Chapter 42: Goblet of Transformation (3)

After I got hit on the waist, another man pulls me up by the collar and kick my stomach. I flew against the carriage door that broke because of the impact.

"Do you know what you have done just now? He may be a bastard child but he's still a son of the Vampire Lord. If his egg fails to function because of you, I'll ki-"

"Urgh… Shut it Luwa! M-My- it's fine, it's not broken."

Three men help up the man named Berias, whom I think is the leader, who is crouching on the ground a while ago. Beside me is the still-unconscious Keaton, when will this prick wake up? We need his power right now!

I dust my clothes after backing up, I glare at the man who kicked me.

"ARGH!"

"W-WHAT THE…!"

"WHAA! When did this human get so strong!"

"My Lord! This man had lost his mind-! AHHH!"

We, who were doing our own battle among ourselves, shifts our attention to the other side. Specifically, at the Marquess' spot.

*dingg!*

♤Notice!♤

The character 'Marquess Trastius Drell Cavelier' has applied the power of his title .

Rank: SS+

Title Effect:

Magic Warrior's Privilege: +100 in 'All Stats'

Additional Effect:

Mana: +150 Strength: +100

Ha, hahaha so you have this card up your sleeves. The Marquess cast a buff spell on everyone and at the same time, on himself. Instead of using an ineffective iron sword, he uses his fists and martial arts to take down the speed-fast Vampires.

He grabs the face of one of his opponents and smashes it on his knee before throwing its limp body to another vampire. That's a massacre! How dare the system tell me it's an emergency when they have the Marquess on their side?!

"Berias, didn't you tell us there's no human this strong with our target? And this suspicious Vampire too?" The man who kicked me, Luwa, points at me and the Marquess.

"I-I had no idea… these two weren't present when I spied with the target. But it turns out, that vampire was our real target." Berias's eyes glow red and his nails grow more pointy than before. "Let's just capture that Vampire and retreat."

He then attacks me but with my vampiric sense, I feel where he was aiming and his speed wasn't that fast in my vision. On the other hand, Luwa attacks me from behind, and our waltz battle began.

Both of them use their pointy nails to wound me. Fortunately, I have the generative ability from the pills. I dodge in every direction while wielding the sword and I manage to cut them on their limbs, though it was shallow, the burning caused them to hiss and distance themselves.

"Hey, did you know that she praised me before she disintegrated to ash?" I asked as I dodge Luwa nails that were aiming at my neck by bending backward and blocking Berias' attack on my spine.

"And why would she do that?! Lady Remi is known for being cold and quiet. She doesn't care if you are a powerful vampire or a human." It was Berias who replied. He manages to graze my cheek when he swings his other hand. I hiss due to the pain but the regeneration automatically heals it.

"Well, didn't you know it? You seemed to know Remi very well when you said she killed humans for a reason, then you should also know the reason why she praised me." I said before elbowing Luwa's face.

"You are not qualified to utter the Lady's name casually, you lowly *neonate!"

(AU/R: Neonate - 50 years or less | (modified) Neonates are Vampires with age comparable to late teenage human age in the eyes of Vampires. They're still immature and reckless and troublesome. They tend to flaunt their abilities to others, start to cause troubles, and hunt inside their territory.)

He stabs my right thigh using his nails, I grit my teeth to prevent myself from screaming, instead I punch him in the face in return. Then the regeneration starts healing me again and there was less pain to feel. I scratch his cheek with the sword and it starts burning, just like my hand. Luwa saw it and pull Berias away after smacking my shoulder strongly that I slide back several steps away from them.

"Berias! That bastard is crazy! Look at his hand!" Luwa's eyes are as wide as Berias' when they saw my hand gripping the sword. And so am I. Maybe because of the continuous regeneration, I started to feel numb and failed to notice my blackened hand holding the silver sword. "We should get out of here!"

"No! We can't! If we fail this mission, fath- no, the Lord will kill us. Not just me, but everyone I brought here." Berias wipes his cheek that got burned. "Hey, you! What will you gain from doing this?!"

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I can see that he is quite mad for not being able to beat me with the help of his friend, but his rationality is still intact, so I need to stay on guard for any surprise attacks.

'But what's up with his dumb question? Is this a trick?'

I am confused but answer it honestly, "What are you saying? Gain? You were the ones that attacked us, and of course, as we naturally have survival instincts, we needed to fight back."

"This creep isn't taking us seriously!" Luwa commented. So I glare at him.

"Let me rephrase it, why are you helping humans, to the point of killing a high ranking vampire which will implicate yourself with the Eclipsorian Association?"

'Shit. Remi has a big association behind her back?!'

- Why don't you take advantage of the 'Vampire Status'? They were the ones who mistook you for one of them.

- I don't know if they'll believe me but I'll try…

"That. Just like I told you, it was for survival. That Remi or whatever high ranking Vampire, you call her, was acting like a lunatic serial killer at night. I realize she was poisoned and that made her lose control of herself, so I killed her."

The frowns on Luwa's face deepened and Berias' eyes widened. I told them the truth because they don't seem to know the state of Remi that night before I killed her, but it up to them if believe me.

"Who would poiso- No, that can't be. Lady Remi's resistance to poison is top notch, how dare you try to lie!" Luwa turned to Berias and said, "That's it, let's just report this liar to the House Magnustat, Berias, let them hunt this bastard for killing their Family Head."

