"Huh…" A groan slipped from the mouth of the vampire pinned to the rooftop, dozens of mana-formed spears skewering him and punching new holes into his body as fast as the old ones could heal, his voice stretching up into the starlit sky before being blown away by the night air.
The sound wasn't just from pain—it came because he had spotted someone jumping up from the street and landing on the rooftop with him.
It was Niall, the very vampire Magnus had freed to carry out his work.
"You… how did you- Agh! Dammit, this cursed spell! How did you get free?" The vampire's voice strained as he spoke through the constant pain of being pierced again and again. He'd tried everything to escape. Disrupting the spell directly had failed; unless it was broken all at once, it was nearly impossible. He'd even tried to abandon his physical form, but mana interacted with a vampire's true body just as easily. That was the danger—it's why vampires could be sealed inside mana constructs to begin with. In the end, he was trapped. The only way out was for the spell to run dry or for someone to free him.
He couldn't help but wonder how Niall had managed it and even felt a flicker of hope.
"Wait, don't come any closer or else the-" His words stopped short. The spell didn't react to Niall's presence.
He frowned, confused.
Then his eyes flew wide with panic.
"Wh- What are you doing!? Wait, stop!" Niall's claws had sharpened into points. There was hesitation in his expression, but his movements were steady. He drove his hand forward, stabbing it deep into the vampire's chest.
"Augh! You…" The vampire gasped, eyes wild, as he felt Niall reaching inward, probing his true form. Vampires couldn't kill each other unless one outranked the other, so actual combat between them rarely mattered. But this wasn't a fight. He was restrained, helpless, and Niall knew it. He was searching for something—what Magnus had sent him to retrieve.
"Stop it! You-" The vampire's body went still before he could finish. Niall had found it.
He withdrew his hand, and a thick black haze clung to it—his hand wrapped around something faintly pulsing at its center. It was hard to make out. The true forms of vampires were all the same color—shadowy, formless—but if one looked carefully, they'd see this mass was denser than most. It shifted constantly, changing shapes from a sphere into a jagged prism with too many edges, shrinking and expanding in a slow rhythm.
It was the Nexus—the core Eveline had described as a vampire's virtual brain, the anchor that linked their soul to both body and mind.
Despite being the core of a vampire, the Nexus wasn't some fragile, weak point. Like the rest of their true form, it could be disrupted, scattered, and reformed with time. Even if the energy that made up a Nexus was violently blown apart, the result wasn't fatal—just a temporary shutdown until the pieces came back together.
What Niall was doing now wasn't meant to kill. He was using his own true body to wrap around and isolate the Nexus he'd just pulled from the other vampire. It was still intact, but cut off, struggling to control the body it was meant to guide. Niall could feel the pressure building against the cocoon he'd formed, pushed from every direction by the vampire's dispersed form trying to reconnect to it's core.
It'll hold long enough for me to get this to the human...
He turned toward the edge of the roof, now alone with the vampire's unmoving shell. As he stepped forward, his thoughts wandered. What exactly did the human want with a vampire's Nexus? He didn't have the answer, but he didn't pause as he jumped. When his boots hit the cracked stone of the street below, the ruined church stood quietly behind him. Magnus was still there, seated in his chair at the center of the street, eyes closed and gently swaying. The other vampires who had been caught in the spell alongside Niall were silent now. Whether they'd given up trying to ask for mercy or Magnus had done something to them while Niall was gone, he couldn't say.
Niall approached. The sound of his steps made Magnus open his eyes and glance back lazily.
"Oh, well, that was quicker than I thought."
"It wasn't hard, thanks to your spell," Niall replied. His tone was calmer now. Maybe he was getting used to all this. Or maybe he was just trying not to think too much.
"Here you are." Niall held out the hand with the Nexus still cradled in it, then dropped to one knee.
Magnus raised an eyebrow.
"Well, look at you. Aren't you being all subservient?" He teased, though his attention quickly shifted to the flickering energy in Niall's hand.
He could see it—the black haze of the vampire's true form swirling around the core, trying to reconnect. But Niall's grip held firm, his own energy keeping it isolated. With a lazy flick, Magnus formed a mana construct around the Nexus. It lifted slowly from Niall's hand, held gently but completely separate from the rest of the dispersed body. Then, with a snap of his fingers.
Gone.
The Nexus and the construct vanished in an instant, erased without a trace.
Niall stared at the empty space, wide-eyed.
"What... What was that..." His voice trembled.
Leaning back on the sofa, Magnus gave a playful shrug.
"Deletion. It no longer exists. That vampire's Nexus has been stripped from creation." His smile widened.
"It's how I got rid of Lady Austra, too, in case you were wondering. I would've used it on you if you'd tried to run, so... good job, I guess." He ended the explanation with a casual nod, like he was congratulating a dog for sitting still. Niall didn't respond. He was still frozen, mind racing to catch up with what he'd just seen.
And in that stunned silence, he didn't notice what Magnus had.
Hmm?
