A tall figure, about two and a half meters in height, slowly stepped out of the coffin. His skin was sickly pale, and his muscles had atrophied. The figure had long arms that extended into claws, the same for his legs.
Two large bat-like wings, the same color as his skin, slowly unfurled from his back as the figure completely stepped out of the coffin and stretched his body.
"Oh… how long… has it been?" A guttural voice escaped his lips as he stroked his face which didn't have a single strand of hair on it.
He looked around the cavern with his deep-red eyes, until finally his gaze landed on the Vampire Magus lying on the ritual formation.
"So… you failed… after all." The figure spoke with indifference as he slowly walked forward. "But at least you served… your purpose."
The figure seemed to be getting used to speaking as the words came out smoother and without much pause. He looked up at the dark ceiling and ordered, "Come."
SCREECH!
Hundreds of vampire bats descended and swirled around the person. Then, they merged and transformed into a dark robe before covering him.
"I, Estor Octavian, have finally awoken!" The figure spoke with ecstasy, revealing his sharp and jagged teeth. "And this time, I will form my Mana Core no matter what it takes."
"But…" The ancient vampire clenched his fists and frowned. "I've not even regained a tenth of my strength yet"
The ancient vampire's cold gaze then fell on Adam who was lying on the ground and looking at him with sheer terror.
"And it's all because of you, human."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Adam's body shuddered as he made eye contact with the ancient vampire. He immediately looked away. After forcefully making his way out of the activated ritual formation, he didn't have an ounce of energy left in him.
His body looked like he'd been starving for days. He looked extremely emaciated. If it wasn't for the white lotus, he would have long since lost consciousness.
The youth looked behind him and saw that the rest of the Magi had completely frozen in fear. The very presence of the ancient vampire made their bodies tremble non-stop. They had never felt such fear in their lives.
Shit! If I don't do something, we'll all die! Adam screamed in his heart, forcing his arm to move.
The ancient vampire stepped closer to Adam at a leisurely pace. "Even though I gave this inferior creature my inheritance and blood, he still failed." He glanced at the dead vampire Magus, indicating that he was once human.
"With the ritual formation and all the sacrifices that he'd gathered, I should have been able to recover at least half my strength." The ancient vampire stopped right in front of Adam and looked down at him with cold eyes.
"But you had to ruin everything, didn't you?" He crouched down and grabbed Adam's hair with his pale claw. He brought the youth to his eye level and growled with anger and hatred, "Death would be too easy for you. I will make you my slave and torture you for eternity."
Edward, who had finally gathered the strength to move, looked ahead with tearful eyes. He wanted to stand to his feet and help Adam, but he couldn't.
In the presence of the ancient vampire, he seemed to have lost all strength. All he could do was reach out to his friend, his heart filled with unwillingness and grief. "Adam… no…"
How could things have come to this? Edward thought as tears rolled down his face. Only if I was stronger… I could have saved him… saved all of us…
The ancient vampire's fangs elongated as he prepared to bite down on Adam's neck. But suddenly, Adam's lips parted and he slowly spoke, "You… talk too much!"
He then waved his hand and threw a fistful of dust at the ancient vampire's face.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})FLASH!
Upon coming into contact with the last of Adam's mana, the unassuming dust produced a blinding light that caused the ancient vampire to grimace and loosen his grip, causing the youth to fall to the ground.
This was the same dust that Adam had been experimenting on in his lab. It had finally come to use in his time of need.
Light was the bane of all undead creatures. Especially light that had the properties of mana!
The ancient vampire involuntarily retreated a few steps as he covered his eyes. He had been slumbering inside the coffin for centuries, and although the light didn't injure him, it definitely caught him off guard.
As the light slowly receded, the ancient vampire regained his vision and scoffed in contempt. "Petty tricks—"
But the words got stuck in his mouth when he saw a black puppy nudging its tiny head against Adam's face.
When did this creature get here? The vampire thought in alarm. For some reason, this strange puppy gave him a sense of crisis.
Adam, who was sprawled on the ground, bleeding profusely from all facial orifices after having completely depleted the last of his mana, muttered with a faint smile, "Blackie… I'll leave the rest to you."
Blackied whimpered in sadness as he saw the youth's miserable state. Adam was his favorite human, and to think that someone dared to hurt him made him furious!
He turned around and glared at the ancient vampire. "GRRR!"
The vampire flinched and took a step back. A chill crawled down his spine as he saw the little animal fiercely stare at him. But his pride wouldn't allow him to back down. Anger bubbled up in his heart as he stared back at the dog.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})But before he could even say or do anything, the dog in front of him slowly enlarged, transforming into something else entirely.
The ancient vampire raised his head slowly, looking at the transforming creature as fear finally gripped his heart. Suddenly, he recalled something he had read a long time ago and he shuddered. He recognized this creature in front of him!
"World Dev—" He muttered in shock and horror, but before he could even finish, Blackie had already waved his paw and reduced him to a mere bloody mist!
The Magi who happened to see such a spectacle, were shocked out of their minds. An ancient vampire whose very presence left them incapacitated was swatted to death like a fly by a… dog!
Edward and Lisa were the most shocked out of them all. Their eyes had popped out and their jaws were touching the ground. The same thought echoed in their minds.
That is Blackie's true form?!
Blackie, who had now reverted to its cute self, ran towards Adam and began licking his face. "Awoo~"
He seemed to be sad and smug at the same time, causing Adam's eyebrows to twitch. He instructed him, "Blackie… grab the healing potions… from my pouch… before I die."
"Woof!" The puppy ran around Adam and skillfully grabbed a few vials of healing potions from the pouch tied to his waist. Then, he uncorked the vials and poured all of its content inside the youth's mouth.
A ruddy color returned to Adam's face after he consumed the potion, but his body still looked shriveled up like a fossil. "Puahh! I thought I would really—Ackk!!"
Edward and Lisa rushed to him and tightly hugged him. "Adam!"
They really thought that they would lose him. They hugged him tightly while silently sobbing, their shoulders trembling ever so slightly.
Seeing this, Adam smiled and hugged them back. "It's okay... Everything's fine now."
Suddenly, footsteps could be heard coming in the direction of the cavern entrance - the tunnel! Hearing this, everyone was instantly on guard.
The city guards made their way into the cavern, and when their eyes fell on the Count, they beamed. "My lord! We have defeated the spawns!"
Count Hannes breathed a sigh of relief. "Good job, lads!" His face turned solemn and he instructed, "Follow me. We're going to survey the cavern and see if there are still any hidden dangers."
The Count would have asked the others to join him, but everyone else was preoccupied. Edward and Lisa refused to leave Adam's side. Magus Emory, who had finally reunited with his son, was nursing him back to health.
Whereas, Magus Karl… Well, he had simply passed out of exhaustion.
Hearing the Count, the city guards respectfully nodded. "Yes, my lord!"
About ten minutes into the search, the Count sprinted back to Adam and everyone's location, his face flushed with excitement.
"We found a large chamber behind the throne!" He said with enthusiasm.
"What about it?" Edward asked in confusion.
The Count took a few deep breaths to calm down his fast-
beating heart.
"It's filled with treasures!"
