Vampire

Virgil looked up at Hassan's face and couldn't see the joy of winning in her blank expression. "What was that teleportation spell? It was faster than apparition."

She crossed her arms across her chest and glanced at Virgil with her deep purple eyes. "Some places you ask me to break into are cast with the anti-apparition charm. I needed a new way to move about so I studied this spell."

At this time the spell book returned to Virgil's side and the sigil on the page flashed. The rune on his back disappeared and his magic returned.

The pages on the book flipped again and displayed ᛚᛊᛗ. The runes were projected onto Virgil's body and he could feel himself recovering.

"What's the principle of the spell?" He sat up from the ground and picked up his dagger.

"I studied the floo network and portkeys to see how they worked. I used the principle of projection magic to create a mist similar to floo powder that can carry me to where I need to go."

She held out her hand and the black mist appeared above her palm. "I also developed a series of spells around it."

The black mist transformed into a dragon's head and bit toward a target in the distance. The dragon opened its mouth and bit the target on the shoulder before vanishing.

The shoulder where the dragon bit down had disappeared as well. "That's about it."

"Interesting." Virgil's eyes lit up and he got up from the ground. He sheathed his dagger and grabbed his book. The pages flipped to a blank page and he turned it towards Hassan.

Hassan looked at this powerful mystic code and placed her hand on the page. She transmitted her knowledge about the spell and a new sigil appeared on the page.

When she removed her hand the book snapped shut and went back to Virgil's waist. 

"If you didn't want to train your instincts you could beat me with this book if you used it like a tortoise shell."

Virgil patted his spell book with a smile and shook his head. "I've seen how every caster died in the Nasuverse. If I can gain Mind's Eye through my battle experience it will help me a lot. A bit of pain is nothing as long as I don't die."

Hassan just looked at Virgil for a moment before she disappeared.

"Cold as always." Virgil shrugged his shoulders and walked towards the magic temple.

Shortly after Virgil left, a pale short elf dressed in a white toga with droopy ears appeared on the field. It started repairing the damaged ground and even fixed the broken target.

Virgil walked through the forest path and looked at the birds chirping on the trees and the squirrels scurrying about.

There were no nuns or children in the back part of the territory and the forest was much more untamed. If the stone path wasn't enchanted it would have been overgrown as well.

Soon he walked into a clearing and saw a seven-layer Aztec-style temple. The temple was made of white stones covered in runic circles. Large stone steps led to the only entrance at the top of the temple. On top of the temple was a gigantic crystal that absorbed sunlight.

Virgil walked up the steps and could feel them competing with his spell book to absorb the magical radiation released from his body.

When he reached the entrance it was like walking through a film of water. Once he stepped through the barrier it was like stepping into a whole new world.

Small Fairies with colorful wings could be seen flying between the towering trees and strange-looking plants. On some trees, the green stick like Bowtruckles could be seen fighting off some strange insects trying to feed off the tree sap.

The sound of a flowing stream could be heard in the forest with the occasional splash.

Virgil walked along the path and saw completely wooden puppets harvesting a few magical plants and fallen fairy wings.

"This place really feels different." Virgil held out his hand and a little fairy sat on his finger. Her big eyes looked at him curiously before flying away.

Most of the magic collected in the territory is circulated in this temple to make the environment even more magical. Just like Hogwarts had supported the forbidden forest for years.

Virgil put his hands behind his back and continued walking along the winding path. Sometimes, the vines of a plant reached toward him and were blocked by a barrier on the path.

When he reached the central area there was a large lake with a wooden cabin next to it. Puppets could be seen coming and going from different directions with boxes in their hands.

On a bolder by the lake sat a beautiful woman with long red hair and the tail of a fish. She stared at Virgil not even caring her chest was exposed.

"Long time no see, Celia."

"I see Hassan has told you about the Vampires for you to show up here." She brushed a strand of wet hair behind her ear and looked a bit annoyed.

"Wasn't I just here when the werewolves were brought over?" He flashed a smile while walking to the cabin.

Celia rolled her eyes before jumping back into the water. "That was a year ago."

