《Sanguine Destinies: Blood Bond》


 Chapter 1: A Rejection That Ends In Blood

    In a small market district within the city, four young men with crimson eyes stood on the roof of a thirty foot tall building. Three of them wore matching black cloaks and they were discussing something with the fourth, who stood a couple feet away.


    "Rel, we''ll ask nicely one more time. Join us. Your strength is wasted just sitting around on the sidelines. With you in our ranks, we will be able to make significant progress against the Crowns." The youth at the head of the trio said.


    Rel scoffed and shook his head.


    "All the Crowns care about is establishing themselves at the top of the pecking order by uniting all the other clans under their banner. I don''t like it, but at least they intend to keep the peace afterwards. On the other hand, your Blood Clan wants nothing more then to start a war!"


    The young man from the Blood Clan smiled.


    "Don''t you know the history of our race? The progenitor and king almost succeeded in leading our people to conquer the world, but was stopped due to the intervention of God''s Army. However, before he died, he managed to defeat God and sever his connection to the mortal plane, sending his army back to the Celestial Realm. Don''t you understand what his intentions were? He sacrificed himself so that his followers could finish the job! Without God''s protection, the humans won''t stand a chance against us!"


    While the three members of the Blood Clan had eyes filled with fanaticism at the prospect of a war, Rel showed nothing but disgust.


    "Out of all the other vampire clans, the Blood Clan is truly the most foolish. Back then things were different, today humans outnumber us at least a hundred thousand to one. The previous generations understood this and intentionally laid low until our species faded into myth. Even your Blood Clan contained themselves until the previous generation leader took over. We may be biologically superior, but they can still kill us. If we go to war with them, it will only lead to the extermination of our entire race! You think I want to help break the peace our ancestors built for us? Of course not! That is why I will never join the Blood Clan!"


    The faces of the three youths from the Blood Clan turned serious.


    "Fine. If that''s the case, we can''t risk a powerful vampire like you falling into the hands of the Crowns now can we? Kill him!" The head youth shouted.


    As soon as he gave the command, the two Blood Clan members beside him pulled out a handful of knives. Without hesitation they threw them at Rel, each one aimed towards a vital part of his body.


    Rel stood still as the swarm of knives flew towards him. He let out a short sigh and lifted two of his fingers. A glowing red sigil appeared on the ground and a demonic looking bear with bright yellow scleras for eyes emerged. The bear let out a low growl and defected the majority of the knives away with a swipe of its paw. A few of the knives stuck into the bear''s skin, but did not cause any significant damage. It then rushed forward and knocked the two vampires down with a hard tackle.


    The two Blood Clan members recovered quickly. They each took out large daggers and rushed towards the bear. Vampires had physical capabilities that far exceeded that of ordinary humans, so predatory animals such as bears were of no threat to them. However, the bear summoned by Rel was different. It was imbued with mystical properties that made it much stronger than that of regular bears. As they exchanged a few blows, it became obvious that the bear summoned by Rel possessed the advantage.


    While his two companions were dealing with the bear, the head of the Blood Clan envoy maneuvered around the side and lunged towards Rel with a dagger of his own.


    "The Sifr Clan specializes in summons. With this kind of fighting style, it is only natural that they would be weak in close combat! Die!"


    Just as the blade was about to pierce Rel''s chest, the young Blood Clan leader felt a strong hand grip his wrist. The grip intensified and he cried out, dropping his weapon.


    "You are right. Quite a few of the Sifr Clan''s members are terrible when it comes to close combat. Unfortunately for you, I''m not one of those few." Rel smiled.


    Pulling him in, Rel delivered a hard punch right into the youth''s face, shattering his nose and scrambling his brain. Disoriented, the youth took out another knife and with what little strength he had left, stabbed it into Rel''s stomach.


    Rel dropped the youth and took a big leap back. He pulled out the knife and threw it to the side. A small amount of blood dripped from his stomach, but the wound had already started to heal. Even though it was only a minor injury, Rel was now more alert than ever. That was because when fighting vampires from the Blood Clan, even the smallest spillage of blood could be turned into a weapon.


    "Heh heh... You''ve lost Rel." The youth slowly sat up with blood dripping down from his broken nose. He had recovered slightly, but was still far too weak to even stand.


    Wiping the blood from his nose, the youth held out his blood stained hand and a flurry of tiny red needles shot out.


    Rel was very quick on his feet. He darted from side to side and dodged every single barrage sent at him. Some of the needles that missed hit the tiles on the roof, splattering blood all over it. As Rel continued to dodge, he did not notice that he was getting closer and closer to the drops of blood that leaked from his stomach from earlier.


    "You fell for it!"


    When Rel stepped on the drops of blood that fell from his wound from earlier, the youth ceased his assault. He chanted a short incantation and a thin jet of blood shot from under Rel''s feet into the wound in his stomach.


    "Shit!" Rel cursed.


    Rel slowly felt his entire body weakening. His feet started to lose their nimbleness, his muscles began to sore, and his mind began to slow. Even his magic reserves were starting to decline from whatever curse the young man from the Blood Clan cast on him.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Knowing he stood no chance until he found a way to remove the curse, Rel jumped off the roof. He staggered slightly from the fall, but this did not stop him from running as fast as he could deeper into the city.


    As Rel''s magic levels began to deplete, the summoning started to destabilize. The bear''s strength began to drastically decrease and it started to fade in and out of existence. In its current state, it was no match for the two Blood Clan members, who took it out in the matter of seconds. After defeating the summon, they regrouped with their leader who was still sitting on the ground.


    "I managed to seal away his power. He should be no match for either of you now. He fled further into the city, track him down and kill him."


    One of his companions nodded and jumped off the roof, running deeper into the city with speed that surpassed a prime athlete. The other stayed behind and helped his leader to his feet, swinging his arm over their shoulder before slowly following behind.


    Rel ran as fast as he could through the dark city streets. It was already an hour past midnight so he didn''t worry much about having his identity exposed. At the moment, his speed had degraded to that of an ordinary human and he was starting to lose stamina.


    [Damn it! All I need is a bit of blood and I can gather enough strength to summon something to get rid of this curse!]


    Even with most of his abilities sealed, Rel''s senses were unaffected. Sniffing around, he picked up a faint scent of human blood that he was certain was from a human wandering the streets.


    [A human! They''re not that far either! Just a couple blocks away!]


    While Rel was overjoyed that he found a human to feed on, he also detected the scent of a vampire closing in on him. He knew it had to be one the Blood Clan members and sprinted as fast as he could towards the human scent.


    A few blocks away, a girl with long black hair and bright turquoise eyes was walking down the street with a tired expression.


    "I can''t believe there was so much to help clean after that party. Dad is going to kill me for coming home so late. Mind as well start thinking of excuses..."


    Clop clop clop~


    All of a sudden, the girl heard footsteps that seemed to be getting closer and closer relatively quickly. Judging by the frequency of the steps, it sounded like someone was running towards her.


    "Crap. Who could it be at this hour? I really should''ve asked someone to walk home with me. I was so worried about how mad dad would be that I left right away."


    The girl had nothing with her, not even a bag. Running over to a nearby tree, she plucked off a large branch. The footsteps were very close now and she immediately turned in the direction of the sound, holding the branch in front of herself like a sword.


    A couple meters away was a young man around her age. He was hunched over and panting as if he had just ran a marathon. He had black hair and pale skin, but what stood out the most were his crimson red eyes.


    She pointed the stick cautiously at the exhausted youth. While she was a bit scared deep down, she did not show it, maintaining an air of calmness and control. Unfortunately, this act was easily seen through by Rel who possessed superhuman senses.


    [I can tell from the sound of her heartbeat that she is scared. With the current circumstances she probably thinks I''m some sort of sexual deviant. Good thing she''s alone or things would''ve been a lot more difficult. Okay, that sounded pretty bad. Whatever. I gotta hurry before those Blood Clan members get here.]


    "Hey... Can you help take me to the police station? I got hurt and I don''t think I can make it on my own." Rel revealed the hole in his stomach, which had started to bleed again due to his reduced regenerative abilities.


    The girl was hesitant, but upon seeing the hole in Rel''s stomach she began to walk over to him. However, she kept the stick in her hand, knowing exactly where to stab if things were to go wrong.


    "Alright. Put your arm around my shoulder, I''ll walk you there." She said lifting one of his arms.


    "Thank you." Rel muttered.


    As soon as she grabbed his arm, Rel maneuvered around her and dug two sharp fangs into the girl''s neck. He was so quick that the girl only had time to blink her eyes once. She wanted to drive the stick into the wound in Rel''s stomach, but her entire body was paralyzed. Even her voice was mute and she eventually lost consciousness from blood loss.


    "Found you!" A cold voice called out from a few feet away.


    The Blood Clan member who had gone ahead locked his eyes onto Rel and began to rush towards him.


    "Just in time." Rel gently put the girl down and snapped his fingers. The air distorted and a black crow materialized above his head. The crow let out a gawk and a thin transparent barrier spread throughout the area. Afterwards, Rel brought his palms together and a red sigil that was even larger than the one he used on the roof appeared on the ground.


    "Come out boy! I need your help!"


    Black flames ignited the markings on the sigil and a black dog that was twice the size of a lion emerged. It let out a terrifying roar that caused the Blood Clan vampire to take a few steps back. If Rel did not set up a soundproof barrier before hand, the roar would''ve woken the entire district.


    "Shit! He has his powers back!"


    The vampire who was chasing Rel began to run away, but it was no use. The black dog was like a shadow and immediately closed the distance with a single step. It pounced on the fleeing vampire and mauled him into a bloody mess. After killing him, the dog consumed the remains until there wasn''t a single trace of him left.


    A few blocks away, the leader of the Blood Clan trio frowned and told the companion carrying him to stop.


    "What is wrong?"


    "Your brother is dead... It doesn''t look like it was from a hard fought battle either. The blood tracker I placed on him dissipated the moment he stopped moving. This must mean that he found Rel, but was killed immediately after."


    "Impossible! Didn''t you seal his powers away with the Blood Bond curse? How did he take out my brother? Could it be reinforcements from the Sifr Clan?"


    The leader pondered the thought, but then shook his head.


    "No. The only scents I''m picking up are that of him and a human. He most likely drank the blood of this human and got a temporary boost from it. Enough to summon something to break the curse and kill your brother. If this is true, we don''t stand a chance. Let''s retreat for now."


    The youth carrying the leader grumbled, but obeyed, turning around and the two of them disappearing into the night.


    --------------------------------------


    Rel rubbed the black dog''s head with a warm smile on his face.


    "Good job boy. I''m sorry I haven''t let you out recently, but I guess that''s a good thing. I promise to bring you out more in your camo mode over the next few days alright?"


