"Aaaaah, the smell of a good morning. The sun's up, the birds are singing and we aren't dead nor did we turn to dust! This is great!" Maureen yelled as he proudly stood under the shining sun.
"I-I r-r-really do-do not like t-this..." Luna cried as she huddled herself under Maureen's shadow, scared to death by the bright rays.
"Don't worry my lady, those pills I gave you can allow a vampire to stay under the sun for a full 12 hours!" Maureen said with a proud smile. Even just 2 of those pills cost him a fortune to get and over 200 years to refine, but now that his lord/lady was using it, he felt that it was worth every drop of blood it cost.
Trying to rid a vampire of their fear of the sun is trying to convince a man that repeatedly stabbing himself with a knife on the dick is a good idea. It simply will not work.
Hence, it was no surprise that Luna was completely terrified. She managed to get through it, but she was still extremely fearful.
'Why did I even end up like this... Why couldn't we just do a night raid..." Luna thought, dejectedly. She felt like her head was going to explode after Maureen had finished his 'explanation' to her.
All she wanted to do was try out what it would feel like to 'do it', as even though she was still technically young, she was already old enough mentally and her body would be fine with it, nothing wrong with that. But no, Maureen wasn't having it. Had it been any man, even a gay man, they would've readily accepted the offer with even too much excitement, but not Maureen.
But nope, instead, Maureen spent the entire night teaching her why virginity is important, which Luna still honestly didn't understand why. 'Just because you don't have a girlfriend doesn't mean you can't have fun with your lady', is what Luna thought, and 'Just because you're my lady doesn't mean you can have fun using me' is what Maureen thought, so the two never saw eye-to-eye on this concept.
After that, they spent a lot of time catching up with each other. luna learned plenty of useful, even vital information whilst Maureen could talk all he wanted with someone listening to him, which was a rare thing, considering his reputation with 'quick talks'.
Then, when they realized it was already day, Maureen had the bright idea to use those pills to resist the sun. Technically, they were heaven-defying and could bring the vampire race to glory, but the mere price of it made even the famous money-waster, Luna, feel a tinge of regret at having consumed one.
Maureen opened up his wings as he picked up Luna with a single hand and flew up easily, showing the difference in power between him and Ryan in a single movement. After all, even Ryan struggled to carry Luna while Maureen could do it effortlessly.
"Milady, did you know that I once visited the royal academy as a student? I disguised myself and lived there for forty years amongst those monkeys, I felt like my immortality was aging just by being near those mortals..." Maureen spoke as they flew, and did not stop for the entire 4-hour travel.
By the time they arrived, Luna's eyes were like those of a dead fish. At this point, she could honestly use some stress relief, and thankfully, there were plenty in the academy.
Turning serious, Luna spoke to Maureen after they landed a couple hundred meters from the academy's edge. "Maureen, I need you to deal with any rank 7 magicians in the building. I can deal with rank 6 and below, but whilst I'm eating, I cannot be disturbed, or the consequences could be tragic. I'm relying on you, old friend..." Luna said as she jumped down from the hill they were at, landing into the academy's park.
"Relying on me... huh..." Maureen's eyes turned nostalgic for a second before regaining their vigor. He hadn't felt as excited ever since the Blood Monarch, his liege, had died.
"Relying on me... My lady is relying on me! I won't disappoint you!" Maureen roared as his domain and innate ability opened up, bringing out the might of an old monster equivalent to rank 9 magicians, even bordering the legendary 10th rank that only the Blood Monarch had ever achieved.
Maureen quickly sat cross-legged as a phantom of a giant Buddha appeared behind him. This Buddha wasn't like a normal buddha, instead, it gave off a bloody and vampiric feeling, and in its hands were two gigantic drumsticks.
"Roaring Buddha!" Maureen yelled as a phantom drum the size of a small hill appeared in front of the Buddha. Roaring out along with Maureen, the Buddha began to beat on the drum with the drumsticks, each hit causing visible soundwaves to come out, surrounding the entire academy.
If anyone below the 9th realm were to touch this barrier, they would explode instantly, their body completely destroyed by Maureen's ability, the [Sounds of Destruction] and his [Music] domain.
In truth, it was basically unheard of for two beings to have the same domains or abilities. Even humans, as populous as ants, never had an innate-ability user have the same ability as another user.
Domains were the same. Although some were similar with even the same names, their essence was always different. In Maureen's case, he had chosen his domain according to his ability, just as basically anyone with a tinge of logic would do.
Even Luna's ability and domain complemented each other. After all, if they didn't, the user would suffer serious repercussions from the ability and domain conflicts, even possibly resulting in death.
However, the more an ability and domain complemented each other, the more terrifying they would be. In this case, every single professor in the academy, be they rank 6, 7 or even the academy's director, a mighty rank 8, suddenly found their mana suppressed down to rank 5.
The academy itself was separated from the rest of the world, however, it could be called a small city itself. Almost all students lived here, some even bringing their families. Hence, there was no way for the rest of the world to know what was going on in the area.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
As Luna ran, she finally arrived into a small side-street. Several people were looking at the sky in confusion and fear, feeling a strange sense of doom.
Ignoring them, Luna positioned herself like a cross, and the instant afterward, her chest tore open and her prism-shaped heart floated out.
The hundreds of thousands of tubes seemed even hungrier now. Looking at all the surrounding rank 1ns, 2ns and the occasional rank 3 magicians, a look of ecstasy appeared on Luna's face as she called out "Ouroboros! Appear!"
At that instant, a phantom of a snake hundreds of meters long appeared, its scales as black as the night with streaks of green and red running through it. Two mighty wings jutted from it's back, making it look like a serpent from hell. It looked so illusionary it seemed it would disappear with the slightest of breezes. Yet, this phantom seemed to carry enough power to destroy the world as it eyed the surrounding humans with hunger and greed.
