Vampire Reincarnation

“Hah… huh…ah…!” Grunting sounds echoed in the elven training center, accompanied by the sounds of clanging metal as Sverik and Kai clashed in the middle of the arena. Both of them were shirtless, exposing their toned upper bodies, along with the scars of their fights. Whilst Kai had wounds from the sun, Sverik’s body was filled with bruises and marks, some of which seemed unnatural, and some were faded. The moon painted the night with its intricate brush, lighting up the reflecting floor, which was in turn decorated by a multitude of light crystals. All of this lit up the stage as if it were day, meaning the two could fight without being afraid of a misstep.

Both of them held a proper stance. Their knees bent, with one foot in front of the other, and Kai with loose arms and the sword leaning diagonally forward. Sverik, on the other hand, still held on to a tower shield, and his dominant arm backward, holding the sword upward. Both of them wielded metal weapons, similar swords made out of iron and silver, while Sverik’s tower shield seemed to be made out of a denser, sturdier metal. Scratched and dents covered its surface, as well as a few layers of rust.

Kai thrust toward Sverik, who blocked with the shield, after which he immediately counter-attacked. Pushing the blade aside with his shield, he swiped toward Kai’s midsection with his sword.

*Clanggggg* Their weapons vibrated as Kai blocked, and now with Sverik’s defense slightly open, he kicked toward him. Sverik quickly defended with his shield, barely catching Kai’s foot as he bashed it in, sending Kai tumbling backward. His figure became a blur as he sped toward where Kai would land, and aimed the sword. The tip floated right above Kai’s neck.

“I give.” Kai chuckled softly, prompting Sverik to stand aside and drop his sword, helping him up.

“Well fought today,” Sverik said with a smile.

“You weren’t too bad yourself.”

“Alright, that’s enough now, come down here.” Euphridia’s voice echoed in their ears, and both of them smirked as they picked up their belongings and jumped down the stage. Her voice echoed once again in their ears as they put their shirts back on.

“You two did great today, I’m proud. Looks like the stern talking I gave you two weeks ago worked wonders in fixing your attitude.”

The two looked at each other, a soft smile manifesting on their face as they let out a chuckle at the same time. “I guess it did,” Kai said, placing his hand on Sverik’s shoulder. “Gave us a lot of time to reflect too.” He continued, still wearing that soft smile. Euphridia’s brow raised as she observed their behaviour, but didn’t comment on anything. Instead, she turned around, her beautiful hair whipping in front of the boys as her armor rattled.

“Let’s go, we’ll discuss more at home.” She said, walking toward the exit, not waiting to see if they would follow her or not. Taking the opportunity, Sverik pushed Kai’s hand off of his shoulder and ran toward Euphridia, his gaze the same as ever yet his heart racing. Kai let out a light chuckle and walked behind the two, taking in the scenery.

Although the training arena here lacked the privacy of their own, it was nonetheless a sight to see. Several hexagonal fighting rings cluttered the surroundings, with one placed every ten or so meters, in between which lay a mixed array of equipment. From wooden and metal swords to the weights and other gym equipment Kai recreated. The arena itself stood in a corner near the entrance, so naturally, a lot of guards lingered or even used the facility. Regardless of what they were doing, every one of them stopped and stood up, greeting Euphridia as she passed them by.

Kai’s mouth widened slightly at the sight, however he rolled his eyes and simply followed silently. The guard encounters became less and less frequent as they left the training field, the artificial light hanging from the tree branches enveloping the three as they walked through the bustling streets. Due to the tree’s crowns, the moon and stars barely snuck some light in, which caused some faint, almost invisible wounds on Kai’s body, which quickly healed. Sverik didn’t pay anything or anyone any attention in the slightest, his eyes were instead fixated on Euphy’s back. If one were to listen close enough, they’d hear it race like a rabbit’s, if his flushed face wasn’t enough to give away his thoughts.

Finding the whole ordeal funny, Kai smirked as his lips parted. “I’m kinda hungry, and I never tried the food from these parts, could we stop for a quick meal?” He asked Euphridia, who stopped in her tracks. Slowly turning around, Kai gulped from the pressure she exuded, and Sverik took a few steps back. However, the expression they expected, an angry, scolding Euphridia didn’t appear. Instead, a bright smile decorated her face, and she clasped her hands together as her pink lips parted.

“Of course! Of course! I wanted to ask you before, but I didn’t want to be rude in Miss Aina’s eyes, but if it’s you who requested… Well, she can’t say anything now can she?” She grabbed both Kai’s and Sverik’s forearms before either of them could reply, and dragged them along. Her tight grip made them unable to even fight back and caused them to wince as they turned and passed several buildings.

