Edited 05/04/2020
It was dark in his room. Even with candles lit the light wasn't enough to read a book or see himself in a mirror. He couldn't imagine how scary this would be to a normal human.
The vast trees sucked in what little light the sun could provide through the dense fog above. This was a state built for vampires. Within the trees' branches Harry sensed cloaked figures made of darkness. When they passed by him, he saw Gondor die, he felt the impossible struggle against the star spawn, and he saw a green-eyed woman scream, 'not Harry.'
His hand shook as his qi raged within him. When his eyes opened, they flashed a dark green. Harry prepared to use everything he had.
He checked his armor making sure each plate was in place. His heart began steady beat like a war drum. A key was near and so was an impossible struggle. He wanted to get the children out of here.
Hundreds of children were ushered towards the town center. Their despair was increased by the cloaked demons. Collared and led around with leather ropes they were taken.
Groups of vampires left the inn dressed in their finest. Each wore classical clothing of both British and French descent. Harry covered his eyes and stomped his feet. He tore through the floorboards and groaned.
"Have you forgotten that I'm your vehicle? I'll lead you wherever you need to go." Nomine said. Harry continued to struggle for a moment. His wrath was rising and it felt like he was burning. He turned to Carmen.
"Are you also with me?" The vampire didn't look away. She met his gaze with her own red pupils.
"You held my life in your hands then gave it back to me. I'm with you." Carmen said. Harry hummed at that then turned back to the scene.
"What this festival all about? What's the point of it all?" Harry asked.
"This is a celebration of holy communion. All who partake will make an advancement in dark power. Even you will find your dark strength increased. You did deliver a wagon full of sacrifices." Carmen said.
"The dark isn't loyal why should I feed it?" Harry said.
Nomine spoke up. "The dark is scatter brained at times. It needs more than magic to remain stable it needs emotion and a physical medium."
"It doesn't matter I've decided to save them if I can." Harry declared.
"You don't know them and not all are human. Getting the key will be enough trouble." Nomine said. Carmen froze in shock. She seemed dead on her feet for a moment before she straightened.
"If you after the key then you should give up. It is currently in the possession of Alucard." Carmen said.
"Who's Alucard?" Harry asked.
"He's something that shouldn't exist. Of our kind he's too young to be considered an ancient but he has the status of one. His father was the crimson wing. You would know him as Dracula. Not only was he a dragon slayer but he managed to become both a vampire and a dragon lord." Carmen said.
"What about Ren? I heard he was responsible for the key." Harry said.
"That fossil buried himself in the earth and hasn't risen for a millennium." Carmen said.
"Harry vampires use their bodies as their physical medium. They grow stronger with more magic. A dragon slayer is ten times stronger than a fully trained wizard magically. A dragon lord is ten times stronger than that." Nomine said.
"It's worse than that. He was turned into a vampire by the original source. The organization of Lucifer. Their alchemists transformed him using their refined methods after thousands of years of research. Don't fight this man Harry." Carmen said.
"But I want to fight him." Harry said. The darkness he felt was powerful beyond his understanding. It was greater than anything Harry had encountered before. But Harry was a mere rank nine refinery. His dragon slayer status didn't transfer to physical strength. Light was another weapon he couldn't use because of the trees. Harry needed to deal with them first.
"If you don't want to die then I don't recommend it. Alucard has had thousands of years of experience. This isn't the first time he's experienced this ritual." Carmen said.
Harry sighed and wondered if he'd be able to get the key at all. Stealth was tossed away out of hand. Harry didn't know if he'd ever be able to leave Sanctuary. Was there even a way to move forward?
Something caught his eye. A golden light appeared high in one of the trees. Harry sensed a truly vast amount of light essence radiating from the tree.
"It seems the Light's Bane has borne fruit." Carmen said.
"Once the ritual is complete the light will give way to dark and Alucard will be offered the fruit." Unless, Harry ate it first.
"We're going after it." Harry said.
"Many blood bound will be sent after it one more won't be overlooked. If we hurry, you'll get to join the competition." Carmen said.
Harry wore nothing as he approached the tree. It was to prevent him from hiding the fruit and trying to abscond with it. The tree itself was a massive thing. Its trunk had a radius of three buses lined up. It was the largest tree in the east. It was given the name light's bane for its size.
"Within the tree there are many dangerous beasts. If you wish to drop out there is no shame in doing so now." The governor said as he looked at Harry. The Governor was a rotund vampire with a monocle and top hat. He held a dickens book in his hand.
Harry waited for the whistle to blow and the race to begin. Once he ate the fruit, he'd reach the tenth stage immediately and his refinery would be complete. His mechanism for refining qi would become stable. From there foundry could be considered.
