Ever since Layla had become a ghoul, her hearing was more sensitive, her sight improved, and there was a new found strength in her body that wasn’t there before. Lastly, there was a connection she had to Erin, one that was similar to Quinn’s, but far stronger.

"Erin, you mentioned before that I was something called a ghoul, right?" Layla slightly tilted her head, a little scared of what it truly meant.

Layla had some idea as to what a ghoul was. She had seen, and read stories of them many times in the past. The thing was... if those stories were true, then it was a bad sign for her.

"I’m afraid this isn’t good news," The system finally spoke, "Out of all the possibilities she could have turned into, this was one of the outcomes I was hoping for the least."

Hearing the system’s words, both her and Quinn tensed up, not sure how to respond.

"Oh no, don’t tell me I eat—" Layla’s eyes widened, and her mouth contorted into horror.

"Geez, you two are leaving the poor girl in suspense, I’ll go tell her," Fex rolled his eyes, then looked at Layla, "A ghoul is basically a stronger, faster human, but they can regenerate their body incredibly fast, faster than a vampire."

"Oh," Layla smiled in pleasant surprise, "That’s not too bad. I could pretend I have some sort of regenerative ability then."

The system then decided to add some further information, "Ghouls are most loyal to their maker. The reason behind this is because Erin’s blood resides in Layla’s body. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, Erin will need to supply Layla with her own blood, otherwise her body will start to deteriorate, and eventually cease to exist. As long as she gets a supply of Erin’s blood, she will live on forever by her side"

{Quinn} That isn’t good news.

Erin’s face, however, turned bright red, and she turned her face away from everyone.

’This system... Is it trying to play matchmaker with me and Layla?’ Erin thought.

"I will add, because Layla is both part of your family, and a ghoul, whatever you command, Layla will have no choice but to obey. This does depend on the amount of Erin’s blood inside of her body, and if she has a low amount of Erin’s blood, she will not be as inclined to follow her orders."

It was then that Erin realized that she couldn’t drink from Layla anymore, not that the girl was willing to offer it now. Turning her head to face Quinn, he slowly nodded his head "no" as if already knowing what she was about to ask.

’Damn, so I can’t use those two for a source of food any more?’ Erin thought, ’Maybe I’ve pushed them a little too hard.’

Interrupting her thoughts, Fex was still in the middle of his explanation to Layla.

"But you are going to need to eat one thing," he continued, "And its human flesh."

"Human flesh?!" Quinn, Peter, Layla and Erin all shouted in unison.

"Woah there, it’s not a big deal," Fex tried to explain, but the others talked over him.

"But we’re made out of human!" Peter cried, then pointed at Layla in disgust, "Being a ghoul sounds awful! You’re not going to eat me right?!"

Layla quickly raised her hands to defend herself, "I’m not! I don’t want to eat you!" Then added, "Nor anyone! I swear!"

{Erin} System, is Fex being serious?

The system sighed, "Unfortunately yes, and it’s not like you can feed her normal food. She will throw up regular human food, and your blood can only be used to command her, much less as a food source. But something like raw animal meat might be able to temporarily satiate her hunger."

Erin got up and walked over to Layla, intensity burning in her eyes, "Layla, you won’t need to eat human meat. I’ll get you some raw animal meat instead."

Layla almost gagged, "Raw animal meat? But... that’s so gross, and they have a bunch of bacteria that might kill me."

"Yeah, but you’re no longer human," Fex reminded, "Don’t worry, I have a plan for all of this. Raw animal meat will work, but she’s going to need human flesh soon."

"A plan?" Quinn raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t sure if he liked the sound of that.

"It’ll take me a bit to do, so you will have to wait until tomorrow, you guys can just go and get the meat," Fex said.

With that, Fex left the dorm, and Quinn and Erin got up, preparing to leave for the convenience store.

"Wait, what about me?" Peter asked, looking at both Erin then Layla.

Layla sighed, "You can stay here with me, I think with all of our talk today, you need someone to better explain everything without interruptions."

Peter nervously gulped, "With you?"

Layla glared at him, "I can control myself you know! I’m not going to eat you the moment I’m left unattended!"

There was an awkward silence in the room, as they had no way to fully confirm if what Layla said was true.

"They’ll be fine," Erin eventually said, then for extra measure, stared into Layla’s eyes, "Don’t eat Peter."

Layla’s body froze up for a second, then relaxed. Through that command, there was a strange feeling within her mind, one that she couldn’t bypass even if she tried forcing herself to.

Satisfied, Erin and Quinn headed out to the convenience store.

While Erin was a distance away, she could still feel a connection to Layla, most likely as a result of turning her.

"To correct your thinking, that connection you feel is the result of your family bond," The system explained, "It is the same kind of bond that you share with Quinn, although, I will say he is a unique case as he shares the system, and not officially blooded. Unlike with Layla, you cannot command him to do anything he wouldn’t otherwise do."

On the topic of commanding, Quinn thought about not that long ago, Erin tried to use the influence skill on him.

"Hey Erin, back on planet Caladi, I saw a message saying you had..." Quinn’s voice trailed off, then opened the chat tab for privacy.

{Quinn} Killed someone.

Erin glanced at Quinn, continuing to walk.

"I didn’t take pleasure in it, if you’re that worried," Erin said.

"But aren’t you... upset by taking a life?" Quinn asked.

"It was self defense. He and his team attacked us, and nearly killed me. You saw my health didn’t you? If I hadn’t drunk his blood, then I would’ve turned into a bloodsucker and killed both him and Layla," Erin stated, matter of factly.

Quinn grimaced a little by the details, but he found that he couldn’t be fully upset by it. Whoever tried to kill another fellow student first was undoubtedly not a good person, and perhaps the world was a little better off without them.

"I’ll pay for the meat, and in exchange for surviving today, I’ll get you whatever you want from the store," Erin stated, then quietly added, "It’s the least I can do for saving her."

—

"So that’s what you are?" Peter asked.

Layla nodded.

"And... You’re no longer mad at me?" Peter worried.

"No, I understand that you did what you had to, and I want to say... Thank you," Layla smiled.

Just then, the door opened, and they could hear an unexpected voice.

"Oohhh, since when did you have a boy over? I didn’t take you as the type!"

"Cia!" Layla blurted out, turning in her second roommate’s direction, "What uh— what are you doing here so early?"