At first, I thought the oblivion was a blessing.
How wrong I was.
I snapped out of unconsciousness as excruciating pain crunched my body, breaking more of my bones. I gasped, wheezed and shrieked as my body continued to go into spasms. Intense pain the likes of which I could never have imagined prior to this tormented my convulsing body. Even the agony of losing my legs and left arm couldn't compare to this.
Growth pains. I was vaguely aware of bones forming and extending beyond my stumps, slowly growing and reforming. The pain of rebirth was excruciating and I blacked out more than once, only to b rudely brought back my extreme cramps. Muscles wove around the bones before flesh slowly but painfully grew over them. Blood vessels entwined and grew in a slow and arduous process, ferrying my changed blood to my newly formed extremities.
As for the rest of my body, it felt as if the vampire blood was destroying it and tearing me apart from within. Bones broke and reformed, strengthened without anesthesia. Muscles were forcibly torn and crudely sewn back together, made tougher. My blood was the worst of all, feeling like molten lead that continuously scald me from the inside out. Every time my breaking and healing heart pumped, sending them coursing through the myriad arteries or receiving them from the various veins, I felt scalded, as if every blood vessel in my body was on fire.
I had no idea how long I underwent this agonizing process. My sanity snapped, but I was brought back from the brink of madness many times over every time I remembered my goal.
Revenge. I couldn't die until I get my revenge. Until I destroyed those six "comrades" of mine, I couldn't afford to lose my life.
Until then, I must live.
"Ugh! AAAAAAAAAAH!"
My body jolted and I blacked out once again.
*
I finally woke up fully, blissfully bereft of pain. My body still throbbed dully, the aftermath of the transformation continuing to haunt me, but for the first time I wasn't convulsing in agony and I was grateful for that. I couldn't help but feel tears of relief fall from my eyes.
"So you're finally awake."
I glanced up and blinked. As my vision cleared, I saw that I was surrounded by hundreds of demons. There was a massive bug-like creature with wings, his bulky body encased in armored chitin carapace and each of his four hands holding sting-shaped lances. Behind him was a swarm of giant bugs that looked as if they came from the demented nightmares of a traumatized child.
The Lord of Flies, Flynn. Well, they called him the lord of flies, but he was actually the lord of many different bugs, including wasps, beetles and ants. He was creepy as hell, but for some reason he resembled a humanoid in armor.
He was one of the twelve divine generals.
"Do we kill him?"
This time, the question came from a heavily robed person. Person wasn't the right term to describe him, however. Underneath the purple robes and intricate jewelry, I could see a skeleton with dregs of rotting flesh hanging to parts of his bone. He stared at me with his skull-like face, his sockets empty yet resembling a bottomless abyss. Fog misted out of his bony jaw as he spoke.
"I wouldn't mind reanimating his corpse as one of my zombies. That battle cost us a lot of men."
"Not fair, Lindley!" Flynn snarled. "I have dibs on him! His body is to be used as a nest for my Wicked Wasps! With his current regenerative abilities, he should be able to survive multiple hatchings!"
I shuddered at that. Wicked Wasps were known to lay eggs inside host bodies, which would then hatch and the countless larvae would burrow their way free by consuming the poor host from the inside out.
It was a horrible way to die…except that Flynn had a point. With my regenerative abilities, I wouldn't die from that. It would become a living hell, a fate worse than death.
However, the name Lindley sounded familiar. I had heard of him before – he was the lich lord, the lord of the undead, and another of the divine generals. Commanding legions of zombies and skeletons, he struck fear into the hearts of mortal men, his unkillable armies growing after every battle. Capable or reanimating corpses, he bound them to his dark will. There were rumors that the zombies and undead retained their consciousness, but had no way of resisting Lindley's commands. Their decaying minds trapped within dead flesh, only to be manipulated like puppets dancing to Lindley's strings.
It was enough to drive them insane. Yet, soldiers often spoke of the sorrow and pain that they could see in the cataract eyes of zombies, begging for release…pleading for true death.
"True," Lindley agreed and cocked his hooded skull head to the side. "A vampire is already a kind of undead anyway, so I doubt my necromancy will have any effect on him."
"It's settled then!" Flynn said gleefully.
"No, it's not."
I almost jumped at the voice, especially when I realized I recognized the voice.
Silvia Winters, the Witch of Winter and another of the Divine Generals, stepped forward and interposed herself between me and her erstwhile allies.
"This young man is under my protection."
"What is the meaning of this, witch?" Flynn snarled, his four arms waving about angrily and his wings buzzing.
"I owe this man my life," Silvia replied simply, lowering her head. "He spared me and allowed my forces to escape when one of the Hero parties destroyed a good portion of my legion."
"You lost that battle and you still presume to make demands?" Flynn scoffed. Silvia smiled icily.
"Then I assume that you won your battle against a Hero party? What was his name? Harold? And his comrades, right?"
"Gah!" Flynn looked away, folding his four arms. "That…that was bad luck! Their fire magic completely countered my swarms! There's no way I could win against them! I was lucky to have survived!"
"Be that as it may," Lindley said, his jaw clacking. "You are in no position to criticize Silvia for making any demands after a defeat."
