23: Fatal mistake

The enslaving process was smooth. The staff applied my crest on the girl. Like a tattoo. After that we went on a quieter street. I wanted to have a small chat with her.

"So, starting today, you belong to me. I am Milla Walpurgis. These two beside me are Grace and Sue. What's your name?"

"Don't have one…"

I already saw her stats so I knew that. But I had to break the ice somehow. This girl was extremely shy and kept fidgeting her fingers. Grace told me it was common that once you become a slave you are no longer considered a being. You are labeled as merchandise. So a name was pointless for the slave merchants.

"What about before you became a slave? You must have had a name at some point."

"Orphan since birth… No name…"

Well that's vexing. Has nobody bothered to name this girl at all? Even back on Earth if a mother were to abandon a child she would leave a note behind stating the kids' name. Guess I will have to name her then. Let's see… I think that will do the job.

"Well, in that case, from now your name shall be Himeko!"

"Himeko… Himeko… Himeko…"

She muttered the name a few times. Honestly I just came up with that name on the spur. I was thinking that if cleaned up, she can look like a princess. But I couldn't just call her 'Hime'. So I went with Himeko.

"Thank you for naming me. I will cherish it!"

"Well then, Himeko, tell me about your powers."

"Powers? Don't have any…"

"Hmm. That's odd. Is there any special magic you know? And how strong are you?"

"Magic. Have very little of it. Small affinity for wind. Strength… have none."

That can't be right.

"Himeko, right now, I want you to punch me. Give me your best shot!"

"But…"

"That's an order."

As if driven by an invisible force, Himeko clenched her tiny fist, took a big swing and punched me right in the stomach.

"Ouch! That hurts."

I wasn't the one that let out that complaint. It was Himeko. I felt nothing. Weak. Has she not awakened her power? Maybe she isn't aware of her potential. It will be something I have to look in later.

"I guess that's enough for now. We should continue and go to the castle. Himeko, your coming with us. Once we get back to my home I'll give you a bath and proper clothes. We can continue our discussion later."

"Understood…"

And so we were finally going to meet the so called Demon King of Kindness.

------

We were greeted with hospitality. We didn't have to wait at all for an audience. They showed us to throne room as soon as we entered. On the throne, a woman sat crossed legged.

"You must be Milla Walpurgis. Thank you for accepting my invitation. Please, come closer."

The air inside was quite sinister. I felt no hostility from her at all. Yet I still felt that something was off. Anyway, in order to know how to handle her, there is one thing I must do right now.

"Thank you for your invitation! Konnichiwa!(1)"

"Koni...shi...wha?"

"Oh, don't mind that, Your Highness. It's just a unique form of greeting I came up with."

"I see. You are an amusing girl."

Okay. Mith one debunked. I thought that maybe she got reincarnated like me, but it seems it wasn't the case. That means she might be up to something.

"Your Highness Milla. As you know, I have not attended the last Blood Ball. But I wanted to meet you. As a token of my respect, I prepared a gift for you."

She snapped her fingers. A shabby looking maid came over to me with a tray and a lid. I opened the lid and what I saw… it was a head. Okay. This is just gross. What kind of person gifts heads. What am I even supposed to do with it?

"You seemed confused. That head belonged to the person responsible for your clans' extinction. I am presenting it to you from the bottom of my heart, so that you may find some peace. I hope with this, we can become friends!"

When she said those words I grabbed the head by the hair and instantly burned it. The maid panic when she saw the flames but I wasn't paying attention. I couldn't stand the sight of that head. I turned it to ash. Now then, how should I respond to her? She might just be changing blame. Although I knew from Grace's story that a vampire named Keineth was the one that wrecked my life z that doesn't mean that this bitch was innocent. He might have acted on her orders. Let's play along for now and see where this conversation will go.

"I accept your peace offer. If I may, your land seems quite peaceful. What's your secret?"

"So you noticed, fuhuhu! I'm glad. This makes things easier. Milla, come with me to the balcony for a bit."

I signaled Grace, Sue and Himeko to stay put.

She offered me a cup of wine, but I didn't drink it  right there. We moved on the balcony.

"Look down there. Tell me what you see."

"Your city."

"Don't play dumb now. I know there is something you want to ask."

"What happened to the people?"

There was no point beating around the bush. Besides the guys at the auction, almost all the inhabitants looked like zombies. Let me correct myself. Not actual rotting, flesh eating zombies. More like… robots. Beings with no life in their eyes. Fake smiles, forced conversations. It kinda creeped me out.

"As expected from the one that defeated Vacheron. That is all thanks to my fabulous idea. Hear me out, Milla.

People often argue. They will show their fangs at each other. No matter what ruler you are, there is no way you can satisfy everyone. But because I am the queen of vampires. I can make a difference. If I use my Demon King unique skill and my vampire powers I can eliminate the one thing that's causing all this suffering. Free will. All I have to do is bite someone and inject them with my ability. And all their thoughts shall be gone. They will be what I wish them to be. What they do and see, I can also see. A collective conscience!"

Is she for real!? And I thought I was the insane one.

"Lady Miraluka, judging by that definition how are your people different from slaves?"

"Isn't it obvious? Slaves are always starving, they are ill treated. My people are exactly what I want them to be. They don't argue, they do what they are told. This is the greatest form of kindness! You don't even need to think. Let me take care of all your thoughts, let me make your life choices and you just have to sit back and enjoy the peace I offer you!"

She's creating a hive mentality. Mindless drones that only do as their told. I couldn't help but gulp and take a sip from the wine. My mouth became dry when I heard such a ridiculous logic.

"Miraluka, do you really think I would support something like that? What you're doing is worse than slavery. And you call it kindness? There's no way I will ever agree to something like that!"

*Sight*

"You really are like your father. If he truly was your father."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's hard to believe that a little girl who was asleep for 200 years suddenly wakes up and becomes an impressive Demon King. And your blood smells rather unique… I'll get all the answers soon. Once I take a bite out of you."

This bitch… I knew she was evil. But if you think I'm just gonna stand still and…

*Crack*

I dropped the glass in my hand and it broke. My feet felt like jelly. Don't tell me…

"Fuhuhu! Don't worry. It's not the Black Death. It's just a small sedative to make you stay still until I put you under my control."

Shit! How could I be such an idiot? I made the biggest mistake ever. I'm such an idiot. Refusing drinks should have been a no brainer after what happened last time. How could I be such a fool?

"Lady Milla!"

Grace dashed towards me the moment she saw that I wasn't feeling good. But Miraluka waved her hand and 5 stakes emerged from the ground and stabbed Grace, immobilizing her.

"How rude. Just stay there quietly."

She retracted her stakes. Grace coughed blood and fell to the ground. That was like a wake-up call. I don't know what drug she used, but the rage inside me burned any sleepiness I had.

"Aaaaarghhhh!"

I let out a violent scream and an immense demonic pressure. An aura so strong that the ground was shacking and the balcony railing was blown away.

You bitch! You dare hurt my Grace? Grace was my most precious servant and a true friend. I don't care if you are a Demon King. I don't care if you were a God. You're dead! Kill! KILL! KILLLLL! Amongst my screams it felt that a power was boiling inside and wanted to come out. It was like I was entering a trance. Before losing myself to the rage that filled me, 2 words escaped my mouth:

"...[Berserker Mode]..."