Chapter 28: Good evening
After Gengo went at the trolls with Sharla on his back, Bryce hovered his eyes on them for a few seconds. Seeing how well Gengo maneuvered amidst those horrific monsters, Bryce knew he could focus on himself and do his job.
He once again turned around, smiling at the villain, then went straight at him with his sword revealed. It seemed like Bryce wanted to fight the villain and his servants.
They hadn't flinched or revealed any fear. Instead, they found him pitiful as they knew that their invisible wall was strong enough to protect them in the long run. It was a combination of a present from the demon lord and their Master's defensive skill!
Even if Bryce wielded a divine weapon, his level was low, and he couldn't use all of its power anyway.
Finally, Bryce stood just a few inches before the villain, and separated by the invisible defense, he stomped on it. "Looks solid." Not waiting for any response, he climbed up the wall! He thought he'd run up at least a few meters, but the invisible defense turned out to be shaped after a ball, like a hamster's transparent ball, protecting the villain and his servants in a tight room.
The villain and his buddies also hadn't attacked him yet. Perhaps, they couldn't!
Smirking, Bryce ran to the top and then slid down like a parkour. When his feet touched the ground, he raced forth as fast as he could, not caring about the villain. He had marked their location on his minimap, though, not planning to let them go, for they plotted, killed innocent lives, and more, just to kill him!
'That time has finally come, right?' Bryce looked ahead, still followed by furious trolls, his eyes flashed with inborn madness and a desire to kill, which would turn into a palpable killing intent in the future, akin to Devin's and other extraordinary figures.
Not knowing how exactly he should feel, Bryce fished out the masking totem and continued with his plan.
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BANG! BANG! BANG!
The villain and his servants stood enclosed in their defensive formation. The ground beneath them had cracked, ravines formed around them, and it seemed like they would soon get buried.
Before them, the trolls banged their fists at their invisible wall. Their deformed face looked uglier, their howls reached the depths of the villain's hearts, and their desperation and desire to wash off the stain on their bloodline drove them even more insane.
But in the end, they were trolls.
The servants scrunched their faces, hissed at the monsters with their arms crossed beneath their ample chests, and looked like your typical Karens, not worried about anything. Their curses eluded the trolls and also the villain.
Amidst the chaos, he stood as though nothing mattered around him. But deep inside him, his heart pounded so much that he couldn't hear his thoughts, it drummed as though it were his fear, and he couldn't get rid of it.
[You already want to go outside?]
[Yes, father.]
[Anything you need, my youngest son?]
[More protection, I think. More of it has never killed someone, right?]
[Haha! Well then. I will lend you this. It will work with your defensive skill, in fact, it will utterly turn all your defenses invisible, so use it to gain an advantage, my youngest son. I know you will do it, for you're so clever.]
The villain's finger twitched as though he was slowly waking up from his stupor. His father believed in him, thought of him as a clever boy, and blessed him with many treasures. Because of that man, the villain finally could become himself, stay above others, lose his virginity, and finally enjoy his life.
A small tear tumbled down his cheek.
[There's a clear weakness to this item, though. Your strength, my youngest, yours and your servant's. You will get absolute protection, but you won't be able to attack your enemy through the defense unless you turn it off, that is.]
[It's fine, father. There won't be any need to turn it off.]
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The trolls hadn't given up, as though their strength and stamina were limitless, they kept pounding at the invisible wall, triggering those memories.
And with those memories, the villain realized just how weak he was. If he was stronger, his Mind Control skill wouldn't allow those trolls to attack him and his servants.
He wouldn't have betrayed his father's trust! He wouldn't have disappointed him!
'Don't let those thoughts get to you! Take it, accept the mistake, do it!' the villain shouted inwardly over his loud heart.
Slowly, he tamed his heart and feelings, pushed his chest out, and swore to find Bryce. That hero shouldn't be too far away because many trolls had chased after him, and it was still his father's domain, so the villain knew he'd be able to freely move between dangerous zones filled with monsters and their tribes.
"They will soon tire out. Kill them for experience points, then we will go after the hero." The villain said, glowering at the trolls surrounding him, his order pleasing his servants.
