CHAPTER 20: To Your Limits

A bully... that was the only thing Milas could say about Deogratius. When they met after the door opened, Deogratius walked in and closed the door behind him. Milas didn't want to fight the maniac but he couldn't let his guard down either. Deogratius then looked at him with a smile on his face.

"You are more tenacious and resourceful than I thought. I honestly didn't expect you to move let alone heal yourself. On the bright side, you can train for longer as long as blood is available. Now, let's test your limits." Deogratius disappeared and Milas tried to counter with a wide horizontal swing. The next next moment, something Milas didn't think was possible happened. His back hit the wall or what he thought was the wall.

Milas had hit the ceiling that was more than twenty meters high. He was surprised by the fact that Deogratius had thrown him instead of punching him like usual. The thought didn't last when he saw the rapidly approaching ground. Milas shut his eyes and waited for the pain but he felt something grab his legs and spin his body.

He opened his eyes to see a wall in front of him. Milas twisted in midair and let his back take the full brunt of the impact. His body collapsed but he felt nothing. He couldn't feel his body let alone the pain from his smashed ribs and spine. Milas could only stare helplessly at Deogratius who walked towards him with a sword in hand.

"You have great instincts that allow you to protect your head despite the damage it may cause to your body. You should keep in mind that although killing a vampire instantly would require injuring the natural weakness. Sacrificing your mobility turns you into a sitting duck that will allow someone to kill you. You won't have to worry about the weaknesses because that's for me to exploit and you to discover." Deogratius took another flask from his coat and opened the cap before leaving it beside Milas. "Don't expect any help as no one enters this place without my permission. Now, drink up and get healed. I want you ready for tomorrow's lesson."

Milas was left alone with his thoughts and frustrations as the scent of blood from the flask was overwhelming. Sadly, he could only stare at it despite being inches from his mouth. Milas could only move his head from side to side and scowl constantly as the paralysis had affected the rest of his body.

"Guardian devil or whoever you are. Can I get some help here? I will really appreciate it." Milas tried to contact the voice that had helped him before. The silence made Milas think that he would have to start going crazy before he could hear the voice again.

"I helped you five minutes ago and you are already this hurt! Do you have a grudge with being healthy or something?" The voice said with slight annoyance.

"I wouldn't need saving if I could just kill that fcker. But I can't so I need to take the punishment for being weak." Milas replied angrily.

"I can make you strong enough to kill anyone who gets in your way. But there are conditions to gaining such power." The voice was behaving like a business person tricking a customer to buy something useless.

"I need to know these conditions first." Milas was interested but he wouldn't fall for a trap that easily.

"I can only give you guidance every once in a while because I am currently not in any condition to assist you due to reasons that don't concern you. This will change once you are strong enough to inherit the power I am supposed to pass on. So for..." The voice was about to continue when Milas interrupted.

"Hold on, you said that you can't assist me because of whatever is wrong with you. Then why should I trust you to save me and make me powerful?" Milas asked the voice.

"Don't you ever interrupt me again you pest. I could kill you more easily than an ant." The voice bellowed with anger.

"So you're saying that you have trouble killing an ant and you brag about giving me the power to kill a vampire. At least get your story straight before trying to fool me." Milas took a verbal shot at the voice.

"I would have killed you already if I wasn't stuck in your body..." The voice paused as if it had said something it shouldn't have.

"What do you mean by stuck in my body?" Milas asked as soon as the voice made the slip up.

"I have taught you what you need to survive for now and the rest is up to your innovation." The voice said that before going completely silent. Milas knew that he had learnt something he shouldn't have based on the reaction the voice had. He tried to think of what it meant by being stuck in his body but couldn't come up with anything. "Not gonna give myself a headache over something that hasn't harmed me, at least not yet."

Milas brought his attention back to his current predicament. His body had no signs of recovering despite the time that passed. He desperately needed the blood but he had no way of reaching it. "The voice said that it had taught me everything I need to survive but how the fck will a needle help me. I can't just stay here till morning cause I'm sure that psycho will use it as an excuse to end me. Think, damn it! Use your brain! AAAHHH!"

Milas was getting frustrated and was yelling and cursing like never before. He thought of the torture he will put Deogratius and his servants through. Milas found solace in his sadistic fantasies and didn't stop to think of how he knew exactly where to hurt someone to cause the most pain.

"This feeling of hopelessness really sucks. Wait, that could work." Milas wanted to slap his forehead for not thinking of it earlier but his hand was paralyzed. He didn't want to admit it but the voice really gave him what he needed to survive. He was facing one small inconvenience, where would he get the blood required to control.

Milas could see the closest bloodstain was meters away from him and he doubted that the string could reach that far. He racked his mind for a while before he came up with an idea. His upper and lower canines began to lengthen and sharpen turning into predator like fangs. The change was previously instinctive and only happened when he was about to drink blood. He had taken some time to learn it in the mines when everyone else was resting.

Milas bit his lower lip causing it to bleed but he strengthened his bite to provide constant blood flow for his plan. He produced the same red string but made it come out of the wound on his lip. This made it easier to control the blood and form the needle.

Milas found it easier to make a needle as it only took him two tries and the needle was longer and sturdier than before. It easily pierced the flask and managed to stay in one piece. The most crucial part was upon him and Milas grit his teeth to produce more blood. The string that was only visible to him acted like a path that allowed blood to reach the needle.

The fresh blood hardened once in contact with the needle and increased its length. The process continued for some time and Milas was close to losing his concentration. The needle could now reach his lip and Milas sucked hard.

The unforgettable taste of blood caressed his tongue as it flowed down his throat. Milas had made the needle hollow to ensure that he could drink once the needle pierced the flask. His backbone was healing rapidly and once completed, his arm regrew stopping just before the wrist. It seemed like regrowing limbs took a lot of blood but it was still possible.

"I need to leave this place before the crazy master of mine returns." Milas walked to the door but it refused to budge no matter how hard he tried. He had no choice but to get comfortable in the hall. The night breeze provided a relaxing atmosphere and Milas was getting drowsy despite vampires not needing much rest.

Milas had one of his favorite kind of dreams... none at all.