Letters to Romeo.

Music Recommendation: Coven - 2021 : League of Legends

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Many buildings were set ablaze in the town, where people who were stuck in there screamed for help. At the same time, many people who were outside screamed, as they were being attacked by strange-looking humans who were sucking blood and killing people. 

The merriment that had started this evening in the town was quick to die down, where the atmosphere heavily filled itself with the scent of death. 

Azazel Donovan tore one of the rogue vampire's heads and dropped the person on the ground. The screams of the humans slowly reduced until the entire town almost turned quiet. 

Castiel Marudas walked to where Donovan was and said, "Some of the rogue vampires have escaped from the town, and some have died."

"How is your brother's family?" questioned Azazel. He moved his red eyes to look at Castiel without moving his head. 

"Dead, except my nephew who was bitten," replied Castiel, a deep frown coming to settle on his face, "He's in the process of transformation. I took him back to the Marudas manor so that he can take his time in completely turning into one." 

"My condolences for your loss," said Azazel. Castiel didn't reply, thinking about the consequences that the town had to face because of the rogue vampires following them. "I can sense more humans, who are under the process of transformation."

"What do you want to do with them?" inquired Castiel. 

At the same time, another vampire who was old only by age but not appearance stepped into their view. The man was tall, and a frown on his lips, which was a clear indicator that he wasn't happy with what happened. The black coat that he wore swept from behind because of the wind. 

"The hunters have already caught a whiff of what has happened and might be here any moment. We are the only guests who arrived here. Which idiot thought it was wise to turn a bunch of humans into vampires and have them run free?!" asked the vampire, walking towards the other two vampires. 

"Probably the humans who had not been compelled or witnessed some of our existence. You know how humans love to be us," replied Castiel. "Where's Oscar?" he asked. 

"He's extinguishing the fire from the houses. As if it is going to help, tch," the other man clicked his tongue in irritation. "Let us leave this place. It's a dead town now with no food, and is of no use to us anymore, Azazel."

Azazel's eyes moved to look across the buildings, and he said, "The town can still be useful to us. There's no one to compel in here, and with the number of humans, who are being turned into vampires,  we can use them for our own benefit. To build a place just for us."

"Humans who were of low quality? I thought you didn't like them," said the third person. 

"I still am not fond of humans, Luciano," remarked Azazel, his gaze turning away from the buildings to look at the vampire named Luciano. "Humans are foolish and ungrateful creatures. Not to mention they are lower than us in every aspect. But it would be a waste to leave a town like this, when we can take control of it, in a way where the hunters will never come to know of." 

Castiel agreed with this and said, "I agree with Azazel. There are many who have been turned, and this is a place I would like to look after. We make use of them for our own benefit. But for the transformation to be successful, they will need to be put in isolation."

Azazel closed his eyes, taking a deep breath where he basked in the smell of death in the air. He opened his eyes, revealing the red eyes and said, "Let's get the ones who have been turned and lock them in the rooms of the manors. Make sure no one comes to wander there. When they are ready let us see if they are worth keeping. If they turn out to be useless, discard them with the rest." 

The three old vampires dispersed from where they were standing to discard the dead humans, who were of no use to them while picking up the ones who were remotely alive or were going through the process of transformation. 

The vampire named Luciano stepped into the Moltenore's manor and greeted with bodies at the front side of the hall. He looked around the manor. When he was walking near the stairs, he noticed a human's heart near the body. 

His shoes had been splashed with blood when he was earlier killing the rogue vampires. He walked to the other side of the corridor, noticing a young person lying on his stomach. It was a boy in his teenage years, and Luciano found nothing in him. There was no heartbeat, and by the look of it, the body had turned cold. 

The older vampire stepped out of the manor, after finding every single person in the manor to be dead, leaving Roman's body on the ground like the rest of the people, whom he had grown up with. 

But after some time, Roman gasped, and his eyes that had been closed until now opened, flickering between red and black. 

His head hurt with a severe pain that spread throughout his body. The pain in his stomach didn't reduce, and he flinched. When he came to his senses, Roman looked towards the other end of the corridor, where Tristan lay on the ground. 

Unable to stand up, as he was weak right now, he crawled on the ground. Making his way towards his brother. 

Roman's hand trembled, and he reached for his brother's chest that had been hollowed. He then placed his hand on his brother's face, noticing how cold the body had turned. His brother's eyes were open. Roman's face contorted in pain, wishing he could turn back time and save his family. To keep them safe and alive, but they were all dead, leaving him alone. 

"I couldn't protect you until the end," muttered Roman under his breath. His eyes started to burn and prick, but the water in them didn't spill out from his eyes. 

The shock was too much for Roman to digest. He wanted to call for help, but even Roman knew that there was no way anyone could help his parents or brother now. He whispered, "I will find the person who did this to you. To our parents. And when I catch the person, I promise to avenge all of your deaths."

Roman closed Tristan's eyes, the brother who had always stood next to him since the very beginning. His heart ached, and his hands clenched in pure rage. 

He tried to push himself up to stand while pain shot in his body. He looked at his hands that were covered in blood. 

