Using blood magic here would be a waste. But if I kill him and drink his blood… not only can I gain power, but I won’t have to prove anything. If the lord and the other elders learn who I killed, they’ll make me Legion Commander directly.
As Rip stared at Wox, a slow, satisfied smile crept onto his face.
“Why are you standing there like a fool? I thought you were going to show me something?” Wox asked with a mocking edge in his voice.
“Heh… looks like you’re in a hurry to die.”
Rip lunged toward Wox with vampire speed. A blur of motion that would have caught any human off guard.
But not Wox. He moved faster. His foot slammed into Rip’s chest with a sickening crack, sending him flying backward. Rip hit the smooth floor hard, rolling several feet before crashing into the castle wall.
Th-this much power in a single kick… I-I have to use blood magic or else…
For a moment, Rip lay there, gasping for air. The blow had knocked the wind out of him. He struggled to push himself up, his arms trembling beneath him.
Wox watched him with a pitiful look, then glanced at Myor.
“Ah, so you’re the one they have locked up here? But what’s with that look? Never seen anyone handle a vampire like that before?”
The kneeling vampire had been watching silently all this time, his eyes wide with a mixture of shock and disbelief. His gaze was fixed on Wox, as if struggling to process what he had just witnessed.
***
A shiver ran down Myor’s spine as he looked into Wox’s eyes. He did not know why, but a chill settled inside him. The green eyes looking down at him felt like they could pierce his heart.
Wox knelt in front of him. “Look at you. They’re treating you terribly, even though you’re one of them. But you don’t look like much for someone they needed a seal for.” He lifted his hand and slowly drew his nail down Myor’s cheek, leaving a thin red line.
“Huh? You’re a boy. I thought you were a girl from the way you look.” He licked the streak of blood from his fingertip. “Oh, I didn’t know the blood of blood-suckers could taste this good.”
Myor’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing.
***
Behind them, Rip had already recovered.
Taking advantage of Wox’s distraction, he used his blood magic and created a massive sphere of blood in front of him. Without hesitation, he hurled it forward.
“What the—”
Wox crossed his arms to block, but the sphere exploded on impact. The force hit like a battering ram. Overwhelming and brutal, lifting Wox off his feet and sending him crashing into a pillar.
The pillar cracked. Fragments broke apart and collapsed, burying Wox under broken stone.
Everything went still, and dust filled the air.
“Hey, get up. Was that all?” Rip said with a sneer. His voice echoed through the hall. “I expected more from someone bold enough to challenge me. But I suppose—”
Rip started walking forward. But as soon as he took a step, he stopped in his tracks.
Something felt wrong.
The pile of broken stone started shifting. At first, it was subtle. Then the movement grew stronger. A strange noise started to rise from beneath them. In the next second, a loud, inhuman scream echoed through the hall.
Then, the stones burst apart. What emerged from them… was no longer a human.
The sight made Rip’s eyes go wide and sent a chill down his spine.
The same expression was on Myor’s face. A drop of sweat slid down his forehead.
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