The Crimson Tale of Conquest

Ruby watched as Morella and Judieth to the Inn's dining area, sitting back down at the table. 'I wonder what they were talking about.' Ruby mused, as she looked between the two women. Morella looked deep in thought and kept glancing in her and Judieth's direction. The red head, on the other hand, went back to eating without any sign of anxiety. As she watched them, Ruby noticed the cherry like sent next to her turned bitter.

Ruby wasn't sure how her sense of smell worked exactly. She does know she picks up on one's Mana and not their actual scent, though she gets that too. No, what she doesn't get is how she tends to smell concepts more than actual real scents. Morella, for example, smells like the concept of clean, which is to say nothing. But she's still able to identify a scent and follow it, which doesn't make sense if Morella truly didn't have a scent.

Right now, Yuki's cherry fragrance turned bitter, indicating her mood has shifted negatively. Looking at her, Ruby noted that her sister was still smiling and joking around. 'But her eyes aren't smiling.' She thought to herself. 'She's looking between Judieth and Ella.' Ruby surmised Yuki believes Judieth did something to Morella. Ruby doesn't see why, Morella seemed more troubled than distressed, like something is weighing on her mind rather than upset.

"What did you two talk about?" Ruby asked, curious.

"Well...." Morella started before closing her mouth looking unsure.

"That's up to Morella on whether or not you'll know." Judieth answered simply.

Both Ruby and Yuki looked confused with Judieth's answer. Realizing neither one of them was going to tell them what was going on, they dropped it. 'At least Yuki isn't upset anymore.' Ruby thought as she went back to eating. They had another day of Monster Hunting ahead of them.

______________________________

"Uhhgg!!"

A cry was heard as a lizard type monster was slain, its large reptilian body falling heavily to the ground. Surrounding the body were five figures. A silver haired girl with crimson eyes and pale skin. A pink Demon with red and pink irises and the whites of her eyes colored black. a completely blue Nymph with fin-like ears. The red-headed scientist with freckles across her face. Finally, standing directly behind the silver haired girl was a purple translucent figure that looked like her.

It was later that day, and the group was hunting Monsters in a nearby forest. Ruby crouched down next to the bloodied corps, holding a knife, and proceeded to open up its chest. Digging into the corps, she pulled out a small Mana Crystal and washed the blood off with water magic. She then proceeded to toss it at Maisy, who caught it and tossed the crystal into her mouth. Ruby briefly wondered if it was necessary to eventually put it into her mouth but didn't think too hard about it.

"Maisy, can you store the body." Ruby requested. She gave a thumbs up before touching the body and making it disappear.

This was the fourth monster they took down that day. Whenever Ruby wasn't acting as a teacher to Sara, she and the others would go out and take jobs from the Hunter Guild. Plus, Maisy still needed to eat, and the Mana Crystals found inside monsters are considered nutritious for slimes, though eating the whole body with the Crystal would be more effective. Since they needed to sell the body for money, they tended to only let Maisy eat the Crystal only, which is considered the most valuable part of a monster most of the time.

"Let's continue." Ruby said after everyone got themselves together. "There's a shallow cave near the Prosperity River. Judieth, take the lead."

Making their way west, they quickly found themselves facing a massive river atop of a bluff. Fishing boats and Merchant ships could be seen floating in the water. In the distance on the other side of the river, a fishing town could be seen and further north on the same side, opposite of Prosperty City, was another city almost as big. The sight was amazing considering this was the biggest body of water Ruby has ever seen in her life.

"The map said the cave was this way." Judieth said, pointing slightly down the river. With everyone making a sound of confirmation, they started moving again.

Finding their way down the small bluff that overlooked this part of the river, they found themselves on a gravely shore. Marching down south, scanning the short wall of stone, they eventually spotted a small opening in the rocky face of the wall. Getting ready for a fight, they carefully entered the cave.

"There's something here." Ruby announced after sniffing the damp air. "Let's make this quick since low tide won't last for long."

"Yeah, I don't want to end up trapped here." Judieth responded. "Why are we here exactly?"

"I saw something about Goblins being spotted here at the Guild." Ruby answered

Soon enough they found themselves in an open area with a raised rocky platform area in the back about 228 cm high. Its surface wasn't that big but it wasn't small either, with glowing moss illuminating the cave giving it an almost mystical glow. The most significant thing that could be seen was a great number of dead goblins strewn across the ground near the exit where they stood. There were signs of battle in the cave, and standing atop the ridge with dead goblins next to them looking down at the group, was a person with short blond hair. Their cutlass drawn and ready, and their piercing Crimson eye's watching them warily.

"Who are you? What do you want?" The woman asked cautiously. Ruby noticed that she had two long fangs when she spoke.

'Is she what you call a vampire?' She thought. "... We're here looking for monsters." She started, "You seem to have taken care of that, though."

"Yes, I did, but who are you lot? From what I can tell, only one of ya is human." She asked once again, mainly looking between the obvious demon and the Silver haired and red eyed woman. "What is a demon doing in Human territory, specifically the Churches? And then there's the one who's obviously a monster-hybrid."

"..." Ruby stayed silent. She and the others stared the woman down, and in turn, she stared them down.

"... How about telling us who you are." Ruby said. "We'll tell you who we are after that. There are more of us than you after all."