An hour passed, then.
The forest darkened, the trees seemed dim and scary, and only the eyes of the trolls shone brightly.
The trolls finally fell to their knees, breathing heavily, and their sanity gradually returned to them. Exhausted and confused, the trolls did their best to recollect their thoughts. But then, the villain's servants lashed out their whips at them, killing them.
With the defensive wall gone, the villain breathed the air polluted by blood, feeling at home.
He hadn't even stepped forward before getting pierced by a sword from behind.
"Good evening."
The sword avoided the heart, clearly not wanting to kill the villain yet, and thorns stretched out of it, gnawing on the villain's insides. The owner of the sword lifted his free hand, clenched the villain's hair, then tilted his head to the side; it looked like he wanted to tear it off.
Revealing the villain's neck, Bryce's eyes gleamed red, he parted his lips, his canines long and sharp, then bit the soft and tender flesh. Easily sinking into the vampire's favorite spot, Bryce sucked the blood, his HP and MP regenerating at a fast speed as the quality of the red liquid was actually good, courtesy of the villain's race and bloodline.
The villain became rooted to the ground, staring at the dark crimson sword with thorns coiling around it. He had never seen that weapon, and he hadn't met someone who could possibly wear it, had he? Anyway, how could a villain or demon lord appear here?
"What have I done to you?" the villain asked, struggling. But as he had a lot of blood, and it probably tasted good as the man behind him kept drinking it, he had enough time to ask the question.
The process was so quiet, too, that the villain's servants hadn't noticed anything off. They were also busy cursing at the trolls.
At last, Bryce stopped sucking the blood. He let the villain go, his body dropping lifelessly.
On his back, the man stared at Bryce. He couldn't recognize him because of those red eyes and crimson sword. Blood also marred Bryce's handsome face, for much of it fountained off the soft neck.
If it weren't for the black coat, the villain wouldn't have recognized Bryce at all. Still, having both holiness and demonic mana, what kind of bullshit was it?
Bryce gazed at the man who had finally recognized him. The blood dripped off his chin and the sword, he felt excitement and more thirst for blood, the red liquid he could get addicted to, and he momentarily forgot himself.
Why did he attack that guy? Was it for blood? Of course not.
It wasn't because of the villagers, either.
And it wasn't because the villain was the villain.
"We both have chosen the same, so why do you ask? You know the answer."
Bryce could see through the villain's stats. Seeing his HP, he brought the Sword of Dracula to his chest, then shoveled his sword inside. The red thorns followed the blade, wrapping around the villain's heart.
Soon, Bryce took out his sword and, tightly protected by red vines, the heart.
He took it into his hand, then holding it like an apple, Bryce took a bite.
His eyes gleamed again, but it was his first kill this time, so a faint seed of killing intent appeared in his irises. He munched on the heart, his eyes down on the lifeless body, not showing any particular emotion.
[You have killed the villain.]
[You have leveled up x10!]
[Your demon lord's bloodline has advanced.]
[You have accepted your vampire's side.]
[You have learned new information about vampires.]
[You have learned new vampire skills.]
"At this point, I'm a killer who likes to eat hearts and drink blood." Bryce thought aloud after thoroughly eating the heart.
He knew he'd thoroughly accepted that side because of the system messages. Those never lied, did they? His skin turned paler, too, and his hair was now entirely blond. He looked so much like his mother that no one would question whether he was her son or not.
He knelt, picked up the item, which looked like a floating white ball, then stuffed it in his inventory.
And when he looked to the side, he and the villain's servants exchanged glances. They had seen a scene of him taking out the heart and eating it like a snack. Their bodies trembled from fury and sadness, and on the verge of exploding from hatred, the servants carefully circled around Bryce, keeping their sanity.
"Humans like to cook pig's meat, you know?" Bryce said, his words shattering the last bits of sanity of those pig women, "Vampires love to bite on hearts and drink that blood. I haven't had enough!"
And as the servants pounced at him, Bryce carelessly picked one and went at her with his innate madness and thirst, yearning for that delicacy known as heart.