Part 1.
It had been a week since they had first left the road, and at some point, they had gotten completely lost. They always knew what direction was north, because regardless of where they were, there was an entire mountain range just standing there, and all that they had to do was to make sure that is was on their right. Their real problem was, exactly how far north had they gone, was it too far north, or how far yet did they have to go. The other major issue was that, while traveling on the open plain was relatively simple, their actual goal was somewhere deep inside these woods, and that somewhere, could be anywhere.
Alex had gotten a relative idea of the location he needed to go to, but the only real indication he had going for him was that it was in the Northern Forest, south of the Brein River, but that still left a lot of forest to look through.
“The second hero must have used some kind of cheat to find this place.” Alex grumbled to himself, otherwise quietly moving through the tall grass, Lili’s hand clasped in his trailing behind him.
While it was frustrating, the two of them had gotten quite used to life on the road together, and while Lili’s clinginess hadn’t dissipated, it had remained steady. She used his chest as her bed every night, curled like a small animal, her soft breathing sounds in sync with the rising and lowering of his chest. Luckily, she was incredibly light for her age and size, so it was like having a cat curled up on you while trying to sleep, a feeling he knew well enough back in the days before he had made his move to the shores of Japan. He had left her behind, just like everyone and everything else, something he had found surprisingly easy to do.
That was the old him though, the him before Sumire, before Hina, and now Lili. He would look down at her sleeping face and feel a piece of his heart, which was shattered the moment he had been told that there was no way back home for him, slowly coming back together. In fact, there had been quite a few people he had met in this strange new world that had worked their way inside of him. Memories of Royden, the knight who had joined him in his first foray into the wild, it was still a painful memory, and there was plenty of guilt to still be had, maybe if he had fought better, more seriously, his first friend would still be alive.
The Prince, Hordin and his Grizzly-man sidekick Holdebark, his first thoughts made him smile at how wrong he was about both of them. While Hordin had is serious moments, as any leader should, most of the time he was a silly lovable guy, who adored his daughter, a stiff drink and maybe women too much. As for Holdebark, when he wasn’t swinging his giant axe around, either in morning practice breaking in new recruits or reminding veterans who he was, he was often getting into trouble right alone with his liege.
Then there were the two girls, Eline. A bona fide princess, she was pretty, smart, and strong willed. Though she could be a bit immature at sometimes, no doubt due to the fact that she was still young, by his standards, not the world’s. And then Giazel, she was Eline’s maid, but more often than not, played the important role of a big sister. She had more maturity than Eline, though their ages weren’t far off, and had always seemed to be the voice of reason for the princess. Those two in particular had worked his way into his heart and had become important people for him, but what exactly that meant, he hadn’t figured out.
Lastly there was the lump on his chest. His beacon in the dark world. When he had lost himself in guilt, she became the thing that made him want to push forth. She became the reason he wanted to save the world. It was her world, it was her life, and that was all that mattered to him. If he found himself saving a village, it was because it was important to her in some way, if it meant slaughtering a fortress full of bandits, it was because they posed a threat to her safety. He didn’t care how healthy it was, it was his excuse for fulfilling his promise.
That’s right there was another. While all the gods had left their particular impressions on him, mostly negative, one of them had been head and shoulder above the others. Vathsvala, the first person, or deity, that he had met since moving over. She had been beside him every day for a year in the god realm, and while there were moments between them, they had remained professional… “There was that kiss though.” They had developed a strong bond over that time, and often shared stories of their pasts, whenever he was taking a break from whatever subject he was working on. “Though for a deity, she didn’t seem to have a lot to share. I guess being a shut in for many millennia would do that to anyone.” At this though he immediately felt a cold state down on him from somewhere. “Gomen. Constantly reading my thoughts is unfair though.”
“Hey, ninja. You still there?” I asked aloud, just loud enough to be heard and not wake Lili.
A man stepped out of the shadows. His tall outline just barely visible in the light from the planet. “I assume you mean me sir; I am not sure what a ninja is though.” He responded in the politest way possible.
“Back home, ninja where warriors who specialized in stealth missions. Reconnaissance, sabotage, maybe assassination. Sound familiar?” I grinned.
It may have just been the light play tricks on my eyes, but I could have sworn that I saw him smile, if only for a second.
“I see, then that makes me a ninja.” He said plainly. “How may I help you this time?”
“Just wonderin’ how long you were planning to follow me?”