After a vampire's Nexus was destroyed, just like with Austra, their true form's energy would begin to break apart, drifting out into the world. Without the Nexus acting as a control center, nothing was left to guide or contain it. It was just entropy doing what it always did. Had Magnus not captured Austra's head when he did, even that would've crumbled over time, the remnants of her true body leaking out until nothing remained.
But now? The energy from the vampire whose Nexus had just been deleted wasn't dispersing.
It was moving.
And not just anywhere—it was flowing directly toward Niall.
Magnus sat up, watching with growing curiosity.
"Now that's interesting. Why is it being attracted to you?" The words jolted Niall out of his thoughts. He looked from Magnus to the dark haze drifting toward him, tendrils of energy slipping past his skin and sinking deeper. He lifted his hands, stunned, as the black mist passed through his physical shell and merged with the essence of his true body.
"This is..." His voice was quiet, breathless, and stunned.
"This is what?" Magnus tilted his head.
"I hate when people start saying something and then trail off like they've just figured out the meaning of life. Just don't speak at all if you're gonna do that." Magnus was joking, but there was no humor in Niall's eyes.
He bowed his head quickly.
"Forgive me. I was... confused."
Magnus waved a hand.
"Relax. I'm messing with you. But seriously—what's going on?"
Niall paused, choosing his words carefully.
"My kind... we can't absorb one another's essence."
Magnus nodded.
"Right. You can't take in energy that's already under someone else's control, I know that."
"Exactly. But we're constantly shaping and guiding the energies that form us. Normally, the Nexus of a vampire can't be destroyed. Even when we're killed by a Hierarch, the Nexus just scatters permanently. Our bodies stay ours, even in death. They can't be consumed. But..." Niall's gaze shifted back toward the remaining haze still drifting toward him.
"You can actually destroy the Nexus," he said quietly.
"Which severs our influence. Completely." Understanding clicked into place behind Magnus's grin. He leaned back slightly, tapping his chin.
Right... Eveline did say they could absorb, convert, and manipulate anything they understood on a structural level. Vampires definitely understand their own forms. So the only thing stopping them from cannibalizing each other is the influence locked into the energy—the control. But if I remove the Nexus, which is basically the remote control for that energy, then there's nothing left to stop them from affecting one another. Their bodies would instinctively absorb the loose energy of a dead vampire just as naturally as draining blood from a human.
That meant all the energy from the vampire Niall had just extracted the Nexus from was his now.
Magnus chuckled, unable to hold it back, grinning widely as the realization settled in. His eyes drifted lazily over to Niall, still kneeling quietly before him.
"So basically, you're able to devour the vampires I kill and grow stronger because of it?" Magnus simplified.
Niall nodded—hesitantly, not out of fear, but because his body was still adjusting. The influx of energy had practically doubled his reserves. Leaning back in his chair, Magnus clapped his hands together with a laugh.
"Interesting! Very interesting! In that case, I think we just found a reason to keep you alive, my friend."
"Huh?" Niall looked up, clearly confused.
Magnus rocked slightly in his seat, still grinning.
"Well, at first I was just planning on deleting every vampire's Nexus and calling it a day. But if you're able to devour their leftover essence after they're dead, wouldn't that be a lot less wasteful? And you did say you were willing to serve me, right?" Niall opened his mouth, hesitated, then closed it again. His expression was conflicted, thoughts obviously warring beneath the surface.
At the same time, Basker's voice echoed in Magnus's mind.
[Master, are you certain about this?]
The hound wasn't questioning out of doubt—just confirming. Especially since Magnus wasn't exactly in his most cautious mindset right now.
Huh? Yeah, of course I am.Just think about it. Nightborn are already Adept-level in so many ways, and now we'll have one of our own. He'll be like a cute little pet. Plus, I'm planning to hunt down the other vampires and Hierarchs soon, so why not feed them all to him? By the end of this, we might have the equivalent of a Hierarch—or maybe something even stronger—on our leash. That's gotta be useful. Especially considering there were supposed to be two Hierarchs here tonight, and we only ran into one. If that other one ran off to alert the others about what happened here, then we need to be prepared.
[Indeed, that would be a bonus for us. However, there's no guarantee we can keep them controlled. Making a potential enemy stronger carries obvious risks.]
Pfft. You worry too much. I've already memorized his body. If he steps out of line, I just use [Deletion] and snap him out of existence.
[Yes, but we don't know if a vampire's appearance is fixed or mutable. If they ever realize your ability relies on visual recognition, they might alter their form and slip through that weakness.]
Magnus paused, his grin faltering slightly. He opened his mouth to argue, but closed it again, folding his arms.
"Huh... Yeah, I guess you've got a point," he muttered aloud.
Niall tilted his head slightly, clearly puzzled by the seemingly out-of-nowhere comment, still deep in his own considerations.
Then Magnus sat up straighter, an idea striking him.
In that case, how about we give him a mental mark? Just like the one I made for you. Same rules—you and I slip in, plant the seed, then leave. If he resists, we delete him.
[That could work. I would still advise Master to monitor them closely. A weapon is only useful as long as it remains in your hand.]
