Life in a new Kingdom

"Rys... Y-You're one of them...?" Caleb's voice shook. The sudden reveal of the Hunter's true identity caused his head to spin. Rys turned his attention to him before looking away, focusing on the creature before him.

"Taste good, doesn't it...? I never smelled our kind's scent on you. Only that happens when we stop drinking blood for a long time. The failed experiment survived only to be used further in my research!" Cornelius was mad with ambition. Rys trailed his fingers, causing the web of his strands to twist into a complex grid of interconnected shapes. Cornelius extended his claws and swiped at the wires, thinking that he would rid them in his path.

The moment they connected, the wire cut deep through his claws, even severing several of the fingers on his right hand. Blood gushes from the wounds, and he holds his hand in confusion. Rys flicks his wrists and fingers in one direction to slice a chuck of his leg out instantly. Several long cuts appeared on his arms and face. He ducked under a fatal blow and jumped to his alchemist's table to grab a specific concoction. He drinks the vial instantly, which causes the veins in his body to bulge out and further tighten the look of his muscles. Rapidly, a stream emits from his wounds, showing rapid regeneration beyond that of normal vampires.

"This is what my research and experiments have concluded! Power! Absolute power with a single drop you can recover your strength instantly! But it also has a special effect for someone like me!" His body starts to bulge further until out from his back, sprouts twisted looking wings and sharp fangs replacing the entire set of his teeth. The color of his skin darkens, as do the pulsing veins. A forced mutation of the vampire cells in his body has transformed Cornelius temporarily into a different foe entirely. With a hearty growl, he speaks with an elongated tongue dangling from his mouth. The blackness of his eyes consumes the deep crimson of his eyes, and only a single pupil of red is visible. "My power is without limits! I shall crush you beneath me! Prepare to die, subjects!"

"Special? You call that special. This is just another hunt for the hunted. Know your place, monster." Rys's eyes are a dull red, the hint of emotion ever so present behind his face. Fighting back the overwhelming increase in strength gained by drinking blood made him more sensible and reckless in his thoughts. One wrong move, and Rys would be consumed by the overwhelming feeling. His eyes dart across the room looking around in haste. Still getting used to the change, he tightens the grip on the wires, and they scrape along his skin.

Cornelius whips his wings forward which Rys ducks' underneath. Caleb blocks the wide attack; tumbling back, he lands on a metal shelf and crashes through various vials. The shelf tilts and then lands on top of Caleb, hitting his head in the process and rendering him dazed and stunned.

"Come on, boy! Face the might of a Lord!!" The ugly nature of his figure disgusts Rys to no end. This was one of the Lords he planned to hunt and kill for years now. All his years of moving to towns with suspicious occurrences led him on cold trails or completely different creature entirely. However, that night and in this town, he finally caught one of his targets in this country.

A dark presence loomed over Rys, and the adaption of his cells reawakened and rapidly multiplied in his body, strengthening him further. He wasn't going to back down from this fight. Tonight was the night.

"Cornelius!!!" leaping from the ground, Rys shoulder barges the vampire while it hovers in the air. The blow dazed the creature, but it swiped with its hand. The strike flew by and struck Rys on the chin. Blood fills his mouth, but he returns the strike with full force, landing a strike on it. Cornelius is feeling the shift in power. A low growl escapes his lips.

"I'll have you! Your blood and body will be mine to toy with, please!

"Enough of your pitiful banter." A long Strand wraps around Rys's arms. The wires are now taught, and Rys unleashes a barrage of strikes against Cornelius. Each strike that connects begins to slice into his flesh—using the strands as a protective gauntlet that harms those who touch it.

Twisting his hand, a spiral of strands releases around Cornelius and tracks him. One by one, they cleave apart his skin, exposing the murky black blood underneath. The struggling vampire throws himself into the air before slamming into Rys. Massive gashes across his face, Cornelius heals off the damage...but slower. The limit of his strength is fading, and he feels it slipping.

Cornelius flips to his side and kicks him away. The wounds start to heal rapidly, pushing beyond the pain; Rys feels his body tighten up. Muscles throughout his body begin to spasm. The first to tense up is his fingers. Struggling to control the wires, Cornelius slips past his defense and grabs his throat. Slamming him onto the ground, smashing through the lab like a manic. A sadistic laughter echoed in the chamber.

"Is this everything?! I gave you too much credit! Nothing but a failed experiment of our Messiah! Oh, how such a shameful display-" Cornelius' voice cuts out into a squishy gurgle. Blood fills his mouth, and he begins to choke on the blood from where his tongue had been ripped out. Screeching through the pain, he sees as the dangling black veined tongue is ripped apart by wires.