    The dog barked with affection before igniting its entire body with black fire, which quickly dissipated into the air. Once it was gone, Rel snapped his fingers and the crow that was maintaining the barrier disappeared as well.


    Walking over to the unconscious girl he had fed on, Rel had an indecisive look on his face. He had drained the girl''s blood to the point she passed out, but her life was not in danger. Given a good night''s rest, she would be back to normal.


    "Objectively I should kill her to tie up all loose ends, but in a way she saved my life. What should I do..."


    Briefly assessing his body, Rel realized that his powers were back to their peak capacity. He theorized that the curse might have been temporary, but still decided to look more into it once he was back home.


    Looking back at the girl before him, Rel let out a sigh and performed another summon. A small silver snake manifested and slithered across the girls neck. It dripped a few drops of venom from its fangs and the bite marks on her neck closed up without leaving behind a single scar.


    After healing her, Rel carried the girl to the nearest police station and placed her by the doorstep. He knocked on the door a couple times and then walked away.


    "Now we owe each other nothing. I''m pretty sure she won''t have any memory of what happened tonight. Even if she does, it would be fogged and clouded as if she woke up from a dream."


    On the way home, Rel frowned as he passed by a clock shop that showed the current time. The time was 4:00 AM.


    "Great... School in just a few hours."

 Chapter 2: Nath Weller and Sera Anacus

    Levin Academy was a school occupied with students from all over the world. It was especially attractive to those who lived abroad due to free housing being available to all students enrolled. With it''s reputation as a top-level school being of the utmost importance, the administration spared no effort to provide their students with anything they could need.


    Rel walked through the academy gate with an irritated look on his face. He was wearing the standard school uniform, which for males was a white dress shirt, black tie, dark grey slacks, and a red blazer with a golden parrot crest, the academy symbol. His eyes were no longer the iconic crimson red of a vampire, but a plain dark brown. As for his skin, it was still pale, but not enough for humans to think much about it.


    All vampires had access to a more human-like appearance that they could adopt whenever they felt the need. It was a very simple change, merely hiding the key features such as fangs and the color of their eyes and skin. However, the change was unique to each vampire and could not be customized in any way. If a vampire''s human appearance had brown eyes then they would have brown eyes the next time as well.


    Walking through the courtyard garden on his way to class, he heard a number of high-pitch voices call out to him.


    "It''s Nath!"


    "Nath! Want to walk to class together?"


    "Hey Nath! Do you want some of my breakfast?"


    Rel turned around to see a group of girls wearing matching red academy dresses run over to him. They asked him many questions, most of them concerning whether he was free or not during breaks between and after classes. He ignored most of them, but answered a few halfheartedly as to not make the situation awkward.


    While his true vampire name was Rel, he went by the alias of Nath Weller when dealing with humans. Due to his good looks, sharp brain, and physical prowess, he had countless fans among the female students.


    However, Rel did not care much about that and usually acted very stoic and cold whenever someone approached him. Although he made it seem as if he disliked human interaction, it was only because he didn''t want to implicate anyone if he were to be attacked by other vampires. To most, he was known as a loner, but one that many adored and respected.


    Upon entering the classroom, Rel went over to his seat and put his head down. The girls who walked with him stayed for a few minutes before taking the hint and leaving.


    [I can''t wait until I move into the university section of the school next year... Since the schedules are not standardized, it''ll be much easier to dodge people.]


    Resting his eyes, Rel was awoken shortly after by the sound of tapping on his desk. He looked up to see a handsome man with violet eyes smiling down at him..


    "Oh great, it''s the bootlicker." Rel groaned.


    The student laughed.


    "Nath, Nath, Nath... Is that really how you speak to one of the few friends you have? Why are you moping around on such a beautiful sunny day like today? You a vampire or something?"


    Rel cast a cold glare at the energetic young man.


    "Shut up Andi. I just had a rough night yesterday. Also, what do you mean friend? You''re just a bootlicker, a snakey businessman at best. You only talk to me because you want me to help you in some kind of scheme."


    "Haha! Come on man, you know that''s not true. There have been plenty of times where I helped you out without any thought of self-benefit. However, since we''re on the topic, have you thought it over? I could really use your help. It would benefit you in the long run as well."


    Rel shook his head.


    "Sorry man. Answer is still no." He said wearily before slumping his head back down.


    Andi Key was the model student in Rel''s class. Perfect grades, popular, and favorably connected to a large portion of the administrative staff in the school. He was the complete social opposite of Rel. Stolen story; please report.


    He was also a vampire and a member of the Crowns.


    For the longest time, Andi had been trying to convince Rel to join the Crowns just like the Blood Clan. Based on their approaches, Rel already liked Andi much more then he did the latter. While they got along relatively well, even saving each other''s lives a few times, Rel politely declined every invitation to become an honorary member of the Crowns.


    That was because no matter how close they got, Rel could never see through Andi or understand what he truly thought or felt. Just as his clan, the Sifr Clan, were known for their summons, the Crowns specialty lay in their superior mental capabilities that even other vampires had to be wary of. They were also notorious for using others as means to an end to accomplish their goals. In the end, Rel wasn''t even sure if Andi was really his friend or just another vampire he wanted at his disposal.


    Throughout the day, Rel frequently kept his head down. It wasn''t due to sunlight like Andi joked, but because he exhausted himself trying to get rid of the curse he had been afflicted with the night before, which had resurfaced. It wasn''t a complete seal like before, but it still limited him to half his normal strength. He spent alot of energy summoning different creatures that specialized in breaking blood related curses, but to no success.


    Despite making no attempts to hide the fact that he was sleeping in class, Rel was never called out once. The teachers didn''t mind as he was normally a good student and assumed he was just having an off day.


    After finishing his last class, Rel was approached by another group of girls asking if he wanted to hang out with them. As usual, he declined and began to walk drowsily back to his dorm room.


    However, because he was so tired, he wasn''t paying attention and felt a human presence bump into him.


    "Oww..." A soft voice said.


    Rel snapped out of his dazed state and looked down to see a familiar girl sitting on the ground. She wore the standard red academy dress and had long straight black hair with turquoise eyes. Although she had heavy bags under her eyes, her slim figure and otherwise pretty face made her look quite attractive.


    [Wait a minute... That long black hair and turquoise eyes. It''s the girl from last night!] Rel was slightly surprised. He did not expect to see the girl who he fed on just hours ago so quickly.


    "My bad... I''m a bit tired so I wasn''t really paying attention." The girl said apologetically.


    "Same here. I guess that makes two of us." He said while helping the girl back up.


    After getting back on her feet, the girl stared at Rel with a puzzled expression.


    "Is there something wrong?" He asked.


    "You look familiar... Have we met recently?"


    "I don''t think so. Maybe you''re mistaking me for someone else." Rel said nonchalantly.


    "Strange. My memory is a bit foggy, but last night I remember being attacked by someone and then being taken to the police station. Would you know anything about that?"


    Rel shook his head. He obviously wasn''t going to tell her that he was a vampire and that he sucked her blood to help fend off an attack from the Blood Clan.


    "I see. I guess I''m just tired. Sorry for bringing up such an awkward question. By the way, I''m Sera Anacus. I''m a member of the student council and a soon to be graduate."


    "Nice to meet you Sera. I''m Nath Weller. I''m graduating this year too, but other than that I''m just your average everyday student with nothing special."


    Sera chuckled a bit at Rel''s self-depreciation.


    "Don''t sell yourself short like that, everyone is special in some way. Sometimes it just needs the right moment to reveal itself. Anyways, I gotta head to a council meeting now. It was nice meeting you!"


    After Sera left, Rel stood silently in thought for a few moments before going back to his dorm. Upon opening his room door, he was greeted with joyful barking from a small black puppy that jumped into his arms.


    "Hey Cerb! Did you miss me?"


    If Rel said that the puppy wiggling in his arms was actually a giant demon dog capable of savagely killing multiple vampires, no one would believe him. Cerb/Cerberus was Rel''s signature summon and the one he spent the most time developing. As the only summon he had a genuine connection to, he trained Cerberus to disguise itself as a normal dog so that he could be with him in public as well.


    "Cleaned the room for me while I was gone didn''t ya? Well you did a great job!"


    Despite having the mindset and instincts of a dog, Cerberus had near human intelligence. When Rel left for class in the morning, he was so tired that he neglected to clean up his room after his mass summoning session the previous night. However, currently the room was spotless. All the magic circle prints were gone and the room was neat and tidy as if a housekeeper had come in. Cerberus let out a toothy grin as if he were taking pride in his work.


    "Maybe I should start a cleaning service for the other students in the dorm. With your skill, we could probably make a killing." Rel joked.


    Rel played with Cerberus for a while before he was interrupted by pecking on his room window. He turned around to see a crow staring at him patiently, as if waiting for him to open the window.


    Putting Cerberus down, he went over to the window and unlocked the hatch. The window opened and the crow flew onto a desk in the corner of the room. It opened its mouth and began to make gagging noises. Slowly, a small note was regurgitated onto the desk. After delivering the note, the crow flew back out the window, never to be seen again.


    Walking over to his desk with a serious expression on his face, Rel picked up the note. Although it had been clearly vomited out of the crow''s mouth, it was dry and did not smell at all.


    ''Meet in the outskirts of the academy at sundown.''


    Upon reading the note, Rel took a look at his alarm clock. It was 5:00 PM, sundown wasn''t even an hour away.


    "Man, can''t I just get a break for once...?"

 Chapter 3: The Three Freshmen

    The academy outskirts were divided into two halves. One of these halves were currently being used as part of an expansionary project commissioned by the school. Everyday the construction crews would be hard at work, filling the area with the sound of heavy vehicles and power tools.


    On the other hand, the second half was much more tranquil, being a well kept nature reserve. Aside from the pretty flowers, clean rivers, and regularly mowed grass, it''s trademark was a mountain trail that led to a very scenic view point of the entire campus. Although the trail was somewhat long, it used to be very popular among students, especially graduates. In the past, it was basically tradition to journey to the summit of the mountain for the sake of basking in nostalgia.


    Unfortunately, this changed one year when a student was found brutally murdered at the top of the mountain. Nobody saw the body, but it was said that the corpse was so badly mutilated that not even an autopsy could be performed. During this time, rumors began to circulate about what happened, ranging from the work of a secret cult to a supernatural attack. After this incident, the tradition of graduates climbing up to the top of the mountain ceased.


    Within the nature reserve of the outskirts, a man of around thirty years of age lay next to a tall elder tree. He had a fierce expression on his face that was made even fiercer by a large scar that ran across his right eye down to his lower cheek. Surrounding him were a flock of crows that were unnaturally comfortable in his presence.


