?Wind Expansion: Atmosphere Rejection

The air around Zephyr’s tornado flashed green, golden, and black.

Unlike others, Zephyr couldn’t cast an expansion not for lack of power. But because she had it cast. Since the first time, she cast it two thousand years ago upon taking the crown from the previous wind spirit, she had never halted her expansion once, and most of her power was directed toward maintaining it.

Vlad’s skin bubbled into blood-red foam as the air inside his cells that was supposed to burn and create energy revolted, ripping his cells from the inside out. His regeneration tried to fight it, but the existence of holy and cursed magic in Zephyr’s wind halted his magic.

^So I was right.^ Vlad stared at her with bloodied eyes. ^Your expansion is everywhere…^

The world needs great spirits to be sustained each of them holding a part of it stable. Zephyr is the great wind spirit, and maintaining the atmosphere of the world is her duty, and that atmosphere in its entirety is her expansion.

Zephyr had two ways of interacting with her already cast expansion. Taking direct control or forming a secondary small expansion. Her small expansion is only capable of targeting a few humans, probably a large monster, and killing it, but it isn’t anywhere near strong enough to kill someone at Vlad’s level.

Zephyr had chosen the first way and took direct control of her expansion, which was unimaginably difficult due to its massive size and complexity. The order was simple, killing everything in Area 1, which was the northern side of the human kingdom. To keep the people safe, she used her magic to engulf the whole area in a tornado of her magic while leaving Vlad to face the wrath of her expansion.

World power is a title given only to those capable of destroying the world, and Zephyr could do that with ease if she so wished.

After half an hour, Zephyr finally felt Vlad’s magic stopping as his body stopped regenerating after her expansion ripped his cells part. “Finally, to think it took this long for you to run out of blood, how many thousands of people have you devoured,”

Zephyr landed on the destroyed harbor, looking at the capital behind her. The building has crumbled, and hundreds of people died from her tornado. ^I had to engulf them in a tornado to protect them from my expansion, but that still is…^ She sighed, seeing a priest crawl from beneath the rubble with his legs bleeding. “OH! Great wind spirit,” He cried.

“You’re alive?” She stared at him, “Sorry for the destruction,”

“That monster!” The priest cried, “I saw him impaling civilians from the butt up to their throat, hanging them in the streets for fun,” The priest couldn’t stand due to his legs. All he could do was sit and prey.

“He’s already dead,” Zephyr said with a passive face, “Pray for this kingdom to recover instead,”

“It’s here,” As Zephyr was about to fly away, people started crawling from the rubble, praying behind the priest.

^They’ve seen hell since Vlad showed up here,^ Zephyr sighed, ^They don’t even care that I killed some of them. All they care about is that Vlad is dead.^

“I’m pretty sure praying to me is forbidden. I’m not god,” Zephyr walked toward them.

“We want to show our thanks,” A nun said, and Zephyr scratched her head. “Fine! Fine! I’ll stay for a while,” She waved her, lifting the rubble of the building, “All those who could use healing magic get to work. Priority is for those who could use healing magic but are injured. We need as many healers as possible after all,”

After a minute of work, a little girl rushed toward Zephyr with a crown of flowers. “Wind!”

Zephyr ignored the little girl. Moving the rubble away and getting the people trapped beneath it was more important. ^Let the kids play. It’s the blessing of ignorance.^

“Hay!” The little one smiled a glowing red light in her eyes, pushing a gray cube into Zephyr’s stomach, “Pushy push!” At that moment, Zephyr’s consciousness shifted back away from her magic and to her body, “You little!” She was about to kick the little girl away alongside the cube, but that was too late.

The cube flashed, sucking Zephyr inside and falling to the ground. The rubble and debris that Zephyr had floating fell back down, crushing several people. As the blood drained into the ground, a skeletal being grew from the dirt, flesh, and veins covering the bones until Vlad emerged back up.

“Nice. Job,” He patted the little girl on the head.

Zia appeared behind him, “The plan worked.” She said, looking at the little girl, “Your mind control seems to keep working even without you being conscious,”

“Playing dead with Zephyr was a massive risk. If she kept, pummeling me with her expansion for another half an hour, I would’ve run out of blood and died for real,” Vlad replied, “Take the little girl to the sanctuary island and give her a high rank among the cattle.”

“What high rank?”

“The highest possible, helping take care of the wind spirit is no small feat, even if it was my mind control working,” He waved his hand, and Zia carried the little girl, flying across the sea.

Vlad expanded his wings and flew into the sky, lifting his arms and looking down upon the burning city. “In the future, when the Dracorage Mythic hits, dragons would rip the world apart, consuming the living and dead and spelling the world’s doom,” He smiled, “That’s fate. It shouldn’t change,”

Blood started dripping from his wings, “But. What if I killed the world before them? The great dragon-vampire war would be upon us, and I’m sure that time would be fun,”

Vlad lowered his hands and killed everyone on sight, impaling them across the capital, “My children, for the vampires’ glory, hunt the world down,”

*****

Back in Alina, Arad, Eris, Alcott, Ginger. All could feel a jolt flashing in their heads. The vampire blood coursing through their veins cried, ^Obey the king, slaughter the living,^

Veins bulged on Arad’s forehead. He growled, staring at the sleeping Kin Inside his layer.

“NO!” His eyes flashed purple as the muscles around his body bulged, “This blood is mine. You showed yourself, fiend!” He turned around, ready to blast toward Vlad.

Eris grabbed her head, gasping for air as her fangs itched, but she quickly felt better as Arad resisted Vlad’s will. Her blood was linked to his thanks to Ginger so he acted as a shield, protecting her will. “This is bad. All the vampires heard him,” She rushed downstairs to call the girls.

