1 CHAPTER 1

"Is this the end? Am I really going to die in a cave?" Reinhardt thought to himself as he lay in a puddle of his own blood and unable to move his right leg as it was crushed by a large rock that fell from the cave's ceiling. He was sent on a mission to retrieve a legendary sword that can destroy a thousand foes in a single blow. Such a sword would be dangerous in the wrong hands, especially in the Mad King's hands.

A loud war-horn was from a distance, it was the sound of the Mad King's army marching, their heavy footsteps and drums were heard as it clanked on to the ground. He desperately tried to push the large rock away from his right leg but to no avail. He slammed his fists onto the rock as he cried in frustration, he looked at the legendary sword that was beside him and had an idea.

He used the sword as a jack to raise the rock, in order to create a tiny space for his right leg to roll-out. He screamed in pain as he tried to move his leg out of the rock. After that, he released his grip onto the sword and the rock fell down once again.

"Interesting, you managed to free yourself" a voice called out within the cave as it followed up with an ominous laugh "I was watching you writhe in pain while you desperately try to get your right leg out of that rock, and I must say that it was quite a show"

"Who are you? What do you want?" Reinhardt yelled as he tried to sit up with his back against the wall, removing the sheathe from the sword, tossing it away

"Oh, you're going to use that on me?" the voice said in a mocking tone "Who I am is not important, Knight Captain"

"You know me?" He asked with a confusion in his voice as he aimed the sword, blankly at the air.

"Of course, I know you" The voice replied as it materialized out of thin air in-front of him. It resembled a tall pale skinned woman with long black hair, reaching down to her back. She had cold, piercing red eyes that was set on him. She wore what seems to be a black longsleeve dress that was above her knees and was barefoot.

"The famous knight who slew the bandit king of the east, the renowned captain of the elite guard" She placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward, close to the tip of the sword "I've been watching you, Reinhardt"

She regained her composure as she stood up straight, looking down on him as she brushed the strands of her black hair aside from her face "As you might have heard, the Mad King's army is closing in on the Southern Kingdom. They might reach the outer city gate within the day"

He lowered the sword and placed it on the ground, the sudden realization struck upon him. He has the legendary sword in hand but what good can it do, if he can't stand up and use it against the invading army.

She snapped her right hand and a goblet appeared in front of him, the goblet was filled with strange red liquid that was bubbly and it reeked the smell of death

"In front of you, is a gift from me" She said as she picked up the cup from the ground and sat beside him "One drink from this goblet and you can save your kingdom, be the Hero once more but there is a catch"

He looked at her with his eyes brimming with hope and temptation "Give it to me, I'll do anything to save the Kingdom"

She chuckled and her eyes widened at what he said "You amuse me, Knight Captain. You don't even know what the catch is and yet you're so eager to save that little kingdom"

She placed the goblet on his right hand and leaned closely to his left ear "What are you waiting for? Drink it in"

He stared at the goblet with a dazed look of bewilderment, what if the he loses himself after it or what if he becomes a monster more terrible than the Mad King. A lot of questions popped up in his mind but there was no time for that now as he must make a decision.

She had a sly grin as she looked at him, she rested her head on his left shoulder and placed her left hand on the goblet "Let me help you with this"

"For the Kingdom, death to the Mad King!" He shouted as he raised the goblet as if he was toasting.

She raised her head with a happy surprised look planted on her face as he emptied the cup and tossed it away.

He suddenly felt strange and his vision became blurry as if someone was leaning on his eyes. He tried to fight the urge but was utterly defeated at the end and he collapsed in a few seconds.

She stood up and placed her hand on her chin, thinking about what happened and looked at the cup that was tossed away. The cup was fully empty and not one speck of liquid remained "You have no idea what's coming to you now"

A sinister laugh echoed throughout the cave and his transformation had just begun.

Reinhardt awoke with a terrible hunger, he noticed that he was no longer in the cave but back inside his quarters inside the castle. He sat up and looked outside the window. The moon was shining its bright rays through the window, providing light to the dark room that he was in. He stood up and walked towards the mirror, his eyes turned crimson red and his skin was pale as if he was dead.

His hunger was seeping in him and the smell of blood lingered on his nostrils. He began to follow the smell as he went outside and found a young maid wiping the paintings on the wall. The call of blood was too strong to ignore and within mere seconds, he lunged at the young woman from behind and began to bite her neck.

The maid tried to resist but was too weak and soon fell silent and still. Reinhardt released the young maid from his grip and her lifeless body fell onto the floor. With his hunger satisfied, he began to regain consciousness of his actions. The sight of the lifeless young woman made him confused and shocked

"Did I really do this?" He thought to himself and he suddenly remembered something that made him more shocked. The blood, screams of agony and rage was flashing upon his eyes.

He saw the look on one of the soldiers on the battlefield, bloodied and begging for his life. The soldier was in no condition to fight anymore due to his injuries and cuts.

He grabbed the soldier by his throat and lifted him up using his left hand. The soldier was struggling and screaming, begging for his life to be spared but in an instant, Reinhardt snapped its neck with his grip and tossed him away. The corpses of a thousand men was surrounding him and only he was only person that was standing, eyes with blood-lust and rage. The legendary sword was soaked in blood of countless enemies and the tip was continuously dripping with it. He raised his sword to the sky and yelled "Death to the Mad King! To my health and death to the others!"

He pointed his sword to the remaining soldiers in front of him. They were cowering in fear and hiding behind their shields. Their morale was broken and had lost the will to fight.

He grinned and began to charge towards the soldiers. The screams of agony echoed throughout the battlefield as he effortlessly slashed each and every one of them. With all of the soldiers gone, he slowly walked towards the Mad King's tent and slowly opened it.