“Willian has given no order regarding a time limit for this mission.” He responded in his usual tone.
“So, if you are going to be with us… for the foreseeable future. Can I rely on you for support?” I was wondering exactly what kind of help I could rely on him for. Being able to have another set of eyes watching over Lili would allow me to have more freedom.
“I have not been given the okay to interfere in any way with your mission. I am merely ab observer.” It was a short simple reply.
“What about information? This is a new world for me, and we are already talking, so it isn’t like you are on a stealth mission.” That last part cut into him slightly. Truth is, he was supposed to have remained hidden, but being able to see the unseen because of [Inspect], meant that I had ruined that part already.
“I have just been informed… I have been authorized to provide you with any information you need that is not considered classified.” The quick response was surprising. Just notified, what did that mean?
“How where you just notified?”
“Master Willian is the leader of Faustus’ Hounds. We are a special unit for reconnaissance and espionage. In order to always have the most accurate information, Master himself serves as a relay and repository of information. As long as we wear these rings,” He showed his right hand, there on the pointer finger was a silver ring, “we are always in contact with each other. All knew information is shared instantly with one another.”
“Like a hive mind?” I asked him.
“I do not understand the term, I am sorry.”
“In other words, without the need for direct communication, you simply know everything that any other person wearing that ring knows?”
“That is correct.”
“What happens if someone goes rogue, or dies and an enemy picks up the ring?”
“Master Willian simply needs to remove the ring from his hand, and it will cut off connection to all members. Each ring is part of a pair, so Master Willian wears many, and through him all information is shared.” He looked down at the ring on his finger, a look of pride was on his face. I am sure of for a unit like this, it required tremendous skill and rigorous training. “If the case did happen where one of us was lost, and a ring taken, other units would be sent to its location to retrieve it.”
“So, a location spell attached to it too then.” I chuckled. “It seems simple enough. The only real mess would be if Willian was compromised, then the connection between you all would be cut off.”
“Please refrain from such notions, sir.” He smiled, but it was more of a cold warning.
“Well, I know I shouldn’t really be asking someone on stealth mission their name, but you have something better to call you than, you or ninja?” I asked jokingly.
“I am Hanz.” He said with a bow of the head. I had to stop myself from breaking out in laughter. ‘HANZ!?’ Really? Here I was jokingly calling him ninja, and all he was missing was an o…
“Alright… Hanz…” I said, doing my best from laughing and waking up Lili.
“Is something wrong sir?” he asked sincerely.
“Nah, all good man. Just wasn’t expecting that is all.”
“My name?” Not feeling at all tired, I spent the night telling him stories of famous ninja through history. When morning came the look on his face was one of fascination and delight. No doubt a newfound satisfaction with the name he had been given as a child and how it lined up with his current occupation.
“I’ve got to ask. Since you can share information from your ninja network with me. Are there any clues to the location of this witch we are looking for?” I asked him, taking a big stretch while the newly woken Lili delt with her morning bedhead.
“It is to the northeast of Dortmin, south of the river Brein. That is the only information that has ever been shared with outsiders.” He said.
“Guess you won’t be leading me though the forest then…” I said, slightly put out by the fact that we were still stuck looking for a piece of hay in a proverbial needlestack. “Well, no use complaining. Let’s eat, you going to join in Hanz?”
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Part 2.
We walked for another four days north, finally coming up to a fast-moving river. The turbid choppy rapids looked uninviting and presented an ominous atmosphere.
“Is this how the Brein always is?” I asked aloud.
A voice from the shadows responded. “I cannot say. The river does support two separate major settlements, the East and West Breins. East Brein is not too far from here, just to the north. If time permits, you could always ask them.”
“If time permits.” I responded back. I looked down at Lili, she appeared uncomfortable in the presence of the river, and the hair on the back of her neck was standing on end. “Come little one. We need to move into the forest from here.” I reached my hand out to hear, she took it and gave it a tight squeeze. We made our way slowly along the river’s edge.
The river cleaved a fine path in the great enormity of the forest, providing what would normally be a breath of fresh air into the otherwise dark, dank, depths of the monumental woods. It was one of only two that did so, the other being in the far south near Faustus, that river eventually fed into the large lake near the city. That river, however, much like the lake, was different. It had a warm inviting feel, one that made you subconsciously think how great it would be to take a refreshing swim, a trait shared by the large lake which has always been a cornerstone of life in Faustus.
