Lord Ravus Noctis Duskhollow – POV
The past few decades had been the most brutal in my family's long history. Ever since the Rift appeared, it had been nothing but a curse upon these lands.
Time and time again, beasts and creatures of all kinds invaded—slowly chipping away at our strength.
Two decades ago, I lost my sons to the Rift. A decade ago, my entire household was nearly wiped out. And today, I stood alone at the gates of what used to be my home… now occupied by humans bold enough to torture my lady.
The emotional toll of watching my last loyal subordinates give their lives to protect this territory had left me numb. So numb, I couldn't even summon the rage I should've felt.
Right now, all I wanted was to take my lady and my treasures and leave.
This place was no longer a home—it was a ruin filled with rats.
But even that simple wish had been denied.
Two humans stood in my way—a man and a young girl. And despite her childish appearance, the girl's presence was deeply unsettling.
I looked past them toward the keep. I could hear the heartbeats of the vermin inside. Smell their foul stench. They were like rodents, allowed to fester for too long. They were organizing, preparing to fight.
But it didn't matter.
Only these two posed a threat. If I crushed them, the rest would fall like paper.
"Humans…" I snarled, voice thick with resentment. "I have come to loathe your kind."
The girl chuckled. "We loathe anything that isn't human. So… mutual feelings, I guess." .
She shrugged, completely unfazed.
Rude child.
But more importantly—she wasn't normal.
"In that case…" I shifted my gaze to the man. "I shall kill you first."
My instincts told me I wouldn't be able to kill her easily.
Blood Reign.
Buzz!
The moon turned crimson. A scarlet hue bathed the battlefield.
When they broke through my blood thorns formation, many humans died. Now, their spilled blood would serve as my weapon.
A thick crimson mist poured from the ground, seeping in from all sides. The air turned rich with the scent of blood. My fatigue faded. My muscles pulsed, my veins lit with red light like a beating heart.
The two humans raised their hands to their noses. The scent disgusted them.
"Now then…"
Bang!
The ground beneath me shattered as I lunged forward, leaving behind a streak of blood. I rammed into the man, and a deafening shockwave erupted—but he didn't budge.
My eyes narrowed.
First, the man—who was barely six feet earlier—now towered at nearly seven.
Second, his skin had darkened… thickened like metal.
Bang!
Before I could react, he shoved me back. Hard. I skidded, forced to retreat a few steps.
Then I felt it. A small hand wrapped around one of my fingers.
I looked down. The girl stood beside me with a lollipop in her mouth, staring into my eyes.
When did she move?
She had been standing next to the man just seconds ago. I hadn't even sensed her shift.
"Tag. You're it," she whispered with a childlike giggle.
She let go of my hand and skipped away, leaving me momentarily dazed.
Swoosh!
I had no time to react.
The man charged forward like a cannonball. I crossed my arms just in time and took the punch head-on.
Boom!
Pain erupted in my limbs as I was flung across the battlefield, rolling and crashing into the ground before skidding to a stop. I forced myself upright, breathing heavily.
"He got stronger?" I muttered, stunned.
I glanced at my left hand. It had been snapped like a twig.
My gaze dropped to my index finger, where a glowing pink cat paw print now pulsed—right where the girl had touched me.
What… is this?
That shove earlier had barely moved me. Yet after the girl tagged me, his strength multiplied. I had faced many humans and their tricks—but never something like this.
Crack!
The sound of bones resetting echoed as my mangled hand forced itself back into place. I stood once more, lips curled in a grimace.
"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE COME BACK HERE!" the man bellowed unnecessarily loud.
The girl just giggled beside him.
Did the man get stronger, or did I get weaker?
I wasn't sure.
Since this tag was on me, I supposed I was the only one affected.
That meant the man hadn't grown stronger—I had grown weaker.
My gaze dropped to the glowing paw print.
Without hesitation, I grabbed my finger and ripped it off, blood splattering across the field.
The humans flinched—but they held it in.
They watched me toss the finger aside like trash.
