The Demon King's First General
Chapter 52: Dampyr

Chapter 52: Dampyr

A long time ago, there was a tale circling around Exgreia. It was about a creature that was feared by all vampires. People said that these beings possessed abilities similar to theirs, but they had trouble drinking blood. They were known for their specific ability to detect and track demonic beings, especially vampires.

An offspring of two different entities: a child born from a vampire and a human. However, this story has remained a myth, even until now. There was never any solid evidence to verify these creatures existence, and there was not a single trace in every record in history to point out that these beings were real.

. . . . .

Lux kept watching the battle between the silver-haired demon and the Herish kingdom’s prince. He was one of those people who got attracted to Zeno when he performed his punches. He was amazed at how Zeno fought. His battle style captured the vampire’s attention.

"Like Aichelle has said, his movements are hard to predict," he commented.

After another bout, seeing that the second prince had released all of his remaining blood energy, he sent a small black sphere to where Lex was standing.

The tiny ball of energy sucked everything on its path, and after it traversed in the prince’s direction, he was pulled inside, and the sphere dispersed the moment the prince’s body disappeared, leaving his weapon that fell on the pavement.

"Hey, he’s my prey!" Zeno exclaimed as he stared at Lux.

The vampire smiled, and he went down to where Zeno was.

"And? He’s been my target since then," Lux said, lying.

In fact, he didn’t have any interest in the prince at first; he just did it to annoy the man in front of him. However, everything changed after he picked up the Blood Fang.

’This weapon...’ Lux thought,

He smiled, then looked at Zeno and asked.

"Can you imagine the destruction it will cause if a dampyr holds this weapon?" He said in a serious manner while examining the sword.

Zeno nodded before answering.

"Indeed, vampires like you would be dead by now; maybe your race would even be extinct," Zeno replied.

"That is if that being exists," he added. Then he tossed the scythe up, and it returned to a small black cube that landed in his palm.

"Who knows?" Lux answered, and he smiled upon seeing Zeno put the black dice into his pocket.

"Why did you already hide your weapon? Will you not attack me for stealing your prey?" He asked, curious.

After all, he did attack the prince to provoke the silver-haired demon, but his reply made him blink a few times.

"His soul has no value for me, but yours will be a nice addition to my collection." Zeno paused for a second and grinned as he saw Lux’s expression.

"Though I’m not in the mood now to fight you, if you continue to do your foolish act, the next thing you will be picking up is your head," he continued, threatening the vampire before him.

Lux was surprised by how bold Zeno’s threat was. He knew for a fact that winning against Cinn was an incredible feat, but to say those words to him without batting an eye.

"The Demon King’s First General, if what I witnessed earlier is the extent of your strength, you won’t stand a chance against me," Lux concluded, smiling.

Zeno couldn’t help but let out a series of laughs as soon as he heard the vampire’s conclusion.

"Do not test me; I can kill you in just a second with a single attack, but there’s no fun in that," the silver-haired demon replied.

However, the vampire didn’t believe him; he thought that the man was only bluffing.

’There’s no way to kill me in one hit,’ he thought.

Then Lux was about to reply when a cry resurfaced in the area. It came behind the broken, giant pillar.

The two men glanced at it, and after a few seconds, the pillar crumbled into dust as soon as hundreds of black butterflies exploded into it upon contact.

. . . . .

A couple of minutes earlier, inside the castle, three figures were hiding in the shadows of the corridors leading to the main hall.

"Father, My feet are swollen and I’m getting tired; can we rest for a second?" Lexel asked as they reached the end of the corridor. Then she fell on her knees.

They had been running without pause since the moment they escaped from the underground prison; they changed directions and even hid when they encountered bandits.

The thoughts resulting in anxiety were piling up inside the princess’ mind and eating her energy, making her exhausted.

"It’s okay; I’ll give you a minute to breathe," the ex-captain of the first battalion said while scanning the surrounding area.

"Thank you," the princess conveyed while looking at the man’s back. She tried to remember if she knew the man, but she failed to recognize him.

"Why are you being locked up in the prison?" She couldn’t hold her curiosity, so she asked the man directly.

"Lexel!" The king exclaimed as he heard her daughter’s question.

Then the man chuckled before answering.

"I killed your mother, the queen," he said.

