"I'm guessing these are your visitors?" The halfling said as he eyed the vampires that had welcomed themselves into his tavern.
"I mean, there's a chance they're yours," I winked, making light of the otherwise tense situation we found ourselves in, "But I think they're mine."
The halfling scoffed. I could feel his heart slowing down, his shoulders growing less stiff. Maybe my nonchalance reassured him that all was well and under control.
"You reek of arrogance, magic caster." The vampire standing in the middle of the group walked forward, pulling back her cowl and revealing her pale features and long silver hair. She had sharp eyes, visible fangs, and bloodshot lips.
If it weren't for the fact that she was a bloodthirsty parasite, many would consider her a beauty worth pursuing.
But I guess knowing some people in the past, a vampire would not be out of their reach. Especially those who liked large breasts. I never understood how lust could squander a mind of all rationality.
But the question still remained: why were vampires still in existence?
I could vaguely recall how I tore the heart of the last vampire lord from his supposedly nigh impregnable chest. With their most powerful patriarch dead, they were left disorganized and scattered. They were nothing more than easy pickings as the races hunted them down.
I personally finished their extermination from the face of this world, making sure not a single one of their race survived.
Though as thorough as I thought I was, it seemed like a few of their kind slipped through. Their blight upon the world had persisted, and so did their terrors.
"Ignoring us won't make this easier for both of you," The vampire lady mistook my disinterest with their presence as ignorance, "Magic caster, I suggest you come with us. It would be a shame if… something happened to this fine establishment?"
I sighed. If it weren't for the fact that I was hiding my magic from detection, I would have already swatted them from existence.
Well, I could cast a tier 2 spell, but doing so might just slow these parasites down.
With my options limited, I decided to at least hear them out, assuming they wanted to be heard. But I had the feeling that they wanted me to obey, not negotiate. Maybe they were connected to the necromancer and the Queen Boar.
But threatening the halfling and his establishment, with Zeal comfortably snoozing away upstairs? Their mere existence was nothing but an affront to the natural world. Yet here they were, presenting themselves as targets.
"If you can leave this halfling and his establishment alone, then I'll oblige you with my attention. If not..." I stood from the stool and faced them, frowning softly as I did, "I only need one of you to give me answers."
The vampires looked insulted. Were they expecting me to lay down and surrender myself to their whims? Had they not the slightest idea of what I was capable of? Or were they that arrogant to think that they thought could overpower a magic caster.
I was beginning to doubt my initial assumption that they were sent by the unknown necromancer. If they were, I doubt they'd be this careless.
But maybe this was but a feint, a probing move to gauge my true abilities.
Or maybe I was just out of touch. Now that I was thinking about it, they could theoretically overpower a lesser mage, especially given the tight space and their numbers.
None of the vampires, however, exuded any form of powerful magic. Just some mere tier 4s, and maybe a tier 5 if I was to be generous.
"If you think you can make dema-"
"I could hold my own, ya big twig." The halfling cut her off, also sounding offended. His headache seemed to have gone away.
"A big twig?" I turned my head and raised a brow, "I'm not that skinny."
"Yer tall and with a dang big coat. Ya also don't eat," The halfling folded his hands, "It screams skinny."
The vampire lady didn't seem to like our conversation as she hissed like a sick snake. She quickly summoned a pair of blood spikes between her fingers and threw. The halfling ducked behind the counter, expecting the strike.
The vampires had refused my deal and attacked. What a shame. Or not. I was glad to have had this opportunity once more. To rid the world again of a blight.
I stood my ground and welcomed the attack. The spikes shattered harmlessly against the protective barrier over my body, barely even causing the spell to shimmer.
"Your insolence will be punished!" The vampire lady threw another wave of blood spikes, this time they were longer and thicker.
I caught each of the spikes between my fingers, surprising the vampires as their eyes failed to see my speed.
Before the vampires could react further, I retaliated. The blood spikes came zipping back, piercing through three unsuspecting vampires before shattering against the wall behind them in a bloody splatter.
The three vampires rotted in haste and fell to the floor, leaving behind shriveled corpses.
"Sorry about the wall." I apologized to the halfling.
"Could be fixed." He replied.
The vampires charged, kicking away tables and drawing blades and spells. So much for protecting the halfling's establishment.
Though I was masking my magic and unable to use it properly, my body was more than enough to compensate. After all, physical training and martial prowess were what I learned first and perfected first.
Though to be fair, prowess was unnecessary in this situation. I could simply rely on the strength of my fists.
Vampires, on the other hand, relied on blood to power their inherent racial abilities. Their superspeed, superstrength, and durability all depended on how much blood they were able to consume, process, and store.
No amount of stolen blood would best me. It did not help them back then; it would not help them now.
The vampire lady reached me first, using her superspeed to carry forth her blood sickle as she swung for my neck. As she swung, however, she left her chest open, thinking I wouldn't be able to catch her in time.
Or maybe she thought it would distract me.
My fist slammed against her chest, shattering her ribcage and sending her flying against the wall. I held back just enough to not blow a hole through her body, but it still looked like I had overestimated her durability.
