"Wh-what……what is th-this? What……are y-you?"

  Good, looks like I made it in time……I had just about been able to hold on to my senses, fortunately the craving I felt died down a bit after I killed all those Vampire Generals. I ignored Eighty-Seven and shot towards Az and Persia, grabbing them and moving them away a bit, before zipping towards Fuo and moving her unconscious body near the other two as well.

  "What just……? Kuro, did something happen?" Inquired Persia with a look of surprise, "Um……why are you drooling so much?"

  As she said that, I felt that ravenous desire resonating within me again, growing stronger and stronger, I was craving Eighty-Seven's life force……

  "Never mind that, just use a healing spell and stand back, you too Az. And Persia……we need to have a talk about your recklessness, I've got a lot to say to you about the stunt you pulled back there," I replied, flicking her forehead, before turning my attention back to the Vampire, who flinched and stumbled back nervously.

  Az took out a healing spell and gave it to her as I walked towards Eighty-Seven……I had consumed the life force of eight of the nine Vampire Generals, one managed to get away, but I didn't have time to chase him……and in this current x30 version of Vampire Mode, I'd say I had a little over fifty-five seconds left with it……most of the time I'd used up was just now when I stopped to talk to Persia and Az.

  Now, then, it's been a long time since I used this, but now seemed a fitting time to bring it out……Bloodlust Mode. I felt my emotions get suppressed, my mind and senses heightened and sharp, and my sadistic urges surfacing……it's alright, I'm in control……but it looks like my craving for her life force had grown stronger too……and I wanted to savor it.

  "Scarlet Lightning Bullet."

  Eighty-Seven let out a scream of pain as I blasted her left arm off at just below the shoulder. She gritted her teeth and glared fiercely as she fired a Blood Magic blast at me. I fired a weak streak of lightning to cancel it out, as she looked around in confusion as I vanished from her sight, but she needn't look so hard……I was right behind her.

  Currently, I was a bit less than double her speed and strength, she was slightly faster than I'd have been in my normal Vampire Mode……but I doubt she's ever fought someone this much stronger than herself. I tore off her wings with a swift pull, and before her missing arm injury could recover, I swiftly tangled some wire around and over the stump as tightly as I could……which minced the regenerating flesh as soon as it formed. Good luck undoing those knots.

  She let out a cry of pain and swung her tail up at me, I grabbed it before it could hit me, swung her over my shoulder and slammed her onto the ground, leaving a large indentation and several deep cracks as a massive cloud of snow burst up, her bones shattering upon impact. I lifted her up by the tail and smirked coldly as her terrified gaze met mine……I was really enjoying this.

  I then flung her up, and as she plummeted back down, I sprang up and slammed a flying spin kick onto her body, sending her shooting away and crashing just above a small cave entrance, the opening cracking and caving in. I wanted to consume her life force, and I know it's bad to play with your food, but……seeing those scorch marks on Persia really pissed me off.

  "Come on, heal already……get up," I remarked coldly, as I fired another Lightning Bullet at her from my finger, blasting a hole in her chest.

  Suddenly, a massive snow and dust cloud burst up as she fired a Blood Magic blast onto the ground and flew off to the north with a terrified and desperate expression. Too slow.

  "Scarlet Lightning Incineration Cannon."

  She let out a hollow shriek as I blasted off her lower half and a few inches of her midsection……I fired it with one hand instead of the usual two, and didn't charge it up much……otherwise, I would have completely incinerated her, which means I wouldn't have been able to consume her……

  A red box-shaped outline formed around her……crap, no-! I couldn't reach her in time, the barrier forming around her right as I closed in.

  "H-hahaha, you cannot get me now, human! My impenetrable defense cannot be penetrated!"

  Laughing with a hysterical look in her eyes, she tore off her left shoulder with a shudder of pain so that her arm could regenerate, having failed to untangle my wire.

  "Maybe so……except that you can't maintain this thing forever."

  "You cannot bluff me, human, King Lazarus informed us that you are unlikely to be able to use this form for too long!"

  "Hm, well that's inconvenient……in that case, let's test just how impenetrable your barrier is, shall we?"

  I took a couple of steps back and drew back my right fist, swirling and generating a mass of lightning into it……her barriers had nullified my Stored Lightning Novas, but what if I compressed the same amount of Mana into my fist, along with the extra boost of my current form……? Let's find out.

  "Wh-what are you-?"

  "Scarlet Shocker Punch."

  I drove my fist forward with as much force and momentum as I could generate, slamming it onto her barrier with an enormous impact……and I felt it crack……and then shatter, Eighty-Seven's eyes going wide with disbelief and horror.

  She let out a shrill shriek of panic and swung her right claws up at me, I didn't move, slashing off her fingers with a flick of my tail. She turned her back to me and tried to fly away, but taking her eyes off me was a big mistake……and I'll make sure she knows that. Before she could take off, I reached up and drove my claws through her back, grabbing onto her spine……and ripping it out of her body.

