Hero pulled away from their moment. The all too familiar voice rang in his head and he looked around desperately. He held onto Noah's hand tightly, while searching. The spider just looked at him in concern, whispering, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Hero looked back at him, but he quickly went back to searching. "No, it's just-"

This time Noah pulled away. Hero followed as he noticed a different scent in the air. The coppery scent of vampire territory was stronger than ever. Hero could feel Noah squeezing his fingers protectively, and heard a low growl coming from Noah's throat. They both looked back into the forest, and watched every movement carefully. The scent grew stronger until Hero could catch a figure lurking in the trees. Apparently, Noah did as well because he started hissing in hostility.

A figure stepped out, but stayed within the shadows of the forest. It was a woman, who was glaring angrily at them while smirking. Her teeth were on display, and from the length of her fangs, Hero registered her as a vampire. Noah growled more louder, wary of her approaching as he pushed Hero behind him protectively. The white-eyed man still kept watch. The woman had a flowy black dress, that complimented her black hair. She was thin, way too thin, and her cheeks were sunken in. Dark bags had formed underneath her red eyes, that seemed to stare daggers at them.

She spoke in a bored tone, "You aren't supposed to be here, alpha."

She spat out the last word. Noah took it as a challenge and snarled. Hero nudged his way out from Noah's vice-like grip and tried to negotiate, "Look, we're just passing. We'll leave immediately. We're sorry that we even stepped in here."

He pressed his head up against Noah's throat, a comforting yet protective gesture. Noah's snarls could be felt through his neck. The vampire just rolled her eyes, "Your clan promised to never stray into our territory, you expect us to let you go so easily?"

Noah was about to lash out, his inner alpha not taking well to the vampire's challenging tone. Hero shushed him with a quick squeeze of his wrist. "We don't want a fight, we're sorry. If you let us pass, we'll never touch your territory ever again."

The vampire sneered in disgust, "You lot were fucking cuddling in our territory and being all sentimental, why should I let you go when I can end this love fest early."

Hero was still trying to negotiate and talk their way out of this, but the vampire was having none of it. She bent down, her smile back on her red lips. "Sorry boys, but you missed mating season."

She sprang.

Noah and Hero had been anticipating it, and Hero dodged it while Noah had charged as well. Hero slid to the side and tried to catch his breath. He raised his head to see Noah in spider form pinning the vampire down. Both were hissing madly at each other, and Noah's venom leaked out of his large fangs eagerly. The green poison dropped onto the vampire's face, as she tried to squirm out of his grip. Before Hero could even start to run, Noah sank down into the vampire's shoulder blades.

The vampire gasped, her eyes going wide. Immediately, Noah's venom had started taking effect. Foam flooded out of her mouth and onto the ground as she jerked wildly. Her red eyes rolled to the back of her head as she convulsed on the forest floor. Noah slid from his place over her and beckoned for Hero to start running. Noah contradicted himself by running to Hero and shoving him on his back, carrying him back. They left the dying vampire behind as they ran towards the border. Sunlight had already started peeking from gaps of the canopies, and birds had started to chirp. Noah's nocturnal instincts had slowed him down as he was tired, but with all the encouraging pats Hero gave him, he bolted as fast as he could.

A raspy hiss stopped them in their tracks.

Hero jerked at the sudden halt and pressed himself to Noah's back. He flattened himself out, making sure he could be hidden. Noah stood tall, alert and looking for the source of the hostile hiss. It was another stronger vampire, and the pungent copper smell hung heavy in the air. Just then, a man approached from the shadows. He was massive and thickset, and his red eyes bore into Noah's. He stood tall as well, and radiated dominance. His gruff voice escaped his lips, and Hero could see large fangs poking from them, "Noah."

Noah transformed suddenly, and Hero slid from his back and behind him. Red eyes went from Noah to Hero immediately. The man's nose flared and he panted heavily. Hero just stilled under his gaze, looked in place in caution. Noah noticed how intensely the vampire was staring and brought Hero close protectively. He rubbed his own scent over Hero's to conceal whatever the vampire was smelling off of him. Said vampire just frowned at Noah. He licked his lips though, still staring at Hero.

"Bad mistake coming here, Noah. I thought we agreed on no trespassers? We both know how our kinds treasure territory."

Noah huffed. The vampire rolled his eyes.

"I've heard what you've done to my second in command. Pity, she was quite the best among my clan. I should kill you for that."

The spider snarled warningly, and Hero just narrowed his eyes at the vampire. The vampire was not affected by their intense looks and actions, and continued.

"However, you have a lovely friend back there. He smells lovely, and I've never smelled anything like him before. Sweet, sightly angelic. You know how much vampires admire blood of angels."

Noah sneered, in disbelief of what the vampire had just declared. Hero was just awkwardly pressed against Noah's chest. The spider hissed, "Yeah, I do. But you're wrong, you can't just pick a nice scent and declare that it fell from heaven or something."