Finally, they stopped in front of a dimly lit restaurant, the boy’s mouth hanging agape as people passed them by. The restaurant, although filled to the brim with clients, looked more like a bar than a dining establishment. Broken chairs and tables lay against the front walls and even the door was broken and almost thugged out of its hinges. Drunken chatter echoed out into the street, drowning out the murmur coming from behind them with laughter and yelling. Its windows, depicting a beautiful picture of a green landscape- a field covered with flowers and wild animals, were now shattered. Its frame, or what remained of it trembled under the guests’ footsteps, showing signs of falling at any second. The sign that once spelled this restaurant’s name, the letters of which could still be vaguely read, hung on a few nails and bolts, ready to crash into the ground at the softest of winds.

A few people stood outside, elves, dwarves, beastmen, and humans, all of whom reeked of alcohol, holding on to a tankard of beverage as they leaned against the crumbling walls.

“Euphy… what is this place?” Kai asked, taken aback by the restaurant, which was completely out of place even in a fairly remote corner of the First Gate.

“This is the best place in town!” Euphridia exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the boy’s neck as she walked inside. The intoxicating smell of alcohol and food inundated their nostrils as soon as they stepped foot through the creaking door.

In contrast to the broken-down exterior, the inside felt more alive and comfortable, almost inviting. The red carpet on the ground, although covered in alcohol, spit, and vomit, seemed pretty well taken care of. The tables and chairs, made out of a dark, sturdy wood didn’t show any signs of decay despite the scratches and visible damage. The bartop, made out of white marble with black lines, accompanied by the two brown shelves of alcohol, with bottles locked behind a similarly brown glass, gave the entire place a premium feel. That is if it was empty.

The customers, a weird mixture of all the different races around, and even some foreign ones Kai had never encountered before stood harmoniously around the tables, drinking and laughing as if they were old friends. Dwarves, Elves, Beastmen as well as what looked to be bipedal lizards shared alcohol joyously.

“Oy, Euphy, watcha got there?” A deep, rugged voice echoed in their ears, and they raised their heads with widening pupils. In front of them stood a man taller than even Euphridia by at least two heads. A thick beard decorated his face, however it was unable to hide the wide smile pointed at the woman. A warm, scattering light reflected off of his baldness from the chandelier hanging high on the ceiling, causing the two to squint their eyes.

“Hoy Paul! This is my pupil, Kai.” She said, pointing toward Kai with her head. “And Zarman’s,” she let go of the boys as she let out a sigh. “They’ve been giving me so much trouble, give me the usual, and one for them as well!”

“Haha! Comin’ right up! Take a seat in the meanwhile, why do n'tcha.”

Euphridia quickly sat down at a table, with mostly everyone in the establishment turning around to give her a friendly greeting before going back to their drinks. Kai looked at the numerous races with shock, staring particularly at the lizard-like people. Their skin, scaly like a reptile’s and glossy like a snake’s, decorated each with a unique, colorful pattern. Their head, unlike many others, ’s in the establishment weren’t flat but instead resembled an actual lizard’s head - A slightly elongated, scale-covered skull, their eyes standing on each side, yet pointing forward and a mouth full of sharp needle-like teeth and a long tongue.

Kai’s steps paused for a second as he looked closer at the creatures, inspecting their limbs, the extremities of which resembling claws more than hands or feet. Alongside those, a tail decorated their backside, some sturdier or larger than others.

The chairs creaked as they sat down, and Kai’s eyes shone as he looked around, taking in the beauty and strangeness of these new people. Likewise, the people looking at them wore a mixture of emotions on their faces. On one hand, admiration and envy toward Euphridia, on the other fear and caution toward Kai, whose crimson eyes stood in full view. In contrast, nobody looked at Sverik, treating him like a rock on the side of the road. He let out a light sigh and burrowed his face into the shirt as he waited for whatever Euphridia ordered.

Whispering and chatter echoed in their ears, some of it they barely caught from the groups sitting closer to them.

“Is that a Vampire? With the captain? Wait… didn’t he arrive here a few months ago?” A dwarf asked, his beard littered with food and alcohol.

“Yeah, I remember seeing him-”

“What’s the blood fiends doin’ere??” One of the lizardmen asked, squinting his eyes at Kai before licking them.

“Who knows? Looking for food, they really must have gotten desperate haha!”

“Right? To think they’d come here for blood, pff.” A few elves tried to hold in their laughter, however it became obvious that they found the entire situation funny.

“Why did they send a child? Couldn’t that king of theirs have come personally?”

