Since the battle was over, Andrew congratulated both the Ator and Yhir team before he started to walk off. They looked at him in confusion, but he decided to skip the battle with Leya. It was something they could always do, but he wanted to take a short break.

He started to run off towards his home. Unlike before, his clothes were rather well-kept. In fact, this was one of his biggest expenditures. Therefore, he gave up on black and gray and bought crimson cloaks to wear for all but formalities.

The first thing he did after greeting his mother was to retrieve the black book he gained from his Master. He wanted to finalize the confusion hex so he ran out of the gates to test it on some innocent cows.

There was no end to the grazing animals after he snuck into a few farms under artificial darkness - as overtly obvious as it was.

After he confirmed the first cow's reaction, he noticed several strange figures overlooking him. It was a feeling that chilled him to the bones. Yet, he was steadfast as he glared at the crimson eyed creatures.

"What? I'm in the middle of important training."

"Harassing cattle?"

"Yes, it is important," sighed Andrew as he vocalized the next set of words for the men to hear. "... Confusion. See? Hexes. Now, what are you doing here if you don't mind me asking."

The first figure appeared and Andrew was immediately smitten by the appearance. "Oh! Cool! Where'd you get horns? I want horns! You don't have any good ones, but tell me!"

This was the first time he saw a demon race that differed from his own. Previous generations in his lineage had developed a mutation that brought forth varied changes. However, these creatures were just like out of story books.

Crimson eyes, clawed nails, and blank, snow-white skin.

But they had horns.

They looked more human than anything else, but the comparison differed slightly from both races he had come to know.

'Probably can't trust them, though,' sighed Andrew despondently.

He kicked a few rocks in front of them as he slowly trudged past the ominous looking figures. They were perplexed at his change of heart, but when they saw him walking away they finally charged.

Andrew felt two crushing hands force him into the earth. His face was slammed into the soil and he tasted iron in his mouth. Just as he felt a suffocating breath against his neck, he turned formed an incorporeal doppelganger to rest on his back.

He did not let out a growl or curse but rather used the shadows to form a dagger which stabbed into the demon's throat.

"Kill him!" Roared one of the ones standing aside.

Shortly afterward, his doppelganger shifted into a cone of shadows. Then it was coated in flames which poured down the throat of the first. He felt his ribs splinter under the impact of a sudden kick. However, he concentrated on a single area before he let out a deafening barrage of stone shrapnel.

"W-what?"

The upper half of one was burned to a crisp and the other's torso and head was covered in endless holes. They twitched only once before Andrew set his sight on the last one.

"Aren't you lot weak? I'm sure there are others that can eradicate you."

The demon looked at Andrew in fury and shock before he barked out an incantation.

Icy spears shot up from underneath Andrew and forced him in a tangled mess of ice. Most miraculously missed his major organs. However, his body was a tangled mess of blood and gore.

Andrew glared at the demon wordlessly before he closed his eyes.

"Finally accepted death," laughed the one. "It is fair, I guess. I just wish you would've scre-"

His head was lopped off at his shoulders. Andrew heard a galloping horse charge forward followed by another and another.

When the soldiers came to inspect the scene, they found a seriously wounded boy who only remained alive due to an endless series of ineffective recovery spells - and the ice forcing his blood from abandoning his veins entirely.

His consciousness waned and waxed several times before he finally awoke. It did not seem like long but felt a strange calm overtake him.

"Recovery, recovery..." chanted Andrew as he nearly emptied half of his mana pool on his own bodies restoration.

Naturally, the effects of the previous healers were more effective than his own. Instead, he cast out a doppelganger to investigated the room.

"Plain, normal, nothing special," commented Andrew dryly as he looked around. "Oh, lovely, a door. Time to see what's up."

His body did not exactly pass through the door, but it shimmied under the crack easily enough to reform on the other side. Several sleeping guards were stationed around his room. None seemed all that familiar so he casually walked down the halls.

Through it all, he noticed little except the dull designs of a guard barracks. However, he was content with the choices they made. It was something simply utilitarian that made him appreciate the lazy, sleeping guards a little more.