This river though… the only way to describe it was, wrong. Everything about it was just wrong. It was too fast to provide much of anything in a way to support the growth of a population, and unlike its southern counterpart, this one ended up feeding out into the ocean. Alex didn’t wish to be anywhere near it, but it was the plan he had come up with, and now that he was here, he didn’t seem to have many options but press forward or turn back and think of something else entirely.
They walked for what felt like a few short hours. It had been a fairly simple trek, there was no underbrush near the water, and the path was mostly flat, a silver lining in an otherwise very unpleasant situation. As they continued though, a build up of eerie dense fog appeared around them. It wasn’t a subtle build like you would naturally expect, instead it was instantaneous. With it came a stronger sense of dread than the feeling that had been given off from the river. This was as if they were being watched, a sensation that Alex had gotten used to with the ever-present Hanz, but unlike his ninja companion who was merely an observer, this feeling was like a predator watching its prey, waiting for the best moment to strike.
In all of the confusion that came with the fog, Alex had not even noticed the shadow that had built up all around them. A great deep dark shadow, one that blocked out any real light that came from the outside world. Its cause was none other than the Aderost Mountains, the largest and highest mountain range in the world which split off the western third of the continent from the rest. “We shouldn’t be here.” Alex said. It was a statement of clear impossibility. Physically it should have taken them the better part of two days to reach where they had found themselves, they had only walked for three, maybe four hours. The fact that they had seemingly reached a location in a record breaking speed was only the second worry on his list. The other, rather glaring, issue was the large maw presented before them. A cave that traveled under the mountain, its mouth acting as the event horizon of a black hole, no light could be seen inside. Peering inside brought worry to Alex’s heart, he wasn’t sure what to do in this situation, however there seemed to be something inside driving him forward. “Nietzsche was right.” Alex quipped.
Alex gave a quick look around, giving a check of his surroundings. His [Inspect] had proven to be the MVP of all his abilities so far, as won would expect in the situation he had found himself it. “[Inspect] is a staple for an isekai, so I have to have it. It is the best way to learn about a world I otherwise know nothing about.” Was what he had told the gods when they were discussing what kind of abilities he would get in a leu of the standard Hero set up. And now, it had proven its worth again. While making a scan, something had popped that made the cave sound like a picnic trip. “Come on Lili!” he said, grabbing onto her arm and pulling her along into the dark abyss that awaited them.
After going for what he felt was a comfortable distance, he finally let up and traded her arm for her hand. “Stay by me, it is too dark in her, I can’t see anything.” He had chosen the dark unknown over what he had seen, a choice that he didn’t regret, but the reality was that they were still far from being safe. “Hanz.” He said, waiting to hear from his own personal stalker, but nothing. “Hanz?” this time a little more volume, just in case, but again, only the soft dripping sounds in the distance could be heard. “Hanz!” this one was just under a roar, venturing to raise his voice in the hopes that maybe the ninja had just picked up a slight bout of deafness. Nothing, again. “1, 2, 3. I guess I am out.” He looked around, trying to make out anything, even the slightest shape of the wall, like with Hanz, nothing. “Lili.” He looked down to where he felt his hand was, and where he estimated the position of her head would be only to be surprised be two large powder blue colored orbs staring back at him.
One would not know, and in the case of Alex, easily forget that Lili was not a small human child. She was in fact a member of the Beast man species, she was a Moon Fox, whatever exactly that meant though, Alex hadn’t figured out yet. What little light was just sitting around in the cave had apparently found itself reflecting of the beautifully gentle iris’ of the small fox girl. To Alex this had been the first and only real indication, outside of his [Inspect] that she was not human.
“Lili, can you see.” There was a blink, extinguishing the balls of light for only an instant, and then a nod of her head. The thought quickly formulated in his head, a thought that had churned his stomach slightly. The thought of throwing a child out in front, using her to find a way through this den of darkness, was logical, but it also put her in the most dangerous position. Would he be able to react in time in the chance that something went wrong? The other, and probably more disturbing truth, could he rely on her to effectively navigate their way? It wasn’t about her age, or her probably lack of experience, it was the disturbing truth that he would be relying on another person. It was an act that most people found difficult, but for Alex, the list of people he genuinely trusted in this world was one, even back on earth, that number wasn’t much different.
