The silence was so heavy that the only sound remaining was the steady, rhythmic thud of the vampire's boots. His presence was suffocating—a thirst for blood so potent it far eclipsed anything Daran had ever manifested. He was a vision of pale, deathly skin and eyes that bled into total darkness the moment his awakening took hold. On his fists, brass knuckles—stained an abyssal black—pulsed with a coat of raw magical energy. When he smiled, it wasn't a gesture of warmth, but a predatory display of fangs. Upward-pointed ears and wicked claws completed the silhouette, yet he remained strangely pristine; his black hair was combed neatly, catching the light even as his magical energy burned around him like flickering black flames. The vampire turned his gaze toward the line of trembling defenders.
"You hold your heads quite high," he murmured, his voice cutting through the air. Then, a roar: "KNEEL!"
He raised a hand and brought it down in a slow, crushing arc. As he pointed at a single defender, the man was slammed into the dirt by an invisible weight. The pressure intensified, grinding him into the earth until his screams filled the clearing. Streaks of black energy, like dark rain, lashed the area.
The vampire didn't even look away as he addressed the others. "The rest of you as well."
The force expanded. One by one, the remaining defenders collapsed, their cries joining the first in a chorus of agony. In the shadows of the village, the onlookers fought the urge to bolt. Among them, Kiego remained pinned to his knees, his body shaking with a terror that felt like death itself.
He froze as the vampire drifted past, a scent trailing in his wake so foul and potent it turned his stomach. What kind of ancient evil is this? he wondered, his heart hammering against his ribs. The vampire came to a halt in the center of the villagers, seemingly bored by the agonizing shrieks of the defenders still pinned to the earth.
"If you wish to survive, just try and stop me," the vampire said, his voice a low, hungry rasp. "I am dying for blood. My very bones ache for it. Today, you shall witness it... TRUE POWER, AND BLOOD!"
He flung his arms toward the sky. "AWAKEN... DOOMBREAKER!"
An ink-like darkness swallowed his hands, surging up his arms like a living shadow. It wasn't just lightlessness; it was a crushing weight of gravity.
"JUDGMENT!"
His hand snapped down. The air seemed to fracture. In an instant, the five defenders and the villagers nearby were crushed into the cobblestones. A spray of blood painted the surroundings, coating the clothes and faces of the survivors in a gruesome mist. The vampire slowly licked a stray drop from his lip, a chilling laugh bubbling up as the square fell into a silence as heavy as death. The silence was broken by a frantic, high-pitched whimpering. The vampire turned, his eyes locking onto a woman trembling behind him. He leaned in, his face inches from hers as she recoiled in blind terror. Before she could scream, his hand shot out, catching her by the throat and hoisting her into the air.
She thrashed, clawing at his iron grip as her lungs burned for oxygen. A collective thought rippled through the petrified crowd: He's going to kill us all. The vampire merely watched her struggle, his expression one of cold, detached curiosity as he drew her closer. The vampire's tongue darted out, slicking his lips before he sank his fangs into the woman's neck, just above the shoulder. She thrashed, her body shaking in a desperate, final rhythm, but it was futile. He held her with the effortless cruelty of a snake coiled around a mouse, draining the life from her until her struggles ceased and she went limp in his grip. He dropped her like discarded refuse, his chin and mouth slick with fresh crimson. Kiego, still forced to his knees, stared at the ground as a memory flickered through the terror: Satoro. He wondered if the old man was even still alive, and more importantly, what he would do in a nightmare like this. Satoro's voice echoed in his mind: "Awaken your sword... You will be a great defender one day."
What am I doing? Kiego scolded himself, his pulse beginning to steady. This isn't how a defender acts. I have to do something. He forced his breathing into a slow, deep rhythm, calming the storm in his chest. The vampire was prowling toward him now, closing the distance from behind. With agonizing slowness, Kiego shifted his hand, inching toward the hilt of the sword strapped to his back. His fingers trembled as they hovered over the weapon.
"Stop," a voice hissed beside him.
Kiego glanced at the defender next to him, his hand freezing in place. The other man didn't look away from the approaching shadow, but his whisper was sharp. "You can't stop him alone. So whatever idea you have... let me in on it. I'll help."
A heavy silence fell between them. Kiego met the man's eyes and gave a single, resolute nod. The vampire was upon them now, his presence looming over Kiego like an eclipse.
The vampire loomed over Kiego, a shadow that seemed to swallow the light. His eyes, twin voids of glowing black, fixed on the boy's trembling form. Kiego kept his head bowed, his knuckles white as he gripped his unawakened blade. The vampire's bloodlust was a physical weight, thick and suffocating.
Suddenly, the silence shattered. The C-Class defender surged upward, his blade erupting in a fierce purple glow. He swung with everything he had, aiming for the vampire's exposed neck.
K-TING!
The sword didn't cut. It didn't even leave a scratch. It bounced off the vampire's skin with a deafening metallic ring, sending a shockwave up the defender's arms.
"Pathetic," the vampire hissed. He clenched his fist, and the black aura of DOOMBREAKER flared with renewed malice. With a blurring downward strike, he smashed the defender across the face. The man hit the earth with a sickening thud. He didn't move, his breath coming in shallow, ragged hitches through a mask of blood. As his vision faded into a crimson blur, he looked at Kiego one last time. "Help... me..." he wheezed before his eyes rolled back. The vampire wasn't finished. "Zero Gravity," he murmured. The fallen defender's body began to drift upward, bobbing helplessly in the air like a macabre balloon. The vampire's arm surged with gravitational energy once more. He brought his hand down in a crushing blow that sent the man's head slamming into the dirt with a wet splat. The impact was so violent it created a shallow crater in the ground. The defenders sword reverted back to a piece of metal. Splattered with fresh gore, the vampire turned his terrifying gaze back to Kiego. Desperation finally eroded Kiego's fear. He lunged forward, swinging his blade in a wide arc. But the result was the same—the steel met the vampire's skin and shrieked, bouncing back uselessly. He hadn't awakened the sword; it was just a blunt piece of metal against a god. The vampire sneered, his fist curling tight as he swung a heavy, gravity-laden punch toward Kiego's face. Kiego barely managed to pull his sword up to block, the force of the blow vibrating through his entire skeleton.