At the end of the passage, he reformed through the door to be greeted with a strange sight.

"Hello? White-robed, old magic person, what's going on?"

He looked at Andrew's doppelganger with a look of contempt before he sighed. "What happened?"

Andrew shrugged, "I was innocently putting a Confusion Hex on a cow and-"

"That's definitely a crime, you realize?"

"Ahem, I was innocently-"

"Still a crime."

"Let me finish," grumbled Andrew. "I was innocently NOT putting a confusion hex on a cow when I saw the three come around. I wanted to ask if you knew where to get horns so I can become a demon-"

"You can't just change races," shouted the man. "That's illegal too!"

"Well, I didn't," muttered Andrew indignantly. "Stupid oppressive human laws... As I was saying, I wanted - emphasis on wanted - to become a demon thus I asked, but they looked suspicious so I walked off. Then I was attacked."

"Did any bite you? We could not find marks on your body, but there were signs of healing magic in play."

"Bite me? No. I shoved a dagger through its throat with this guy," spoke Andrew as he pointed to himself. "And lit the one on fire that tried to bite. They weren't real demons, but weird humans, right? What is wrong with them?"

The old man's brows furrowed, "it was a curse founded millennia ago. However, it does not matter any more. We will detain you here for a few days while we confirm that it hasn't spread."

"Okay? Can I at least wander around here as a... ghost?"

The old man nodded, "no word of this to anyone. They can not be allowed to prey on the fear that panic will bring."

"As for the cow incident?"

"You innocently did not hex a creature owned by a local rancher for fun causing it undue suffering."

"Wrong hex," spoke Andrew laughingly. "Just a moment of confusion. Shadow-me will be leaving. Be sure to feed and pamper my real body, 'kay?"

The old man grew more agitated. Andrew, however, already disappeared under several cracks. There no issue for him to use it consistently if his original body was resting so he did not really bother with much. Instead, he opted to explore the guard barracks. Naturally, most were confused or terrified upon seeing him, but he was able to calm them down.

"Stop," called out Andrew majestically. "I have no qualms with you. I just wish to see my family once more before my spirit passes... ah-boo-boooo."

"What is he-"

"A ghost! Run!"

"Idiot, no he's not. The vampires have that abil- he's gone! Damn it all!"

"No! Those are bats... run!"

Most cases did not work out well for him. Even so, he was able to escape unhindered. After the seventh door, he was greeted with a wide-open courtyard.

It was still morning so he made the mist a little more translucent at the expense of his mana.

"Hmmm, the main barracks? I'm in the center of town? Who'd have thought they'd drag me this far," mused Andrew.

By keeping towards the wall he was able to escape their attention. In fact, he learned he could merge his shadow with existing ones to hide even further. Granted, it was a severe drain to his mana pool, but there was no real reason to use his magic otherwise.

A few hours later, "Mother! Don't hit me this time, okay?"

Due to his unique form, he was able to slip into the house without any of his keys.

"Huh, this is my home right," spoke Andrew quietly. "Ah, what's that weird feeling?"

Completely unaware of the fact a sword was rippling through his back, Andrew looked around curiously, but the feeling never ceased.

"Probably just a ghost or something," sighed Andrew.

"Look who's talking?"

"Leya? Oh, where's mothe- wait, stop using my body for practice! Not right now!"

She harrumphed and finished up a stance before she relented. "She's outside looking for you. Asking around town and all that. What happened?"

"I definitely did not hex a cow," spoke Andrew firmly.

"You did," laughed Leya, "but what of it."

"I did not! Apparently, it is a crime or something. For the sake of argument, I did not. Anyways, my real body was attacked by... huh, a few people called them vampires, but don't mention it to anyone. Apparently, that's bad too. They just have to make sure I'm not bit or anything."

Leya nodded, "so when will you be coming back?"

"No idea," spoke Andrew after an awkward break. "Wait... hmmm, real body is being harrassed by guards... maybe three days, week? Guard is pissed that I scared him when I escaped in this form."

She rolled her eyes and sat down on the couch. "I knew you were alive and well, but even under the circumstances, I couldn't exactly charge into the barracks. Not really a big deal, though... did they use blood magic?"

