“Unlock for thyself, cage of safekeeping. Basem Datorum”

Dravens eyes flickered as the seal began to hum. Eventually, the coffin opened on its own. A black-haired woman with pale skin lied on her back with her arms crossed. A scroll between her arms, that was almost as big as the small woman herself, radiated ghastly energy. Her eyes opened, revealing nothing but black. She climbed out of the coffin while looking around. Her eyes fell on Draven.

“State your name, child.” Her feminine voice cut the silence.

“I am Draven Night.” Draven knew that this interaction must go well if he had any hopes of not being killed by the woman.

“For what reason have you dragged me out of my slumber?”

“I seek the Fourth Scroll of the Vampire King- the Scroll of Chaos Sorcery.”

The Vampire King, who had dominated the entire North of Sangria hundreds of years ago and the former head of the Vampires before the Vampyre’s rise of power, had created Four Scrolls that were the secret to his strength. The Scroll of Ice Sorcery, The Scroll of Blood Sorcery, The Scroll of Immortal Sorcery, and the Scroll of Chaos Sorcery. Reading a scroll will immediately grant the reader the ability to practice the contents of the scroll, and the scroll will be destroyed. Three of these scrolls have been found, but no one had been able to find the Scroll of Chaos Sorcery until 3 years from now- when the Lich King is revived and comes to obtain the power.

“How is one as pathetic as thyself aware about thy Scroll?”

Draven drew a deep breath before focusing on his next words.

“Obey Me, Second Daughter of Dracula. I am the Chosen One of Thy World- That Which Will Dominate Thy Lands and Create a World of Chaos For Man- And a Land of Bliss For Daemons.”

The woman’s eyes widened. Her jaw dropped slightly at these words.

“How on earth… do you know those words? Only I have heard them centuries ago…”

She walked toward Draven and gripped his face before lifting him into the air. Draven grabbed her arm, but could do nothing to resist her incredible strength.

“Answer me, boy. How do you know the words my father spoke to me before sealing me to protect the scroll? How do you know that I am the daughter of Dracula in the first place?”

Draven smiled slightly. Her eyes narrowed at his reaction. Draven spoke.

“I was born with the Eye of Evil.”

“Lies!” She dropped Draven before kicking him in the stomach before he touched the ground. The impact of the kick sent him flying into a tree. The tree splintered from the force and Draven spewed blood out of his mouth. Despite this, his gaze never left the woman. According to Draven’s eyes, she teleported in front of him before grabbing him by the throat. Her danty fingers began to clench, forcing even more blood out of his mouth. Draven squeezed his next words out through sheer willpower.

“Blink… I thought that was your weakest talent… among the Royals… but I still couldn’t... follow it with my eyes…”

Veins bulged out of her temples. Her hair stood up from her energy rising. ‘How can he know that?! There’s no way that something like that would be recorded…’ Her eyes, which were void black, began to glow with a hint of red. Draven felt something grasp his heart and begin to squeeze. His mouth, nose, and eyes began to leak blood. He was losing feeling in his limbs. His shaking voice spoke.

“Blood Magic… Your specialty… Only surpassed by your father… and the current head of the Vampyre family, Ambrogio.”

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After a moment, she released him and reserved her emotions.

“I don’t understand how you know these things. I know that you don’t have the Eye of Evil, since I am a sensory vampire. However, how else could you know these things?”

She brought her hand to her chin in thought while closing her eyes. Draven coughed. He wiped most of the blood off of his face and regained his feet. He took a deep breath before bowing and speaking.

“I was lying. The truth is, I thought that it would be easier if you thought that I had the Eye of Evil, since you would not have believed the real truth.”

“Hoh, you dare to lie to me? Knowing who I am? You are no coward, I’ll grant you that much.”

“So, what is the truth? How do you know about my father, our private conversations, and other things that no one of this time could ever know?”

Draven, who had not lifted his head from his bow, could not help but slightly grin.

“I have the Eye of God.”

“…What?” The woman blinked a couple of times.

“Impossible. You are a vampire- however weak your blood may be. The Eye of God is only bestowed upon Heroes of Mankind.”

“And only those that are the most talented of Heroes. Alas, I have it.”

The woman sighed after a few more moments of thinking.

“I’m not sure if I believe you, but there is no other explanation that I can come to. I am unable to determine if you have it- unlike the Eye of Evil.”

“So, you’ll give me the scroll, right?” Draven was tired, and he needed to hurry. He had a feeling he knew the outcome of this conversation already, since things had gone exactly as he planned since the beginning. Of course, he had hoped that he would not have gotten beaten as badly as he had, but considering who he was speaking to, he thought that he could have gotten it much worse.

“I have no problem letting you have the scroll. After all, I was ordered to present it to the first person to awaken me. It is yours by right.”

She tossed the scroll to Draven, who immediately caught it and opened it. His eyes glowed as banshees soared out of the scroll into his mouth. He fell to his knees as the pain overcame him. His mind felt like it was beginning to splinter, but the pain eventually subsided. However, he had underestimated the energy and risk required to obtain such a treasure. Even after the pain had simmered down, he could still feel a slight itch at the back of his brain. This sensation was deeply unsettling. Breathing deeply, he was rewarded with the fact that he now was in possession of the rarest form of Vampire sorcery. She casually remarked as she stretched her ancient bones.

“I’m surprised a boy of your intelligence would be interested in obtaining this kind of sorcery.”

Draven, who had been recovering from the immense damage he had taken, raised his eyebrows at her comment.

“What do you mean?”

“The side-effects of Chaos Sorcery, of course. Most talented, knowledgeable vampires wouldn’t dare touch this level of Chaos- even if they were capable. The constant assault on the mind has been described as hell. Of course, for our kind, it is probably worse than hell itself- considering our affluence in the territory. Either way, with your lesser blood, the Chaos will surely be harder to control than normal. If I had to guess, you will be driven mad inside of the month.”

‘What?’ Draven’s mind went blank. Side-effects? The book had made no mention of such a thing. If this daughter of Dracula described it as worse than hell, it was surely a serious factor. And what did she mean by Hell being not terrible for vampires? Hell was never a topic in the original story.

Draven could conclude two things. The first was that there were many things that were unpredictable to even him. Even though he had invaluable information, he had to be extremely cautious to avoid uncertainties. The second conclusion was that, despite this being merely a story in his previous world, these were sentient beings that were not merely following a set script. The existence of an entire other realm, Hell, was proof that this world was even more complex and ‘real’ than his original.

He spoke after regaining his thoughts.

“What will you do now?”

“Now?” She laughed.

“I have a thing or two in mind. I am finally free of my father, and free to pursue the fate that I desire. Even if you have chaos magic, and the Eye of God, with your weak blood, you’ll probably be killed by somebody sooner or later. Of course, you should hope that happens before the Chaos takes your mind. If anything, using that magic puts a target on your back to others- and seals yourself a tragic fate. So, I guess we won’t meet again. What is your name again?” Apparently, she was not paying attention the first time and was bad with names.

“Draven. Draven Night.”

“Draven. My name is Rosemary- often referred to as Bloody Mary. Of course, you probably knew that. Anyway, I’m taking my leave.”

Upon finishing her casual and carefree sentence, she transformed into a bat and disappeared into the night sky.

The night sky…

‘Wait… how late is it?!’ Draven checked his pocket watch. The family meeting was starting in less than half an hour.

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