Reborn as a Vampire in a Dying World: Blood, Power, and Pleasure
Chapter 59: System Override: Last Stand

Chapter 59: System Override: Last Stand

Beyond the corner was a massive chamber—vaulted ceilings, intricate molding, and a display of wealth that bordered on arrogance. Paintings adorned every inch of the walls, and priceless statues lined the floor like silent sentinels.

But all that grandeur meant nothing compared to what else was in the room.

Vampires.

At least ten of them.

"What?" one of them barked, snapping to attention.

"How the hell did he survive this long?" another hissed, eyes narrowing.

"Doesn’t matter. Take him out," a burly one growled, stepping forward with authority.

Without hesitation, three vampires lunged, following the burly one’s lead.

Corven barely stayed upright. He was in no shape to fight head-on. If he tried to dodge, he’d trip. If he actually managed to dodge, he’d hit the ground—and they’d be on him in an instant.

It was a death sentence.

That is, if he played fair.

[Gravewright Activated]

– Blood (30 Units)

Corven’s eyes flicked to the middle vampire. With a thought, the vampire’s abdomen started to swell—distorting grotesquely, like it was filling with pressure from the inside.

"What—"

He didn’t finish.

BOOM.

The explosion tore through him, splattering bone and gore in every direction. Razor-sharp boney ligaments burst out from within, catching the other two attackers in the blast.

But it wasn’t over.

Corven, panting from the strain, dropped low and rolled behind a nearby stone statue of a winged noblewoman. The detonation created a brief window of chaos—just enough for him to slip out of sight.

"Did that kill them...?"

He peeked around the edge. The center one was definitely dead—nothing but shredded remains. But the two others were still alive, their flesh stitching back together as regeneration kicked in.

[Bloodbolt Activated (2x)]

– Blood (20 Units)

No hesitation. Corven summoned two bloodbolts into his trembling hands, focusing through the haze of dizziness and nausea.

He threw them fast—desperate, precise.

SPLASH.

SPLASH.

Both bolts struck their targets, piercing into their open wounds. Their regeneration stopped instantly—halted before the process could complete.

That was enough.

With the bloodbolts disrupting their healing, the injuries became fatal. Bone punctured chest, skull, abdomen—killing both on the spot.

But there was no time to breathe.

SMASH.

The statue Corven had hidden behind shattered violently. The instant he revealed himself to throw the bloodbolts, one of the other vampires spotted his position.

"Shit—!"

Corven barely had time to react.

BANG.

A vampire shoulder-charged straight through the statue, crashing into him and sending him flying across the chamber. He slammed into a wall, coughing in pain.

Fragments of porcelain and blood clung to his back as he gasped for air, the shattered remains of wealth now soaked in red.

"Curses..."

There was no pause. Another vampire moved in from the side and delivered a brutal kick straight into Corven’s ribs.

THUD.

The force hurled him like a ragdoll, smashing him into another wall—this one lined with ornate decorative plates. The porcelain shattered along with his breath.

"Ahhhkk—!"

Blood sprayed from his mouth, splattering across the polished stone floor.

He tried to rise—hands trembling, legs barely functioning—but he was surrounded, and badly outnumbered.

CRACK.

The same vampire closed the gap again. As Corven managed to get back to his feet, the attacker drove a punch into his chest. A sickening crunch rang out—bones snapping audibly.

Corven staggered but didn’t fall.

His eyes were bloodshot. His face twisted with pain. The illusion still pulsed in his skull, every breath like breathing fire. He was half-crazed, and furious.

"Got you!" he shouted, lunging forward and grabbing the vampire’s head with both hands.

"Wait—!"

SPLAT.

The vampire’s skull caved in like a melon, crushed between Corven’s palms. Blood sprayed, and Corven stumbled, soaked in red, barely holding himself together.

He was dying. He knew it.

But even now—he had one advantage.

His evolution through Lilian. It made him stronger, tougher... better than the third-rate mobs charging at him like fodder.

"He’s a beast..."

"Don’t get discouraged—he’s clearly losing it," another scoffed, forming a blood-forged sword in his hand.

"Just kill him before he does anything else crazy!"

That one lunged—blade drawn, aiming straight for Corven’s neck.

"Not on my watch...!" Corven roared, catching the sword mid-swing—with his bare hands.

The blade cleaved through his fingers instantly. Blood poured from the wound, and his grip trembled.

The illusion was draining his healing factor—his body was too busy trying to survive the magical pressure. He couldn’t regenerate properly.

But the momentary block worked, slowing down the blade for at least one to two seconds.

The sword-wielding vampire’s eyes widened in shock. "Stop struggling!"

"That’s a no!"