In just seconds, my bone regrew. Then muscle. Then skin.
My finger returned—but the paw print remained.
"My abilities are engraved into your soul, not your body," the girl mocked. "You'll never escape it."
I ignored her.
In the face of absolute power, trickery meant nothing.
Snap!
With a snap of my fingers, the blood mist scattered across the battlefield rushed into me. My skin turned crimson. My muscles pulsed. Strength and speed surged into my limbs.
Only then did their smug faces finally vanish.
Only then did the man take a proper stance.
They could sense the shift.
But it was too late.
They were already dead.
Bang!
I launched forward—but not directly. I circled them instead, moving fast enough to leave behind a dozen afterimages.
Confusion clouded their eyes. Worry crept into their faces.
No human could keep up with the speed of a vampire lord.
The man's back was exposed. The girl's too.
Perfect.
Swish!
I charged in, claws ready. But just before I reached him, the girl turned—and smiled.
Mocking.
Playful.
'She can keep up?'
An ominous chill crawled down my spine. Every instinct I had—sharpened by over a thousand years—screamed.
Run.
But it was already too late.
"Simon says—freeze!"
Her voice rang out like a curse. And I… stopped mid-attack, causing a shockwave to burst out from my locked body. I was inches away from the man—my claws a breath away from his skull.
A pink light pulsed on my chest. It was a cat's face wearing a monocle.
"What sorcery is this?!" I growled.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move. My muscles refused me. My strength betrayed me.
The girl laughed herself breathless.
The man turned around calmly, reaching into his utility belt.
He pulled out a dagger with blue edges.
Aether!
My eyes narrowed.
The cursed resource that came with the rifts. Our kind thought ourselves invincible—until those weapons appeared.
They could cut through our immortality. Strike us dead with a blow to the heart… or a clean decapitation. And now these invaders carried them like toys.
It was as if the world itself had turned against us. As if extinction had already been decided.
But I will not die.
We will not be erased.
The man stabbed.
But just before the blade touched me, my body burst into a swarm of bats, scattering into the sky.
From above, half my form reformed—hovering in the air like a phantom.
"Your kind will pay for its crimes," I snarled. "Maybe not today. But mark my words, I—Ravus Noctis Duskhollow—will return!"
There was no winning today. Not with that cursed girl present. The other humans were mobilizing—soon, I'd be surrounded.
My only option now was to take Maria and flee.
"Be it a century… or a millennium…
No matter how long it takes…
I will make humanity pay."
With that, I dissolved again—this time racing toward the castle.
"WE CAN'T LET HIM TAKE HER!" the man shouted.
Too slow.
In less than a second, I was through the castle's window—racing to the chamber.
But something made me pause.
Maria's door… was open.
They wouldn't leave her unguarded.
"Did she escape?" I muttered.
I pushed the thought aside and entered—only to freeze.
Two humans lay dead. Throats slit and blood soaked the entrance red.
But that wasn't what shocked me.
"M-Maria…"
She knelt on the floor, head lowered.
Still.
Too still.
Her chest… soaked in blood. They'd pierced her heart.
She was already dead.
"But when?" I staggered forward, stumbling over corpses.
I dropped to my knees beside her, pulling her limp body into my arms.
When did she die?
I heard her voice—I heard her crying out.
'Was it fake? Did they use her voice to lure me here?'
Tears of blood rolled down my face. Black cracks spread across my skin, pulsing with red light.
"I'll kill them all!" I roared.
If Maria was gone—then there was no point in fleeing.
I would fight to my last breath.
I would make them pay.
Bam!
A sharp pain stabbed into my chest.
A warm rush climbed up my throat.
Blegh!
I spat blood—and froze.
I looked down at Maria.
A hand… was sticking through her, gripping a knife. A glowing aether blade buried deep in my heart.
"Checkmate."A cold voice spoke from the corner.
The air twisted and space ripped open. From the corner, a human boy stepped out from the tear with a face only The devil could make—his left arm was still inside it.
His hand… It was the hand holding the knife!
"Checkmate." He repeated.