"What's happening? Have we been fooled? Did we get the wrong Frans?"
Lord Cornelis's voice was almost drowned out by the booing crowd. They had come to watch me disintegrate into dust—but there I was, standing in the middle of the arena, directly under the midday sun, and very much not disintegrating.
Relief washed over me at the sight of the blue boxes. I wasn't out of trouble, but now I was sure—I was the main character. And main characters rarely die at the start.
If I were in any other situation, I would've leapt for joy. It was a poetic twist from Mr. God—or whoever was in charge upstairs. A power that turned what once tortured me into my greatest strength.
"Let's do this the old way," said the older knight.
He unsheathed his sword and stepped closer, still holding my chain. The sun no longer harmed me, but the silver still did. The chains continued to burn my wrists and suppress my vampiric powers. Even an ordinary steel blade could kill me now.
I was completely helpless—if I weren't in a web novel.
[You have obtained passive skill: Solar Absorption]
[Description:
Enables the user to absorb sunlight and convert it into solar essence.
Current Level: 1
Absorption Rate: 1 Solar Essence per second]
[You have obtained offensive skill: Solar Beam]
[Description:
Converts solar essence into a beam of blinding heat and light.
Cost: 1 Solar Essence
Casting Time: 0.5 seconds]
Two initial skills. The first allowed me to absorb sunlight and store it as solar essence. Blue notifications began to appear in front of me, marking the gain of one Solar Essence per second.
[+1 SE]
[+1 SE]
[+1 SE]
The second skill was an attack. I didn't know how strong it was—or if it was strong enough to break the chains without taking my wrist with it. But it was all I had. Its low cost and fast cast time meant I could at least fire it rapidly, if nothing else.
Instinct took over. I opened my right palm and aimed it at the shackle around my left wrist. An oblong beam, no larger than a bullet, shot out and cleanly severed the metal.
The older knight froze mid-step. His gaze flicked from the broken chain on the ground to me. The old me would've hesitated—but the mind and body of Frans were used to killing.
I raised my hand and fired again. The beam pierced through his face and burst out the back of his head. A neat hole. Instant death.
Suddenly, I felt a sharp tug on the remaining chain. Weakened and unprepared, I stumbled and fell to the ground. The younger knight charged at me with a shout, sword raised high. I had no time to roll away, no means to block—barely enough time to lift my head.
All I saw were his legs. I fired again.
The beam, small as it was, tore through his armor and leg. He screamed, collapsing to his knees. I followed up with a second blast to his stomach. That ended it.
I hurriedly severed the other chain.
The moment the silver left my skin, I felt my vampiric powers surge back like a floodgate breaking open. The world around me shifted.
Moments ago, I had been seeing and hearing like a human. Now it was as if I'd ascended to another plane.
I could hear everything—the creak of cart wheels outside the arena, the fluttering of wings above. I could see the reflection of the sky in the eyes of a bird high in the clouds. Every motion around me slowed, became predictable, easy to read.
"Kill him! Kill him now! Don't let him escape!" Lord Cornelis's grating voice echoed across the arena.
Knights and soldiers poured in through the gates from every direction. The stands emptied, replaced by crossbowmen and mages taking position.
I faced more than a hundred men, all armed to the teeth and intent on killing me. Yet I wasn't intimidated. Quite the opposite.
The fear was gone. I was calm—confident. I believed, truly, that I could slaughter them all.
This was Frans, the feared Vampire Lord. The butcher of cities, bathed in blood without remorse.
But as terrifying as Frans had been, he was no longer in control. I could feel his instincts whispering to kill—to revel in the carnage—but I resisted.
There were too many of them. And even if Frans had the skill, I didn't. One mistake and I'd die for real—wasting this precious second life.
"What are you waiting for?!" Lord Cornelis shouted.
The crossbowmen released their silver-tipped bolts. The mages unleashed their spells in bright arcs of magic.
I jumped—no, burst—into the air. In one instant, I was humanoid; in the next, I had scattered into a swarm of bats.
I couldn't fully describe the feeling—it was weightless, exhilarating. Though divided, I was still whole. I soared from the arena and sought a perch.
The bell tower of the cathedral caught my eye. I flew through one of its large open windows.
The great brass bell reflected the swarm reforming into a man. The figure that stared back at me was the image of a classic vampire: pale skin, a gaunt but handsome face, and long blond hair. I bared my teeth—sharp fangs gleamed back. All I lacked was the regal robe they had stripped from me.
Turning to the window, I gazed upon the city. Fallow stretched far below—a vast human settlement of stone buildings surrounded by towering walls. Lord Cornelis ruled it with his massive army.
For a brief moment, I pictured it all in ruins—streets littered with corpses, the city burning, and Lord Cornelis's bloated body impaled atop his castle's spire. Frans wanted vengeance. But that would have to wait.
I looked farther, beyond the horizon, to the blue mountains. There lay Frans's true domain—a principality covering an entire forest.
Elias van der Wald. I hissed involuntarily at the name. Frans's cousin—the one who betrayed him.
The last thing Frans remembered was drinking with Elias. Then, he awoke in a silver cage, guarded by humans. Sold out, no doubt, for a fortune.
By now, Elias and his allies would have taken over Frans's castle. It was an impregnable fortress perched on a mountain face and surrounded by dense woodland. Reclaiming it would take an army.
The problem was—Frans no longer had one. Like all vampires, he had ruled through fear, and his underlings would've had no issue switching sides once he fell.
Still, I wasn't entirely powerless. If the Solar Absorption System worked this well against humans… it would devastate the undead.
[Status Profile]
[Name: Frans van der Wald
Age: 789 years old
Status: Slightly Weakened (Healing)
Solar Absorption Level: 1
Required Solar Essence for Next Level Up: 8 / 1000 SE
Skills:
– Solar Absorption (Passive)
– Solar Beam (Attack)]