The Angel of Death

XI

Put on the spot, I was silenced.

To be truthful, I had nothing to offer. I was an orphan which wasn't too unusual considering the recent pandemic that had wiped out most of humanity. However, my birth coincided with the beginning of the pandemic which meant I had never known my parents at all whereas some children might have gotten to spend time with theirs before the catastrophe. It is said that parents are the only people in the world who will love you unconditionally. You were borne from their same flesh and blood, and they wanted you in their life before they even knew you. I have always longed for this sort of connection.

Though I do not remember much from my early days as a baby, I knew Kairo had always looked after me. He became an older brother figure for me. While I considered all members of the orphanage to be a part of my family, Kairo was uniquely special to me. With everyone else, we were simply family cobbled together by mere circumstance. We would occasionally make conversation or play together, but in the end, everyone had their own self-interest in mind first and foremost. They were bored. They wanted someone to fetch them a cup of hot water. They were all just using me for their own self-gain. The bonds we formed could easily be created and broken like the Van der Waals forces in molecules.

But Kairo was different.

He shaped his life around mine. He took care of me starting when I was a baby, even though he was only a toddler himself. He knew my favorite foods and often made them for me when I was feeling down. He nagged me to go to sleep early when I wanted to stay up to play. He sacrificed himself for me. He truly loved me with every ounce of his being. No matter what I did, I feel like he would always accept me. And it was high time that I repaid his favor.

I knelt down on my knees, pressing my forehead and palms onto the soft grass underneath me.

"You can have my free will," I beseeched Lord Rigel as sincerely as I could, tossing my pride aside. "I will do whatever you say. I will follow you like a loyal dog around anywhere you go. If you ask me to bark, I will!" Though I was embarrassed, I kept groveling and waited for his response. This was the only thing I had as a bargaining chip. I had nothing else to my name nor any possessions valuable enough to use, but I was willing to do anything to save him.

He laughed in a maniacal manner that made my skin crawl.

"My, my, my," he repeated with amusement when he had calmed down. "How noble of you to offer yourself for your friend's sake. To be honest, I'm really tempted by your offer. But y'know, this trope is getting to be too tiresome for my liking."

It was almost as if he had trampled over my heart. I had tried everything. But despite my best efforts, nothing worked. Still, I couldn't let Kairo down, and I wouldn't back down without a fight at least. Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

As I raised my head from the ground, I heard a loud bang.

With my fight-or-flight response activated, I chose the former and jumped on the bloodsucker whom I deeply despised, hoping the surprise would catch him off-guard. My fingernails dug into his skin and my teeth sank into his neck.

Let him have a taste of his own medicine I thought. This is for all the times you took advantage of Kairo's kindness. I will never forgive you.

The taste was foul which was expected from such an abominable person. But I was determined to drain him until he was a only dry husk of a being who couldn't even hurt a fly if he wanted to do so.

Locked in a feeding frenzy, I drank my fill until I couldn't stomach another drop. I pushed myself off his body, expecting to be nauseated and needing to throw up. However, I strangely felt well though a bit jittery like I had consumed a tub of energy drinks and coffee.