  I then slammed her down onto the ground and drove her spine through the top of her head as she let out an excruciating scream of pain, which turned to bloody gurgling as I pulled on and ripped out her tongue. Okay, that's enough, I've got less than thirty seconds before this form wears off, I should get to it and consume her already. I grabbed her neck, crushing her throat as I lifted her up.

  "Now die," I stated coldly with a lick of my lips, before sinking my fangs into her neck……

  Huh? Nothing's happening. I pulled out my fangs and dropped her body……it fell down like it was dead……huh? And then I saw it, a rapidly regenerating hunk of flesh about ten meters behind her……the heel on the body I was about to consume was missing……did she move her core down to her heel, slice it off with her tail and fling it away……but when? The body seemed to slump right after I tore off her tongue……was it then?

  No matter, she was only halfway done regenerating, I can……arghh, damn it! A blindingly excruciating pain was going through my head and body……what is this? It hit me so suddenly and unexpectedly that I was completely blindsided, coughing out a puddle of blood and stumbling back, my head ringing and my chest tight……and then the pain faded to a more manageable level.

  What the hell……if it wasn't for my pain tolerance, that much sheer agony could have made me die of shock. I mean, I could still move, but that much pain would be distracting, to say the least……looks like it snapped me out of Bloodlust Mode as well……and my internal organs were a mess, they were healing up but that much damage was going to take a fair bit of stamina to repair.

  I shook my head to regain my bearings and turned my attention back to Eighty-Seven……who was flying away to the north at top speed, she had only regenerated her bones, muscles, brain and wings, the bare minimum she needed to fly……but I can catch up easily enough. I shot after her……but her barrier outline formed behind her, and I wouldn't be able to close the gap before it manifested……I could hear her letting out an agonizing scream of pain……was it because she was forcibly using her Cross even though she hadn't waited out the cooldown time? It was like a kilometer high, and I was low on time with this form, less than twenty seconds left.

  Thankfully, the farther she got away, the weaker my craving for her life force got……I guess I'll let her get away this time……suddenly, the craving grew again, my mouth once again beginning to water……Vampires must be closing in. The desire felt stronger than it was when I faced off against the Vampire Generals, but weaker than when I fought Eighty-Seven……one or more Vampire Knights, huh?

  In fact, three of them, flying in this direction……they hadn't seemed to have noticed me yet, their attention was directed towards Eighty-Seven……oh, I see, they'd sensed her running away and must have come to see what was happening. So, then they can't sense me unless they look at me directly, huh. Even with the craving receding when Eighty-Seven got away, it was still pretty disappointing that I let her escape……I'll make up for that right now……which one should I go for……?

  I zipped up at top speed towards one of them, a female Vampire with short spiky black hair and red bangs, slipping behind her and getting her in an armlock, before sinking my fangs into her neck and draining her before she could react, going up in red flames and disappearing……woah……that was incredible, way better than the Vampire Generals……and looks like I got an additional power boost, this time x40, for ten more seconds.

  "What the……!" One of the others began, before stiffening in fear as he turned around and got a glimpse of me, "Wh-what is this power?"

  Suddenly, another wave of pain hit me, as I coughed out more blood……man, this hurts, but now that I'd already felt the sensation, I could somewhat ignore it……but I'm not kidding when I say this fucking hurts! I guess my body couldn't handle this much power for too long……oops, close one!

  The male Vampire had swung his claws at me, I hadn't been paying attention what with the pain distracting me and all. I could barely pay attention or focus at all, but even in a somewhat hazy state……I could see his attacks coming in what felt like slow motion, and dodge them with the utmost of ease.

  I could also see that the other Vampire Knight was flying away in terror……great, I let two of them get away……oh, looks like the pain is starting to fade again, with just two seconds left of the x40 boost. As the pain receded, my senses no longer hazy, I was able to see the Vampire in front of me a lot clearer……he was currently swinging both sets of his claws towards my throat.

  I whipped my tail across to slice off his hands at just below the wrists, before firing a blast of lightning at his midsection……when he suddenly disappeared from my sight. And it looks like I'm back to x30, with fifteen seconds left……and when that runs out, I still have the entirety of the time limit of my regular Vampire Mode to use.

  I see, he teleported……this must be Magna Aleron. No matter, he so desperately wanted to kill me that I could sense his bloodlust without even trying to……right behind me! I spun around and fired a barrage of my Lightning Bullets at him, bursting a bunch of holes onto his midsection, before he disappeared again……he really wanted to kill me, mainly out of fear, but regardless of the reason, the intention to kill equals bloodlust, so no matter where he teleported to, even if I couldn't see him, I could sense him.

