Luciel gulped the blood, surprisingly it didn't taste like iron, but it was very sweet like honey.
He could feel the warm substance going down his throat, all the way toward his stomach.
After the deed had been done, thunder could be heard right above and the rain started to pour, washing away the blood that had been spilled as ashes settled down on the ground, clearing the battlefield for everyone to see.
Luciel screamed at the top of his lungs as he grabbed his chest where his heart was supposed to be. He could feel it beating like crazy.
Knowing what was going on, his eyes widened and pupils became wider as cold sweat covered his whole body.
'This can't be happening!' Luciel thought, but he didn't have a lot of time to think as another wave of pain arrived.
From his abdomen, agonizing pain spread all over his body, like someone had been stabbing him from inside out with countless needles.
He groaned, clenching his teeth before screaming again while changes were happening inside his being.
Every cell inside him is taking a different shape while the DNA inside them is being modified.
"Help…" Luciel begged, barely managing to say anything as he screamed again and dug his fingers into the corpse hill.
The pain was too much and it felt like it was never gonna stop.
The pain was so distracting that Luciel couldn't even feel how his flesh and bones were completely changing their structure, turning into something non-human.
After what felt like an eternity, the pain slowly started to disappear, but it wasn't the end of it.
Luciel was forced to open his palms due to the pain that slowly started to increase and blood could be seen dripping from them.
He could feel it, his fingernails expanding until he was forced to open both of his hands, revealing long black claws.
He screamed once again and dug his claws into the bodies below as all the remaining pain in his body traveled to his head, making it feel like someone was trying to split it apart.
Luckily, the headache didn't last for long, otherwise, it would bring Luciel to the brink of madness.
The headache was the last pain Luciel had felt and he was finally able to feel peace for a moment.
He raised his body from the ground, still sitting on his knees.
Breathing heavily, with eyes still closed, he raised his head, letting the raindrops fall down on his face as the last changes were finally taking place.
There was an odd sensation in his mouth, the feeling of his canines extending, becoming long and sharp, turning into those that one would call vampire fangs.
Gasping, Luciel finally opened his eyes and instead of his usual chocolate brown eyes, there were, a pair of crimson red eyes staring into the cloudy sky.
He could feel the rain droplets falling on his face and sliding down his cheeks.
There was a moment of bliss for Luciel, where no sound could be heard, but that illusion was soon broken by the loud thunderstrike, being louder than ever, it was like a plane flew right above his head.
Groaning, he lowered his head and covered his ears, blinking a few times since his blurry vision was finally clearing up, becoming more clear with each blink.
Once his vision finally cleared up, he could see way clearer than ever before, it seemed like he was in a movie.
As the rain was falling, Luciel could see each drop of rain in perfect detail as it was falling down, making it appear as if he was in slow motion.
Unfortunately, this moment didn't last for long when the final sense had finally awakened, a sense of smell.
A sweet smell had entered Luciel's nose, making his instincts run wild for the first time, it was like a newborn's cry right after birth.
'Blood… Thirsty… Human…' Thoughts started to rush through Luciel's head, 'Human, blood, food, blood. No! Human, food,' they came in like a flood during a heavy rain, 'Drink, blood, human.'
Luciel's mind was filled with nothing but blood, one would think that he was possessed by a demon, but this was all him, experiencing new urges for the first time.
As the thoughts about feasting on a human were running around his head, his crimson eyes started to glow slightly, making them more obvious and before he knew it, saliva started to drip from his mouth as the smell of blood on the battlefield drove him crazy.
"No!" He shouted, whipping the saliva with the sleeve of his black jacket, but it didn't take long before it started to drip again. "Blood."
For a moment, Luciel's mind went blank and when he opened his eyes, he could see himself on top of the woman he saved previously.
She was still there, no one dared to get so close during the battle and the woman couldn't move, being petrified from fear.
He was centimeters away from biting her neck till the announcements echoed through a battlefield.
"Luciel Ashford had died!"
"Vampire's Bane is no more!"
"Luciel Ashford is no longer with us!"
"Tell the others! The Ray of Hope had fallen!"
Luciel could hear the announcement all around him, making his head spin a little due to his new heightened senses, but that didn't matter right now.
He raised his head a little, looking the woman right into her eyes.
"I'm sorry…" He said quietly as tears started to appear in his eyes as he held the woman tightly by her arms, scratching her a little with his claws.
"I just can't… The thirst… It's too much…" As he said that, he finally gave in and dug his fangs into his first victim's neck before starting to drink.
Seeing what was happening, for the first time, the female vampire hunter let out a loud shriek as images from before started to run through her head. She didn't want to become like the rest of her party.
The shriek made Luciel frown, but that didn't stop him from feasting.
He didn't want to admit it, but right now, this was the sweetest and most delicious thing he had ever tasted, like dark chocolate syrup, but better.
It took only a few moments for a woman to stop screaming as she lost the ability to move her body, now being at the mercy of a newborn vampire that kept on drinking.
Her vision was getting blurry before she passed out from losing too much blood.
Luciel wanted to stop, he knew he had to, otherwise, he was going to kill this vampire hunter, but he couldn't.
His instincts were stronger than his willpower and at one point, there was nothing left to drink anymore.
He let go of the woman, slowly placing her lifeless body on the ground.
"What have I become…" He asked himself, eyes filled in terror while the rain was already washing away bits of blood that were lingering on his face and clothes.
"Kill the vampire!"
"Get him before he kills anyone else!"
"Cut his head off!"
Luciel looked up, seeing a swarm of hunters rushing towards the scene, with their weapons up in the air, ready for one more fight.
Even if exhausted, the hunters knew that they could win this, after all, what can one lowly vampire do against a bunch of them, even if the vampire in question was Luciel, their hero.
He stared at the swarm that was getting closer to him by the second. He could see the people he fought for, the ones he saved, and the ones he called his friends.
Luciel stood in one place, he seemed calm, but there was panic in his head as millions of options ran through his mind.
Should he run or surrender? Try to explain the situation? Make peace? And how is Helen doing?
Helen should have been safe since she was somewhere far back on the battlefield since she was more of a scientist than a fighter, but he still couldn't help but to worry about her, especially now when the news probably reached her.
As thoughts were running through his head, he could hear something fast approaching towards his head and thanks to his enhanced reflexes, he was able to catch it right before it hit the right side of his head.
He brought the arrow he had caught in front of him, taking a quick look before staring at the swarm of hunters, but he was forced to quickly release the arrow as it started to burn into his hand, making him hiss in pain.
'Divine arrow, of course.'
He looked at his palm, the sigh in front of him made him feel disgusted towards himself more and more as it didn't take long for the burn mark to start healing.
More arrows started to rain down on him, making him start backing away and dodging some as well.
'Blood…'
'Need more.'
The horror in Luciel's body finally settled in once he realized that his body still ached for more blood and it wanted it now, even if rushing into this many vampire hunters meant death.