    Laying on the thick branches of the tree above were two boys and one girl, all of whom seemed to be academy freshmen. They each wore the academy uniform and were reading what seemed to be a school guidebook.


    One of the boy''s, a young red-head with passionate eyes, put down his book and let out a yawn.


    "I heard that one of the clan''s greatest prodigies goes to school here. They say he''s so talented that even elite squads from the Crowns and Blood Clan want to recruit him. I can''t wait to challenge him and see how good he really is."


    Sitting on another branch across from him, a girl with bright hazel eyes and a long black ponytail scowled.


    "Are you kidding me Ital? You can''t even beat Sly! What makes you think you can win against one of the clan''s greatest?"


    "Shut up Piri! Unlike you, I actually have ambition! Besides, the last time I challenged Sly, I survived a full minute longer then before. I might have lost every fight so far, but I keep coming back stronger! As long as I win once, that''s all that matters! Right Sly?"


    Positioned at the shadiest branch in comparison to the other two, an intelligent looking boy with blonde hair and gray eyes chuckled.


    "Don''t bully Ital so much Piri. He may be the weakest among the three of us, but he''s got heart. Every time he comes to me for a rematch, he always finds a way to surprise me. If I''m being honest, he might have the most potential out of all of us."


    "Don''t encourage him! The way he fights is too reckless! It may be okay now, but in a real battle he would be dead within seconds. Especially since he doesn''t have any other summons and only uses that stupid---"


    Before Piri could finish, she was cut-off by Ital who threw his student manual at her. With minimal effort, she caught it midair and put it to the side.


    "Kong is not stupid! He may not have any special abilities, but he''s loyal and works well with me. He''s way better than those skanky sprites you summon." Ital fumed.


    "What did you say?! Want me to beat you up right here and now? I''ll give you a beating so hard that you won''t even be able to summon that stupid beast for an entire week!" Piri eyes flickered with red for a moment before returning to their original hazel hue.


    "Bring it! I''ll--"


    Just as Ital was about to make a move, he was swarmed by a flock of crows. They obscured his vision and started pecking him on the head. Barely seeing past the layers of black feathers in front of him, he also noticed a group of crows doing the exact same thing to Piri. Sly, who was the only one not surrounded by a cloud of feathers, looked down and smiled amusingly.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Below, the scarred man was no longer sitting and stood upright at the base of the tree. His arms were crossed and he stared at Ital and Piri with an irritated expression.


    "What are you idiots doing?! Can''t you see we are still in a public space?! Furthermore, the sun hasn''t completely set yet! You guys are entering your secondary level education, show some discipline!"


    "Yes sir..." The two groaned.


    With a scoff, the scarred man snapped his fingers and the crows surrounding the two children dispersed. Ital and Piri rubbed their heads in pain.


    "Ital!"


    "Yes sir!" Ital jumped and stood at attention upon being called.


    "You were the most excited to see the prodigy studying at this school weren''t you? Well, if you weren''t so busy bickering with Piri, you would notice that he''s already within viewing distance!"


    The eyes of the three freshmen widened. They immediately descended from the tree and narrowed their eyes to see a tall and handsome young man walking towards them.


    "He''s so good-looking..." Piri''s face flushed red.


    Ital snorted.


    "Is this really the guy? I was expecting some kind of monster, not some pretty boy. He doesn''t look so tough to me."


    "Appearances can be deceiving. I mean look at us. You talk the biggest game, but you''re the weakest in our group." Sly jokingly said.


    "Hey! Do you want to figh--"


    "Shh... He''s coming."


    Rel yawned as he made his way towards the four vampires waiting for him. When he arrived, the man with the scar walked up to him and extended his hand.


    "It''s been a while, Raven." Rel shook the man''s hand and smiled as if he were reuniting with an old friend.


    Raven had the same stone-cold face he wore when dealing with the three freshmen. Although, there was a hint of warmth within his gaze that wasn''t present earlier.


    "Indeed it has, I hope your skills haven''t declined too much ever since you left my tutelage. Anyways, your former teacher has come to you because he is ready to claim his debt." He made a beckoning gesture and Ital, Piri, and Sly came forward.


    "This is Ital, Piri, and Sly. They have recently enrolled in your school as freshmen. Remember how I agreed to convince the elders to grant you independence and freedom from the clan''s politics? Now I need a favor from you. I want you to take care of these three for me."


    Rel sighed.


    "So you want me to babysit three kids for you? Have the elders finally lost patience with me and are now sending you to take away my freedom bit by bit?"


    Red veins popped out of Raven''s pale forehead.


    "You little brat... I''m actually doing you a huge favor here. I''m going on a mission for a while so I need someone to watch over them. This mission was originally assigned to you, but out of the kindness of my heart, I decided to take it instead out of consideration for your ''freedom''. Besides, it''ll only be for a year at most. If I''m not back by the time you graduate, I''ll get someone else to fill in for you."


    Ital leaned in and whispered to Sly and Piri.


    "Wow who knew Master Raven had a soft side. He''s never that nice to us."


    "If that mission was assigned to you I bet he would''ve sent you off a day early." Piri mocked.


    Raven turned his attention towards the three junior vampires.


    "Alright you three, listen up. This is Rel, he will be in charge of you for the next year or so okay?"


    Each of the three children had different expressions towards Rel. Ital''s eyes burned with an energetic desire for competition, Piri''s cheeks blushed with adoration, and Sly''s eyebrows raised in cool skepticism.


    Ital stepped forward and pounded his chest a few times with his fist


    "Sup Rel! I''m Ital! I heard you are one of the clan''s greatest geniuses! Well I''m somewhat of a genius myself! Let''s spar! Right here, right now!"


    Piri face-palmed.


    [He doesn''t learn does he? Oh well, he''ll probably calm down after another thorough beating. Mr. Raven did that when he became our teacher and after that Ital never challenged him again.]


    Raven did not interfere and moved off to the side to observe. He wanted to see how Rel would handle the situation.


    Rel raised an eyebrow at the hot-blooded boy. He was in no mood to fight and was quite tired, but after seeing Ital''s enthusiasm he relented. The energy radiating from his fighting spirit was slightly contagious and actually rejuvenated him a bit.


    "Since you''re so eager, I don''t see why not. Do your friends want to join in too?"


    Ital turned around, and with a cocky grin on his face gave a thumbs up towards Sly and Piri. Piri sighed and turned towards Sly.


    "Up to you Sly. If you go I''ll go."


    "Let''s do it." Sly said without hesitation.


    Piri shook her head. She had a feeling he would say that.


    Even though the sun was setting, Rel knew that there was a good chance some students might pass by the reserve. Therefore, he decided to move to an open field near the mountain trail before starting the fight. It was an ideal spot, as the majority of the student body avoided it due to the rumors surrounding the area.


    Rel and the three vampires faced off twenty meters apart from each other while Raven spectated from the side. He sent out a flock of crows to circle the area and alert him if anyone passed by. Just for good measure, he also had one of his crows create a soundproof barrier to prevent the sound of battle from attracting attention. This crow was identical to the one Rel had and set up its barrier the exact same way too.


    "Okay kids, you can start whenever you''re ready." Rel said smugly while loosening his tie.


    "Roger!" The irises of the three children turned crimson red and the ground lit up as red sigils began to appear.

 Chapter 4: Fighting With Children

    Flash~


    The ground glowed with a gentle vermilion hue as the three young vampires brought out their summons. When the light subsided, each of them were joined by a different creature that appeared beside them.


    Compared to the others, Sly''s summon stood out the most. It was a fully grown lion that was covered in a coat of flames. Strangely, even though it''s entire body was on fire, the grass below it did not ignite.


    Piri''s was the most unique, appearing to be a small ball of purple light. However, upon closer inspection, Rel could see that it was actually a tiny fairy. Based on it''s appearance, it was actually more accurate to call it a succubus rather than a fairy. The fairy was supernaturally beautiful and was dressed minimally, wearing nothing but a tight black one piece suit. It had pale vampire-like skin, red eyes, and two black wings that extended from it''s back.


    Rel nodded with approval at Sly and Piri''s summons. Within the Sifr Clan, being able to summon exotic creatures was a mark of talent. However, he was slightly disappointed when he turned towards Ital.


    "Ital right? I know its three against one, but I think you should bring out your signature summon."


    Standing beside the boy was an ordinary brown monkey. Nothing really stood out from it and it didn''t seem to possess any powers whatsoever. This puzzled Rel as summoned creatures, especially the ones similar to animals, usually always had at least one unique difference to them.


    "This is my main summon! Kong may not look like much, but you''ll be surprised at how strong we are!"


    The monkey adopted a fighting stance and raised its hands in the air. While it may not have possessed an armor of fire or an aura of light, it seemed to possess an intelligence that was greater than others of its kind.


    "If that''s the case then it''s fine. Now then, the rules are simple. If you get knocked down you''re out. To make things easier for you guys, you will all have two lives while I''ll only have one. The only limitation is you can''t cause significant damage to the environment. We start whenever you are all ready."


    Sly turned towards his two companions.


    "Okay, I have a plan. Piri, start preparing your fairy''s ability. If we can catch him in it, we will definitely win. Ital and I will create a distraction for you. Ital, start by going in slowly from the--"


    "Forget the plan, we''re taking him now!" Ital and the monkey Kong immediately took off and charged towards Rel.


    "Wait! Ital!"


    Ital and Kong weaved in and out of each other as they made their way to Rel. Their movements were perfectly in sync, with their feet hitting the ground at the exact same time. When they were within two meters of him they split into opposite directions, moving in to deliver a punch from both sides.


    Rel let out a faint smile.


    Turning towards Ital, Rel swiftly grabbed the wrist of the boy''s punching arm and pulled him into the direction of his summon. The change was so sudden that Kong could not pull back his punch in time, causing his fist to collide into Ital''s stomach. Kong gasped in shock after realizing what he had done and Rel used the moment of hesitation to send a hard kick into the monkey''s chest.


    Kong was knocked a couple feet away and started rolling on the ground with one hand over his torso. Angered, Ital tried to punch Rel in the face with his remaining hand. However, Rel stopped him by twisting the arm he was holding and crossing it behind Ital''s body. Due to both arms going in opposite directions, Ital''s entire body strained as he tried to land his fist into Rel''s cheek. Unfortunately, the pain was too much and he stopped only a couple centimeters away.


    "You and I are alike. We are Sifr, but we are good with our hands and know how to fight face to face. Too bad though, since I''m older my body is a lot stronger than yours."


    Using one of his legs, Rel sweeped Ital off his feet, causing him to hit the ground flat on his back.


    "Looks like you lost your first life." He said with a smirk.


    "Damn it!" Ital cursed and smashed his fist on the ground.


    "Ital look out!" A voice called out.


