Most Rotheart Vampires didn’t pose much of a threat. The most dangerous aspect was their bloodlust and the fact that they could survive just about everything. It was incredibly difficult to kill them. No matter how often I pierced their heart or how much I ground their bones to powder, they got up again. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Then again, grinding their bones to dust made it increasingly difficult for them to move. Piercing their hearts was nowhere near as restrictive. Not that it posed a threat once I got used to their unique nature, the nature of a monster.

The young Rotheart Vampires didn’t really feel like they were part of the sentient humanoid races. They lost themselves in bloodlust and struck out almost randomly. Even when they locked onto an opponent, the intelligence one would expect from a sentient being was nowhere to be seen.

"Cannon fodder," I muttered, eyes narrowed as I beheaded yet another Rotheart Vampire.

A System notification popped up, but I ignored it, focusing on my Core instead. As simple as defeating them was with a combined use of Burst and Blade of Astor, combined with the empowered body of a monster was more than enough to crush most foes at the 1st Tier with little resistance.

Only when the Vampires started coating their claws in a sticky, crimson hue did the situation change. The elongation of their claws with the unknown substance caught my attention. It was the first real conscious move they made, yet it didn’t change all that much. And, even more confusing, all the young Vampires did the exact same thing in the same moment.

Some collapsed to the ground, their bloodlust fading as the life in their eyes faded, but the others continued. They attacked the civilians, overwhelmed the demihuman guards, and sucked them dry of blood. That seemed to empower them enough to regain a semblance of consciousness. One looked around, almost confused, before his features distorted into a hideous grimace.

The next thing I knew, his bloodlust grew even more potent, and he disarmed yet another demihuman guard. This time, he was alone. He took a blade to his heart and pulled the guard closer until he could ram his fangs into his unfortunate victim.

He grew stronger with every victim he killed up until one of the older, more distinguished Vampires appeared before him. The older Vampire slapped the younger one, who, instead of attacking in rage, started to whimper and back away. His bloodlust faded almost immediately, and he kneeled down to the ground.

"Acceptable." His voice reverberated. "Now, return to the Family."

Just as the words resounded, both the older Vampire and the kneeling subordinate burst into a cloud of darkness. They disappeared, leaving the weaker Rotheart Vampires to fend for themselves.

That...

Are they serious right now?! I wanted to scream out loud, for I was pretty damn sure that I knew what was happening right now.

The Rotheart Vampires were newly turned. Not only that, they’d been starved until all that remained was their wild, bestial side. Raw, unfiltered instincts had fully subdued the human-like side of the newly turned.

What about demihumans? I turned, searching for both demihumans and demons, but found that the Rotheart Vampires weren’t attacking the demons. They didn’t suck them dry and ignored them completely. They only focused on the demihumans, whom they drained of their blood but didn’t turn.

Could newly turned Vampires even do that? I had no idea. Vampires were not exactly something my parents taught me about when I was younger. Regardless, even the older Vampires didn’t bother capturing any demihumans to turn them. Which was...good, I guess? Being kidnapped and turned was probably better than dying, for most, I’d say. Not everyone would be fond of getting turned and forced into submission, however, and that, too, was understandable.

No one tried to capture me or the other human Hunters either. That was curious, but not something I could pay all too much attention to. Not when half a dozen Lesser Demons charged toward me.

"Fuck that shit," I cursed out loud when my eyes landed on a towering humanoid. Its presence was unlike the other Demons. It had a glint in its eyes that suggested it was intelligent, which was a problem. If it was anything like the Trickster Demon, defeating it would be near impossible.

That meant...

"Create an illusion. I need a few seconds," I called out to the Trickster Demon, who’d appeared on my shoulder at some point. It screamed something at me, and a moment later, power rippled out of its body.

The Demons slowed instantly, their horrifyingly distorted heads turning and twisting to find me, even though I was still standing in front of them.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed toward the closest Demon. It didn’t notice me right away, which was a good thing, but I couldn’t tell how powerful the Trickster Demon’s abilities were. Instead of trusting that everything would be alright, I expected the worst as I pressed my hand against the Demon’s skull. Then, I triggered the Insignia of Dominance for the first time.

Instead of attacking or backing away, the Demon remained unmoving. It stiffened, feeling something, and so did I. My Core rumbled the moment I used the Insignia. Shift triggered, and the skin and flesh of my arm rippled. It transformed within seconds, taking on all the accessible demon shifts. My arm turned into a mixture of all the appendages the demons had to offer.

Their power came next. It flooded the arm, cold and eerie, just like it had been when the Insignia formed and the Trickster Demon hatched.

I was unsure what came over me, but an abundance of power surged into my arm. The Demon in contact with me couldn’t do anything as I exerted my power, shoving the creature into the ground.

Then, I used Dominance once again, and the demonic energy within me flowed through the Insignia on the back of my hand and straight into the Lesser Demon. And it didn’t even resist as a nebulous connection came to be.

You have subdued a Lesser Demon(Tera).