Aldric watched the two bats disappear into the distance.
A curious expression appeared on his face.
"I want to see what the limit of Royal Blood actually is."
Draven didn't pay him any attention.
Instead—
He was thinking.
*It's basically the same thing.*
*I just need to think about what I want to become.*
Draven focused.
The mist began to change.
**WHOOSH!**
A form began to take shape.
Fur appeared.
Limbs formed.
A moment later—
A black cat stood where Draven had been.
The other mist stopped.
It stared at Draven.
Its eyes widened.
*"Papa!"*
*"Now Papa is just like me!"*
The cat immediately transformed.
**WHOOSH!**
Another black cat appeared beside Draven.
It moved closer.
Then—
It rubbed against Draven.
*"Papa!"*
*"We're both cats now!"*
Draven stared at it.
Then the cat began licking him.
**Lick. Lick.**
Draven's ears flattened.
"Stop that."
The cat continued.
**Lick. Lick.**
"That's enough."
It continued rubbing against him.
Draven sighed.
*"Seriously..."*
*"Stop."*
The cat ignored him.
Draven finally transformed again.
**WHOOSH!**
His body changed into a bird.
He spread his wings.
Then—
He launched himself into the air.
**FLAP!**
He immediately tilted sideways.
**FLAP! FLAP!**
*Damn.*
*Still not perfect.*
Draven struggled to stabilize himself.
He flapped harder.
Then—
He slowly gained control.
He flew toward the vehicle.
A moment later—
**THUMP!**
He landed awkwardly on top of it.
Draven shook his feathers.
The black cat stared up at him.
*"Papa!"*
Then—
**WHOOSH!**
The cat transformed into a bird as well.
It immediately flew after him.
**FLAP! FLAP!**
It landed beside Draven.
*"Papa!"*
*"I'm a bird too!"*
Draven glanced at it.
*Yeah.*
*I can see that.*
Time passed.
Draven continued experimenting.
He transformed into different creatures.
Some were easy.
Others required more concentration.
Some movements felt natural.
Others felt completely unfamiliar.
But with every transformation—
He became more comfortable.
Eventually—
**WHOOSH!**
Draven returned to his original form.
White hair.
Dark skin.
Pointed ears.
Crimson eyes.
He looked down at his hands.
Then—
Aldric approached.
"It seems you can shapeshift into many different forms."
He glanced toward the black cat.
"And that thing can do the same."
He shook his head.
"Apparently, it can do even more strange things."
Draven looked toward him.
Then—
He smiled slightly.
"Now..."
"It's blood magic."
Aldric's eyes lit up.
"Yeah."
He cracked his knuckles.
"Let's do that."
Aldric stepped forward.
"Blood magic."
He looked at Draven.
"Unlike shapeshifting, this one is a little more complicated."
Draven raised an eyebrow.
"How?"
Aldric held up one finger.
"Blood is the medium."
He raised another.
"Mana is the power."
"And your will is what controls it."
Draven listened quietly.
Aldric continued.
"Every vampire has blood."
"But not every vampire can use blood magic to the same degree."
"Your bloodline matters."
"Your mana matters."
"And most importantly..."
He looked directly into Draven's crimson eyes.
"Your control matters."
Draven glanced down at his hand.
"So I use my own blood?"
"Not exactly."
Aldric shook his head.
"First, you'll need to learn how to control your blood."
"Both the blood inside your body..."
He paused.
"And the blood outside of it."
Draven looked back at him.
"Inside?"
"Yeah."
Aldric tapped his chest.
"When I say controlling the blood inside your body, I mean controlling your own body at a much deeper level."
"That's one of the reasons High Blood vampires can do things that ordinary vampires can't."
Draven's eyes narrowed slightly.
Aldric continued.
"Most vampires already have some natural control over the blood inside their own bodies."
"They can manipulate its flow to a certain degree."
"But that's about it."
"Lower-blood vampires can't freely move their blood around inside themselves or reshape how their body functions."
He paused.
"High Blood can."
Aldric smiled faintly.
"We can control the movement of our blood throughout our entire body."
"Even the heart."
Draven's expression changed slightly.
Aldric nodded.
"Yes."
"We can force it to slow down."
"Speed it up."
"Or even move it around in ways that would be impossible for an ordinary vampire."
He raised a finger.
"And that's only the beginning."
"Some vampires can heat their blood to increase their body's performance."
"By controlling the blood flowing through their muscles, they can temporarily push their physical abilities beyond their normal limits."
Draven glanced at his own arm.
"So it's like boosting the body from the inside."
"Exactly."
Aldric nodded.
"Some vampires with stronger bloodlines can go even further."
"They can manipulate their blood after it leaves their body."
"Normal Blood vampires are apparently capable of this too."
"Though I've never personally seen one do it."
Draven raised an eyebrow.
"Apparently?"
Aldric shrugged.
"That's what I've heard."
"They can turn their blood into weapons..."
"But they can't move it very far away from their bodies."
"There's a limit to how far they can control it."
Aldric smiled.
"Now..."
"Let me show you what I mean by external blood control."
He extended his hand.
A thin line appeared across his palm.
**SLICE.**
Blood slowly seeped from the wound.
Draven watched closely.
The blood should have fallen.
But it didn't.
Instead—
It stopped in midair.
Draven's crimson eyes narrowed.
The floating blood began to move.
It twisted.
Compressed.
Then—
**WHOOSH!**
The blood suddenly formed a sharp crimson blade.
Aldric casually held it between two fingers.
"This is what you'd call blood manipulation."
He flicked his wrist.
**SHING!**
The blade immediately changed shape.
It became a spear.
Then—
A chain.
Then—
Several thin needles.
The needles floated around Aldric for a moment before the blood suddenly returned to his hand.
The wound on his palm closed almost instantly.
Aldric looked at Draven.
"As I said, this is blood manipulation."
"This is controlling blood that already exists."
"But blood magic..."
His expression became more serious.
"...is something else entirely."
Aldric raised his hand.
His mana suddenly began to spread through the air.
**WHOOM!**
Draven immediately felt the change.
The mana around Aldric condensed.
Then—
Several crimson spears suddenly appeared in the air behind him.
Draven's eyes widened slightly.
Aldric smiled.
"Now this..."
"Is blood magic."
The spears floated silently behind him.
"Blood magic allows you to use your mana to create blood."
"Once that blood is created..."
He moved his fingers.
The spears shifted into different positions.
"...you can control it however you want."
He looked toward Draven.
"You're not simply manipulating the blood inside your body."
"You're creating blood from your mana..."
"And then commanding it with your will."
The crimson spears suddenly disappeared.
Aldric lowered his hand.
"That's the difference."
"Blood manipulation controls blood that already exists."
"Blood magic creates blood through mana..."
"Then turns that blood into whatever you want."