Point-of-View: Arturo Lagusa

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  I stood up with a groan, dusting myself off. That Vampire had left me in a lot of pain, but I had just about been able to reach and activate my healing spell after he left. I was feeling rather exhausted, but at least all my injuries were gone. I walked over to where Rex was, unconscious in a pool of his own blood.

  He had lost a significant amount of blood, had several broken bones, a few poking out of his body, but somehow, he was still breathing, though I could feel that his pulse was starting to weaken. I used the healing spell on him, his bones repairing and his wounds closing, as his heart rate began to stabilize.

  "This is no time to take a nap, wake up," I urged, slapping his face a few times, before standing back up with a sigh.

  Between the blood loss and the stamina that was drained upon use of the healing spell, he was likely going to remain unconscious for a while. I suppose I shall just leave him here for now. In the meantime, what should I do? Let me see, the direction the Vampire had headed off in……was it to where Presde had gone? No, Presde had taken his opponents further north along the wall. Which meant that the Vampire had headed for Valaque……yes, I could hear faint noises and see dim flashes from that direction.

  Wait, sound……I do not hear anything from anywhere else around. Had the others been defeated? It was certainly a possibility. Should I head for Valaque or one of the others? No, there is no use in heading for Valaque, that Vampire far outclassed me, I would likely only get in the way. In which case, I shall head for one of the others.

  My decision made, I activated Lightning Boost and zipped away, to the area where we had first approached the Vampires. After we all spread out, it was possible that one of us stayed in that spot since they'd have no reason to lure their opponents away since no one else was around. As I raced along and the area came into view, I saw that the ground was scorched and torn up, wisps of dust and smoke blowing in the wind.

  Rion was on the ground, and a Vampire was walking towards him with her claws extended. She stopped over him and raised her claws, pointing them down towards him. I quickly shot towards them while firing lightning bolts at the Vampire, who noticed and spun around, taking the brunt of my attack on her arms and torso.

  I was a few meters away now, charging up flames and lightning between my hands as I rapidly closed the gap. I evaded as she fired a red blast at me, before spreading her wings and flying up with a slightly rushed expression. I fired my combined lightning and flames up at her, but she was already at a height where she could dodge it with relative ease, before continuing to get more height.

  She then stiffened and turned in the direction of the wall, before gritting her teeth and flying off in that direction, a look of disbelief on her face. It was similar to how the Vampire I had been fighting reacted before taking off……I suppose that means that Vampires can sense each other.

  "Art……? Hey, man, talk about great timing. I thought for sure that I was a goner," Rion spoke up with a weak laugh, before wincing as his body shuddered in pain.

  "Yes, I suppose you did get rather lucky……what are you waiting for, heal yourself quickly."

  "……you do realize that I would if I could, right? My Spell Card got broken in the fight," He replied with a slight cough.

  "Ah. Well, then, here you go," I said, handing him my healing spell.

  "Much appreciated, my dude," He grinned, taking the card from me tentatively, with a grateful expression.

  He let out a sigh of relief as he healed himself, his wounds disappearing as he got back on his feet with a groan, stumbling back slightly.

  "Aw, man, I could use a nap right now……and a couple of joints too. So……what do we do now?"

  "Hm, good question……I think our best course of action is to-," I began, after mulling it over.

  "Hey, look, it's Presde!" He interrupted, pointing behind me.

  I turned around, to see Presde approaching us using Slide, with an unconscious Hacte slung over his shoulder. He slowed down and stopped as he neared us, a lethargic look on his face as always.

  "Oh, you two are here……mind taking this guy off my hands, carrying people is tiring," He sighed, gesturing to Hacte.

  "Just drop him on the ground, none of us like him anyway," I replied with a shrug.

  "Sure, it's no skin off my ass."

  Hacte was missing his right arm, but it was not bleeding and I did not see any other injuries, which meant that Presde must have healed him. We then quickly and briefly exchanged our sides of what had happened. After Presde defeated his two opponents, he began looking for one of the rest of us, coming across Hacte, who was about to be killed by his opponent. He took Hacte's opponent by surprise and crushed him to death, after which he healed Hacte and found us.

  "Hm, I think it would be best if we split up and account for Kuua and Azeria, after which we should head for Valaque," I surmised afterwards.

  "Oh, okay……so, what should we do with Hacte?" Inquired Presde, nodding at the unconscious body by his feet.

  "Leave him here, what else?"

  "Sure about that, man? I mean, I don't exactly like the guy either, but that's kinda cold," Spoke up Rion.

