Born in Blood



"What are we waiting for?!" Nord shouted at his beast companion. "Let's go!" 

The delinquent yanked his beast's fur forward, making the Bat stumble unstably, awkwardly unfurling its skinny wings and lurching over the dungeon cliff with an angry hiss at its rider.

Nord nearly fell off the damn beast, hugging the bat's mane with all his strength as he plunged towards the earth, screaming his lungs out with curses.

Niveh laughed wholeheartedly hearing the boy's desperate cries. She looked towards Nessa. 

"Well? Go! What are you waiting for?"

Nessa fumbled nervously for a second. She looked towards Rin.

"Can you go first?"

Rolling her eyes, Rin, as though she already had experience riding an aerial beast, controlled her bat and made it fly with precise movements. 

Watching her go, Nessa mustered her courage and mirrored her actions. 

Soon enough, she was soaring through the air with an elated smile.

Meanwhile, Liam looked over his shoulder. His squad was a short distance away, but they all managed to figure out how their ride works.

Bolts of crimson lightning spread through the churning clouds like cobwebs. More than once, Liam and the rest were nearly struck down, but narrowly missed.

Shifting his attention to the Citadel, Liam estimated it would take at least five to six days to arrive there. 

From what Niveh had told him, there were special 'docking' sites where you could lay down your beast and enter the city. 

Flying over the spires was a big no-no, since those structures belonged to the ruling class of vampires. Little was known about them, as even upper vampires knew nothing except that they existed.

Especially the plateau. Liam's eyesight could only make out the silhouette of the castle atop it, as pure mist enshrouded it like an ethereal dome. 

…Presumably, Alucard lived there, but no one knew for sure.

Even at that distance, the hair on his skin rose, warning him of danger. 

There wasn't any particular goal that Liam had in mind. Simply mapping the city was enough, but it would help to know how the place functioned.

Until that time, Liam had nothing to do except cultivate. 

///

Five days passed.

The Citadel was only a few more hours away. As the group got closer, they could see the smaller buildings and the streets that bustled with all kinds of vampires.

It looked like a regular civilization, only the inhabitants sucked blood and lived off it. Not all vampires were practicing Blood Arts. Some were strong, yet weren't built for fighting or killing.

Structures closer to the plateau looked much more grand, while those built towards the borders were more mild looking.

Liam put on his hood. Other than their group, there were hundreds of others that rode on Blood Bats. 

Most of them followed a particular trajectory to land within the city, a 'runway' of sorts paired with countless stations – tall poles for the bats to hang off of and grip. 

The space was dark and provided shade for the Blood Bats to sleep in until their owners returned.

[Follow the line and put your hoods on,] Liam transmitted to the rest. 

They responded with a quick nod, merging with the swarm of screeching bats that filled the air.

Rounding up the runway, Liam lowered his beast and slowed it down. A few of the surrounding vampires – both below him and beside – looked at him amazed. 

Domineering a powerful Blood Bat required considerable skill and strength, and only higher vampires exclusively possessed that sort of ability. 

'Damn it. Even this turned out against me,' Liam thought with a grimace, pulling down his hood tighter.

He chose one of the furthest stations to land his beast on, where there were little to no vampires around.

With a low-pitched screech, the bat stretched out its claws and gripped the handle with them, halting its flight instantly. 

Liam dropped off the beast with a lithe step, then slowly spread his mental waves around the area. 

Towards the exit that led inside the city, an upper vampire that looked like a guard made note of the people entering. 

The Citadel had its own law system, and its own army.

The 'Nocturne Legion', as they called it, was responsible for the safety of the city. 

As a bare minimum, the lowest ranked 'Bloodguards' – a fancy way of dubbing their soldiers – were Rank 2 upper vampires.

The Bloodguard stationed at the exit wore a single loose black garment that didn't cover his muscular but pale arms. His deep set scarlet eyes scanned every individual that passed by the stations.

A stern expression wrapped around his face, but as he glanced at Liam's figure, he looked a bit nervous.

'Does he think I'm a higher vampire?'

What luck! 

The rest followed suit, parking their companions and getting off to meet with Liam.

At first, the plan was torn between escaping through a different side of the docking stations, or letting Niveh do the talking with the guard. 

They didn't really trust the vampire girl with that bit, though.

[Change of plans. I'll lead us in. You all stay quiet and follow.] 

Liam spoke the same words to Niveh, who looked confused at first, but then reluctantly nodded. 

They all pulled the hoods over their faces just a little more to be safe.

Clearing his throat, Liam began leisurely walking towards the exit followed by his hooded group, ignoring the guard's existence entirely. 

The man was a bit reluctant to call out, but nonetheless, he did, with the most respectful voice he could use.

"Sir? Your name?"

Liam halted his step, slowly creaking his head towards the vampire. 

Bloodlust wasn't something an upper vampire could regularly emit, nor feel. 

Even during his fight with the Blooder, Liam couldn't affect the higher vampire with his mental waves.

But Liam was no longer a Rank 1 Magus.

The Bloodguard had to suffer the full brunt of his unadulterated killing intent, making him recoil in fear and nearly vomit blood.

"Please, forgive me," he begged in a strained voice, head lowered.

Just then, Liam stopped, looked away, then resumed his leisurely steps with his group sticking closely behind him.