"I had high expectations since you were said to be a vampire that appeared after a long time, but you're nothing special. You're not even as strong as a mid-tier monster.
Eugene tried to reach out toward the knight sneering while gripping his hair, but it was useless.
Consumed by rage, despair, and regret, Eugene weakly flailed his arms—both severed from the elbows—as torrential rain poured down from the sky.
"You're killed quite a lot. You filthy beast."
"Khh… khrrk…!"
Most of his blood had already drained away, so even his voice could no longer come out properly.
Still, because he had sucked the blood of more than a dozen people during the past six months of fleeing, he was barely able to endure.
If he had been caught on the very first day he ran, he would already be dead.
"Still, you can take pride in dying by my hand and granting me the honorable title of Vampire Slayer. And did you know this?"
The holy knight, who had always preached lofty faith, finally revealed his desire at the end and grinned.
"The reason I joined the pursuit only after several months, and the reason I let you roam freely all this time—was all intentional. Since you were a rare vampire who appeared after so long, catching you slowly would make both the Church and myself stand out even more. It also serves as a warning to the unbelievers."
"Gurk…!"
"Your role ends here. Anything beyond this, even God would not permit. Now burn eternally in purgatory, you monster."
Slash!
The silver-plated longsword severed Eugene's neck. The crimson blood that spilled from the cut was greedily swallowed by the pouring rain.
"The wicked vampire is dead! By God! We are victorious!"
"Woooah!"
The shouts of the mercenaries who had come with the holy knight echoed inside Eugene's shrinking, fading consciousness.
In Eugene's red eyes, as the light drained from them, scenes from his past flashed by like a panorama.
If he hadn't spent all those long years buried in the mountains living like a helpless beast.
If he had learned and practiced earlier what he came to know during the half year of fleeing.
If he had realized sooner that drinking blood wasn't just about filling his stomach.
If he had overcome his fear and challenged stronger enemies, winning both victory and blood.
If only… if only… if only.
His final thoughts scattered away uselessly, like the falling rain.
And thus, the breath of Eugene the vampire—who had lived hidden in the mountains for twelve years after realizing he was no longer human—came to a complete end.
"Gasp!"
Eugene jolted awake in a pitch-black room devoid of light.
Breathing roughly, he frantically touched his neck and the rest of his body.
"Wa—was it… a dream?"
It couldn't be.
The six months of fleeing.
And the miserable death after being captured by the holy knight Jung Diricht, who had cunningly and relentlessly hunted him for the final month—those had just happened.
The humiliation and pain were still vividly branded into his memory like a scar.
"What in the world is this…?"
Murmuring blankly, Eugene suddenly scanned his surroundings.
"This is… my home?"
Recognizing the cabin he had built with great hardship in his youth and continually repaired ever since, Eugene hurried toward the door.
For a vampire whose five senses far surpassed those of humans, this level of darkness posed no problem. He checked the calendar he had made himself.
"Twelve years and 192 days."
Since he knew a year had 365 days, he had crossed out each empty space with an X every morning before sunrise.
Which meant, according to the calendar—
"This is nearly half a year ago. And it's before that incident. Did I really return to the past?"
Eugene muttered blankly in the darkness.
"I'm… not dead."
Hot, red tears streamed from his eyes.
The complex, violent emotions of the vampire who had experienced a miserable death—now facing the miracle of returning to the past—overflowed as tears of blood and flowed endlessly.
After a while, Eugene wiped the blood-soaked tears soaking his rough cheeks.
Now was not the time to feel relieved that he was alive.
"If today is the 192nd day, then it's five days from now."
On that day, the incident that would change his fate would occur. Of course, at the time, he had never imagined it would involve him. Back then, it had truly seemed like someone else's problem.
"Five days… five days…"
Muttering softly, Eugene bit his lip.
"I will never die like that again. If I truly returned to the past, then no matter what it takes…"
Eugene made his decision.
Through the half year of running for his life, he had learned and realized many things.
A vampire like him could never live quietly.
No matter how much he tried to hide without drinking human blood, sooner or later his identity would be exposed, and he would end up a miserable fugitive.
He had experienced that exact fate in his previous life.
