First Demonic Dragon

Chapter 1252: The Death of Dracula III

A battle Mateo had anticipated to end quickly, ended up being one of the most arduous of his entire life.

Dracula, despite never coming across another worthy foe, was an incredibly powerful vampire with a blood thirst to match.

After trading a few blows with the monarch, Mateo realized just how much he must have drunk for him to possess this level of strength.

But it was more than Dracula’s hunger that made him formidable.

There were some individuals who truly took to vampirism the way one might take to art or music.

Some individuals became posh and snobbish, climbing their way up to the top of an aristocratic society in order to have everyone eating out of the palm of their hands.

Others lost themselves to their new, primal instincts and had to be put down like the rabid dogs they were. Those were the types that Mateo came across the most.

Vlad Tepes III was in a rarer and more troublesome minority. Those who embraced the instincts of the vampire to become extraordinary hunters and formidable warriors.

Truthfully, Mateo usually never had a problem with those types. They were quiet. Efficient. They killed for sport, sure, but they did so in secret as well.

They knew not to hunt too much in one place and compel anyone who might’ve been affected by their feeding.

But Vlad wasn’t like that. He didn’t care how many bodies he piled, or how indiscriminately he killed. That made him dangerous in more ways than just one.

Their battle lasted for a week straight.

Aside from Abaddon, never before had Mateo come across an opponent who could push him to such a degree.

Knowing that Vlad would only grow more monstrous if he were left to his own devices, Mateo put everything that he had into the fight.

The battle was intense. For every move Mateo made, Vlad had a counter or defense.

But the longer they fought, the more Vlad learned from his opponent.

He began trying to copy his movements, trying to mimic his powers, and performing new feats that he hadn’t known to be possible.

And the more that Dracula learned, the more excited he became. This, in turn, made him much harder for Mateo to handle.

But at the end of their clash, tens of miles away from the castle, it was the First Vampire who stood tall over his descendant.

Dry, heaving breaths escaped Mateo’s throat as he stood tall over Vlad.

His macuahuitl was badly damaged. Cracks ran up along the ancient weapon, and more than five of the obsidian edges had been knocked out during battle. The entire thing almost looked fragile enough to shatter from a stray gust of wind.

As the blade remained inside the chest of Vlad, the vampire laughed dryly, worsening his injuries and causing him to spit out even more blood.

He didn’t have long before, but he had even less time now.

“Glorious… simply glorious…”

Mateo pushed his blood-soaked hair out of his vision.

Vlad’s voice now barely qualified as a whisper. But he heard it all the same.

“Never in my life… have I enjoyed such a clash as that one. This was… sublime.”

Mateo stared down at Vlad with eyes full of contempt. “…How young you are.”

Vlad’s expression became a distasteful sneer. “Excuse me..?”

Mateo shook his head as he stumbled back against a mound of shattered mountain.

He tilted his chin toward the sky, laughing subtly to himself as he held his organs in place.

“You young hunters… You are all the same. You pursue an endless sea of battles and challenges from the moment you awake to the moment you close your eyes.

Is this all you believe immortality is…? You are such… hollow existences. You have no concept of the joys of anything beyond a battlefield. Immortality is wasted on you.”

This was truly the most offended Vlad had looked during their entire battle.

He began trying to sit up with renewed disdain. But he no longer had the strength necessary to seem intimidating. “How… dare… you!”

More blood poured out of the vampire’s wound, but he did not seem to care in the slightest.

“Listen to me, cretin..! There are none like the men of the Dracul line…! We are hunters to our core..! Bears who stand courageously amidst a world teeming with sheep! Do not dare to compare me to-”

“As I said…” Mateo grabbed hold of the hilt of his weapon. “You are all the same.”

Mateo ripped his weapon free, sending an arc of blood and tissue into the air.

The light slowly left Dracula’s eyes as he slumped back onto the ground. In just a moment, his body turned to ashes, blown away by the wind.

“That was… very climactic.” A new voice said.

Mateo didn’t have the energy to turn back. The last of his reserves were being used to support his body so that he wouldn’t fall over.

“If you…” Mateo panted. “Liked the show so much, then you should have offered me a bit of aid.”

“You seemed to have things handled from where I stood. Though I would have stepped in if I suspected you were going to perish.”

Just as Mateo began to pass out from exhaustion, a reinvigorating wave of energy washed over him.

His wounds closed up at a dramatic rate. The blood trickled off his body in rivers. It congealed into a ball of blood the size of a globe.

The orb of red floated behind Mateo, and he followed it’s trajectory.

Sitting atop the rubble with a young komodo dragon on his head was a red-haired, three-eyed dragon in the form of a man.

“New pet?” Mateo chuckled dryly. “Is your house not full enough already?”

Abaddon held out his hand and allowed the creature to jump into his palm. “One can never have enough friends. And this little one happens to be a gift from Shiva. Say hello, Bayle.”

The lizard darted it’s tongue out in response. Mateo almost felt like he had been called a bad name.

After putting his weapon away, he joined Abaddon in sitting on the rubble.

Together, they stared out into the vast destruction that Mateo and Clad had wrought. The dragon was already turning it back to normal.

“Gaia already doesn’t like you. You certainly aren’t going to get on her good side if you keep messing up her face like this.”

Mateo releases a dry huff in response before falling into a silence.

Abaddon places Bayle back on top of his head where he sits comfortably.

“…You know that you aren’t yet done.”

“I do.” Mateo confirmed.

Dracula had three sons. The oldest, despite perishing, had left behind a child who lived within the castle. Mateo could still sense him, even from this distance.

“…He was right about one thing. Those of the Dracul line are different, even from other Inhumans. Perhaps… the youngest might fare better in Tehom.”

Mateo was quiet as he contemplated Abaddon’s proposal. He started to agree after not much thought, believing that his idea was the best solution for the safety of humanity.

But then, he turned to Abaddon and smiled.

“…What is the meaning of that expression?”

“I just thought it would be amusing is all… If Vlad were to be proven wrong by one he so vehemently despised.”