Extreme shock enveloped the princess; her mother, whom she had never met in her life and had no memory of, was killed by the man in front of her. She didn’t know what to say, and tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. The yearning for a mother’s love she endured since the time she grew up resurfaced in her heart.

Then arms embraced her from behind; it was her father’s. And that was the moment she started to cry in silence. She wanted to scream, but the situation wouldn’t let her.

She desired to ask her father if what the man said was the truth, but his stillness already confirmed the answer.

"Time is up; move!" the man ordered, then dashed into the main hall.

The king let go of his daughter and stood up.

"Let’s go; we need to follow him," he uttered.

However, Lexel didn’t stop crying and looked at her father like a child.

"I don’t want to be saved by that man," she replied.

"Can you stomach it, Father? To ask for help from the man who killed your wife?" she added.

Her voice was low, but her every word slapped the king’s face hard.

"It’s the only way to sa-," the king explained, but he couldn’t finish his explanation when Lexel interrupted him.

"I’d rather die then!" She yelled.

Her action attracted the attention of the bandits roaming the castle. Then, after that, another yell reverberated inside.

"The king and the princess are missing; they escaped from the prison!" The voice shouted, alerting the men clad in black suits.

Then the two of them heard several footsteps from the place they came from.

"They are here! We found the escapees!" One of the bandits shouted.

The king didn’t waste time any further, and he pulled his daughter up and carried her on his shoulder.

"Put me down, Father! Please!" Lexel begged.

But the king didn’t heed her plea.

"Listen, I’ll tell you the whole story once we make it out here alive," the king replied.

"I won’t make the same mistake twice," he added.

The king continued to run, but he stopped as the ceiling above them collapsed, and a big, fat man sitting on the broken chandelier appeared as soon as the smoke dispersed.

"Where do you think you’re going?" He sneered.

"Surrender, and I won’t do you any harm. If my brothers are the ones who found you, I’m pretty sure you guys are not breathing as of now," he added.

Then he stood up from his seat and stomped. The concrete was destroyed, and the king dropped on his butt due to the extreme shaking of the floor while Lexel fell from his shoulder.

After that, they were surrounded in an instant by bandits, preventing them from running. The king gritted his teeth and embraced her daughter while she was still busy sobbing.

’Where are you, Delta?’ He thought.

Then a black sword plunged in front of the king’s position, and the ex-captain materialized out of nowhere.

"Do you really want to escape this place? Why didn’t you follow my lead?" He asked.

He was holding swords in both of his hands while standing at the handle of the sword struck on the floor. His epic entrance stunned the bandits, but they attacked as soon as the fat man ordered them.

However, as they charged into him, swords stabbed them in the head one after the other, and they were killed without any chance to counterattack.

"A domain-type Legacy—how unlucky am I to encounter one?" the fat man giggled.

Then the ceiling above changed into countless swords pointing downward.

"I do remember this scene, Delta, the Mad Executioner. I am Fritz, one of the leaders of Stygian Loop." He introduced himself, then stepped forward, and the castle shook once more.

"Enough talking," Delta said before he propelled himself toward the man in front of him by kicking the sword on the floor.

Then he spun in mid-air while his blades were aiming at the man’s neck. But Fritz raised his arms in front of him to protect his large body from the swordstrike.

Then blood splattered on the floor as soon as Delta’s blade collided into Fritzes’ arms.

"I guess I’m getting rough after all those years of rotting inside that cage," the ex-captain stated after he failed to separate the man’s arms from his elbows.

Fritz laughed upon hearing his opponent’s statement.

"Don’t joke around like that; it hurts like hell. I’ve really thought that my arms would be destroyed," he said after checking the damage he received.

Then another group of bandits showed up, and they charged upon seeing that Fritz had injuries. They raised their weapons to attack the ex-captain, but Delta hung both of his swords on his shoulders and dashed towards the men.

He simply passed them without swinging his weapons, but he left a trail of swords struck on the floor. Each of the men present inside his domain had their heads pierced, like what happened to the previous group of bandits.

"How troublesome when insects keep coming!" Delta sighed.

"Now, please sharpen my instincts that have become dull these past few years; show me what you’ve got," he uttered before he dashed to the fat man who was smiling.

"Come!" Fritz grinned as he clenched his fist and aimed it at Delta.

. . . . .