Chapter 247 – True Vampire
“Hecate, no!” The girls said.
“What have you done?” Lythea asked.
With both hands clutched to her chest, Hecate squirmed and groaned while hunched over. The light cutting in from the window illumined her agonizing face. This was the result of trying to steal a vampire’s powers by drink their blood.
“Ahahahahaha! Did you really try to drink my blood? Are you stupid?” Thivadi grabbed his stomach from laughter. He seriously could stop still. “Oh… You’re too funny. I did not see that one coming. Do you have any idea how vampires work? Did you really expect that to work?”
Even in pain, Hecate furrowed her brows. Vampire or not, who was he to look down on her? “Who knows… Everyone seems to make up their own theories. I might as well take a risk.” Her legs were failing and she fell to her knees.
“Let me guess, you heard some stupid human say that you’ll turn into a vampire if you drink a vampire’s blood? That’s hilarious.” Thivadi shook his head and calmed down. “To give you some credit, whoever told you that is not the stupidest human around. I’ll tell you what your options are so you can enjoy your last moments.”
Thivadi stopped in front of Hecate for a lesson. Her body was probably being destroyed from the inside at that very moment. The threat she posed was laughable at best.
“When a vampire bites another being, two things can happen depending on the vampire’s intent. Either they’re nothing but a meal and die from getting their life force drained, or the vampirification process begins. The question then is whether the host’s body can withstand the vampire’s power. If they’re too weak, the process will fail and the host just dies. If they can withstand the process, they gain a portion of the vampire’s powers but become nothing but mindless slaves. Remember all the undead you fought? All vampirified slaves.”
“Oh no…” Carol tried to stand up. There was no time to waste. They had to do something before Hecate succumbed. “Dammit!” Try as she might, her arms didn’t have enough strength to push up from the floor.
“Ahahahaha! It’s over for you!” Thivadi said. “Will you die just like that, or will you join my pawns? I can’t wait to see which it will be.”
“Fufu… *cough cough!* *cough!*” She forcibly covered her mouth before an uncontrollable fit started. “You missed something… How are actual vampires born?”
Thivadi paused. “The same as you for the most part. But you’re right. That’s why whoever told you to drink my blood wasn’t a complete fool. It’s very rare, but there are some people that can actually claim a vampire’s powers for themselves. By drinking a vampire’s blood, their bodies are able to steal the vampire’s power and they turn into a true vampire themselves.” Thivadi scoffed. “If you were banking on that, you were right to try to drink my blood, but that’s only in theory. No living vampire I know became a vampire from drinking a vampire’s blood. You threw your life away for nothing!”
“Ehhh… Is that so…?” A creepy smile spread across Hecate face as she exerted herself to grab her sniper scythe.
“I knew there had to be a way.” She said. “Vampires aren’t just powerful monsters… They’re a symbol.” Forcing her strength into her legs slowly raised her, but she still couldn’t stand up straight. “They’re a symbol of superiority. If someone inferior managed to get their hands on their blood, they should lose the right to that superior power! That’s what I’ve long come to think… I bet my life on that theory!” Hecate pointed the blade at the vampire. “And since I’ve taken your blood through my own efforts, I’ve gained the right to take your powers!”
“…” Thivadi subtly glared at her. “Nonsense!”
Hecate was in no condition to fight. Thivadi closed the gap in a second and pushed her into the floor, crushing her neck with one hand.
“Your delusions have no basis on reality! I thought I’d let you become one of my pawns, but you’re too dangerous to leave alive. Die!”
He raised his hand, aimed right at her chest.
“Gahhh!!!” She coughed out blood as he pierced her heart. Bones and protective fabric offered no resistance to the powerful thrust.
“It’s over…”
“For you!” With the last of her strength, Hecate clutched the hand around her neck and sunk her teeth in.
“It’s futile…?” Thivadi’s grip weakened by the second. The deadly wound he just opened was actually closing. If this kept going… “It can’t be! Get away from me!” Thivadi swung his arm and sent Hecate crashing against a wall. Her body limply hit the ground. Dress frayed beyond repair and eye patch fallen on the floor.
