Draven walked down the hallway, his left hand tucked into his pocket and his right hand holding the bow.
*Damn, that took longer than I thought.*
He let out a quiet sigh as he recalled what had happened earlier.
At first, receiving so many gifts had felt quite nice. After all, who wouldn't enjoy getting free stuff without having to do anything for it?
Unfortunately, that feeling hadn't lasted long.
One vampire after another had approached him, each carrying a gift and wearing the same freakish smile on their faces. They would bow, offer their gifts, and say a few polite words before leaving, only for someone else to take their place.
And it just kept happening.
*Those blood-sucking bastards just kept coming.*
Draven couldn't understand how they had managed to maintain those smiles throughout the entire process. Some of them looked genuinely friendly, but he had noticed the distrust in their eyes. Others seemed to be smiling simply because they were expected to.
Either way, he didn't care enough to figure out what was going through their heads.
*I don't even know where in the hell they got gift wraps from. I thought this was supposed to be another world.*
He glanced at the bow in his right hand.
*Seriously, they have gift wraps, fancy clothes, and all this other stuff. What's next? Are they gonna tell me they have a shopping mall somewhere?*
He shook his head slightly.
*Whatever. At least I got some free stuff out of it.*
Draven continued down the hallway, already thinking about what he wanted to do next.
*I should probably go to the kitchen and get something to eat before taking a nap.*
Just imagining himself lying comfortably in bed after a good meal made him feel a little better.
However, before he could get much farther, he suddenly stopped.
His head tilted upward, and his crimson eyes settled on two figures standing in the air above him.
They were floating in midair as though standing on an invisible floor.
Draven stared at them for a brief moment.
Then, without changing his expression, he lowered his head and continued walking as if he hadn't seen anything.
His left hand remained in his pocket, while his right hand held the bow at his side.
*Nope. Not my problem.*
He had already spent enough time dealing with people today. The last thing he wanted was to get dragged into another shit.
Besides, whatever those two were doing up there had nothing to do with him.
At least, that was what he hoped.
"Hey, kid, you clearly saw us."
Draven continued walking.
A moment later, the two figures dropped from the air and landed behind him.
**THUD!**
Their feet touched the floor, but Draven didn't even bother turning around.
The two newcomers were vampires, a boy and a girl who looked to be around fifteen years old. Both had pale skin, red eyes, burgundy hair, and the familiar pointy ears that marked them as vampires.
The boy stared at Draven's back.
"Why act like you didn't?"
Draven kept walking, his expression completely unchanged.
He didn't answer.
He didn't even slow down.
The vampire boy's expression twitched slightly.
He had clearly expected some kind of reaction, whether it was surprise, curiosity, or even a simple greeting.
Instead, the kid was acting as though he didn't exist.
"Hey, kid, did you hear me, or are you just ignoring me?"
Draven continued down the hallway.
*Man, can't a guy get some peace and quiet around here?*
He didn't know who these two were, and frankly, he had no desire to find out.
He had just finished sitting through what felt like an endless parade of vampires offering him gifts. He wasn't in the mood to entertain anyone else.
The vampire boy stared at him for another moment.
"Still ignoring me?"
This time, his voice carried a hint of irritation.
He raised his right hand.
A red liquid suddenly appeared above his palm.
It was as red as fresh blood, and it floated in the air, moving as though it were alive. The liquid began gathering together, its shape changing as it stretched and narrowed.
Within moments, it condensed into a long, sharp spear.
The vampire girl stood nearby, watching.
The boy looked at Draven's back, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"Kid, let's see you ignore this."
He flicked his hand.
The blood spear shot forward.
**WHOOSH!**
It tore through the air, heading straight for Draven's back.
Yet Draven was still walking as though nothing had happened.
The spear rapidly closed the distance between them.
Just as it was about to reach him, Draven subtly shifted his body to the left.
The movement was small, almost casual.
The blood spear passed him and plunged into the ground beside him.
**THUNK!**
Draven stopped walking.
The spear remained embedded in the floor for a moment before beginning to dissolve.
Behind him, the vampire boy grinned.
"Kid guess you couldn't ignore it."
Draven didn't respond immediately.
His expression remained completely emotionless as he looked at the blood spear slowly disappearing beside him.
The red liquid lost its shape, breaking apart and fading away until nothing remained.
Draven watched it vanish.
*So this is blood magic.*