Groo, Mamon, Jagan, Pol, Don, Epona, and Kuma—the seven of them continued to spasm on the cold stone ground, their bodies wracked with uncontrollable pain.
"GRAAAAAAHHH!!!!"
The transformation was far from gentle. It was a violent rewriting of their very body, a war between their blood and the dominant vampire essence Verc had forced into their systems.
And they had been like that for a couple of hours now. The sounds echoing through the top floor of the castle were haunting. Deep, guttural roars from the orcs mixed with the sharp, pained yips of Kuma the gnoll.
They were screaming from the top of their lungs, their voices cracking under the strain of the agony.
"KUK-GAAAAAHHHH!!!"
But even though the room was filled with the sounds of torture, Verc and the kids didn’t really pay any mind to them.
They didn’t even flinch when one of the orcs accidentally kicked the wall with enough force to crack the stone.
They had already seen it after all. They knew exactly what this stage of the process looked like.
And unlike the kids, who had gone through this grueling process with their bodies all battered and broken, these seven leaders were in perfect condition.
They were well-fed and physically in good condition. Because of that, Verc and the kids weren’t really worried about the outco.
They know they will survive.
WHISH~ WHOOSH~
Though, Tatum and the others did prepare so cleaning materials. They stood off to the side with rags and buckets of water. It wasn’t out of concern for the leaders’ comfort, but because of a more practical reason—as of now, the leaders were staining Verc’s room with their blood.
"GURK?!!"
The dark, thick liquid ca out of their mouths in coughing fits as they tried their best not to scream in pain. It leaked from their pores and splattered onto the floor as they thrashed around.
The room, which the gnolls had worked so hard to furnish, was becoming a ss.
But then... as they were watching the leaders endure the final stages of the pain, they noticed the physical shifts beginning to take hold.
The transformation was reaching its peak.
"KEUK?!"
Their pupils started turning a deep, predatory red, identical to the eyes of Verc and the kids. It was a color that didn’t just sit on the surface but seed to glow from within.
And their skins... it changed too. The green skin of the orcs beca a more grayish-green than before, turning much paler as the vampire curse took root. It was the look of the living dead, a hue that spoke of shadows and moonlight rather than the sun.
Well, at least that was the case for the orcs. Kuma was a gnoll, and his body was almost entirely covered in thick fur, so there wasn’t much of a noticeable change to his skin. Nothing really stood out about his physical shift except for his eyes turning that brilliant, haunting red. He already had natural fangs as a gnoll, so his teeth didn’t look much different—they just seed sharper now.
’It’s almost done.’
Verc thought, watching the seven leaders thrashed about on the floor. He hadn’t moved from his spot since the process began.
He had been watching them carefully, his [Vibration Awareness] and his own instincts monitoring their heartbeats. He wanted to make sure nothing bad happens.
And then finally, at that mont—
WHOOOOOOOOSHHH!!!
A strong, sudden gust of wind blew out from the seven leaders simultaneously!
The force was so strong that it blasted everything inside Verc’s room!
BOOM!
THUD—!
The wooden table the gnolls had crafted was flipped over, and the chairs were sent sliding across the stone floor, so of them splintering against the walls.
Verc and the kids had to raise their arms to shield their eyes from the debris and the sudden pressure. The air in the room beca heavy and cold, slling of ozone and ancient blood.
And with this... it was done.
"..."
Verc smiled, lowering his arms as he realized the transition was a success. He could feel the shift in the air. The chaotic energy that had been radiating from the leaders had smoothed out into a cold, sharp power.
This happened as well when the kids successfully turned.
So, when the strong wind was gone and the dust began to settle, Verc removed his arms from his face. He looked at the leaders who were sprawled across the floor.
And there—
"..."
He saw them.
One by one, they began to stand up. They didn’t look tired or pained anymore. In fact, they stood as if nothing had happened at all. The agony of the last few hours seed to have been wiped clean from their expressions, replaced by a look of utter disbelief.
They were staring at their own hands, opening and closing their fists as if they were feeling muscles they never knew they had. They felt lighter, faster, and infinitely more dangerous.
Also, Verc noticed a change in his own mind.
Aside from the ntal bridge he already shared with Tatum, Ashley, and Maya—the ones who had originally taken his blood—Verc can now also feel a connection with Mamon and Kuma. He could feel their loyalty like a tether in the back of his mind.
"So...? How is it?"
Verc asked, his voice echoing in the wrecked room. He stepped forward, approaching the new vampires he had just brought into the world.
"Ah..."
At Verc’s question, the seven leaders turned to look at him. Their movents were different now—more fluid, more graceful, and far more precise.