The vampire bristled and spat, "Vampires were created by both angels and demons. The angels gave us immortality and the demons gave us strength and thirst for blood. Angel and demon blood keep us alive, but we're clearly short on it."

His eyes went to Hero. He licked his lips while Hero grimaced. "So we need all the help we can get."

His eyes went back to Noah and he relaxed. He leaned against a tree and said, "Look, how about you give me angel boy there, and I excuse you from my territory. Deal?"

Noah let out a furious hiss, thundering in Hero's ears painfully. The vampire winced at the hiss, and Noah went wild, "No! If you want a fight, I may as well give you one."

He released Hero, who stumbled to the side. His head still felt dizzy from the loud screeching. The vampire ahead whistled and cooed, "Ooh, a challenge between the leaders of the biggest spider clan and biggest vampire clan? This duel can shape the future of our clans, dear friend. Well... Depending on who wins."

Noah dug his heels to the ground angrily. Hero stared at him in shock, the spider had never looked so hostile and feral before. His fangs dripping with venom were on display, snarling at the vampire. His black hair was tussled and all over the place, and his red eyes glowed with a ferocity so fierce. He radiated so much fury that even Hero was convinced to submit. The vampire too, was shaping himself up. He stood tall to appear bigger, and all of his muscles were on display. He smiled eerily, and if this was not a serious battle, Hero would swoon.

Hero stepped back for his own safety, and his hands itched for who would make the first move. He still found the reason of the battle quite dumb. From what he had learnt, vampires are neutral creatures, like spiders. They neither take the demons' side nor the angels'. They take both, so they are active neutral creatures. Spiders take none, so they are non-active neutral creatures. Vampires can make others feel bliss if they are drinking from them, but the only time where they themselves feel euphoric are when they feed from angels or demons. This vampire had assumed he had angel blood, so he was going to fight for it... It was stupid, really.

○

"He smells me."

Roderich raised his head lazily from his spot on the bed. He hummed tiredly to his master, who sat upright on the other side of the bed. His wings were folded lazily at his sides, and his tail was resting motionless on his thigh. Nabiel stared ahead, his eyes half-lidded and showing no emotion. He gulped, and raised his head. Roderich followed his gaze and muttered, "You think he smells me too? I mean, I am a demon. And you're an angel. He must be going nuts."

Nabiel shrugged, "I guess you're right, in a way. I'm just a little guilty."

Roderich stared at him with a raised brow, "For?"

The angel slid a hand through his dark brown hair. He exhaled a breath shakily and whispered, "I can't change this. I can't change who Hero is going to be, or what he will feel or do when it happens."

His eyes narrow.

"I also do not want to deal with the spider."

Roderich shrugged, "Well, he was picked out for Hero, so, can't blame him. We also can't go against Lady Aetheria's orders."

The angel sighed, "I wish I could."

His friend scoffed, "And risk your existence? No way am I letting you do that."

○

They had been going at it for a while now. They were loud, and merciless on each other. Hero was deeply concerned for Noah, as he could not foresee who would win this challenge. Both were bruised and battered, and neither have sunk their teeth on the other. If they managed to, they would win immediately. The vampire's only motivation was blood-thirst, and he getting tired fast. Noah was panting, mostly receiving attacks rather than defending them. Hero let out a high pitched croon to motivate him. The spider immediately went all-out again, all his exhaustion forgotten.

The vampire frowned, and mustered all of his remaining strength to meet Noah. They chased and lunged in the forest clearing. Hero's eyes almost could not catch up. They were all clearly irritated when the challenge started going nowhere. Noah shifted back and forth, using the trees to his advantage, hiding and ambushing the vampire from the canopies. They started hissing loudly at each other, and the chasing stopped.

They both lunged, and wrestled on the grass wildly. Fangs bore and nails scratched. Clothes were torn and punches were thrown. Hero was almost going to break up the extreme fight, but was interrupted when a shrill screech of pain erupted from the wrestle. Among the dust and dirt, Hero tried to make out where Noah was, and found him squirming underneath the vampire's fangs. Hero felt his heart drop when he saw huge fangs sink right onto Noah's neck. The vampire closed his lips over the wound and started to suck, greedily drinking in all the blood he could get.

Crimson leaked down Noah's neck, and it triggered a flashback in Hero. The all-too familiar panic had settled and he could not find it within himself to breathe properly. His feet were rooted to the ground staring as the vampire sucked out Noah's life force. Blood, death, fire and gunshots filled Hero's mind, sending him into a full panic attack. His breath hitched at the echoing screams of his victims back at the North.

They're dead. They're all dead because of you. Because you killed them. You were a monster, you are a monster. Everything is your fault, and now someone else is suffering in your hands. They cared for you and look at the price they had to pay. Look at him, the spider's pathetic under the-

Noah.

