Alexander’s heart pounded in his chest, each beat felt like it was going to explode. A cold sweat ran down his face, and his hands shook as he held them up. Ivanovich stood across the ruined street from him, exuding a cold, calculating confidence. It was as if Ivanovich had no doubt in his mind that defeating Alexander would be child’s play. And with Erika and Elizabeth restrained by Ivanovich’s spell, he would have to fight this battle alone.
Alexander was so focused on Ivanovich that he hadn’t noticed the growing crowd of people near the area. Civilians gathered down the streets and in the rubble of this section of the city to try and see what was going on. Ivanovich cackled, “Look at them, World Guardian. The vermin have come to watch you be humiliated.”
Alexander didn’t respond, keeping his gaze fixed on Ivanovich. He knew that the vampire would try to get under his skin. It wasn’t a game he was willing to play.
Ivanovich looked annoyed that Alexander hadn’t given him the reaction he wanted. Another crimson magical circle formed in front of one of his hands, and a bolt of the viscous liquid shot toward Alexander. He quickly channeled his own magic, forming a barrier of glowing yellow light in front of him. The bolt splattered against his barrier, and the remnants of the liquid splashed onto the ground. Ivanovich hurled several more bolts at him, all with the same result.
Alexander dropped his barrier and stepped forward, preparing to counterattack with a spell of his own. He heard something splash beneath his boot. He looked down and saw that he was standing in a puddle of the red liquid. It began to squirm and thrash, trying to grab at his feet. He jumped back in disgust, but parts of the liquid stuck to him.
Ivanovich laughed and taunted, “Careful World Guardian, or the pools might consume you!”
Alexander realized that the magic Ivanovich was using was blood magic. He had studied it a bit on Avalon but had never seen it in practice. He noticed more puddles nearby, all writhing and slowly moving in his direction. He quickly gathered a large bit of magical energy, igniting it as it left his body. The flames gathered around him and burned into a bright yellow inferno. He manipulated the fire, pushing it outward from his body to burn away the blood pools. They evaporated, leaving a sickening metallic scent in the air. He continued to manipulate the flame as Ivanovich looked on, intrigued. The fire gathered behind him, taking the form of a phoenix which let out a high-pitched screech at the vampires. He called out the incantation of the spell, “Phoenix Flame,” and the phoenix soared through the air towards Ivanovich. It crackled and sparked as it raced towards him, ready to incinerate the vampire king.
Ivanovich raised one of his hands and chanted his own spell incantation, “Sanguine Shield.” The blood spewed from his magic circle and formed a solid barrier in front of him. The phoenix collided with the barrier in a fiery explosion, causing many of the onlookers to gasp in awe. Alexander tried to peer through the dust and smoke, wondering if his spell had any effect. Once the dust settled, he saw the blood barrier still intact. It melted away, revealing Ivanovich to be unscathed. “Not a bad display, but we’re just getting started,” Ivanovich said.
Ivanovich launched himself with blinding speed toward Alexander. He delivered a fierce blow, knocking Alexander down the ruined street and into the rubble of a collapsed building, as the twins called out for him.
Alexander groaned as he tried to pick himself up off the debris; small bits of rubble and dust fell from his robes and cloak as he stood. His chest ached where he’d been hit, and his back stung from where he’d smashed into the building. He heard the flapping of wings and ducked behind a collapsed pillar.
Ivanovich landed in the ruined building. “Come out and face me, World Guardian!”, he taunted.
Alexander knew at this point that trying to fight him head-on would be suicide. Magically he was likely superior, but physically it wasn’t even a question. He would need to be crafty to survive and win this battle.
Ivanovich taunted him again, “Where’s your fire, your passion, World Guardian?”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Alexander channeled his magic, conjuring a golden casting circle in front of his hand. With his other hand, he summoned a red casting circle. He jumped from behind his cover, and a stream of flames burst out from the red casting circle. He molded them into the form of a whip and flicked it at Ivanovich. It caught the vampire king by surprise, wrapping around his midsection, restraining his arms. The flames burned intensely, causing Ivanovich a small amount of pain. Alexander used the golden casting circle to form a blade of light, which glowed brightly in the darkness of the ruined building. With all his might, he yanked on the fire whip, pulling the vampire forward. He prepared to skewer the monster with the blade of light, but Ivanovich used his superior physical strength to forcefully free one arm from the whip’s restraint. He caught the edge of Alexander’s blade of light, causing a small gash in his hand, though he was unbothered by it. Using the leverage, he threw Alexander into a nearby stone wall. The impact caused the stones to crack, and both of Alexander’s spells vanished as he cried out in pain.
