My Servant Is An Elf-Knight From Another World

Chapter 13

I don't usually stay up too late once night falls. Head to bed by ten, wake up early at 7. If I felt a bit daring, maybe I'd even stay up till eleven. Usually, I'd never get to see midnight because by then I'd be fast asleep and dreaming away.

Not tonight however. Tonight, even as the clock struck past midnight to one, there I sat wallowing in the darkness on my armchair, the only source of light being from the warm, luminous glow of my smartphone.

A little tab opened in the internet browser. The Chronicles Of Asteria wiki page.

From there, I read aloud the first paragraph in the description.

"Vampires, a subspecies of the near-endangered species called Elidna, are amongst the most feared creatures of all the land. Though sightings are mostly rare, they are well-known for settling in places with a high population count and slowly, without notice, feast upon the blood of innocent civilians, subjugating them to mindless husks. Clearing an infestation of vampires is a near-impossible task, given their brute strength, high speed and their prowess in illusion magic. In regards to Elder Vampires..."

My voice trailed off, I raised my eyes up from my phone and stared at Ash, who was standing quietly by the hallway, muttering to herself something I couldn't quite understand.

Probably a spell.

"Elder Vampires?" I asked, my eyes adjusting to the dark silhouette that was hers.

Ash stopped muttering, looked at me and walked to the kitchen, drawing out a small packet of salt from a cabinet. Without skipping a beat, she cut a hole into the packet, pouring out the content onto every corner, every crevice and every doorway in the apartment.

"What kind of vampire are we dealing with here?" I asked again as she sprinkled salt onto every piece of furniture in the living room. "A normal one? Elder?"

"Worse." said Ash, flinging even more salt at me like it was holy water. "A Matriarch. The most dangerous, most volatile, of all vampires."

"So, it's a she..." I sputtered out a salt pellet from my lips. "I assume you sprinkling a bit of salt will stave her away, right?"

"No. It simply stalls her, grants me more time to act, a necessary precaution. Nothing stops a Matriarch. If she were to come after you, the salt acts as a repellent, if only temporary. Hopefully just enough to be able to elude her and escape her wrath."

"You can't fight her?"

Ash's head fell, her hair hiding her expression. "No, I... I am simply not capable of defending you. I will do my utmost best, I'm prepared to give my life, master - but I... I'm afraid I can offer no guarantees that I will be able to save you."

I felt a strange sort of tightening around my chest. "She's that powerful?"

"A Matriarch is a threat that appears only once in every millennia. For one to befell upon your world... it is strange, indeed."

"Do you think your appearance and hers are related?"

"I cannot say for certain," said Ash, shaking her head.

Once she was sure every square meter of the house was glazed over with mounds of salt, she headed back to the kitchen. I watched her every step, feeling the familiar pinch of anxiety constricting my lungs.

"So what do we do?" I asked.

Ash came out and walked towards me, a flash of silver gleamed in the moonlight - a sharp, pointed kitchen knife stared back at me in her hands.

"We hide ourselves," she said.

My eyes couldn't tear away from the blade she held in a tight grip. "And the knife?"