Harry looked to see a man with an assault rifle slung across his back. Some had swords, axes, pistols, and one even had a belt of grenades. They were armed to the teeth while Harry had his wand tucked behind his ear.
Instead of a whistle a gun sounded the start. Harry rushed forward only to be blitzed by another boy near his age. The boy's body was full of dark essence.
As he watched the boy take the lead Harry ducked a bullet aimed at his temple. He quickly made it to one of the roots just as the boy attacked. Harry felt a powerful blow hit his barrier and returned with one of his own. The boy looked stunned as he fell back a step. Harry let the boy's return kick send him flying to another branch.
He sent a disk sever all out and cut the branch the boy stood on. The boy leapt to another branch then shot himself up by rebounding off a branch. Harry put his palms together pointing at the boy. Just as he saw the white of his foe's eyes in the green light of sever all, he fired. Like a dragon's mouth, he spewed flames from his cupped hands. Both of his hands were pointed ahead as he used his consciousness power to keep the attack focused.
The fire burst forth as more a beam then chaotic flame. Just before his flames would have turned the boy to charcoal there was a pop. Harry moved with all his might but was too late. A powerful blow rocked his face sending him flying into the tree truck. Sever all burst forward in a web of green tentacle death.
Harry saw the boy focus his dark nature and popped again. He was higher in the tree. Two bullets flattened against Harry's barrier as he refocused and climbed chasing the boy. With a flick of his finger he severed the branches below letting them fall on his competition.
Running towards the tree, he used his cultivation base to offset gravity and began running up the tree. The boy wasn't as strong as Harry, but he was good at what he did. Harry heard more pops as he raced towards the top just behind his rival.
Just as his opponent popped into view, he threw an ice sickle scoring a hit on the boy's arm. The older teen quickly ripped the sickle out and popped higher before throwing it down at Harry.
Harry used his wand and levitated the sickle away before targeting the boy. A battle of wills commenced. They glared at one another the boy using his dark essence and consciousness power to battle Harry. The boy was older, more experienced, and physically like a vampire. The boy's magic fueled his body like a vampire and continuously restored itself with local dark essence. It wasn't enough Harry's will magic was stronger, he levitated the boy and threw him down the tree. Just as he climbed another level, he heard a pop. The boy was hanging on to one of the branches.
A sever all cut the branch down as Harry climbed higher. He felt another pop but this one was far away. This was his chance. Harry raced towards the top as he felt the pops continued to grow closer.
Harry arrived at a circular platform at the tree's top. A single branch grew from the center of the platform where the fruit waited.
"You're not getting the fruit. It's mine." The boy said. Harry turned to see twin desert eagles in the boy's hand. Harry put a disk of sever all in front of him just as the guns fired.
"What's your name?" Harry asked. Instead of popping the boy straightened up. A prideful smirk appeared on his face.
"I'm Travis Dust blood bound to empress Lu Zhi after I eat the fruit, she'll turn me." Harry had no idea why Travis just told him that. Harry sent a disk of sever all at Travis only for the boy to pop. Harry guessed where the boy would appear and leapt to the side to dodge a bullet.
He pulled his wand out and held his breath. Harry began using the carbon summoning spell. It didn't take long for Travis to start stumbling.
"Why am I slowing down?" Travis asked. Harry could sustain himself with qi as he sent ice sickles at Travis.
The boy dodged as sweat beaded down his face. He tried sucking in a breath only to choke. Harry dashed forward delivering a powerful blow. It was like punching a brick wall. Harry felt the bones in his hand snap as Travis' lungs seized up. The boy choked but couldn't get a breath. He began to crawl towards the glowing fruit.
Harry placed his foot against Travis' ribs. Like tossing a cat out of the way Harry sent Travis over the edge.
With victory in sight, he approached the fruit. Bang! Harry wrapped his hand around the fruit just as a bullet pierced his barrier and ripped through his chest. His lung was torn apart and his qi was in turmoil. Blood poured from the wound. Bang!
Harry felt another bullet smash into his shoulder and his sever all orbs winked out. He quickly brought the fruit to his mouth and took a bite. Several bangs rang out ripping through his body as he swallowed the bite. The fruit in his hand was taken before Harry could consume the rest of it.
A stream of molten gold fell upon his refinery easily turning into refined qi. His qi went from a roiling sea to a calm ocean. There was no longer any need to consciously refine qi. He opened his eyes as purity spiral finished healing him.
He saw the face of his attacker. A man with a long-scoped rifle in his hand. He had the fruit in his hand as he made his way down. Harry sped forward feeling stronger than ever. With a step over the edge he realized gravity was more subjective than ever. He dodged to the side as the man leapt from the tree to one of the lower branches. Harry realized he had to get the fruit before the man reached the ground. The vampires might already know of Harry's treachery.