“D- did that bitch actually steal some of my powers? It can’t be…” He paced back and forth in a panic. “They’re not just a myth…? I have to kill her… I’ll kill her and reclaim my powers!”
Thivadi ran towards Hecate, but the other girls got in the way.
“You bought us some time, time for us to return the favor!” Carol said.
She and Katja team up to stop Thivadi with their swords.
“You can do it, Hecate! Get up and take his powers!”
“You’re so annoying!” Thivadi backstepped both their slashes. “Out of my way!” A swift kick, even after being blocked, sent the two girls back to the floor.
“N- no! I can’t let you get to her!” Lythea tossed her javelin and controlled it so that the chain would tie around his arms. He tugged at the chains, trying to send her flying again, but Sarasa was there to hold her down.
“Guhhh! Why did you all have to get up now?!” The chains rattled at the sheer force of a vampire opening his arms and eventually exploded.
“No way!” “He escaped?”
“It’s okay…” Hecate’s sniper aimed at his chest. “That’s more than enough!”
*Bang!*
Thivadi staggered back as the bullet hit its target. “Nghh!” His reaction time and speed decreased along with his loss of powers. Even then, he was still a vampire. The bullet did nothing but knock him off balance before the wound rapidly closed.
But that second let Hecate close in the gap.
She fired without even trying to control the recoil. The rifle slid out from under her shoulder and flew in the opposite direction of the bullet. Hecate stepped forward, catching the rifle by the barrel, ready for a huge scythe swing.
“This is it!” Hecate opened both eyes. There was no longer a missing eye, only a chilling red glint that would seal Thivadi’s fate. “Your power’s mine!”
“Gahhh!!”
Hecate’s blade caught the side of Thivadi’s abdomen as he was trying to dodge. A huge gash covered the blade red. The very symbol of his life, his power, now in reach. As fuel for her own power. With a simple glance, the blood evaporated into magic power and naturally collected inside her.
“Damn it! Damn you! You’re just a worthless human! How dare you try to take my powers away from me!” The same happened to the blood Thivadi smeared on the ground while crawling on his back.
“I won’t let you…” He said. “You’re not taking anything else from me!” All the shadows in the room started wobbling as he forced himself up. Dozens and dozens of undead poured into the room and blocked the way between Hecate and Thivadi.
“He’s escaping! No way!” Sarasa said.
Hecate shot her rifle but the undead blocked. There was nothing she could do to reach him. Too many undead in the way! He’s gone by the time they’re done with them…
“Don’t give up!” Carol summoned a giant spinning axe into the crowd with her last ounce of strength. “Go, Hecate! We’ll cover for you!”
The zombies tried to block the gap, but the other girls managed to get in there and keep it open. Defeating the undead would be too much, but stopping them was doable.
“You…” Hecate clenched her scythe. “I got it! I swear I’ll finish him off if it’s the last thing I do!” His office was on the other side of the horde. The undead tried to grab her and stop her, but she successfully made it through.
“Dammit! I refuse to die like this!” Thivadi was completely in tatters by the time he returned to his office. His best bet would be jumping out from the window beyond his desk and sneaking into a crowd. They could still catch him… Maybe burning the mansion down would make for a nice distraction.
“Wait…” But inside the room was an even better escape. “Molt, Ayumu?! Have you been lounging around the whole time?! We’re under attack!”
Molt put down his cup and calmly stood up from Thivadi’s couch, stepping in closer. “Yes… We’re aware…” He tapped the tattered man’s shoulder with a friendly touch. “Static, open!”
“Huh?!”
Next thing he knew, Thivadi fell face-first into the floor. The blade of lightning had cut his tendons.
“M- Molt! What are you doing?! What’s the meaning of this?!” His regeneration wasn’t working at full power. There was no way to recover before his pursuers caught up.
“What do you think?” Molt dissipated his blade and crouched. “You’ve outlived your usefulness, so I’m cutting you off.”