    Ital lifted his head and turned to see Sly charging towards them on top of the flaming lion.


    Rel''s eyes narrowed and he took a massive leap back. As the lion closed in, it tried to pounce on him, but Rel evaded it by sliding under the beast''s legs. He threw a punch towards the lion''s underside as it passed, but his hand was set aflame the moment he touched it.


    "Gah!" Rel took off his school blazer and suffocated the flames with it. He was surprised. His hand had been set on fire before, but he was usually able to withstand it for a bit before the pain would be too much. Yet, the moment he touched the flames surrounding Sly''s lion, he felt a painful searing sensation that made him retract his hand immediately.


    [Just what kind of fire does that lion have? Normal fire wouldn''t have made me react like that.]


    The flames on Sly''s lion were very strange. When Rel touched them, he felt like his hand was going to melt. However, Sly was sitting on top of the lion with no strain whatsoever. Even his clothes were unaffected, as if there were no flames at all.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    As Rel was pondering over the flames, Ital and Kong regrouped with Sly.


    "Thanks Sly. If you didn''t help me out there I think I would''ve lost both my lives already."


    "I told you not to rush in like that. Anyways, it seems like my flames have a big effect on him. If we focus on that advantage we should be able to pull off a win."


    "What if he puts those on?"


    A few meters away, Ital and Sly saw a pair of black gloves materialize in the air in front of Rel. The gloves were thin, fitting like a second skin on his hands, but it was obvious they weren''t just for show.


    Rel turned towards Piri, who had her eyes closed and seemed to be standing in some sort of meditative position. While in her trance-like state, her fairy darted around her as if it were doing some kind of dance performance.


    [Hmm... I wondered why she wasn''t participating in the fight. Seems like she is setting something up, and I don''t want to be around to find out what it is.]


    "Not good it looks like he''s going to go after Piri!" Ital said with concern.


    "I''m on it."


    Sly slapped the lion on its side and the lion began to charge towards Rel once again. This time, as the lion approached, Rel did not back away. Instead, he met the lion head on and gave it a hard punch to the temple. The gloves he had on were heat-resistant and allowed him to clash with the lion without fear of the flames surrounding it.


    As the lion staggered from the punch, Rel leapt over the lion''s head and delivered a jump kick onto Sly''s chest. Already unbalanced, it didn''t take much for Sly to fall off the lion''s back and onto the ground.


    Ital caught up shortly after and paused when he saw Sly with his back on the dirt. He resisted every urge to attack Rel as he knew that he would just be wasting his last life if he went in alone.


    "Looks like you''ve learned some self-control, that''s good. As for you lion boy, looks like you''re on your last life too. Now then, I guess its time for me to check on your other friend!"


    Rel rushed over to Piri with a speed inferior only to Sly''s lion. Sly recovered quickly and chased after him with Ital, but the distance between them was already too much for them to catch up in time.


    When Rel was three meters away from Piri, her fairy tried to stop him by shooting a purple ray of light towards his head. He dodged it and slid forward, slide tackling Piri off her feet and causing her to fall forward.


    However, as she fell, one of her hands started to glow purple. Pointing her finger down, the color concentrated onto the tip of her finger and another beam of light shot out.


    [Shit!]


    With the short distance between them and Rel''s current position, he had no way of evading the light. The purple beam struck him head on and he closed his eyes as he braced himself for pain.


    Surprisingly, no pain came. Piri fell to the ground face first and Sly and Ital came over soon after.


    Confused over what Piri''s attack actually did to him, Rel put some distance between himself and the three children. Standing by the sidelines, Raven raised an eyebrow after seeing Rel get hit by the purple light. Although it seemed like he was slightly surprised, his expressionless face made it difficult to tell what he was really thinking.


    Rel quickly did a brief checkup on his body. After what happened the night before, he was very tense when it came to any kind of spells being cast on him. He stretched out a bit and was relieved when he found out that his strength was not diminishing. However, he was still cautious as there had to have been some motive behind Piri''s attack.


    [These kids are young. At their level, they probably wouldn''t be able to cast any spells or curses that do a ton of instant damage. So it must be one that affects me in the long run! Losing to kids would be pretty embarrassing, so I guess I''ll have to end this quick before the effect takes hold!]


    "You did a good job getting that spell on me girl, but I don''t feel anything right now. You used some kind of curse that affects me gradually over time right? Unfortunately for you, when I get serious, it will only take a few seconds for me to take you all down."


    As Rel sprinted towards the three vampires, Piri got up and brushed the dirt off her dress.


    "Good job Piri, now that you tagged him with that spell this fight is pretty much over." Sly praised.


    "Don''t let your inner Ital take over Sly. We thought that about Mr. Raven, but he still beat us. This guy has a strong body so we can''t be overconfident."


    Ital sneered at Piri and stuck out his tongue. It was clear he did not like the reference she made.


    "Got something to say, Mr. Hit-By-His-Own-Summon?"


    "Hmph! If we win this, I''ll forgive you. Let''s go!"


    As the three young vampires turned their attention to Rel who was charging towards them, they met his offensive with a charge of their own.


    [What are these kids planning? Shouldn''t they be delaying as long as they can so that the spell can take effect?]


    Sly took the lead on top of his flaming lion. The lion opened its mouth and a jet of orange flames spewed out.


    "I don''t think so!"


    Sly blinked and in that split second of time Rel vanished. His enhanced senses compelled him to look left, but it was already too late. Rel sent out a strong punch into the side of the lion''s head, hitting it so hard that the beast almost toppled over.


    "We''re coming Sly!" Ital shouted.


    With no fear whatsoever, Ital and Kong ran up to Rel and attacked him using hit and run tactics. They jumped in and out of the fight at random intervals, preventing Rel from focusing on one target.


    Piri and her fairy backed him up, shooting balls of purple light that flashed brightly in front of Rel''s face whenever he got close.


    Sly jumped back in soon after. However, unlike Ital and Kong, he and the lion fought Rel head on. This time, the lion was fighting evenly with him as he had to worry about the others as well.


    "You kids are pretty good. However, it''s still not enough to defeat me!"


    Rel''s eyes flashed red. His hands and legs moved like violent tornadoes as he viciously beat down Ital, Kong, Sly, and the lion all at once. Piri''s eyes widened as she watched the tide of the battle change in an instant. Turning a cold gaze towards her, Piri froze and plopped onto the floor flat on her bottom.


    The two boys and their summons laid on the ground in pain. The last exchange hurt them so much that they couldn''t even muster up the strength to lift their heads. Letting out a sigh, Rel''s eyes turned back to their normal human brown. He didn''t want to admit it, but he actually overexerted himself a bit during the final bout.


    "Not bad. You squirts are pretty good. Sorry if I overdid it at the end there, I''ll make sure you guys get--"


    Rel''s pupils shrank. The bodies of his defeated opponents began to blur and eventually disappeared. Even Piri, who was seemingly sitting on the ground with a look of fear on her face, began to fade.


    [What? An illusion? No! Then that means--Gah!!]


    From behind, Rel felt a large mass tackle him hard. Hitting the ground, he discovered that he was pinned down by some invisible force that he could not see.


    Suddenly, he heard laughter coming from directly behind him. Gradually, the air around him started to distort and Rel saw that he was being pinned down by a large lion. On top of it were, Sly, Ital, and Piri, who looked down on him with smiles on their faces.


    Seeing the smug and happy faces of the three children, Rel let out a deep breath.


    "Can''t believe I lost to a bunch of kids."

 Chapter 5: The Truth Behind The Curse

    "You got me. Didn''t think you would use an illusion spell. Stuff like that is hardly seen in our clan." Rel faintly smiled.


    "Yeah Piri is a Crown wannabe." Ital said with a mocking tone.


    Piri smacked him in the back of the head.


    "I value a smart victory over just brute forcing my way through like you. Besides, it''s thanks to me that you guys aren''t actually twitching on the ground right now."


    "Hey! You don''t know that! The ones he beat up weren''t even really us. So how do you know if we would be beaten badly or not?"


    "Want to find out?" The color of Rel''s eyes shifted back to the crimson red of a vampire. He glared at Ital with a sinister smile, as if he were looking at an ant he was about to squash.


    Ital shivered and hid behind Piri.


    "Uh... No sir..." He said nervously.


    The bloody hue in Rel''s eyes disappeared and he let out a wholesome laugh.


    "I''m just kidding. Actually, you guys are starting to grow on me. If I have the time, I''ll call you guys over and give you some tips on how to improve."


    Ital''s eyes lit up. The cowering fear he had been exhibiting earlier vanished as if it was never there to begin with.


    "That sounds great! Wow Rel, you''re way cooler than Mr. Raven."


    "Uh... Ital?" Sly tapped Ital on the shoulder.


    "What? Don''t you think so too? Mr. Raven is always so dark and depressing. He''s always so serious and unpleasant to approach. I''m actually secretly glad that he''s leaving us for a while."


    "Is that so?" A cold voice called out from behind.


    Ital froze, he had completely forgotten that Raven was only a small distance away. He felt a hand grab him from behind and was viciously thrown off the lion and onto the ground.


    "Wait wait!! Mr. Raven it was just a joke! How can anyone replace such an experienced and wise teacher like---Ahh!!"


    A huge flock of crows began swarming Ital''s body, forming a black dome that left no gaps. Screeches of pain and regret could be heard as the other two remaining children shook their heads.


    "If you''re going to disrespect me, have the brains to do it when I''m not around! However, now that I know that you''re going to insult me behind my back, I better give you the beating for that now while I still can!"


    "Hey Raven, shouldn''t you be a bit careful? The barrier is down, so all that screaming can be heard from miles away." Rel joked.


    "Hmph! All I hear is a reckless young boy paying the price for pissing off a flock of crows! Nothing suspicious about that."


    Rel sighed. Raven was not a careless person. If he said no one would bat an eye at his torturing of Ital, then it was definitely so. While he was one of the most respected instructors within the clan, he had a short temper, which Rel learned very quickly back when he was under his tutelage.


    The agony lasted for five minutes before Raven let out a quick whistle. The crows dispersed and Ital''s trembling form was revealed. He was curled up into a ball and had multiple red marks covering his body and face. His uniform was in shreds as well, reduced to rags after the assault.


    "Hopefully the next time I see you you''ll have matured a bit and have some sincere respect!"


    Sly and Piri sighed at the sight of Ital''s wretched figure.


    "You think we should help him? That ''lesson'' was a bit harsher compared to Mr. Raven''s usual ones." Sly said with a hint of concern.


    "Just leave him be, he deserved it. Besides, didn''t you say he always comes back stronger from stuff like this? He should be thankful for such a thorough beating."


