Wandering Vampire

Strength 20/100

Agility 18/100

Intelligence 9/100

A Wanderer... Vast could only raise one eyebrow. This one was weaker than the one that attacked the castle, but only an idiot would be relieved by that.

For Vast, regardless of who the enemy was, his curse would be beneficial to him. Even if it were the weakest child on the planet, just a wound on Vast would be enough to completely heal them.

A cut to the neck should be enough. He gripped his sword.

"These clothes you have there," the Vampire analyzed. "You're definitely from nobility!!"

In fact, his coats made it clear that he was the prince, besides his own appearance being known to all. Such a thing only confirmed the low intellect of the creature.

Wanderers, even though humans, tended to be mere puppets, with most of the more intelligent actions being performed by a third party through mind control. Vast didn't know if all Wanderers were like that, but even if they weren't, it was something to be careful of.

"Well, I was tired of peasant blood!!" He leaned forward, poised to leap. "Yours must be much better!!"

Vast moved immediately, but contrary to what the Vampire thought, he ran towards some peasants who were lying injured on the ground.

Close enough, he made a shallow cut on his hand. Then, a golden light imbued the wounded. The movement was repeated for each injured person in his field of vision, and when he was sure that everyone was okay, he shouted:

"Get out of here immediately! I'll deal with this threat!!" And he aimed at the Vampire again.

However, the face of the Vampire had changed drastically. It wasn't anger at seeing the prey running away, but satisfaction; immense, indeed.

"YOU ARE…!!" Even a mask would be unable to hide that smile. "A CURSED!!?"

He didn't wait for a second confirmation, just took that as an immediate truth.

"Ahahahah!! How long has it been since I've heard of this?" He licked his lips with a snake-like tongue. "My colleagues used to say that cursed blood was the best. I wonder how yours is?"

A gear clicked in Vast's head. Was his blood some kind of delicacy, then? Now it was hard to understand what had actually happened to the Transformed in the castle.

He didn't even have time to think about it. The Wanderer advanced in an explosion that tore off part of the house's roof. Vast barely defended with his sword.

The short blade conflicted with the sharp nails of the enemy. The prince was slightly pushed back, but there were moments when the opposite happened.

He really isn't that strong. I can win!!

A strong war cry preceded the thrust he made. He aimed straight for the Vampire's non-pulsating heart, which in turn jumped back and avoided a deep piercing.

The little blood that dripped from his chest was enough to dim his smile a bit, but not extinguish it.

"Not bad. It will be worth killing you!!"

He closed the distance with a single leap. His hand descended against Vast's neck, who dodged the blow using the blade.

With the enemy's imbalance, the prince kicked him in the stomach, but the only thing he expelled was saliva. He needed to hit harder.

It has to be instant death!!

Vast removed the sword from the path and clenched his right fist. The member barreled through the space stronger than a tank, on a collision course perfect!

"Slow!!" The Vampire dodged, counterattacking so that the index nail pierced Vast.

For the prince, it was as if a shot had pierced his cheek. His enemy, however, gained a wave of total revitalization. The little tiredness he had disappeared for good.

"You heal others when you're hurt!? Kahahaha! What rotten luck!"

Vast backed away with two long leaps. The doubled pain soon passed, and in the meantime, the Vampire's excitement — in various senses — only grew.

"Give up and just give me that blood!!"

BOOM!! The advance was faster than the previous one. Vast blocked nonetheless, but the creature was already at a speed much beyond the beginning of the fight.

"It's your end, insect!!"

The vampire had a strong sense of foreboding after those fateful words, but he ignored it. Vast was unable to keep up with him, and the next attack would pierce his neck and kill him. He probably thought that.

The Vampire saw something flying towards his head, unable to dodge. The sound of metal colliding with his flesh echoed through the village, and in the blink of an eye, another barrage of identical attacks fell upon him.

What Vast used to attack was a wheelbarrow. Holding it by one of the metal handles, he wielded it like a sword. However, it only served to increase the enemy's anger.

"Damn you! Do you think you can defeat me with this!?"

He stopped the sequence by grabbing the wheel of the wheelbarrow inches from his head. The force applied to it was transferred to his arm, giving him a better sense of Vast's strength. The boy's strength might be above average, but it was still far from enough to easily defeat him.