Corven drove both hands forward—shoving them into the vampire’s chest with monstrous strength. His fingers sank deep, wrapping around the vampire’s heart.

SPLAT.

The blade nearly reached his throat, but Corven was just a little faster.

Still... it wasn’t enough.

Before he could crush the heart, another vampire rushed in—delivering a brutal haymaker across Corven’s face.

BASH.

His body dropped like a stone, face hitting the floor with a sickening smack. Blood sprayed from his mouth, a few teeth rolling across the floor.

Corven groaned, pushing himself up with shaking elbows.

"Won’t it kill you guys to go easy on me?" he laughed through broken teeth, coughing up more blood between words.

"By the devil’s horns... you’re insane," the one who punched him muttered, flexing his wrist—the punch had clearly hurt him, too.

"Leywin didn’t say anything about a monster like this showing up," said the vampire with the impaled heart, still somehow alive—his heart hanging out by a few veins, twitching.

It should’ve been impossible.

But Corven wasn’t alone.

Something was watching over him.

[Emergency Interference: Host Dying!]

[Conditions Fulfilled]

...

...

T̸̢̤͇̲̘̝͓̠̳̦̱̔̃̋̏͠H̴̨̛̛̤̖̘̲͙̗̩̲̭̞͖̉̒̐̄̃̄̉͆̎̚ͅR̷͙͋̅̈́̂͋͗͠Ǫ̵͎͓̝͔̟̖͖̰̏̈́͑̐͐̏̽U̴͖͉̻̻̙̘̰͌͛Ģ̵̼̤̩̜̀̈̒̇̑̓̚̚͝͝H̵̡̧͖̜̗̻̺̼̋̿̃́̚ ̸̝̐̇̎̍̇͛͗͠͝D̴̛̟̲͚̻̬͈͓̱͇̲͚͖͇̟̙̾͌̌̈́̾E̶̢̖͔̹̟̳͖̗̾̎̎̋Ä̷̱̟͔̪̯́̋͋̾̓͑̍̄̌̎̍͊̅͝T̶̨̜͓̲͍̾̓̓͌͜H̸̢̞̹̯̯̹͓̥̳̖̰̎́̀ ̷̡͇͎̓̀́́̓̒̓͝͠Ą̷̢͈̝͇̟̦̪̞̥̱̖̣̏̎̈́͐͘͘ͅR̸̢̯̺̘̬̘͊͋̈́̒̀̄̀̈́̉͊̔͌̕E̶̢̲̗̥̳͍̥͓̾̈̌̾͠ ̵̯͙̘͔̺̠͈̝̫͚̒̄̑͊̾̋́͑͆̕̕͝͝͝W̸̨̛̝̯͎̞͙̲̪̑̊̌̒̀͌̅͐͑͘͜͝ͅͅE̵͚͑̒͛̂̀̾͘̚͠͠ ̴̡̋̈́̊̓̄͗̍̽̄̌̃͊͑̃͘Ţ̴̨̛͙̝̱̝͙̰̼̠̬̈́̏̑̀͛̈͋̽͋͛̃͛̊̚R̸̢̩̩̘͓̺̲̘̓̓̾͝ͅǗ̶̧͔͇̦̹̮͎̦͖̹̣͎̉͜Ļ̶̬̼̪̩̺̈́̄͋̂̽̈́̀Ÿ̷̡͕͈̝̞̹͇͚͖̫̲̥̠́͛̏ ̶̧̝̯̦̣͇̯̝̯͂̓̾͂̆̍̈́̉̋͋͂͝R̶̨͕̟͍̠͓̘̼̱̹̗̋̌̊̄̔̂̓̄̽̓̂̾̕͠͝E̷̩͖̣͔̞̼̰̖̪̲̲̓̀͒̏̀̀̽̈́̀̔̐͛͝͝B̴̨̧̢̡̛̙̩͈̬̱̣̱͒͛͐̔́̓O̴̧̘͖̪̱̟̩̼̒͗̿R̷͉̠̗̰̠̦̙̝̹͓̝̂N̷̢̧͙͎̹̰̫̯͉̫̥̊͜

...

...

[Core Quest Triggered]

[Objective: Survive for One More Minute]

[Reward: ???]

Corven blinked, still sprawled on the blood-slick floor, consciousness fading.

Then... he laughed.

Soft, delirious, almost manic. The kind of laugh that came from knowing you were already past the point of no return.

A puddle of crimson spread out beneath him, but he found the energy to chuckle.

’Seriously? You couldn’t have triggered this before I started bleeding out?’

One minute. Sixty seconds. An eternity when your bones are broken and your blood’s decorating the floor.

He grit his teeth.

’Fine.’

He could give them one more minute of hell.

And this hell? It’s made of nothing but pure persuasion.