Raven's figure plummeted through the sky as she covered over immense distances in wide inhumane leaps. Each of her strides sent them easily travelling over a number of rooftops across the cloudless night sky, leaving a trail of eye catching dark silhouettes when highlighted by the still full moon.
Val had long forcefully restrained his thoughts, focusing all control and intent instead on holding as tightly as he could. His expression was pale, his deep blue, and now disturbed eyes, couldn't help but glaze over the far and wide distances the petite figure of Raven easily leaped across like it was normal.
By this time, he had more deeply resigned to his thoughts that the mysterious white haired girl wasn't human, and full of even more mystique.
But then,
What was she?
As Val's thoughts naturally reached this point, deeply needing a distraction against just how high in the sky they seemed to reach away from the ground way, way below, he had a thought concerning that answer.
But as if the answer alone made him chill to the bone from the cold night wind up in the sky, Val didn't dare ask or verbally declare it himself against the haunting fear and horror that it really might be.
So instead, he shot it off, sealing it back inside his mind, so it would remain just that— only a thought.
On one hand, fortunately, it wasn't hard for Val to quickly gain a distraction to take his mind off his thoughts and the numbing distance the ground seemed to be below them, the next instance. On the other hand, it wasn't the type of distraction he would have liked or appreciated.
As Raven took another powerful lunge forward, leaping off the next rooftop, the next moment, something swift tore through the air, penetrating deeply through the night sky in the blink of an eye and shot at them.
A resounding explosion and a blast erupted in the air, a hair's breadth shy of ensuing the two in it's radius. The air bellowed in a resounding raw as a powerful shockwave erupted, tearing the two straight out of the sky.
Raven barreled down through the air, the wind ringing like wails in Val's ears from the explosion. They crashed straight into the rooftop of a building as both their worlds seemed to tumble and flip on all sides at once.
Val rolled out of Raven's hands, crashing on his sides and shoulders against the hard concrete of the rooftop, gasping for air. His vision blurred, hazed by red and the cold, emotionless, starless night sky. The pressure from the crash on his side seemingly made it hard to remember how to breathe properly.
Val grovelled, his body and muscles trembling in pain from the shock. His ears were still ringing from the explosion.
A sudden force swept him off his hands and knees before he could recover his bearing out of nowhere. The point he had been on on the rooftop ruptured into an explosion less than a proper second before he was lifted by Raven.
The force of the sudden explosion surged at them like an ocean tide from behind as Raven rode the shockwave with Val in her hands, her face fierce and her violet eyes a tinge of red.
Unfortunately the pressure was too powerful from being too close to the explosion, they were only lucky enough not to directly get involved by it. They rode the shockwave uncontrollably as Raven tumbled once again into the air, this time without proper bearing.
Her lithe figure holding on to Val's fell off the damaged rooftop and smashed into the window of the next building over. Glass burst like the shattering of a thin fickle veil in the night sky in the next moment as both their figures ran through the window.
The shards of broken glass seamlessly bounced off the skin of Raven like an impenetrable armour, her dark robe wrapping around Val in the process like a shadow embrace.
The two crashed forward against what was the wooden flooring of the room inside, thuds resounding as they rolled to a stop. Another groan leaked from Val's lips. He still hadn't recovered from the first sudden attack and explosion when the second one hit at the rooftop, his whole senses were flipped over like a chess board.
"Quickly."
Raven rose, holding on firmly to Val as she picked him up, her voice sharp with the edge of urgency and subtle bloodlust.
Thanks to Raven's cloak protection, Val had miraculously managed to avoid any shards of glass tearing through his body, but his limbs still felt bruised, numbed and heavy. His legs especially felt like tree roots stubbornly planted against the ground.
But even if Val wanted to, he couldn't muster nearly enough resistance against Raven's firm, but gentle pull on his body. Unable to let out even a small curse, Val was dragged off like a child without even fully registering his environment.
They rushed through a doorway, sharply descending down a flight of stairs. Their hurried steps seemingly thundered in the dark empty passage that was as still and silent as a graveyard. Despite all the noise they seemingly caused, yet not a single person appeared.
The building residence, or even perhaps, the whole world at that moment was empty, Val thought amidst his throbbing head.
How else could he explain how two consecutive explosions could take place and nothing happened? No one seemed to care or show up to check what happened, the night sky was still, and the moon was indifferent. Val already knew something mysterious was happening. It was like they were isolated.
"We can't keep running. There's not much time until they find us here."
Raven led Val straight to what was seemingly and underground cellar, like basement, of the building with sparse dim lamps hanging from the wall corners, the wooden stairs creaking under their weight. Without sparing Val a glance, Raven swiftly moved to shot the door close behind them, knowing more than well doing such wouldn't matter.
What was a mere wooden door supposed to do?
"You still haven't explained to me clearly."
Val easily slumped to the wooden floorboards with scattered breaths, his body pulsing all over with pain and discomfort as he struggled to keep his head raised.
"Who exactly we running from? These... Executioners, who are they?"