No, no, no, no. This could not be happening.

Hero forcibly shook Derrek's lingering voice out of his head and started running. He sprinted towards the vampire and tackled him to the ground. They slid uncomfortably and Hero put all of his weight on top of the vampire. His lips were still bloody from Noah's neck, and something snapped in Hero. The white-eyed man let out a snarl, capturing the vampire's attention. The vampire looked at his eyes for a moment, and stilled. His breath hitched, and Hero knew that his eyes were glowing fiercely. He could feel the mist pouring angrily from his eyes, and he tightened a fist around the vampire's muddy shirt.

He sat back, pulling the vampire harshly to meet his level, bending the creature's back painfully. The vampire let out a painful howl, and Hero slapped him to shut him up. The vampire stayed silent as Hero desperately tried to calm himself. His hands were trembling in sheer rage, and his free hand raised high on instinct. He watched the vampire stare wide-eyed at the hand. Hero did not dare look away from the monster, but could feel the heat from the fireball in his hand. It felt extremely hotter than it would, so he suspected it was bigger than normal.

Nonetheless, he fueled it more with his anger, and it grew heavy and warm in his hand. The acrid scent of smoke filled his nose as he panted heavily. He raised it high, ready to throw it right into the fucker's face, when a timid voice cut him from taking his revenge.

"D-Dad?"

Hero stared straight ahead into the red eyes of another vampire. It was a young girl, and the white tips of her growing fangs peeked out from her lips. She gasped and startled at Hero's intense gaze. She started weeping when she saw the struggling vampire in Hero's grip. The vampire underneath Hero just let out a snarl, trying his best to look at the young vampire. He forced out in a raspy voice, "Nicole! Get out of here! He'll get you!"

She was about to obey, turning on her heels with tears in her eyes. Hero used his magic to force the vampire under him to shut up and stay down. He released his fist and raised it towards the girl. The man underneath him screamed under the silencing charm Hero put on him. The girl stilled under his power, and as he flicked his wrist, the girl soared through the air and landed heavily beside Hero. She let out a choked sob, trembling and terrified.

He grabbed her by the neck and raised her up high in front of the vampire. He squeezed her tiny neck, and her small hands tried to get him off her feebly. She cried and sobbed uglily, begging and crying. He released the silencing charm on the male, and he started to yell, "No! Please, let her go! I'm sorry! I'm so fucking sorry, please just let her go! Take me instead don't take my girl!"

Hero raised the fireball right in front of her face. Fire lapped eagerly at her black hair. The man started to sob as well, "Nicole, sweetheart, it's alright. Shut your eyes, it'll be alright."

He stared desperately at Hero. The white-eyed man basked in the pure sorrow and tears leaking in the once strong man. He pleaded, "Please."

Hero narrowed his eyes, and was about to release the fireball. He stilled, thinking further about it. Thoughts of the massacre he caused in the North flooded his head. His anger dissipated and was replaced with guilt. He looked at the sobbing vampires, and the fireball faded into thin air. The two vampires stared up at Hero cautiously. Hero released his hold on the two and they got up slowly. Nicole rushed to her father's arms, but they still stared at Hero.

The male vampire squeezed his daughter and whispered through tears, "Thank you-"

Hero stared at him, the fury returning in his eyes. He did not move forward though. He just spat, "Run or else I won't give you another chance."

The vampires immediately shut up and stared at him for a moment. Hero narrowed his eyes and that was when they bolted. Hero immediately turned to Noah, who lay still on the grass far away. He sprinted and slid to his side, his hands intertwining with his friend's.

♬ You may start the song. ♬

He leaned his forehead on Noah's now cold one. He breath hitched as he saw Noah's eyes flutter open. They were dazed and no longer bright and Hero could feel the tears beginning in the corners of his eyes. Noah forced a shaky smile as he stared up at Hero fondly. Hero dragged Noah to his lap and stroked his matted hair comfortably. Noah let out a raspy pur, and Hero's heart broke further as it was never like the comforting rumble he have heard before. Noah was too cold for his comfort, there was no use in getting help for him. He hugged Noah close and whispered, "What is it? You brought me here to tell me something, right?"

He pulled away to look warmly at Noah. "Noah?"

The spider chuckled and mumbled, "If Hugo could me now, he'd have me die sooner..."

He met Hero's eyes and smiled ever so lovingly. "Even when staring at the face of death, I can't even tell you what I've wanted to tell you for so long."

Hero's hand clutched tightly on Noah's shoulders. He rubbed their foreheads together, a sign of deep affection. The spider hummed contently and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Princess."

His cold fingers went to thumb Hero's cheek fondly.

"Thank you for making everything just a bit more perfect."

Noah shut his eyes tiredly. It was exhausting to stay awake. The words he had always wanted to say died on his lips together with his life.

I love you.