what if I'm an undead! then so what?-Chapter 70: Cape of Dracula

A Few Hours Earlier

The Mikazuki Mansion in Shinjuku, Masaru’s room was rather quiet and grey than usual.

"Damn it... I feel so weak! What the hell is happening to me!?" Masaru growled, his voice hoarse as he braced himself against the edge of the bathroom sink. A violent cough erupted from his chest, and with it came a mouthful of blood that splattered into the porcelain basin below. He stared at it, panting, dazed. His reflection in the mirror looked worse than he expected pale, dark circles under his eyes, and a kind of emptiness in his gaze that hadn’t been there before.

Ever since that incident at the underground spring, something had changed inside him. He felt constantly drained, as though something was feeding off his strength from within. At first, he assumed he was just pushing himself too hard, but vampires didn’t get sick. That was something Akane had been very clear about.

Turning away from the mirror, Masaru exited the bathroom and walked into the pristine bedroom, decorated with the most quality materials and expensive leathers and furnitures, where Emerald lay sprawled out, his cat paws flipping through the pages of the ancient grimoire Masaru had retrieved from the Tsukigami clan’s treasury.

"You know what’s going on with me?" Masaru asked, voice raw, exhaustion trailing in his tone. "Because I feel like I’m falling apart."

Emerald didn’t look up, his feline green eyes scanning the dusty parchment. "If I had to guess..." he mumbled, "I’d say it’s because of that artifact inside you. It’s evolving. And to evolve, it’s sucking up your energy. That’s why you feel like crap. Logical enough?"

Masaru blinked, confused. "Artifact? What artifact?"

Emerald paused, finally glancing at him with a glimmer of amusement. "Seriously? You think a mid-rank vampire who’s immune to sunlight, matches your strength, and radiates your level of potent blood energy is just normal? Come on, don’t be a fool. You clearly bonded with some artifact—you just didn’t realize it."

Masaru’s eyes widened. For a moment, nothing came to mind, not until he remembered the Cape of Dracula. He had tried to bond with it back then, but after the ritual, it seemed like the cape had lost its power, however they came to the conclusion it was stolen Instead. However after that, he had changed. Sunlight no longer burned him. He didn’t notice a massive strength boost at the time, but now, the pieces started to fit.

Without hesitation, he turned and bolted down the hallway.

He found Akane sitting cross-legged on the couch in the next room, her crimson eyes scanning over a thick, beat-up textbook. Her usually serious and confident posture was softened with a hint of concentration as she traced formulas with a pen.

"Wait, wait," Masaru said, stopping dead in his tracks, trying to hold back a laugh. "Are you seriously reading this?"

Akane looked up. "What? Chemistry’s never been my strong suit, okay? In case you’ve forgotten, school starts again the day after tomorrow. I’m trying to catch up. It’s been a while since I even looked at books so of course, or do you think vampires are natural born genius?" She questioned with a heavy sigh before returning back to the book.

Masaru snorted. "You, trying to get ahead of me in school, you’re afraid you’ll always be second to me, how interesting. Now I’ve seen everything."

She closed the book with a snap and gave him a half-serious glare. "What do you want?"

Masaru’s expression turned thoughtful, if a little grim. "I think I figured out what’s happening to me."

Akane raised an eyebrow.

"What’s the possibility," he began, "that the powers from the Cape of Dracula didn’t Just disappear... but absorbed? Like, they fused with me, and now the cape’s power exists as an artifact inside me?" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Akane’s smile vanished. "What did you just say?"

"I mean, you once said I’d only unlocked five percent of its power, right? Stuff like sunlight immunity, resistance to holy water—basic stuff. But now, I’m thinking... maybe it’s evolving. Maybe the artifact’s awakening again, trying to go from five to ten percent. That would explain the constant fatigue. It’s drawing on my energy to evolve."

Akane stared at him for a long moment, expression unreadable. Then, slowly, she nodded. "That actually... makes a disturbing amount of sense. The Cape of Dracula is one of the three most powerful vampire relics in existence. Its true power can turn an ordinary vampire into something godlike. But if it really is inside you and evolving, we can’t just wait around for it to finish on its own."