    With one final scoff, Raven shifted his attention from Ital to Sly and Piri. Reaching into his coat pocket, he threw a bottle of green liquid towards Sly.


    "Take him back to his room and use that to tend to his injuries. If all goes well, we will meet again one year from now."


    Sly nodded. He summoned a backpack and put the bottle inside. Dismissing his lion, he slung Ital''s injured arm over his shoulder.


    "Good bye Mr. Raven. We wish you the best of luck on your mission."


    Sly turned towards Rel.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "It was also nice meeting you Rel. You''re a pretty cool guy and just as strong as the rumors say. I hope you''ll take good care of us."


    After giving their goodbyes, Sly and Piri left for the school dorms. Rel dropped to the ground and let out an exhausted sigh.


    "Man... Before coming here I was already tired, but now I feel like I won''t be able to leave my bed for the next few days. I didn''t expect those three to be such good fighters."


    Raven pulled out a bottle of red liquid and threw it at Rel. Unscrewing the lid, he wafted the scent a couple times before taking a large gulp. As the liquid entered his body, Rel felt a warm sensation course through him as some of his energy returned.


    "Corpse blood... It''s at least a week or two old as well. C''mon Raven, its our first meeting in years and you give me a bottle of this? I know that fresh blood is hard to come by, but at least share some blood that isn''t over a week old."


    "You lost to children. I am simply giving you what is proportionate to your performance."


    "Fair enough..." Rel finished the rest of the bottle and stood up.


    Casually walking over towards Rel, Raven stuck out his hand and delivered a hard sucker punch into Rel''s stomach.


    "Ugh!" Rel collapsed to his knees and began to gag. The punch was heavy and a trickle of blood started to leak from the corner of his mouth.


    Raven frowned as he looked down at his former apprentice.


    "What happened recently? From what I saw during the fight and the punch just now, you seem to be missing a significant portion of your power. Even if you were caught off guard, my punch shouldn''t have reduced you to this state. Tell me, who attacked you?"


    Rel coughed a few more times before catching his breath. He wasn''t surprised that his former teacher noticed his condition. Even though he did not have the natural gift of the gab like members of the Crowns, Raven was always able to see through Rel''s thoughts as if he were transparent.


    "It was the Blood Clan. They attacked me last night and afflicted me with some sort of curse that sealed away my powers. I thought I dispelled it, but when I got back it resurfaced and I found I could only use around half my true strength."


    "The Blood Clan... I''ve heard that they have been sending people to recruit powerful vampires from other clans to aid them in their cause. Let me see if there is anything I can do about it."


    Raven let out a sharp whistle and three crows came to his side. He took out a small knife and made a tiny incision in Rel''s arm. Blood began to leak onto the ground and the crows began stare and peck at it. The birds analyzed the blood for about two minutes before one of them turned and cawed at Raven.


    "I see."


    Because Rel drank the corpse blood, his regenerative abilities were greatly accelerated. The wound on his arm had already healed and the only thing that remained was a tiny scar that began to fade.


    "This is bad. It looks like you have been afflicted with a special kind of blood bond that has connected you with another person. The bond is similar to a slave contract and gives one full control over the powers of the other."


    "The Blood Clan member who cast this curse on me has free reign on how much power I can release?" Rel was exasperated.


    "Unfortunately, yes. Many of the spells used by the Blood Clan, especially the curses, are very dangerous and can do things that are simply unfathomable even by our standards. I have a feeling that unless you kill the caster, who is most likely the one you are bound to, you will not be able to remove the curse."


    "How will I do that? With this curse sealing away my powers I won''t be able to lay a single finger on the caster."


    Raven let out a thin smile.


    "Maybe you won''t have to. After all, don''t you have three crafty and energetic young vampires under your wing now?"


    Rel didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. He understood Raven''s intention and couldn''t find a way to refute him.


    "You got me there. Anyways, before you go, tell me about this mission. Don''t give me that it was for my sake line. You''re too valuable of an instructor for the clan to send you out. What is your purpose?"


    Raven''s face darkened. His expression grew three times fiercer as if he were recalling a very aggravating memory.


    "You''re not the only one who is having problems because of the Blood Clan. Ever since their former lord was usurped they have been getting more and more violent. They have been escalating their attacks on humans and more and more attention is being drawn onto our race. I''ve been sent to do some reconnaissance and to take down a few of their most aggressive teams."


    "Is that all? I may not have the most up to date information, but I heard that the current lord of the Blood Clan has been sitting on the throne for at least fifty years. They have made far bigger moves during that time, but you still never went out. I don''t want to be rude Raven, but is there something personal involved?"


    Raven brushed his hand over his face. He stopped when he got to the enormous scar that ran from the upper part of his right eye down to his cheek.


    "In addition to the Blood Clan, the Church has started to escalate things as well. We have already lost quite a few teams to them over the last couple weeks."


    The Holy Order, referred to by vampires as The Church, was a secret human organization that was aware of the existence of vampires. Living as ordinary clergymen during the day, members of the Holy Order were skilled vampire hunters that carried out massive hunts and exterminations at night. They carried special weapons that allowed them to kill vampires as if they were normal humans and some of them even possessed holy magic. While all church-folk weren''t necessarily part of the Holy Order, or even aware of the order''s existence, it was a fact that the organization was associated with the church. Because of this, vampires usually steered clear from the church in all aspects as to not draw the slightest attention towards themselves.


    "From the reports of those that survived, one of the lead hunters is the one responsible for giving me this."


    Every apprentice Raven ever had, including Rel, wondered where he got his signature scar from. Raven was a renowned fighter within the Sifr Clan and was famous for leaving every fight without a single scratch on him. Therefore, many were curious as to what terrifying monster was able to place a permanent wound on his face. However, whenever someone asked he would always brush it off and remain in an irritated mood for the rest of the day.


    Rel felt a sense of pride and trust when he heard these words from his former teacher. This was the first time Raven had ever given information about his scar to someone in his entire life.


    "I see... In that case, please be careful. A lot of people would mourn if something unfortunate were to happen to you."


    The sternness on Raven''s face lessened and a sincere smile formed.


    "That is why I told you, my best and favorite student. If I don''t return, I''ll at least die knowing I''ve left a strong legacy behind and someone who can avenge me."


    With those final words, a flock of crows descended from the sky and converged upon Raven. They covered his body and when they dispersed, he was gone.


    "Good bye."

 Chapter 6: Blood In The Dark

    In a dark room lit only by the light of a few candles, the two Blood Clan members who attacked Rel the previous night knelt before a small throne.


    Sitting on the throne was a devilishly handsome young man who looked to be around Rel''s age. He beared the traditional pale skin and red eyes of a vampire and had a face that no young woman would pass by without taking less than two glances. However, what stood out the most from the youth was his hair. It was medium in length, with a thin strand that went past his shoulders and was the color of pristine white snow.


    "I see that you have returned without one of your men." The young man said with a grin.


    The leader of the former trio lowered his head.


    "Yes sir... We lost Daivak last night."


    Even after hearing that one of his subordinates had been killed, the white-haired youth continued smiling.


    "Based on your previous attempts at recruiting this vampire, I have a good grasp on his character already. Combining that with my understanding of you, it doesn''t take a genius to figure out what happened. His most recent rejection finally bring you over the edge Sirvis?"


    Sirvis clenched his fist, but kept his head lowered.


    "It just infuriates me sir, concealing our strength and making all these moves in the dark. You have the power to easily suppress those conceited elites within the clan, but you choose not to. Not only do they look down on us, but those we are trying to recruit do as well."


    "I agree, your lordship''s strength rivals even that of the current prince, so why do you not take actions to raise your status? With your cunning and charisma you can naturally create a suitable backing for yourself to contend for the throne one day." The other kneeling vampire added.


    The white-haired vampire held out his hand, indicating to the two to stop talking. He picked up a glass of blood that was sitting on a small table beside him and took a sip.


    "Who says I don''t want the throne? Our clan is a clan where might makes right, even moreso than the other clans. I would be a disgrace if I were to not understand and accept this fact. However, why waste my time directly suppressing them if I can just have them do it themselves?"


    "While I can indeed do it myself, that would only create more work for me. The clan would be weakened and we would be liable to attacks from the other clans. Compared to those in the other clans, it is much easier to gather information and predict the movements of those within our own. Feigning weakness gives me the opportunity to build up a faction of those who I know will be completely loyal, and my enemies will war amongst themselves believing I am not a threat."


    "I understand. For the sake of the end goal, I will try my best to bear the humiliation as much as possible." Sirvis said.


    "Now then, I do not believe you lost a man for nothing. Did you manage to kill that vampire from the Sifr Clan?"


    "Forgive us sir, but we did not. I managed to cast the Blood Bond curse you taught me, but he managed to escape and find a human to feed on. Once he did, his powers returned and Daivak was killed. Therefore, we had no choice but to retreat."The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    The white-haired youth narrowed his eyes and drained the rest of his glass.


    "Odd, that curse I developed is not easily broken. Aside from killing the one they are connected to, drinking the blood of a human should not have given him the power to break the curse... Give me your arm."


    Sirvis slowly stood up and walked up towards the throne. He slowly reached out towards the white-haired vampire, who took his arm and dug a finger into his forearm. Sirvis felt his blood start to boil and he grit his teeth as the pain began to exponentially increase. Just when he was about to cry out, the finger was removed and the burning sensation dissipated.


    "Interesting... Sirvis, I want you to go after this vampire again. Make him think that you are after his life, but your main goal will be to retrieve a single drop of his blood. I will provide you with the tools necessary to complete the task. Until then, wait until I call for you."


    "Yes sir!" Sirvis bowed deeply towards the white-haired youth and began to walk away. The surviving brother replicated the gesture and left along with him.


    When the two vampires left, the white-haired youth sat with a pondering expression on his face.


    "Perhaps the curse wasn''t perfected as I originally thought. If Sirvis was really the one linked, a mark should have appeared on his arm when I tested his blood. Did the curse fail, or is it something else? If I can get one drop of blood, all my questions will be answered."


    -------------------------


    Rel went straight to bed the moment he got back to his room. It was only eight, but he didn''t care. He was so tired that the moment he closed his eyes, he fell into a state of bliss unconsciousness. Luckily, it was a Friday so he could literally sleep in for two whole days if he really needed to.


    In fact, that was exactly what he did. For the next two days, Rel spent his entire weekend sleeping. He didn''t eat, sleep, or even wake up to go to the washroom. It was as if he were hibernating or immersed in some sort of voluntary coma.


    Considering that he didn''t really have any friends, things were relatively peaceful during his period of rest.


    It wasn''t until Monday morning where he was awoken to the ringing of his alarm clock and Cerberus''s barks.


