The man settled down next to a tree and cupped his hands behind his head, "Names … you can just call me Dark".
Milo responded with a small nod, "Dark, alright then".
*Squeak*
"Are you nuts, why would you do that!", Dark responded to the small bat.
*Squeak*
"You think there's something about this boy?".
*Squeak*
"Hey brat", Dark said turning his attention back to Milo, "Drop some blood into his mouth would you, he wants to speak with you", he demanded.
Complying with his wishes, even though he was unwilling, Milo tore a small piece of skin from his thumb and allowed the blood to drop into the bats mouth. The hue that wrapped his eyes enveloped his entire body and expanded to the size of a normal person.
His deep red, slit eyes landed on Milo and his long silver hair bounced in the wind. His fangs transformed into a pair jutting from the corner of his mouth and his ears sharpened into a point.
He dropped into a deep bow in front of Milo, "Forgive me for the late introduction, Master. My name is Marcos".
Milo scuffled back against the tree, his eyes sweeping the man up and down. He didn't know what to say, all he could do was watch them interact with one another in a demeanour that wasn't friendly in the slightest. He had only just understood the ability to use mana, so he wasn't very proficient at sensing another's level just yet. But he didn't need mana for this, the overwhelming confidence Dark oozed and the relaxed manner in which Marcos hung around him told him all he needed to know.
'These guys are powerful …'.
He couldn't help but feel embarrassed in the face of these men. The reason for this was very simple, he had assumed that since he was a child he would be treated as such.
Of course that wasn't the case. Aside from his direct family, those who didn't care for him would simply trample him. It was a medieval world in that sense.
"So …", Dark began to speak, tilting his head to the side, "Care to explain why a little brat … no, what are you actually?".
He flashed in front of Milo's chest, peering down at him. Dark rubbed his chin, falling into thought, "Interesting, two souls …", he mumbled aloud.
'How can he tell!?'.
Milo scampered back onto his palms, pushing his back further against the tree out of primal fear.
His power was something he had intended to keep secret, mainly because the technique that it utilised was clearly going to be forbidden in this world. Milo knew all too well how stupid it was to get on the wrong side of someone as powerful as Dark when he didn't have the strength to back himself.
No, did anyone he knew even have the strength to fight Dark.
His Uncle Renny was strong, but not on Darks level. The man in front of him was someone on such a high level the very world seemed to be drawn to him. He could feel it, the mana particles surrounding Dark were effortlessly flowing to and from his core, creating waves in the atmosphere akin to a gust of wind.
Milo was left with no other option but to try and bargain with Dark.
"Well you see, I don't know exactly how I came into contact with this emblem. It has been with me since I was born, so to ask me for an explanation seems slightly unfair", Milo said, his voice shaking from nervousness.
This was the height of embarrassment for him. If he had met Dark in his former life, he would've trampled him without hesitation.
"Hmph", Dark sounded, he pointed towards Marcos, "Anyway this guy here is a Vampire and he's your problem now. So, I guess have fun … I don't know, what do you even say to kids?".
'Huh … just like that?'.
Nothing had happened, literally nothing. Milo had expected himself to be strung to a tree and beaten for answers … but he was just going to let him go? Like that?
'No, wait … he said Vampire, right?'.
The Vampire clans were a part of the creatures of darkness that mainly resided in Nyxahar, the demonic kingdom. Milo had read that they were an extremely rare type of demon that were growing increasingly thin in number due to a population crisis even though he wasn't sure how it happened.
It was such a common reason that he couldn't help but laugh.
But that wasn't the problem, now he had been told that Marcos was a Vampire, it would explain the vast amount of power he could feel emanating from him. He wasn't quite an even match for Dark, but he wasn't far away from that level either.
"Wait …", Milo pointed to himself, "You said he's my problem? How does that make any sense, he's a creature of darkness after all".
Dark leaned against a tree and pointed towards Marcos again, "Yep, you see when he took in your blood you essentially formed a contract with him. Also, he's a faulty Vampire, so I was trying to dispose of him anyway".
"I'm not faulty for fucks sake, I just didn't want to work for you!", Marcos bit back.
"Sounds like something someone who's faulty would say", Dark said, taunting the increasingly volatile Marcos.
Milo seriously didn't want anything to do with these two, they were powerhouses who acted like children. Nothing good could possibly come from sticking around them.
"Welp, bye", Dark waved his hand and vanished into a thick black cloud.
Milo was left picking at the leaves on the ground, unsure what he was supposed to do with Marcos. The idea that he could use him in some way to boost his strength crossed his mind, the problem was that he didn't know how he was supposed to do that.
He wasn't so heartless as to just kill someone like Marcos and absorb his soul. Well … he probably would have done that if he actually possessed the power needed to kill Marcos.
"So", Milo said, "What exactly can you do then Marcos?".
"This", as soon as Marcos said that, a deep red blood sword shimmered to life in the palm of his hand.
"You have already seen me transform into a bat too", Marcos finished, letting the sword fade from existence.
Milo's eyes widened as he watched. He pushed himself to his feet and gripped Marcos by his knee, "You, are you really as strong as your aura suggests?".
