The meeting hall reeked of old stone and beastly presence. Dracula sat lazily, swirling a goblet of blood in his pale hand, sipping it with slow delight. Siscil gnawed at a roasted leg of meat, bones cracking between his teeth. Armaror leaned back on his chair, boots shamelessly resting on the long oak table, balancing himself as if daring the wood to break.
The heavy doors creaked open—Seb and Ath entered together. Both sat quietly in their respective places before Seb finally rose.
"...The Central Land's army will soon advance upon the North," he declared.
The words froze the hall. Even Siscil's chewing slowed. Dracula lowered his goblet, crimson liquid dripping down the side like fresh blood.
"What happened? Why this sudden advance?" his voice was calm, but sharp as a blade.
Ath's expression remained steady. "We offered them a small gift of friendship." He smirked faintly, pausing before continuing. "I suggest each of you strengthen yourselves, not your armies. This war won't be won by soldiers. Armies are fodder—mere filler."
A heavy silence followed.
Siscil tossed aside a half-gnawed bone. "Anything else?"
"None."
"Then why wait?" Siscil rose, his voice impatient. "Let us prepare."
The meeting ended. One by one, they left, save for Seb and Ath.
Seb glanced at his brother. "What do you think? Should we… take that step?"
Ath's eyes narrowed. "Yes. If we want to survive, we have no choice."
Without hesitation, he seized a knife from the table, clamped it in his teeth, and drove it into his own chest. Shhhkk! Stone-like flesh tore apart, blood hissing as it spilt. From the gaping wound glimmered something unnatural—an embedded white stone, glowing faintly through the gore.
"Quickly… take my core."
Seb's hands trembled. His throat tightened, but finally he reached inside. Squelch—rrrrip. His fingers dug through torn flesh, yanking free the shining core while strands of sinew clung stubbornly. Ath gasped one final time as Seb swallowed the core whole, ignoring the taste of blood that coated his tongue.
"Shaaaa!!!"
Ath collapsed lifeless.
Seb's body convulsed. Heat exploded through him; steam hissed from his skin. His heart pounded like war drums, thump-thump-thump, each beat shaking his bones. Hunger tore through his mind, primal and merciless.
He fell to his knees and began tearing into everything around him—scrolls, wooden tables, the very corpse of his brother. Crunch! Rip! Snarl! Flesh and bone splattered as he chewed like a starving beast.
The door creaked—servants rushed in at the commotion. Their eyes widened in horror at the sight: Seb, drenched in blood, devouring his brother's ribcage.
"AAAAHHH!!!" the servants screamed.
Seb's reptilian eyes snapped toward them. Shhhk! His tail lashed out like a whip, coiling around one of them. With a sickening CRACK, bones shattered as the woman's body collapsed inward, organs crushed. He devoured her whole.
Then—RIP! CRACK! SPLINTER! His body began to warp. Hair fell in clumps. His tail shrank while new legs sprouted, thick and scaled like those of a monstrous lizard. His skin hardened into green serpentine scales. His skull cracked, reshaping—jaw elongating, fangs bursting forth. Two vicious canines jutted out, dripping venom.
His torso swelled, muscles bulging, frame enlarging until his shadow filled the hall.
"Shaaaaaa!!!" His roar rattled the palace walls.
No longer Seb, no longer Ath. A new horror had been born. Sebath.
Meanwhile, in Dracula's territory
On a blood-soaked plateau, Dracula raised both hands. Before him, an enormous crimson magic circle stretched across the ground, carved with symbols older than the underworld itself. Mist as thick as clotted blood cloaked the valley, swirling ominously.
His voice rang like thunder:
"Every living being in my domain—come forth to the valley within ten minutes!"
The command echoed in every corner of his land. Fear spread like wildfire. Slaves dropped their tools, soldiers abandoned posts, servants fled kitchens—none dared test his wrath.
Within minutes, twenty million souls gathered, their terrified whispers drowned by the oppressive silence of the fog.
"What is this?"
"Why does the mist choke so?"
"Why are we summoned… all of us?"
Dracula's scarlet eyes gleamed. He counted them silently, lips curling.
When the last arrived, he spread his arms. "Blood Prison."
The mist surged outward, sealing into a colossal dome of liquid crimson. The crowd gasped. Some recognised the markings etched into the ground beneath their feet.
"This… th-this is a sacrificial ritual!" a man shouted.
Panic erupted. People shoved, clawed, trampled one another, desperate to escape—but the blood dome was unyielding. They were rats in a sealed coffin.
Dracula opened a black tome bound in skin. He began to chant.
"—Za'rion… vethr'ach… mortum—"
His words thundered with the pulse of the circle. Each syllable ignited the runes beneath, bathing the valley in hellish red radiance.
The air trembled. Then—
"Blood Hurricane."
The dome roared alive, spinning at hurricane speed. WHOOOSH! FSHHHKKK! The winds of blood became blades. Millions were dragged screaming into the maelstrom, bodies shredded into mist and gore.
"AAAAHHHHHHH!"
"My children!!"
"No—no—NOOO!!"
Flesh dissolved. Bones splintered into dust. Their cries choked off as they were ground into nothing but liquid.
At last, only a colossal crimson pond remained, thick and bubbling, deep enough to drown armies. The stench of iron filled the valley.
Dracula raised his arms higher.
"Release—Crimson Lake!"
The pond churned violently, then stilled as the magic circle above spun once more.
"…ẞgæçñmko!"
Fwoooosh! The entire lake vaporised in an instant, vanishing into a storm of crimson vapour that surged into Dracula's mouth.
GULP. GULP. GULP. His throat worked like a beast devouring prey, his body shuddering with each swallow.
When the last drop was consumed, silence fell. Then—BOOM!
His body exploded outward in transformation. Veins bulged black and red, muscles tearing then knitting larger, grotesque. His sclera darkened into pitch, crimson pupils glowing. Two monstrous wings, veined and dripping blood, burst from his back with a deafening CRRRRAAACK.
"Hahahahahaha!" Dracula's laughter echoed, deep and mad. He clenched his fists, blood mist spiralling around him. "Yes… this power… this hunger! HAHAHA!"
The valley, once filled with life, now lay silent—twenty million souls erased for one monster's ascension.