    Even though Rel was not actively taking care of him, Cerberus didn''t really need him to and was basically self-sufficient. He got his own food and water, he left whenever he pleased without attracting attention, and even set Rel''s alarm clock knowing that he had school on Monday.


    "Ugh... Weekend is over already?" Rel groaned.


    Despite half his powers still being sealed, the two days of rest had resolved the exhaustion and drowsiness Rel had been suffering the week before. While he was technically back to normal physically, he woke up feeling like a typical human teen not getting the recommended hours of sleep.


    "Five... more... minutes..."


    Looking at the time and seeing how Rel wasn''t getting up, Cerberus clamped his teeth onto the sheets and yanked them off the bed. He then hopped onto the matress and bit Rel''s ankle, dragging him off until he crashed onto the hardwood floors of the room. Even though he had shrunk to the size of a small puppy, Cerberus still retained all his strength and was able to move Rel''s limp body effortlessly.


    It was only after all this that Rel finally woke up. As he sat up, he noticed a clean uniform neatly hung on his door and his backpack already packed right below it. He turned towards Cerberus who lifted an eyebrow and nudged his head towards the door.


    Rel rubbed Cerberus on the head.


    "Man, what would I do without you Cerb. Maybe you should be the vampire and I should be the dog." He joked.


    Cerberus barked happily and nodded in agreement.


    "Wow... Is this how the other students feel when they say they didn''t get enough sleep? I guess the same can go for vampires too if they are pushed too hard. That, or it''s another side effect of the curse... Gah! If I ever see that Blood Clan vampire again I''m going to kill him!"


    After getting dressed, Rel left the dorms and headed for class. He had quite a bit of ground to cover and little time, but thanks to his vampiric constitution he managed to get in just before the bell.


    "Glad to see you made in time Mr. Weller. Now, would you please take your seat? I want to get going as soon as possible so that everyone can take the time to adjust to my style of teaching."


    Rel''s eyes widened when he saw the person standing by the blackboard.


    "Its you...!"

 Chapter 7: Substitute Teacher

    Rel''s first class was Mathematics. His teacher, Mr. Norman, was a middle-aged man who was very knowledgeable and taught the class well. However, he had an eccentric personality which caused the students to either really like or really dislike him depending on their personal preferences. He was also quite nosy, which he would always defend by saying he merely wanted to connect with his students better. Even though he was genuine in this regard, students who were more private found him annoying as he constantly tried to pry into their lives.


    This was especially the case for Rel, who was usually bombarded with at least five personal questions a day.


    However, today, Mr. Norman was not sitting by his desk finishing his last drops of coffee before the bell like he usually did. Instead, Rel saw a familiar girl wearing the academy uniform standing next to the blackboard with a pointing stick.


    "Sera?" Rel said with slight shock.


    Sera smiled and pointed towards the right side of her chest, displaying the silver badge of a substitute teacher.


    "Yep! Mr. Norman is going to be gone for a bit so I''m filling it for him! I''m a part of the accelerated class so I''ve already covered the stuff you guys are supposed to learn. That''s why until he comes back I''m going to be your substitute teacher!"


    Rel let out a sigh.


    [This girl... Member of the accelerated class, student council, and now even a substitute teacher? How is she able to commit to all this stuff and still have such a bright smile? Is she really human?!]


    Rel gave Sera a thumbs up and went to his seat. Normally, if the teacher was absent it was the duty of the student representative to fill in for them. However, Andi seemed to be away as well.


    This wasn''t uncommon as Andi was known for getting excused absences on a constant basis. If he wasn''t in class, ninety percent of the time it was because he was out currying favor with someone with influence, such as a faculty member or political figure.


    [Wonder who the bootlicker is sucking up to this time...]


    Rel did not mind Andi''s absence. With him gone, it meant one less person who might talk to him, and he was perfectly fine with that.


    Despite being the same age as the rest of them, Sera was a decent teacher. The class took a bit of time to adjust to her style of teaching, but a steady flow eventually developed. Her skill was slightly lacking compared to their original teacher Mr. Norman, but one thing she had him beat was keeping the class awake.


    With a subject like mathematics, a few students were bound to get a bit bored no matter how good the teacher was. The course material was dry and many students just didn''t have the attention span for it.


    Yet, when Sera was teaching, she had the classes full attention and focus the entire time. This was especially the case for the boys, who seemed to be interested more in her than the contents on the board.


    Even Rel felt energized and alert throughout Sera''s lessons. Initially, he was feeling a bit drowsy, but as the lesson progressed, he found that his fatigue was decreasing more and more.


    [Damn. Is she really that pretty that I''m being riled up like these other hormone driven idiots? Or is her enthusiasm and teaching just that good?]


    After class ended, the boys roared with praise at Sera''s lesson. They began to clap and some of them even asked if she could teach their other classes as well.


    "Thanks guys! Good job keeping up with the lesson! Even though math can be a bit slow you all looked like you were paying attention!" Her bright turquoise eyes and innocent smile made for a very cute appearance.


    She was hit up with many offers to hang out after class, but she denied them all. A few of them even came from some of the girls, who instead of getting jealous actually developed admiration and respect for her.


    "Sorry guys, I''m pretty busy with all my other duties so I don''t have much time after school or between classes. I''ll see you all tomorrow in class though!"


    Sera sighed as she saw the dejected faces of some of the students leaving the room. If she had the time, she wouldn''t mind making some new friends, but she simply had too much left to do. Packing her things, she noticed that there was still one student left in the room.


    "Hey, Nath right? How come you haven''t left for your next class yet? If you don''t hurry, you might really be late this time."


    Rel let out a short chuckle and stood up from his seat.


    "I''ll manage. I just don''t like to get stuck in all the traffic that builds up right when the bell rings."


    "Smart guy... What happened to being just your typical everyday high school student?" She said with a mischievous grin.


    Rel put up his hands in defeat.


    "You got me there. Guess I''m a bit special after all."Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    He walked towards the door and Sera followed behind him.


    "What''s your next class?" She asked.


    "History."


    "Ah, I see. Guess we''re going in the same direction then. I have to talk to the department head about a conference that is going to be held in a couple weeks."


    The walk to the history building was awkward. Sera was a very outgoing person and usually attracted those of a similar nature. She was used to spirited conversation and idle chatter, but she got none of that with Rel. Whenever she tried to start up a topic, it would be shut down fairly quickly with Rel''s one word responses.


    "Sleep well last weekend? You look much better now compared to when we first bumped into each other before the break."


    "Yeah."


    "Do anything interesting during the days off?"


    "No."


    "Looking forward to anything once university starts?"


    "Not really."


    Sera was frustrated, but didn''t show it. She didn''t know if Rel was intentionally brushing her off or was just acting like he normally did.


    "History is a boring class to alot of people. The stuff that is covered goes far back into medieval times. To most, it''s just a collection of old stories and legends that sound too crazy to believe. It''s optional too. Why did you take it?"


    Rel did not answer right away. There was a brief pause before he finally spoke.


    "Just because it sounds outrageous doesn''t mean it''s fake..."


    Sera''s eyes lit up. She finally found a topic that they could discuss about.


    "That''s true. There''s plenty of evidence that many inhumane atrocities were committed by certain tyrannical rulers back then. Even supernatural creatures that were thought to exist during that time weren''t completely baseless either. In reality, they were just glorified versions of real animals."


    Rel let out a faint smile when he heard this. He didn''t say anything and just chuckled.


    "Let''s just say that I have alot of interest in that supernatural stuff. You can call me a bit of a nerd I guess. What about you? Are you taking history too?"


    "Yeah... I''ll be honest though, it wasn''t really my decision. My dad is a history nut as well and he really pushed me to put it on my timetable. I was going to refuse because my schedule was already busy enough, but when he started to get on his knees I just couldn''t."


    "Haha! What a shameless guy. Do you enjoy it yourself though?"


    Sera shrugged her shoulders.


    "It''s additional knowledge. I don''t think I''ll use it too much in the future, but it''s an easy course and a nice break from the rest I took."


    "Nothing wrong with a good grade booster."


    Soon enough, Rel and Sera arrived at the history building. They were about to part ways when they heard voices coming from down the hall.


    "Hurry up! We''re going to be late!"


    "Hey! You can''t rush going to the bathroom! Geez..."


    "What an interesting start to our first day."


    The voices seemed to belong to children, filling the area and coupled with the sound of stomping feet. As the sounds drew closer, Sera noticed two young boys and a girl running down the hallway towards them. Rel''s eyes widened when he saw who the three individuals were.


    "Hey guys. Isn''t that Rel over there?" Ital pointed.


    Piri slapped him on the back of the head.


    "Quiet! We''re supposed to keep our real names a secret remember?!"


    "Come to think of it, we never found out what we were supposed to call him in public." Sly added.


    "Hey! Mr. Teacher!" Ital shouted.


    Within a few short moments, Ital, Piri, and Sly arrived before Sera and Rel.


    Sera looked over the three youths standing before her. Based on how young they looked and how they wore the academy uniform, she assumed that the three of them were freshmen.


    "You know these students Nath?" She asked.


    Rel scratched his head.


    "Um, yeah. They''re my... distant cousins." In truth, Rel did not really know how to describe his relationship with the three junior vampires. They were all part of the same clan and thus shared the same blood, but it was hard to say where they would fit within a family tree.


    Ital''s eyes sparkled as he turned his gaze towards Sera.


    "Yo Nath! Who is this? Is she your girlfriend? Man you scored big! She''s the prettiest girl I''ve seen in this school so far!" Ital said outloud.


    Rel''s eyes flickered red. He swore that the next time he was alone with Ital he was going to throw him into a concrete wall.


    Piri covered Ital''s mouth and pulled him over.


    "Sorry about that, our friend isn''t right in the head. He just blurts things out without thinking first. He didn''t mean what he just said." She said quickly.


    Sera did not get angry and instead showed the same kind smile she always put on.


    "It''s alright, you guys are new to this school right? Welcome! I''m Sera. I''m a senior student just like your cousin Nath. I''m also part of the student council, so if you have any questions just drop by the council meeting room. Anyways, I have to go see one of the professors now, you guys should get going too or your going to be late for your next classes!" Checking the clock at the main entrance, Sera noticed that she was already a few minutes behind schedule. She quickly waved goodbye to Nath and began to walk away down the halls.


    After she was no longer in view, Piri slapped Ital hard in the head once more.


    "Owww... What was that for?"


    "You idiot! You can''t just say things like that to other people!" Piri scolded.


    "What''s the issue? I was complimenting both of them. I called that girl pretty and I called ''Nath'' a winner for being with her."


    Piri shook her head.


    "You need to learn something called social intelligence..."


    "What''s that?"


    "Something you don''t have." Sly laughed.