"Why do you still try, kid?"

He threw the wheelbarrow away and lunged in a leap. His nails finally pierced his opponent with precision.

Vast felt his own heart stop when those claws almost hit him. Fortunately, all he gained was a piercing with pain equivalent to widespread amputation.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The vampire laughed at his painful screams, but he had to acknowledge his strength for not falling to the ground and starting to roll.

"You're strong, too bad life didn't smile on you!"

Vast saw the scene from the castle repeat before his eyes. The Wanderer Vampire licked the blood that dripped before descending with his fangs directly into his chest.

The blood from his farthest extremities began to flow towards the vampire's mouth, gradually making the skin whiter and whiter.

Seeing the smile on the enemy's face as he sucked, Vast could only stare at the sky and mutter to himself.

"Ugh! I need to find a better way to make them swallow this."

The Vampire was confused, but soon understood the calmness on the prince's face.

"GAARH!! BUT WHAT IS THIS!!???"

His mouth burned as if he had swallowed an industrial furnace still burning at maximum power. Tongue, teeth, flesh, melted one by one.

Each organ and limb slowly turned into a red goo, not ceasing with the tedious screams taken by disbelief until the last piece that was still whole had melted.

With the return of silence, Vast finally stood up.

"A rather impractical fight. Well, it was quite a gamble too." He analyzed while dusting off his clothes. "My blood really can kill them, but eventually I may lose this surprise weapon…"

He had to find a way to make them drink forcibly, but it wasn't as simple as putting his member in their mouths and forcing the liquid down their throats.

"I'll need another weapon too…" He continued to analyze, finally noticing the worst possible thing. "Dammit! He tore my clothes!!"

Appearance was the first thing anyone would analyze when arriving anywhere. Disheveled clothing and poor management were practically synonymous with each other.

As for the weapon, the one he had taken from the kingdom was worn out after the fight. Now he understood the reason his kingdom wasn't as powerful as the Vampires. Swords were the soldiers' greatest weapon, and if they really wore out so quickly, he would love to know how they had lasted so long in battles fought against Vampires in the past.

However, that was not the issue at the moment. Moreover, even if one day he was able to return home, he didn't expect his father would still have the audacity to hand him the kingdom. That's why he would take it by force from whoever was there.

"Just one wish. If I can get the Vampire Vaccine, then all this misery will end…"

He aimed for a bright future, but all he saw was a cloudy sky. It would soon start raining.

He sighed tiredly, already aiming at the path he would follow for the rest of the night. However, a voice beside him caught his attention.

"My young man… These clothes… Did you come from the castle?"

He turned around and there was an old man. Tanned skin, long beard that hid his skinny chest, and a very wrinkled bald head. Even so, he had a youthful aura around him.

"I am Vast Los Son, heir to the throne of Von Legurn."

"Uoho! The prince in person!? Who would've thought!" He approached carefully, until he stood next to Vast. "I witnessed your entire fight. Thank you for saving our little village, Prince Vast."

The old man extended his hand for a handshake, accepted very willingly. Vast's smile clearly gave the old man a great boost of positive energy, apparently not caring at all about the current situation of his savior — covered in blood.

"I'm Russisch, I work as a sort of inventor here in the village. Please, stay at my house until the rain passes."

Vast considered declining, but the thunder that rumbled made him consider the danger of being struck by lightning. He had heard of a vampire who could control the forces of nature, so going out in a storm would be like walking into an archery training ground with a target on his back.

"I appreciate the hospitality, Russisch. I'll be in your care."

The old man gave a smile, almost toothless, but with a certain grace.

As soon as they entered, Russisch handed Vast a temporary change of clothes until his wife finished washing the royal garments. And after taking a cold bath, the old man insisted on taking Vast to his workshop.

It was a spacious environment, with a considerable amount of odds and ends scattered around. From firearms, musical instruments, to vampire hunting items like garlic and crosses. It was a pity that the latter had been proven useless as soon as the vampires emerged.

"I've been watching your fight since it started. You fought very bravely, Prince Vast."

"Just Vast is fine." He analyzed the scattered machines. "I see that you really work as an inventor. What kind of items do you produce?"

"Ah! That's not very important. In fact, I'd like to ask you something... Vast."