The Mad King was in full armor and was not fazed by the death of his men and calmly stood up and greeted him

"I've been waiting for you, Knight Captain. You wish to kill me? Here I am now"

He picked up his sword from the table and tossed away the sheathe. The blade was made out of silver and had a long crimson grip with a wolf pommel and golden chappe.

They began to clash with their swords and in the heat of the battle, the Mad King kicked the gut of Reinhardt, causing him to fall and tried to strike him down but Reinhardt quickly blocked his attack and fended him off as he stood up.

The Mad King began his offensive, rapidly swinging his sword that was effortlessly blocked by Reinhardt. Both men began to pant heavily due to the exhaustion from the battle.

"I must admit that you are a formidable fighter, Knight Captain. Nobody has lasted this long with me" The Mad King said as he tightened his grip on the sword and began to charge again.

Reinhardt did the same and both men clashed with their swords once again. This time, he backed away from the Mad King and his eyes flashed as he began to grab the air, the Mad King felt his neck tighten and he was lifted up from the ground.

"What sorcery is this?" The Mad King uttered as he began to struggle and he felt the grip on his neck was tightened further, causing him to drop his sword to the ground.

Reinhardt laughed ominously at the sight of the Mad King whose life is at his hands and was at his mercy as well "I've always dreamed of this day. The day that the Mad King dies!"

A thick black smoke entered the room and materialized beside Reinhardt once again. It was the same woman who gave Reinhardt his power. The woman began to wrap arms around him and leaned close to his ear "Isn't this what you always wanted? Kill him and claim your victory"

Reinhardt nodded as he grinned maliciously. He slowly tightened the grip on the Mad King's neck, making him scream in pain and shake violently. The woman laughed as Reinhardt closed his fist, snapping the Mad King's neck. He released his grip on him and the lifeless body of the Mad King lay on the floor with a loud thud.

The woman kissed Reinhardt on the cheek and her right hand played with his hair "What a cruel man you've become, my dear"

Reinhardt gently pushed the woman away and placed the sword back to its sheathe "I have become death"

The woman walked slowly towards the corpse of the Mad King and leaned over a little "And death you are, my dear" She stood up and placed her hands on her hips, looking at him "Where will you go now?"

"Home" Reinhardt answered as he left the tent, leaving the woman behind.

Everything was clear to him now, he fell onto his knees and slammed the ground with his fist. He has become a monster much more worse than the Mad King himself.

The following day, news of the young maid who was slain inside the castle spread like wildfire. There were rumors of a beast circulating around the castle but the King has denied any proof of its existence, unbeknownst to them, the culprit was very close to them. Reinhardt found it hard to adjust to his current state, the light of the sun was like to acid to his skin. It burns and hurts like a fresh brand, he refrained from going out during the day and only appearing at night time.

When the night came, the hunger proved to be strong once again. He scoured the castle for his next prey and found the princess alone in the garden.

"Princess Annaliese" he muttered while looking at her from afar. Her long brunette hair reached towards her shoulders, she was tall and slender, ripe for taking and had ample proportions of bust and behind that complimented her figure. The princess watered the plants and cared for them as she has cared for him when they were little.

Her heartbeat was so loud that it deafened him, the call of blood was too strong to ignore once gain. He struggled to keep himself away from her but his urge was slowly defeating him. He has to feed right now.

The water bucket fell to the ground and its contents continuously spilled throughout. Reinhardt held the princess in an embrace from behind, sinking his teeth on to her neck.

Annaliese did not struggle but offered herself fully to him. After a minute, her body became lifeless but he didn't let go of her. He wept at the sight of it. The cold and empty body was all that remained of the former princess.

"I'm so sorry, Annaliese. I never meant to do this" he sobbed and carefully lay her down on the ground.

A thick black smoke appeared and materialized beside him, it was the woman once again. He knelt down in front of her, looking at the ground.

"I want to end this. Kill me now"

The woman chuckled at his pitiful display. The once determined and brave Knight was now broken in despair. She cupped his chin and lifted his head up "Now, why would I want to do that?"

He pushed away her hand and stood up, looking at her with eyes that were filled with rage. With one instant swoop, the woman felt his tight grip on her neck. Reinhardt raised her up to the sky with one hand and hissed

"You! You're the cause of all of this madness!"

The woman quickly disappeared and materialized behind him, she embraced him from behind and leaned close to his ear "You think that would work on me, Darling?"

"Tch. Is my suffering amusing to you?" He grunted with a tone of disappointment in his voice. For the first time, he didn't push her away or did anything. Nothing would change the outcome of this situation, the grim reality of him being the monster that the he is now and the events that had taken place. He wished that all of it was a dream but nay, it was not.

"You are an interesting fellow, Knight Captain" She bit his ear softly and her right hand played with the hem of his shirt "When you drank from the goblet. I gave you power, more than you can imagine. You are mine now, my husband, my property and my angel of death"

She released him from her embrace and walked towards the corpse of the princess. With a snap of her finger, her form changed resembling the now dead princess annaliese.

"Do I look more appealing to you in this form?" She asked while slowly twirling in front of him

He looked away, clenching both of his fists into a ball. The disrespect was too much for him to handle. She wrapped her around him and coolly looked at him "What's the matter? Don't you like it?"

She turned her look to the corpse of the princess once again then back to him "I can resurrect her, if you want"

His eyes widened at she said, giving him hope and relief from his sadness "You would do that, for me?"

"Consider it as a gift from me but what I want in return, is your complete devotion to me, and to me alone"

Reinhardt let out a heavy sigh and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking at her, in the eye "Do I even have a choice"

She laughed at him and buried her head on his chest "You never fail to amuse me, Darling"