“Lili.” He said her name before letting out a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to say. “I need you to guide us through this cave. As far as I am concerned, we can’t go back the other way. We have to push forward.” He placed a hand on her face, using that as a way of reading her body language.
“Okay.” She said. It was soft, but there was no sense of doubt in her words. Truth it, unbeknownst to Alex, she was excited, even in this situation, no… because it was this situation. The man that had saved her, the man that she saw as her personal hero, was now relying on her for something. She welled with pride and joy at the chance to be of use to him. She touched the back of his hand, resting on her face. It was warm and comforting. Unlike him, she could see his face clearly even in this dark cave, and see the worry painting over it. Her heart wanted nothing more that to comfort him and prove herself as worthy of his worry and his kindness. “I will guide us!” It was in perfect Hume; it was full of assurance and determination. She knew what she needed to do, and she was going to do it perfectly.
They walked slowly and cautiously, hand in hand. She gave little squeezes when they should stop, pushes to the right for right and pulls to the left to go left. They made gradual progress, but that was fine, progress was good, safe progress in this situation was best. She had understood her job perfectly and Alex was beginning to feel okay with his decision.
As they progressed though twisting and turning through its winding corridors, the sounds in the background, trying their hardest or unnerve or startle them. Whether it was the plinking sound of water drops falling on stone, or the busy flapping sound being heard above their heads, the carried on until they came to another odd sight.
“Give me a fucking break.” Alex said, just barely audible. Before them was a door, one that was clearly visible thanks to the glowing light sneaking from the cracks around it. The fact that there was evidence of a civilization in a cave like this could only bring about a list of possible reasons. All of them were bad, and some of them worse than others. “Cult? Or Vampire? Please be cult.” he said to himself.
He looked down at Lili, her face shining in the soft glow seeping from behind the door. She had a slight pout on her face, probably because she was sensing some kind of danger ahead thanks to her instincts as a Beast Folk. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” He said, flashing her a reassuring smile. She returned one of her own and her face seemed to soften, giving him the impression that he had assuaged whatever her concern was. He turned his attention to the door, attempting to inspect it, or rather through any cracks that were in it. ‘Cedar Door, Durability: 14’ was all that came back. For how good [Inspect] had been for him so far, it had one glaring weakness. He couldn’t see beyond another physical object. It wasn’t X-ray vision. So, whatever he wanted to [Inspect], he had to have clear vision of at least part of it, even if it was only the skin of an elbow. That meant that if there was anything alive on the other side of this door, he couldn’t tell from out here.
He took another look at Lili and came to another rather upsetting conclusion. “Wait here. I am just going to go in and take a look.” The idea of now having to leave her behind in a dark dank cave, after having had her lead the way through the dark dank cave, caused his stomach to churn with guilt. The fact remained though, this was the most logical conclusion, he had the ability to [Sneak], an ability that she did not have. He was banking on using that to quietly enter and get a clear idea of what was ahead of them, but it meant leaving a potential liability to stay back, hoping that nothing had followed them into the cave. She gave a nod in acknowledgement to her new role, something he had only just realized how thankful for he was, imagining Hina being in the position, and asking her to do these kinds of things made him sick.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
He crept forward, placing a hand on the softwood door, it was made of many long planks bound together, and with metal fittings throughout providing additional support. He gave it a soft nudge, feeling it the door give to the pressure of his touch. He concluded that the door itself was safe. He then reached up, grabbing onto the handle, and slowly, gently squeezing the latch. The soft sound of metal rubbing against wood echoed. He waited, and when he felt it was safe enough, he pulled the door open, bathing the dark cave in light.
Giving his eyes a moment to adjust to the illumination, he saw before him an empty room, full of burning candles. The floor was stone and dirty, there were stone altars throughout, with candles littering the room. Wax had seeped down to the floor from some of the candles that were still lit. Hot air rushed out into the cool cave, giving Alex a slight throbbing in his head. Ducking his head inside, he could not find a single person, or any signs of life.
He judged the room to be safe and signaled for Lili to join him. They entered together, and shut the door behind him. The new environment brought a sense of ease to the tension that had been building up in him. It was known that the humans had an innate fear of the darkness, and no matter how brave or fearless you may be, being bathed in true blackness for an extended period of time would start to play tricks on the mind and eventually break down a person. Light, being the opposition gave off a sense of hope and warmth, being able to break through the unknown, it was the classic good versus evil. It was a reality that for the first time in his life, he could admit to himself was true even in him.