  "It matters not, just leave him."

  "Well, then at the very least……Presde, bury him under, with a bunch of holes to let air in, of course," Suggested Rion.

  "Sure, okay," Shrugged Presde, before forming a rectangular space in the ground under Hacte, and then covering him with a thin and ventilated layer of earth.

  "Hm, now then, how to find the others? I am uncertain as to where they headed," I muttered with a frown.

  "Oh, I know where they are. Kuua went that way, and Azzy went that way," Said Rion, pointing in the directions he was referring to.

  "Very well, then……Rion, head for Kuua, I shall head for Azeria. Presde, go in that direction, I left Rex there, he is unconscious as well. Hide him like you did Hacte, and then head for Valaque, we will meet you there as soon as possible."

  "Right, I'm on it."

  "Me too! I'm off, see ya guys soon!" Exclaimed Rion, before flying away in the direction he claimed Kuua had headed in.

  Presde left too, going in the direction I had come from. Now, then, I should get going as well……

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  Point-of-View: Tirayze Valaque

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  I crossed my arms in front of myself while simultaneously raised an earth wall and forming an ice wall, but they got blown apart by the blast, before searing my forearms and sending me flying back, as I crashed onto the ground on my back. It was the Vampire who'd been leading them, but if he was here……did that mean that Arturo and Rex were dead?

  I quickly sprang onto my feet, and attempted to raise another wall, but it didn't work……crap, I forgot about his nullification ability. I jumped off to the side to evade another blast, jamming my hand into my pocket to heal my wounds. Damn, Arturo's healing spell was a lot more effective than the healing spells that are readily available in the other nations, but the downside is that it uses more stamina to heal the user than those weaker spells do.

  Use it too many times in quick succession and you were bound to pass out. Back to the matter at hand, this Vampire's ability was really annoying……oh, the three that I fought mentioned the term 'Cross', maybe that was like their special ability or something. Let's see if I can confirm that……

  "We can't use magic within fifty meters of you……is that your Cross?" I inquired, putting my guard up.

  "Indeed. My Cross, Zero, allows me to nullify all magic excluding Blood Magic and other Crosses……the only human magic I have failed to nullify is the barrier prison we were sealed in. Unlike most other Vampires' Crosses, mine has no time limit or weakness, excluding the limit of a range of fifty meters, as you've already surmised," He replied, as he shot towards me, his eyes glinting in the moonlight.

  "Zero, huh……isn't that also your name?"

  Blood Magic must be those red blasts. Crap, this isn't going to be easy without my magic……

  As he closed in and drove his claws towards my throat, I narrowly evaded his strike, his claws grazing the side of my neck. I then swiftly grabbed his elbow and bicep, before spinning around throwing him over my shoulder, slamming him onto the ground.

  I then sprang back as he fired his Blood Magic from his mouth, his attack just barely missing my face, searing off a few strands of hair. Close one……

  "What is this……you are naturally strong and fast enough to keep up with me?" The Vampire remarked in surprise and caution.

  Yeah, without magic, I was about half as fast as my top speed, which was with x2 Lightning Boost, my upper limit with that technique. Arturo could use it at x5, but my normal speed was a bit faster than he was in that state. And right now, my normal speed was proving to be a tad inadequate, I could follow and respond to his movements enough to evade, but attacking or counterattacking was gonna be tough, he was a bit faster than me.

  I planted my feet as he shot towards me, swinging his claws at me and whipping his tail at me. I deflected his claws by striking his wrists, before springing over the whip of his tail and swinging a high kick at his face. He caught my ankle with both hands, I felt a searing heat as his hands began glowing red. Before he could blast my foot off, I strengthened my core and drove my other foot straight at his face with as much momentum as I could generate.

  With both hands around my ankle, he couldn't block this, my heel slamming onto his jaw, his grip on my foot loosening as he stumbled back, his jaw dislocated and a few teeth knocked out. I fell onto my back and rolled back, springing back onto my feet and sprinting towards him.

  I leapt at him and drove a punch at his face, he deflected it with his palm, driving his other fist straight up at my chin. I halted and shifted my weight backwards, tilting my head back to avoid his uppercut. His knuckles grazed my chin, before he whipped his tail towards my throat. I used my backward momentum to fall back, the tip of his tail nicking my nose.

  I kept my momentum going and transitioned into a backflip kick, swinging my legs up at him. He sprang back, avoiding it, as I shot away to get some distance. Should I get out of his range and launch rocks with Earth Magic? No, at that range, he'd be able to dodge anything I threw at him pretty easily.

