The Magic of Vampires
There are only six types of vampire magic:
Blood Magic, or "The Magic of Blood", is an innate ability of all vampires. Blood arts draw life force from your enemies, turning their blood and pain into a source of nourishment for you.
In fact, this is the most monstrous magic in my arsenal. Other vampires used it rather sparingly — I'd say, incorrectly? Or perhaps too restrictively, as if something was preventing them from harnessing the full potential of this magic.
I, on the other hand, could absorb an entire village with my magic, and they couldn't do anything about it at all. Even the protective regalia of the church couldn't block this magic, which was quite strange, considering that when I was near them, I felt my insides burning.
Vampires used only a couple of tricks; even the "draining" ability they didn't use to its full extent. At most, they would exhaust their enemies — but I could completely drain my foe, with some exceptions. I couldn't instantly kill those in whom the blood of the progenitor was strong. And as luck would have it, all the most powerful people and creatures in that world possessed this blood. That's why I rarely used this power — only when there were too many ordinary soldiers, and they were preventing me from killing my target.
To my surprise, my power couldn't consume Goetia due to his monstrous resistance to magic. Nor could it affect that strange creature because of which I had to die. It was as if her blood wasn't blood at all.
Therefore, as long as blood flows within you — be it human or animal — I will kill you.
"Chaos Magic" is my most destructive magic, which I am still trying to master. This magic is connected to a certain "Void", and according to ancient texts I managed to find in one of the vampire's lairs, this magic can help me reach the limits of my power. However, the texts were fragmentary and too vague. While reading them, I sensed a certain incompleteness — as if it had been written intentionally, as if I was being misled to make me use this magic more.
"Unholy Magic" — …
I barely use it. Just a couple of tricks that all vampires knew. Why?
Hmm. I can create a plague. I'm serious. I can create a plague that could destroy an entire city in one damn night. I can summon to my service all those I've killed — forever.
They will follow me eternally, and even after their destruction, I can summon them again. This… this is monstrous magic, even for my compassionless mind. That's why I only summon the "Death Knight", who stands as a silent companion behind my back. I don't know who he is; according to my memories, he was a knight betrayed by humans, who then went into the service of Dracula and later became this. But he always answers when I call him.
However, he didn't respond to the summons of my former "colleagues". I'm still figuring this out. There are too many memories I've ignored over the years, simply because I didn't have time for them.
"Illusion Magic" is perhaps my least terrible magic. Although creating tangible illusions that can calmly tear out a throat is hardly peaceful. I'm not even mentioning that once such a phantom touches you, the enemy is affected by "weakening". Moreover, some of my phantoms in the form of a mosquito can somehow increase the incoming damage to my enemy by almost half.
"Ice Magic" means complete control over the element of ice. I can create a damn North Pole right inside an active volcano. I tested it when one of my enemies teleported me there. Not only did I save myself, but I also saved all the nearby settlements with this stunt — though I did cover half the continent in snow. And I paid for it with three reserves of my magic: three whole vials of the "scholar's" blood, which enhanced my magical powers.
"Storm Magic" — this magic granted me power over lightning. I could become lightning myself, I could summon it even in clear weather, I could create tornadoes shrouded in lightning (Cyclone). Hell, I could temporarily transform my body into lightning (Storm Veil), and I could even teleport to my own lightning (Polarity Shift — this is teleportation to your temporary lightning double — Storm Veil)!
All the magic wielded by vampires from that world is broken.
BUT.
They couldn't use it to its full potential. It was as if some hand were gripping their necks, preventing them from doing so. All of them — except me.
At first, I was only figuring it all out and couldn't harness the full potential of vampire magic, but by the ninth year, I was nearly unstoppable.
I've been in this world for a long time now, and every time I come to the same thought: Dracula deliberately lost to me. And I only need to figure out why.
So, rushing straight at this so‑called "God", I felt no fear. I sensed the blood flowing through his veins. How it beckoned me to drink it down to the very last drop. And thanks to the strange magic emitted by those peculiar chains wrapped around my bones, I was even faster — and it felt like even stronger.
"If I can't pierce your hide, let's go in through the back door and kill you from the inside."
Storm Magic enveloped me, and I lunged straight into his maw.
It turned out to be too easy — he simply swallowed me.
"Heh, you need to chew your food! And I'll show you why!"
Hearing the deafening heartbeat and seeing the stomach's bile beneath me, I created the Piercing Spear and thrust it in. Then I quickly stood on it and, using Chaos Magic, burned my way straight toward the heart. A surge of blood nearly swept me away — it put me in a state close to frenzy, but I gathered my resolve and suppressed the urge to immerse myself even deeper in that blood.
With a grin stretching from ear to ear, I raised my hand toward the heart.
