Chapter 55 One Long Night#18
Dimitri Revnosky. 7th Commander of the Vampires.
I first thought of focusing on Lucia but with the addition of William, I had to switch to plan C. Honestly, the first plan was getting Lucia within my palm before I could kill her, then I saw Demetri and changed my approach to use Lucia with Demirti as a centre point before killing her.
Then Willam came, and now I need to leave Lucia for the future until I can get strong enough to defeat William. So, all that is left for now is to concentrate on Demitri.
Perhaps I would have killed him, but the Queen's Amulet is't something that I can just let go… after all it contains something that I want too. Though before all that, I need to do something else entirely… and that is to see whether Demetri is worth being my first underling or not.
He has one of the most flexible systems in the whole vampire kingdom and that is…
[Shape Shifting System]
Having this system alone made him one of the most dangerous ones among the vampires. Shapeshifting, though sounds weak, but with its special skill [Genetic Upgrade] unlocked, he could use other people's abilities whom he has touched. Though he must have enough mana to control that ability… that is the only limit known to that skill.
He was an S-Grade System user, with a high potential blood mana user. Hmmmm… I haven't talked about blood mana, have I? Well, since we are on this topic, let me tell you the difference between blood mana and normal mana.
First of all, all beings possess mana, with different beings possessing mana in different forms. Humans have this mana called normal mana, which allows them to manipulate their surroundings depending upon the system they use. It also gives them the ability to manifest unique abilities.
Now blood mana differs from normal mana in a way that it can only be circulated through blood. While normal mana is present all over the body in small amounts, blood mana is concentrated in the blood of special beings, like vampires. That also means that vampires don't have mana in other parts, and only in their blood vessels.
This is also the basis of using Blood Sacrifice, where one reverses the flow of blood and pours out the mana into their muscles and skin from their blood. While I can use blood sacrifice, it is not as effective as when used by vampires. The drawbacks are severe as well, causing mana backlash which results in loss of consciousness for a long period.
For vampires, the mana after being forced into their body parts from the blood doesn't dissipate immediately after use. Rather, it stays there until the amount of mana is regenerated from the atmosphere.
So where was I? Yeah! Demitri Revnosky is a high potential blood mana user. His shape-shifting abilities allow him to manipulate where he could pour his blood mana.
Because of S-Grade, his mana abilities are also much higher than others.
So why was I 'testing' such a being without any previous preparation? Well! That is because… I had something else which I wanted to test… my last and third talent which made first vampires and then everyone else, fear me…
...........
"Demitri. Fight me as if your life depends on it," spoke Reaper, before his eyes turned red.
"What are you-"
-Clank
Reaper attacks him immediately and his arm, which had been replaced by a one sharp claw, blocks it before pushing Reaper away. His eyes then widen a bit as he looks at his arms and touches it slowly.
"I can't feel… it has turned numb. What have you done?" He spoke as he narrowed his eyes at Reaper with both his arms changing into claws, and a couple of wings sprouted from his back. His eyes, which looked human before now, had increased to six red colored eyes. His skin had also turned greenish white than the pale white he had before.
His feet had some changes, but it wasn't as distinct as the other changes.
'Just numb, huh? Looks like there is only so much effect on someone on the level of an S-class Vampire,' thought Reaper as he analysed Demitri before he spoke.
"Blood Sacrifice: Reaperth Moon," and then dashed even faster than before. However, Demitri was much faster than him, immediately getting behind him and then proceeding with an attack… however… as his claws almost reached Reaper's body, he saw Reaper slowly smiling before.
-Splash
Demitri dipped his hands into Reaper's body, and Reaper smiled at him like a madman. Because what happened next shocked Demetri to the core? His arm… which was inside Reaper's stomach… started burning… like it was in a scorching fire pit.
-AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!
Shouted Demitri, as he tried his best to remove Reaper's blood from his hands. He had never felt this kind of excruciating pain in his entire life, after trying for a few more moments.
-Slash
Demitri cut off his blood-soaked arm and finally breathed a sigh of relief. His sweat filled face looked at Reaper in front of him.
Red eyes with black hairs.
A dark scythe in his hands.
A gaping hole in his stomach, bleeding profusely, which didn't seem to affect him much.
A smile on a face that looked down on him.
"Death…. Reaper…" muttered Demitri as he observed that kid in front of him. He wanted to run… he was scared… just like he was scared of the Vampire King when he stole the amulet… just like he was scared when he realised he can't escape the curse of the amulet… he was scared of Reaper.
That pain… that was something else. He had never felt anything as dangerous as that…
Reaper then touched a part of his open stomach and then, after wetting his hands with his blood, he applied that blood on the scythe, before speaking," Spirit Magic: Hygeia."
And then it manifested… a being that Demitri had never seen in his life. His entire body screamed to run away as soon as he looked at that green-haired being standing right beside Reaper. She was looking at Reaper with an expressionless face before she moved towards Reaper and then touched his stomach… healing it in an instant. Hygeia then vanished from there immediately.
This made Demitri feel shocked from the inside out. Only a dozen people in the entire world could make him feel scared for real… However, even then he could muster some courage to fight. But this… this…
Slowly and slowly Demitri turned back into his original form as he looked like a powerless man standing in front of a death reaper. Reaper looked at him casually with the same smile he had before while thinking,
'Summoning Hygeia again will take about a couple of weeks. Well, looking at his expression, it looks like he bought my bluff… while I guess that potion is still effective against the vampires of this timeline.'
During the past 2 weeks, Reaper had been drinking a potion that increased his concentration so that he could train… however there was more to that potion than just that. That was a special potion which is used against the vampires. A potion that could lethally injure vampires, and he… drank enough of it to get it mixed within his blood.
It was created by Reaper himself, in the previous timeline when he needed to kill an army of mutated vampires all on his own… but that is a story for a different time. Though, while we are on the topic, it might be better to say that Reaper… is a master alchemist and perhaps the only real alchemist present in this world. f𝓇𝘦ℯ𝙬𝑒𝐛n𝐨νe𝙡.c𝑜𝗺
Reaper might have been a genius who mastered everything he could, but he was never sure that he could win against someone whom he had met just because they seemed weaker than him.
Alchemy and artefact creation were his main hobbies that saved his life on more than just one occasion. He became a master alchemist and a master artefact creator after a decade of dilly dallying into the respective fields. Though, after he unlocked enough mana channels, both artefacts and alchemy potions became useless to him. Because, after that, no matter what he created, that creation was not on a par with Reaper's level.
"What is it that you want from me? Demitri asks as he gazes into Reaper's eyes as if he had lost all hope and he just wants to get over with it.
"Do you want to be free from that curse? The Amulet's curse?" Reaper spoke as he tilted his head at Demitri with a nonchalant look. While Reaper himself doesn't know how to break free from that curse, he knows a certain someone who can dispel even the most potent of curses.
'Though whether currently that guy is as good as he will be in the future will be a different matter,' Thought Reaper as he looked at Demitri.
Demitri observed Reaper with a blank look as he asked again,"what did you just say?!" The light of hope which had vanished from his eyes, once again returned as he observed Reaper before something clicked into his brain and he asked,"what is it that you want?"
Reaper looked at Demitri with a widening smile before speaking,"I want you to rule over… Arcadia… as my slave."