  He then pointed his palms towards me, rapidly charging up his Blood Magic in his hands before firing a barrage of small but rapid successive blasts. I zipped across to evade them, but couldn't avoid getting hit a few times, a couple of the shots struck my back, another on my left side, and just above my right knee.

  Damn it, I was evading him for now, but if this dragged out, I was gonna use up my stamina, while he had an endless supply of magic. I can't win this defensively. He's faster and stronger than me without my magic, so I need to take him by surprise, create an opening and then kill him with my bare hands!

  I stopped running away and changed my course, making a beeline straight for him, dodging his blasts to the best of my ability. Since he'd been continuously firing, his blasts weren't going to do any damage beyond searing my skin, painful but nowhere near lethal, and since I was rushing at him, he wouldn't have enough time to charge up a stronger blast. In other words, even if I get hit……it won't kill me!

  As I closed in, I got struck by three blasts, on my left shoulder, neck and right side of my forehead. I bit my lower lip and ignored the waves of pain, continuing to step forward and grabbing his right shoulder tightly. I then twisted it with all my might, dislocating it. He let out a hiss of pain before driving his left hand claws towards my eyes, I grabbed his wrist with my free hand, but couldn't stop his claws from piercing my right eye about an inch, blinding it.

  I gritted my teeth to keep from crying out in pain and tightened my grip on his wrist, breaking it. Before either his shoulder or wrist could heal, I jumped up as he swung his tail at my knees and opened his mouth with a red blast charged up, and then slammed my feet onto his chest, pushed as hard as I could while using my arms to pull with all my strength……I automatically let out a loud battle yell as my feet cracked his ribs and I tore off both his arms, blood spewing out of his shoulder sockets.

  He stumbled back with an anguished cry of pain, the Blood Magic in his mouth dissipating, fear in his eyes as he began to fly away. No, if I miss this chance, I won't get a better opportunity to finish him……I won't let you get away, Zero! I sprang up and grabbed his ankle, before slamming him down onto the ground with all the force I could muster, a cracking sound echoing out as his head crashed onto the ground.

  He let out a pained gasp, blood bursting out his mouth. As I landed I swung him onto the ground over and over, till his screams stopped, his brain completely smashed. Hey, my Mana……I could channel it again. Looks like his Cross was deactivated. Time to destroy him……I suddenly let out a gasp as a sharp stinging pain burst onto my back, my grip on him loosening, his body collapsing onto the ground.

  Damn it, the other Vampires……I totally forgot about them. Vanity and Jorin were flying towards me rapidly, charging up their Blood Magic. I quickly healed myself as I shot away using Lightning Boost, a wave of dizziness hitting me as my back healed……my stamina's running on fumes, this is bad……

  Suddenly, a Blood Magic attack came blasting down towards me from the front, I quickly halted and sprang away to avoid it, before firing a large blast of flames in the direction it came from. Another Vampire, one of the ones with those black and red neckbands. Does that mean that at least one or more of the Retribution Tier members were killed?

  Even at my speed, dodging consecutive blasts from three directions was not easy, several shots grazing me, blasting through my defensive earth and ice walls. They weren't giving me enough time to put up anything sturdy enough, I didn't have any breathing space. And I couldn't use Flight to get away, since I was using Lightning Boost, I'd first have to deactivate it before I could use Flight, and even stopping for half a second would result in me being blasted from every angle. Damn it, what do I-!?

  Suddenly they ceased their assault, as Zero came barreling towards me at a breakneck pace, reaching me and grabbing my throat before I could react, his Cross once again active.

  "Hm, it is a pain to admit, but I have underestimated you humans. As a result, I have nearly been killed twice……from this point forward, I shall treat you as the greatest of threats. You should feel honored, human."

  "Heh……this is going to hurt, isn't it?" I laughed nervously.

  "Very much so."

  He blasted my abdomen with a Blood Magic blast before viciously punching the left side of my face and flinging me away with some seriously force, I went zipping through the air and crashed onto the outer wall, leaving a massive indentation and several large cracks out from the impact point. Crap……my back was in bad shape, and I had cracked several ribs. Both my arms and my right leg were broken too. I coughed out blood as I fell to the ground.

  I painstakingly reached into my pocket and activated my healing spell. I might pass out, but given my current physical condition, I didn't have much of a choice. As my injuries healed up, I got hit with a wave of exhaustion and dizziness, I pinched my side and bit down on my lower lip to keep myself from passing out. I slumped my back against the wall with a dazed groan, my stamina completely gone.

