Seamus stared blankly at the view outside the car, even though it was nothing but rows of trees flashing by. His forehead rested against the cold glass of the window, his mind heavy with thoughts.
'Damn, I'm only in my first semester and I already screwed everything up…' He straightened his back slightly, trying to convince himself.
'Wait, I'm supposed to be aiming to become some vampire patriarch or whatever. Why would college even matter?'
He tapped his fingers against his knee. 'Well… backup plan, I guess?'
Though, Seamus knew so well that if his backup plan failed, it meant death. But hell, he was alive now, it's better to think positively…
"Son," Andrew's voice broke the silence, unexpectedly serious, "you don't oppose my marriage, right?"
Seamus furrowed his brow. "Why are you asking that now? You're already married."
"Just wondering," Andrew said, his eyes fixed on the road. "I realized I married too sudden and… I never asked for your opinion."
Though his tone was casual, Seamus caught the way Andrew kept glancing at him through the rearview mirror. It was strange, his father's expression almost looked… concerned.
"Huh? Are you sober right now?" Seamus blinked at him, suspicious.
His dad was rarely sober, and honestly, Seamus preferred it that way because at least he was predictable and easygoing. But this? This was unsettling.
"That's why you suddenly care about me now?"
"What's wrong with a father caring about his son?"
"It's normal," Seamus said flatly, "but it's creepy when you do it." He frowned, shifting uncomfortably.
"Why all of a sudden? You've been a bad father my whole life, and I'm used to that. Don't just… switch up now and try to be a better person out of nowhere."
Andrew snorted. "Wow, really, Seamus? That's the first time I've seen someone get upset about their dad changing for the better. Did all that sex make you dumb?"
"Oh, shut up, Dad." Seamus turned his head back toward the window, his voice curt. "I'm fine. Just keep doing whatever you usually do. Live your life. Don't worry about me."
The car went quiet after that, and the atmosphere turned heavier. But Seamus couldn't help it. The flare of anger, the bitterness, wasn't baseless.
All his life, Andrew had been absent. He'd had to grow up alone, figure out everything by himself with no guidance.
So now, when he suddenly decided to act like a caring father, all Seamus could think was: 'Why now? Why not when I actually needed you?'
Andrew finally let out a slow sigh. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, "that I never took care of you… that I was selfish your whole life. You're an adult now, Seamus, but I just don't want you to repeat the same mistakes I made."
"I've spent my whole life watching you ruin yours and mine," Seamus replied sharply. "I'd never make the same mistakes. I'm better than that."
The car rolled to a stop in front of the campus. Seamus unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out, pausing with the door still open as he looked at his father one last time.
"So don't ever talk about feelings again, alright?" He shut the door without waiting for a response, leaving Andrew alone in the car.
As Seamus walked toward the classroom building, his thoughts churned bitterly. 'Why is he suddenly like that?'
He shoved his hands into his pockets. 'Is Isolde's dream screwing with his brain or something?'
Lost in thought, he didn't notice the person directly in front of him until it was too late. He collided hard into them, stumbling back a step from the collision but didn't fall.
The other person, however, crashed onto the pavement with a loud, undignified thud.
"Watch where you're going, Danford!" barked Marcus, the biggest of the three and the one now scrambling to his feet. He dusted off his jacket furiously, his meaty face red with embarrassment.
"Oh, look who it is," Connor drawled, smirking. "The loner who thinks he's too good for everyone. Where's your precious girlfriend? She finally ditched you?"
"Please," Dylan added, laughing. "Bet she's screwing someone else behind your back. Probably because you can't even get it up."
Seamus looked at them in disbelief as their bodies shimmered with a sickly pale-black aura, pulsing like festering wounds.
Everyone else who had stopped to watch carried a dull grey aura of apathy, while one guy pulling out his phone to record glowed a hungry orange, craving attention and a bit of malice.
'Ah… so this is what Viviane was talking about?' Seamus thought, narrowing his eyes.
His attention snapped back to the bullies. 'Should I bond my power now and teach them a lesson?'
But before he could act, a notification appeared:
[Your attributes are higher than a normal human! Tying it with one of your harem attributes to attack them will result in murder!]
"What—"
Marcus cut him off by grabbing his collar and slamming him against the wall. The impact should have hurt, but Seamus barely felt it.
"You ignoring us now, you fucking cunt?" Marcus snarled, his spittle hitting Seamus' cheek. "I'm gonna fuck your girlfriend—"
Marcus's words never finished.
Seamus' fist shot up like a piston, a clean uppercut cracking into Marcus' jaw with bone-jarring force.
Marcus' feet left the ground, his head snapping back as his body flew through the air and hit the floor like a ragdoll. His eyes rolled back instantly, unconscious.
The crowd gasped. Even Dylan and Connor froze, their smirks wiped clean.
"Don't you dare mock my girlfriend, you bastard!" Seamus roared, jaw tight.
Connor blinked, then rushed him with a curse, throwing a wild haymaker. Seamus sidestepped effortlessly, feeling the surge of his new power in his veins. It wasn't even fair.
His hand shot out, gripping Connor's wrist and twisting it.
"AGHHHHHH!" Connor screamed as his knees buckled from the pain.
Seamus drove his knee hard into Connor's gut, forcing the air out of his lungs before sweeping his legs out from under him.
Connor hit the floor, wheezing and clutching his stomach, unable to move.
Dylan panicked, grabbing a metal chair nearby and swinging it at Seamus' head. The blow connected with a sharp clang but he didn't even flinch.
"What… the fuck…" Dylan whispered in horror.
Seamus' eyes locked on him, like a wolf gazing at a deer. He grabbed the chair mid-swing and yanked it from Dylan's hands with ease before driving his shoulder into his chest.
The impact sent him crashing backward into the same wall Marcus had slammed Seamus into earlier. The plaster cracked on impact. Dylan coughed blood as his legs gave out.
The entire hallway went dead silent.
Seamus stood over them, breathing steadily, his knuckles barely scratched. The pale-black aura around the bullies flickered weakly now, shrinking like scared animals.
He looked around at the onlookers, all frozen in place, phones clutched in trembling hands.
"Delete those videos," he said coldly, his voice like ice. "Or you'll regret it."
No one dared argue.
Seamus flexed his fingers as he felt the raw strength of becoming a newborn vampire. He didn't even need to bond his attributes. He was already far too strong for a normal human.
'So this is my power now…' he thought, shoulders relaxing as the adrenaline faded. 'I need to be careful. One wrong move, and I could kill someone without even trying.'
He stepped over Marcus' unconscious body. 'But I need to test another skill and they are perfect lab rats.' he smirked.