Andrew noticed a serious expression dye her face, but he couldn't hold back on his glee. "Blood-magic! Blood-magic!? They have it? I want it! Actually, to hell with this all - tell Mother, I'm currently a shadow-me - I'm going to steal a blood-magic book from the vampires!"

Before she could react, he had already merged into the shadows and rapidly fled. His speed was incomparable to his true body's; there were no need to the avoid obstacles he would have had to with a normal body.

"...I am not a spy," cackled Andrew as his shadow wrapped around an auxiliary exit. "Definitely, definitely not."

The guard gulped loudly before he steeled his courage. Andrew heard a quiet war-cry before he felt the surge of light-magic. This time Andrew ran. Far, far away.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"My arch nemesis! Random guards!"

He sped through several different corridors to finally reach the exit on the outside of the towering walls. It would have been impossible if he had a physical body to suffer under the onslaught of blows. However, with his body currently sleeping, he was able to recover his mana pool greatly to reform the mists that surrounded him.

After sprinting through several pieces of farmland, Andrew scowled at the constant invasion of his body. The crops were threshed and loaded, but there were still numerous low-lying fences that he tripped on with regularity - due to odd disturbances he couldn't quite control yet.

His body was flattened to a pool of shadows constantly. With each reformation, he decided to grow taller. But that made him for clumsy. Instead, he chose to live out a small dream of him.

"Scaled wings - wait... I didn't have wings... whatever! Wings, horns, and a tail! Now shadow me is a full-fledged demon of all demons! Just need my other body to look like that!"

"Demon! Ah, a demon-ghost is rampaging! Call the guards!"

A farmer, the same one who owned the ranch where he was attacked, cried. In response, he rang a small bell several times and Andrew noticed a flurry of activity on the walls.

"I'm not a ghost! I'm a demon king! I will not fall for such circumstan- oh, it's time for food. Sorry, be right back."

Andrew's body disappeared and he clung to a confused cow's shadow who later went about his day. His real body had awoken and was given his day's rations. After relieving himself and filling his belly, he returned to the chase.

"Just have to find a clue... they wanted to suck my blood, right?"

The two escapes and his meeting with his sister took hours, so he was finally able to see dusk on the horizon. However, there were disgruntled guards interrogating the old man.

Andrew snickered at the scene and fled to another nearby ranch. He opted to follow the herd of cows as they were the easiest source of blood for most. The others, if they knew, would be hard-pressed to find room in the other ranch so he kept moving whenever he saw a large herd form.

"Shadow-me, shadow-me, does whatever a... real me can't," sang Andrew. "Just because, I'm a demon-me, does not mean you can take my shadow-me~"

The cows were growing upset at his singing, but he disregarded their cares. In fact, he merrily went about his way using a large bull as a mount until a strange chill pervaded the air.

Andrew grew excited and retracted back into its shadow. They were still far, at least from the feeling alone, but he knew they were advancing.

"Let's try stea- what?"

He was flabbergasted when he looked again and again. He even went so far as to showcase his new demonic look from atop an innocent cow to get a better view.

"No shadows? Annoying bastards... definitely not demons. Alas, if only I can find a nice demon girl, conquer the world, and live happily ever after," sighed Andrew emotionally.

"Huh, leaving already," mused Andrew. "Abducting cows too - not just eating them? Are they idiots?"

He sighed before turning towards the nearest one. After hopping through several shadows, he finally found one on an inconspicuous looking cow. Then it got bit. As blood pooled as the cow mooed furiously, Andrew sighed even louder.

He jumped into a different cows shadow. However, each time they would, without fail, target the one he was hiding in. Granted, he could always sit and wait for the feeding to end, but such close proximity made him feel uncomfortable.

'At least there are little a dozen left - wait, how in the hell did they get this many? And stop! I get it already, shadow-me's non-existent blood is cool, but stop.'

Several hours passed and he nearly forced into a frenzy. However, with a trail of corpses leading the way, only a total of four cows remained. Andrew shook his head dramatically at their idiotic behavior, gluttonous appetites, and rather ironic hatred for other darkness-bearing effects. Lowering himself as much as he could, he went on his journey as a stowaway. It, however, did not take long to find the den.

