DIA!!
2017.05.22
On this day...
The great Proxima Midnight Monarch, King of the Blood Clan, Lord of the Castle—
The Ruler of the Blood Curse, the Breaker of Soul Shackles, the Shadow Descender, the Founder of the Blood Feast—
Jon Nook Aproso, the Vampire Count—
Was awakened… with a slap to the face.
The ancient vampire, his face wrinkled like a thousand layers of folds and his cheeks sagging like a Shar Pei, suddenly opened his eyes. Fury began to brew in their depths.
"Who… who dares wake the great—"
SMACK!
Jon clutched the left side of his face, the anger in his eyes instantly replaced with disbelief.
Only now did he realize how he'd been awakened.
"R—"
SMACK!
"I can—"
SMACK!
"VRI—"
SMACK!
From the sidelines, Slod winced in sympathy.
The old Count really does have thick skin after living so long... If it were me, I'd be running to Dracula just to escape a single slap.
The dazed vampire finally snapped out of his confusion, his fury boiling over. He opened his mouth to unleash a Death Howl—an instant-death spell that ignored physical defenses and directly attacked the soul.
But just then…
A cold snort rang out.
Jon Aproso's pupils shrank violently. He suddenly felt like a thunderclap had exploded inside his mind.
The sound echoed endlessly, growing louder and louder until it felt like it would shatter his very soul.
"AHHH!!"
He clutched his head in agony, blood streaming from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears as he howled.
Slod felt his scalp go numb.
He underestimated this magician… A mere snort nearly killed one of the strongest vampires in the community!
Monstrous.
After a few seconds, the old vampire released his head, panting heavily. This time, he didn't dare make a sound.
His eyes were filled with terror.
He wasn't stupid—he wouldn't have survived this long if he was. He now understood clearly that this was someone he couldn't afford to provoke.
Russell casually wiped his hands clean on the Count's luxurious robe, then turned and smiled:
"Now that he's calmed down, you can ask him."
Tony couldn't help rubbing his own face. Compared to Russell, he suddenly felt like a saint.
What a pitiful old man… But I won't deny it—the technique's solid. Both sides of the face are perfectly swollen.
Tony leaned in like a sleazy interrogator, holding up the Eye of Agamotto as he said:
"Kamar-Taj's Sorcerer Supreme here. I've got a few questions."
"If you lie… I'll beat you to death. Understand?"
Russell could have just read the Count's mind, but frankly, the guy looked too disgusting to touch telepathically. Instead, he planned to watch his eyes—he'd know if he was lying.
The old vampire was already terrified, but when he heard Kamar-Taj, his face turned deathly pale. He trembled as he stammered:
"Y-Your Excellency… I-I buy blood from hospitals! Please have mercy!"
"Bullshit."
Tony snapped.
"Don't feed me that garbage. That's not why we came."
"I'm asking you… what prophecy scared you so much you chose to go into hiding?"
The Count looked briefly relieved when he heard Tony's first sentence—but that vanished the moment he heard the second.
Tony's heart sank.
That reaction...
This is serious.
"Speak."
His tone turned icy.
The old vampire swallowed hard. He didn't dare lie now:
"As a pureblood vampire—not a turned one—I return to the Holy Land every century to commune with other purebloods."
"This time… a vampire who could glimpse fate brought back a prophecy…"
"The Ancient God-Serpent… will break free and return to the world. His eight messengers will wield war hammers… and bring endless fear to all life."
"The World Tree… will burn… and the Nine Realms will become a new hell."
Russell's expression darkened.
He could tell—the vampire wasn't lying.
The prophecy… was real.
At this moment, Tony said:
"In that case, what's the point of you sleeping?"
"You can't avoid a doomsday disaster just by going to sleep!"
The old vampire forced a bitter smile.
"Where can you run? It's not just Earth—the entire universe would be within the scope of such a catastrophe."
"If you can't resist, you might as well bury your head and pretend to be dead. Maybe someone stronger will handle it… and maybe, just maybe, it'll pass."
He glanced at the two of them, his meaning obvious.
Tony went silent. It made sense… he couldn't refute it. He looked at Russell and asked:
"What do you think? Is what this old guy said true?"
Russell nodded calmly.
"It's true."
