The Tyrant's Pet

"Sunny Bloodfang La Crox. I told you not to let your name known in my head." Abel shook his head before laughing with his lips closed. His laughter immediately took off the smile on Maximus' face. "I am not angry, but amused. Just what did that child tell you that you will believe her?"

He cocked his head to the side as the side of his lips hooked up with a sinister grin. "The Grimsbannes, indeed, don't hold any familial attachment. We do not mind turning to each other if we have enough reason to, but alas, that was the case for the Originals."

"I don't mind killing Marsella. She deserves to die. But death is just too easy for her! I won't let her vile existence trick me. We will both rot in this hell," he continued. "As for my granddaughter, she is too adorable to get hurt. On top of that, she is just too… smart and bad at the same time. She makes me want to kill her parents so I can adopt her."

A glint flickered in Abel's eyes as he snickered. "Trust… surely take guts to give, so I applaud you for being generous. Or should I applaud her for getting your trust? Or making you believe she's just another Grimsbanne with an early onset spark of madness?"

Maximus's expression died, and in a heartbeat, he disappeared from his vantage point. However, even before he could rush to the Forbidden Mansion, Abel appeared in front of him.

"What's the rush, my dear?" Abel's lips were stretched from ear to ear until his canines were showing. He outstretched his hand, his fingers glinting like blades as he added, "we're not done yet and you hadn't forced my weapon out of me. The fun had yet started!"

CLASH!

**************************************** BREAK **************************************

[ FORBIDDEN MANSION ]

Sunny let out a short yelp, wiping the sweat on her forehead with her arm. Her hand was covered with blood, and a few specks of blood on her chubby cheeks. The side of her lips curled up in satisfaction, straightening her back, still holding the small knife in her small hand.

"Phew! That wasn't hard," said Sunny, gazing at the open chest of the man lying motionless on the bed. Her eyes twinkled, watching how the man's heart beat. "It's beating so slow — wow… so this is what the heart of the king looks like."

Her smile grew brighter, shifting her eyes to the man's face. He was still unconscious and his complexion was paler than usual due to the loss of blood.

"Shh!" Sunny raised her bloody finger before her lips, shushing the unconscious man. "This won't hurt… much. Sunny knows what she's doing. Don't worry."

The mischief in her eyes said otherwise, though. Although she seemed to have an idea of what she was doing, Sunny definitely didn't know much of the process.

"Just open his chest," she repeated the instructions she heard from her butler back home without proper practice or example. "See his beating heart, take it out, and then BAM! He's dead!"

Sunny suddenly frowned as she repeated the instruction in her head.

"That's not what grandpa told me." She blinked, staring at the beating heart, recalling what Abel told her days ago. "Ahh… open his chest, find the link… and then cut it."

With that thought in mind, her little hand went inside the man's open chest, searching for whatever link her grandfather had told her. Sunny had no idea what sort of link Abel was talking about. All he said was that she would know about the link if she saw it.

And Abel was correct.

It didn't take long for Sunny to find a blue vessel that still stood out despite the excessive blood inside the chest and flesh.

"Aha! This is the link!" She exclaimed excitedly, holding onto the vessel in between her small thumb and index. She then reached for the small knife to cut it. "I will make the cut now. Hehe."

Sunny hummed a soft tune as she slipped the blade to cut the link that was binding this man to a forced slumber. They could've done it in the past, but this was highly risky. Moreover, Abel and Sunny weren't sure about their speculations about the mainland and the mysteries the king had kept from everyone.

They had to be sure, and Maximus' arrival just confirmed their speculations: the king of the mainland… was simply a vessel of someone who didn't have any form.

"Cut —" Sunny stopped from cutting the link as the window suddenly shattered from the outside. She slowly raised her eyes, catching Marsella's figure standing on the windowsill with dirt clinging to her body. This time, however, Sunny's adorable eyes were replaced with contempt and malice.

"Where's my pretty grandma?" asked Sunny to Marsella, knowing that witch who was living inside the same body seemed to have lost her battle against the real Marsella.

The corner of Marsella's lips stretched from ear to ear, eyes falling on the man lying on the bed. Sunny was kneeling on his side, her hands inside the man's chest.

"That's rude, little demon," said Marsella with a smirk. "You shouldn't be doing that to him."

"Did you come to stop me, Marsella?"

"No." Marsella shook her head, narrowing her eyes until they were partially closed.

Evil. 

That was what Marsella looked like with her lips curled up in a sinister smirk, her crimson eyes glinting, and two horns coming out of her head. Her lips parted, licking them, showing the fangs that had grown longer.

"I am famished, child," came out a dark voice, gazing at the little girl as if she was a sheep she could devour. "But I will not stop you. I… will kill you. You understand the reason, right? For helping that wretched Vera hurt me."

Sunny pursed her lips into a thin line, letting go of the link carefully. Her eyes were fixed on Marsella, and as someone clever, Sunny knew her life was in danger. This Marsella — the real Marsella — was the most antagonistic among the Grimsbanne.

"You…" whispered Sunny, as she silently watched Marsella leap in her direction. "... will anger many people, Marsella."