Rather, it was more of a cave. It was strange in the sense that while it was only a couple hours ride from the capital, the complex system of cave mouths seemed beyond a normal human's scope.

The vampires, who remained silent until now, started to stumble and fall. Even Andrew got a little drowsy, but that was most likely due to the constant expenditure he was forced into before.

"You all," spoke an ancient, commanding voice from the inside of the cave mouth. A large bat flew out and perched atop the largest entrance. "Now, you bring them to the corral. Don't eat anything else. Save it for the kids."

"Can they even have kids," spoke Andrew curiously.

"Whose there?!" Roared the bat. "Tell me now!"

"No one!" Called out Andrew before he shifted himself into the indicated tunnel.

"Bastard... someone track him down!"

The vampires groaned listlessly but wandered off lethargically into a few different entrances. The large bat began screeching loudly before it got quietly and quietly. However, the strange vibration in the air seemed to penetrate the air.

'Huh, it'd suck to be a human here,' thought Andrew as he shifted back into his normal shadowy body.

He walked indifferently as the air continued to vibrate around him and caused some of the shadows to disperse. Due to the lightless caverns, Andrew was able to fully utilize his doppelganger. It had even offered up a small trickle of mana to rejuvenate his depleted body. It was not enough for constant usage, but the mana did extend his range of mana usage.

Back in his original body, Andrew yawned as he looked up at the old, white-robed man.

"What do you want? I'm on a very important journey right now."

The man furrowed his brows and shook his head. "You are locked up in the middle of the city - under armed guard. What is this journey that you can even consider being important?"

Andrew shrugged indifferently, "I thought the vampires might be able to teach me bl- ahem, just kidding. I was innocently following the vampires trail and hunted them down with my shadow-me."

The old man's eyes widened as he suddenly barked, "where are they?! I lost far too many men to those monstrosities!"

Andrew blinked owlishly. "What is so important? They are really, really stupid. How can you lose men to them?"

"How can you say that? They lead our men into ambushes and with a single bite, be it in man or animal form, they are forever cursed!"

"Why don't you just use shadow-mes? There are light ones, right? My sister uses that version."

The man scowled at the boy, "they would be found out immediately. Dark magic is not tolerated very well here. It is still allowed, but few choose to practice it."

"Is it that bad? Actually, if... if I find a forbidden magic book can I keep it?"

The old man seemed exasperated with the boy, "what part of 'forbidden magic' do you not understand?!"

"The magic part," spoke Andrew with a cheeky smile. "I don't understand it because it is hard to learn."

"Hence," gruffed the old man. "Forbidden - thus you are not allowed to even look upon it."

Andrew snorted and turned away from the man. "Well if you going to be like this, the vampire cave will be a mystery! A mystery!"

"Hexing a cow - a crime," growled the man.

Andrew waved dismissively, "I'll buy the man a new cow. No! A new herd! I'm sure he won't press charges. Actually, my near-death saved his cattle, if not him, I'm sure. Anyways, should I kill the vampires? They seem to be really dull now that the boss is back, but I don't know."

"They tried to kill you, remember? And yes, but-"

"Vampire hunting time," laughed Andrew before he started moaning indignantly, "So they can hex cows, but I can't? That is bullshit - no! Gross! If I wasn't shadow-me, I'd have to burn my shoes!"

At the cave quite a ways away from the capital, Andrew rested in the corridor of a large corral. There were several dozen cattle tranquilized and left in a bleary, confused state.

Andrew stomped his feet, but no sounds were even produced. He wanted to test his hex out again, but he feared for his slow recovery on his mana pool. Thus he started to explore. There were dozens of vampires lounging around in complete silence.

He could have easily started to assassinate them without any real repercussions, but he chose to wait for a bit.

His consciousness transferred back to his original body and he saw a fuming old man stomping his way out. "Hey, if I hunt them down then can I keep it? Just the first level of the spell - that's all I want."

"No! You can't have forbidden magical techniques!"

