Point-of-View: Hacte Routh

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  What is this……? How……how are these people so powerful? As Lord Valaque had instructed me, I had stayed behind and observed those from the Rustlands fight against the Vampires. After the fights all spread out, I opted to follow the girl who defeated Sicario in a duel and the sleepy-eyed Ice Magic user……and after watching their fight against the Evil Number Vampire, there was no doubt about it……both of them were strong enough to match those of us at the Retribution Tier. In fact……both could likely defeat me, especially in my current state.

  What I could not understand, however, was why they were seeking to capture the Vampire instead of kill him……but now I see. Kuro Black……he is capable of consuming the life forces of Vampires, and having fed on six headless Vampires, before killing them, he went in the direction that Lord Valaque and the rest headed for, at an incredible speed.

  He had deliberately hidden this fact from us……I see, this is why Lord Valaque asked me to stay back, he suspected that he was hiding something. How truly wise my lord is. I must hurry, if Lord Valaque has already defeated the Vampire King, then Kuro will likely set his sights on my lord instead……while I am enveloped in this barrier, he will not be able to detect me, so once I am certain that the Vampire King is dead, I shall kill Kuro Black myself……

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  Point-of-View: Kuro Black

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  Right before my claws could pierce into Lazarus's head, my hand got scorched off as he fired a Blood Magic blast from his mouth, and then drove his claws up to my face, which I evaded and slashed off his arm with my short-sword. Undeterred, he swung his tail up at me, which I deflected away with my blade. He unfurled a series of slashes and thrusts with his claws and tail, the arm I slashed off regrowing rapidly, healing a lot faster than any of the previous Vampires I fought could.

  I drew out my dagger as I grew back my left hand and deflected all his strikes……it's taking me a bit of time to get used to fighting with this much power at my disposal, he'd caught onto that and was attacking relentlessly, making sure it took me as long as possible to get used to it. My eyes could keep up with his movements with ease, and my body was reacting equally fast, but even though I could say with certainty that I'm stronger than him right now……he definitely knew how to handle himself in a fight.

  I'll have to fight him with the intent to destroy his core, I can't beat him if I fight him with stealing his Cross being my priority……incapacitating him was going to be way too difficult, especially with how fast he heals. His strikes were precise and rapid, and he left no openings at all……plus he was super strong, so even with my own boosted physical strength, I could definitely feel the impact of his strikes. And I couldn't use Teleport since I can't even spare a fraction of a second to take my eyes off him. Enough is enough, I need to break free from his barrage and strike back already……

  As he drove his claws towards my chest, instead of deflecting his attack, I let it pierce my right forearm, before swiftly flicking my wrist across and slashing off his hand with my short-sword, to make sure that he couldn't attempt to suck out my life force with those claws. Now's my chance!

  He began to step back, but he was too slow, as I flung my dagger at his head, which left a deep gash in the side of his head as he attempted to evade it. His right hand had already grown back, but now that I had broken free of his chain of attacks, I won't let him lock me in another one.

  I stopped the swing of his tail by catching the end between my teeth and tearing off the tip with a jerk of my head, before slashing off his fingers with my dagger as he tried to drive his claws towards me. I then flung my dagger at the top of his head, which he narrowly avoided, but the fraction of a second in which his focus shifted to evasion was all the opening I needed……

  The tip of my tail burst out of my own stomach, as I pierced it into my back and through my body so that he wouldn't see it coming. He couldn't react in time, as my tail went through his torso and wrapped around his spine, as I channeled lightning into my shoulders, elbows and fists……

  "Now, take this……Scarlet Shocker Punch Machine-Gun!"

  I unleashed a rapid barrage of lightning-enhanced punches onto his abdomen and chest, feeling his bones crack with every punch, before they shattered……come on, I need to break his core……I can feel that the impact of my punches are traveling through his entire body, so why isn't it breaking!? Damn it, is his core tougher than the other Vampires'?

  Crap, I can't keep up this barrage for much longer, the lightning was starting to fade! Suddenly, a bright red glow shone in his mouth……not good, he must've been charging that up the whole time! I yanked my tail out of his body and sprang back with a flap of my wings, ascending out of the way. For an instant, our eyes met, and……

  "Do not move!" He remarked, before the Blood Magic charged up in his mouth burst up towards me.

  I felt a strong compulsion to stay still……this is……

  "Don't……don't you……don't you dare tell me what to do!" I yelled out, as I resisted his Cross and just barely moved out of the way of his attack, the massive blast shooting past me and bursting through the ceiling, continuing on and on through the castle at an elavated angle……until the outside sky was visible through the large hole that the blast bore through the building……fuck, if that had hit me, I'd have died for sure.

