He stared at Tessa as his expression became serious.
He knew that Tessa wasn't the usual Vampire.
She was different... A different breed.
"Tessa... I believe you instinctively know your abilities now. Tell me... What can you do?"
Tessa was silent for a few seconds as she furrowed her brows.
Arin didn't say anything. He just watched her, waiting for her response.
Finally, after a few more seconds, Tessa finally spoke:
Arin squinted his eyes. "Feel what?"
Tessa didn't say anything, but her head slowly turned to the right.
Arin followed her gaze and realized that she was staring at the forest.
She raised her right hand, and slowly stretched it towards the direction of the forest that was outside the village.
"I... I don't know..." She stammered. "I can just feel it... I know what it is, but I don't know how to explain it to you."
Arin understood, so he didn't try to force her to explain it.
He knew that eventually, she would display her abilities, and even before then, Seraphine or Roxanne would give him information about Vampire Soulmancers.
But before Arin could even say anything, Tessa suddenly grabbed his hand, and then...
She leaped up, her body soaring in the air together with Arin.
Arin's eyes widened slightly, shocked by what just happened.
Tessa and Arin landed on the ground with a thud.
"Follow me..." Tessa whispered, interrupting Arin.
With her hand still gripping Arin's wrist, she dashed forward with intense speed.
Her hair fluttered like crazy as the wind whizzed past her.
Much faster than before.
Arin was naturally able to keep up with her speed.
He had already calmed down, but he was still very much curious about what Tessa was doing.
Though, he didn't ask her again.
They both reached the wooden gate of the village instantly.
The gap that the red haired Vampire put on it was still present, but Tessa and Arin didn't even bother to pass through the gap.
They just leaped above the gate, arriving at the other side in an instant.
Without wasting time, they entered the forest.
Tessa instantly came to a halt as soon as they reached where they placed the body of the red haired Vampire.
The Vampire's body was still present, laid on the patch of leaves.
"Is this what you could feel?" Arin asked.
Tessa turned back to look at Arin before nodding.
"Yes... And now, I can see it..."
Arin now understood why she was looking and pointing in the direction of the forest.
Now, he had a guess of what Tessa's ability was, especially considering the name of her race.
As for Tessa, she could feel something, as if the Vampire was a magnet, pulling her towards himself.
But now that she was close to the Vampire, she finally realized that it wasn't the Vampire who was pulling her.
Just above the Vampire's chest, she could see a glowing red orb.
The orb wasn't too big. Just the size of a small stone.
Though, Arin couldn't see it, and she knew that.
"Hey, Arin. I know you can't see it, but there's a glowing red orb in this Vampire's chest.
She added, "that was what I was feeling. It was pulling me..."
Arin indeed couldn't see anything on the Vampire's chest.
'Is it the Blood Core?' Arin thought. 'No... I would've been able to see it if it was the Blood Core...'
The Blood Core was a small red stone. It was the same stone he retrieved from Seraphine's head when he killed her.
That was how he was able to turn into a Vampire in the first place.
Tessa noticed Arin's slight confusion, so she quickly spoke.
"It's the Vampire's Soul..."
Arin's eyes shifted from the Vampire's body to Tessa.
"Soulmancer... Soul..." He muttered.
"Yes, I can see the Vampire's soul," Tessa said as she glanced at the Vampire again. "And apart from that, I suddenly have knowledge of some stuff I didn't have before."
Arin walked closer to her. "Hmm, tell me."
"It's not that much. I just know that if any being is killed, either Beast, Vampire, or Human, their soul will still be present for about a whole day."
Arin furrowed his brows. 'That information just came into her head automatically...? That means she's slowly getting information about her race...'
This was just a theory, but it was the most plausible explanation for Tessa suddenly knowing this.
"Can you do anything with the soul?" Arin asked.
"Yes," Tessa replied instantly.
Without saying anything else, she turned back, facing the Vampire who was on the ground.
She stretched out her right hand towards the Vampire's body.
Instantly, as soon as she willed it, the Vampire's soul disappeared.
The red glowing orb was no longer on the Vampire's chest.
"I've stored the Vampire's soul..." She said as she turned back to look at Arin.
Even though he couldn't see the Vampire's soul or how it disappeared, since Tessa was telling him, he was understanding it.
He wanted to ask what she could do with the soul now that she has stored it, but before he could do that, Tessa squinted her eyes.
"More... More information."
She smiled, seemingly glad that she was slowly realizing what her ability was and also knowing what type of Vampire she was.
Arin didn't need to ask before Tessa spoke:
"Even though I'm not in my Vampire form, I can still store souls. But in order to summon those souls, I have to transform into my Vampire form."
She folded her arms as she continued,
"For now, I can only store three souls... And I know how to summon those souls..."
What Tessa said wasn't complex at all, so Arin was able to easily understand.
"Okay... Can you summon this Vampire's soul now...?"
Instantly, she released her Blood Energy.
Her appearance instantly changed, and she stretched out both hands in front of her.
Arin watched intensely without saying a single word.
Tessa's hands began trembling for a few seconds, and then, it finally stopped.
A bright flash of red light instantly left Tessa's hands.
The light shot out to the ground in front of her, and brightened.
Arin quickly covered his eyes, blocking the light.
Finally, after a few seconds, the light subsided.
Arin opened his eyes.
Tessa was standing in front of him.
But there was a second person.
A man with red hair and red eyes.
He was standing beside Tessa, but he had a deep frown on his face.
He looked slightly angry, no, confused.
"Huh? D... Didn't I die...?"
Tessa was staring at the red haired Vampire, her gaze curious.
As for Arin, without a single bit of hesitation, he walked towards the red haired Vampire.
He placed his hands on his chin as he began scrutinizing the Vampire.
"Hmm... He's real..."
Arin touched the Vampire's face. He began squeezing his face with both hands, observing him from left to right as if he really wanted to confirm if he was real.
"Who the hell are you!?" The Vampire roared as his veins bulged in his head. "Stop squeezing my face!"
Arin's gaze suddenly turned sharp as he glared at the Vampire.
"You want to know who I am?" Arin muttered as he slowly began raising his hand.
Before the Vampire could roar again, Arin suddenly placed his hand on the Vampire's face.
The Vampire's eyes widened slightly.
This was the same thing a certain masked dude did to him.
But this person wasn't wearing a mask.
Tessa just folded her arms, observing, as she held back the urge to chuckle.
Arin raised a brow. "Yes, it's probably what you're thinking. It's the same person."
The Vampire's expression slowly began changing.
Anger, then shock, then dread.
He shivered as he slowly began moving behind Tessa as if he wanted her to shield him from Arin.
But just as he moved towards Tessa's back, that was when he saw his body on the ground.
"Eeehhh!" He jumped back in shock again.
At this point, he was acting like a scared child.
Arin just shook his head as he stared at Tessa.
Tessa smiled, facing Arin. "He's completely real. His current body is actually his soul, though I'll still have to do some more experiments to know how it works."
Arin nodded. "I understand..."
'I think it's similar to how Seraphine is. Her physical form is actually still her soul,' he thought.
"I can also feel a connection with him," Tessa said.
She stared at Arin playfully and chuckled before continuing,
"And I know what he currently wants to do, but because the guy who killed him is currently present, he's scared and unable to do anything..."
Arin glanced at the Vampire again who was shivering behind Tessa and stealing glances at him.
From the look of things, the Vampire clearly remembered everything.