Reborn as a Vampire in a Dying World: Blood, Power, and Pleasure
Chapter 37: Seduction, Interrupted

Chapter 37: Seduction, Interrupted

As Rose and Corven reached the second floor of the establishment, they didn’t find the typical hallway lined with rooms.

Instead, it was just... void.

Endless.

Dark.

And completely disorienting.

"The hell...?" Corven muttered, his head swaying slightly as he looked around, struggling to focus.

"Is this supposed to be a joke?" Rose asked, turning behind her.

But the stairs were gone. Vanished as if they had never existed.

"We’re stuck..." Rose added, her voice sluggish, slurred. She could barely string her words together.

[Special Vampiric Ascension Activated]

[Condition: Overcome Trial]

"Huh...?" Corven blinked, wobbling on his feet as the system message floated in front of his vision.

’Special...? What does that mean?’

’Is this the drink’s doing?’

’And how the hell is this alternate space even possible?’

Before he could make sense of it, a sudden burst of air surged toward him. A wave of pressure, thick with bloodlust.

TWACK.

A hit landed square on his face, sending him flying several meters back with brutal force.

"Corven!" Rose cried, eyes wide. She turned instantly toward the source.

Standing before her was a figure. Humanoid in shape, but entirely made of crimson shadow. No face. No details. Just a shifting outline of something both there and not.

"Bastard!" she snarled and launched herself forward, claws flashing.

SWISH.

Her first swipe missed, dodged with eerie ease.

"Take this!" she shouted, slashing again.

SWISH.

Another miss. The figure moved like smoke, intangible and evasive.

Then it countered.

One solid punch to the gut.

THUD.

Rose blocked it with her palm, but the impact pushed her back. Her reaction time was off, movements sluggish. The drink was still messing with her coordination.

"I can’t think straight..." she muttered through gritted teeth.

The crimson shadow advanced, raising its hand for another strike.

But Corven was already back on his feet.

His fist clenched.

The shadow sidestepped, narrowly avoiding Corven’s wild punch, but he didn’t stop.

"It isn’t fair attacking me out of nowhere like that!" Corven yelled, eyes wide, unfocused, and wild.

The drunken haze stripped away his usual calm. What stood now was a man ready to throw hands with anything that breathed.

Corven was, without question, a terrible drunk.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

Jabs. Hooks. Haymakers. He didn’t even care if they landed. His body moved on instinct.

He had brawled like this before. After losing bets. After getting cheated. This wasn’t new to him. He knew how to fight dirty, even while buzzed out of his mind.

"Disrespectful gnat!" Corven growled, throwing another punch.

From the sidelines, Rose blinked in surprise, watching the chaotic onslaught.

"This is... an interesting side of him," she said under her breath, bemused.

But just as Corven moved in for another swing, the shadow caught his fist mid-air.

"Huh...?" he mumbled, blinking in confusion.

Then came a sharp knee to the stomach.

CRACK.

"AGHHK—!" Corven coughed, stumbling back, nearly doubling over.

Rose tensed, her body shifting to move.

But before she could leap in, Corven’s voice rang out inside his head.

’Gravewright!’

In an instant, a small bone materialized above him. It hovered for a second, then morphed into a sleek rapier, dropping straight toward the shadow’s head.

– Blood (65 Units)

"Eh?" Rose stopped in her tracks, eyes widening.

The shadow stepped back, avoiding the falling weapon, but Corven lunged forward, grabbing it mid-air.

Now armed.

His grin returned, slurred and crooked. "Checkmate."

The shadow tried to react, swinging wildly.

SWISH.

Corven flicked his wrist. The shadow’s left hand vanished, severed cleanly.

"Woah..." Rose whispered, legitimately impressed. "So this is him drunk..."

Realizing the tide had turned, the shadow tried to flee, melting into the void.

Corven stumbled while chasing, his coordination still shaky.

Rose’s lips curled into a smirk.

"My turn," she said, then vanished in a blur of speed.

She caught up in seconds, grabbing the shadow by the back of the neck.

"You don’t get to walk away after pulling that stunt," she hissed, tightening her grip.

Without warning, she spun on her heel and hurled the shadow back toward Corven like a human projectile.

Corven raised his blade lazily, watching the incoming target.

"Eh...? Well, this makes things easier."

He adjusted his grip. Waited.

THRUST.

With one fluid lunge, he impaled the shadow straight through the head.

"Get skewered, you bastard," he muttered with a crooked grin.

The moment the rapier pierced through, the entire space shifted.

The endless black void shimmered. Walls, ceiling, and floor formed out of nowhere. Furniture, light fixtures, curtains. The classy decor settled in like paint filling a canvas.

And behind them, a door clicked into place. Polished mahogany with a brass number etched at eye-level.

Room Seven.

[Condition: Overcome Trial]

[Completed]

[Ascending...]

Race: Vampire → Vampire (II)