"By the way, doesn't Kamar-Taj have records of prophecies like this?"
Tony scratched his head, looking troubled.
"I have no idea. There are way too many books in that library—I've barely read a fraction of them. And honestly… I never liked studying history."
"But that prophecy does sound a lot like Asgardian mythology. Maybe Thor knows something."
Russell looked surprised.
"Is Thor actually reliable in this timeline?"
Tony nodded seriously.
"He's responsible. Protects humanity. Has a decent brain."
He paused, then added:
"Except for his weird habit of… you know… dating female werewolves."
Russell looked at him with disgust.
"So you do know that's not normal."
Tony shrugged awkwardly.
Russell sighed.
"Fine. Let's go to Asgard then. Maybe Thor knows and just isn't saying."
Tony instantly looked reluctant.
"Go yourself. I really don't want to deal with that old man."
"Our Odin's got a temper. He wiped out all of Jotunheim's giants and slaughtered the dark elves."
"His relationship with Kamar-Taj is strained too—issues over ruling the Nine Realms."
Russell remembered Tony mentioning it earlier, but he hadn't expected Odin to be so brutal.
Not that he was worried. In Asgard, with his control over the power of death, he was practically invincible.
No matter how strong Odin was… he wasn't stronger than him.
Russell coughed lightly.
"Actually… I can go. But…"
Tony understood instantly. He gritted his teeth and said with visible pain:
"Reed Richards owes me a favor. I'll give it to you."
"You know who he is—the smartest guy in the world. You can't lose."
Russell definitely knew. One of the Fantastic Four—the same guy who got turned into spaghetti by Scarlet Witch.
Though… this definitely wasn't the same Reed Richards.
Still, Tony was right. This guy was useful.
Russell nodded.
"Deal."
He then glanced down at the old vampire and said casually:
"I'll handle this one for you. Leaving him alive is just asking for trouble."
As he spoke, a milky-white nail materialized out of thin air, driving straight into the vampire's heart.
The so-called 'Proxima Midnight Lord' didn't even beg for mercy.
He turned to ash instantly.
Tony didn't care.
This creature had killed countless humans. Mercy wasn't an option. If he didn't die here, he'd just end up imprisoned in Kamar-Taj, starving to death in some underground cell.
Some beings didn't deserve compassion.
At that moment, Russell heard the system notification.
He'd gained several new entries.
[Vampire Bloodline – Blue]
Pure-blood vampire.
Gain a thousand-year lifespan.
Can turn humans into vampires via first embrace.
Note: Must regularly consume blood.
Weakness Erasure: Sunlight immunity.
Russell tossed it into the system's corner without hesitation.
Too useless. He wasn't about to pollute his body with a vampire bloodline.
What he wanted were spells.
[Death Howl – Spell (Purple)]
Instant-death spell. Ignores physical defenses and attacks directly at the soul.
Note: Not a 'rule-type' spell. Against strong souls or high resistance, it causes damage but doesn't guarantee death.
[Bat Swarm – Bloodline Spell (Blue)]
Transform into a swarm of bats to escape.
Note: Requires vampire blood.
[Blood Control – Blood Magic (Purple)]
Manipulate your own or enemies' blood within range, bypassing most physical defenses.
[Moonlight Affinity (Blue)]
Magic power recovers faster under moonlight.
[Shadow Jump – Spell (Blue-Purple)]
Teleport between connected shadows.
[Blood Burn – Blood Magic (Blue)]
Ignite the target's blood, causing internal combustion.
Russell looked satisfied.
Only two purple-grade spells, but both were valuable.
Especially Death Howl—while technically a purple spell, its power scaled with the caster's strength.
The stronger Russell became, the deadlier it would be.
It would work particularly well against physically strong enemies with weak souls.
Shadow Jump was also excellent for ambushes.
The rest? Nice to have, if situational.
After organizing his thoughts, Russell withdrew his focus and nodded to Tony.
"I'm heading to Asgard."
"If anything urgent happens, just call my name. I'll waive the fee next time."
Tony waved him off.
"Yeah, yeah, just don't get yourself killed."
"But seriously—don't fight Odin."
Russell grinned.
"Come on. You know I'm the friendliest guy around."
At those words, Slod, still kneeling on the ground, trembled violently.
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