"Oh?" Forseti was surprised by the composure of their 'prey'. "You are too calm for someone in trouble. What is it that gives you such confidence?"
Lord Dracula smiled. It was a smile that took a bit of effort due to the weight of the pressure that threatened to push him down. Instead of answering, he looked right at the man clad in lightning. No, this description was anything but apt. It wasn't a man clad in lightning, but a god commanding one of the most destructive elements of the universe.
"Your eyes-"Thor scrutinized the beings before him. He was angry. That was without question. But his anger hadn't robbed him of his reasoning. The eyes of those who stood before him were very familiar.
"Are you those that Tyr mentioned? A race of blood. What did he call you again?" Thor was still mad. But he reckoned that he could take a few seconds listening to them before he pummelled them into the ground. One might call his lack of guard against them arrogance. They would be wrong. From the very first moment he had landed in this place, he had sensed the state of those who lived in this mountain. They weren't his match. But that didn't mean they weren't interesting. He sensed that the two men who seemed to be the heads of this group were closely linked, and they were also weak. But their weak state wasn't quite the same as the other two. For he felt that the other two were brimming with power, and their current strength, although was miles beneath his and Forseti's, was their true strength. This wasn't so for the other two. They felt weak. It was as though they had received severe injuries that caused them to lose most of their power. But even then, they were still able to bewitch strong Asgardians. That in itself was quite the feat. And although Thor looked unconcerned, he was baffled by their eye colour. Red like the blood sea and just as beautiful were their eyes. He reckoned that the deeper their eye colour, the greater their bloodline and strength. This assumption was only made from noticing that the hair colour of the two similarly looking men was also deeper than the other two who knelt before him. Their features reminded him of a race Tyr had told him about.
"We are vampires." It wasn't one of the smiling young men who replied, rather it was the seductive woman who did. Every word she spoke was uttered with difficulty, yet it didn't stop her in any way. Blood seeped out of her mouth and unto her pretty lips from the sheer difficulty of raising her voice under the thunder god's pressure. Thor admired her resilience, and so did Forseti. Yet it didn't lessen their intent to kill the four. It only sent their time of death further back than it would have been.
"So you are the race that attacked and killed our people. You are the ones Tyr told me to be on the lookout for. He said a few of you escaped. To think that you would once again do that which caused the death of your race-"Thor narrowed his eyes as he spoke. "But for you to have the gall to smile, makes me wonder what it is that brings you confidence that you would leave here alive." As Thor finished his words, the sky got darker. And although it seemed impossible, the lightning bolts descended at an even greater frequency, and with great power too. If the previous bolts that had revealed themselves were as thick as a person, then the new ones were as large as two. And their power wasn't just a simple 1+1=2. For when the former blots struck the ground, the cracks that were two feet deep. But these new flashes of light made trenches for themselves. The few that descended threatened to change the landscape of the area as they each left ditches that were at least 3 feet in diameter and 7 feet deep. In the midst of the new chaotic bolts, one as large as four adult men put together descended. It had already picked out its target, and it wasn't changing its mind. Staying on course, it descended right before Thor. But before it hit the ground, the God of Thunder reached out and caught it. Such reaction speed was amazing. For lightning was light. To catch something that moved at the speed of light was unprecedented to most. Even more fascinating was that he only made a move when the bolt had almost hit the ground before him. But even after showing such might, the vampires were unmoved. Even under the pressure that had increased by at least three times more than it was, other than the fact that all of them were forced to kneel, they didn't show much of a reaction. It was almost as if they expected Thor to have such strength. All except Vlad of course. He finally realised why Lilith called him a fool for thinking that their Lord, Dracula, was a match for the Asgardian god.
'He is even stronger than I thought. This is a good thing. Only with such power, can he truly help us.' Dracula wasn't bothered that he had been forced unto his knees. Quite the contrary. He was more elated by the fact that the thunder god's strength had exceeded his calculations. That was a very good thing from his perspective.
'Good, very good. He is worthy of his fame' Alucard's thinking was the same as his master's. The handsome lad of the blood race was just as excited that Thor's strength was beyond their estimation. Lilith was no different. She also shared in their emotions. It wasn't that they adored the Asgardians. After all, who would possibly love those who took their home from them? However, for the plans they had put in place, a truly strong person was required. And it looked as if Thor was that person. As for Vlad, the one known as The Impaler could only feel a buzzing in his head as he witnessed the true might of the thunder god. Was this the person he had hoped his master could contend with? In comparison, the might Tyr had shown was nothing much. Yet even under such power, their master had fallen. Lilith was right. Even at Lord Dracula's peak, their master would only be a pit stop for the thunder god. To think that he had killed some Asgardians with the belief that they were enough to pose a threat to the rulers of the 1st heaven was truly as Lilith described it- arrogance born from blind loyalty and ignorance. What was even more frightening was that none of them were sure this was the peak of the thunder god's power. In fact, all four of them were certain that the one feared in the myriad of realms, the one who had won every battle he had ever led, was still not at full strength. It was staggering that his momentum was this heavy even when he wasn't truly complete.
When the lightning faded, an object could be seen. It was a hammer. It was anything but impressive. With its short handle and unassuming appearance, many would decline to look at it twice. Of course, this was if no one had seen it appear in a large lightning bolt. Yet the four vampires had their eyes glued to the weapon. It had appeared in a beam of light. So when it came to making an entrance, it sure did score a ten out of ten. But that wasn't why they had their eyes glued to it so. For people who were supposedly about to die they sure were chill.
"Mjolnir." Dracula stammered. He had heard of this legendary weapon. Who hadn't? A weapon that was bound to Thor and had followed him into every important battle. Legends say that Thor and the weapon were more like brothers, and not master and servant. It was a mystical hammer, forged on Nidavellier itself. It was unlike a lot of things, for few things in the universe could compare to its power. Even more famous among its stories was the superstition that it could be summoned by Thor from Asgard anywhere he was. Many rubbished this information, calling it far-fetched. But for these vampires who had witnessed the weapon entering the skies of this world from the great beyond, the rumours were not rumours, but truth. For if Thor carried the weapon with him into this world, its entrance wouldn't have been from the outside. This meant-
"To summon something from the 1st heaven to the 3rd. How much speed must it possibly possess to get here so quickly?" Vlad muttered disbelievingly. That was the only explanation. A summoning from Asgard, where the weapon was kept. The kind of speed this weapon must possess to head its master's summons so quickly was incredible. Even more incredible was the one who wielded it. Asgardian god tier weapons were known to acknowledge only those who were superior to them. This meant that Thor would have to not only be stronger than Mjolnir, but faster. So if the weapon alone was this fast, then how much speed would its master possess?
Thor pointed the short handled hammer in his hands at the vampires. The lightning that clouded his eyes made him look awe-inspiring. "So, what is your trump card" he asked curiously. His tone was clear. It said, 'If it isn't anything good, you will surely die today.'
"Yes. I am also curious about this trump card of yours" Forseti chimed in. Till now, until the very moment he spoke, they had all forgotten he was there. But Forseti wasn't offended. He knew better than to expect people to take any notice of him when his uncle sprang into action. He was more eager to see what these people had built their confidence on, than he was about their feelings regarding his strength. For him, knowing that he himself wasn't weak was enough. It mattered little what others construed.