It was a cold day on the continent, Rampiel, when three humans would step off a small boat transporting mercenaries.
Andy, Rob, and Nathaniel.
As his dark brown hair flowed in the wind, Andy began reminiscing about the time he met his two companions, bringing a big grin on his face.
Despite only meeting the two just a few weeks before, but had quickly grew fond of them.
It was always his biggest dream to be known as a hero, and he seen this as the first step towards doing so.
Even stepping off the boat was enough to make him shake with excitement, but it was only till moments later that he had realized the plans of both Rob and Nathaniel.
.....
.....
The dead silence of the 300 year old crypt would finally creak with sound once more, for when the party of mercenaries had opened the heavy doors, ready to wipe the crypt clean of all valuables.
"Hey... Rob." Andy begins. "Why... what is this eerie feeling..? It's... as if there's someone's watching us..."
"Hahaha, you young fool, you're just scared since we shouldn't be here." Rob says amusingly, responding to Andy.
"In those regards, why are we here, Rob? You know, it is highly punishable to go this deep into the continent while Ananchel stands." Said Nathaniel, the group's mage.
"Nathaniel, you know why we're here," Rob says, responding in an extremely serious tone. "It's to get filthy rich off the treasure in here!" Rob would say, laughing afterwards.
"Right... of course, boss."
.....
.....
After the group had walked around, turning over every stone, breaking crates and barrels, destroying old dusted vases, they had made their way to a door, a very big door nonetheless.
At a height of twelve feet and a width of four, the door is the only part of the crypt they've seen that has not a speck of dust on it... as if someone was constantly upkeeping it.
"What is wrong with this door?" Rob says, trying his absolute hardest to push it open.
"I can only suppose that it is locked, Rob." Nathaniel responds.
"Damnit... Andy, you're up. You claimed to be a rogue so I'm hoping you can at least pick a lock." Rob says.
"A-Alright boss, I'll try my best." Andy says, pulling out a pair of lockpicks.
As soon as Andy began to pick the lock, the door would swing wide open, as if it had been forcefully pushed open by a ram.
"A-Ah I guess I did it... haha." Said Andy, scratching his head.
"Great job boy!" Rob says, pushing Andy out of the way as he walks into the room.
"Rob, wait!" Nathaniel exclaims worryingly.
"Don't tell me you want to back out now, Nathaniel." Rob says, "I refuse to leave here without at least one valuable from this damned crypt, I will find whatever it is that the vampires tried so desperately to stop the royal army from entering." Rob finishes harshly.
"...Just watch your step then, boss. The room is pitch black so give me a second and I can cast-" Nathaniel says, getting cut off by the lighting of torches from within the once pitch black room.
"Nathaniel! I didn't know you had unlocked any third tier light magic!" Rob says excitedly.
"B-But I-" Nathaniel tries to speak, but is once again cut off.
This time however, to something much more sinister... A man, hanging in the middle of the room from his arms and legs, with nothing to cover him other than a few rags.
The man had long, white hair that covered his entire face as it hung down his body, he had a sleek and ripped build, his body covered in scars of all sorts.
"W-w-what is that..?" Says the now terrified Andy.
"I...I don't know... I have never seen anything like this..." Says Rob, nervously.
"W-We should get him down from there, Rob." Says Nathaniel.
"...Wait." Says Rob in a serious tone. "What if... What if that man up there is a vampire? I mean, who knows how long he's been up there for!"
"Shall I cast detection magic on him then?" Asks Nathaniel.
"Yes, Immediately." Rob says demandingly.
As Nathaniel begins to cast his second tier spell, Andy would notice something strange going on with the chained man.
"A-Ah guys... the... the man... he's moving."
"What?" Rob and Nathaniel would say collectively as they began to look up towards the man.
The man, hung from every limb by glowing red chains, looks down towards the party of humans, starvingly.
A hunger lingered in the man's eyes that none of the men had ever seen before.
"D-Do you guys..." Andy fumbles with his words as he looks towards Rob and Nathaniel.