Virgil watched the Siren swim away before shrugging his shoulders. Celia and her tribe were the first intelligent magical species he captured. Just like the kids in the orphanage, he used them to practice his mental magic. Their original memories had been deleted and new ones weaved from magic took their place.

Now they were the caretakers of this temple using the rivers to travel about and the lakes to move to different floors.

The deeper you go the more dangerous magical creatures it housed. Virgil needed someone to watch them because his puppets would be destroyed.

Virgil walked into the cabin and saw the puppets at work processing and packaging all the material. Most of the materials would not be used to make potions but used to make cell culture to create more Hassan puppets.

He walked to the back of the room and stood on what looked like a lift. On the wall were numbers representing floors and he clicked the number seven.

The lift started lowering, passing through different cabins on different floors. Each one filled with puppets working. Even with six floors, it still took a year to gather enough materials to cultivate the cells needed for a Hassan clone.

The magic contained in a mature 5X creature was too great.

When the lift reached the seventh floor it was no longer a wooden cabin. Virgil walked into the stone prison filled with cells, even if only a few were occupied.

Besides the two vampires, there were five others locked in the cells. Their hands and feet were bound in runic chains that constantly drained their magic. Their cheeks were sunken and the whole person just looked lethargic.

All five were werewolves captured from different countries. He wanted to see if the curse differed by location. After his research, they were now used as batteries.

Their bodies shuttered when they heard Virgil's footsteps on the stone floor but didn't dare to lift their heads. Maybe out of fear, or physical weakness, either way, they were broken.

Virgil ignored the pups and walked to the cells of his new prize. In one cell was an elegantly dressed man with slicked-back black hair. In the other was a charming woman with a noble temperament dressed in a red evening gown with long blonde hair.

"Do you speak English?"

"You can't get away with this!" The male vampire tried to charge forward but the chains stopped him before he could reach the bars.

Virgil's eyes lit up and he clapped his hands in excitement. "Good! You speak English."

He walked in front of the cell of the male vampire and looked into his dark eyes. "What won't I get away with?"

The vampire stared into Virgil's blue eyes as he tried to break his chains. "I have a lot of friends and connections in the Ministry of Magic. Once they realize I'm gone they will look for me!" 

Virgil tilted his head to the side and looked a little confused."Is it illegal to deal with a Black Magic creature?"

"VAMPIRES ARE BEINGS!!" We have the same rights as you!" The chains clanked as the vampire screamed in rage.

Virgil's eyes opened wide like he had heard something amazing. "Are you sure? I heard they teach for three years at Hogwarts how to deal with Vampires."

He stepped back with a little fear and a smug look appeared on the vampire's face.

"Now you know to be afraid?! It's too late! Let us go and maybe your punishment will be less."

Virgil's face returned to calm and walked forward. "It seems like Vampires have degraded just as much as Wizards due to peace. Trying to threaten others with the rules instead of their power. Only Werewolves, who are still persecuted, have a bit of style. Nonetheless, even they are losers hidden from society."

"You-"

Before the Vampire could continue speaking, Virgil pointed his finger forward. "Crucio."

"Ahhhhh!" The vampire collapsed to the ground and arched his back so far it seemed it would break. His nails clawed at the ground and his veins bulged as he screamed.

"Charles!" The female vampire finally responded and screamed in desperation. "Please stop, I beg of you!"

She stared at Virgil with her deep green eyes and bit her lower lip in frustration.

Virgil glanced at the female vampire and watched as blood trickled down her chin. He stared into her eyes and stopped the spell.

Just when the female vampire thought her pleas were successful, she heard Virgil speak again.

"vulnus" A black bolt of light shot from Virgil's finger and hit Charles' shoulder. A blood flower bloomed as a hole was blown open and Charles' body tumbled backward.

"No resistance to this level of black magic either?"

"Why are you vampires so weak to magic?"

The female vampire looked into Virgil's curious blue eyes and stumbled. She fell to the ground and tried to put as much distance between them as possible.

She felt as though someone was grabbing her throat and she couldn't even make a sound.

"Does this frighten you? It seems like you're no different than normal witches and wizards. At least the wolves could resist this spell with nothing but a scratch when transformed."

Virgil shook his head and looked a bit disappointed. "It seems like this curse isn't very powerful."