  I fired a bolt of lightning in the direction he reappeared, he began to evade, but I incinerated his right shoulder, blowing his right arm off. I fired another one at him, which he lost his left foot to as he tried to dodge it. Hm, he didn't teleport……as I shot off another bolt of lightning at him, he teleported again to evade it. A cooldown time?

  His injuries were already regenerating as he reappeared again, I fired a barrage of lightning bolts at him, he took several major hits again, before teleporting……looks like it was a half second cooldown time. I had ten seconds left with this x30 boost, I'll end this now.

  The instant he reappeared, I shot towards him as fast as I could, grabbing the top of his head as I closed in and crushing his skull and brain between my hand before he could react. His body slumped as I did, and I ran a strong, steady stream through it to keep it from regenerating.

  "I don't know if you can hear me or not, but……thank you for the meal," I remarked, sinking my fangs into his neck.

  I technically didn't need to absorb his life force, since the other strong Vampires had already left, not to mention that my body couldn't handle it, so the wiser choice would be to just kill him normally. But I……I just couldn't resist……

  His body went up in flames as I finished draining him, before I descended to the ground, another wave of pain hitting me……looks like I can't voluntarily turn off this boosted Vampire Mode form, I have to wait till the time limit runs out……sixteen seconds left. What a waste, I felt insanely powerful right now……and the pain is really getting annoying. Blood was flowing down my eyes, nostril, mouth and ears, plus my entire body was aching like crazy, my Healing Factor barely able to keep up with the rate of damage my body was going through.

  Looks like the others are heading over here. By the time they reached me, the time limit finally ran out, and I let out a sigh of relief as I returned to my normal state……all that had happened in less than two minutes, but it felt like ages……well, from my perspective, everything was thirty to forty times slower that they actually were whenever I focused. Earlier, when I paused to talk to Persia and Az, it was almost like I had to shut off some of my boosted senses, otherwise I'd be talking so fast that my words would sound incoherent.

  Anyway, now that it was over……I was feeling kinda tired. I'd only used a little over half my Mana in total, but my Healing Factor had been working overtime thanks to the internal damage caused each time those waves of pain hit me……I'd coughed out a lot of blood too, and restoring the blood loss took a lot of stamina……I'm tired.

  "Kuro! Are you okay? You looked like you were in pain," Remarked Persia, as she reached me with a look of concern.

  "Yeah, aren't you immune to pain?" Added Az.

  "Not immune, just highly tolerant……but it's not like my pain threshold doesn't have a limit," I replied with a shrug.

  "For a while there, you were not too far below Lazarus in terms of power……and when you consumed the life forces of Pythea and Magna, your power surpassed his by a small margin……I must admit, I was stricken with fear when I gazed upon your power," Chimed in Atticus, with a look of intrigue, "I did not think it would be possible for you to consume a Vampire's life force, how interesting."

  "Yeah, about that……the closer the Vampires got, something in me started reacting, it felt like a hunger, and I could barely contain myself when a Vampire was near me, I wanted to sink my fangs into them so badly that I could barely think straight," I responded with a tired sigh.

  Damn it, I felt insanely worn out right now, my Healing Factor had eaten up a massive amount of my stamina to repair all the damage caused by the boosted Vampire Mode form. I don't think I'll be able to fight for a while, I barely have the strength to stand anymore……

  "Ohh, so that's why you were drooling," Said Persia, looking at my mouth.

  "Uh-huh……ew, gross, I drooled all over my outfit," I groaned, staring down at myself.

  "Fascinating……Vampires have never had a natural predator before, but your existence changes that……and preying on them boosts your power significantly," Mused Atticus with a gleam in his eyes.

  "Yeah, for each Vampire I consume, I get about ten seconds of that boosted form……Vampire Generals give me a total boost of x30, or double of my usual Vampire Mode, and those knights gave me a x40 boost……my craving was strongest against Eighty-Seven, I wonder how much of a boost consuming an Evil Number would give me?"

  "Hm, and I wonder how much of a boost consuming the king himself would give you," Added Atticus with a curious expression.

  Persia was staring at me closely with a frown, her eyes narrowed as she scanned me. She then reached out and began running her hands over my arms and torso.

  "Uh……whatcha doing, Cat Girl? Not that I'm complaining or anything, but maybe we should wait until we don't have an audience?"

  "No, it's not that……your body looked like it had grown a bit, and it feels……tougher, I think?" She responded, running a finger along my collarbone.

  "Now that you mention it……my outfit does feel a bit tight at certain spots," I remarked in surprise, feeling a bit restricted as I lifted my arms and moved them around a bit.

  "I see, so absorbing Vampire life force into yourself strengthens your body physically as a side effect, assuming you survive the backlash, but in your case, your healing ability ensures that you do……the boost to your Vampire Mode form may be temporary, but it would seem as though it does leave a permanent physical improvement afterwards."