Andrew frowned, "what harm is the first level of the magic? I could see the higher levels being cataclysmic, but that could be said about anything."

"Why are you so bent on getting this damned magic? There is nothing except for ruin and damnation that you'll face if you possess it."

The boy shrugged and laughed, "if you promise me, I can hunt them all. You mentioned something about them ambushing you. Well, right now there are about two dozen in a single room. That's only the first one I investigated - well, they mentioned something about kids so you'll have to do that."

The old man grunted indignantly before pulling out a single piece of parchment. After writing on it, he pinched a drop of blood and cast a small spell on it.

"Auxilary magic, if you were wondering. Basic, administrative magic for the most part. However, there is a promise that no one in this city will condemn you if you keep both this incident, the cave, the acquired magic, and all other elements a secret. You have ten years in this city before it will run out. Any signs of its use will be condemned across the kingdom so you'll be hunted if word gets out. Whatever Gods damned magic it is."

"On who's authority," spoke Andrew curiously. "It is a strange seal."

The old man laughed bitterly, "on the Mages' Council, Chancellor Kakerov. It's power covers the majority of the kingdom, but you'll be on your own if you are to be seen using it. Now, I've already sent a few people your way... well, your trail, both physical and magical, was easy enough to find; but I will rely on you for an easy extermination. Leave no one, and I mean no one, alive that are afflicted."

Andrew frowned, "I'm not killing these 'kids' they are talking about. However, anything else, sure. Tell them to stay back because the big bat seems annoying."

"Master Vampire," spoke the man solemnly. "He was one of us, but his transformation utilized his abilities. Nevertheless... kill him. That will be a favor to all of us - me especially."

Andrew noticed the bitter look in the man's eyes. He averted his gaze and nodded. "Keep your promise. And I want a cow to hex!"

"No!"

Andrew muttered indignantly before he fell limp once more.

Rolling up his incorporeal sleeves, Andrew's shadow clone was marching towards the lounging vampires. They seemed to react slightly at his presence, but they made no moves to resist or even be alarmed. It seemed like a common occurrence to them so they merely nodded and acted as they normally did.

However, this time Andrew's forearms turned into hardened blades. His body did not have much mass, if any, so he had and bend at an impossible angle and supply the blades with mana to increase the speed.

Andrew's first victim did not even blink before he fell. However, the others soon began to look over curiously. They were not at all concerned that one of their own happened to die. Rather, their eyes were filled with blood-lust and no less than a dozen charged towards his corpse.

The viscous, black blood seemed to flow slowly, but the canines of the other vampires quickly absorbed it without complaint. Andrew was slightly disturbed at the scene, but he rationalized it under the fact they once tried to kill him.

As soon as the second body fell, the remaining vampires charged at it. Even as their numbers dwindled all around them, they continued to chase after the nearest corpses. Even the first two were sucked dry, eight more joined them. When they joined the cracking and splintering skin of the first two, they all fell.

Andrew was not at all happy with the outcome, but when he noticed the cows became more lively and distraught he panicked. His body melded in with the furthermost cave wall by the time the vibrations rocked the room. The corpses that were dried to a bone were shattered under its rumbling vibrations.

'It's even causing the rocks to crack,' cried Andrew inwardly in alarm.

His body was blanketed over several square meters of rock. Even then, it was pummeled with an unearthly force that seemed to target his very soul.

"Where are you?! Why are you doing this to my children! They are the nobility of the night! Sovereigns of the darkness! Those that spill their blood will never rest in peace - I will promise you that."

'Huh? Are these the supposed 'kids'? Well, no matter. They did attack me when I was walking away. Spider- ahem, shadow-me has to take care of them for blood magic! Then I'll be the Sovereign of the Darkness! Crown prince, king, and emperor of it all,' cackled Andrew happily in mind.

In fact, a small throaty cackle echoed in the cavern. It came from one general area, but there was no one source. When his body was spread out as such, there was little he could do to subconsciously direct his voice to exit. Therefore, his cackle was heard echoing through the cave.

Yet, upon realizing this, Andrew panicked and quickly fled from the cursing bat.