Ivanovich taunted him again, “I hope that wasn’t the best you could do.”
He knelt down and got in Alexander’s face, a sickening grin once again revealing his sharp fangs. Alexander struggled through the pain and tried to quickly channel more magic, but Ivanovich grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up against the stone wall. He choked, frantically clawing at Ivanovich’s arm. Ivanovich delivered a thunderous punch to Alexander’s stomach. The blow drove all of the remaining air from his lungs as Ivanovich dropped him to the ground. He began hacking up blood as he struggled even harder to breathe.
Ivanovich looked down at him. “Perhaps I was wrong. Maybe you’re not as strong as I thought...”
Alexander couldn’t respond. He continued coughing in immense pain, just trying to stay conscious. Ivanovich grabbed him by his hair and pulled him to his feet, causing Alexander to let out a weak scream of pain. He grabbed Alexander’s face and shoved his head into the stone wall, causing it to crack again.
Alexander’s vision began to go blurry, and he heard a high-pitched ringing in his ears. He could feel himself fading, his knees growing weak and his legs turning to jelly. He fell forward where Ivanovich caught him and shoved him back against the wall, holding him up. “We’re not finished yet, World Guardian!”, Ivanovich said angrily.
Alexander fought to hold on to consciousness as the vampire berated him. He could barely hear what he was saying over the ringing in his ears. After a moment, Alexander could faintly see Ivanovich’s eyes light up. An idea had struck him.
“Do you know how your parents died?” he asked, which Alexander heard loud and clear through the ringing. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as Ivanovich cackled at his struggle. He leaned in close, and in a sickening whisper, he told Alexander, “I was there that night.”
Alexander’s eyes went wide, and the memory of the vision at the cave flooded back into his mind. He remembered the four figures that stood menacingly outside of the car. They had been shrouded in shadow, but he recalled one approximately his own size with wings on its back. With Ivanovich now in front of him, there was no doubt. This was one of the monsters responsible for his family’s murder.
Alexander clenched his fists tighter and dug his fingernails into his own palms so hard that they began to bleed. His rage built up, and his magic gathered involuntarily. He took advantage, directing the flow to cause blue lightning to crackle all over his body. He grabbed Ivanovich’s head as hard as he could and, with all of his might, sent the mighty current of lightning flowing into the vampire. Ivanovich’s body seized uncontrollably, and he cried out in pain for the first time. It was music to Alexander’s ears. Hearing the vampire suffer gave him a feeling of satisfaction. He squeezed harder and channeled more lightning, as much as he could. Smoke began to rise from Ivanovich’s body, and bits of his flesh zapped away.
He was going to try and end it here. For the first time, he had managed to do some real damage to this vile creature, and he wasn’t about to stop. He didn’t want to stop. Watching this monster scream and contort in pain made him feel good.
Ivanovich, fighting through the pain and agony, grabbed Alexander by the throat again and squeezed. The pressure against his windpipe forced Alexander to relinquish his own grip, and his current of lightning stopped. Ivanovich furiously kicked him through the stone wall and into the ruins of the next street over.
Alexander lay in the street, his body aching and heavy. He struggled to move and wondered if this battle was even winnable. He grabbed at the rubble in front of him, trying to pull himself forward to get some leverage to get up, but Ivanovich stomped on his arm, causing him to shriek in agony.
“That was one of the few times I’ve felt pain,” Ivanovich said. “I’m happy you have a fire burning within you after all. Don’t worry, I’ll help you get it out, World Guardian” He looked down at Alexander with a vile grin, the charred bits of his flesh making him look more deranged and psychotic. Alexander looked up at him, a sense of hopelessness and dread crushing down onto him. His eyes started watering, and he again wondered if this was the end.