CREAAAAK—!!!
Verc immediately opened the double gigantic wooden gates on his own, he did so effortlessly as well.
"My Lord."
As he was stepping inside the village; Diyael walked beside him.
"Ready everyone that can fight and have them protect those who are unable to."
Verc ordered him. The bad feeling still lingering in his head.
Diyael nodded his head before passing that to his captains, and letting them execute Verc’s words.
"Maya, Ashley; stay here and protect the others."
Verc followed with that.
"Yes, Lord Verc."
The two girls answered in unison, their face serious as well. They can feel that something isn’t right as well.
"Diyael, you come with me. We’re going straight to the castle just the two of us."
Verc declared.
FWIP—
Diyael tightened the hold onto his huge war axe, and without saying a word—TAK!
He started walking and following after his master when Verc entered inside the village, heading to his castle.
... ... ...
... ... ...
... ... ...
*****
"..."
Verc was speechless.
Not long after getting inside the village, he finally saw some of his people... the orcs and a few gnolls.
But the sight of it—
All of them were on the ground, the citizens seems like they were just sleeping. But the warriors, the strong ones; most of them were dead and bleeding!
A huge pool of blood was on the ground.
S W O O O O O S HHH—!!!!
A strong gust of wind erupted from Verc, it was strong enough that it made a small crater around him. It was his mana running wild from his silent rage.
FWIP—
Verc’s hands were clenched into tight fists. They turned white and drip of blood started running out of his fists.
"...!"
Diyael froze beside Verc feeling this terrifying aura. His eyes widened and sweats started pouring from his whole body. He was not the target of Verc’s anger--but he felt like if he move, then he’s dead.
Now, he knows that the gap between him and Verc—is not something that can be measured. Verc never fought him seriously back then in the first place.
FWISH~
But as quickly as it came, Verc was able to control his mana and pulled it back. It disappeared like it didn’t happen at all. But his rage... it remained.
"..."
Diyael remained silent, his head turned to his master. Observing him.
"Diyael."
Verc called for him, and this made him freeze up again.
SLASH!
As he was taken aback, Verc suddenly pulled out his sword and cut a huge wound on his own left arm.
"!!!"
Diyael was surprised.
"Take everyone around, everyone you can find. Be it them dead, almost dying, or in whatever condition."
Verc commanded him before he could even process what just happened.
And with a cold look on his face—
"I’m going to turn all of them into vampires."
Verc declared that.
This is the only way he can think of to save his people. If they became vampires, then they will have strong regeneration abilities and they will be able to survive.
Verc knows that a lot of them wouldn’t be able to endure the process of turning into one, but at this point--this was the only way from them to have even a sliver of chance to live.
"..."
Diyael didn’t say anything, but he was really surprised by this decision of Verc. He saluted to him, and without a word—he left his side to collect everyone he can see.
And as he was doing that—TAP.
Verc started walking again, toward his castle.
He walked froward, not fast nor slow.
The stench of blood was heavy in the air, sticking to his throat as he moved deeper into the village. Every step he took felt heavier than the last, his eyes scanning the quiet pathways that were once filled with the noisy, lively voices of his people.
As Verc was walking to his castle, he encountered some of his people hanging by a thread as well.
Among them was a young orc warrior, slumped against the side of a wooden building. His chest was barely moving, and a deep, jagged wound ran across his torso. He was losing too much blood, his eyes dulling as he stared blankly at the sky.
Without thinking or further ado—
SHRP!
Verc knelt down beside him and bit his neck, sinking his fangs deep into the fading warrior’s flesh. He injected his vampiric essence directly into the orc’s system, forcing the transformation to take root and stop the approaching death.
He pulled back, his mouth covered in blood, and immediately moved to the next body lying a few feet away.
It was a gnoll, half-submerged in a pool of dark blood, gasping weakly for air.
Verc did not hesitate. He grabbed the gnoll by the back of his neck and bit him as well, forcing his mana to circulate through the dying body.
He did this to everyone he encountered on his way, determined not to let a single one of his people slip away without even him trying to save them. For those who were too weak to even receive a bite, or those whose bodies were too damaged to process the transformation easily—
"Drink."
Verc muttered coldly, squeezing his left arm.
He made them drink his dripping blood, letting the dark, powerful liquid flow into their mouths to trigger the turning process from the inside out.
Diyael was following behind him while collecting bodies around.
The centaur chief moved with urgent speed, picking up the fallen orcs and gnolls, stacking them carefully in central areas where Verc’s blood could reach them or where they could be safely monitored.
’He’s really trying to save them all...’
Diyael thought, watching the endless determination in Verc’s movements.
\His large arms carrying multiple bodies at a time, clearing the streets as Verc paved a trail of survival behind him.
Verc found a small wooden bucket laying around, he took it and let a lot of his blood flow inside of it. Then after that--he gave it to Diyael.
"Make everyone drink my blood."
Verc said casually.
Diyael took the bucket instinctively; and without questios--he started making the people he retrieved from the surrounding mess drink Verc’s blood.
And before he finished doing this... Verc plans to find whoever did this mess to his village and eliminate them.
The thoughts in Verc’s mind were no longer just angry; they were freezing cold. The raw, wild fury from earlier had settled into a quiet, focused malice. He didn’t care who the culprit was, what kind of power they possessed, or why they had decided to target his home.
’They will pay for this.’
Verc thought, his red eyes glowing in the dimming light of the afternoon.
’I will make sure they regret ever stepping foot here.’
TAP!
Verc arrived in front of his castle not long after.
The grand stone structure looked just as silent as the rest of the village, but a dark, foreign presence was oozing from the inside, leaking through the gaps of the heavy entrance.
CREAAAAK—!!!
He pushed the doors open without a word, they made a loud sound that echoed deeply through the high-ceilinged halls.
And as soon as he got inside—
"Oh? Are you the owner of this place?"
Verc saw a humanoid figure with red skin and black eyes. He has a red pair of wings and horns, a long, thin tail as well.
It was a demon.
The demon was sitting casually on a decorative stone ledge, swinging his legs back and forth like a bored child. His tail flicked lazily behind him, and his black eyes held a look of complete amusement as he stared at the newcomer.
But that was not what caught Verc’s eyes.
"Lord..."
A weak, raspy voice called out.
Groo and Mamon, along with the other orc family heads and Kuma, were struck by stone spikes that seemed to have erupted from the ground and walls, impaling them through their stomachs and pinning them in place.
The thick, rough spikes were trapping their massive bodies like common specimens. They were bleeding badly, the dark blood pooling around the bases of the wood. Only Groo was left conscious to call for him, his eyelids heavy as he struggled to keep his head up.
Meanwhile Bernia, Pwyll, and Rick were on the ground, not moving and Verc can barely feel life from them.
They looked like broken dolls thrown aside, their weapons shattered near their limp hands. The faint flicker of their life force was so dim that it felt like a candle about to be blown out by a gentle breeze.
And near these three... Nara and Onyx were lying as well, covered in blood.
The small creatures were completely still.
"Ah! Sorry I made a mess at your place. They tried resisting when I told them I’m the owner of this place now."
The demon said after seeing Verc looking around.
He chuckled, a light, annoying sound that grated against Verc’s ears. He gestured to the bloody hall with a wave of his red-skinned hand, completely relaxed as if he were simply hosting a party in a house he had just bought.