How to Live As the Vampire Lord

“It had been a long time since I ran into a vampire, so I was looking forward to it.
But it seems I was excited for nothing.
You’re not even stronger than an intermediate monster.”

The knight scoffed while holding onto the figure’s hair.
He desperately stretched out his hands towards the knight, but it was in vain.
Eugene bathed in anger, despair, and regret in the pouring rain.
He continued waving his amputated arms in the air to no avail. 

“You killed quite a few, didn’t you, you dirty beast.”

“Kyareuk! Kyarreuk!”

He could not even speak properly any longer, most of his blood having drained already.
The only reason he could still hold on was due to the fact that he had sucked dozens of people’s blood in the past six months, during his days of escape. 

If he had been caught on the first day of his escape, he would have been killed immediately.

“You can die proud, knowing that you bestowed the honorable title of Vampire Slayer to Lord Dircht.
Do you want to know a secret?”

The templar, the holy knight, the one who always cried out for noble faith – finally grinned while revealing his desires.

“The fact I joined the trackers after a few months, and the fact I’ve been letting you roam around.
I did it on purpose.
Since you are a relatively new vampire, it was better for me to hunt you down slowly to make the church and myself known.
It also served as a warning for the unbelievers.”

“Keughh!”

“This is where your role ends.
God will not tolerate any more than this.
Then burn in purgatory forever, monster.”

Crunch!

The silver-plated long sword sliced through Eugene’s neck.
Crimson red blood spilled from the cut and was greedily engulfed by the pouring rain.

“The evil, vicious vampire is dead! God has given us victory! We won!”

“Woaaahh!”

The voices of the mercenaries accompanying the templar violently resonated in Eugene’s head.
Light was slowly fading from his eyes, and his vitality disappeared.
Eugene’s past days swept past his mind like a flash.

If only he had not spent all that time in the mountains like a poor, helpless beast. 

If only he had learned and practiced earlier what he learned during the past half-year.

If only he realized earlier that sucking blood was not just a simple act of fulfilling one’s hunger.

If only he had overcome his fears and somehow challenged stronger beings to win and devour their blood.

If only…

If only… 

If only…

The last thoughts of life approached him like pouring rain and scattered into vain reminiscence.
After realizing that he was not a regular human being, he had lived hidden away in the mountains for 12 years.
The Vampire Eugene finally breathed his last.

***

“Huegh!”

Eugene woke up in a dark room without a speck of light.
Breathing heavily, he ran his hands over his entire body.

“W, was it a dream?”

It could not have been.

Half a year on the run.

Just a moment ago, he had been captured and killed in a miserable fashion by Jung Dircht.
The templar captured him after persistently tracking him in his final month of escape.

The pain and humiliation were still vivid in Eugene’s memories as if it were a slave’s brand.

“What is going on…”

Eugene mumbled blankly, then quickly looked around.

“Is this… my house?”

He was currently in the cabin that he had built as a child – the same cabin he repaired repeatedly when it wore and broke down.
Eugene hurriedly approached the door.

Vampires possessed superior senses compared to humans, and as such, this level of darkness posed no problems for Eugene.
He glanced at a calendar he personally produced.

“12 years and 192 days.”

Knowing that there were 365 days in a year, he marked a blank space with an X mark before sunrise every morning.
Thus, according to the signs on the calendar,

“Almost half a year ago.
Before everything happened.
Did I really come back to the past?”

Eugene muttered dazedly in the darkness.

“I… am not dead.”

Thick, hot tears started flowing from Eugene’s eyes.
He was overcome with complex and violent emotions as a vampire who was subjected to a violent death.
Bloodied tears continued flowing as he convinced himself of the miracle.

After a while, Eugene wiped the tears that soaked his rough cheeks.

Now was not the time to be relieved.

“192 days right now.
So five days from now.”

An event would completely transform his fate five days from now.
Of course, at that time, he never imagined it would have such an effect on his life.
It had simply been someone else’s business.

“Five days.
Five days…”

Eugene whispered softly, then bit his lips.

“I will never die like that again.
If I really am back in the past, then by all means…”

Eugene made up his mind.
He learned and realized many things during his half a year of escape.
A vampire like himself could never live quietly.
Even if he lived in hiding without consuming human blood, he would one day be caught and prosecuted as a miserable fugitive.

He learned the hard way in his previous life.

So he would not hide anymore.

He would grow stronger – strong enough to fight confidently even if his identity was revealed.

“I will never regret anything again.”

Eugene’s eyes glowed even redder in the dark.
Five days.
It was short, but enough.

*** 

Kieeeek.

Eugene carefully opened the door after making all the preparations.
Heavy clouds colored the sky in the rainy season, so fortunately, he was not exposed to direct sunlight.

But even this level of sunlight restricted the activities of vampires.

Eugene once again confirmed his outfit.
A dark mask that completely covered his face and a black leather robe that covered even his ankles.
He was dressed in a thick, black shirt and pants inside the robe as well.

Vampires could be active during the day as long as they weren’t exposed to direct sunlight, and it was much easier for them on a cloudy day such as this.
Although they could not express their unique strength, their physical abilities were still superior to that of ordinary humans.

Eugene carefully left through the door with his coverings.
He was in good shape.
He felt so comfortable that it felt almost luxurious, considering the past when he was being tracked and chased by the enemies.

Eugene locked the door tightly and inspected the cabin, though he knew no one would stumble upon it.
Then he started moving towards the mountain.

In the distant past, he consumed human blood on a single occasion when he was driven by instinct.
Less than two days later, mercenaries were out to find him.
Eugene had been small enough to hide in the sewers during the day to avoid their search.
On the fifth day of hiding, knights armed with torches and terrifying weapons roamed the village at night.
Their weapons emitted a divine power so immense that he felt weak just by looking at them.

It wasn’t until he ran into Jung Dircht that he learned their identities.
They were templars, natural enemies of vampires.

He was stricken with fear and escaped.
He crossed mountains and fields every night before eventually arriving in this place, and after that incident, he sustained himself by consuming the blood of the animals he hunted in the forest.

For 12 long years.

“I will not do such stupid things anymore.”