"I figured I had two more days before it’s done. It’s been feeding off me this whole time."

"Then let’s speed up the process," she said, standing up. "Vampire relics use blood energy as fuel. If that’s the case, then I can help you—directly. I can feed you my blood energy. If I do it right, you’ll be done evolving in under a minute."

Masaru blinked. "Wait, you can transfer blood energy like that?"

"Of course I can. Blood energy’s the same thing vampires in stories get when they drink human blood. But it’s inefficient—barely a drop. Vampire-to-vampire feeding is different. If you’re compatible, it can drastically boost your reserves. If not, it might hurt or kill you. But we’ve shared blood before, so we should be fine."

Akane began unbuttoning her shirt collar, revealing the smooth curve of her neck. She tilted her head slightly and gave a subtle nod, inviting him.

Masaru recoiled a little. "Whoa—wait. I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that. I mean, feeding on your blood like that..."

"Oh, come on," she teased, a sly smile playing on her lips. "You’re either going to fix your problem right now or spend another forty-eight hours slowly dying. Besides..." She leaned closer. "It’s not like you haven’t done it before."

Masaru’s cheeks flushed. He looked away. "Fine... I’ll take you up on it."

His fangs extended almost instantly, sharp and instinctive. He stepped forward, gripping her gently, and leaned in. The moment his fangs pierced her neck, a rush of sensations exploded through him.

Warm. Electric. Ecstatic.

The blood that flowed from her tasted nothing like human blood. It was vibrant, pulsing with life and power, almost intoxicating. His body responded greedily, veins burning with raw energy. He felt as if time itself slowed, senses heightening. Her blood wasn’t just nourishing—it was awakening something ancient and primal inside him.

Akane gasped softly, half in pain and half in euphoria, gripping the fabric of his shirt. There was a strange intimacy to it, not of romance, but of deep, mystical connection—two vampires merging their essence for the sake of something greater.

Then, it began.

A blinding red aura erupted around Masaru. He staggered back, mouth stained crimson, body trembling as a violent surge pulsed from within. His feet lifted off the ground as the air around him grew dense, swirling with invisible force. His skin cracked in glowing lines, light seeping from beneath. His bones began to snap and realign, muscle tissue shredding and reforming, all while the artifact inside him glowed brighter and brighter—a radiant golden orb floating in the center of his chest.

Then, the rest of his body disintegrated—skin, sinew, even organs—until only three things remained: his beating heart, his vampire core, and that luminous orb. And then, in an awe-inspiring spectacle of regeneration, his body rebuilt itself.

Bone by bone. Muscle by muscle. Every nerve and vein. A rebirth more than recovery.

When the transformation was complete, the change was unmistakable.

Masaru’s previously ash-gray hair had become pure silver, flowing to his shoulders like liquid moonlight. His once-pale skin was now sleek, smooth, and radiant with an otherworldly sheen. His musculature had evolved, each line perfectly sculpted, powerful without being grotesque—his very physique seemed divinely engineered.

But most striking of all were his eyes.

Vibrant crimson. Burning with authority. His gaze alone radiated an aura more potent than any vampire Akane had ever seen.

Masaru descended slowly, his feet touching the ground like a divine being returning to earth. The air crackled around him with residual energy. His power was suffocating, even for someone like Akane. His aura had completely shifted—no longer that of a mid-rank vampire. He had ascended to a high-ranking one, and the gap between them was now wide, undeniable.

Akane stared in disbelief. "Impossible... There’s no way. Even with my blood essence, the best you should’ve achieved was mid-rank. How are you already at this level...?"

Her eyes flickered to the orb now nestled in his chest. "That artifact... It’s really lives up to it’s legend. To think unlocking only 10% of it’s power would instantly evolve you to a high ranking vampire!"

Masaru clenched his fist, feeling raw power surging with every motion. He could hear the blood pumping in Akane’s veins, sense the insects crawling beneath the floorboards, and feel the breeze shifting outside the windows. He had been remade.

Reforged.

Reborn.