Chapter 39: The Raven’s Infiltration

And so, Nikola and Imeline forged an alliance. Nikola informed Imeline that for any future operations, she could send a letter in advance or notify her via a familiar puppet, and, crucially, to avoid seeking her out directly. Of course, the address Nikola provided Imeline was that of her new residence; she was hardly foolish enough to reveal her residence within the Crimson Family’s grand estate.

Furthermore, Nikola cautioned Imeline against attempting to investigate the Crimson Family’s businesses for the time being. The failure of their recent operation would undoubtedly heighten the Crimson Family’s vigilance, prompting them to reinforce their security measures.

Though Imeline bristled at being admonished by Nikola, who was considerably younger than herself, she had to admit, upon careful reflection, that Nikola’s words held much truth. Their escape had been partly due to Nikola’s timely assistance, and partly to sheer, unadulterated luck.

Next time, they might not be so fortunate.

Nikola’s words, however, were merely a strategic maneuver to decelerate Imeline’s relentless investigation. Moreover, Nikola had no desire for Imeline to be captured by the Crimson Family. Should Imeline truly fall into their clutches, there was no telling what grim fate the Crimson Family might inflict upon her. If anything were to befall Imeline, Lucia, upon learning the truth, might once again redirect her animosity towards Lovelenica.

As long as Imeline refrained from investigating, she would face no risk of capture.

After bidding farewell to Imeline, Nikola did not return to the Crimson Family’s estate, nor to her newly rented small villa. Instead, she made her way back to the entrance of the orphanage.

Nikola harbored a chilling premonition: Theresa might very well forbid her next feeding. The last time, Theresa had delivered the blood bags to the estate the day before, which was how Elena had managed to secretly bring her blood cream cake. But this time, if Theresa decided in advance to prohibit her feeding, she certainly wouldn’t transport the blood bags to the estate, leaving Elena no opportunity to smuggle any to her.

Therefore, Nikola absolutely had to procure blood bags from the orphanage’s blood bank today.

However, the barrier had already been triggered, and the guards would undoubtedly be swarming the basement entrance. The difficulty of Nikola’s intended infiltration had thus escalated dramatically. Whether transforming into a swarm of bats or a crimson mist, she would be far too conspicuous in the eyes of the guards; passage would be impossible. A forceful breakthrough was also out of the question. Even if she could overpower the guards, the Crimson Family would surely investigate and discover her involvement. Then, her new identity as a demon hunter would be exposed, and their control over her would only grow more stringent.

‘How, then, was she to pass through?’

Nikola stood lost in thought at the street corner opposite the orphanage. Alas, she did not possess Imeline’s spatial magic; if only she did, she could gamble on teleporting in from a distance, for she was an immortal being, incapable of dying even if she materialized within a wall or some other strange location. With her current power, her only accessible ability was shapeshifting; beyond that, she merely possessed superior dynamic vision and physical prowess. Relying solely on these abilities, how could she possibly slip past those guards undetected?

‘Wait… why not simply employ the same old trick?’

Nikola recalled the scene from earlier, when she had obstructed Imeline’s investigation, and found a flicker of inspiration. While she couldn’t assume the appearance of other people, the animals she could transform into were numerous.

****

Outside the orphanage, a single raven soared over the high wall, descending once more into the courtyard.

‘Hmm? What was that?’

In the dimly lit corridor, the guards stationed at the stairwell seemed to glimpse a minuscule black shape streaking across the air.

“*Tap-tap*—”

It was a raven. It alighted upon a candelabra, then with a light push, extinguished the flickering flame. From the encroaching darkness, there appeared to be another raven, no, more than one!

From the encroaching darkness, countless crimson eyes flared to life, a dense, oppressive swarm hurtling towards the guards at the stairwell.

“What… what are these things?! Why are there so many ravens!?”

“Are they familiar puppets? Quick! Stop these ravens!”

The guards, momentarily thrown into disarray by the sheer size of the raven swarm, instinctively drew their weapons, blindly slashing at the airborne multitude. Each raven, upon being struck down, dissolved into a wisp of crimson mist, dissipating into the air.

However, as their attention remained fixated on the raven swarm, a single wisp of crimson mist had already slipped through the iron gate. After drifting through another section of the corridor, the crimson mist coalesced into a petite human figure.

Nikola’s small face was utterly drained of color, her steps now feeling dangerously ethereal. The swarm of ravens had represented the absolute zenith of her current power; even one more would have pushed her beyond the brink of exhaustion. Even though her true form had now passed through the iron gate, she could still feel the ravens dying one by one, and her strength continuously ebbing away.

She had to hurry! If she couldn’t find blood bags, she might very well collapse in the basement, and then everything would be lost!

Beyond this point, only the freezing barrier remained, so no alarm would be triggered. Nikola pushed open yet another iron door, and immediately, the sweet, coppery scent of blood assailed her senses. Cabinets held the children’s records, while iron shelves displayed rows of blood bags. The bags were meticulously categorized, each labeled with blood type, collection date, and even a note on its unique ‘flavor profile’.

Nikola had no time to pore over labels. She snatched a blood bag, tore open its seal with her fangs, and ravenously drank the deep crimson liquid within.

“*Gulp, gulp*—”

Splashes of the rich, crimson blood stained Nikola’s skirt, adding a macabre splash of scarlet to her attire. As the taste of fresh blood filled her mouth, Nikola felt as if she had partaken of divine nectar. An endless surge of power coursed through her body, and the previous exertions now seemed utterly trivial. In mere gulps, a single blood bag was utterly drained.

‘Delicious,’ she mused. ‘I should take a few more packs back with me.’ With renewed vigor, she began sifting through the blood bags, examining their labels and delicately sniffing them through the plastic, searching for a particularly appealing aroma.

‘No… these bloods have been drawn for too long; the taste isn’t as fresh. They’ve been chilled, too, not quite as palatable. The children… aren’t there fresh ones right above? Perhaps…’

In that instant, Nikola’s mind replayed the gruesome scene from the church in Savigny Village: the beautifully mutilated limbs, the sickly sweet internal organs, the blood as intoxicatingly sweet as fine wine…

‘No, this isn’t right! This isn’t me!’

A chilling realization struck Nikola: she had actually contemplated directly feeding on the children, even fantasized about orchestrating a massacre akin to the one in Savigny Village. How could such a monstrous thought have taken root within her? ‘This isn’t how it should be!’

Nikola’s face was ashen. In that moment, a profound fear of herself gripped her. She frantically stowed several blood bags into her ring, then, as if fleeing from some unseen horror, she bolted precipitously from the blood bank.