After taking some time to rest both their mental and physical fatigue, Alex took a look around the room. Other than the candles that were laid out, there was nothing found on the altars. There were no marks, no books, no paraphernalia of any kind.
“So maybe not an active cult. Still though, someone had to of lit the candles relatively recently. Otherwise, they would have gone out.” He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something, or that his mind was actively avoiding the possibility he dreaded the most.
He continued looking around the room, and off in a side alcove, tucked away behind a false wall, there was another passage way. “Good, this isn’t a dead end.” He thought to himself. In truth what he was hopping for was that there was an escape passage to be found, one that let out further to the south, hopefully bypassing this area entirely.
“Lili.” He said, returning to the girl resting near the central altar. “Found a path, let’s keep pushing forward.” His eyes left her for a second, just long enough to peer back towards the door they had come through, his gut giving him a terrible feeling. “Come one. Let’s go.” He told her in a voice which masked the doubts he had.
Together the two walked a fair way, thankfully this tunnel seemed to carry light better than the main one did. While it was dim, his eyes could adjust well enough to make out silhouettes, and he didn’t have to rely on the sight of his companion, to the dismay of the other party. As they made their way through, they came towards the end of the tunnel which presented them with yet another door. This one was also wood but looked to be far to exquisite for a cave. It looked good enough to adorn any room, in any castle. It, like the other, was a panel of rich cedar that was carved lavishly, in the center there was a relief of a dragon, and on the dragon’s chest sat a silver cross.
“Why does this feel like a boss’s room?” It was a thought of annoyance. He had just somehow let fate drag him here. Regardless though, he was determined to open and face whatever was on the other side of it. IT, whatever IT may be, was better than having to turn around and having to face what was back the other way. He looked back at Lili, she was determination personified, and gave a nod in solidarity without Alex even having to ask her anything. Not wanting to let that go to waste, he took a deep breath, pressed the latch and entered.
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Part 3.
The room had sober lighting which bounced off the stone cave walls. Parts of the dirt floor were covered with different rugs, as if trying to mask the fact it was a cave. There were a few paintings on the wall, one of which was of a dark tower, rising up into the clouds, with cascading mountains in the background, dark clouds swirling overhead. Below that painting, as if to add to ominous feeling it exerted, was a pile of corpses, mummified and neatly stacked, as if they were cured cuts to save for a later date. There was a clacking sound, like the sounds one makes when opening a chest.
Alerted by the sound, Alex used his arm to push Lili behind him, taking a guarded stance. He had heard a sound but was still unable to pinpoint exactly where it had come from. [Inspect] had yet to inform him of any information, making him nervous. It was only just now apparent to him how much he relied on that skill, and when it wasn’t supplying him with the information he needed, it made him restless. But that was a problem for a different Alex, the Alex right now needed to focus on the situation at hand.
“Who goes there?” The voice was a loud whisper that carried throughout the room. The s sounded more like a lisp, as if the person speaking had a bad lisp. “Ansser me.” This time it sounded angry. Alex didn’t want to answer, he didn’t want to give away his position, he wanted to slowly and carefully make his way back towards the door and leave. He decided at that moment, he would rather face what he saw earlier. As disturbed as he was before, whatever exactly it was that was in front of him now, terrified him. He was more afraid than he had ever been. As he neared the exit, the door shut, and a clicking sound alerted him that it was locked.
He thought, I could use [Destroy] and clear it, but that isn’t the problem. The problem was that the door had closed right before they were going to use it, the problem was that regardless of how quiet he had been, whatever they woke up, knew where they were. Alex turned his head away from the shut door and back into the room, attempting to steal himself for whatever he saw. He could feel Lili’s body shaking behind him.
There, in the center of the room, draped in black, with pale skin, white eyes, blond hair, long ears and teeth, was a vampire. A real-life vampire, not a piece of literature, but a walking, talking smiling blood sucker. The aura that it was emitting through the room that of death.
“You’re a True Vampire.” Alex said coolly. He was trying to play down his nervousness, not just for Lili, and not just as a front to his new opponent, but also for himself. What he saw on the [Inspect] screen was a nightmare. Alex knew he was strong, probably stronger than any human in the world. However, Clavis Braun Sith, could definitely give him a run for his money. What made this situation even more challenging though, was the fact that Alex had to be careful, because it wasn’t just a 1 on 1 fight, it was 2 on 1, and that second person was a liability to him.
