"MEN! Move! Move! Move! It's a sneak attack! Protect the people!!"

There was a complete frenzy in the hallway, the ground rumbling and explosions piercing the ears. Like waves, soldiers headed towards the door of the barracks, weapons in hand ready for anything that came their way…

However, out of those many soldiers, there was one that slightly stood out yet blended in perfectly with the crowd, having a slight limp in his step.

Ren, who was wearing guard's armour and a helmet to cover most of his red glowing eyes had yet to fully recover all the wounds on his body. And not only that, but his body also felt drained in a certain way that he only had a slight idea about and had never actually experienced himself...

He struggled and tried his utmost to follow the crowds and rush to the exit as naturally as possible, yet that was a harder task than he first expected.

However, for some reason, that was far from the main focus in his mind as he stared blankly at his gauntlets that bore flesh blood beneath them…

"I killed a man… I actually just killed a man…"

The memories of him thrusting his hands through the guard's heart were still fresh in his mind…

What should have been truly a frightening experience now that he pondered over it for some reason felt too… Natural…

As soon as Luck told him to kill the guard and steal his armour, he did as he was told immediately. He had a few initial doubts but they were instantly swept away like a leaf flowing down a river. Even if those guards did some very inhumane, despicable acts towards him, other than his mother, killing a living, sentient being was something he never imagined or even considered prior.

He was unsure if it was simply his panic, desperation, or anger that took over him to make him do what he did— yet, as soon as he got over the initial shock and went to do it, it felt no different than squishing a mosquito.

He used his sharp, vampiric nails to pierce through the guard's armour and flesh to reach his heart, feeling the throbbing right around his fingertips as he mercilessly dug into it, ripping it out as he watched the guard shriek and writhe in agony, praying to god and saying his final words all the while his own blood gushed all around him.

Ren stared coldly at all of that with no remorse like he was a bug. He even undressed him completely naked as fast as possible, and he did not feel any disturbance in the slightest.

So, why only now was he thinking about his previous actions and not in the moment? Was it his sense of morality kicking in? Thinking back to what he did, he should have felt at least something? Right? Had he been a psychopath all along and had no idea? His actions were simply not things any normal man would just nonchalantly be able to do for the first time after all...

At one point, the blood on his body and hands looked so fresh and delicious that he felt an unquenchable urge to bite and lick up every last drop. But, due to his panic and Luck's warnings to hurry up, he had no time to feed.

At the time, and even now to a great degree, it did not feel morally wrong to do what he did and wanted to do.

Was that why his body felt drained? So far, all of his own mechanics had matched up to his in-game race. He was a vampire and It had been 3 days without any blood for him after all, which never happened to him in the game since he never reached that point.

Had becoming a vampire changed more about him than simply his appearance and abilities? Right now he was not sure but he was certain it would not take long for him to find out…

"Lord Alucard… Are you feeling okay? What's on your mind? I tried to heal you with negative energy spells but I'm sure it did not stop all the pain…"

Ren's train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a sound coming from his pockets, snapping him back into reality. He was unsure why those thoughts popped up in his head at times like this. Once again, survival became his top priority as he thrust those thoughts to the back of his mind.

"Yeah luck… I'm fine… Don't worry about it…" He whispered back, still trying to maneuver his way through the hallway, looking for safety.

*BOOOOOOOOM*

That was when suddenly, a massive explosion hit the side of his barracks all around, causing the ceiling to collapse on top of him and everyone else.

Although clumsily, Ren was able to react in time by dodging all of the incoming massive rocks falling from above.

"AHHH!"

He managed to survive, but he could not say the same about many of the other guards who were crushed by boulders, crying in pain behind him, which he ignored in favour of moving on and not wasting time…

The way ahead of him that led to the exit of the barracks was completely cut off by mountains and mountains of metals and rocks blocking his way. Now, the only way out was climbing the rubble up…

The sky was once again visible to Ren after so long, but it did not harbour the same beauty it did before…

It was completely pitch black with a tint of orange, smoke as far as the eye could see and various magic spells flying around almost like shooting stars.

"AHHHH!!"

