group and write to each other there?"
"It's a good idea, but one of them doesn't use a cell phone."
"Who doesn't use a phone these days, when it's practically indispensable?" He was shocked: 'So there are still people like that.'
"Then I'll take my leave," says Mayla, bowing and walking through the wall as if it weren't there.
Lucien stares at Selene, the image of the man exploding still etched in his mind.
"Why didn't you tell me he was going to die?"
Selene doesn't even blink.
"Because you didn't need to know. If I had told you, you would have gotten nervous... and you might have lost control. And a blood creature at the door would have been a much worse problem."
She shrugs as if talking about the weather.
Lucien frowns, his jaw tightening. How on earth could she be so calm? He sighs, tired, defeated, and a little irritated.
"Okay... so now you can tell me more about those organizations that woman mentioned."
Selene nods.
"Sure."