Chapter 50: Bittersweet Memories

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Natalia began to recall her past as she was undergoing evolution.

"Agh… What is happening to me…"

She began to recall glimpses of her past, seeing her mother's face, and wondering about who her mysterious father was…

She recalled that the other kids in her town looked at her weirdly due to her wine-colored hair and her sharp crimson-red eyes, alongside her pale-white skin.

She had a hard time fitting with them, especially because of her appearance, which seemed to look like a beast sometimes, especially on days that were too dark, as her eyes would glow brightly…

There was one time when the little Natalia asked the kids something, tired of being ignored and rejected.

"Why can't I hang out with you guys?"

"B-Because you look scary! Haven't you seen yourself in a mirror?"

"My dad said you have vampire blood! I bet you would want to suck our blood or something…"

"I am scared of you… S-Sorry!"

The kids ran away from her, as Natalia began to chase them down.

"Wait! I am not a vampire! I-I… I don't really need to drink blood either…" she muttered, gasping for air as she suddenly felt too tired to keep running, the kids ran farther from her, leaving her alone once more.

Natalia's crimson-red eyes began to cry, as her little and warm tears fell over her pale-white hands resting over the gray rock of the ground.

"Sniff… Ugh… I feel sickly again…"

She slowly began to walk back home while crying, but quickly cleaned her tears when she got near the door to meet her mother.

"Ah, Natalia… Did you had fun with the kids outside?" she asked.

"Y-Yeah…" muttered Natalia, as she fell over her bed. Her little house only had a single bed where she slept with her mother.

"Are you feeling tired again, dear? Have you drank your blood?" asked her mother.

"Hm… I don't want to drink blood! I can live without it!" said Natalia, getting all angry.

"Eh? B-But you're half Vampire, Natalia… you need to drink your blood or else you'll feel sickly…" said her mother.

"I-I am not a vampire! I am a human… L-Like mama!" said Natalia, as she began to cry.

"N-Natalia?"

Natalia's mother ran towards her daughter, comforting her.

"Sniff… I don't want to be a Vampire…" she cried.

"B-But that's how you were born, dear… It is who you are… H-Have someone told you something?" asked her mother.

Natalia nodded a bit.

"T-The kids… they never let me play with them…" she muttered.

"Eh? But I remember that they played with you before…" said her mother.

"B-But they stopped some months ago… Sniff… And they always say awful things… T-They say they are… scared of me…" she muttered.

Natalia's mother hugged her daughter, as she kissed her forehead.

"They are just wrong, I am sure that my little Natalia is the most gentle and lovely girl there is… Being a Vampire is not something to feel ashamed of! It is something to be proud of, my dear… Your father was a very powerful man… He used the strength of his Vampire bloodline to protect me when I was pregnant with you inside my belly… He even left his space pirate band to take care of me… And he… He gave away his life for us too… You don't have to look down on your bloodline, but be proud of who you are, dearie… Alright? At least… do it for mama and papa, okay?" asked her mother, as she cleaned Natalia's tears.

Natalia slowly understood that without the bloodline of a vampire that her father had, she might not even be alive now… nor her mother…

"This power will one day blossom within your body, and I am sure that when you grow strong, they will respect you more… You have to show them through actions that you're a good person and not someone to be afraid of!" said Natalia's mother.

Natalia's crimson-red eyes glowed with bright red light, as she felt moved by her mother's words.

"Ah… Strong? Can I be as strong as papa one day?" she wondered.

"Of course…! I am sure you will, dear!" said Natalia's mother, kissing her forehead again.

"Now, how about we eat some soup? I can even give you some of the dried meat I have saved for special days!" said her mother.

"Okay!" said Natalia.

"But not before you drink your blood!" said her mother.

Natalia sighed, as she drank the sweet liquid. She didn't like how it caused her to feel so at ease and happy, like some kind of drug…

Although she sometimes wondered where the blood came from, her mother always said that it was the blood of monsters that the hunters caught sometimes and that they shared it with her…

"Mother… Thank you for always… giving me your blood… despite that slowly weakening you every day…"

Natalia recalled her mother, which had been separated from her years ago as they were sold separately as slaves…

She sometimes wondered if she was still out there… somewhere… or if she had… already died.

The power continued to overflow through her body as it was completely absorbed, her entire body's evolution had already finished, and a surging aura of blood began to leak from her body.

"So this is the power of my father…." She thought, glancing at her long and black claws.

Her body seemed the same as before, but her muscles seemed incredibly strong now, even though they looked as slim as before. Her senses had sharped to even greater levels, and her ears had grown pointy.

She felt a new overflowing power palpitating within her chest… And it wasn't a heart.

"This is… what my mother once said my father had… A Blood Core, is it?" she wondered, touching her chest as she felt the overflowing power of her heritage blossoming within her heart.

"Oh! Her evolution seems to have triggered her Vampiric Bloodline, my lord," said Belphegor.

"Interesting…" said Chaos, analyzing Natalia's new prowess.

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