The Vampire King's Pet-Chapter 363: Grief

Zyren moved through the battlefield like a force of nature.

He went from beast to beast, killing them as fast as he could, ignoring everything else around him. Shadows surged outward from his body, snapping around Zygons and freezing them in place so they couldn’t escape before he tore them apart. There was no hesitation, no mercy—only efficiency.

Aira, on the other hand, could not move.

Her eyes were fixed on what could only be called the last echoes of her sister. Liora burned in green flames, screeching and screaming, her voice raw and broken. It was unmistakably pain—pure, agonizing pain.

What made it worse was that she kept calling for Aira.

"Sister—Aira—please—"

Each word felt like a blade to Aira’s chest.

Her feet moved before she realized it, a single step forward as her heart pounded violently. Her sister was dying right in front of her. Her chest heaved as she stared ahead, breath coming in shallow gasps. The smell in the air was unbearable—burnt wood and scorched flesh mixed together, thick and suffocating.

Screams echoed all around them.

The few beasts that could still move tried to run, but Zyren cut them down first, finishing them swiftly before turning back to the ones he had frozen in place. He left nothing alive.

Unlike the werewolf realm—where they had moved from place to place, separating civilians from Zygons—this time the beasts had gathered willingly around him.

And Zyren had no intention of letting that opportunity slip away.

His entire body was drenched in black blood, coating him from head to toe. Still, he didn’t stop. He killed relentlessly, wanting it over as quickly as possible so he could return to Aira’s side.

It was obvious—painfully obvious—that she was emotionally unstable. Anything else would have been a lie.

He could see it on her face, something she herself could not.

Her eyes looked haunted. Hollow. Zyren could tell it was taking everything she had not to throw herself into the fire with her sister. Only the last fragile thread of rationality held her back.

Tears slid down Aira’s face as she suddenly snapped back to herself. She whipped her head to the side, eyes searching frantically until they landed on Zyren.

"Zyren!!!"

Her voice broke completely as she screamed his name. Her hands trembled violently as she continued to wail, tears streaming down her cheeks. When their gazes met, her eyes pleaded with him desperately.

"Zy—Zyren, HELP HER!" she screamed, the sound closer to a wail than a word.

She didn’t wait for his response.

Aira turned sharply toward the guards nearest to her, those who had been killing the monsters Zyren had frozen in place. "Fetch sand—sand mixed with oil!" she snapped. "And water! Hurry!"

Her heart thumped so hard it hurt. Tears blurred her vision as Liora continued to die, her wails slowly weakening.

The guards, trained to follow orders without hesitation, rushed to do as she said. Some returned quickly, attempting to pour the mixture onto Liora’s thrashing form.

They barely made it two steps closer.

Blood tendrils shot out violently, piercing straight through the bodies of the two guards. Their blood was ripped from them almost instantly, dragged back by an invisible force toward Liora.

Their lifeless bodies hit the ground moments later.

The remaining guards scrambled back in terror, faces pale, fear etched clearly into their expressions. No one dared to take another step forward.

Aira wasn’t any different.

She stepped back slowly, staring at Liora on the ground as her sister continued begging—her voice louder now, stronger after feeding.

"Please... sister!!! Are you really going to let me die?" Liora wailed. "Food... they are just food!"

Aira shook her head weakly, her vision too blurry to focus as strong arms suddenly wrapped around her from behind.

She knew it was Zyren.

She grabbed fistfuls of his clothes, eyes squeezing shut as sobs tore out of her. "Please... save her!" Aira begged, her voice breaking. She’s my only family.

Liora screamed louder.

"He killed me! He killed me!" she shrieked over and over again.

Each repetition struck Aira harder, making her shake violently as sobs wracked her small frame. Her knees nearly buckled beneath her.

That was when Zyren finally snapped.

Anger surged through him, cold and absolute.

He slipped himself out of Aira’s grasp and stepped away from her before she could stop him. His body and clothes were still coated in black blood as he moved toward Liora without hesitation.

The blade was already in his hand.

He raised it slowly, deliberately, aiming straight for her head—the part of her that was still human.

"Aira... he killed me! He killed—"

Zyren didn’t let her finish.

The blade came down in a single, merciless motion, slicing cleanly through her neck even as the green fire continued to burn.

Blood bubbled violently, splattering as her head rolled across the ground.

Zyren let the blade fall from his hand. It clattered uselessly against the stone. He no longer needed it.

The environment smelled horrific—worse than before. Blood, ash, dust, and burning flesh filled the air. The massive Zygon leader was already dead, its heart and core ripped out, even as the remainder of its body continued to burn.

Aira’s gaze was blank.

She stared at her sister’s body as it completely dissolved into blood, the green fire evaporating it into ash until nothing remained.

Nothing.

Her knees gave out. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Aira fell to the ground, landing heavily on both knees as tears slid silently down her cheeks. Her hands hung limply at her sides, her body slack—like something essential had been torn out of her.

Like her life source had been ripped away.

Zyren walked back toward her and reached down to lift her, but she flinched violently, recoiling from him as though he were something disgusting. Something she couldn’t bear to touch.

Zyren didn’t flinch.

He picked her up anyway, pulling her into his arms despite her weak resistance. Aira silently wailed, pushing against his chest in anger and grief, even though she knew it was useless.

Unless Zyren chose to put her down, she didn’t have the strength to make him let go.

And he had no intention of doing so.