Rok watched in terror as the creature devoured Helik right in front of his eyes, and he found himself completely helpless to prevent it. He knew he had no chance against this vampire, he saw it survive a literal bless’ed-blade going through its heart. No vampire he knew could have survived through that.

He could have charged in blind and put his trust in something as arbitrary as personal luck, and pray that the enemy is incompetent enough to allow him even a minute chance of success at winning.

Rok was never a hero and he never pretended to be, valuing pragmatism and cold competence over needless chivalry and futile perseverance, and even at a moment as dire as this one, his excessively rational mind wouldn’t allow him to become one.

In his entire long and according to him a full life, he never once found himself in a situation where there was no chance of victory. He never found himself completely helpless against a foe, even when they were surrounded by wolves earlier he knew he atleast had a fighting chance. This was a new feeling for him and he never imagined it would be his last.

Liara watched in horror as Helik’s head was ripped off his neck as the creature bit deep into him. She had watched it all. Cheered after watching Helik drive his blade into the creature's heart and stood stunned in terror watching the monster survive it.

She had wanted to help. She could have aided them with magic, but it hadn’t recovered enough after using it extensively earlier or so she wanted to believe.

Would I be able to use my magic in this situation, even if I could? No!

She felt stupid at even thinking she could be of any help in a real fight. How could someone like her who had never even held a sword in her life hope to be of any help to seasoned warriors? Her magic was also more geared towards illusions and minor defense, as she had always preferred to solve any disputes through diplomacy and peaceful measures that avoided any kind of violence.

In her blind rage, she had managed to lose all her sense of perspective and had actually believed she could kill or hurt Vesilia’s murderers. But the all too real brutality of the violence displayed in front of her eyes had snapped her out of any dreams of revenge. Her body shuddered at the thought fighting that monster.

A silly little girl like me avenging the death of the Great and powerful Vesilia when I don’t even have the nerve to defend myself.

She had thought her power was inadequate for the task at hand. She thought if she could somehow manage to gain more if she could just get strong enough. She had been naive.

The only thing that was inadequate was my resolve. Why did I even decide to pursue this foolish quest? Vesilia never liked heroes, and she would have berated me for acting like one. If I just had one more chance, I would... I. It is hopeless. This is the end, and I am going to die.

As these thoughts swirled in her mind, Liara watched the monster let go of Helik’s headless body. Apparently, for some unknown reason, it had decided to stop playing with its food and offered Rok a swift death by moving behind him in an instant and ripping out his spine.

As the last of the brothers fell, the professor who had been cowering behind her with his back to the wall decided to make a run for it. He bolted towards the stairs hoping to escape but it was not going to be that easy. After taking no more than two steps towards the direction of the stairs and in his mind his freedom, his head exploded into several pieces, the remainder of his body collapsing to the floor.

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The creature who had been licking the blood dripping off the spine noticed the man who was trying to escape from the corner of its eye. Without even turning to look at him the vampire casually tossed the piece of the blade which he had removed from his chest and had been holding it in his left hand in the direction of the old man.

It struck the man’s head, dead on, after going straight through a column in its path and crumbling it to pieces, and only stopping after burrowing itself deep into the wall beside the professor.

The impact had resulted in completely crushing the professors head like a piece of fruit, scattering bits and pieces of his head over the floor, and the wall beside him, which was now severely damaged by absorbing the remaining momentum of the sharp projectile.

The cracks originating from the point of impact in the wall were snaking far and wide to engulf a significant portion of the room, and for a moment threatening to bring the entire structure to its knees.

Liara kept taking several steps back in terror until she had her back to the crumbling wall when the vampire suddenly appeared close to her and examined his newest victim. He picked up a bowl-shaped piece of shattered skull and drank the blood pooled within it.

After taking a sip he let it fall back to the ground and shatter into even smaller bits. It seemed that he did not particularly enjoy the taste. She couldn’t help but feel relieved as he returned back to continue draining and consuming the brothers, quickly moving to finally end the suffering of the now whimpering, Roan.

Liara sat hugging her legs with her back to the wall, and her face was half buried inside her knees while her watery eyes stared intently at the monster devouring her allies.

Even with all her fear and sorrow, she couldn’t help but notice the now utterly intoxicating smell of the professor’s blood spreading on the floor beside her and splattered all over the wall behind her. She should have felt horrible for thinking about a thing like that at a time like this, but the hunger couldn’t care less about her state of mind, it needed, no demanded to be satiated.

Watching the creature drain her companions to their last crimson drop only managed to make her own dark hunger rise to the surface, but her fear prevented her body from acting on it.

As the creature in front of Liara fed, his decaying body slowly started to recover. New healthy muscles were the first thing to regenerate filling out the vampire’s entire frame, transforming his attenuated and wilted figure to an exquisitely chiseled, and muscular one.

The peerless new skin growing on the creature’s body was dark ebony in colour, a shade unknown to Liara. The hair filling up the top of his head was long, curly and silver-white, standing in stark contrast to the dark tone of his skin.

The creature was completely nude except for a black crystal hanging below his neck, from a necklace made of dark green fiber.

Though she should be revolted at the sight of the person who had just massacred her entire party, she couldn’t help but feel a little awed. The human looking creature in front of her was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

As tall as Helik or taller even, the vampire possessed a physique that defied her wildest preconceptions of beauty. Simply, he looked beyond human, beyond vampire and bordered on the divine.

When the vampire was fully restored and had finished draining the three warriors, he closed his eyes and let out a short groan conveying deep satisfaction, before his attention finally shifted to the only breathing sentient being in the room.

Liara trembled inwardly in terror as the vampire’s petrifying silver eyes gazed at her shriveled form. One moment he was standing still in the middle of the hall and in a blink of an eye he was crouched in front of her, just inches away from her face, his eyes finding hers. Sensing danger her body instinctively tried moving backward in panic, away from the horror in front of her but there was nowhere to run as her back was pressed against the wall.

Her heart pounded wildly in her chest and she was having difficulty breathing, her mind reeling in absolute terror as she stared at her doom. She snapped her eyes shut when she noticed the man slowly bring his right hand towards her face. ‘This is it,” she thought.

“Le..yaaa…raa,” the man grumbled as his right hand gently caressed Liara’s left cheek, causing her to slowly open her eyes and stare at the man in shock.