Two other vampires lunged at me with blood swords in hand. They swung together from left to right, hoping to catch me in a pincer. I replied with a roundhouse kick.
My leg found the two vampires unawares before slamming them against the wooden floor, possibly breaking every bone in their body. I stood over their bodies, bearing down my weight upon them.
If I had been any slower, maybe they would have stood a chance. But I was not about to hamper myself and give them the slimmest of hopes. No. They deserved no quarter.
Merciless creatures did not deserve mercy.
Another vampire flew through the air after a hefty lunge, hoping to try his luck with a blood axe. It was of respectable size and sharpness, and so I let it land.
The axe shattered against my forehead, much to the shock of the vampire. I caught the vampire by the head as he landed in front of me. He squirmed as he found himself within my grip.
One more vampire stood before me, drawing out a blood sword from his palms. The way blood curled and twisted around their fingers to turn itself into whatever tool a vampire wanted always sickened me.
Dark, vile magic was at play whenever they used blood manipulation. An abhorrent use of a power that could be used for good.
An ironic thing for me to think about.
"You sicken me." I said as I lifted his friend with my one hand and held him before what remained of his companions.
The vampire in my hand screamed and squirmed as he felt my hand closing against his skull. He kicked his feet and swung his arms in a futile attempt to escape his fate. His head soon popped like a grape against my clenching fist.
The other vampires recoiled as their fellow vampire's head cracked open, "Disgusted?" I asked.
The vampires did not reply, but I could see the terror in their eyes.
The vampire in front of me stood with hands trembling, shakily gripping his blood sword tighter. His legs waned from underneath him.
I saw a quick flicker of light gleam from their eyes. An almost imperceptible glimmer that went away as quickly as it came.
Someone had been watching through their eyes, and whoever they were, they had seen enough.
And had abandoned them.
That answered my question then. These vampires were no more than sacrifices to test my ability. Or maybe whoever their master was truly wanted me to accept their invitation.
If that was the case, maybe they should have reminded his minions to be a bit more welcoming and less threatening. I had few doubts that it was the necromancer who had sent them.
If so, then they were nearby. If not, then they had a reach that was wider than I had expected. Vampires were no pushovers if used correctly. Against weaker opponents, vampires were deadly, powerful foes with a lust for blood that would spiral into a frenzy ever so often.
If this necromancer was more than willing to sacrifice these proud creatures of the night for a mere test of ability, then they had power and minions to spare. Especially since vampires were not undead, but a demonic race related to elves, powered by the blood of the living.
"Your master has abandoned you," I announced. They didn't seem aware that they were being used, "Half of your companions are also dead. You already know where this is going."
I wasn't about to offer them a chance to surrender. No. I did not know how many victims these vampires had sucked dry and defiled with their fangs, but it was for sure one too many.
To call the vampire shakily holding a blood sword a swordsman would have been too great of an honor for a coward such was he. And yet he ran forward, screaming as he did, and swung widely.
Maybe if he wasn't a vampire, I would have given him an honorable death. But as my fist blew through his chest and emerged on the other side with heart in hand, he would not be given anything.
I crushed his heart and the vampire shriveled away, slumping onto the ground as I withdrew my hand. Once again, despite not feeling the slightest bit tired, I sighed.
I turned around and looked to see how the halfling was doing.
"Yer cleaning this." He said, standing behind the counter with arms closed. Fair enough.
Two vampires remained standing. They stood in the middle of the broken tables and chairs, their palms blazing with magic as they pointed at me.
The vampire to the left was readying a fire spell, judging by the crude magic circle manifesting over his palm, he was trying to summon a pillar of fire.
The one to the right was trying to ready a barrage of frost spikes. Deadly for sure if it pierced an unfortunate victim since it would instantly freeze and kill upon penetration.
However…
"You've already used most of your mana, for some reason," I said as I realized the weakening trickle of magic exuding from their bodies, "Wait a minute."
These vampires were barely a century old judging by how diluted their aura was, and they weren't even well-versed in their own magical abilities.
"You're all recently turned…" I frowned, realizing what I was really up against. A group of elves who surrendered themselves to dark magic, hoping to carve a path to greater power. Or so that was often the reason.
"Why?" I asked suddenly.
People had their reasons for falling to darkness. Many did so out of desperation. Some were forced by others. A disturbing few embraced it willingly.
Vampires were no different. Though they were related to elves, one did not need to be an elf to become a vampire. Any race could be turned.
There was something tragic about the transformation. Elves were idolized and praised for their enviable racial traits. So to become one of them in the flesh? It would be a dream come true for many.
It was ironic then that the powers that be could only allow others to turn into their demonic cousins, with no way of turning themselves back.
The vampires looked at each other for a brief moment, pondering whether or not to answer my question. Or if it was a serious question in the first place.
They hissed in the end.
A pillar of fire spewed forth towards me from the left while spikes of frost zipped past the air from the right. As the cast spells raced towards me, I realized too late what the vampires were planning.
If the two spells were to meet in the middle, the pillar of fire would cause the spikes to explode, sending thousands of smaller shards everywhere.
One shard was enough to kill the halfling behind me.