“Actually- I heard he got into a huge fight some time ago, still hasn’t

Recovered.” A human said before bringing the tankard to his lips, sipping from it as he gave Kai a side-eye.

“Yeah, and besides, he’s too much of a coward to come here anyway.”

“Right? What a waste of talent…”

These conversations, however, didn’t seem to bother either of them as they waited patiently for Paul to send someone over with their food. And soon enough, the smell of food accompanied by the clattering of pints rang in their ears and turning their heads they saw Paul accompanied by an elven woman. She was dressed in casual attire, a pair of black pants, a white shirt, and a black vest. Her beautiful auburn colored eyes complimented her tanned skin tone, and her toned, muscular yet lean body revealed itself under the tight clothes. She carried the three plates, accompanied by the tankards of ale and bread with both hands, carefully tiptoeing around the bar before gracefully placing them down on their table.

“Hey Paula, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Euphy’s armor rattled as she got up and hugged the waitress, giving her a tender look as she sat back down. “Have you been well?”

The waitress nodded, fidgeting with her finger as she spoke, “Yeah, It’s been alright, nothing out of the usual, you know.” She laughed awkwardly, lowering her head. “I gotta go serve other customers now… c-cee ya E-Euphy.” Paula quickly turned around, bumping into Paul before collecting herself and running away.

“She’s a cute one, isn’t she?” Euphy asked the two boys as she took a large sip from her tankard. Kai and Sverik remained silent, their faces reddening as they simultaneously looked back toward Paula.

“Haha, trying to get my daughter wed, are ya? No way, she’s only been alive fifty years, my baby isn’t ready to leave yet.” Paul laughed as he grabbed a chair, turned it backward, and took a seat at their table. “So you haven’t been coming here because you’ve been training them two younguns here?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” She wiped her mouth after taking another sip. “It’s been busy, and you know how Miss Aina is, but Kai wanted to eat out tonight, so I grabbed the chance as soon as I could. Though, Sverik here has only been under my wings for a few weeks, and he’s still training with Zarman during the day.”

“Right, speaking of.” Paul turned toward Kai, briefly locking eyes as he asked. “You sure he’s allowed to be out here like this?”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“Well you know better than I how much his kind is unwelcome…” He said, getting closer to her ear as his voice turned to a whisper. “I heard he’s wanted, there’s posters of him everywhere in Aravia. There’s not a single corner where his face isn’t plastered everywhere.”

“What?!” She exclaimed, almost dropping the drink from her hand. “How could that be?”

Paul shrugged and shook his head, standing up with a sigh. “I don’t know, but his head costs a nice penny, especially alive.”

A shiver ran down Kai’s spine, and he looked at Paul with bewilderment. His heart started racing as cold sweat ran down his back. Euphridia switched between the two with widened eyes, and she gulped. However, before she could say anything, Paul’s voice echoed in her mind. “I need to show you something as well, it’s bad news.” His aggravated tone helped Euphy snap out of it, and she downed the last bit of her alcohol before addressing Kai and Sverik.

“I trust you two will be able to stay put, alright?” Their lips parted briefly, however, she disappeared with Paul before they were even able to reply.

“What could be so important?” Sverik said, letting out a sigh as his eyes finally turned to the food. “And what is this?”

Kai dully followed his sight, expressionlessly looking at the plate before him. It didn’t seem like anything special, carrots, meat, and other vegetables shoved together into a mixture one would call stew. However, Kai’s mind could think nothing of the food, as Paul’s words caused anxiety to appear and rise within his stomach, his heart beating irregularly as his head became slightly lighter.

The restaurant’s door opened suddenly, inviting a short, cold breeze that quickly left through the broken windows. Two short, middle-aged men accompanied by another, seemingly much younger three quickly made their way toward a table, sitting down at one not that far away from Kai’s. Sverik’s pupils widened, and he quickly hid his face and lowered his head as much as he could. Despite that, the group still took notice of him, and a smirk appeared on their faces as one of the younger ones brought his hands to his mouth.

“Hey, isn’t that the Lechiar?!” His deep, yet immature voice echoed in Sverik’s mind like needles, and it made the entire room fall into a brief silence as everyone’s gazes turned to them. “It’s him, isn’t he? Haha!” The dwarf continued, however, everyone turned back to their chatter as they quickly lost interest.

“Oy, I’m talking to you!” The man picked up a small coin from his pouch, launching it toward Sverik, and hitting him right in the head.

“Ow!” Sverik’s cry of pain awakened Kai from his trance, and he immediately frowned as he saw the dwarf’s smug smile.