  "Cool, totally makes the pain worth it in that case," I replied half-jokingly……this wasn't exactly a massive boost in power, but I certainly wasn't complaining, every little bit makes a difference.

  "Were you in constant pain while in that form?"

  "No, I was fine for like, the first fifty or so seconds, and after that the pain kept coming and going in waves."

  "Most likely your body was incapable of handling such a dramatic increase in power after a certain amount of time……you would have likely died if not for your healing ability."

  "That's kind of a moot point, I wouldn't be able to suck out their life forces if it wasn't for my Healing Factor in the first place," I shrugged, before bringing up another thing I was curious about, "So, hey, how does severed Vampire flesh work? Look, Eighty-Seven's body is still there, the one she seperated her core from before regenerating from scratch……and Magna's arm that I blasted off is lying over there, even though he's dead."

  "Oh, you can leave those be, they will crumble away after a few hours, they do not rot or fester like animal or human flesh, and the blood will evaporate quickly as well," Answered Atticus, brushing it off.

  Huh, they do look pretty shriveled up now that I'm taking a closer look at them……

  "Well, that's convenient. Oh, I almost forgot, Eighty-Seven used her Cross even though she didn't wait out the cooldown time……she seemed in pain, but that doesn't change the fact that she did it."

  "That is a testament to how truly and sheerly terrified she was……forcibly using one's Cross when it should be deactive causes unimaginable pain to a Vampire's very core, and can even result in permanent damage to the core……in some cases, it can result in instant death. A Vampire is unlikely to opt to force their Cross out unless they are genuinely unable to think coherently."

  "Well, Kuro was trying to eat her……," Chimed in Persia.

  "I mean……technically, yes, but only her life force, it's not like I was going to eat her flesh or something. Hey, Az……oh, he's asleep."

  "Is that water?" Inquired Atticus curiously.

  Az was sleeping on a bed of water……was he manipulating the surface tension to keep himself from sinking into it or getting wet……all while being asleep?

  "Keep it down," He grumbled, turning on his side with a yawn.

  "That looks really comfy……," I muttered, before leaning my back against the side of it.

  W-woah……this is nice……also, Atticus was staring at me really closely……

  "There is something else besides a physical boost……Kuro, are you able to transform now? I believe another effect was inflicted onto you, but I cannot say for sure what it is. I cannot clearly read your abilities in this form, only in your Vampire Mode form."

  "Seriously? Another power boost? Don't you think you're strong enough already?" Persia sighed dramatically.

  "Jealous much?" I inquired teasingly as I patted her head, before turning to Atticus, "Sure, I can transform."

  I entered Vampire Mode and stood up……hey, he was right, something was different, I could feel it……

  "Could it be……? Yes, there is no about it……incredible……you can now……"

  I could feel that I was a bit stronger than before, and that my time limit had almost doubled……but more than that, there was something else……I could feel it instinctively……I turned my gaze to the spot just behind Atticus……and teleported behind him. I did it……okay, I better return to my normal state, a wave of dizziness just hit me.

  "……use the Crosses of all the Vampires you preyed on," He finished, turning around with an intrigued smirk and a gleam in his eyes, "How truly fascinating……though it appears that the Crosses of the Vampire Generals are fading……perhaps it is due to the fact that your body was initially enhanced using Lazarus's life force, which is too potent for weaker Vampire Crosses to survive in……Magna and Pythea's Crosses appear to be permanent, you are unlikely to lose them."

  I quickly returned to my normal state, as I felt the pain starting to resurface. I then plopped down onto the snow as my knees buckled……yeah, my body is at it's limit, I won't be much help for at least a few hours. Good thing the stronger Vampires all left or died already.

  "Ow……looks like I can't use Vampire Mode properly till my body recovers, I can probably still stay in the form for the entirety of the time limit, but it'll hurt like hell the whole time thanks to me spending too much time in that boosted form. And too bad, guess that means I can only steal and permanently keep Crosses from Vampire Knights and stronger Vampires. I should have preyed on Eighty-Seven while I had the chance," I sighed wistfully.

  "……Kuro, how many Vampires did you eat?" Asked Persia incredulously.

  "Well, eight Generals and those two Knights, so……ten."

  "……"

  "……"

  "Great, at this rate maybe Rai will finally stop calling me 'overpowered'," AZ spoke up, sitting up with a stifled yawn.

  "Yeah, no kidding……," Added Persia in agreement.

  This is getting kinda awkward……

  "Forget that for now! Let's go back and finish off the remaining Vampires," I declared, changing the subject, "Or rather, you guys go do that……I'm totally out of steam."

  "If it's steam you want……," Began Az, as hot water vapor burst out from his hand.

  "……no, thanks, you can keep that to yourself."

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  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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