Knightly Love

A breeze passed through, setting the grass and leaves swaying. Amidst the rustling shadows, another figure staggered forward. His eyes were blood-red, a cruel grin curled at the corners of his mouth, and his fingers scraped against each other like claws. A black robe billowed around him in the night wind. Step by step, he closed in on a girl.

“D-don’t come any closer... vampire...” the girl stammered, her voice trembling. One hand waved feebly in front of her, as if it could ward off the nightmare before her.

But the vampire pressed on. Just when the situation seemed most desperate, the girl yawned.

The vampire let out an exasperated laugh. “Are you afraid of me, or do you take me for some kind of lucky charm? You yawn at a time like this?”

The girl didn’t answer. Instead, she began to snore softly.

The vampire hesitated no longer. He lunged. But the moment he was about to sink his claws into her, a blinding flash of golden light exploded, hurling him back several paces.

He looked up in shock. Not far away stood a witch, a smug smile on her face. “Well, well. Lucky night. Two birds with one stone.”

Before she finished speaking, several glowing magic circles flickered to life beneath the vampire’s feet. Colored lights swirled, dazzling him, as a powerful binding force began to coalesce.

“Damn—she’s trying to tame me,” the vampire realized. He raised a hand toward the sky without a second thought. A piercing magical flare shot upward and burst into a shower of brilliant sparks.

“Curses! You called for backup!” the witch snarled, her face flushed with fury. Flames erupted from her wand, ready to roast the vampire alive.

Just then, the vampire shouted, “The girl is gone!”

The witch snorted, about to intensify the flames, but she instinctively followed his gaze. The clearing was empty. Her face went pale. She dismissed the magic circles in a panic, dashed over, grabbed the vampire by the collar, and pressed her wand to his throat. “Where did she go? Talk!”

The vampire shut his eyes, then snapped them open. His expression turned grim. “Damn it. A knight took her.”

“What?!” The witch kicked the broomstick at her feet; it rose obediently into the air. “What are you waiting for? Get on! We’re chasing!”

But the vampire stood frozen, shoulders hunched, mouth agape, eyes wide—a picture of utter disbelief.

The witch tapped the broom impatiently. “Listen. Our goal has changed. Catching that girl is all that matters now. And you know exactly why we have to catch her, don’t you?”

The vampire was silent for a moment. Then he nodded slowly.

Yet instead of stepping onto the broom, he remained where he stood. A slow, meaningful smile spread across his lips.

“Hold on,” he said. “In this game of hunt, I’m the one who calls the shots.”

The witch let out a cold laugh, ready to snap back—until she noticed something. She glanced around. In the darkness, shadowy figures were gathering from all directions. Drawn by the signal flare he had fired moments ago, they were his kin—other vampires.

Their gazes locked onto her.

The sneer on the witch’s face froze, then shifted into a look of cool calculation. She took a deep breath and gave a very deliberate nod.

And so, two creatures with their own hidden agendas climbed onto the same broomstick and shot into the depths of the night.

On the other side, the knight gripped the reins, guiding the horse steadily forward. Behind him, the girl clung to him tightly, her body trembling uncontrollably. Her eyes were rimmed with red, her face streaked with tears.

The knight asked, “Why were those things chasing you?”

The girl sniffled. “I don’t know... I was just walking, and then they came. But I heard the vampire say something about ‘taming.’”

“Wait—did you say ‘they’?” A cold sweat broke out on the knight’s back.

“Yes. They said that after they finished taming, one vampire would stay to watch me, and the others would leave.” The girl continued.

“That’s not right.” The knight slowed the horse down, his hand moving quietly toward the sword at his side.

“What’s wrong?” the girl asked.

The knight lowered his voice, his gaze sweeping alertly across the surrounding woods. “This is still the territory of the tree monsters. By all rights, they should have attacked us already. But today... it’s too quiet.”

No sooner had he spoken than a rustling sound came from the trees. Then a hoarse voice emerged from the shadows: “Hmph! That vampire is the one behind all this!”

The knight didn’t stop to hear the story. He dug his heels into the horse’s flanks and spurred it into a gallop.

The tree monster’s voice chased after them: “Since curiosity won’t keep you here, you probably know there’s a trap ahead. Fine then—let’s see if strength can hold you!”

Another tree monster chimed in darkly: “Just wait. The vampire army will be here to greet us soon!”

Immediately, the tree monsters surrounded the pair and their horse. The knight urged the horse to leap, and it shot through a gap between two trees. But the tree monsters were not to be outdone; more of them closed in again from behind. The knight swung his sword at the bushes ahead, but there were too many, and the tree monsters kept lashing out with vines. Soon, both of them were entangled.

Just when all seemed lost, the vines began to shrink back on their own, as if out of control. The knight looked up and saw the witch and the vampire hovering overhead. The vampire roared down at the tree monsters: “Are you lot rebelling? Why did you let her go?”

The tree monsters wobbled and replied, “We used all our power—it was useless!”

The vampire and the witch exchanged a glance, then dove straight toward the girl.

The girl smiled faintly. From her sleeve, she pulled out a folding sword and flicked her wrist to extend the blade. Beside her, the knight gasped: “You... you...”

The girl swung the sword at the tree monsters. With that single strike, the entire forest—every canopy of every tree monster—was split clean in half.

That one blow stunned everyone present.

The vampire blinked and said, “Well, tonight just keeps getting interesting. So many people trying to tame someone.”

Suddenly, a flash of golden light swept through, startling every monster and the witch nearby.