    Rel let out a faint smile as he watched the three bicker. He didn''t feel like punting Ital across the the ends of the earth anymore, Instead, he let out a deep breath and decided to act like the responsible mentor he was supposed to be.


    "Alright kiddies, it was nice seeing you all again, but its time for class. How about we all meet back here after school and get some ice cream to celebrate your first day?"


    "Sure!" The three immediately stopped bickering and agreed in unison. They then walked out of the building with smiles on their faces as if their argument earlier was just a dream.


    [They really are kids... I just mentioned ice cream and they immediately stopped arguing.  Well, this is my last year, so I guess I should give back to this academy by making sure these three adjust to the system.]


    Leaving for his History class, Rel didn''t notice that two pairs of eyes were watching him from the roof of a nearby building.


    "Interesting, it looks like he''s taking care of three little brats now. What do you think of this Livac?" Sirvis asked while stroking his chin.


    Livac clenched his fists so hard that his nails left imprints in his hand.


    "I will slaughter them. Once they''re dead I will throw their corpses beneath his feet. Only after beating him to a bloody pulp while watching him despair over the deaths of those close to him will I have avenged my brother!"


    "Since you''re so motivated, I will let you take the lead on this mission then." Sirvis reached into his coat pocket and threw a small object towards Livac. Upon receiving the item, slight shock appeared on his face. Livac paused for a moment and furrowed his brows before he began to walk towards the roof exit, putting the item into his pocket.


    "Put on a good show." Sirvis smiled.

 Chapter 8: The Wisdom of a Blind Old Man

    "So as you can see, it is thanks to the Celestials that the human race even exists to this day." An elderly voice concluded.


    The class was silent. A vast majority of the students had bored expressions on their faces, while the more daring were sleeping.


    Ancient History, also known as Mythological History, was not a course many students took because they were actually interested in the material. The only reason the class was consistently full each semester was because it was the easiest elective in the entire academy. The tests were all multiple choice and the answer would always be the most outrageous sounding option.


    For example, if the question was what was the strongest predator in all of Earth''s history, and the options were dinosaurs, tigers, snakes, or death-defying battle ox, the answer was going to be the death-defying battle ox.


    "Now then, does anyone have any questions before I dismiss class?"


    One student raised their hand.


    "Ah yes. Nath, what''s on your mind?"


    Rel smiled as he put down his hand.


    "Sir, you always talk with alot of passion and enthusiasm when it comes to ancient history. However, the types of things you talk about, alot of it seems fake. The Celestials, the Vampires, all the various supernatural creatures, but it sounds like you really believe it."


    Rel was the model student in his Ancient History class. While he usually showed minimal effort and low enthusiasm in his other courses, he was always actively engaged in Ancient History. This was because Ancient History had a lot of personal relevance to him, being a class that contained vampires as part of the curriculum.


    The elderly lecturer smiled. He didn''t seem insulted by the question, but judging by his face it seemed like it was one he had heard many times before.


    "Haha. I knew that question was going to come eventually. And I always give the same response. The truth is Nath, I don''t really know myself. Many perceived supernatural phenomena has been debunked by modern science, but there are still some things that they cannot explain."


    He took in a deep breath, his eyes filled with contemplation and thought.


    "Perhaps everything is fake and that science just hasn''t discovered the answer yet. However, I just feel somewhere deep down that I''m right. That I''m on to something. That there is some truth within the ancient texts of the past, even when it comes to the supernatural."


    Most of the other students rolled their eyes at this response. Considering how their teacher was an old man, many assumed that he was just going crazy from old age. A few of them shot impatient glares at Rel, subtly telling him to stop talking so that they could be dismissed.


    "I see. Thank you sir."


    The old man acknowledged Rel with a kind nod and dismissed the class.


    Within seconds, the room emptied. Rel, on the other hand, walked up to the teachers desk as the old professor started to pack up.


    "Lunchtime doesn''t last long Nath. You should go get something to eat so you''ll have energy for your next class." The professor said with a gentle smile.


    "Dr. Doyle, you told me before that you''ve studied Ancient History all the way up to the doctorate level. And just now you''ve said that some of the supernatural aspects might be true. Can I ask which part of Ancient History you think is the most believable or has the most evidence?"


    "Hmm... Based on my research, I would say the stories about the Vampires and Celestials are the most believable."


    Rel expected this response. While many mythological topics were covered in Ancient History, the most looked upon were the Vampires and Celestials.


    "What makes you say that?"


    "Just everyday comparisons and observations I''ve noticed throughout my years. It''s kind of funny though. Some of the most convincing and applicable theories I''ve seen reference books I''ve read at a church a friend of mine works at. Actually, to my surprise, the church possessed some of the most accurate documentaries of ancient history I''ve ever read. A few are even more complete than ones you can find at top level universities! If you''re interested you should go check it out."


    Rel politely waved his hand in refusal. If what Dr. Doyle''s said was true, that was a church he was going to be sure to stay clear of. The church he spoke of clearly had agents of the Holy Order hidden within.


    "Haha... Pretty strange. I mean the church has been around for a while so I guess it shouldn''t be that big of a surprise right?" Rel half-joked.


    "I was wondering this though Dr. Doyle. What is your opinion on Vampires and the Celestials the church worships?"


    Unlike most other teachers, Rel was very fond of Dr. Doyle and had an attachment to him. As a human who studied Ancient History, he knew more about vampires than most others of his race. While he could never really determine for sure whether the supernatural really existed, Rel was surprised with many of his theories. Despite being completely blind to the world of vampires, he was able to pick out what was true and what was false from literary texts that actually contained true facts about them with perfect accuracy. This astounded Rel so much that he even checked if Dr. Doyle was secretly a vampire at one point. The results turned out negative and Rel gained great respect for the old professor.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    However, Dr. Doyle never once stated his own personal opinion about vampires in class or in private. While Rel would never think about revealing his identity to him, he genuinely wanted to hear his opinion.


    Dr. Doyle put an arm around Rel''s shoulder and escorted him out the door.


    "Come, it''s already ten minutes into lunch. Let''s go grab something to eat and talk along the way okay?"


    The academy had a bunch of food establishments operating within their jurisdiction. Like housing, the three standard meals of the day were free and students only had to pay if they wanted more.


    Rel gave his voucher to the cashier and after waiting for about a minute, received a hot dog. He then met up with Dr. Doyle, who was sitting on a bench outside of the store. He did not buy lunch and instead drank soup from a large bottle he brought from home.


    "So you asked me what I think about the Vampires and Celestials right? Well, as you already know, in the books the classifications are pretty black and white. The Vampires are the evil conquerers who wanted to enslave the human race, while the Celestials are the paragons of justice who defended them. As a doctor of Ancient History, I would have to agree with what is stated within the books. "


    Rel nodded between bites of his hot dog. He had read the class textbooks and the portrayal of Vampires in them was very biased in favor of the Celestials. As a scholar of the doctorate level, it was only logical that Dr. Doyle would share the same views. He was still somewhat saddened though. This meant that there would always be a divide between him and his favorite teacher. That their close connection could easily be severed with a simple reveal of identity.


    "Of course, that is just the professional answer of a doctor. My personal opinion on the other hand, is a bit different."


    Rel lifted an eyebrow.


    "They say that Vampires were once human. That an evil god simply corrupted and transformed them into monsters. Of course, alot of those humans were already evil from the start. Those people were already monsters and simply had their negative traits magnified even more."


    "However, I personally don''t believe all vampires are bad. According to the legends, the vampire armies of old were vast and many. There had to have been some with good hearts that were merely dragged into that life without a choice. I might be wrong, but I believe in the goodness that exists within their humanity."


    "You really have an open mind Dr. Doyle..." Rel said quietly.


    "Haha. Don''t get me wrong Nath, I have a feeling that if Vampires did exist, most would be wicked and selfish. It''s just that I don''t think the same can be said for every single one. In fact, if I were fortunate enough to meet one of these kind and open-minded vampires..." Dr. Doyle paused for a moment.


    "What would you do?" Rel asked hastily.


    Dr. Doyle looked at Rel for a moment. He saw the eagerness in the young man''s face and a warm smile appeared on his face as he spoke.


    "I''d like to have a peaceful conversation with them, just like the one we are having right now."


    Rel eyes widened. He didn''t really know what to think of the answer Dr. Doyle just gave.


    Dr. Doyle sank back onto the bench and crossed his arms behind his head.


    "Yes, all I''d want would be to talk with them. I''d ask them about their day, what they like to do, their favorite foods---"


    "But what about the main questions like what is it it like to be a vampire, or do they really hunt people at night like the legends say." Rel interrupted.


    "Nath, Vampires are stereotyped to be vicious evil creatures with no care at all for the human race. Do you think an undercover vampire who has been living with that classification their entire life would appreciate questions revolving around things like that? No, unless a vampire brought up that topic to me first, I would not press so much as a single question in that direction."


    Rel looked down with a bit of shame on his face. He felt like he had just underestimated and insulted his favorite teacher.


    Finishing his bottle of soup, Dr. Doyle stood up and stretched his body.


    "Anyways, it looks like lunch is almost over. I forgot my bag in the classroom and need to go get it. You should be getting ready for your next class too Nath. We can talk some more another time. As long as I''m not busy I''ll accept, I really do enjoy our conversations."


    Waving goodbye, Dr. Doyle left for the History Building. Rel did not leave immediately for his next class and stayed on the bench. His teacher''s words lingered in his mind and gave him alot to think about.


    Back in the classroom, Dr. Doyle was searching all over the teacher''s desk for his bag. He normally kept it in a lockable compartment in the bottom corner of the desk, but when he checked it wasn''t there.


    "That''s weird, I always put it in this compartment. I''m the only one who has the key too."


    Slam~


    Suddenly, the classroom door slammed shut. The sound startled Dr. Doyle, who turned his head quickly in fright. He moved towards the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. He looked at the lock on the door and his eyes narrowed. The inside lock was still unlocked.


    "Why are you trying to leave, don''t you need your bag first?" A voice called out.


    Dr. Doyle turned to see a man wearing a black cloak sitting on top of a desk at the back of the class. The cloak masked most of his facial features and he swung a brown bag in his right hand.


    "Dr. Adrian Doyle. You are the Head of the Ancient History Department of Levin Academy and  widely known to have a keen interest in the mythological."


    Dr. Doyle walked slowly to the center of the room. A drop of sweat dripped down his neck.


    "Who are you? Are you a student? If so, I''m afraid cloaks are a violation of the uniform policy."


    The cloaked man ignored the question and took out a tiny sewing needle. He pulled up the sleeve of his cloak and revealed an extremely pale hand. Prickling his finger, a tiny drop of blood fell onto Dr. Doyle''s bag. As soon as the blood made contact with the bag, the bag started to disintegrate as if acid had been poured over it.


