Good or bad, does it matter?{HP}

Dodging the claws, disappointment flickered across the Prince's gaze. This was not what he had expected from a Vampire at the pinnacle of the "Master" rank. The creature relied solely on physical strength and speed, entirely neglecting magic. It was baffling, as it was "Blood Magic" that made these creatures feared in his world.

Yes, in terms of raw power and speed, the pale-faced creature outmatched him. Severus could only keep up thanks to magical enhancements. Yet, he refrained from resorting to spells for now.

After all, it had been a long time since Severus fought with a sword outside of training. He didn't want to let his skills grow dull.

Severus was no master swordsman, but in battle, he had stood toe-to-toe with some of the strongest warriors he'd ever faced. This success stemmed from his unique ability to combine magic with swordplay. Over his short life, he had crafted many charms to augment his body and blade. These spells granted incredible sharpness or elemental properties to his weapons, though most swords broke under the strain of his power.

Such was the fate of almost all his weapons—except for one. Severus had taken his current sword from a defeated warrior and wielded it for five and a half years, enduring the harshest of battles.

He never identified the material it was made of—nor did he try. At the time, his mind was preoccupied with more pressing matters.

Dodging and deflecting the Vampire's attacks was not difficult. The creature's movements were monotonous and lacked sophistication, as though it relied purely on instinct. In this fight, Severus felt like the man in an old movie, teasing a bull with a red rag before gracefully dodging its charges.

That said, the Vampire's claws were dangerously sharp, leaving deep gouges in the floor and walls. Severus had to activate the runes on his sword to ensure the blade wouldn't accidentally break—or worse, slice him in two. Despite its limitations, this artifact was valuable, capable of enduring the first level of strengthening runes.

Severus leaped back again, narrowly evading the Vampire's claws. He ducked low to avoid the creature's second swing before sharply rising, striking its chin with the sword's hilt. The force sent the Vampire hurtling several meters away.

"Another advantage: endless stamina," Severus muttered as he observed the creature regain its footing. The Vampire, now stripped of its earlier air of superiority, locked eyes with him. Severus smirked and beckoned the enraged beast forward.

Without hesitation, the Vampire charged, claws outstretched, aiming to pierce Severus's chest.

Severus easily parried the attack with the flat of his sword, the resulting screech reverberating through the room. He followed up with a powerful kick to the Vampire's stomach, once again sending it flying.

"I hope centuries of solitude haven't rotted your brain entirely," Severus hissed, his voice laced with irritation. "Perhaps you could at least try using magic?"

"Silence, human!" the creature snarled, its hatred burning in its gaze as it launched another reckless attack.

"A pitiful sight," Severus mocked, sidestepping the Vampire's lunge. "If your ancestors could see this, they'd throw themselves into a boiling cauldron out of shame."

He continued his taunts, trying to provoke the Vampire into fighting with more intensity. 'If only he'd reached the Peak...' Severus thought as he tilted to avoid a swipe, '...this might've been a real challenge.'

Blocking the next strike, Severus grabbed the Vampire's wrist and yanked him closer. The creature's eyes gleamed with malice, its fangs ready to sink into Severus's neck.

"Close your mouth," Severus growled, delivering a brutal punch to the Vampire's jaw. The impact forced the creature to bite off the tip of its own tongue, which flew past Severus's head.

The Vampire recoiled in shock, sharp pain radiating from its severed tongue. But before it could recover, Severus struck again.

"You irritate me!" he snarled, his fist smashing into the Vampire's nose, drawing blood.

The creature tried to resist, but Severus was relentless. "I had hoped for a worthy opponent…" he muttered, spinning sharply and throwing the Vampire into the wall like a rag doll.

The creature barely had time to register the pain in its back and head before Severus drove his sword through its palm, pinning it to the wall.

For a creature that had not felt pain for nearly a thousand years, this sensation was profoundly unpleasant. Despite being undead, the Vampire could still feel pain in its entirety.

"... What the hell did I get myself into?!" the Vampire snarled, reaching for the sword embedded in his body to pull it out. However, the next moment, with another scream, the blade was driven even deeper into the wall, pressed down firmly by the sole of a black boot.

"Answer me!" Severus demanded, landing another blow to the Vampire's face. The creature's head smashed against the stone wall again, eliciting a pitiful groan from its mouth. "I can't hear you!" Severus hissed, delivering yet another strike. This time, the Vampire's nose cracked, fresh blood spilling over the wizard's knuckles. "Answer when you're asked a question!" Severus growled, his voice cold, following his words with a barrage of relentless blows.

For the next minute, the Prince continued hammering the creature's face, almost without restraint. Despite the pain inflicted, the blows caused no significant harm due to the Vampire's exceptional regeneration. This violent performance had one objective: to provoke the undead into losing control.