"Yes. The blood lust... it's-" Nathaniel begins to say until cut off by Rob.
"Kill... KILL HIM NOW!" Rob commands, which startles Andy.
"I-I... I can't, what if he's hum-"
"Human? Andy... that man isn't human... no man could contain such powerful blood lust. Fire your crossbow straight through his skull, NOW!" Rob commands again, this time with an obvious fear behind his words.
Frightened, Andy loads his crossbow, his hands trembling as he points it towards the man's skull, with his finger on the trigger.
"If you wish to live. Do not fire that crossbow, boy. This is the only warning I will give to you." The hanging man says, in a low, noble tone, never picking his head up to see them eye to eye.
"W-What..?" Andy says, shaking more than ever.
"Damn this all!" Rob yells, snatching the crossbow from out of Andy's hands.
"Foolish." The man says, as Rob fires the crossbolt straight through his head. "There... he's dead-"
"No. It was a mistake to come here..." Nathaniel would butt in, cutting off Rob.
"We... We need to leave. N-." Said Nathaniel, moments before his head was cleaved off.
Both Rob and Andy stared at Nathaniel's body in pure shock, as it fell to the ground, lifeless.
"...Andy, run." Rob says, pulling out a shield and flail.
"I... I'm sorry... I'll get help I promise!" Andy says, running off down the corridor towards the exit.
Rob looks around desperately for where the once chained man is, not being able to find him.
"I gave you a choice to not fire that crossbow, look at where it has brought you." Says the man.
"WHERE ARE YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!" Rob would yell out, terrified.
"I suppose I can let you die a warrior's death, even if you aren't much of one." The man would say as the whole room lights up in a red glow.
"After all, it is you who freed me from my captivity."
"What... What are you talking about." Rob responds.
"...I was cast within an illusion spell, a seventh tier at that." The man responds.
"That... that's impossible... how could I have been the one to free you from that... high ranking magic like that as well... its only able to be casted if multiple grand wizards work together!" Rob says, making the man laugh ecstatically.
"You really are nothing more than a third rate warrior... you freed me with that shot because the illusion spell was set to end if I received any harm."
"Now, let me bring to you... the gift of death." The man says as in his hand, a dark red sword forms.
It takes the shape of a gladius, one of a longer, slimmer shape.
"You... You're a vampire... a strong one at that... I... I cannot allow you to leave this crypt." Rob says while raising his shield and swinging his flail in a circular motion.
"I BRING TO YOU, MY WHEEL OF DEATH!" Rob yells as he charges towards the man using his innate skill.
"Air slash." The man says as he raises his sword to a swiping pose, smiling ear to ear.
This makes Rob laugh in response.
"To have such a trash skill while being a vampire! I will not die here today-" Rob's speech gets cut off, falling to the ground in two separate pieces.
"As I said, nothing more than third rate." The man says walking past Rob, down the corridor Andy had ran down.
.....
.....
"Oh my god... oh my god what were we thinking... why did we come here..." Andy says to himself as he runs down the hall, panting.
"That monster... that can't be a vampire... he was... so strong." Andy says as he finally reaches the door.
"I need to get out of here... and tell the royal army..."
"The royal army is here?" The man replies to Andy.
"W-What... how are you here... you couldn't have killed him that fast... and to make it here... so fast as well..." Andy responds, quaking in fear.
"You.. You.. YOU MONSTER, DIE!" Andy yells as he opens the door to the outside, letting in the shining light from the sun.
"...Allow me to bestow upon you some knowledge before you die. I am Cassiel Aeternus, son of Cain Aeternus, the vampire king. Sunlight can not harm me, child." The man would say, revealing his name and lineage.
"You men put up a good fight, rest easy." Cassiel says, slicing Andy's head clean off, grabbing it, and raising it to the ceiling to allow the blood to trickle down onto his tongue.
"Even impure blood can taste great after decades..." Cassiel says, walking out the crypt as he borrows Andy's cloak.