Arad walked out of the prison hallway to find himself stuck in a maze, “What is this place? How did they drag me all the way here?” He mumbled.
“There he is! Tile seven hundred and sixty-four!” A mage emerged from the corner and shouted.
The ground beneath Arad flashed brightly, and his body disappeared. When he came to his senses, he found himself surrounded by dozens of mages in a candle-lit hall.
“How could a dragon break the chains?” One of the cultists shouted.
Arad smiled, “Aren’t you making a mistake?” He smiled, “Who said I’m a dragon in the first place?”
“Stop lying. The dragon gem detected you.” One of the cultists pointed his staff at Arad and fired an [Icicle lance]
The ice lance flew with a whistle, piercing Arad’s stomach.
GRWAA! Arad growled, glaring down at the massive shard of ice piercing his guts. ^Yeah, my dragon’s scales can’t protect me with those shackles.^ He smiled and started giggling.
“What’s wrong with you?” One of the mages screamed, “Why don’t you fall?”
^I have to learn how to fight without my draconic powers. I will use [Blood magic: Faint spell] to limit their movements and numbers, [Bestial Aspect] to grow natural weapons and fight, [Wild Instincts] to dodge and predict the attacks, and [Blood sucking bite] To heal and recover MP and SP.
Thud! The lance in Arad’s stomach started turning red from his blood as he grabbed it. CRACK! Arad then pulled it out, smashing it on the ground.
A woman from the cultists laughed, “Idiot, you will bleed and die.” She glared at Arad, “Are scared of dying to us lowly humans?”
Arad looked at her with a smile, a red flash gleaming in his eyes as his hair trailed with the faint winds. Arad lifted his hand, pointing at her with his finger, “You look less disgusting than the rest,” Arad said with a smile.
The woman’s vision blurred, her body felt light, and she lost consciousness for a moment.
BAM! Arad rushed forward, snatching her and rolling to the corner of the room. In one motion, he bit her neck.
The woman opened her eyes, seeing Arad’s sucking the blood from her neck, his claws piercing her shoulder and torso. She felt confused yet pleased. For some reason, his bite didn’t hurt. It gave her a pleasant feeling.
The pleasant feeling wasn’t enough to sway her from reality. The woman realized that Arad is a vampire and that she is dying. She tried to struggle, but her body felt weak. She soon blacked out due to blood loss. And soon after, Arad threw her shriveled husk on the ground.
Arad stood, the wound on his stomach closed. “Women’s blood tastes better. It’s lighter and has more flavors.” Arad said.
“Vampire!” One of the mages shouted, pointing his staff at Arad, [Holy lance]
^That’s bad.^ Arad instinctively knew. He must not get hit with that spell. BAM! He jumped to the side, dodging the lance, and then rushed toward the mages with a smile.
The cultists pointed their staves and wands at him, firing a barrage of spells. [Holy bolt] [Holy lance] [Acid Web] [Fire bolt] [Stone lance] [Banishment] and more…
Arad saw the spells and bent backward, sliding beneath them. CREEK! He toppled one of the cultists on the ground and bit his thigh, draining him in a second. “I don’t need to bite the neck. As long as I get access to blood.” He mumbled.
“Die!” One of the cultists rushed in with a great sword, swinging down as hard as he could. Arad quickly glanced at him with glowing eyes [Blood magic: Faint spell]
The cultist lost consciousness for a moment. His body went limp. Before he could hit the ground, Arad stood, thrusting his right hand up.
Arad’s claws pierced the cultist’s stomach, reaching up to his chest. He regained consciousness from the pain, only to see Arad’s smile. “Your heart is still beating,” Arad’s fist clenched over the cultist’s heart, and with one pull, he snatched it out.
The cultist fell dead as Arad stared at the bloodied heart in his palm, “If anything happens to Aella or Jack,” He said, smashing the heart in his fist.
The cultist took a step back. They were trained to fight weakened dragons, not a crazed vampire. ｏｖ𝚕．ｃｏ𝚖
“I will make sure your kind never sees the light of day,” Arad glared at the cultists.