"Kuh! What about you?" Flynn snarled, his compound eyes swiveling to reflect Lindley's bony expression. "You lost pretty badly, didn't you?"
"Yes," the lich lord admitted, but he didn't seem concerned. "Fortunately, the humans left their dead behind when they retreated, so I will be able to replenish my ranks."
"Great to hear that," Flynn remarked sarcastically.
"Now, now." A newcomer swept in, his voice a whisper. I stared at the cloaked figure, but couldn't make out any features. The lord of shadows, Sheldon Umbra? He was accompanied by phantoms, all of whom had their figures obscured in darkness. "We all suffered great losses in the last assault. There is nothing to be gained from arguing over this."
"That's right. Besides…" this time, this was from a beautiful woman with wings. She was dressed in barely any clothing, a skintight dress that clung to her curves and exposed most of her thighs and revealed her cleave. The queen of succubus, Cassandra. Her long, fiery red hair trailed down, matching her black garments. She winked at me. "If anyone won today, it was my legion. I suppose I deserve a reward. I was looking for a fine young man to keep me company after the last one succumbed a couple of months ago. As a vampire, this young man should have enough vitality to last me for years."
I swallowed and unconsciously took a step back. Succubus were known as beautiful, seductive demonesses who drained men of their life essence through sexual intercourse. I didn't know how much my new vampire constitution would help me, but I wasn't very eager to become a sex toy for the queen of succubus, chained up in a bed somewhere and imprisoned in her chambers.
My goal was revenge. I needed to take revenge on Herman and the others. While it was tempting to give in to Cassandra's seductions, I wasn't stupid. She would drain an awful lot of my essence. Even if I somehow didn't die, I would be in no condition to take my revenge. I needed all the power I could get.
"Enough," Sheldon whispered. "It is not up to us to decide the fate of this young man. His majesty will judge."
With that, all the divine generals knelt down. As they did so, I finally realized that I was no longer in the courtyard but inside the fortress. A throne room, perhaps? A vast indoor chamber that resembled a distorted cathedral, with windows constructed out of stained glass and gargoyle reliefs protruding from thick pillars.
A massive pressure descended upon me and I crashed onto the ground, almost as if I was prostrating myself before somebody.
"Ugh?!"
Slowly raising my head, I caught sight of a demon strolling into the chamber, accompanied by massive knights clad in obsidian armor. Crimson eyes glowed from underneath their helms, fixing me under their baleful gazes.
"Your majesty."
As one, the divine generals who had gathered in the room bowed their heads and addressed the demon respectfully.
He resembled a middle-aged man at first, with long, black hair. Dressed in long, dark regal robes that matched his night-colored hair and was embroidered with arcane script, he struck an impressive figure. His eyes were an eerie black that resembled an unfathomable abyss that sucked in all who peered into their depths. A single grimoire hung from his belt, glowing with ghostly fire.
The Demonic Emperor.
He stared at me contemptuously, as a man would look disdainfully upon an ant, and snorted.
"So the transformation is complete."
"It appears so, your majesty," Lindley replied. "He has successfully transformed into a vampire."
"Impressive." The Demonic Emperor nodded. "I did not expect him to survive…the blood of Vincent was extremely potent, especially since he was an ancient, pureblooded vampire."
He leaned forward and studied me.
"There must be something about you…no, a dark determination. I see that you are a man of focus…commitment…and sheer, fucking will."
Yeah, it was that will which allowed me to survive where all other people would have succumbed. Hellish agony that destroyed and restored my body over and over again.
Looking amused, the Demonic Emperor then walked past me and proceeded to a gigantic throne at the far end of the chamber, settling comfortably in it.
"Your majesty," Flynn spoke up. "This is the man who killed Vincent Lucard. If you will it, we can punish him…"
"Oh, but wouldn't that be a waste?" Cassandra asked mildly. "The fact that he killed Vincent means that he possesses tremendous ability. Not to mention, he consumed Vincent's blood and successfully turned into a vampire. He has the potential to be the next lord of vampires and can succeed Vincent's place as a divine general."
"Do not forget that this person was previously a human," Sheldon Umbra wheezed. "He was an enemy."
"Even when he was an enemy, he showed my demons mercy and spared my life." Silvia kept her head. "Your majesty, I plead that you do not execute him."
"It is not your place to plead for anything!" Flynn snarled.
"Neither is it your place to rebuke another divine general," Lindley reminded him.
"What did you say?!"
"Enough!" The Demonic Emperor's voice caused everyone to fall silent. They turned to look at him deferentially but not directly, keeping their eyes lowered. He smiled and rested his chin on a hand. "I agree with Cassandra. Killing this person will be a waste."
Silvia sighed in relief. As for me, I was still too confused to say anything. In fact, I probably couldn't say anything at all. The pressure continued to weigh down on me, crushing the breath out of my chest. On hindsight, that probably saved my life, or I might say something stupid and force the Demonic Emperor's hand.
"However…given the circumstances, we cannot let this man walk free either." The Demonic Emperor thrummed his fingers on the hand rest of his throne. "Throw him into the dungeon."
…what?
I had hardly absorbed what had just happened before a couple of orcs grabbed me, hauled me to my feet, and dragged me from the chamber.