The Battle and a Wager

Draig had been busy, his essence running dry during the past two days due to Kira and the recruits finally returning. The moderate sized rag tag group had become a small orderly unit, there were no longer traces of laziness or fear in their eyes. These slobs had actually turned into powerful bringers of death, their intense aura easy to feel in the air.

Draig seeing the results nodded and hoped to see more like these troops in the future but the timing of their arrival made it difficult for Draig to properly prepare everything that he had done as a back up measure to win. The sudden switch back to the original goal had forced him to stay up and constantly spend his Mana to form the materials into the appropriate gear for himself and his soldiers. However this by itself wouldn't have been so bad, he had finished the gear that they would and outfitted them with Blood Gems but it was looking at these gems that a rather crazy Idea had started forming.

Dracule had brought him countless other blood drops which he had dedicated to the his Tome, quickly he drank a potion that had been traded for a few more Blood gems by Warren's granddaughter to recover his Mana before pouring his all into producing Blood Gems. Each of them sparkling as they were produced almost like a crimson rain until Draig stopped, he was unsure of how well this experiment would work but he would still require as much Mana as possible for his next move.

Taking a deep breath and focusing intently on the pile of gems Draig's Mana surrounded them however unlike other materials it was tougher to mold the Blood Gems. It was a slow going process as he had to expend more Mana in order to condense the Blood Gems into a smaller shape just a bit longer than the hand but as thick as a crochet needle, the head being topped with a little crimson Skull while the point of the object seemed to take the shape of a Fang making for an interesting shape.

Now while this had indeed drained the young Feratu he still possessed what he had believed would be sufficient Mana to Enchant his experiment but it was far from it. His body shriveled and his mind became feeble as he felt himself starting to drift but found himself saved when he saw a message from the system.

'Passive Skill Activated'

Draig found his mind becoming whole again but his Mana had still run from him, intending to stop the process he found that he couldn't and felt that this enchantment began to consume the entirety of his focus again even as the edges of his vision started to fade he had seen the completed product and felt victory.

'Congratulations; Level up, Enchantment skill up, New skill unlocked'

Unfortunately he didn't get to see the whole message from the system before unconsciousness took him.

While Draig was knocked out from exhaustion Zarra had managed to pay a visit but it wasn't the young Feratu that he encountered.

"Hello Mortal" stated Dracule drumming his stick fingers against the table he was sitting at.

"Who are you" demanded Zarra calmly.

"I had a feeling that you would come by today, it was a perfect chance to try and reap some benefits" continued Dracule as he rested his hand on a piece of paper with red lettering.

"Who Are You" stated Zarra again as he began to allow his Mana to flow.

"Take a seat and all will be explained, hurry your boy recovers rather quickly" answered Dracule causing the mage to widen his eyes as his mouth dried.

Taking a seat he looked at Dracule trying to get a read on him.

"I wondered why you were always snooping around, keeping those annoying little rifts open near here. I must admit I hadn't even started suspecting anything until after the boy awakened, his blood smells almost exactly like yours. However it smelled nothing like that at all until he awakened, I wonder why is that" started Dracule.

"The dark energy I naturally produce as a Dark Mage is the reason" stated Zarra seeming to age before the Jack o Lanterns eyes.

Now of all the answers Dracule was expecting this was not one of them.

"Then the boy's mother" asked Dracule getting a terrible feeling.

"She was a Scribe that had been bitten by one of your kind though we managed to prevent her from turning" explained Zarra as he thought back to that time.

However Dracule was feeling as if the heavens were mocking him, the boy he had thought to be the true heir of Feratu wasn't even born from Vampire parents.

"How did he end up like this" asked Dracule needing an explanation.

"Even though we had cured her from turning it still remained in her bloodstream inactive but when her blood in his veins mixed with my Dark Energy a transformation occurred and he was born a Vampire. My wife died during birth and with the boy's condition I couldn't be of any help" explained Zarra finally staring into the flames filling the pumpkin's head.

"What do you want" asked Zarra glancing at the paper.

"Simple, make a wager with me" stated Dracule with a smile that looked demonic.

"If I refuse" asked Zarra already getting the gist of the situation.

"I tell the boy bout his dear old dad and how he abandoned him because of something beyond his control" laughed Dracule.

"Very well, what is the wager" asked Zarra looking at the paper again.

"Simple if Draig wins I want to look at that bizarre machine however if he loses then I will do whatever it is you may wish" stated Dracule seriously.

"Why" asked Zarra finally.

"I don't have anything better to do and I have always been curious about that thing" explained Dracule causing the mage chuckle and gain back a bit of his playful nature.

"Well said" laughed Zarra signing the paper confirming his assent to the wager.

Unknown to the mage or even Draig was that a Vampire's ability didn't necessarily reside in one's body. A fact that would have been made possible if anyone had trapped a Vampire's spirit before but Dracule's dazzling flaming eyes revealed not even a hint of a trick but with a slight fading of Dracule's eyes Zarra seemed pause for just a second.

"Sorry must be getting late" stated Zarra still unaware of what had happened as he stepped through the rift.

Dracule looked at the paper and laughed, he had made ground in finally completing his one mission against the world of humanity.

'I wasted so much of my life force on this brat, I had even started liking this insect' thought Dracule with a sneer as he left Draig where he laid in the basement.

'At least it will all have been for something, for now I must ensure that this brat wins' Dracule with that thought returned to his pumpkin patch.