"I figured you didn't need your tongue anymore...since all you say is bullshit!" Using the power of the strands, Rys manipulates them around into his hands, collecting, forming, and producing a mass amount of them. The spool of his wires grinds against his flesh, for once, after awakening his abilities, the wires slash his skin, and drops of the blood filter the edges.

Steam pours from the vampire's mouth as his body regenerates from his wounds. The tongue piecing itself together, Cornelius begins to speak through slurred speech. "Tish, everthing yuh got?! I havish showed what I can really do!" The long, piercing tongue slithers back into his mouth after fully healing, and a lavish amount of crimson crystals appear around him.

They spiral around his body before exploding into thick streams of blood. The dark skin of his body absorbs the crystallized blood. A loud shutter emits from his bones as his features become more twisted, and his head splits apart. The sounds of his bone cracking and reconstructing are ear-piercing. Inhumane in display, the head twists and shifts into the head of a massive batlike creature. Dark red eyes pear from the voidless sockets. A resounding echo of a voice rumbles the vocal cords of the large creature, no longer resembling anything humanoid.

"No one escapes my clutches alive so long as I have you marked... I will make you suffer under my care... You'll beg for death as long as I breathe!" Rapid in speed and power, Cornelius slams into Rys with the leathery wings. Hitting the stone wall, a large indecent of his silhouette remains before getting dragged into the ceiling. "How's that feel rejected! Ahahaha! You'll be my plaything until I no longer need of your use!"

Continuing the onslaught, Rys is only barely able to survive any of the damage sustained during the scuffle. His healing factor working harder than ever before to repair any damage just in time before it happens again. Head bashed into the solid stone block, bones continuously broken and shattered, only to be put together again in minutes.

Rys, unable to concentrate, slowly blacks out from the pain. His body is in shambles. Cornelius had mutated into a creature resembling more like a bat had grown significantly stronger and healed even faster. If a vampire's blood is what is required for such a drastic change when high amounts of blood are consumed, then tapping into such a power would be possible for someone who isn't entirely a vampire.

Cornelius tosses him to the side. Landing on his side and rolling until he was on his stomach. Rys barely opens his eyes as he struggles to recover. The massive creature totes around in glee, feeling more alive than ever for a vampire; it sings its own praises. It lands near the fallen shelf where Caleb had been trapped under.

"Now, let me look at this subject... The white hair of Nix? Now, that would prove to be interesting indeed in my work! I must get a sample before-" A slash across the left-wing severs the front fingers of the left hand. A snarling howl before the face coils back to see Rys hardly standing on his feet, blood trailing down his face and through his hair...

"Don't you touch him... Your fight is with me, asshole...!"

"Tsk! Must I remove your head from that pitiful body you call a vessel? I'll make it as painful as I can...!"

Deep down, Rys felt a sudden pulse awaken in him. On the brink of death and, the last thing he thinks about is protecting Caleb. But moreover, it isn't just about protecting him... It goes beyond that. A voice rings in his head. One that he always listened to...

"A Hunter fights on even when they face death. As long as you die with the monster's heart in your hand, you may finally rest in peace. If you can't win? Then you don't give up. Hunters are the masters of fighting back the dark forces that are beyond the realm of man. We trained ourselves for death and when it approaches, we face it head on, no regrets, and no remorse. Whatever you do...Never give up!!"

A surge of electricity flares through his body. The feeling of his heart beating increases with each pump of its muscles. His entire being is overwhelmed by this feeling. Blood runs hot, and his body is on the verge of combustion. Rys holds onto his humanity through it all as Cornelius watches; the creature recognizes this display.

"No! Don't you dare-" A large web of wires prevents his approach. Caleb slowly pushes the shelf off of him in time to witness it all...

"As a Hunter... I always wanted to hunt you all down... That will never change... But what I've come to realize... It means more to me that if death graces me with its presence... That I will welcome it... If my atonement is death after destroying all of you...Nothing will make me happier and relieved... My master would approve of my determination if he were here now... Probably have a laugh... Heh... I guess in the end... I just need to embrace who I am and fight... Keep on fighting until I die one day... Until then... You're First! Blood Curse Awaken!"

Tapping into the most vital part of his blood. Rys tightens his grip beyond what the Strand Holders can handle before they pierce through his skin, coating them in his blood. The blood seeps into the wires almost independently. The mixture of both strands and blood creates a crimson web around Rys as the tips of his fingers supply all the blood needed to infuse with them.

Taking a step forward within the crimson web, the highlights of Rys's hair shift, and the hue of his hair changes color. Turning into a bright vibrant white to match the pale red of his eyes, a bright glow past the dark shadows the large web casts upon him.

"I nearly forgot to tell you the title Tharon bestowed me when I graduated. I never really thought about it until this very moment, but it seems very fitting...but... Rys, The Blood Hunter claims you as my quarry..."