Ginger grunted, “Damn it,” She looked at Alcott who stood from his seat inside their house, “Your father is such a pain,”

“I know,” She stood, “All the vampires of the world heard his call, they’ll rampage and follow his will,”

“Do you know where he is?”

“The capital,” She growled, “I doubt anyone survived there. Father isn’t known for mercy. Humans to him are nothing more than food, cattle. He can’t see them more than how humans see sheep or cows.”

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!” They heard a scream coming from outside, and Alcott immediately grabbed his sword, “There are vampires in this city?” He flew out, “I didn’t know. They probably avoided using their blood magic near here due to my presence,” Ginger growled.

BAM! Alcott jumped over the fence of his house and ran across the street, following the scream and blood sent, finally reaching a house at the city’s plaza. A large brick building with a tile roof, reeking of blood.

Without wasting a second, he lunged inside, shattering the door.

Right through the main entrance in the living room, he could see a vampire holding a man by the neck, half the family dead. “All hail to the blood lord,” The vampire said, breaking the man’s neck with one hand while turning toward Alcott.

“A fellow blood brother,” He smiled, “You heard our lord’s call. Do you seek assistance?”

CLAP! In the blink of an eye, Alcott blitzed the vampire and diced him beyond recognition, “Burn,” Alcott pulled a bottle of holy water from his pocket and poured it on the vampire’s diced body, finishing him off.

“Alcott! This isn’t the only place, there are tens of vampires across the city, and they are spreading rapidly,” Ginger shouted, flying to the sky, “By blood I order thee! HALT!” She screamed.

Blood Magic: Royal Command She used her blood to fight against her father’s will, forcing all the vampires in Alina to stop moving for a minute. This spell was exclusive to Vlad and his direct descendants, and even with that, they got a version far weaker than Vlad himself.

Alcott jumped out, quickly locating the vampires through scent. At the same moment, he noticed the adventurers running around to fight back, especially Nina, Abel, and Merlin, who had already slayed the vampires.

****

In Arad’s village, a vampire approached a small house, “I smell something sweet inside,” He opened the door, staring directly into the kitchen and seeing a family sitting around a table. Parents and a small kid, Agnar Asim.

“Who are…” Agnar’s father stood, but before he could finish the sentence, Agnar kicked the dinner table toward the vampire and rushed at him with a kitchen knife. 𝑖𝘦.𝑐𝘰𝘮

Angar’s mother cried, falling back as the father gasped.

The vampire lifted his hand to block the table.

“What’s that kid?” He gasped, but Agnar didn’t give him any time, slipping beneath the table and slicing the vampire’s ankles.

The vampire fell down, seeing Agnar swinging the knife toward his throat. “Cheeky brat!” He growled, smacking Agnar in the face and sending him rolling into the house. The vampire stood, his ankle fully healed, “You are strong for a brat,” His eyes opened wide, seeing Agnar squatting in the corner, his wooden sword in hand.

“Howl! Maharaja!” Agnar screamed, scratching the sword with his nails. The sword flashed for a second, and Agnar’s body turned back, fading into the shadows, only leaving two glowing golden eyes that disappeared quickly after.

“Where?” The vampire turned around, searching for Agnar only to see a massive jaw approaching his face. A black Jaguar bites the vampire’s head, dragging her into the shadows of the house’s garden, and munching the skull open.

Agnar shifted back into his humanoid form, dragging the vampire close to the door, “Father, we have holy water, right?”

“Yeah!” The father rushed inside.

Agnar looked at the vampire’s body, “Not all vampires have the same regenerative ability, and the brain is the hardest part for them to regenerate. You better stay dead,”

****

Inside the local bar, Meryem was sitting with Nina’s grandma Shir, drinking ale. “Arad keeps ignoring me, he says what if I laid too many eggs…” She sighed, looking at the table, half-

drunk.

“Strength matters, and so does magic,” Grandma Shir patted Meryem’s back, “You strong, magic weak,”

“I know, right,” Meryem cried, “I don’t have enough magic to support even one egg,” She bawled her eyes, “What do I do,”

“Me not know,” Grandma Shir looked at her, “Drag him,”

“I can’t…He’s too strong…”

CREEEK! The bar’s door opened, “I smell…” CRACK! The moment the vampire walked in, Grandma Shir turned her head, cracking her neck and glaring at him with one eye.

“Person bug,” She growled. Barbarians barely cared what monsters are named, but they knew that there are bugs that suck blood mosquitoes and that the vampire is a humanoid A person, so they call them person bugs.

“Hot blood for such an old lady,” He said, “Mind if I suck it out?” The vampire smiled, smelling that something special ran in the old lady’s blood, the fading traces of a great being.

“I’ll let you suck my blood if you let me stomp your face,” She stood, rushing forward toward the vampire.

“She’s fast!” The gasped, blocking a kick straight to the chest that sent him flying into the snow streets.

“How could she be…” The vampire growled, turning to run away. He turned to look back, seeing Grandma Shir keeping up, running after him.

“I’m a vampire old lady! Don’t be as fast as me!” He screamed.

“Got it,” Grandma Shir replied, and he could only see her foot swinging past him as she got even faster, surpassing him with ease. “What?” He looked forward, seeing her sole rushing toward his face, stomping his head to the ground and crushing his skull. Grandma Shir was a kicker in her young years, and even now she didn’t slack off on her running for the sake of maintaining her health.

With the vampire’s skill crushed, Grandma ** looked at him, “Here, boy.” Waiting for him to stand and suck her blood, but he didn’t move.

Quickly, Meryem rushed in with holy water, finishing the fiend.

This content is taken from 𝘪𝘳.𝘤𝑜