The following day I was on Earth in a city my scouts said was called London. It was noisy as different sounds filled my ear drums. It was almost overwhelming. The city was lit up like it was still daytime even though the moon was out. I took a moment to just stare at the humans' pity, and disgust were the only things I could think of. I dropped off the roof of the building I was standing on and landed, which left a small crack on the walkway in an alley. I went into a small shop and picked clothes that would suit my new life here. 

A pair of jeans, red sneakers, and a hoodie with a yellow mouse. I made my way down the street and suppressed my magical presence to match the others around me. It was actually pathetic, only about two percent of my magic reserves. I looked around, trying to find the main base of their military. Still, after walking around for a while, I noticed the thin mana in the atmosphere. Which made it difficult to breathe as we celestials need mana to live. 

 I heard a scream in the distance and saw a man running away from a woman. To not blow my cover, I won’t interfere in their conflict. I sensed a small burst of mana, and another woman flew by my peripheral vision and tackled the man. 

I saw small mana particles coming off the woman as she wore tight gray and black armor around her body. It was enough to outrun a little child in my kingdom despite being a small amount. She held the man with his arms behind his back, giving the first woman her missing item back. 

“Thank you, miss; what’s your name, and is there anything I can do to repay you?” The first woman asked, her Brunette bangs covering her eyes. 

“My name is Jane, and no need to thank me,” she said as the man was handed to the police. 

As I walked up to Jane, I finally got a good look at her. She had long black hair, and her eyes were brown like caramel when the lights from the long pole shined on them. Getting close, she turned and looked me up and down, confused about my presence. 

“Hey, how were you able to move that fast?” I asked, pretending to be ignorant about the magic usage.

“Oh, I will gladly tell you, but may I ask who you are?” she responded, raising her left eyebrow as a surge of mana spiked from her body.

“Oh, my name is David Cola,” I said, stepping back from her.

“Oh, like the American drink, Cola. I like it. Come walk with me, David.” She said, stepping to the side of her. 

We walked for a while as she told me about the armor or the suit. According to Jane, the Xcom suits were made only two years prior by stimulating the cells in the suit made from dead insects that attacked Europe. 

I felt the pits of my stomach turn as she described what they did to the former hive army or, as they said, “huge insects.” We turned into a long street that led to a vast building that almost looked like my castle. 

I asked her what this thing called mana was. Her face lit up when I brought up the topic. She started to ramble about how mana is this magical energy that allows them to perform superhuman tasks like her blitzing the criminal earlier. 

I was amused by how little they know about mana, but I'm sure she is not the only one excited about it. She stopped speaking, and her cheeks reddened as she apologized for rambling. I told her it was fine, but it seemed like she knew very little about this magical energy. Once again, she looked at me skeptically as soon as I said that.

“What do you know about mana?” she asked, eyes scanning me up and down.

“I’m very knowledgeable on this subject,” I replied, trying to keep my cool as I saw pure mana particles come off her body.

“How is that possible? We’ve just discovered mana?” she continued to pry. 

“That’s something you can’t know about,” I answered, trying to say as little as possible.

“Well, I'm curious to know more about you, David, but I have to go now,” she told me as she walked into the large building, “meet me by the pub near Big Ben at around nine tomorrow night.” 

After she left, I wandered the streets more to get used to the planet's cultures and lifestyle so I could better fit in. 

For half a year, I met up with Jane and asked her about the culture of London and more about the suits. I’m genuinely thankful she indulged in my consent questions. Each day we talked, I could tell she was getting more comfortable with me, and I did the same. The peaceful life on Earth, besides the random monster attacks here and there, was something I envied about these humans. Even though monster attacks started becoming more frequent, humans learned to adapt. They came up with a monster-hunting organization named Jäger. They used mana to protect, not wage war, as the Rulers or Guardians did. 

One day when Jane and I were hanging out on a cliff talking about the stuff we usually did, and the moonlight was staring down at us, I felt sick. For almost a year, I’ve grown to love and appreciate humans, specifically her, and lying to her wasn’t an option. 

“Jane, I need to tell you something,” I said, turning to her, and she looked back at me with wonder and sincerity, “I don’t know how to tell you this, but-“ 

“You’re a monster, aren't you?” She replied, cutting me off.

