They were so weak, Draven thought, standing over the remains of the fallen vampires. I should probably do something about the corpses...
He paused for a moment.
Huh. No need. They'll disappear when the sun comes up anyway.
Still, something nagged at him.
I do wonder what those three low-rank vampires were trying to do.
He shook his head.
No need to overthink it. I'll just tell the old man when I get home.
With that, he leapt into the trees, moving swiftly and silently from branch to branch, heading toward the castle.
But then—he stopped.
Below, in a small clearing, two more vampires stood talking quietly. He crouched on a high branch, watching them with narrowed eyes.
Looks like there are more than I thought...
He dropped down, landing softly just behind them.
"I didn't think there were more of you," Draven said casually.
The two vampires spun around and attacked without a word.
Draven dodged both strikes with ease. "Attacking without saying a word? Are you seriously trying to kill a kid?"
One of the vampires snarled, "Do you think we're stupid? What kind of kid walks alone in a forest?"
Draven smiled. "So you're not as foolish as the others."
He began walking toward them, relaxed and confident.
"You're vampires, right? Then why aren't you using blood magic? And more importantly—what the hell are you doing sneaking around my castle?"
"To kill a brat like you, we don't need magic," one of them said with a sneer. "And what do you mean, your castle?"
Draven scratched the back of his head lazily. "Suit yourself."
He looked up, his eyes glowing bright red.
"You came all the way here without even knowing who lives in this place?" he asked. His voice grew colder. "I'm not going to repeat myself. Why the hell are you lurking around my castle?"
"And why the hell would we tell you?" the second vampire snapped.
Draven disappeared in an instant.
The vampire blinked—and suddenly, Draven was above him.
With a single, devastating punch, Draven crushed the vampire's skull into the ground, blood splattering across the grass.
He stood up slowly, his crimson eyes locking onto the remaining one.
"Are you going to talk," he asked, "or am I going to make you?"
The vampire trembled, sweat running down his face. He couldn't move. Couldn't speak.
Draven's smile widened slightly. "Looks like you're not going to talk."
He stepped forward.
"Well then… I guess I'll just have to make you."
He cracked his knuckles, eyes glowing like embers in the dark.
"Since you can regenerate... I'll make sure that this is going to be fun."