Using the support of the walls, he tried to step out of the manor while leaving a trail of blood on the white walls at the front of the Moltenore's manor. 

Stepping out of the manor, he was greeted with the sight of smoke moving up in the air from one of the houses that continued to burn in flames. The screams that he had earlier heard before looking for his family had stopped. Climbing down the stairs of the manor, he looked around and caught the sight of bodies, people he knew in the town.

The pain in his head increased, and for a moment, Roman stopped walking as he felt his body sway. He felt difficulty in breathing. 

When he got to the road, he made his way towards the physician's house. Halfway there, suddenly two men in long black cloaks appeared in front of Roman.

"There's a vampire there!" Roman noticed one of them pull out a crossbow and aim at him.

Roman raised his hand, "I-I didn't harm anyone," he struggled with his words. "Stop! I need help!"

"Isn't that Lord Moltenore's illegitimate son? Looks like he was recently turned," commented one of them, but the other person with the crossbow didn't lower down his weapon. 

"You know what our orders are. We don't leave any turned human alive. Anyone with a trace of vampire in them, we stake and kill them all," said the man, aiming the arrow at Roman. 

Roman's knees gave away, and his body dropped to the ground, where he sat on his knees while clutching his stomach. 

One of the men placed his hand on the crossbow to lower it down, and he said, "Let's take him to Lloyd. He will know what to do. The boy's eyes are changing."

"Fine, I will go and bring the others. I think the vampires have fled after killing the humans," said the man with the crossbow and ran to look for the others. The other man carried Roman on his shoulder, who was part of the hunter's group. The hunters who were present in the town were some who lived in the same town, while the others lived in another town that wasn't far from this town. 

"Who do you have there, Porter?" questioned an old man, whose cloaked hood covered the upper half of his face. But one could see his peppered beard that covered his jaws. 

"We don't know if he's turning into a vampire or he's trying to get back to his human form, Llyod", said the man named Porter. 

"Weren't the orders clear that you kill every vampire in the vicinity? A hunter doesn't show pity to the creatures who sucks blood and is a ruthless creature," said the old man named Llyod, who was the head of the group. "He's either dying or transforming."

"But if he's still a human, shouldn't we—"

"Do only what you are told, Porter. It seems like the vampires after quenching their thirst have left the town," said Llyod, a scowl on his face. "You are living in this fucking town, and you have no clue that it was invaded by vampires? How reckless can you be?" 

A man came running to the place where they were standing and informed them, "Sir, all the humans we found are dead on the road. It is a complete massacre."

"A whole town is completely destroyed," huffed the old man, and he then said, "Porter, bring the boy to the hall, the one without any residents. Bring the others and send some of them to deal with the authorities on what happened. We don't want word of panic spreading to other towns that there are creatures who kill humans for pleasure. Handle it with utmost care." 

"Yes, Sir!" said the man, who had recently joined them. 

"Let us see why the boy's body condition is fluctuating," said the old man. "We'll also come to know how the vampire's body functions. It is time to learn more about them so that they can be easily killed."

The hunter carried Roman, following the older man and the others away from there.

All the hunters walked in a pair, following one after another in harmony until they reached a huge building. The doors were pushed open, and they entered the large and vacant hall. Once they went to the centre of the wide hall, the man carrying Roman placed him on the ground. The men in the cloaks surrounded him, where one of the hunters started to offer his prayers and the others followed. At the same time, Roman regained his consciousness and opened his eyes. He noticed the high ceiling of the room and heard the murmurs from the people who surrounded him. 

As much as he wanted to stand up and go back to the Moltenore's manor, his body didn't support him. The pain he had felt earlier woke his body as it spread across his body, inching towards his heart. 

Once the men were done whispering their prayers, the older man ordered the man who stood in front of him, "Kill him." 

The person, who had first started the prayer, pulled out a knife from his back, and he stepped forward near where the boy laid on the ground. When the tip of the blade pierced through Roman's chest, a sharp pain started to spread in his chest, and he caught hold of the man's hand, trying to stop him from pushing it further.

One of the cloaked men sensed someone standing on the other side of the hall's entrance, where the doors had been left open. 

"Never knew humans could do something so ill to their own kind. It's a delight to look at." 

The other hunters turned to look at one of the old vampires, whose eyes were blood red and the corner of his lips with traces of blood, letting one know that he had consumed blood from a human before coming here. 

"So you are finally here, vampire, after hiding like a coward," said the older man, and pulled out his weapon, and so did the others, while some picked up the crossbows. 

The vampire chuckled in humour, his eyes brightly shining, and he ran his tongue over his fangs that still had the blood of one of the insolent humans whom he had sucked blood from until the very last drop. 

"I was looking around for any human who was still alive to drink blood from, but then I heard those pathetic prayers of yours. And to think I find you self righteous hunters in such an interesting situation, it does make me believe that we are both the same," taunted the vampire with a smile on his face. 

When the vampire took a step forward, a series of gunshots were fired, and arrows aimed at the vampire. But the creature of the night was not old for no reason. He moved in speed, dodging the bullets and arrows, pulling the bloodied sharp wooden stakes out from his coat. He quickly started to throw it at the hunters, who suddenly jumped away from where they had been standing to avoid getting pierced with it. 