“WH- WHAT?! How dare you? You bastard! I’ll tear you to pieces!” Thivadi swiped at his feet, but he was already gone.
“How pathetic… Don’t act so surprised. You knew this was coming, didn’t you? You were waiting for the right time to dispose of us too. Just die with some dignity.” Molt said.
“How can you do this to me?! I gave you everything, Molt! I gave you status within demon society! You, a lowly human! It’s all thanks to me! I gave you the means to take revenge on the humans who you hate! You can’t turn your back on me like this!”
“But I can.” Molt walked around the fallen body. “Thanks to the status you granted, the demon forces you control in the demon territory, the armies you’ve never bothered to command, will fall under my control. I’ll make your army so great that they will be seen as the best in the entire demon territory. Even Tarthrus will respect my power. Once I gain their trust, I’ll lead all the demons in a great attack against humanity, and I’ll send the demons to their demise!”
“Th- their demise…?” Thivadi asked. “You want to send the demons to their demise? Have you been on humanity’s side the whole time? You hate humanity!”
Molt shrugged off Thivadi’s panicked shouts.
“That is true. Humanity has to pay for their mistakes, but if they can overcome them, I’ll still be rooting for them.” Molt paused. “You demons are greedy, vain, and bloodthirsty, but that’s actually kind of admirable in a certain way. You’re always willing to act and fight for what you want. Even as a human, I can’t find it in me to hate you for that. But humans are the polar opposite. If not for the Hero, they wouldn’t even be able to put up a fight in the coming war. Because of the Hero, however, they get complacent, and that I can’t forgive. They’ve done nothing but watch as you demons developed and turned into the mighty force you are and now want to dump the burden of protecting themselves on Galene. Ridiculous!”
Thivadi’s desk got smashed in half as Molt’s fist slammed down with enough force to make the whole room shake.
“Th- then which is it? Whose side are you on?” Thivadi asked.
“On the side of one who deserves it more. As it stands, a war between the demons and humanity will end with Galene being killed and the humans getting completely overwhelmed. With how much progress you’ve made since the war a thousand years ago, the one ended by the Violence Witch, it’s too unbalanced. My plan’s gonna change that.”
“You’re aiming to destroy that imbalance?”
“That’s right. I’m gonna take away humanity’s Hero and destroy the demons’ overwhelming advantage in one fell swoop! If humanity can rise on their own feet and defend themselves without relying on their Hero, good. But if they choose to remain complacent, the demons will crush them even without their overwhelming advantage.” Molt spared one final, cold look. “And that’s fine by me.”
“You’re crazy! If you have the power to do that, why are you leaving the fate of the world in someone else’s hand? What do you gain from that?”
Molt walked toward the window without glancing back. “Ayumu.” A portal appeared on the other side of the window. Ayumu hopped in first with him raising his foot to vault right after.
“Goodbye, Thivadi. Be a good boy and let the girl take your life. Don’t make me regret not finishing you off myself.”
“Molt! Mooooooltt!”
The doors flung open! Hecate kicked her way into Thivadi’s office with her scythe at the ready. Somehow, there was damage in the room even though they hadn’t stepped there before. Did they damage it from the outside?
Doesn’t matter… The only thing on her mind is…
“There you are…” Thivadi. Crawling along the carpet trying to head for the window. The restored eye glowed red again with hunger, practically drawing her forward towards her meal.
“S- stop it!” He flipped onto his back and stretched his hand at her. “You can’t do this to me! There’s too much at stake! You just don’t get it!”
“I don’t need to get it… All I need is to cut open your chest!” Hecate raised her scythe.
“Le- let’s talk about this! What do you want? Sure, I may be a demon, but I’ve got status. They think I’m a human noble. What is it? Money, fame, power? I can give you everything you want!”
“Fufufu… Yes… I know. You do have everything I want. Which is why I’ll be taking it all for myself!” Her blade swung down.
“NO! Wa-”
[New Bond Skill Obtained.]