"Grandpa, why didn't you save my brother?"
Valen looked at his grandfather, who only stared coldly at the battle happening below on the battlefield. Down there, his brother was fighting to survive against one of the council's grandsons, just like them.
That fight wasn't fair at all, as his younger brother was up against someone older, the same age as Valen, and his brother wasn't even 15 years old yet. Growing angrier with each blow the opponent landed on his brother, Valen prepared to jump.
"Valen, where do you think you're going?"
With magic that chained him, Valen was forced to watch the fight without being able to cover his eyes, held by hands of blood.
"You must learn, the weak don't deserve to be part of our family."
This would have happened to you last year if you hadn't been strong. You must understand that in our family, the weak don't deserve to live. Without even caring or stopping the fight, he saw his grandson die right before his eyes, and Valen closed his eyes at that very moment when his brother died without being given even a chance.
When that fight ended, he jumped down near his brother's corpse and cried, while the bastard laughed and his grandfather watched coldly before leaving without looking back. It was that day that he began to seriously consider trying to change the vampires. He had always harbored bad feelings about it but could never let them out. The only problem was that if he tried to talk to a vampire, he could be caught and killed by his grandfather's hands.
"So you'd like to join the rebellion?"
That was when a vampire contacted him to recruit him. He decided to think about it and was about to join, but then Sylas appeared, saying Belthar had returned, and he was shocked after hearing he was a circle ten.
'Am I really such a coward?'
His hope had ended until the moment Sylas offered them an alternative with that incredible blood. He was certain that with that on their side, they would win, and besides, Belthar was on their side, confirming his certainty.
"You really betrayed us, Lord Valen?"
Three vampires were in front of him: Morvus' grandson, a new servant of Valen himself, and the one who killed his brother — another councilor's grandson, a bastard named Kaldrick Vorath.
"She asked you a question, don't tell me you did this to avenge your brother? Please, it's already been three months."
"Kaldrick."
Without giving any time and ignoring his servant's question, he moved forward and landed a punch on Kaldrick's face. Before continuing, he raised both hands to defend against the two others at his side — one with a hammer and the other, his servant, with a chain.
"Lord Valen, give up."
"What are you talking about, Lucindra? Traitors must die."
"This will be annoying, so I'll deal with you two first."
Transforming his hands into claws, he crushed their weapons completely, then grabbed both by the head, gathering magic in his palms, and slammed them to the ground, causing a gust of wind that knocked everything down in that place. Both were knocked out, as they were only circle two, while Valen had already evolved to four. Raising his palm, he pierced the boy's chest, ripping out his heart.
'I can spare her, but this other one could interfere with my master's plan.'
"So you've reached my level, Valen?"
Throwing the heart aside, he blocked a blood blade with his claw. Shattering it, Valen rushed at Kaldrick, who stomped on the ground, creating a pool.
"Blood Abyss."
The pool of blood expanded, creating a circular field that pulled Valen toward the center like a whirlpool. Receiving a slash on his face from Kaldrick's blade, he leapt upward, landing a kick that Kaldrick easily defended.
'This field is weakening my attacks.'
Falling into the pool, he noticed he began to sink, so he quickly stood, channeling magic into his legs, making a jump that almost hit the ceiling — if not for using his claws to divert to the side and land atop a chandelier. Of course, the ceiling wouldn't break, since Angela's domain was too strong for people of Valen's level to cause any damage.
"Lupine Shadow Magic: Whispers of the Pack."
Several Lupine specters appeared around Valen, visible only to him, invisible to his opponents. They all attacked Kaldrick together like an invisible pack, biting his body in multiple places.
"Aaahh!"
He tried to escape but felt his strength being drained, weakening his mana and body. Trying to stay calm since he had seen this magic before, he created several blades around him and sent them to strike the spots being bitten.
'So I won't hurt myself if they let go, I have to make them disappear before they hit.'
He expected some of them to release him, but instead, they bit even harder. Enduring the pain, the blades pierced his body, leaving him surprised since he still felt the bites.
"Weren't they invisible summons?"
"Huff… when I evolved to circle four… huff… I improved it to a new level."
Valen was kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily from using his magic. His Lupines seemed to take physical form now, as they bit the blades in Kaldrick's body.
"Now that I'm circle four, I added a third ability to my magic."
This specific magic could be improved over time, capable of evolving without end, but it had two problems: the amount of mana it consumed, and he could only create a new ability every two circles, having completed this one at the first circle.
"How did you improve it if you still lacked one circle?"
Seeing Kaldrick's eyes start to fade of all traces of life, he lay down on the ground to rest. This improvement to his magic was thanks to that blood he drank. He had to drink it again.
'I want more.'
Without getting his answer, Kaldrick closed his eyes, dying soon after. Valen didn't respond because he didn't want to give any answer to the one who killed his brother, so he preferred to stay silent and think of good things.
'I hope Sylas tells me who my master is soon, I can barely wait with so much anticipation.'