Life in a new Kingdom

The raspy whisper fills their ears with dread. Caleb couldn't stop shaking as the ice-cold touch flowed throughout his body. Rys played the horrific thought of their deaths in his mind over and over again. Cornelius's wicked grin of pleasure reeked of blood and decay.

"Shall it be you? My dear Rys, who thought he was so clever that I wouldn't sniff you out. Or the child with the bright hair... Is he a child of Nix? A rare breed I always wanted to get my hands on!" Caleb feels the tight grip on his shoulder and digs claws into his shoulder, drawing blood. Rys moves only an inch before his shoulder is crushed under the intense pressure of Cornelius. He lets out a yell, the pain burning deep.

"I...won't let you touch him!" Rys brushes the hand off his shoulder and draws his wires to attack Cornelius. A small cut appears on his cheek and slowly drips dark red blood. Cornelius looks at Rys with his dull black eyes, a void of nothingness.

"A futile attempt. Maybe you should learn how to behave!" A blur of speed whips forward. Rys is hit in the chest by a powerful force. Cornelius cracked his ribs with a single punch that sent him forward. A single twirl in the air as Rys' body crashes into the table of the corpse, knocking the body and table onto the floor. He tumbles to a stop, gasping for air. Blood fills his lungs, with his ribs now piercing them. Each gasp of breath is a dagger driven deeper into his chest.

Rys, unable to move from the blow, watches helplessly as Cornelius lifts Caleb by his throat. The gleeful smile across the diabolical vampire reveals the sharp fangs. Caleb coughs as the tight around his throat closes, the life slowly leaving his body.

"C-Caleb...! A..Arrghh!" Spewing blood between coughs, Rys crawls forward next to the body and grabs the table. Getting himself to his knees, Rys extends his wires out and wraps them around the hand holding Caleb.

"Rys... You know that won't save this boy even if you-" A flash of blood stains his arm. The wires dig deep into his skin, deep enough to actually hurt the creature. Rys grunts as the pain in his chest tightens, pulling with all his might as he braces against the table, allowing the grip to be removed from Caleb.

A gasp of air returns to Caleb as he recovers. Kicking away from the vampire, he tumbles but stands on his feet. Cornelius, frustrated, grabs the wires and pulls Rys forward, knocking him to the ground with a loud thud. Another wire wraps around his leg and slashes deep into his flesh. Blood sprays onto the floor, unable to realize the sudden strength of the razor-sharp wires he was able to ignore earlier; Cornelius drags Rys forward by yanking the wire around his leg back.

Rys tumbles but uncurls another wire from his hand, wrapping it around Cornelius' neck. Rys, unable to breathe anymore due to his injuries, tightens the wires and pierces deeper into the pale flesh once more. Caleb rushes forward and stabs his sword into the vampire's chest. Rys smiles at the sight of the creature on its knees after faltering to fight against the wires. Drops of blood glide along his fingers. With a tight grip, Rys can increase the wire's strength by damaging his own hands in the process, which is his final effort to take down this foe.

"I won't lose...! I will continue to sap the life...of these mongrels as long as I continue to live!" The dark abyss of Cornelius' eyes blares a vibrant crimson red. Never had this Vampire Lord been on the cusp of his own death had he needed to resort to this power. Facing imminent death against two maggots brought nothing but his fury. His pride would not allow his downfall to be that of a child and a reckless vermin who posed as his servant. "Blood...Curse...Awaken!"

Blood red veins begin to bulge from his skin, tightening his muscles and skin around them. The wires around his neck and limbs quickly snap from the pressure. Rys stares in disbelief as the intensity of power born inside this creature far exceeds anything he had previously encountered. With a quick strike, Caleb is knocked to the ground, hitting his back against the wall and landing into a couple of empty glass vials, which shatter upon his impact.

"Caleb-!" Rys turns his head, distracted. The vampire's speed travels like a blur of images as Cornelius appears before Rys. Cornelius' long ponytail floats in the air from the aura produced by his power. Rys tries to move, but Cornelius stops him in his tracks and slaps his face in quick succession. Not wanting to kill the man, he slaps his face until the skin rips open with blood.