Though furious, the Vampire's reason still held dominion over its beastly instincts. But Severus noticed the shift—each punch dimmed the reasoning in the creature's eyes, replaced by primal intensity. Its attempts to shake off Severus's leg grew more desperate and forceful.

Finally, an inhuman roar erupted from the bloodsucker's mouth. Recognizing the signal, Severus grinned, grabbing the sword's hilt and jumping back just as the beast lunged forward.

A flurry of strikes rained upon Severus with blinding speed. The Vampire's attacks, wild and unrelenting, forced the wizard to block frantically with his sword. But the bloodsucker showed no signs of stopping, its feral growls echoing through the space.

Here it is… that superior strength, Severus thought, his pulse quickening. How I've missed this feeling—blood boiling, life teetering on the edge, where one misstep could mean death.

The runes on Severus's sword flared brilliantly. A well-timed kick to the Vampire's chest sent it flying into the air and crashing against the ground.

"Dangerous…" Severus muttered, running a finger along his cheek, where a shallow cut tingled faintly. Examining the blood on his hand, he smirked. "Seems I missed one blow."

The Vampire snarled, charging at him once more.

"Even in this state, he is going without magic... what a pity," Severus murmured, preparing to block. But to his surprise, the Vampire abruptly shifted, darting to the side. With a quick swipe across his nose, the creature flung droplets of blood toward Severus.

In an instant, the drops transformed into razor-sharp needles, accelerating at terrifying speed. Caught off guard, Severus managed to evade only at the last moment, leaping aside just as the needles whizzed past.

However, the Vampire exploited the opening, bounding off the wall and aiming its claws directly at Severus's back.

Noticing the attack mid-air, Severus narrowed his eyes. He drove his sword into the ground to shift his trajectory, spinning sharply and delivering a devastating kick to the Vampire's temple. The blow stunned the beast, sending it headfirst into the wall.

Landing lightly on his feet, Severus retrieved his sword and readied himself for the next exchange. But the Vampire remained motionless, slumped against the wall—a stark contrast to its earlier frenzied state.

"No... no... Are you serious?!" Severus exclaimed, exasperation clear in his voice. "We just started! Did I really hit you too hard?" He picked up a small pebble and threw it at the Vampire's head. The creature didn't react.

"Damn… and the fun part was just beginning," Severus grumbled, sighing heavily as he approached the bloodsucker. Muttering a scanning spell, he waited for the results. Seconds later, another sigh escaped his lips.

"Unconscious... Tch. I should've held back and not lifted the second seal," he muttered, glancing at his right hand smeared with the Vampire's blood. Whispering an incantation, he cleansed his hand before directing his attention back to the creature.

Muttering another spell, Severus used levitation magic to lift the unconscious Vampire.

"Tough bastard. I hit with all my might, yet your temporal bone remains intact. You must've unknowingly strengthened it with magic at the last moment. Still, it wasn't enough to save you from passing out."

Reaching into his robes, Severus produced a pair of magic-suppressing shackles. Though the Vampire had displayed minimal magical ability during their battle, these shackles were designed to absorb and weaken a wearer's magical energy, rendering even the strongest beings powerless. He clasped one pair on the creature's wrists and another on its ankles.

Satisfied with his work, Severus sheathed his sword. "If you manage to break free, I won't hold back next time. I'll kill you outright," he muttered coldly.

He had spared the Vampire's life for one reason: to extract information about this place. With the creature securely restrained, Severus turned his attention to the Vampire's so-called "house."

Ignoring the piles of gold scattered about, he approached the ornate sarcophagus at the room's center. Severus had no interest in wealth—his personal vault already held over three million Galleons, enough to purchase most of Diagon Alley outright.

Instead, his focus was on the sarcophagus itself, a mysterious artifact capable of absorbing and channeling magic. This intrigued Severus, as he was currently developing a complex ritual involving similar principles. Observing such an object firsthand could provide invaluable insights, potentially refining his work and reducing the risk of failure.

Kneeling beside the sarcophagus, Severus murmured a cleansing spell to clear away the centuries-old dust clinging to its surface.

"Well… let's get to work," he said, studying the intricate runes etched into the artifact.

The runes shimmered faintly under his scrutiny, revealing layers of complex magical inscriptions. Severus's sharp mind raced to decipher their meaning, each revelation bringing him closer to understanding the artifact's purpose and function.

With every passing moment, the ritual he envisioned in his mind became clearer, the potential applications growing exponentially. Though time-consuming, this study promised to yield extraordinary rewards—both for his current goals and for any future endeavors requiring such potent magic.

For Severus, the sarcophagus wasn't just an object of curiosity; it was a tool, a stepping stone toward greater power and knowledge. And for a man like him, those were treasures far more valuable than gold.

.

.

.

.

Thank you all for reading, please vote with power stones and write a review if you liked the chapter.

You can read more on [email protected]/lucifer09.

Re-uploaded the chapter because there were a lot of typos in it and "Otaku Senpai 09" helped me correct it, thank you brother.