Point-of-View: Tirayze Valaque

  ———————————————————————————


  Damn it, I forgot about his Cross……and now Presde was dead……damn it……oh, well, it is what it is. Huh, and it looks like Arturo got knocked out earlier. The others were looking pretty terrified, even Kuua……well, she was missing both her arms at the moment, so I guess her confidence was lower than usual.

  "Now, then……who wants to die next?" Inquired Lazarus with a smirk, looking down at us.

  "Hey, don't make eye contact with him, everyone!" I yelled out, snapping them out of it.

  "How amusing. Do you truly believe that I need to rely on my Cross to kill all of you? Just try and make me use it!" Exclaimed Lazarus, before zipping down at a blinding speed.

  He targeted Rion first, who sprang back in response, crossing his arms in front of himself and turning his gaze downwards to avoid making eye contact, as he got blasted with a massive Blood Magic bolt, sending him flying back, crashing through the doors and then another crash echoing out further back, before the echoes faded……aw, man, did he die too?

  Azeria swiftly and defensively surrounded herself with a dome of lava, Lazarus pointed both his arms at it before firing a wave of Blood Magic it at, a large explosion bursting out upon impact and sending Azeria crashing onto the wall, before falling onto the floor with a loud thud, her body limply slumping to the ground. I zipped away using Lightning Boost, keeping my distance as his gaze then turned to me.

  Rex swooped down at him and spun himself around, whipping his tail down at Lazarus, who caught it with ease. But it looks like Rex was expecting that, because the instant his tail got caught, he swung one of his raptor claws at Lazarus's face, who swiftly tilted his head out of the way but couldn't avoid getting a deep scratch on his cheek, though it healed in like a second. Lazarus then swung him around rapidly before flinging him up at a gap in the ceiling, sending him crashing through to the second floor.

  Kuua then suddenly sprang up behind him with a roar, biting into his left shoulder and slamming her feet onto his back. She began to try again, before he grabbed her head and slammed her onto the ground, cracking her skull. She somehow didn't lose consciousness, letting out a fierce growl as blood poured out of her head and fired a blast of water and lightning from her mouth, striking his face.

  He let out a cry of pain before his expression turned into a glare, and he lifted her up and tightened his grip on her neck, crushing her throat as she let out an agonized scream, which faded as his fully closed his fist around her neck. With a look of disdain, he then tore her head off and tossed it away, letting her body drop down to the ground. His attention then turned to me.

  Crap, I'm the only one lef……wait, why am I acting so scared? I'm the strongest human……no, I'm the strongest being in this world! I……I can beat him! I stopped running away and shot towards him before he could come after me. The instant I did, he zipped towards me, his claws extended. I fired out a massive cloud of steam around myself and charged it with lightning, surprising him as he got zapped as he closed in. Now's my chance!

  I slammed my fist onto his chest, swirling lightning, fire and wind around it. As he stumbled a bit, I grabbed his throat with my left hand and streamed lightning into him as much as possible……alright, he should be paralyzed now, I gotta find and break his cor……suddenly, I felt a stabbing pain in my abdomen, as his tail pierced through my stomach, coughing out blood.

  "Did you honestly believe you had immobilized me? How adorable. You are finished now, Tirayze Valaque……I suppose you put up a decent enough fight for a human, but you never stood a chance against me," He remarked before meeting my gaze before I could avert my eyes, "Now, I command you to die."

  He then fired a massive Blood Magic at me, sending me flying back and through the opening in the wall behind where the throne had been, I let out a gasp of pain, blood pouring out of my mouth. Damn it, my consciousness is fading, and my arms and ribs were broken. I winced as my broken arms suddenly moved up on their own, my hands wrapping around my throat as the broken bones pierced into my flesh……damn it, I was trying to kill myself.

  No, I gotta resist, this is literally do or die……my consciousness continued to slowly fade, as I desperately pushed back against the compulsion to kill myself, my vision slowly darkening as it got harder and harder to breathe……

  ———————————————————————————


  Point-of-View: Kuro Black

  ———————————————————————————


  "So, Eighty-Seven really was telling the truth, you truly are inhabiting a human body now, Atticus Rhain……how truly disgraceful," Remarked one of the Evil Numbers.