"I'm telling the truth. If she had poison resistance then her pale skin wouldn't have dark veins visible on the surface of her skin. Her red eyes won't be bloodshot, her nails aren't as sharp as yours and her movement didn't match a 'High Ranking Vampire' at all." I recited the appearance of Remi.

I thought that was the natural appearance of vampires in this World but after I observed these Vampires' appearance, it turns out it's not. Their eyes aren't bloodshot, their skin is just pale without darkened veins, and their nails are pointy and sharp as a blade.

"…B-Berias, isn't that…!" Luwa is shocked as if he realized something.

The two of them exchange glances and stayed silent for a while, I take that chance to check on Marquess Trastius and the knights. Thankfully, they can defend themselves, thanks to the Marquess showcasing his strength that they all seemed motivated to fight.

*creeks*

My head immediately turns to the sound of the door opening, one vampire is outside the carriage while another vampire is carrying the unconscious Keaton. My blood shot up in a rage, and I appear in front of them using the speed of a Vampire.

I severe the arm of the Vampire standing outside the carriage using the silver sword. I just cut him and I don't want to kill again, unless it is necessary. He screams painfully as his severed arm burns to ashes, while his shoulder continues to burn slowly. Then my gaze shift to the vampire holding Keaton, he tries to step back but I was already in front of him in a second, I pull Keaton by his hood and kick the vampire away.

"Stop what you're doing." Sharp nails are aiming at my nape and another set are aiming at my heart. I am cornered, along with Keaton who was lying on the ground. "You have harmed enough vampires. You really are a Neonate …how annoying."

I smile and a sweat trickles down my forehead.

'Fuck.'

*dingg!*

♤Skills♤

The passive skill 'Mental Barrier Lvl. 1' is applied.

This will help you neutralize and calm your mental health and thoughts.

It reduced your 'Panic' by 30%.

Even if it got reduced, it doesn't help at all.

'Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! I lose control of my body, holy fucking shit! The poor Control acted up so suddenly that I…'

- Q-Quit panicking! You're making me nervous!

- I didn't know what I was doing until now, shit!

- W-What will you do?

- What should I do?

- Don't ask me, idiot! Just… just buy some time, and I'll check something.

- What will you check?!

Dearby didn't reply and my heartbeat thumps like a drum. If I resist now, there's no doubt I'll die right away even with Vampire Status. Buy some time? I smile widely like a crazed man.

"You... Based on the speed of your heart and your grin, you seem to enjoy this."

Luwa's voice is heard behind me and I was facing Berias, then he said, "I don't know who you are but you have to come with us and report everything by yourself to the Lord. I don't know what will happen but this is a serious matter."

"And what if I don't?" I smirk and confidently lock my gaze at Berias. "You still not believing my words? Well, it's up to you. I don't have a clue of how serious this matter is, but you, Vampires, touched my family so it's only natural for me to fight for them. If you're in my shoes, wouldn't you do the same?"

"Family? These humans? How funny. You're a Vampire like us, even if you are human once, it doesn't matter cause you are now a Vampire! Stop living in delusion and wake up. You can't be human again." I can feel Luwa's hand trembling from behind me, his voice was full of emotions as if those words are meant for someone else…

"…Luwa." Berias had a sympathetic look towards Luwa, I want to move from my spot while they are in the middle of drama but I have no chance to escape.

"Humans only view us as blood-sucking creatures, slaughterers, an opponent that needs to be eradicated, a monster. What a funny word from a vampire to call humans his family. They are bound to betray you once they see you as a threat."

There's an enormous rage evident in his voice as he spoke those words. I feel like there's a hole forming in the back of my head. I sweat more cold sweats when goosebumps travel to my neck and arms.

"Hey. Luwa, was it? Anyway, is that how humans treated you in the past? As you can see, humans really aren't trustworthy creatures, it's the same for Vampires, the vampires also view humans as weak, a food source, and an enemy." I pointed out, "So it's only natural for humans to be afraid once they see one. It's because of what they call Survival Instincts, a mechanism that all living creatures, not just humans, had. Let's give you an example if you encountered a dragon and it saw you as food, what would you think and do first?"

Luwa give no response, then I look at Berias who have a serious face but remain silent.

"How would a dragon be so frightening? Some people will lose consciousness right away, while others won't be able to think, and others will lose control of their fear. But there are times when a person could think straight and devise a plan to survive. And what do you think the person plans to do to survive?" A grim sigh escaped my lips, "…Either to run away or to kill the dragon. Haa… but vampires aren't as powerful as a dragon blah blah blah… You're wrong. To humans who are weak, vampires are another form of a dragon. A threat to their lives. Can't you still understand?"

- Dearby, you brat, where are you?!

- Keep it up, human. …it's almost there.

- asdfghjkl…

Berias frown in front of me, "If we are a threat to them then why are you protecting humans? Dragons are indifferent and cruel to every creature, they never thought about protecting anyone."

"Because I'm not an idiotic shit who only kills for food or kills without a reason at all, don't you have common sense? Use it please." I stated, sarcastically. "Not all Vampires thought about sucking human blood or slaughtering as Dragons do. Anyhow, not all humans think and act the way vampires view them too. Do you see my point? Then let the humans go, and moreover, leave me alone."

"This bastard…!"

- Hey, human, it's done.