So now, he would no longer hide.
He had to grow stronger and stronger—so that even if his identity as a vampire was revealed, he could stand and fight proudly.
"I will never regret again."
In the darkness, Eugene's eyes burned with an even deeper crimson glow.
Five days. Short, if one considered it short—but for him, it was enough time.
Creak.
After finishing all preparations, Eugene carefully opened the door.
Thanks to the heavy rain clouds of the monsoon season, direct sunlight fortunately did not pour down.
Still, even this much light restricted a vampire's activity.
Eugene checked his outfit once more.
A dull, dark mask that completely covered his face, and a black leather robe that reached down to his ankles. The thick clothes underneath were also entirely black.
As long as direct sunlight was avoided, a vampire could move even during the daytime.
On a heavily overcast day like this, it was far easier.
He wouldn't be able to use his unique monstrous strength, but he could still use physical abilities superior to those of an ordinary human.
Pulling the hood of his robe down low, Eugene cautiously stepped outside.
His body condition felt fine—so comfortable that it would have seemed like a luxury compared to the days he had been chased by the pursuit force.
Even though no one would come anyway, Eugene firmly locked the door again, checked the surroundings of the cabin, and then headed toward the mountain.
Long ago, driven purely by instinct, he had drunk human blood only once.
Just two days later, people called mercenaries had begun searching for him.
At the time, Eugene had a very small build and hid in sewers during the day, so he avoided capture.
On the fifth day, knights armed with sacred weapons so terrifying that merely looking at them drained one's strength roamed the village at night with torches.
He only learned much later—after encountering Jung Diricht—that they were holy knights, the natural enemies of vampires.
Consumed by fear, he crossed mountains night after night and traversed open fields until he finally arrived here. After that, he had survived by drinking only the blood of animals hunted in the forest.
For a full twelve years.
"I won't do such pathetic crap ever again."
Behind the mask, his red eyes burned with a demonic glow.
After being hunted twice as prey, he had learned the truth.
This world runs on the law of the jungle—only the strong survive, and the weak die.
"Today is the beginning."
No longer would he be a monster that was hunted.
He would become a predator that hunted.
And his first offering would be that thing—the one that, with only a few mouthfuls in his previous life, had granted him incomparable power.
After crossing the mountain in a few hours, Eugene entered the forest.
The forest he had used as a hunting ground for many years was practically his own backyard.
Because sunlight rarely reached it, the forest was dark and damp, and it made Eugene feel far more comfortable than open spaces.
A deep, dark forest from which an ordinary person could not easily escape even after wandering for days.
But Eugene, using a vampire's unique senses to perceive his surroundings, moved swiftly through it.
After several more hours of travel, he finally reached the edge of the forest.
What spread out before him was a marshland surrounded by dense woodland.
This filthy wetland, riddled with dangerous bogs here and there, was Eugene's destination.
However, he did not enter the marsh immediately.
He unrolled the animal hide that had been strapped beneath his backpack and propped it up at an angle with branches.
After setting up a simple shelter barely large enough for one or two people to escape the rain and wind, Eugene placed his backpack inside and re-entered the forest carrying only a dagger.
Less than an hour later, he returned with several large rats and rabbits. He bound them tightly with tree vines and tossed them inside the shelter.
Ignoring the frightened whimpering of the animals, he fixed his gaze on the marsh.
"Two or three more hours."
Though the days were long in this season, by then the sun would have completely set.
And the night—was truly the world of vampires.
The sunlight that had faintly tinted the storm clouds covering the western sky finally vanished completely.
Thud. Thud-thud-thud!
As soon as the sun set, the light drizzle turned into a full downpour.
Hearing the rain pounding on the shelter, Eugene's five senses grew even sharper, and power surged through his entire body. In this state, he could easily deal with two or three ordinary mercenaries.
But he knew that even this was not enough.
Eugene removed his mask.
His two flaming red eyes were intact.
But the few strands of hair left on his head and his collapsed facial features made him look like a grotesque corpse that had been dead for a long time.
Without hesitation, Eugene reached out.
The large rat and rabbits, which had long since resigned themselves to fate and were only wheezing faintly, struggled weakly.