Ruby was interested in knowing what a Vampire was doing in this cave. Mostly because Vampires are very similar to her in the fact they are Human Monster hybrids. The only difference was the fact that they had some major side effects because of it. Other than Sara, this would be the first human monster she would be able to talk to. Sara was raised in a sheltered environment, but this woman clearly had her share of hardships, and Ruby was very interested in how others like her lived.

"Well, you got me there, pretty lady." The blond woman said jokingly but still had seriousness in her eyes.

"Wha-?!" Ruby raised an eybrow, unsure how to react. Never has anyone called her pretty or anything of the like.

"Well, if you must know who I am, my name is Cristina. Cristina Grim." She said, ignoring the bewildered reaction Ruby had. "Now, let me ask again. Who are you?"

"Are you sure you want to tell her who we are?" Judieth quietly asked Ruby.

"... I- probably." Ruby said hesitantly. She was curious, but was it really worth letting a random person know their names when they've seen their true forms. She continued to stare into the woman's eyes. Those Crimson like eyes, so similar to hers. But at the same time, they aren't the same.

"Well? Are you going to tell me who you are or are we going to keep glaring at each other." Cristina said when none of them started talking. "I like looking at beautiful women, and ya'll are definitely pleasing to the eye. But I would greatly appreciate it if you talked to me."

"My name is Yuki! Nice to meet you!~" Yuki said eventually. Cristina gave the pink demon a nod of acknowledgment before turning to the others.

"I am Morella. Nice meeting you." She said courteously.

"You can call me Jude." Judieth introduced herself.

With a sigh, Ruby also introduced herself. "... I'm... Lucilla." Ruby said. "Lucilla Crimson." As she introduced herself, Maisy silently stood behind her.

"I recon that isn't your real name, but i'm not going to press ya for it." Cristina said to Ruby. "What about that slime behind ya? That thing feels like you. Its Mana signature is identical to the point I can't even tell the difference between ya'll unless I look at you both directly."

Cristina looked at them with a gleam in her eye, like a child who found something interesting. Ruby looked right back at her, not showing any of what she was thinking on her face. On the inside, though, she was utterly confused. 'What do you mean our Mana signatures are exactly the exact same? What is she talking about?' Ruby decided she'll shelve that problem for later.

"... You know why we're here, but what are you doing here?" Ruby asked, deciding not to answer her question. "You don't live here, so what is a Vampire doing here during the day of the day?"

"Well, if it wasn't obvious enough, I'm stuck here. Went hunt'n and found myself stranded when the sun started rising." Patting the side of her coat, she smiled. "Doesn't taste all that great but much safer than taking Human blood. Can't be giving them a reason to start looking for a culprit after all."

"You're draining monsters for their blood." Judieth said with realization. Looking at the bodies again the others realize some looked completely drained while others seem to have died from a large cut on their bodies.

"Well, w- I gotta eat somehow." Cristina said with a smirk. The cutlass she was holding lowered slightly.

"Is there a difference between Human and monster blood?" Ruby asked, curious to the answer. From the way Cristina talked about the monster blood it sounded like she was compromising.

"Interested ay? Well, the difference isn't all in the taste." Cristina started. "Human blood tends to be better for us too. We get more energy, and we can go for a longer period of time without the need to feed. Even Elf and Dwarf blood is good."

With a grin on her face, she jumped down from the raised part of the cave. Sheathing her sword, she approached Ruby with a confidant gait, showing not an ounce of fear. "Now I wonder what a Human with monster blood would taste like." She said liking her lips and giving a bigger smile to Ruby. Ruby for her part didn't move and watch the Vampire woman as she got ever closer. Yuki's scent once again turned bitter as the woman spoke to Ruby as she drew near.

"Well, no need to worry about it. R- Lucy doesn't really like contact with strangers, but if you're looking for blood, I can offer my own." Yuki said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Aww, don't be jealous pink." Cristina said, winking at Yuki. "Don't think I haven't noticed you as well, you cutie."

Yuki's expression turned to one of bewilderment, but that only made the flirtatious Vampire smile more. "Now I recon you guys aren't here to subjugate me." She said, standing directly in front of Ruby. "That means we can talk. Now, if you guys made your way here, that means others can too."

"Probably. We came looking for Goblins and instead we found a Vampire." Judieth said. "The info came from the Hunters Guild so expect more to come."

"That confirms it. What you just just confirmed is that ya'll aren't going to kill me." She said. "Not without a reason anyway."

"Well we certainly don't have any desire to kill you." Morella said glancing at Yuki. "We'll, not without the others agreeing to it anyway."

"... What exactly do you want to talk about?" Ruby asked.

"We're happy to help!" Yuki said with enthusiasm, her scent still bitter.

"I bet you're that Monster girl the Church is looking for." Cristina started. "I bet you have your own goals, and that involves information. I have connections, and I can guarantee you, I can find whatever you want." She said, stepping even closer to her, to the point Ruby could feel the woman's breath on her face, her voice low.

Ruby wasn't surprised Cristina knew who she was. What surprised her was how long it took for the blond to mention it. "... What do you want?" Ruby asked, matching the blonds low tone. "... I probably know what you want, though."

Smiling wide, Cristina backed up a couple steps. "Well you probably guessed correctly." Spreading out her arms dramatically she continued. "Help me escape from here during the day!"