  "It is good to see you too, Six-Six-Six. And you as well, Five. We already saw each other recently, Eighty-Seven, I take it you are doing well since then? Ah, and some of my former fellow Vampire Knights, Asriel Athanasius, Renwick Seain, Jorin Klyn, and Demelza Cynfael. It has been a while," He replied, after glancing at me.

  Nice work, now I know who each of these Vampires are. He made a show of turning his head to face each Vampire as he said their names, so I knew exactly which was which……

  Six-Six-Six, he had spiky white hair with six vertical red streaks going down it, wore a black tank top and dark gray trousers under his hooded cloak……his Cross was really powerful, it let him see a full five seconds into the future……and I definitely wanted that power for myself.

  Five, he had short black hair with flecks of red scattered through it, and a goatee in the shape of……an S? It was a mustache that continued down the right side of his mouth and curved around his chin……wait, I think it's shaped like the number 5, not S……wonder if styles it that way or if it naturally grows like that? More importantly, his Cross gave him the power to duplicate himself, but the catch was that his power would get evenly divided between himself and the duplicates each time. He wore a dark red trouser and nothing else, under a hooded cloak.

  I've already fought Eighty-Seven, and I wasn't too interested in her Cross, but I suppose a good defense wasn't a bad option to have. So then, these are the three Evil Numbers present in Silvland, huh……looks like we lucked out, from what I heard, Zero would have been a handful to go up against, but it looks like he's not here. As for the four Knights that were here……

  Asriel Athanasius, he had straight, long black hair that went halfway down his back and the front was tucked behind his right ear, he had two horizontal red stripes down the back, and wore a gray long-sleeved shirt and dark green trousers with a black cape that was red on the inside. He was carrying a large, spiky hammer on his back.

  Let's see, his Cross was……Berserker, which essentially put him in a wild beast-like state for ten minutes……definitely don't need that Cross, I was having a hard enough time maintaining self-control as it was, what with my sadistic urges, bloodlust and my craving of Vampire life force……speaking of which, I was having an extremely difficult time holding myself back right now, I was gulping every couple of seconds to keep myself from drooling……for now, I was holding onto my sense of reason, but the temptation to throw it away was growing rapidly.

  Anyway, that leaves three more Knights……let's see, Atticus said that one was Renwick Seain, he had snow-white hair tied in a short, high ponytail, a red streak that fell over his forehead, and a scruffy chin. He wore dark brown cargo pants than went past his knees, a simple black t-shirt, and that cape. He wasn't carrying any weapons, and his Cross was Mimic, allowing him to copy the appearance of anyone he makes eye contact with within ten meters, and he could remain in his copied form for an hour.

  Jorin Klyn, he had spiky gray and white hair with a thick red streak straight down the middle, he wore an open dark green blazer with nothing underneath, purple shorts that stopped just around his knees, and the cape. He carried a long, sharp cleaver, and his Cross was Stagnate, he could paralyze a person if he made eye contact with them within ten meters.

  And finally, Demelza Cynfael. She had short hair, that was a mix of black, white and gray, with a red streak down the middle, and wore a red tube top and dark blue shorts with thigh-high black boots. She wasn't carrying a weapon. And her Cross was the opposite of one of mine, Repulsion, the ability to repel anything by pointing her palm at it, the closer it is to her, the more force it gets repelled with……the opposite of Beckon, and it had the same effective range of twenty-five meters.

  Alright, now I know which is which. Hm, if I can take them by surprise, I might be able to take at least one of them out of the picture, so then, the question is……who do I go after first? Atticus was buying time with small talk, but the Vampires weren't going to amicably sit back and listen to him for too much longer, they looked ready to attack at a moment's notice. Hm, Eighty-Seven's Cross was probably the one that would be most effective in helping and backing up the other Vampires……then it's decided, I'll take her out first.