Harry approached the man reaching out only for a bola to catch his legs. Another had attacked him before he caught the man. Harry fell a hundred feet before he severed the bola and made chase. From cover others shot at him. A dart pierced him, and he felt dizzy.
Purity spiral robbed him of his qi control as it healed him. He began to slip and fall down the tree. Harry struck out stabbing his hand into the tree's bark. When he struck, he felt the heart wood of the tree. It was purer than even the fruit. Unlike the fruit the heart wood wasn't compatible. It was as likely to burn him out as help him. He pulled the dart out and flung it at the sniper just as purity spiral finished healing him. Then he kicked off the tree towards the man firing the darts. He punched with all his might shattering the man's skull into pulp. He took the dart rifle and aimed at another of the blood bound. He fired until it emptied dropping them on his way to the fruit.
A gun shot rang out just as the fruit came into view. This time it flattened on his barrier. The man leapt back to another branch as Harry tossed an ice sickle. It stabbed into the man's shoulder making him drop his gun. A sever all disk flashed.
The man's head fell away. Harry snatched the fruit up and took another bite. His cultivation base went from low stage ten, to the great circle of stage ten. Harry continued to feed upon the fruit until power coursed through him. Harry could feel his skin peeling away as the light of a star coursed through his cultivation base.
He raised his head to the sky and roared as he began to rapidly and irrevocably enter the foundry level. Qi ripped through his body as Harry struggled to focus it. Dark essence was sucked away from the world around him and refined at an accelerated rate. A tornado of qi gathered around him as limbs were ripped from the tree.
The pain was blinding, the pressure crushing, and his task insurmountable. Around his refinery, he began to build his foundry. Qi rushed tearing apart his progress as he raced against the clock.
He could feel the candle wick that was his longevity wear away as the qi spun around him chaotically. Harry crafted the image of a factory. An industry designed to turn his qi into aura. He focused on steel compressing his qi into a tool. He focused on a single mechanism a tool to compress and store qi.
Harry didn't know how much time passed. It could have been a few seconds or days. Eventually, the qi began to shrink as it was taken and compressed into blocks. With each block stored Harry felt the igniting of his aura.
A green field appeared around him. His personal barrier was stronger than ever. Aura from his condensed qi flowed from his body more malleable than clay and stronger than steel. It poured from him constantly as more blocks of qi were made. He opened his eyes to see he was covered in blood.
Harry floated down from the tree to see the one with the key. Alucard wasn't what he expected.
Alucard had the appearance of a bronze skinned dark haired man in his early twenties. He was a shocking six feet six inches tall and rippling with muscle. His wide frame made him look like an indestructible warrior of legend. Alucard was the picture of the dark hero. His eyes were a soft brown unlike the other vampires. Harry could feel the endless darkness that was this man.
"I guess I was noticed." Harry said. Alucard lifted an eyebrow and chuckled.
"They started freaking out and calling for your head when the Travis fell. He'll live thank Atom, I'd hate to have Lu Zhi breathing down my neck." Harry didn't blink, he couldn't have. Alucard was there one moment and gone the next. Harry turned his head to see the man frowning. Harry felt his heart freeze in his chest as the man lowered himself.
Nomine put a hand on his shoulder. "It's ok Harry, we'll be beyond the gate soon." Nomine said.
"Why," Harry asked the man. He only recieved gave a knowing smile. One that spoke of a familiarity with Harry he didn't recognize.
"You're a student of Hogwarts lost in Sanctuary. The pact demands we send you back." Alucard said.
"You don't seem angry at me for eating the fruit." Harry stated.
"You needed it more than me. It helps that it didn't go to Lu Zhi." Alucard said.
Harry frowned as Alucard put a hand on him while holding the key. Harry felt the sensation of being squeezed through a small tube.
He appeared outside of the river. His tracks were blurred only nine days old. He knocked on the door to the great hall. Professor McGonagall answered instead of Filtch.
"Mr. Potter you've had us worried. Hagrid has searched the forest twice for you." She said.
"Sorry professor would you believe I was attacked and fell in the river Cocytus?" Harry asked.
"I'm sure, well you seem to be safe now. Come in and go to bed we'll have you looked over in the morning. I'll inform the headmaster you're safe." McGonagall said.
He'd failed to save anyone. Harry was stronger than ever but couldn't do anything about injustice. He decided not to return to Sanctuary until he was strong enough to battle the monsters of that world. There was a monster close to hand that needed to die. A black snake slithered from his shirt and transformed into Nomine's vampire form.
"Do you need a ride Harry?"
Author's note: Ok refinery converted essence into qi and foundry stores qi more effeciently and creates aura. Basically, Aura allows Harry to use techniques without using up his qi. This means he won't lose his ability to use sever all when he's wounded.