Vampires are soulless, and their bloodlust is just one of the prices they pay.
A Vampire's emotions and desires gradually wear away over the long years.
The more powerful he is, the more pronounced this trend becomes.
Eventually, his inner self and outer appearance are corroded by bloodlust into a monster unlike a human.
Mike looked at Drake with a hint of pity in his eyes.
Drake flew into a rage, intending to attack Mike, but then saw the latter suddenly lower his eyelids.
For some reason, Drake stopped, staring around in astonishment.
Mike just stood there.
Clearly, he was a dozen meters away.
But the feeling he gave was that he was far away at the ends of the Earth.
All around.
Night Werewolf howled, their bestial nature unleashed, fighting in a chaotic mess with Jacob, the large Vampire.
Jacob ranked first in combat power in Talos's series, but his status was only fourth.
Not being smart was his weakness.
Like the irrational Werewolves, the two monsters only attacked and never defended.
Soon, both were covered in blood, yet they fought with increasing ferocity, feeling exhilarated.
Given their stamina and recovery abilities, this was destined to be a protracted battle.
Morbius was ambushed by the Asian Vampire Viag and three others.
Morbius's speed was very fast, and he handled it with ease.
If the four Vampires fought him one-on-one, probably none could last a minute against Morbius.
However, they coordinated well; if one showed a weakness, another immediately covered it.
Morbius let out a sinister laugh, looking confident.
Finally, there was Blade.
He received special attention, with Talos bringing Edgar and other Vampires to besiege him.
Blade did not engage in a head-on confrontation but used the terrain to stretch the battle lines, preparing to defeat them one by one.
It must be said that his strategy was excellent.
Only Mike, he closed his eyes.
It was like closing a door.
Isolating him from reality.
Whether it was an intense battle.
Whether it was flesh and blood flying.
None of it concerned him.
As Mike pondered Dracula's problem, he seemed to gain some understanding.
He entered an indescribable feeling.
Light decomposed into independent spectra.
The vibration of every speck of dust was clearly visible.
The combatants, their breathing, muscle contractions, nerve transmissions, blood flow… all appeared in Mike's mind in a three-dimensional form.
"What a pity…" Mike thought to himself.
If Morbius had not retreated but advanced when facing the attack just now, he could have inflicted damage when the opponent's old strength was exhausted and new strength had not yet emerged.
If he suppressed his bestial nature, Night Werewolf could have pulled apart Jacob's hands and dug out his heart.
If Blade's opponent's katana had a hidden flaw, if Blade's sword had moved up five centimeters in the last clash, he could have cut off his opponent's sword and then killed him.
The World felt clearer.
Drake looked at Mike, perhaps Mike didn't know what was happening, but he did.
This was an evolution…
Damn evolution!
Drake witnessed a life moving towards a new level.
Damn it!
Damn it!
Damn it!
The so-called King is an existence that stands at the top of the pyramid, looking down on all beings.
At this moment, the so-called top existence felt naked jealousy towards Mike—an emotion Drake had never experienced since becoming a Vampire.
Damn evolution, why isn't it happening to me, but to a mere human?
Why?
Why!
Drake questioned, he didn't know who to question, perhaps the Creator who may or may not exist, who arranges everything in the dark.
As a top existence among Vampires, Drake believed that since the birth of the Vampire, the entire race had been trapped in a predicament, neither evolving nor decaying, like a small boat on a perpetually still lake.
Unable to move forward, unable to retreat, it was so despairing.
Blade's existence made Drake see the possibility of racial evolution.
However, seeing a human evolve before his eyes, Drake inevitably felt jealous.
"Ah ah ah!"
Drake roared to the sky, venting his emotions.
His external appearance underwent a huge change; his skin turned dark red, covered with hard, insect-like carapaces, horns sprouted from his forehead, and serrated mandibles protruded from the corners of his mouth—looking like an alien insect.
This was Drake's original form.
Drake's roar made Danica Talos tremble, briefly regaining her consciousness.
She wondered, "Why did I ignore Mike, an enemy whose ranking surpasses Blade, even though he was just a few meters away?"
Talos turned her gun and fired three rapid shots at Mike.
Mike remained with his eyes closed, as if unaware.
His lips slightly parted.
"Hum!"
A Sanskrit sound.
The closer the three bullets got to Mike, the slower they became, finally hovering in the air.
Whoosh!
Like a spring released after being compressed to its limit, the three bullets reflected back at double speed.
Pfft!
Pfft!
Pfft!
Three blood flowers bloomed.
The immense kinetic energy of the bullets forced Talos to retreat repeatedly; two bullets passed through her body, and one bullet lodged in her spine.
However, Talos was not flustered; her gun contained only ordinary bullets, which were not fatal to Vampires.
She used the Vampire's healing ability to push out the bullets.
"As long as…" Talos suddenly froze, her eyes wide, her lips, painted with bright red lipstick, trembling.
She felt an intense pain; the bullet remaining in her body seemed to be burning.
"What's going on?"
"Ah!!!"
Amidst a piercing scream, Talos turned to ashes.
"Garuda Flame, a rumored flame that burns away all evil and defilement, seems effective against Vampires," Mike slowly opened his eyes.
His tone was calm, his eyes filled with… tears.
Damn it!
My one billion U.S. dollars!
One billion!
Ah!
Because just now, the system prompted:
[You have activated the Universe, you can light up Virgo.]
[Cost: one billion U.S. dollars.]
[Do you want to light it up?]
"Huh?"
At that moment, Mike was stunned.
"One billion U.S. dollars…"
Mike wanted to cry, wanted to laugh.
Indeed, the system was just eyeing his account for fees, taking as much as he had.
Is this the price of becoming stronger?
First, Teacher Saitama became bald and strong, and now Mike became poor and strong.
In Mike's mind, the Gold Saint Virgo Shaka appeared.
The man known as the closest to god.
One billion U.S. dollars, or Shaka?
Mike tearfully spent the money.
Then, in an instant, countless pieces of information flooded into Mike's mind, and he gained… the ability of a child version of Shaka.
Mike wondered if the system would directly give him a demigod version of Shaka if he had ten billion U.S. dollars in his account.
"Ten billion U.S. dollars to become a demigod, I'm sure countless people would be willing if they had that much money.
One billion for a weakened version of Shaka, Stark must be green with envy."
Thinking this, Mike felt much better.
Just now, he used [Immovable Wisdom King] on Talos, stopping all surrounding attacks centered on himself and reflecting them back with double the force, then he added the Garuda Flame hidden within his body to the bullets.
Mike smiled as he looked at Drake, who swallowed, unable to help but take a step back.
The so-called "King" was nothing but self-amusement and self-deception.
The Universe is so vast, how dare he be so arrogant!