And even though there were a total of nine hunters in the hall, they seemed to be outnumbered. It was because two more older vampires had come to join the fight from the entrance of the door, which the hunters had used to walk into the building initially. 

The three vampires in the hall were old, and they fought the hunters, wanting to erase the very existence of the humans so that they could continue living while working on slowly controlling the world. 

The vampires tore the men's arms or heads off the body, where blood spilt profusely from the top of the head and then on the ground, leaving the floor covered in blood. One of the hunters, who was the old man, realized how his people were being ambushed and killed, where he hadn't expected the old vampires to be in the same place at the same time. 

The old man tried to escape from there, but Azazel blocked his way. Catching hold of the human's face, he pushed it against the wall. 

"Where are your other people so that I can deal with them?" questioned Azazel. 

The human tried to push the silver knife at the vampire, but his arm was twisted behind his back, and the knife fell to the ground. Llyod said through his gritted teeth, "Do you think I will give you the information that easily because you asked me?! I know you blood-sucking creatures who kill humans on a whim." 

"If that is so, it looks like you are useless to me," stated Azazel. 

"You think I will be scared by your threats? My people will one day find and kill—"

The old man didn't get a chance to speak as the vampire used all his force and squashed the human's head to the wall. The old man's head cracked before blood dripped into his hand, and Azazel let go of the human, who dropped on the floor. Out of the nine human hunters, only one was left alive, while the rest laid on the ground with blood oozing out of their head or bodies. 

For an average vampire, the amount of blood spilt in the building would have driven them mad to take a lick at the ground. But these vampires who stood in the hall were not any ordinary vampires; they were the first and original vampires. 

"Don't kill me!" the man panicked, who was the only hunter in the room, who was left alive.

"Let go of his head, Oscar," said Azazel, and looking at the human hunter, he said, "You are from this very town, aren't you? I didn't know this town had Hunters living, how nice. Castiel must have missed noticing it. Tell me why you are hunting us?" 

"Y-you creatures killed my whole family! My parents and my siblings!" the man shakily said, and the vampire nodded his head. 

"Sounds fair. Do you have more of your men coming here to hunt?" questioned the vampire with a pleasant voice as if his hands had spilt no blood or had caused death. 

The human didn't answer and only stared at the vampires, who now started to head towards the exit of the building, while saying, "Get him off my sight." 

"No! No! They aren't coming! The others have been sent to deal with the situation of the town!" the man named Porter shouted in panic. The vampire named Oscar swept his hand across the human's neck at a speed that severed the head to fall on the ground. 

Azazel heard something behind him, and he turned to look at the boy who had been lying on the floor. He walked to where the boy was, coming to stand next to the boy and watching the human, who gasped for air. 

"Is he undergoing transformation?" questioned Oscar, looking at the boy.

"He's dying," said Azazel, watching Roman's eyes flicker between his black human eyes and red vampire eyes. One of the rogue vampires must have tried converting him, but the creature didn't do it right, thought Azazel to himself. "You seem to have been heavily injured yet you are still breathing, is it the little vampire blood that is coursing in your body that is trying to extend your life?" hummed the vampire. 

Both Roman and Azazel's eyes met. Even in pain, Roman saw how the creature, who wasn't a human, curiously stared at him.

"Kill him off quickly, Azazel, we need to check on the others," commented Luciano, who was there in the room.

"It would be a waste to do that, when he shows so much potential," hummed Azazel. The vampire sat down on his heel next to Roman, tearing the shirt he wore to look at the wound caused by the blade and his stomach. "You will turn into one of the finest vampires. My very first."

Azazel picked up the knife on the ground, and he brought it towards Roman's chest. When he placed it right above Roman's heart, the human caught hold of the hand, glaring at the vampire. 

"It's the fire in your eyes that I find to be fascinating. Don't you want to get revenge on those people who killed your family and friends?" questioned Azazel, a smile forming on his lips. "Right now your body is weak, but you will turn strong with my blood."

The vampire pushed the knife further into the wound on Roman's chest that had earlier formed, and it had Roman spout blood from his mouth. Azazel then pulled out the knife, bringing it to his hand, he sliced it. Drops of the vampire's blood fell on the open wound on Roman's chest. 

Azazel whispered something under his breath while watching the boy's eyes close. 

The pain that coursed through every cell of his body had numbed every sensation in him. The vampire's blood entered his body, overpowering the other vampire's blood that had entered Roman's body earlier and then overpowering the human blood in him. 

"You could have picked someone who was in a better condition than a badgered human," scoffed Luciano, looking at the boy who laid on the ground as if he were dead. 

A minute passed, and then five minutes, but nothing happened. "You must have been late—"

The vampire's words were interrupted when a heartbeat was heard. 

Then another heartbeat followed the first one before the heart continued to beat in Roman's chest. 

"Is he still a human?" questioned Oscar from where he stood. Azazel keenly watched Roman, where the boy's wounds slowly started to heal. 

When Roman opened his eyes, they were bloody red, and the corners of Azazel Donovan's lips tugged.