“Interssting. So, you can see thingss can you?” He hissed back. His eyes gleamed in delight at what he believed to be his next meal.
“You figure that a guy who has lived for over a thousand years would have found away to fix that lisp.” Alex shot back. The idea was to rile him up if possible and have him focus entire only Alex, allowing Alex to focus on him, and keeping Lili from harm.
“Hsss Hsss Hsss.” Chuckled the vampire. “It doessn’t matter. You won’t be around to care.” The vampire then began to slowly walk forward as if the opponent in front of him was nothing more than a small child. “Juss die for me!” It was a whisper that attacked the ears like a needle.
Believing his opponent to be focused solely on him, Alex didn’t wait any further. Unlike his opponent, he chose to get right to it. He launched himself forward at a speed that no human world normally be able to register, but this time his opponent was a vampire, a True Vampire. To elaborate this, with as fast as Alex launched forward, Clavis simply stepped to the side, a large sadistic smile painted across his face. Eye contact never once broke away.
Alex was no stranger to a fight, not in this world or the last. Back home he had been trained to fight, studying multiple different forms. While most opposition he found in the cage had been trained to fight for sport, he had taken a different approach. Often finding it harder to fight in a cage than anywhere else, as if one was fighting with a hand tied behind there back. It was something that had revealed itself in Shinjuku that night. Being able to fight freely, no rules, or judges to impress, unlocked something that was buried deep within him. That same thing he found surfacing in this fight too.
Before him was a powerful humanoid opponent, he was also in a younger and stronger body than what he had ever had access too back home. A smile to match Clavis’ creeped across his face. “Let’s do this blood sucker.” He thought.
[Create]. A long blade appeared in Alex’s hand, which he launched forward at his opponent. Only to be treated to the sight of the vampire effortlessly jumping up and finding a comfortable place to stand on the flat of the blade. Alex dropped it, and twisted himself, spinning into a heel kick at the space the vampire had been, only to feel the empty air.
Clavis now appeared on his right, with his hands outstretched, bearing claws in his direction. [Create]. A shield of pure silver appeared between them, first a thud sound, as eight thin indents appeared in it, only to then hear a sizzling sound, and a scream.
“That ability isss annoying ssss!” He screamed. The tips of his digits were still smoking. As he looked them over. For Clavis, this was the first time he had ever had a real opponent since his creation, over a thousand years ago, before the start of the first war, back in the days when humans where nothing but children still learning their place in the world. Or in the Hero wars, when great warriors from another realm had come to the aid of humanity, had he found an opponent like this. No, the other species wear weak, and relied on magic to make up for it, but Clavis felt no mana in what he did, so it wasn’t magic. “I don’t know how you do thisss.” He said pointing to the shield, “but I sink my lord would love to have you.”
“Even a True Vampire has someone above him. That is concerning.” Alex was honestly enjoying himself. Being able to move this way, even in the tight confines of the cave was exhilarating. Better yet, he had an opponent that should be able to take a few good hits, allowing him to experiment with his strength. The only issue proving to be landing the hit so far.
“How about we stop playing, and really go at it.” Alex said, confidently.
“No.” It was a curt reply, one that Alex found surprising. “I can’t fight fully. I have to bring to my masster.” Again, Alex found himself surprised that his opponent could keep such a cool collected head. For Alex as much as he may enjoy a good fight, it was still a fight for survival, but for Clavis, he was still looking down on him, as if he wasn’t a real opponent. Like an animal that simply needed to be trapped, caged, and hulled off to who knows where.
“Fine, your funeral.” He shot back, dejected by the rejection. Alex was annoyed at the response he got back. The fact that his opponent wouldn’t take it seriously was insulting, but at the same time was a major mistake that any skilled fighter new to avoid, never count your opponent out until they count themselves out.
Alex then burst forth again with renewed vigor and purpose. [Create] again, a silver short blade appearing in his right hand. He would bring down on his opponent’s throat, decapitating him, using that opportunity to try any methods he could think of to finish of a true vampire. He drew close, his opponent not even seeming to bother putting up a defense.
“No!” The voice of Lili rang out through the room. It was far to late for Alex to stop. It had happened at a speed that Alex’s eyes could barely see. Clavis turned on his heel, facing Alex, who was moving to fast for him to stop. Clavis lifted an arm. There was a warm sensation, but there was no immediate pain until Alex looked over, where his right arm used to be, there was no longer anything but a stump, shooting blood into the air.