  Zero was approaching me with a massive Blood Magic sphere charged up above him. The other Vampires were behind him. They stopped about thirty meters away.

  "Now, then……it is time for you to die," Remarked Zero, firing it at me.

  I……can't move……

  Suddenly, a massive boulder came flying through the air, crashing down about ten meters in front of me and absorbing the entire impact of Zero's attack before it could vaporize me. My vision was starting to blur, but I strained my eyes as the dust cleared, letting out a sigh of relief as I spotted Presde, along with all the others except for Hacte and Rex not far behind him.

  "I see, so the nine of us that were killed were only able to kill two of you? It would appear that we all undrrestimated you humans."

  "Actually, you are mistaken, the other two are not dead, simply unconscious. We outnumber you now," Replied Arturo, stepping forward.

  "I believe that you are forgetting about the several Vampire Minions inside your nation, I can call them back in a matter of seconds," Countered Zero confidently, "Ordinarily, I would give you the option of surrender, but if I let you all live, it will likely create more unnecessary work for me in the future, therefore, you must all die."

  I couldn't really think straight right now, but from what I could gather……we'd have the advantage if not for the Vampires inside my Empire……guess I'll take them out of the equation. I reached down and took off my right shoe, slipping my hand inside and pulling out a Spell Card. I took a deep breath and yelled……

  "Arturo, everyone, brace yourselves! I'm using the last resort!"

  Looks of alarm appeared on the faces my Retribution Tier members as the Vampires looked on alert and began moving towards me, before Presde flung several large rocks at Zero, forcing him to fly back several meters, taking his nullification field away from me. The instant I was out of his range, I let out a tired chuckle as I ran my Mana through the Spell Card……triggering the remote activation Blood Crystal detonation.

  After we destroyed Goldway, we had used up about two thirds of our Blood Crystal reserves. We could have used the remainder to blow up another nation, but I opted for a different option……we had a lot of enemies, and there was every chance that one or more of them would attack us and try to take over my Empire……I would hate that. A sort of 'if I can't have my Empire, no one can' kinda mentality. And so, we buried nearly all the remaining Blood Crystals underground using Presde's Earth Magic. None of our lower tier members knew about it.

  It was a genuine last resort, only to be used if we were to be defeated and had nothing left to lose. I felt myself being launched from my seated position and flying through the air like a ragdoll as I triggered the explosion, a deafening boom echoing into the night and ringing through my ears. I went hurling past the Vampires, who were staring at the explosion in shock.

  Before I could crash down, I hit something soft, halting me. Is this……sand? The next thing I knew, I was being pulled down towards the ground, which opened up before taking me in and closing……I was in a dark, hollow space underground. What just happened?

  "Good work, Presde. We shall hide underground until they leave," Remarked Arturo, as I sat up with a grown.

  I formed a small fireball to light up the dark surroundings, blinking a few times as my eyes adjusted. The others were all here, except for Hacte and Rex. I see, Presde had taken us underground using his Earth Magic.

  "Sure we're safe here?" I inquired with a stifled yawn, as my vision blurred slightly.

  "We should be. I have my Lightning Sensory Field active, so I will be able to tell if they are near us, and if I sense them, we can have Presde shift our position elsewhere or deeper down. I doubt they will stay for long if they cannot find us."

  I let out a fatigued sigh of relief, before my vision started to darken.

  "In that case……wake me up when……," I muttered, before trailing off as I lost consciousness……

  Wha……? Where am I? I groggily got up with a stifled yawn, rubbing my eyes as I looked around……it was morning, the sun was out.

  "How long was I out for?" I mumbled sleepily.

  "Ah, you are awake. Presde is building some basic structures for us to stay in temporarily," Remarked Arturo, walking over to me.

  "Arturo……wait, that's right, what happened after I passed out? The Vampires……"

  He explained that after I lost consciousness, the Vampires left about two hours later, having failed to find us. Presde had traveled underground like a mole to retrieve Rex and Hacte's unconscious bodies, so all eight of us were alive. But it was only the eight of us, every single researcher, lapdog and pawn were dead. Wait, I think there was a small team we sent to one of the surrounding areas, but……I doubt there were more than ten or fifteen of them.

  And in place of my Empire, was a massive, smoking crater. Damn it, all my hard work for the past several years……all of it had literally gone up in smoke. Why……why did this have to happen? Unforgivable……I can't let this slide……they'll pay for this, I swear, I'll make them all pay……

  "Arturo."

  "Yes, sir?"

  "We're going to destroy the Vampires. Every last one of them."

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  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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