Chapter 9: Crimson Awakening

Looking at the blood on his hands, Zaos hesitated.

[If I do this there is no going back,] his heart pounded frantically.

[If found out, I will be hunted down,] Zaos weighed his options.

[But, it will all be worth it!] Zaos took large gulps of blood in his hands.

*Ba-dum!* *Ba-dum!* *Ba-dum!*

Zaos' heartbeat sped up, and a rush of power flowed through his now bulging veins. His facial muscles twisted uncontrollably, and his eyes grew bloodshot.

"Ahhh!!!" Zaos screamed in agony. He felt his entire body heat up to insane degrees as power kept being pumped out of his heart.

After screaming for 10 minutes straight, Zaos passed out. When he awoke, he felt numb all over.

[Where am I?] Zaos thought. It took him a while to recognize the destroyed living room of the cabin.

[Oh… I must have passed out,] Zaos forced himself to stand despite the weakness he felt.

[Although I expected some problems when unlocking that power, I didn't think it would cause me to pass out… ] Zaos sighed.

[The vampiric gene inherited by all dark elves from the elven god of darkness, to unlock it, a dark elf is required to drink the blood of another elf,] Zaos gazed at the skin on his hand, he noticed it had taken on a paler shade.

[Dark elves who have unlocked this gene are shunned by society because of their strong blood lust, but the benefits outweigh the disadvantages,] Zaos grabbed his dagger from the ground and proceeded to cut himself with it.

He winced as blood flowed from the wound on his arm. After a bit over 30 seconds, the flesh around his wound began to squirm, and after another 30 seconds, it had completely healed.

[Such powerful healing capabilities!] Zaos exclaimed inwardly in awe.

[My other physical abilities should have improved too…] Zaos took a step forward and instantly found himself 5 meters away.

"Hahaha!" Zaos' hysterical laughter startled many of the animals that had been silently approaching the cabin, due to the strong smell of blood coming from it.

[With the enhancement of my physique, and my elemental weaves, I'm almost invincible in the elf rank, I might even be able to wound a high elf!] Zaos speculated in delight.

When he calmed, Zaos turned his attention to the dead earth elf and began to contemplate.

[What should I do with him?] He thought to himself while stroking his chin.

[Me being able to kill him is a bit suspicious, it might make the clan put more attention on me which I don't want, but if I hide the fact that I found him and an investigation is made, I will be exposed.] Zaos fell into a dilemma.

He thought it over for a few minutes before deciding, [I'll just say I found him like this when I arrived. No one will believe I could have killed him anyway.]

Zaos retrieved his weapons and tried his best to erase anything that would suggest he was a participant in the battle that took place in the cabin.

When he was done, he promptly returned to the mercenary city, but not before cleaning himself up.

Zaos' return journey was much faster with his latest physical enhancements. He reached the mercenary city, which was over 100 km away, in under 45 minutes instead of taking an hour like before.

He passed the gates after flashing his identification pass and headed to Ronik's store.

[It seems my speculations were correct. Other elves can't discern the difference between dark elves with vampiric traits, and those without. To be fair, there isn't much of a physical distinction.] Zaos calmed down; this was one of his biggest worries. The absence of any reaction from the guards and the residents of the city reassured him.

Zaos swiftly navigated through the street and arrived before Ronik's shop. He calmed his nerves before entering.

As he entered, he heard Ronik's voice from behind the counter.

"What took you so long? Was there a mishap?" Ronik inquired, he appeared relieved while looking at Zaos.

"Yes, when I arrived, I found him dead in the cabin." Zaos lied with a straight face.

"What?" Ronik frowned, "Was his location found out by someone else before us?" He spoke in confusion.

"I don't know." Zaos shook his head, feigning ignorance.

Ronik remained silent for a minute, before turning his attention to Zaos.

"Alright, you did well. You may go ahead and rest, you must be exhausted." Ronik spoke in an amicable tone.

"Thank you, I will return home." Zaos slightly bowed and took his leave.

[He didn't notice!] Zaos rejoiced silently on his way out.

[As long as I don't openly exhibit any incriminating behaviors, I should be alright!] Zaos thought as he returned.

Halfway through his journey back, he stopped. He sniffed the air and spoke in a raspy desire-filled voice, "Blood…" his dark eyes gained a crimson tint.

Zaos dashed in the direction of the smell, he traveled swiftly and arrived at a secluded part of the settlement.

There, surrounding a fallen female wind elf were two male dark elves and a female dark elf.

The female wind elf had a large cut on her neck and was bleeding profusely.

"Ay, look." One of the male dark elves spoke, he had a knife in his hand and he used it to point at Zaos, who was intently staring at the bleeding wind elf.

"Where did this kid come from?" The other male dark elves spoke in surprise.

"Do you want to die, kid?" The first male dark elf threatened.

Zaos' thoughts were cloudy, he could barely hear the threats.

[Blood, blood, blood, blood, blood…] Zaos' eyes glowed even more crimson.

"Just kill him. He looks out of it." The female dark elf spoke in disinterest.

"Your luck is horrible to have come here, kid." The dark elf wielding the knife approached Zaos. Once within range, he swung the knife at him.

"Pray for better luck in your next life!" He screamed. Just when the blade was about to strike Zaos, the latter vanished.

"Wha–"

*Slash!*

The male elf who attacked him dropped to the ground, his head separated from his body.

"What the hell!" "Nym!" His companions screamed in panic.

*Slash!* *Slash!*

Zaos wasted no time and proceeded to behead the other two before they could run.

[BLOOD!!!] Zaos grabbed the bodies of the victims and drank as much blood as he could. After his meal, Zaos slowly regained his clarity. He looked at himself and sighed.

[Well fuck…]