"I will keep watch," Alya said, karate chopping the wet stone floor with her only free hand.
I nodded, mimicking her action. "Come down too, when you sense something odd."
"Sure."
Cold, moist wind blew in as the ceiling below cracked under our force. Wasting no time, we widened the hole enough for me to pass through easily.
Bright red lanterns pierced my eyes as I peeked through it, diving inside instantly without hesitation.
The familiar narrow hallway made of black, classy bricks greeted me; it was the same as where my cell was located.
We'd come up with something good while crawling in silent darkness. Chaos. Through it, we could surely escape. And the best way to create chaos in a slave house was?
To release all the slaves. I grinned, closing in on the thick metallic door.
"Be careful, Luci!" Alya shouted, waving her hand.
Right!
Me or even sweet Alya, if a weaker human had roamed into our cell, we wouldn't have hesitated to use them as a good meal.
"You there… Who are you?" A rough yell caught me by surprise.
It was coming from the cell. He already sensed me?!
With a light cough, I adjusted my breath, "You can call me Lucien."
"…You are a slave too. How did you escape?" His voice lowered a bit.
My eyes widened, _How could he guess it so fast…
Maybe Lucien was a famous slave? Well, whatever, it wasn't that important.
"A curious one, aren't you? The only thing you should know is; I am your benefactor… If you want me to be, of course." I said in a rather deep voice.
"Benefactor…" He froze.
"Yup. I can get you out."
His tone softened, "I really could use a benefactor." He chuckled, "I am Vanitas, former Holy Knight Squad Captain."
My eyes widened as I fully registered his words. Holy?
"Church!" Alya's bloodlust from above made my body shiver. Saint William. Sue, racist towards vampires, was praying to the goddess. Alya's reaction. Dots weren't too hard to connect.
Don't tell me… He's one of those bastards who wiped out vampires...
My face tensed as odd memories flashed in my mind— burning villages, women and children with their heads hung on wooden sticks, being eaten by very big birds flashed, barely six year old black haired girl crying on her knees surrounded by bloody corpses as she ended her life with a knife on the rocky ground.
These were Alya's memories. I didn't know how I could see them without drinking her blood, but I couldn't care less about that right now.
My fists clenched, skin tearing as warm blood spilled down my palms.
"Everything alright, lad?" Vanitas asked with worry, wondering if he had offended me somehow.
"Holy Knight Captain, Vanitas."
My voice grew heavier.
"The one standing before you... is a Vampire."
Tense silence stretched for more than a minute before Vanitas broke it.
"I am sorry."
He said it like he was the one behind it all.
"I would understand if you have changed your mind." He added.
My lips parted. He sounded too sincere to hate me enough as much as to wipe out all vampires. From what I knew, to commit a genocide, you needed to dehumanize the other party.
"…Di–did you also contribute to it?"
Vanitas scratched his chin, "No… I have been here for the last seven years. I had no idea it had even happened till yesterday."
I felt like some invisible weight was lifted off my chest. But, before I could try negotiating with Alya, he added.
"But, if I could've… I would've." He said through a heavy sigh. "I would've definitely…"
It was an odd sense of helplessness. I could recognize it because I knew it very well. I felt it every day when waking up for college, or getting ready for the part-time.
"You bastard!" Alya almost jumped down, stopped only by me raising both my hands towards her.
Vanitas shifted uncomfortably, "I can't help it… Church is absolute. I would understand if you killed me." He said, turning towards Alya's direction, "I would too."
"But you didn't do anything. At the end of the day, that's what matters. You're not even connected to the church right now… Rather, you look like their enemy as well." I tried to sound reasonable, mostly for Alya.
The way Alya's face was contorting, she was about to break at any moment.
It's not like I minded a random guy's death for the sake of Alya's happiness, but neither she was being herself nor wanted to do it, but probably felt a sorta obligation, which wasn't good for her, nor Vanitas seemed like a random guy.
"Alya, He is more useful than any other slave we can find here. As a squad captain, he must be strong and have intel on the church. We could really use intel at this moment." I showed her a logical perspective.
Also, he seemed like the kinda person I would've tried to be friends with in my past life. I added silently.
Alya went quiet, a thoughtful look creeping up.
Vanitas's laugh broke the tense silence, "You're a good person, Lucien."
He said my name for the first time.
I paused, my lips curled upwards.
"...You are too, Vanitas."
…
I closed in on the metal door, brushing my fingers against the cold, rough texture of the tiny keyhole. With a single thought, my nail grew, entering and unlocking the door as smoothly as the key itself in one satisfying click.
My eyes were overwhelmed with stimulus as the metallic door was pulled fully open.