Vampire Reincarnation

Ray stood his ground as the earth shook beneath the soldier’s feet, their overwhelming presence sending shivers down his spine as goosebumps spread all over his body.

Cracks spread over the thin barrier protecting them as the soldiers and cockatrice riders kept firing off spells and arrows, each hit increasing the number of thin fissures.

Ray’s grip tightened around his wand, and as he finished chanting a spell, a huge, dozen-meter transparent barrier manifested in front of them, the tip of the arrows shattering instantly upon impact, and any spells would immediately dissipate as the barrier’s surface trembled and shone with a faint light.

“Elena,” he turned toward his wife with a guilty expression “take care of the cockatrice riders, please.”

She nodded slightly as she gulped, her pupils trembling while looking at the huge army that attacked them relentlessly.

She took a deep breath, and a faint chant escaped her lips as her wand floated in front of her, shining with a bright light as she said:

“Original Magic: Light Weaponry.”

The wand slowly morphed into a huge, longbow made of light, and a dozen transparent swords manifested around her. She pulled back the bowstring, and three arrows appeared within.

The thin string of light vibrated violently as Elena released it from her clutch, the three light arrows silently flying with precision toward three riders, but barely missing them by a hair’s breadth.

The flying soldiers shot spell after spell in quick succession, their fire rate seeming like a modern-day minigun. How are they casting spells so fast? This isn't normal! Something must be up!

Cold sweat dripped down Elena’s forehead as she struggled to aim at them, the barrier’s strength diminishing with every passing second, and the enemies only got closer and closer.

Ray stood motionless with his eyes closed, his soft murmur echoing on the battlefield as large pieces of rock suddenly broke off from the earth in a large area around him.

As his chants grew quicker and sharper, the rocks’ temperature gradually rose until a large flame covered each of them. They slowly flew upward, dozens upon dozens of flaming rocks looming over the large army like a sword hanging above their heads.

Ray’s eyes snapped open, and he pointed his wand forward as he shouted:

“Combination Magic: Flaming Meteors!”

The few dozen meteors shot toward the footsoldiers, and, in almost the same instant that Ray finished his spell, half of the mages that were maintaining the spatial lock active suddenly opened their eyes.

They pointed their wands forward, and a small crystal in the middle of the soldier’s chests glowed like a burning star, creating a small shield that surrounded them as they advanced.

However, the sound of shattering glass rang everywhere on the battlefield as the shields shattered. Like a brick thrown at a window, the meteors destroyed everything in their path.

Pandemonium erupted once again as the soldiers stopped their march in an attempt to block the flaming projectiles however possible, but anything they tried quickly proved ineffective as the meteors crashed into their bodies, smashing them to a pulp.

Pools of blood and disembodied limbs littered the battlefield as the meteor’s relentless attack slowly calmed down. Crimson craters the size of a grown man covered the scorched ground, and screams of pain echoed on the battlefield.

In the blink of an eye, another hundred or so soldiers perished under Ray’s powerful magic, and another few dozen were grievously wounded. Haniard watched from afar with a bitter and shocked expression. Blood dripped from his tightly clenched fist, but he tightened them even more.

He’s already at the Medium Core Seven Star Rank!? How did he advance so fast? It’s only been a few decades since then…

He let out a heavy sigh, and he advanced toward Ray as he commanded a few mages behind him “Go heal the wounded.” They immediately rushed to the battlefield, handing potions and casting spells on any wounded soldiers they found.

Haniard passed the hundreds of corpses with a heavy heart, biting his lower lip as he glared at the figures hiding behind the cracking barrier.

The nauseating scent of coppery iron inundated Ray and Elena’s nostrils, and their stomachs churned. Holding back the urge to vomit as they kept fighting back against the terrified army.

Ray looked up with widened eyes, noticing that the cockatrice riders didn’t diminish in numbers, and as they fired off spell after spell, the cracks on his barrier only multiplied.

He turned his head toward Elena, noticing her swords hovering around her body, and he watched her fire off the three arrows toward the enemies missing all of them by a hair’s breadth.

Cold sweat dripped down her forehead as she gulped, her hands trembling as she once again pulled back the bowstring. A shiver ran down her spine as she felt Ray’s warm touch, slightly calming her nervous body.

“It will be alright, just… close your eyes and follow my movement.” He whispered in her ear, taking control of her arms as she infused mana within her light bow while shutting her eyes.

As they pulled back the heavy string, a dozen small arrows manifested on the tip of her fingers, both of their arms trembling as they tensed up the string.

Ray guided her aim, their trembling hands released the string and it vibrated violently as the thundering sound of the whooshing arrows rang in the dark soldier’s ears.

The invisible arrows split the air in two as they shot toward the cockatrice riders, and Haniard’s expression turned grim after he detected them, his heart dropping to his stomach as he involuntarily let out an aggravated scream.

“No!”

He waved his wand with haste, fruitlessly trying to protect his troops with a shield, but it was too late. A dozen riders let out pained grunts as the light faded from their crimson eyes, the arrows piercing their skulls before slowly dissipating.

Elena watched in horror as a dozen bodies fell from the sky, hitting the ground with a hard thud as their skulls split open under their helmets. Pools of blood formed under their corpses as any hint of life vanished from their bodies.

She fell to her knees, her stomach turning upside down as she stared at the grim sight before her, unable to turn her eyes away. These people… all of them… I… I killed them…

Hot burning liquid climbed up her throat and she threw up as tears fell from her crimson eyes.

Ray turned his gaze away from his wife, an overwhelming feeling of guilt washed over him knowing that what he had just made her do was unforgivable, but he had found it necessary to try and survive this situation.