Seeing the monster, people began escaping, however, they suddenly felt their own bodies possessed by a great hunger, attracted to the tubes. Powerless to resist, each of the people nearby found themselves filled with those snake-like tubes, piercing into every mana vein in their body, sucking them dry.
This was the power of a domain. Previously, Luna couldn't yet use it as she hadn't fully formed her core. However, now that she had done so, displaying her might like this was no problem. Naturally, if she encountered rank 7ns that were not being suppressed, she would be severely injured, but since Maureen had her back, she felt safe going all-out.
There are 4 main barriers. The first is from a non-magician to a rank 1 magician, the second is from rank 3 to rank 4, the third is from rank 6 to rank 7 and the last great barrier is from rank 10 to rank 11.
Every rank was far stronger than the previous rank, especially after breaking through one of the barriers. Rank 7, in particular, was especially dangerous to Luna, as it was where humans would begin comprehending 'laws', which are essentially the same thing as a vampire's domain.
Nonetheless, right now, Luna was completely focused on devouring her way through the academy. Countless people became mummies in front of the might of her snake-tubes, their mana quickly eaten away by her core, where it was stored. She didn't directly absorb it, rather, she kept all the mana aside in order to properly digest it with her domain's help later.
At one point, an old man with a mighty aura appeared in front of Luna. His face was cramped up and he was yelling things like 'You'll regret this!' and 'Leave now and I will spare you'.
Looking at the man, Luna's eyes flashed with a dangerous glint. The snake phantom behind her looked at the man with a trace of insanity in its eyes.
Opening its mouth, it directly swallowed the man. He tried to resist, but all of his spells would simply fade away under Luna's ability, turning them into illusions, and hence, useless.
Licking its lips, the snake gave out a small burp. It's body suddenly transformed as it grew in size, furthermore, it's body no longer looking as transparent as before.
Smiling happily, Luna recalled her core into her chest. She had essentially carved a path of destruction in the entire academy, and even though she only killed a fourth of the students, she had killed 3/4 of the teachers, most being at rank 6 with some being rank 7.
Her belly now felt truly full. She gently rubbed it with a gaze similar to that of an insane person that just ate her way through a school and then called out "Maureen, I'm done. Thank you!"
Over 5 hours had passed since she had arrived. During that time, Maureen hadn't moved an inch, the Buddha behind him constantly pounding the drum. Hearing this, he smiled, letting the Buddha and barrier fade away.
After Luna arrived, she quietly sat next to him and closed her eyes, beginning the tedious process of eating her way through all the mana.
Her real rank, in truth, was only 5, however, her domain and ability allowed her to compete with even rank 6s. She had, after all, only been recently reborn, and although vampires were far stronger than humans, she still needed time to grow.
She could speed this up by using her Soul Devouring Tactic. In truth, the tactic was always supposed to be used along with her Gluttony Domain, otherwise, it wouldn't even be 1/10th as effective. Now, she could finally truly focus on her growth.
Several hours passed and the sun went down. Luna still sat next to Maureen, who had mostly kept silent for the entire time, not wishing to disturb her.
During this time, her body had been strengthened to over a hundred times its previous strength. She was now comparable to even Ryan in terms of brute strength, and furthermore, her core had broken through twice, rising to rank 7.
Although her true rank was rank 10, it would take a long time for her to regain her rank. It would be much easier than directly reaching it, but it would still require time, and mainly, a lot of mana to consume.
To reach rank 10, one had to completely master a single domain, which Luna did. She was also infinitely close to rank 11 on her previous life, but she could never break that barrier, leading to her eventual death.
Opening her eyes, Luna got up whilst patting her knees and body to clean the dust that had gathered on her. She was very close to rank 8 by now, and she only needed to eat another rank 8 to break through, however, for now, she would have to stop for a couple years, or she would risk the mana she digested going out of control. After all, only with time could her Domain of Gluttony truly show it's worth.
Giving Maureen a quick hug, Luna thanked him, "Thank you, Maureen. Without you, things would have never been this easy..."
Laughing it off, Maureen waved her away with a, "Don't worry. Without you, I would never have reached the point I'm at now either, so it's only fair. However, we best get going, or the king himself might come, and that would be bad..." He said. After all, they had just raided a mighty magical academy. The humans would be furious.
However, who the fuck cared? The vampires were furious too right now, and the humans had just taken away two of their members. Hence, it was only fair for retaliation to come.
As Luna and Lauren flew back, Luna enjoyed the feeling of overwhelming strength. Her limbs felt like they had just recovered from years of numbness and her whole body brimming with energy, threatening to explode. In fact, it would, if she hadn't completely mastered the Domain of Gluttony.
Nonetheless, the risks were worth it. An insane look flashed across Luna's face as she whispered, "You bastard... Just wait for me, I'll make you wail in pain until you beg for me to kill you, then, I will make you rip our your own heart..."
Hearing this, Maureen felt a chill go down his spine. He had only ever seen the Blood Monarch get truly angry once when a friend of his betrayed him. He tortured the poor man for a century, using methods that even made the most brutal of torturers look like cute puppies.
"Haha... Hey, Milady, I think the demon lord should be sending a messenger soon to give his response. We should hurry back so you can meet them..." He said as he tried to get Luna out from her murderous state.
"Yes Maureen, I will meet him, and then I will take him, slowly dropping poison onto his skin to make it sensitive, then bathe it in boiling oil..."
Shivering, Maureen had to remind himself that she was only like this to those she really hated. He had seen what the man did, so he wasn't suprised.
He could only silently pray for the man before moving onto the next thing with a smile...