What had appeared to be Clavis lifting his hand was actually him displacing air and it being launched forward like a sickle. It moved at a speed that had left it impossible to dodge. “I ssshould end thisss.” The vampire hissed with a sickeningly wicked smile.
From Lili’s point of view, the entire fight had seemed odd. She had only seen Alex really fight a handful of times, and the first time she was weak and malnourished. Every time he had fought though, it had been against monsters that lacked the intelligence of his current opponent, not to mention the raw power. She couldn’t see the stats like Alex could, but she didn’t need to, she had instincts given to her by her Beastly blood. She knew Clavis was dangerous, very dangerous.
At the start, Alex seemed to be doing okay, but it didn’t last long. After the shield incident, Clavi’s entire demeanor had seemed to change. He wasn’t looking at Alex like his next meal anymore, there was something else that was driving him, and that worried her. She had expected Alex to sense it, but instead it seemed to just drive Alex to want to fight more. When she realized what was about to happen, she screamed out for Alex, but it was too late. The next moment, Alex’s right arm was lying in the dirt, still clutching the silver sword.
Alex managed to lang on his feet, but whether it was shock, or he had given up, Lili had no way of knowing. A reality was coming over her, one where Alex would lose this and where their journey together would be over right as it began. Memories came back to her, memories of Kenzō and Tamamo. Memories of her home, memories of the fires, the sounds of blades, the screams in the night, the words spoken to her by her mother, before being dragged off into an unknown land by her new family. Memories of being on a ship, crossing a wide sea, the stormy weather that threatened to capsize them, the girls back in the city that she both loved and hated for their love of Alex. Finally, everything culminating to the smiling face Alex always showed her, the face that quieted her nightmares and brought her piece.
The fear of losing that peace was too much, “No.” she said. “No.” Louder this time. “NO!” she shrieked. It was like a howl, a scream that had no business coming out of such a small body. With it came wind from nowhere, electricity arching all along the walls. There was heat building up in the room and water was starting to drip more and more from the hanging stalactites. Even the earth seemed to be shaking.
Clavis could feel mana building up in the corner of the room, and when a looked over his shoulder away from his prey to investigate, a loud howl followed by wind and heat smacked his face. He had no idea what spell was being cast, but he knew for a fact that this buildup of mana was dangerous. He turned towards it, wanting to nip the bud before it could fully bloom.
Lili’s rage was explosive, but unfocused. What appeared to be a large Bagua symbol made attempts to materialize, but without the focus, every attempt ended in failure. The force it was producing though, made it difficult to walk, even for a being as powerful as Clavis. He found himself trudging forward, step by agonizing step, in an effort to reach the girl and end her.
With one magic not working, another seemed to activate itself, two orbs of blue fire emerged above Lili’s head and began to orbit her. When Calvis painstakingly reached a close proximity to her, the orbs shot forth, attacking the vampire. Wherever they touched him, they ignited that spot. Soon, his left arm and right leg where lit up, a mystic blue flame, which much to his dismay, refused to extinguish, cooked his skin. Even a vampire of over a thousand years could feel the pain of being cooked.
He continued to struggle under the pressure of the mana being released in the room, and the pain of the fox-fire cooking him. That was, until they all together, simply stopped. The pressure, the roasting, just stopped. He looked over at where the little girl stood, to see her face forward in the dirt. She had expended so much of her mana using her magic unfocused, that she had burned it all up, and passed out before it was all gone.
“You are too dangerousss.” He hissed vehemently. If she learned to focus and channel that magic effectively, she would be too much of a risk, he had no choice but to dispose of her now.
“Fuck you.” A voice came from behind, and a sharp piercing feeling was felt in his torso.
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Part 4.
Alex had come to during the commotion Lili had made. He was also affected by the pressure in the room, so he dropped down and crawled back to where his arm lay. Using [Manipulate] he quickly reattached it in an effort to stop the blood from pouring out. Taking the blade in his left hand and made for Clavis. Once the pressure had stopped, he lifted himself, a shoved the blade into his back, coming in at an angle and aiming for and piercing his heart.