    Visibly shaken, Dr. Doyle took a few steps back. The hooded man let out a chuckle and began to walk towards him.


    "You are to be respected doctor. Being born an ordinary human, you are introduced to this world blind and unaware of many of it''s truths. However, despite these setbacks you have learned much through your study of historic texts. You have an impeccable intuition that can distinguish between fact and fiction, and I feel that if our ancestors were careless even once with the knowledge we allowed to humans to know, you could have eventually exposed us."


    "You''re a... vampire!" Dr. Doyle spluttered.


    The man pulled back his hood, revealing the face of Livac underneath. His pale skin and crimson eyes were revealed proudly to the frightened educator.


    "That''s right, doctor. You are in the presence of Livac, a vampire of one of the Six Great Clans. I must say I am quite lucky though, killing you will not only fulfill my main objective, but also keep the secrecy of our race intact... until we are ready..."


    "Vampires actually exist... All my theories... I was... right..." Despite Dr. Doyle''s face being filled with horror, a trace of relief and pride could be heard within his voice.


    "Correct, vampires do exist. You may die without regret knowing that everything you have researched and dedicated your life towards wasn''t a mere fairy tale."


    Livac lunged forward and Dr. Doyle did not resist. With his knowledge on vampires, he knew it would be futile. He closed his eyes peacefully and embraced death knowing that he would die as, in his mind, a wise and accomplished man.

 Chapter 9: Outclassed

    "Man I can''t believe it! How could she just ditch us like that!" Ital whined as he walked down the hall.


    Sly shrugged his shoulders.


    "Who knows, but I guess we should feel happy for her. After all, it''s our first day here and she''s already made a couple of human friends."


    "Pssh. Did she already forget that we promised to get ice cream with Rel after school. Girls... No sense of loyalty whatsoever. Say they''ll do one thing and do something else ten minutes later." Ital scoffed.


    "Maybe she''ll show up later. And by the way, I think we should call him ''Nath'' when we are in school."


    "Alright, ''Simon''. Happy now? Like come on, you made new friends today too and you''re still here with me."


    "Maybe cause I feel pity for the only one out of the three of us who didn''t make any friends today." Sly said with a mischievous grin.


    Ital threw a punch towards Sly''s face, but he easily dodged it. He was about to throw another until he noticed a teacher passing by.


    When the teacher was gone, he let out a sigh and lowered his hands. Sly brushed back his wavy blonde hair.


    "You don''t make friends with humans doing stuff like that man. You can''t just walk into P.E class, beat the pants out of everyone and then mock them saying how they''ll never be better than you." Sly explained.


    "I''m just asserting dominance! Setting up the pecking order! Showing them that if they need someone to rely on, they can rely on me!"


    Sly shook his head.


    "I worry about how you''ll survive the next four years man, I really do."


    "Yeah yeah whatever. Anyways, according to the map, this hallway connects to the History Building. Mind as well do some exploring as we make our way down to the entrance."


    Ital and Sly peeked into many rooms in the History Building on the way to the entrance. School was over for the day so there weren''t many people around. Therefore, they could literally do as much trespassing as they wanted with minor caution as long as the door wasn''t locked. They went through map rooms, conference rooms, storage rooms, and even printer rooms.


    "I can''t believe all of this stuff is just unguarded. I mean, anyone can just come in and steal things." Ital said.


    "Maybe it''s to give the janitors an easier time. However, the building is so big that they don''t have the staff to monitor every floor." Sly suggested.


    Suddenly, Ital perked his head up and started sniffing the air. Out of the trio, he had the sharpest senses, so if anything of importance were to be noticed he would be the first to know.


    "Hey Sly, do you smell that?"


    Sly started sniffing as well. However, his senses were not as sharp as Ital''s and he didn''t pick up anything.


    "No, I don''t, what is it?"


    Ital looked towards the door and ran out the room and down the hall. Confused, Sly chased after him. They stopped at the entrance to an open classroom and their eyes widened when they looked inside.


    The entire room was wasted. Chairs and desks were all over the place, windows were cracked, and the floor was covered in dust and debris.


    Cautiously stepping inside, Ital moved towards the upturned teachers desk at the front of the room and knelt down.


    "This is the work of a vampire. There is a very faint scent of human blood here that only vampires with above average senses like me can detect if caught in time. I''d say this attack happened around the end of lunchtime." Ital said with a somber expression.


    "I agree. If this was a normal human to human attack, they wouldn''t be able to erase the scent of blood so well. Anyways, we should probably go find a teacher."


    Thud~


    As Sly and Ital exited the room, they suddenly heard the doors at the end of the hall slam shut. Immediately after, half the lights above them turned off, while the other half started to flicker.


    Seeing these sudden turn of events, Ital and Sly quickly shed their human disguises. Their eyes turned red, their skin grew paler, and their teeth sharpened. They stood back to back, covering each other''s blind spots against the unknown threat.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    "Well, well, well. You brats have some sharp senses. I didn''t expect you two to seek me out instead of the other way around." A cold voice said.


    One of the off lights in front of Ital flickered, revealing the enigmatic presence of Livac.


    Ital turned around to face his opponent.


    "What clan are you from? What is your purpose here?"


    Livac rushed forward with blinding speed. Before Ital and Sly could even react, they were sent flying by two strong kicks from the senior vampire.


    "You don''t need to know what clan I am from. You two are so weak that I don''t even need to reveal my clan abilities to you. Just know that your lives are necessary for my revenge." Raising his hands into the sleeves of his cloak, Livac drew two large daggers.


    Ital and Sly filled gulped.


    "Ital! Summons!" Sly shouted.


    "Right!"


    Both of them clapped their palms and two red sigils formed on the ground, accompanied by a flash of crimson light that illuminated the halls.


    When the light subsided, Ital was joined by his companion, Kong The Monkey. Beside him was Sly, who was not joined by a giant flaming tiger, but rather a large table sized snake.


    "Sly, why didn''t you bring out Firestorm?! We need as much power as possible to deal with this guy!" Ital criticised.


    "Look around us! I can''t bring him out in a small narrow place like this! He would cause too much damage and could possibly bring the floor above down!l on top of us! Even if we do survive, how are we going to explain what happened to the public?!"


    "Damn it!"


    Livac chuckled.


    "Haha... You Sifr are so weak. Afraid of a little damage or exposure? The solution is simple, just kill all the witnesses. As long as there''s no proof or witnesses, humans will always find some ''logical'' explanation to blame it on. Anyways, you won''t have to worry about that. I''ll be sure to take care of your corpses after I kill you."


    Even though it was four against one, the fight was quite one sided in Livac''s favor. He wasn''t even using his daggers, his fists alone were already more than the two boys to handle.


    Kong jumped onto the wall and started to leap back and forth between the other wall in an attempt to confuse the vampire. However, Livac simply caught him midway by the tail and slammed him hard into the ground.


    Still grasping Kong''s tail, Livac began spinning the monkey like a fan. The rotation speed was so great, that the large snake that Sly summoned was sent flying when it tried to pounce on him. Ital and Sly rushed over, but Livac countered by throwing the disoriented primate at them, knocking them over.


    "Oh god that hurt..." Ital groaned.


    "He''s older and more experienced, we can''t win. We gotta... run!"


    Sly quickly got up and started running to the exit at the end of the hall. Ital followed him.


    When he got to the door, Sly took a few steps back and assumed a tackling position. The academy walls were quite sturdy, but with his vampire physiology, a few strong tackles would be enough to take it down. He charged forward, but as soon as he got within ten centimeters from the door a pair of red spikes emerged and shot out from it, skewering him into the wall.


    "Gak!" Sly coughed out a mouthful of blood. Two large red spikes stuck through his shoulder and abdomen.


    "Sly!" Ital shouted. He quickly caught up and ripped the spikes out of the injured vampire''s body.


    "Sorry Ital, I messed up. Should''ve known better." He said weakly. The attack wasn''t enough to take his life, but it was enough to put him out for the rest of the fight.


    Livac laughed as he casually walked towards the two.


    "Kids these days. You really think I would leave the exits unguarded like that?"


    Ital clenched his fists. Everyone was out of commission except for him. Everything was now in his hands.


    [I have to fight! I have to give the others time to recover!]


    Ital lunged forward.


    "Fight me!"


    As Ital approached, Livac let out a smile and lifted two fingers. The glob of blood that Sly coughed out began to bubble and a flurry of red needles emerged and pierced Ital''s back.


    [Damn... I was so riled up that I didn''t notice what those spikes were made out of... Blood... So he must be from the Blood Clan...] Ital collapsed onto the ground.


    Sly sighed internally as Ital fell.


    "Blood Clan..." He muttered.


    Livac placed his foot on Ital''s head.


    "That''s right kids. Name''s Livac. You can pray to the Vampire King if you wish, but I doubt he is going to save you."


    Livac raised his dagger. He was about to plunge it into Ital''s skull when he felt a sharp pain in his right calf.


    "Aargh!" He grunted in pain.


    The large snake had dug its fangs into his leg, causing him a small amount of pain. However, with his twin daggers, he quickly filleted the reptile into countless pieces.


    Sly coughed out another glob of blood as his summon sigil disappeared along with the remains of the snake. When a summon was killed while still contracted to a summoner, it would cause a backlash. This backlash was proportional to how closely connected to two were. Since the snake was only one of Sly''s minor summons, the recoil from its death was not that severe.


    "Tch... Annoying pest. Now then--" Suddenly a jolt went through Livac''s body. He turned towards the opposite exit where he saw Kong standing next to the door. The blood trap he had put on it was somehow undone and the monkey was about to tackle the door open.


    "What the hell? How could that stupid monkey undo my spell? Luckily, I caught it in time. I can''t let it escape!" Livac threw one of his daggers towards Kong. It''s speed was like an arrow from a fully drawn bow and pierced the primate through its side. As it fell to the ground, Livac let out a sigh of relief and turned his attention back to Ital and Sly.


    "End of the line kids. I''ll give you credit though, this took way longer than I expected it to."


    Plunging his knife down onto the unconscious boy''s body, he let out a grin of satisfaction. However, that grin was quickly replaced with shock when Ital''s body suddenly disappeared.


    "What?!"


    Not only did Ital''s body disappear, but Sly, who was initially slumped up against the wall, had also vanished.


    "Thanks guys... You came just in time." A young voice called out.


    Livac jerked his head backwards upon hearing the voice. The two boys he had defeated were now on the opposite side of the hall. They were not alone either. They were joined by a girl and an older boy who stood beside them.


    His pupils shrank when he laid eyes on the handsome youth who had just arrived. He could feel his blood begin to boil and his hatred swell as he gripped his daggers tighter.


    "You''ve finally come..."