They didn’t know what to say at first. They looked at what they had beco, then back at Verc.
Then, in unison, they all moved.
They bowed their heads deeply, their bodies bending in a sign of absolute respect and loyalty.
"THANK YOU FOR GRANTING US POWER, LORD VERC!!!"
They exclaid that at once. Their voices were loud, resonating with a new power that seed to vibrate the very air in the room. There was no hesitation in their tone; it was full of genuine respect and a terrifying level of devotion.
Verc just brushed off their words with a casual wave of his hand.
"Keep up the good work. Just make sure you protect the base from now on. With this power, there’s no reason for anything to break through our walls."
Verc said.
"YES, SIR!!!"
The leaders answered imdiately. They sounded like disciplined soldiers on a battlefield, their voices snapping with authority.
Verc just ignored their formality, he was getting used to it now. He wasn’t trying to build an army, though it seed he was getting one anyway.
So instead—
"But really, how do you feel? Tell the difference."
He looked at them and asked again, curious about the specifics of their transformation.
Groo was the first to speak. He looked down at his massive grayish hands, his red eyes glowing.
"Lord Verc... it’s incredible. My strength... it didn’t just double. It feels like it has multiplied by a lot. I feel like the air itself is thinner because I can move through it so easily."
FWOOSH—BAM!!!
He punched the air, and the sound of the friction was like a whip cracking.
"And it’s not just physical."
Mamon added, his voice sounding much smoother and more refined than the gravelly tone he had before.
"I can feel a weird energy inside my body. It’s cold, but it’s powerful. It flows through my veins like a river. Is this the mana you use, my lord?"
Verc just nodded.
"That’s your mana pool. It’s been expanded and converted. You’ll need to learn how to control it."
Kuma, who had also drunk Verc’s blood, stepped forward. He looked remarkably composed for soone who had just spent hours screaming. His speech was even more refined than Mamon’s, the rough edges of his gnoll accent almost entirely gone.
"I can’t believe that a lot had changed in us in just a short amount of ti. My lord, the world looks different. I can hear things in the forest I never noticed before. I can sll the life in the trees."
He looked at the others, his red eyes shimring.
"With what we have received... I have even forgotten the excruciating pain we just went through. It was a small price to pay."
The other family heads—Jagan, Pol, Don, and Epona—nodded in agreent.
The fear they once had of the [Cursed Forest] was being replaced by a sense of dominance...
They felt like they had been reborn as superior beings.
*****
Anyway, with them done and the transformation confird as a success, Verc decided it was ti to wrap things up. The room was a ss, and he had things to plan.
"Good. If you’re all fine, then you can leave and rest. You’ll need ti for your bodies to fully settle into the change."
Verc told them.
The leaders thanked Verc again and again, their gratitude almost becoming overwhelming. They bowed one last ti before turning to leave.
Soon, the leaders and the kids were all heading toward the door. They were about to leave to give Verc his privacy—they knew his routine by now, and they expected him to go right back into his training.
But before they could leave the room—
"Jed. Tatum."
Verc suddenly called out.
"...?"
The two stopped in their tracks and looked back.
So did the others, their faces full of curiosity. They wondered if there was so final instruction for the new vampires.
Verc stood by the window, looking out over the dark forest.
"Be ready."
He said simply.
"For what, my lord?"
Jed asked, tilting his head.
Verc gave a casual shrug, and turning to look at them—
"We will be heading to a city in a week."
He declared that with a straight face.
"?!!"
The others, especially Jed and Tatum, were surprised hearing this. Their eyes went wide.
But before they could even ask why or which city, Verc turned his head slightly to look at the other kids and the new vampire leaders—
"The rest of you... while we’re gone, you’re responsible for the base. Don’t let anything happen to it."
And then he added that. He had given them the power; now it was ti to see if they could use it to maintain what they had built.
"A city..."
Tatum whispered, nervousness can be heard in his voice.
"A week from now. Don’t be late."
Verc added, finally turning back to the view of the moon over the trees.
"YES, MY LIEGE!"
Tatum and Jed answered, their voices full of anticipation. The rest of the group bowed and finally exited the room, leaving Verc alone in the quiet, trashed chamber.
Verc looked at his hand, the one he had cut to feed Mamon and Kuma. The wound was already completely gone, leaving not even a scar.
’A city, huh?’
He thought.
’I guess it’s ti to see what happened as we were stuck here.’
He sat down in his shunted chair, ignoring the ss around him, and began to close his eyes to ditate.
He had one week to prepare.
User Comments
0 comments from readers