“How did you know?” I asked, jumping up and stepping back from her 

“It was obvious when you kept asking me questions about British culture, Jäger, and other common knowledge here,” she said, getting up from the cliff and walking over to me. “And plus, you're also radiating mana without a suit.” 

“How long have you known?” I asked, a cold sweat starting to stick to my skin. 

“For about three months, the higher-ups told me to watch you, but you haven’t hurt anyone yet, so it’s fine.” She leaned closer to my face, “so tell me more about mana and yourself.” 

I told her about my mission and the Celestials. I told her I was the king of vampires.

“So you are like a god-king?” she asked. 

“I guess you can put it like that to help process this better,” I responded, “and my name wasn’t David but Dracula.”

“Oh, I like that more than David,” she replied slightly seductively.  I could feel my heart skip a few beats, but I continued to explain more. I told her that mana is a near-omnipotent particle that can be absorbed and molded into spells. 

After our talk, we went our separate ways. I didn’t know what would happen to our friendship, but I thought it was best to let Jane process this information I gave her, as I thought I could see smoke coming from her head. But there are some things about mana Jane wouldn’t understand unless she had a core, but with how fast the humans are progressing, I’m sure one day one will form a core. I walked into the apartment. Jane helped me rent and lay on my bed. It was the peacefulness not until a slight fluctuation of mana formed in front of my bed. A short red-haired man walked into my room, his eyes burning red-orange and wearing red and fire armor. 

“Lord Dracula, I’m here for your report,” the man said while kneeling. Little respect was in his tone. 

“Nothing to report on Dragoth; go home now,” I said harshly, no longer trying to be involved in the war. 

“Lord Longwong is worried about your commitment to the war.” he continued, lifting his head to make eye contact with me, “so please refrain from making statements that you would regret.”

“Tell Longwong I’m done, with him, with the war. I just want to live a peaceful life and start a family,” I snapped. My mana leaked out the pressure from it, forcing Dragoth to grovel on the ground, “watch your tone the next time you speak to me.” 

Suppressing my mana, Dragoth rose, bowed, and left through the portal. I know those words would not sit well with the king of dragons, but I have something nice and refuse to lose it. 

After that encounter with Dragoth, it was a peaceful four years. Jane and I got married and had a baby boy. I also started teaching humans more about mana. Even though I got somewhat involved with monster extermination, it still made me sick to think about the suit and weapon conversion process.

 I stayed in contact with Persephone and my fangs to ensure my kingdom didn’t fall to pieces. I  worked late one night at the lab, helping the humans develop their suits more to increase the mana output. I walked into our home but stopped when I got to the door. A tiny hint of mana was leaking from the door. I covered my body in a thin layer of mana. I busted Into the house. 

My pulse raced as the house was messy, like someone had robbed it, but nothing was missing. I was sweeping the house and found bodies scattered everywhere; each wore red armor. I entered the main bedroom, and several more bodies lay on the floor or against the wall. 

Mana residue was permanented throughout the room. I turned to the bed for a split second, and my mana surged out of my body—ripping and destroying the bedroom. I walked over to the bed, and Jane’s body had multiple deep cuts. A hole was where her heart was. My emotions flared from grief to sheer anger. I sensed mana from the bathroom; I Immediately covered my body in a thick layer of mana; I rushed the mana signature, sending debris into the toilet. 

A soldier, maybe about five feet and six inches tall, was almost out the window when he saw me. His eyes went wide before he fell out of view. I channeled mana into my legs and rushed after him, destroying the house's outer wall. He was about a couple miles away already, but I caught up to him in about five seconds. Fear plastered his face as I grabbed him by his throat. 

“Who sent you?!” I shouted, my rulers' requiem leaked out and almost reducing the soldier to his knees

“Lord Longwong sent me; please don’t hurt me,” the dragon pleaded as his eyes started tearing up and his voice got shaky. 

I squeezed tightly and only let go when I heard an audible crack from the dragon. Dropping his body, I felt myself laughing, but tears poured down my cheek as I dropped to my knees. I Cursed and Screamed at Longwong before I made my way back to the house. I heard a faint noise when I went to the bedroom from the closet. I saw our son lying on the floor crying. I picked him up, and just like that, grief and sadness transformed into a rage that could rival dragon fire. That very moment I decided that I would kill Longwong.