Several hours of mindless fleeing later, Andrew found himself at a new nest. There were not many of them, but each of them were sharpening up an obsidian blade, axe, or polishing their hammer.

'They gave up using their claws? Aren't they really sharp too?'

Nevertheless, Andrew approached the first of the five people. He seemed to be a loner of sorts, but upon sensing Andrew, he ducked and slashed out with two short swords.

'Can they see me too?'

The swords slashed through where his neck and heart would be, but the shadow reformed with some difficulty.

"Everyone! The monster is here," roared the man as he crossed the blades in front of him.

Apparently, these vampires were more advanced that the others. Seeing the defensive positioning, Andrew frowned and turned his sight to a burly looking woman. She was by no means beautiful. In fact, underneath the rippling muscles existed many folds of loose skin. Andrew did not understand the reason behind that transformation, but when he curiously poked it, she screamed.

"Don't touch it! Why, oh dear Gods, why did I have to be that large before," cried the woman sullenly.

Andrew continued to unwittingly torment her by poking the loose flesh before the solitary man's blade cut through her neck to reach Andrew.

Andrew frowned, "why did you kill her?"

"Because-" started the man starting another slash to where Andrew fled. "You have to die!"

Andrew's head peeked out from a stout looking man's neck and the man cut through it effortlessly. Andrew sighed and eventually guided the man's blade towards the other two. However, an overwhelmingly large hammer smashed the solitary man's skull before it proceeded to turn his torso into a cloud of mist.

A short woman harrumphed before she glared at Andrew. "Why did yo-"

An axe cut her off in mid-speech and her lifeless eyes stared at him.

"You people are crazy," muttered Andrew as he started walking away.

"No, I will not let you leave," growled the lithe woman.

Even as the axe passed through his body many times, he continued to walk at a slow gait towards another area. The lithe woman was heaving the entire time, but her, now, hoarse voice led hundreds of other vampires into the middle of a passage.

Some took the form of bats, others rats, cats, or simply just in human form. However, when he walked, the onslaught of crazed beings turned friend into foe almost immediately. Some kept attacking, but others stopped to devour the wasted blood.

"Sheila... Sheila... how could you do that to her?" Spoke a man quietly before charging towards a feeding vampire.

The moment the claws severed head from neck, the man turned to absorb the rest of her blood for himself.

In general, the appearance of Andrew made everyone grow furious. So much so that they ignored the lives of their compatriates which ultimately led to all by four hacking away at his shadow.

In the midst of it all, Andrew sat down and looked all around them. "Huh, everyone really is crazy. Crazy lady one: what is the purpose of this?"

Her scream was incoherent, but the rush of blades lightly knicked her leg. An otherwise moaning, crippled and lethargic vampire felt the blood spatter and bolted towards her legs. When his fangs connected, her body was forced forward.

Her axe cut through a man's flank and his off-balance sword severed another's head. As the converging bodies grew, Andrew shuffled backward from the disgusting mass of congealed, rotting blood. Even though those still alive could sense his presence to some extent, he was able to leave their gaze as the last fell to its knees.

Since nearly a hundred corpses rested there, Andrew sighed and performed a small fire bolt. They were greatly piled up at this point and their cloth served to fuel the flames. As it burned, Andrew felt the vibration ripple through his body.

However, he was already in the confines of the darkness and the large bat refused to go near the burning pile of bodies.

"I will get you, you accursed shadow!"

"Yeah, yeah," spoke with a dismissive wave.

He continued walking towards a new room which seemed to be a common house for the vampires. However, it was completely empty. With the exception of a bone-dry cattle, Andrew felt true disgust when he looked upon the table.

He immediately heaved and fear, loathing, hatred, and many other emotions coursed through him.

"Okay," seethed Andrew, "now I'm definitely going to kill you all."

They were not humans, but rather true demons upon the center table. Their appearance was similar to his old kin and the four adults were new mothers reaching for their unborn child as claw marks shredded their throats and pried out the child itself. Their horns were twisted in a similar fashion as goats, but it grew small antlers on the side. The children were unrecognisable after the vampires started to dine.

"Even your children," growled Andrew, hardly above a whisper "... Even your children will die!"