Raven turned around, her violet eyes sweeping over Val's battered figure with a flash of aching worry.
"Not who, what."
"What?"
"Vampires."
Val froze, choking on his next few words. The next second an inexplicable chill permeated through his body, drenching his back wholly in sticky cold sweat. An intoxicating smell of blood filled the air.
The dim darkness of the cellar seemed to grow deeper, the faint glow of the sparse lanterns receding even further and flickering in their shells. A tenebrous shadow cast on Raven's small face, two points of red glowing in her eyes.
Cold sweat glistened against Val's pale face, each beading droplet feeling like the cold touch of a hundred needles against his skin as the silence went dead.
A tall figure rose from the depths of the darkness, emerging at the center of the cellar where the radiance of the flickering dim lamps failed to reach.
Val's whole body tensed so tightly like a taut string, his bones and muscles threatening to crush under their own weight. Val's jaw clenched as his eyes redened, the intoxicating smell of blood thickened in the air as his throat felt rigid and his chest heavy.
"Who are you?"
The figure stood tall then lowered its head covered in a hood, bending its upper body hidden away behind a thick cloak — it's movements slow, deliberate, and courtesy, each action perfectly managed and timed.
"We greet the Heir of Vein and thrid Prince of the Empire — the first of his name, Val Valentine." A velvety voice announced in the dark cellar and the blood in Val's veins slowed to a creepy crawl.
The figure rose, straightening his back, half a tilted smile revealed from under the thick hood over his face.
"The night is dark and full of delight."
As he spoke, four mysterious entities emerged from the darkness behind him, draped in thick cloaks and hoods hiding their features. Their presence were silent, a subtle flow in their movements as they spread out that made them seem illusionary and unreal.
The first figure, allegedly a male and the one with the most registered presence stood at the center with an amicable dignified aura that only made Val react to him the most strongly among the others.. An unseen gaze swept over Raven, nestling against Val who was frozen stiff against the floor.
"Let me introduce ourselves. We are the Executioners, my Lord, and it is a pleasure to finally meet you like this. Well... Not like this — at least maybe not for you. Considering that you'll be dying here tonight. Yes, we'll be executing you."
"Fuck off."
Raven's voice rose calmly with an edge, her violet eyes sharpening with shades of murder as her figure moved to stand before Val.
"Do not be foolish, little girl of House Blank. We won't be held responsible for whatever that happens next. Leave. Now." One of the newly emerged four figures moved slowly with a grating voice bordering on a low growl, as if its words were seemingly cast in bloodlust.
"Do not add further to your mistakes, child. Your not supposed to be here." Another figure said, the softer voice belonging to that of a woman.
Raven stood menacingly, unmoving as a monolith and unshaken by their words and warnings. The shadow across her face deepened as her eyes glowed blood red. An intimidating aura that was in total contrast and dwarfed her petite figure spilled from her body, expressing her stance.
"Make me."
She flicked her wrist, a large, magnificent scythe appeared in her grasp out of thin air. Its sinisterly beautiful curve blade was slender and solemn, a silent sharpness that seemed to coldly hiss. The edge of the sharp long blade was tinged with red.
Val's expression flinched at the sudden appearance of the magnificent, yet dreadful weapon, its size far larger and immense than the little hands easily holding on to it. The full length of the just the blade alone was enough to completely dawrf Raven's size.
"You dare—?!"
"Hold."
One of the cloaked Executioners growled with animosity, seeing the young woman raise a weapon against them before he was stopped by the man at the center, stretching his hand to the side along his path.
The first Executioner slowly turned to meet Raven's unyielding and bloodlustful gaze from behind his hood. The animosity and resolve hidden behind those pulsing red eyes couldn't be missed.
"Do you have any idea what you're doing, girl? You understand you actions relate to treason against the empire and the Crown"
Raven scoffed coldly, an oppressive air spewing with bloodlustf from her form.
"Wht kind of Knight sits aside and watches their master and lord die? If anything, it's you and those foogoies from the Council who's actions are treasonous to the crown! How dare you lay a finger against a member of the Royal family? The king will have your heads for this."
The male Executioner retorted firmly, asserting his presence even more firmly.
"That is no 'Lord' nor 'Prince'. It is an abomination, a stain on the King's honour and must be purged. That is our job, our purpose as our Lord's dagger and spear — as Executioners. We purge."
"And we will not have a mere child stand in our way. Regardless of which House sires you!" The other Male Executioner hissed and added.
The red glow in Raven's previously violet eyes deepened, and she lowered the blade of her scythe through the air only slightly. A smile tugged at the partially exposed lips of the first male Executioner, his demeanor slowly shifting, causing the darkness to deepen.
"As expected of a scion of House Blank. Haha, a Knight of Noir's devotion to the crown, theor lords, is ineffable." He laughed.
He titled his head slightly to the side, the hood shifting partially, revealing a glowing blood red glow from his eyes.
"But I'm afraid if you insist on standing in our way, then there's nothing we can do about it."
"We'll execute you too. Along with that half blood you call a lord."