He glared at Haniard, hate burning in his eyes as his teeth let out a sharp scraping sound as they ground against each other. His hands clenched into a fist, and blood rushed through his veins as his face flushed red. How could I make her do something like that, something so against her nature… All because of him, that… that…

His fists tightened further, but he quickly stopped his train of thought, as he refused to badmouth the man who gave him a safe and secure future.

Haniard similarly watched his most elite soldiers drop like flies, his face morphing into a vicious and twisted expression, his heart felt like it was being pierced by hundreds of needles.

Gone…! They’re all gone! After decades of research and mountains of resources, one-third of all my elite casters were defeated by two people!

His eyes grew with a faint red hue, and he pulled out two purple stones engraved with intricate symbols, which he then crushed. Two long and thick purple spears took their place, and he let out a primordial roar as he threw them toward Ray one after the other, aimed straight at his heart.

The first spear appeared in front of him in an instant, and the spear pierced the first barrier like a hot knife cutting butter, instantly shattering it and disappearing shortly after.

Ray had next to no time to react, and he pulled Elena as he ducked to the side, dodging the second dark spear. It reached the house, and the sound of a mirror breaking rang in their ears as the barrier protecting it cracked and faded away as it broke into tiny shards.

The spear flew through the barrier, and pierced their house from one end to the other, creating two huge holes before fading away as it relentlessly sped forward.

Kai’s small head peeked from the inside of the house, and a cold shiver ran down his spine as his eyes widened in fear at the sight of the bloody battlefield.

Haniard instantly noticed his figure, and their eyes locked as Kai fell to his knees, his expression covered in horror as he felt the malice, resentment, anger, and pain in his eyes.

What… how strong is he?

Kai felt overwhelmed by Haniard’s aura, and his gut told him that the man in front of him could wipe him out with the flick of his sleeve.

He gulped as he looked around, his face lighting up slightly after he saw his parents standing to the side, dirt and scratches covered their bodies, as they shielded against the enemy’s attacks while panting, but they had yet to notice their son, whose body was trembling in fear.

What is going on? My parents are wounded and that man… who is he?

His body trembled uncontrollably as he tried to move, his unresponsive limbs shivered as the threat of death overwhelmed him, and his gaze repeatedly jumped from his parents to Haniard.

He parted his lips and tried to call out to his parents, but his fearful voice quickly turned silent as he saw Haniard pull out another purple stone which quickly transformed into a spear.

Despite their distance, Kai felt the weapon’s deathly aura and his hair stood on end as Haniard threw it toward him without hesitation.

The spear vanished from his vision, appearing in front of him in less than a tenth of a second as dust and debris flew everywhere.

His vision blurred as more than a dozen, small translucent barriers appeared right before his eyes, slowing down the spear. a warm touch wrapped around his body, dragging him to the side right before the spear destroyed the last barrier, whooshing past his body with great speed.

He quickly looked around and saw his parent’s horrified faces, cold sweat dripping down their forehead as they struggled to breathe.

Looking toward Haniard, he saw a tall and wide translucent barrier block the hundreds of arrows and few spells that shot toward them relentlessly, and cracks slowly spread all over it.

“Dad, what’s happening?!” Kai asked, his voice cracking as blood rushed through his veins, flushing his face red.

Ray pulled out several pieces of paper and plastered them over his body as he activated them, and multiple barriers wrapped around Kai’s body.

“Keep the piece of paper I gave you earlier close to your chest, and…” his father said, his eyes closing as he took in a deep breath before he continued, “and tear it when I tell you to, it will keep you safe.”

Ray stood up and left him and Elena alone, only glancing back slightly as a hoarse voice escaped his lips “Hide, stay safe, and do as I instructed, alright?”

“Dad!” He called out in a painful voice, tears streamed down his cheeks as he watched his father’s figure walk toward the battlefield.

“Kai, hide behind the walls, me and your father… we’re going to take care of it, alright?” Elena said with a smile filled with motherly love, her hands trembling as she handed Kai a round, green object.

“Keep it close to your chest, next to the talisman and necklace, and wait for us.” She said before watching Kai hide in the ruins of their home, her eyes burned with determination as she walked to her husband’s side.

They stood shoulder to shoulder, a faint smile plastered on their faces as a flame danced in their eyes.

Haniard watched the couple protect their son, his expression turned into an ugly smile as he was reminded of that moment all those years ago, the day of his coup d’etat, the day when he killed the former king, who also had that stupid smile on his face, just like Ray.

“Fine, I’ll just kill you together then!” He barked as he moved forward with his troops, who had stopped shooting arrows but instead unsheathed their swords, their silver blades reflecting the moon’s gentle light.

Ray and Elena stood still in front of their house, protecting it like a bird guarding her nest.

She held her wand in a sword-like position, and the red light started enveloping it and extending as she chanted in a low voice, gradually taking the shape of a huge, two-handed sword. Twelve invisible light swords manifested at the same time, and they circled her slowly, waiting for any orders.

Ray’s spatial ring shone with a faint light and a long sword made from a purple and black metal appeared in his hand, its surface barely visible as it absorbed all light hitting it.

Their bodies glowed faintly as they cast several Inkos spells, increasing their speed and strength for a brief duration. Ray’s mouth moved rapidly as fifty small and thin barriers quickly appeared around him.

He brought a small glass vial filled with blue liquid to his lips as he watched the army approaching them. I need to kill the mages and destroy the spatial lock, then instantly teleport away with Kai and Elena…

“Stay here and protect Kai, I’ll do my best.” He said as he placed a small green crystal in his breast pocket, and passionately kissed her on the lips as the sound of the advancing army rang in his ears.

“I’ll support you from here,” she said as their lips separated. “Do your best…”

Ray marched forward, his small figure creating a huge contrast to the hundreds of dark armored soldiers. He glanced back at Elena as he tightened his grip on his sword, and said in a voice only he could hear,

“Thank you.”