  I bit the inside of my mouth to distract myself from the craving, before gauging the distance between myself and the Vampires……a little over thirty meters, it looks like. I need to close the gap a bit. I then stepped forward, subtly entering Soul-Eater Mode, as Atticus began running out of things to say. They can't see what I'm capable of if I'm in this form, Atticus had confirmed that Vampires can only read my capabilities in Vampire Mode……

  "Nice to meet all of you, Vampires! Hey, Eighty-Seven, how's it going, it's been, like, a week since I last saw you! I just wanted to say……I'm sorry for beating you up so bad that you had to turn tail and run, I guess I got kinda carried away……so, hey, things are kinda tense here, maybe an icebreaker will help ease some of that tension……oh, I know, let's play a game! Do you know how to play rock-paper-scissors? It's real simple, here, let me show you……"

  She stumbled back with a look of fear in her eyes, right as I shrunk the distance to twenty-five meters……damn it, I was almost there. This isn't my usual style, in fact, talking this much felt like I was BSing my way through this right now, but I don't have much of a choice……it's getting hard to think straight the closer I get to these Vampires……

  "Do not mock us, human, it shall be the death of you," Warned Six-Six-Six, glaring at me, though there was a look of caution in his eyes.

  Good, looks like he really can't sense how powerful I am in this form, it's just like Atticus said, they can only read my power level when I'm in Vampire Mode. But it was getting more and more difficult to hold myself back, my body was starting to heat up……the craving was starting to feel unbearable, so many strong Vampires, their life forces had to taste incredible……no, damn it, I need to focus……come on, just keep it together a little longer……

  "Mock? I wouldn't dream of it! Look, it's simple, you either throw rock, paper or scissor, just like……this!" I remarked, throwing out 'paper', as I swiftly took a couple of steps forward and pointed my right palm at Eighty-Seven, activating Beckon.

  Eighty-Seven would have informed the other Vampires that I could consume their life forces……but during the battle in the Rustlands, she ran away before she saw that I could use the Crosses of the Vampires I drain. Before any of them could react, she got pulled in towards me rapidly, letting out a sharp gasp as I grabbed hold of her throat as she closed in, I then tightened my grip before extending out my left claws and slashing off the top of her head, her body going limb as I severed her brain from her body.

  "Why, you-!" Exclaimed Asriel, charging up a Blood Magic blast, before all six of the remaining Vampires sprang back as a wave of ice spread out towards them rapidly, sharp icicles springing up and extending out……nice cover, Az.

  I then swiftly used Store on Eighty-Seven's lifeless body, before switching from Soul-Eater Mode to Vampire Mode, my wings and tail growing out as my fangs and claws extended out……almost instantly, I was overcome with the urge to consume the life forces of the remaining Vampires as the desire got amplified, especially with Six-Six-Six and Five, but somehow, I managed to just barely push it down and retain some semblance of control, though it felt like I was an A-cup bra trying to contain a pair of double Ds……sorry, that example was just to try and help distract myself from losing control……

  The ice then shattered into tiny shards, which shot up like thousands of bullets, the Vampires countered with Blood Magic, easily evaporating the ice, but they were definitely thrown off right now……now, before they can regain their bearings……

  I eyed Jorin Kyln, the Vampire Knight with the Stagnate Cross……that ability was troublesome, might as well take it out of the equation too. I focused my gaze on the spot behind him, before using Teleport to slip behind him and slashing off the top of his head with my short-sword, and then grabbing one of his wings before he could fall down.

  "Damn it, we will not let you do that again-!" Began Six-Six-Six, when he suddenly stiffened and flew away, right before a massive sonic blast shot towards the Vampires, the other four getting caught up in it and letting out strained cries of pain.

  I see, so that must be Foresight at work……he saw the sonic attack coming in advance, that's why he'd been the only one to react……he'd reacted only about two seconds in advance though, guess that means he doesn't constantly look five seconds into the future, huh.

  Now, then……I used Store on Jorin, right as a bit of drool ran down the side of my mouth and my heart rate began to spike……it's no good, I won't be able to contain myself much longer……I'd managed to keep it under some degree of control during the battle in the Rustlands, but now, I was in the same room as seven high-ranking Vampires……I was like a malnourished starving kid from a poverty-stricken third-world country being suddenly placed in the middle of a busy food court……

  "Alright, everyone, now's our chance! Try to incapacitate them by destroying or severing their brains so that I can capture them, but if that's too much for you, don't worry about it, just kill them……don't overestimate them, we can definitely win this!" I exclaimed, resisting the wild, ravenous urges within me as best as I could, but they were continuing to boil over, it won't be long before I snap……unless I can take out all these Vampires.

  This is it, do or die!

  _____________________________________________

  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!

  Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.