One by one, Eugene slit their throats and drank their blood.
The hot blood slid down his esophagus.
The heat from the fresh blood quickly turned into vitality, igniting his entire body with energy.
His eyes turned an even deeper crimson, and his fangs and claws lengthened in an instant.
"Grrr ..."
Eugene slowly stepped toward the rain-lashed marshland.
Scanning the shaking water's surface with red eyes as the storm raged, he crouched low and moved along the shoreline.
At times, he deliberately kicked the water or tossed in stones as if making splashes, slowly walking along the water's edge.
His vision, now several times sharper than usual, missed not even the smallest movement on the water's surface. The leg he had intentionally submerged in the water also detected movements beneath the surface with heightened sensitivity.
Then, suddenly, his movement stopped dead.
At that moment, the surface of the water—being swept along by the howling wind and heavy rain—exploded upward.
Almost simultaneously, Eugene leaped into the air.
Kwaaaurk!
What burst from the water was a monster whose entire body was smeared in dark brown and green.
Though only part of it emerged, the bulk visible above the surface alone was larger than a bull. With a glint of ferocity in its huge eyes, the monster flung its maw wide open.
Kraah!
Like dozens of daggers embedded at once, rows of massive, razor-sharp teeth snapped through the air.
It was the exact spot where Eugene had been standing just moments before.
Crack!
As Eugene fell back down from his high leap, he drove his dagger straight into the monster's eye.
Screeeeeee!
As the monster roared and thrashed, the surface of the marsh surged and churned like a massive wave.
But gripping the dagger that had pierced its eyeball was a vampire.
And now, the sun had completely set.
No matter how long it had been since he last drank human blood, a vampire who had just restored his strength with fresh animal blood and welcomed the night possessed power that far surpassed that of a grown man.
"Grrrk!"
Eugene stabbed down with the dagger and held on with one hand to the monster's massive head.
Screeeek!
The monster, rising high, twisted in midair. If it fell as it was, Eugene—still clinging to its head—would be crushed beneath it.
But the vampire's heightened senses instantly grasped the creature's intent, and Eugene shifted his position along the thick neck as if performing acrobatics.
At the same time, he drove the dagger into the other eye.
Sqush!
The moment the dagger burst the second eyeball, the monster's huge body crashed into the water.
And Eugene and the monster sank beneath the surface together.
The marsh, where a brief yet violent struggle for life and death had taken place, was soon left with only the sound of raindrops striking the water.
Moments later—
"Gwaaaaargh!"
With a thunderous roar, Eugene's upper body burst out of the water.
"Kh—grrrk!"
With a beast-like growl and blazing red eyes, Eugene staggered up onto the shore.
His left arm was already broken, but in his ferocious right hand was clenched the monster's massive tail. With every ounce of his strength, he dragged the creature's body out of the water.
Staring at the corpse like a starving predator, Eugene immediately gouged out its remaining eye with the dagger.
Blood gushed out in heavy spurts from the empty socket, and the victorious vampire greedily sucked it down.
Under the cold rain, Eugene savored the monster's blood for a long while.
And during that gruesome feast, his body underwent a transformation.
First, his battered body—ruined by the ferocious battle—rapidly began to recover.
His patchy hair grew back across his entire scalp, and his cracked, ulcerated skin healed, turning pale as it reflected the rain.
That was not the end.
His once somewhat scrawny build, small for an adult, grew larger. His arms and legs lengthened noticeably, and well-shaped muscles settled into place.
"Pwah!"
Flipping his newly grown black hair back, Eugene finally raised his head.
As the blood that had stained his nose and mouth bright red was quickly washed away by the pouring rain, his changed face was fully revealed.
Beneath a straight forehead, ruby-red eyes glimmered with murderous intent and madness, emitting an eerie light.
A sharp nose bridge and vivid crimson lips formed perfect harmony within a slender facial line.
But the two protruding fangs clearly showed that he was no longer human.
"Gwaaaaaaaaaah!"
For the first time, the vampire who had fully reclaimed the true appearance of the Night Clan roared into the rain.
(To be continued in the next episode.)