"Chaos Barrage" — and four projectiles, brimming with chaos magic, shot straight into the heart, enveloping it in purple flames.
A horrifying howl resounded, and I was tossed about inside his body. Not wasting any time, I infused my Blood Magic into his circulatory system, using the still‑burning valves of the heart.
From the outside.
Arturia's gaze sharpened.
"That was quite fast."
She was still studying her master — the vampire. But a strange vampire: he wasn't like one of the Dead Apostles. Unlike them, who hid behind a human guise, he made no attempt to conceal himself. When I asked why, he grimaced and said:
"I couldn't kill an unarmed old woman who couldn't even fight back, so I don't know how to mask myself. Damn, you have no idea how much time I had to spend building a loom because of that."
I never understood what the loom had to do with it, but I continued to watch him.
In this world, there's absolutely nothing that interests me — except for one memory. This vampire is my distant relative.
That's why I stayed here, watching him. And after observing him for a while, I even managed to feel this unfamiliar emotion: envy.
Envy of his freedom.
I am a king. My fate, from the moment I was born, was predetermined. I've fought the horrors of magical Britain, invaders, traitors, and even my own knights.
I became the perfect king.
Exactly who my father and my teacher Merlin wanted me to be — who Britain wanted me to be.
But.
After dying, I began to reflect: Was there truly no choice? What would have happened if I had remained an ordinary girl, one who never took up that sword? (In the original, Shirou helped her answer these questions — but Arturia Lancer has never met him. More precisely, she has yet to come to terms with this.)
What would have happened if I had chosen the fate of an ordinary girl instead of a king?
These questions gnaw at me from within. Every time I am summoned, these thoughts trouble me. I try to find my answer in the words of my masters — but so far, I have not found it.
Suddenly, I watched in horror as my master leaped straight into the beast's maw.
"Master!" I cried out, and was about to rush at the enemy — but the body in my arms stirred, causing me to freeze.
Once again, I was torn by a choice: To kill this man and save the world and my master, or to trust in his strength.
Before I could make a choice, the beast stopped. It clutched its chest, clawing at it until it reached the ribs, then let out a horrifying roar and began thrashing from side to side. After a brief rampage, it froze and started to fall.
With a thunderous crash, it collapsed. I noticed a small silhouette in the sky.
An instant later, my master landed beside me — his face flushed, with a huge sphere of blood floating behind him.
"Ah, quite good. But that's all the blood I could extract from its body," he said.
Suddenly, he reached his hand into a strange rift, and dozens of vials began emerging from it — which he then started filling with blood.
After that, he turned toward the beast and watched it intently. After a while, its massive body began to melt right before our eyes.
"Now I'm certain it's dead — Unholy Magic hasn't failed me," he said, then turned in my direction.
"Alright, now let's try to save this man," he continued, reaching into the rift again and pulling out a vial with a red liquid. He poured its contents directly into the mouth of the burned body and watched closely.
"Hmm, just as I thought — no effect. I've only wasted time," he said with disappointment. Even through my armor, I felt the body stir slightly.
"Mm? You're still fighting for your life — but I can't help you, only finish you off. Although…" he mused thoughtfully. I watched him in surprise.
"Dreams of bygone days," he murmured.
We were drawn into my master's "Soul Mirror." An endless sea of stars, surrounded by thousands of shards — each showing moments from the master's life.
"I'm not entirely sure this will work, but it's worth a try," he said. A second later, one of the shards began to glow, and from it emerged an armored figure in white — a woman with a beautiful face.
"We'll patch you up now, Commander!" she said cheerfully, and a green beam of energy shot toward the charred body. I laid it on the ground and watched the healing in amazement.
"The patient is more dead than alive!" she suddenly declared, but continued the treatment anyway. Meanwhile, the master watched the woman with obvious interest.
After a while, the terribly charred body began to regain human features — and ten minutes later, it was fully healed.
"Phew, I'm exhausted," the woman said, wiping away invisible sweat. Then she added:
"Congratulations! You're my first patient! Oh, and now I'll heal you too!" She turned her green energy beam toward me, and my wounds began to vanish. Once she finished healing me, she turned to the master with a radiant smile.
"Captain! I've completed my task — may I go?"
The clearly surprised master simply nodded, and the woman's body dissolved into thousands of particles of light, which streamed back into the shard.
"Wow. I managed to summon a medic from the game StarCraft. So does that mean I can summon anyone? I'll have to test that," he said. Then the Soul Mirror vanished, and we found ourselves once again surrounded by corpses.
"Excellent! My blood reserves are replenished! The villains are dead! And the victim is saved and healed! I consider my curiosity satisfied!"
Afterword
Chapter 19 was slightly altered — I forgot to include one important fragment.