  This is bad……I only have fifteen seconds left with the x50 boost, I need to hurry up and kill him already! Time to use the Crosses. I zipped down towards him, before using Teleport to slip behind him, he reacted immediately by spinning around and swinging his claws at my head, before I used Repulsion to sending him flying away and crashing at the opposite end of the room in the blink of an eye. Woah, that was more powerful than I thought it'd be.

  I used Teleport to rapidly close in on him, and then used Beckon to pull him towards me with my right hand while firing lightning at him from my left hand, scorching off the skin and flesh on his torso……damn it, where the hell is his core!?

  Right before he reached me, I switched from Beckon to Repulsion, sending him crashing onto the wall, severely cracking it as blood poured out of his body. As he fell onto the ground, I swiftly flew above him and unleashed wave and wave of Repulsion, the floor getting crushed inwards as he started to get flattened, his bones crunching and snapping like twigs as I continued to use the Cross against him, but his injuries were healing almost as fast as I inflicted them.

  Wait, his head isn't taking nearly as much damage as his body was……is his skull extra sturdy or something? If that's the case……that had to be where his core is. Gela told me how Vi was killed……as much as it pained me to use that same method, it just might work against him……

  I zipped down towards him rapidly, pinning him down before he could move away and positioning my palms on either side of his head……and blasted out Repulsion from both hands. I was using my tail to keep him from using his limbs and tail to attack me, while blood began pouring out of his eyes, nose and mouth, a cracking sounding coming from inside his head.

  "Stop it……I command you to stop this!"

  "That……won't……work on me!" I exclaimed, resisting his Cross immediately, "Time for you to die, Lazar-!"

  Suddenly, a blinding wave of agony, one more intense than any pain I've ever felt in my life, burst through my body, my ears ringing and my vision blurring as I let out a sharp gasp……this must be the toll it takes for my body to use this x50 boost……n-no, you've gotta be kidding me, not now, this timing couldn't possibly be worse……I then felt myself getting sent flying back and crashing onto a fallen chunk of concrete, as Lazarus blasted me with Blood Magic.

  Damn it, no……I was so close too, just a little more and he'd have died! No, I can't get caught up in that missed opportunity, I need to calm down……I can't change what happened, so I'll just have to try again. Good, looks like the pain has eased a bit, at least to a point where I can bear and ignore it. He was zipping towards me with his claws extended……

  "That was more entertainment than I was prepared for……but it is over now, you have nearly reached you limit, Kuro, have you not? In which case, it is time for YOU to die!"

  Huh, he thinks I'm done? I know Vampires can sense my strength and see my Crosses when I'm in Vampire Mode, but I guess they can't sense how long my time limit is……which means that Lazarus is assuming that the backlash from the boosted Vampire Mode form was actually me reaching, or at least nearing, my time limit……once again, I was going to benefit from a convenient misunderstanding. I only have five seconds left with the x50 boost……I need to make the most of it……

  The instant he closed in on me, I fired out a massive bolt of lightning from my mouth, incinerating his left arm and a bit of his left side, a look of surprise and alarm on his face as I sprang back up. He halted with a stifled wince of pain and began to back away, before he got pulled in towards me as I used Beckon with my left hand while charging up lightning in my right fist, slamming it onto his face as he neared me, pinning him onto the ground by directing my punch downwards as my fist connected.

  Don't know if this'll work on him or not, only one way to find out……I locked my gaze with his and used Stagnate on him, before again attempting to crush his head with Repulsion again……come on, hurry up and break already!

  As his head began to crack and cave in on itself, blood pouring out profusely, it happened……I reached the time limit with the x50 boost. And unfortunately……that weakened the power of the Cross slightly, as well as forcing me to stop using the Cross for a fraction of a second, to let my body adjust from x50 to x40……and that fraction of a second was all he needed, as his tail suddenly burst through his torso, pierced my stomach, went through and began to wrap around my spine. He was using the same trick I used on him earlier……

  Before his tail could latch onto my spine, I quickly began ascending, but as soon as I did, Lazarus fired a blast at me with his hands, sending me crashing up onto the ceiling with a resounding impact, chunks of it falling down as heavy cracks spread out from the point of impact. I think I got several fractures but no major damage beyond that.

  "How interesting……you are still very powerful, but you are weaker than before……nevertheless, it appears as though I was mistaken, you are not finished yet……are you?" He inquired, his injuries already gone.

  "Hell no. That was just round one, let's call it a draw……now it's time for round two, and this time, I'll win," I declared, as I healed my fractures.

  My confidence was just a bluff though……I missed my best opportunity, and what I needed to accomplish had just become a lot more difficult……

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