Of course, of course.
With that, Magnus turned his attention outward once more, gazing down at Niall with a smile.
"So, what's your decision? Just so you know, your only real options are this or dying. And as lazy as I'm feeling right now, if you're not willing to cooperate... well, I won't have a choice but to put you down." He said it so casually, but as Niall looked up, meeting Magnus's gaze, the vampire could tell—behind the smile, he was absolutely serious.
Once again, after a moment of silence, Niall lowered his head.
"I pledge my loyalty. I'll do whatever you ask of me." Magnus's grin widened. With an energetic motion, he stood up from his chair, the sofa in the middle of the street vanishing with a clap of his hands.
"Alright then! First order of business—dealing with the rest of these vampires. Got it?"
Niall slowly rose from his kneeling position and nodded.
"Yes, my Lord."
"Ooh, 'my Lord,' huh? I'm gonna have to get used to that," Magnus said with a smirk.
What followed was exactly as promised.
It was already late into the night, and only got later as Magnus and Niall began working their way through the dozens of captured vampires encircling the area. Naturally, many resisted, especially after seeing what Magnus did to the Nexus of each one he got his hands on. Others begged and pleaded. Some cried to Magnus. Others appealed to Niall, trying to reach him as a fellow vampire.
None of it worked.
Magnus had no intention of sparing them. As far as he was concerned, they all had to go—otherwise, Arlcliff City would remain a cesspool that they could hide away in.
"You dirt traitor! Serving a human!" Some of them shouted, spitting venom with their dying breaths.
Niall said nothing.
He couldn't afford to. All his focus was locked on the process: Magnus deleting their Nexus, and Niall absorbing what remained. Just adapting to the doubled energy he'd taken in before had been difficult, but now—now it was overwhelming. As they made their way through the vampires one by one, he could feel the energy inside him compacting, refining, swelling far beyond anything he'd ever known. It wasn't just growth—it was transformation.
Vampires grew stronger with age and with consumption. That was how Hierarchs were born: monsters who'd either lived centuries or devoured thousands of humans without ever being hunted down.
But now, Niall had found a shortcut—one that didn't involve humans at all.
He was devouring his own kind.
The feeling was... wrong. There was no other word for it. A deep, bone-deep sense of betrayal chewed at his thoughts. And yet, beneath that, deeper still, was something else.
Power.
By the time they were done, the sense of wrongness hadn't vanished—but it was drowned beneath the sheer weight of what he'd become.
"Alright, that should've been the last one," Magnus said, giving a small nod of satisfaction.
They stood once again at the ruined entrance of the church. Magnus scanned the area, mentally checking over the spell he'd cast. No signatures left. No survivors. No one else captured within the perimeter. With a flick of his will, he severed the connection. The binding spell began to dissolve under the suppression effect of the surrounding spirits.
As the lingering magic unraveled, Magnus turned his attention back to Niall.
The vampire—still fairly young by his kind's standards—stood there, looking down at his own body in silent awe, barely suppressing the grin tugging at his lips. Power crackled just beneath the surface of his skin, wild and untamed, unlike anything he'd ever felt before.
This is incredible… Even if I spent another hundred years devouring humans, I probably wouldn't have gained this much energy!
"Judging by the look on your face, I'll assume you're feeling pretty good, hmm?" Niall snapped from his thoughts, his head swiveling toward Magnus at the sound of his voice.
"I- No, I mean yes, my Lord," Niall stammered, trying to compose himself.
"It's just… I've never felt this much power before. But it'll take me some time to control it properly."
"Oh, that's fine," Magnus said casually.
"I won't be needing you again tonight, so I'll just be putting you away."
Niall blinked.
"Putting me away?"
Magnus nodded, lifting a hand and wiggling the fingers that bore his storage ring.
"Yes. I can't exactly let you wander around Takerth Academy, at least not yet. So I'll be storing you in here for now." Normally, storage rings didn't accept living beings—not because the alternate space couldn't handle them, but because the runes etched into most rings weren't configured to support life. These spaces were empty, pocket dimensions—voids that required tailored conditions like gravity, light, and breathable air in order to safely house the living.
But vampires weren't technically alive. They were undead: sentient energy beings whose existence sidestepped the rules. That loophole made it possible to store them away like objects, without the risk of killing them.
"You're not scared of the dark, are you?" Magnus teased, meeting Niall's gaze.
The younger vampire hesitated—perhaps uncertain, or just wary about what this kind of containment might entail—but eventually shook his head.
"Of course not, my Lord."
"Good to hear. Don't worry—it'll just be for a few days. I don't plan to give the rest of the vampires too much breathing room." With that, Niall vanished in a flash of light, drawn into the storage ring.
Magnus glanced down at the ring, then turned his attention to the ruined church towering behind him. He gave a small hum.
"I'm not gonna get in trouble for this, am I? Eh... whatever. I'll deal with it later. Right now, I just wanna relax and have some tea." So, with that, he turned his back on the church, descending the steps.
On the third step, he vanished—teleporting back to Takerth Academy.