Marcos nervously scratched at his chin, "Well I suppose, but I also can't deny that what Dark said about me being faulty wasn't entirely inaccurate. You see master, I am a Vampire who possesses the emblem known as, Master's right hand".
Milo let out an annoyed sigh.
'I think I know where this is going'.
"You see, I'm only as strong as my Master", Marcos said pridefully, earning a scornful look from Milo.
"HOW IS THAT ANY GOOD!", Milo roared back at him, "Look at me Marcos, I am a literal child that has only just awakened. How on this bloody planet am I supposed to make any use of you if you can't even fight at your full strength".
Milo let out another sigh as he felt his body sag back down to the floor. This entire situation was unbelievable to him. He had somehow inherited a useless Vampire on a small outing that was only supposed to last him a few minutes at most!
'Wait … what if Renny sees this?'.
"HEY MARCOS!", Milo blurted, "Can you switch to a bat?".
On command, Marcos' figure warped and reappeared as the small bat floating in the air. Milo grabbed him and stuffed him into his shirt, of course, Marcos had to peak over his collar and see what was happening.
After some internal deliberation and not so kind comments directed at his flying friend, Milo began to slowly make his way back towards the residence. The only thing playing on his mind at the current moment, was how he was supposed to somehow avoid Renny's eyes.
He skidded down a small hill and jumped across a small fence, landing back inside the garden area. He had hoped that he would just be able to run back to his room and stuff Marcos away in a corner or something, but that idea was quickly squashed when he noticed Uncle Renny's worried figure pacing near the back entrance.
'Welp … here we go …'.
"UNCLE RENNY!", Milo sprinted towards him and jumped into his arms, ensuring that he used the cutest voice he could manage.
He knew that Renny was somewhat aware of his true identity, but he had hoped that with his childlike appearance he could still sway his heart strings. The answer to this, was a resounding nope.
"Where did you go?", Renny asked.
His eyes flickered down towards Milo's collar, noticing Marcos desperately try to hide. "And what is that?", Renny plucked Marcos from Milo's shirt.
Renny wore a confused expression as he rolled Marcos who was flapping erratically in his palm like he was some kind of toy. Milo's brain began firing on all cylinders, pumping out excuse after excuse to try and get Marcos back in the simplest way possible.
"He's a summoned creature", Milo said, reaching out towards Marcos.
Renny's eye flared and he responded, "Why did you lie?".
Milo let out an annoyed grunt, "Fine, he's a Vampire. Show him Marcos", on command, Marcos' body leapt from Renny's palm and took on its original form.
"V-Vampire …", Renny stuttered out, falling onto his backside.
'Why does he look so stunned?', Milo thought to himself, watching his normally composed uncle buckle under Marcos' sudden appearance.
After a small period of hesitation, Renny climbed back to his feet and calmly brushed himself off. He looked Marcos over once, then did it again as his brows furrowed. It was only then he began to explain the implications of what it meant for Milo to have come into contact with Marcos.
"Vampires are … well … rare you could say. Very similar to Elves".
It turned out that the reasons Vampires as a race were on the decline was that their numbers of pure bloods had seen a drastic decrease than what they once were. This in turn saw their status relegated from a noble demonic bloodline to mere servitude to higher ranked demons.
The reason for this was very simple, it was the fact that Vampires did not possess a lifespan. They were born and immediately followed their instincts to find a master to swear themselves to. That master could have been another, more powerful Vampire, or another demon. It was only then that their life truly began.
But how do they die? They only live by the side of their master, meaning should their master die, they too perish. Not only are they freakishly powerful creatures, but they are creatures of intense loyalty.
Milo found it comical as he put two and two together, fully understanding why the Vampire population was on the decline. Both male and female Vampires would not have sex, unless ordered to by their master, leading to a catastrophic decrease in numbers.
'Holy shit that's stupid …'.
Milo looked across at Marcos, 'I kind of get it now, why this guy seemed to have a couple of screws loose'.
"I suppose", Renny stopped speaking, looking from Milo to Marcos, "You can keep him if he is loyal to you".
Milo let out a small chuckle, "He's not a dog Renny. But yes, I promise to make sure he doesn't cause trouble. In fact, I don't even think he's capable of it right now …".
Milo signalled for Marcos to conjure his blood blade, to which Marcos responded without hesitation. Milo flicked the blade with a small amount of mana imbued into his fingertip. The blade shattered with almost no resistance, "See", Milo said, "He can barely conjure his weapon right now".
"Well … actually Master", Marcos tried to speak.
"Not now", Milo stopped him out of fear he might say something that would piss Renny off.
Milo wasn't exactly scared of Renny, he just knew that he needed him in order to survive his early years. This meant that dancing to Renny's tune was something he had to do, even though he didn't like it on bit.
Marcos could see it, the discontent feeling oozing from his master. As much as he wanted to intervene, he also knew that should he choose to do so, he would have to incur Renny's wrath.
Renny could easily overpower Marcos right now, as Renny currently sat at the Ascent 2 stage.