"Rys! Damn it! Raahhhh!" Caleb charges forward and ducks under to strike at the vampire. His blade is caught in his hand. Caleb quickly draws his dagger and leaps to stab into Cornelius' throat. The blade bounces off the hardened flesh. There is a slight pause before Caleb coughs blood from the impact of the strike to his stomach, obliterating him back. Crashing into the wall hard enough to shatter it. The young boy crumples to the ground, bleeding from the head. Rys manually wraps his wires around Cornelius and locks the vampire into a standoff.

"I'll kill you...no matter what..." Blood pours from his lips, his glasses fallen from the strikes by Cornelius. His face swelled and was bleeding red from the inhuman might behind each of those strikes. The wires dig into his hands to the point they reach his bones. Crimson coats the wires without a single one clean.

"If this is all you have to show for your efforts, then allow me to end your little rebellion." Plunging his hand forward, Cornelius pierces Rys' chest all the way through. The impact shreds his organs, and blood profusely spills across the ground. The wide eyes of this hunter stutters. His vision darkens as the pain quickly grows.

"R-Rys..." Caleb holds his arm, trying to deny the sight before him. The wires slowly fall limp and wither away. Rys lets out a gasp before falling backward. Landing beside the corpse, blood pools from his wound. His face is left in a state of shock. The life in his eyes is all but faded...

"Takes care of that pest... Now... Be a good boy, and let me use your body for my work..." Cornelius turns to Caleb and slowly approaches. The young noble feels nothing but hatred inside.

"Rys..!!!" Screaming his name, Caleb lets out a few tears of agony before raising his head toward the monster in front of him. Grabbing his sword, Caleb advances. But upon taking his first step, he vanishes by ducking low and attacking with a vertical cut.

The blade slashes the chest of the creature, and he backs away. Unknowing that Caleb was tapping into his old self, his abilities were now beyond what the boy was capable of doing before. The eyes of Sato Haruki now present within him. His breathing and stance shift instantly.

"What is this... You don't smell the same... Fascinating..." Filled with wonder, Cornelius smiles with no worry and attacks. Caleb twirls his sword around, flips over the vampire without hesitation, and slices his shoulder. Not wavering for a second, Caleb switches the blade to his left and cleaves through his stomach. Blood gushing from the wound, Cornelius continues to cackle at the sight of something new.

The dark eyes of Sato watch his movements and react with a turning strike that cuts off a few fingers of the right hand. But the claws still cleaved through his shoulder, leaving his left arm wounded. Unfazed by the injury, Caleb rushes forward again and deflects a few strikes before countering with another slash on his chest.

"More! Show me more! I want to see what those eyes shall reveal when I explore your body!" Focusing on his speed, Cornelius leaps across the room and flips around with his enhanced power. The blood curse of a vampire awakens when the bloodlust of their ambition is at its strongest. Cornelius had exceeded the limit of the blood curse due to Caleb's presence as an anomaly. Fueling his curse further, he lands another strike to Caleb's side. The wound spews a steady stream of blood down his leg.

Caleb falters for a moment as the loss of blood is starting to take its toll on his body. The essence of Sato fades away. Caleb returns to his senses and crumples to the ground, unable to stand. "E-Errah...! I need...to get up...! Move...body... Come on...!" Cornelius gets closer.

"Stay still... I don't want to damage your body any further before I kill you..." He pulls back his hand, ready to end Caleb's life. Thrusting forward, a band of wires wraps around his arm and pulls it back. Missing the strike against Caleb. Cornelius turns his head to see Rys standing; his chest wound barely open and bleeding and still alive. His battered body had mostly stopped bleeding, and his wounds seemed to have closed on their own.

"Rys...?" Caleb calls out, unsure at how he survived such a fatal blow...

"I knew there was something off about you... Your blood... It smelled too sweet to be human.....Ahh... So, it's you... The "failed" experiment Master created with his own blood... The first genetically born Vampire..."