Russisch sat in a high chair, where his feet barely touched the ground. Resting one arm on the table, he used the other to reach for a toolbox and, as he rummaged through it, asked:

"You're going to the Tower, aren't you? I heard you murmuring about needing a better way to make them swallow this.What were you referring to?"

Before anything else, Vast looked for a place to sit.

"Apparently, my cursed blood is deadly to vampires. But at some point, that will no longer be my trump card, so I need a way to use it as a true weapon."

Russisch murmured, deeply impressed. His fascination would probably be blindingly bright if he weren't so old.

"I think I can help you with that, but it might take a few days to make something. This body doesn't help much, you see."

He shifted a few inches in the chair and there was a dry creak, impossible to tell if it came from him or the somewhat rotten wood.

At that moment, the prince reflected very briefly and, without any further hesitation, approached Russisch wielding a blade he found right there.

"Let's see..." He adjusted the edge against the palm of his hand. "I think this will do."

A swift and slightly deep cut. Damn, he thought, sometimes he forgot that his strength was greater than normal.

"Va-Vast! What are you doing, my young man... Huh!? UOHH!"

His mouth instantly fell silent and his heart raced to the point where the beats were audible as a golden light surrounded him.

"This... This is!!" His voice quickly changed, becoming louder and louder. "Uoho!! I haven't felt this much energy since my twenties!!"

The skinny old man disappeared. In his place, stood a large, muscular man with no beard, sporting a jawline and muscles that were envy-inducing. The energy in his demeanor alone could probably power an entire city with the excitement present in those eyes.

"Darling!!" A feminine voice came from the back, and the owner revealed herself shortly after. "Darling! A light, a strange light appeared and...!"

She was a young woman, very beautiful indeed, but not as much as Emilia (Vast's personal opinion). They both looked at each other in a way the prince couldn't quite understand, as if they were going to devour each other right then and there. They probably would later, but Vast believed it wasn't in the sense he was imagining — hugs and a cheerful dinner.

Regardless, Russisch's next action made the prince focus on another matter, one more important than the personal lives of his future subjects.

"Vast! With this body, I can create a weapon that you can use against the Vampires! Just tell me and I'll make it tonight, I never thought I'd feel this motivation again!"

"Oh! Really? That will be a great help, Russisch. Well then, if you don't mind, I'll start giving you the details of my idea."

He had already thought of a type of weapon that would be very useful, considering all aspects of his curse, now he should let Russisch's inventor creativity merge with his own ideas and wait for the next day.

***

"So, what do you think, Vast?"

The prince smiled as he examined his new contraption more closely.

"It's much better than I had imagined. You have my deepest gratitude, Russisch."

On his right arm was the new weapon. The top part had an oval shape, with two ends resembling needles aimed in the same direction as his hand. From what would be the "tail," a thin tube connected to the inside of Vast's arm, collecting the material that would serve as ammunition for the great Blood Cockroach, as Russisch nicknamed it.

I'll call it... the Crimson Shooter. Not that I'll be repeating that in battles.

And of course, he wouldn't mention this change in front of the one who had provided him with such help.

"Again, I thank you for your help, Russisch. I will make sure to appoint you as the kingdom's inventor when I take the throne."

"Hahaha! No need, you've already done more than I could ask for when you gave me this body again!"

He flexed his biceps, emphasizing the walking mountain that he was. Right beside him, one could see his wife with shining eyes as she looked at him.

"I think it's best for me to leave now. I'll leave you both to enjoy your regained youth." They would enjoy it, but again, not in the way he imagined.

Finally, he distanced himself from the community. Gradually, other people began to appear, and a sense of relief washed over the prince's heart as he saw that everyone was okay.

"Thank you for everything, Vast! I hope you reach the Tower safely!"

"I thank you!" He waved goodbye, clenching his fists as he gazed at his new weapon. "Now, it's time to move forward!"

Thus, Vast Los's journey continued. The path to the Conqueror's Tower was short, yet as long as the greatest of journeys. But regardless of the difficulty that arose, he was sure he would face it without any fear.

Don't worry, people of Von Legurn, I will put an end to this nightmare!!

He advanced into the darkness, aiming for nothing but the blinding light beyond it. If necessary, he would even face the sun itself.