“Fucker!” Three cultists rushed at him with swords, “Support us with holy magic. Someone go get a wooden stick or something,” The cultists fired their spells at Arad to keep him in place while one of them rushed away.
The three cultists swung their swords at the same time. CLANG! BAM! Arad dodged the first strike and stabbed the cultist in the neck with his long claws.
“You won’t go anywhere,” Arad glared at the cultist running away, [Blood magic: Faint Spell] But the spell failed. ^Why can’t I knock him?^ Arad wondered, pausing momentarily.
STAB! The second cultist stabbed Arad’s back, “I got you, monster!” He shouted. Arad turned his head, glaring at the man [Blood magic: Faint Spell] It worked, and the man fell unconscious.
^I see. I need to see their faces.^ Arad figured it out. Unless they can see his eyes, the spell won’t work. BAM! Arad kicked the cultist away and ducked to dodge the spells rushing at him. After that, he took the man’s sword and threw it at the running cultist.
“Behind you!” A woman from the cultist mages shouted. The running cultist turned, lifting his wand, [Protection] BAM! Deflecting the sword and aiming at Arad, [Counter Throw] He used magic to throw the sword back at Arad, stabbing him in the guts. “Got you!” The cultist shouted in celebration. But they felt a cold sweat dripping on his back, and Arad’s eyes glared directly at him. [Blood magic: Faint spell] He had to look at Arad to aim, and that was his doom.
Arad ignored all the attacks directed at him and rushed at the cultist, biting his neck to heal and recover the MP he lost using magic.
***
Kristina rushed in. Trying to reach her cultist who reported an internal attack. “How did anyone discover this place?” She asked one of the cultists beside her.
“We didn’t get any detailed report from the prison section, but we’re suspecting it’s one of the dragon’s friends.” The cultist replied.
Kristina clenched her fist, “Those two ran away after all,” She growled.
“That was expected. We paid too much attention to drugging the dragon and ended up skimping on the other two. It was wise of you to separate them,”
“But I didn’t expect that stupid rogue to just open the locks and free himself and the elf. Where was he even keeping the lockpicks?” Kristina growled.
Their plan was simple, drug the three people who killed the dragon and prioritize Arad, who they expected to be a dragon. Jack and Aella were secondary targets.
The cult first made sure to secure Arad before the drug effect wear out. They then went to secure Aella and Jack, but to their bad luck, Jack woke early during the transport and freed Aella.
Kristina and the cultists reached the prison. They heard someone run toward them, “Kristina! Save me!” The running cultist cried, rushing at them.
Kristina crossed her eyes, [Far sight] [Darkvision] He glared into the darkness, seeing In the middle of the bloodied room, sucking on one of the cultist’s neck, surrounded by shriveled corpses. Steam came off his back and arms as the burns and cuts he sustained healed.
“A vampire?” Kristina gasped, and Arad glared at her from that distance. She felt a sharp pain in her head, and her vision started to blur. “Damn it!” she closed her [Far sight] and slapped her face.
“What’s the matter?” The other cultist asked, “What did you see?”
“A vampire, don’t stare at his eyes directly.” She growled, “I don’t know if I’m strong enough that I resist his mind control, or if it’s the long distance, or that I’m looking through a spell, or that I cut early. But he almost got me here.”
“What should we do?” The cultist who ran cried.
“We retreat. Lock this place up.” Kristina turned around, “We will leave him locked here until we get people strong enough to kill him.”
Kristina and the two cultists ran up the stairs and turned to lock the door. “Hurry!” Kristina shouted.
When the cultists tried to slam the door shut, a hand grabbed the edge and blocked them. “He’s here!” One of the cultists shouted, running away.
“Idiot! Help me push the door!” The other cultist shouted, but his voice quickly turned into a scream as Arad trusted his fist into his guts.
The running cultist cried, looking at Arad in terror, but that was his end. [Blood magic: Faint Spell] He fell on his face, and Arad rushed to suck him dry.
Kristina stood there, glaring at the two corpses. The one at the door has the key chain with all the keys. She is stuck with Arad unless she gets them.
Arad looked back, following her eyes sight and spotted the keys. He smiled and took them. ^I should free myself first,^ He thought.