"MY BABY! MY LITTLE BABY! YOU KILLED MY BABY! MONSTERS!!"

""IT BURNNNSS! PUT ME OUT! SOMEONE PUT ME OUT! IT HURTS! PUT ME OUT OR KILL ME!"

"Papa… Papa… Wake up papa… PAPA!!"

"FUUUUCCCCCKKK!!"

"PIGGG!! GET OUT OF MY CITY AND STAY AWAY FROM MY WIFE!!"

Almost like they were previously blocked, his ears suddenly managed to listen to the frightening screams and battle cries of the violence inevitably ahead and what he should expect to see.

The once heavenly, fresh air of the outside world was no more, tainted by the smell of burning flesh and wood that made things feel more and more like the smell of his own world…

Using all his energy, he looked in front and scaled the rather extensive wall of rubble ahead of him until he eventually saw a wide view of the entire city. And, even he who was in complete panic could not help but stop and watch all of the mayhem happening all around him with a beyond shaky gaze.

The rich, vast world that made him nearly shed a tear from its beauty was no more... Instead, it was replaced by a living hell...

Plumes of black smoke and ash shrouded the whole battlefield and the burning buildings life fog… The streets were dyed a mixture of orange and crimson, riddled with raging flames, organs, blood, and lifeless bodies for as far as the eye could see.

He witnessed the sight of people being burnt alive, jumping out of their windows in panic and falling dead on the ground to end their suffering… Mothers crying and pleading for their lives, tightly holding their children before being mercilessly slaughtered by soldiers who wore similar armour to the ones given to him by luck, their victims' heads rolling lifelessly on the ground with a startling expression… People were running in the streets, screaming and begging for their lives only to be completely slaughtered by those same soldiers, their victim's blood spraying in the air before they immediately moved on to their next targets…

Soldiers and city guards were fighting in every corner of the village, but it was clear to any onlooker who was truly winning…

Ren was no pushover— he had seen many hardships and unquestionable scenes in his life but nothing came even close to what he was witnessing right in front of him with disgust and many things running in his mind… It was absolutely wild… This was exactly why he never wished to be isekaied… It completely set the tone for him about what kind of world this was going to be and what was his new reality…

The sight made his stomach turn and his blood boil. Yet, despite all of the atrocities he had just watched being committed right in front of his eyes, for some odd reason, he could not feel a single shred of remorse for any of them. Innocent people were being slaughtered in the most inhumane, disturbing ways imaginable and he felt absolutely nothing, almost like they were merely cattle sent to the slaughter. At least there were no children dying at the hands of these barbarians...

He always found himself staring at the blood splattering all over the air and at points even ignoring many of the other things until the smell of burning and the sounds of desperate cries of deaths brought him back to everything else. It once again brought into question his own mental thinking in his mind...

*Whooosshhh*

Seemingly out of nowhere, a massive ball of fire flew by and nearly skimmed his face, making him shudder and come back to his senses, no longer staring at his surroundings like he was hypnotized.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING SOLDIER!? Don't just stand there! Go out and protect your people!"

"What about the children in the dungeon!?" He instinctively blurted, their crying images popping up in his mind. He knew that there was no way that he himself would be able to save them. Especially if he wanted to get out alive, but he wanted to know what the guards had planned for them.

"Hmmm? What did you say!? The children!? Now is no time to think about the festival soldier! Go out to defend your people!!"

A man spoke from right beside him jumping down into the fray with seemingly no fear in his heart.

Ren was confused, yet the screams and explosions of the battlefield made him disregard any uneededt houghts. He took a deep breath and steeled his resolve… He had to find some way to escape the village alive and the only way that was possible was navigating through the burning hell in front of him.

He was still undoubtedly scared out of his mind, but his will to survive and adapt were even stronger as he jumped down from the rubble above and into the maze-like streets that he knew would be a nightmare to navigate properly and nearly impossible to navigate safely without being spotted.

That was when Ren felt some movements in his pockets. In a time that he least expected— when he thought he was all alone, he was reminded that he had a seemingly fully reliable ally who had his back at all times.

"My Lord! Follow me! I've already scouted the entire city and secured the best and safest escape path for us!"