With a “Fuck you” then a [Destroy], Alex destroyed Clavis’ heart. There was an immediate reaction, as Clavis’ body began to go limp, and shrivel up. He turned towards Alex, his eyes wide with surprise and fear, but he didn’t have the time for any parting words as he sunk down lifeless.
“Should have just done that from the start, my fault.” He grabbed for his right arm which hung at his side. Only now that the trouble had passed did the pain seem to register, and he too slump down to the ground. The desire to close his eyes and rest as the phantom pains of a reattached limb racked him, but he had priorities, and the first and foremost was the only reason he was currently alive. He looked towards the slumped over figure of Lili, lying motionless in the dirt.
He crawled his way back over to her, far too exhausted to stand. When he reached his goal, he held out a hand, touching her, feeling the warmth that only a living thing could produce and that coupled with the soft cooing sound of her adorable snores, did he feel relaxed enough to un-consentingly pass out. There the two of them slept in a foreign room full of corpses and next to the body of their now vanquished adversary.
After an unknown amount of time, Alex opened his eyes. The dimly lit room was comforting to the eyes, but not as much as the face staring back down at him. Her eyes, welling up with tears seeing her hero open his eyes, who also seemed to tear up at the realization of the situation they had just managed to come out of.
“Hey… hey… little one. None of that.” Alex said, lifting up his left hand to caress her face. “See, we made it through.” He said with a big smile.
“You… crying… too.” She said through her tears. “Scary.”
“Yeah. I know it was, but we are safe now.”
“You arm.” She replied, pointing down to the motionless and awkwardly lying right arm. He had no feeling in it currently, but it also didn’t hurt anymore. He just chalked it up as a silver lining.
“That is why I have two!” he said, waving his left hand vigorously. She didn’t seem all that entirely convinced. He lifted his head up off his lap and twisted around. He wrapped his legs around her, pulling her in, then his arm, bringing her close, and kissing her on the top of her head. “It is okay. What is most important is that we have our lives. As long as we have those, we have a future.”
She latched on to him, pulling in closer. Alex could feel wet spots forming on his chest.
“It’s okay. We are okay.” The reality was that the loss of his dominant arm was concerning, but an adult’s duty was to not show that, and make sure that she felt safe, he would fake whatever he had to, to make sure that she could keep going.
“What was that magic though!?” He said with excitement. “That was so cool!” Her display had no doubt saved their lives, and while he was worried about encroaching on anything she was to defensive about, the reality was that the cat was out of the bag now, or in her case, the lead-lined-box.
“I have no control.” She said. “I can’t do magic.” Two short and rather pointed statements.
“Then we find you someone that can teach you control. You have strong magic.” That was no lie, for her age and level, her magic, at least form the perspective of a human, was outstanding. “Maybe the Witch will be able to help you.” He suggested. Still no clear response, but it was the beginning of a plan.
“Now we just need to get out of here.” he said as he lifted himself up. The question now was how to get out of here. The spent a little time searching the room, first for an exit, second for anything eye catching. In the process of doing so, Alex found himself before the painting of the tower one more time. His attention was fully captivated by it. The clouds in the painting seemed to swirl around and the tower itself exuded a dark pressure that was drawing Alex in.
“-ex… ALEX” Lili’s voice waking him up from his standing dream. “Lever.” she said, pointing to a long handle off in a dark corner of the room. He walked over and yanked it. There was a hollow thudding sound, then a metallic release, as a door violently formed under Calvis body, causing it fall down, rattling all the way, finally ending with a soft thud.
“Guess we go down.” Was all Alex said in response. He took Lili’s hand in his, and together they walked down the stairs that had appeared in the room below into more of the unknown. When they eventually reached the landing that the corpse had smacked, the found that the stairs continued further after turning the corner. Eventually they came to a landing where they could see a light ahead of them.
With a second wind, they rushed forward, reaching for the hope that the light before them presented. As they crossed the threshold, and the warm rays bathed them, together they fell to their knees, exhaustion and joy overtaking every other feeling they had.
“ALEX!” came a loud voice from the shadows in the tree line. Out stepped Hanz. He was, for what Alex believed for the first time in his life, wearing a look of dread on his face. “Where did you two go?” he asked.
“To hell and back.” Alex shot back. “And where were you at?” Alex wasn’t sure where Hanz had been, and he already knew that he could not realistically provide actual support, but having another for advice or just their presence may have drastically changed how things had happened.
“I was here, out here, looking for you two.” His face was still full of concern, but also a bit of confusion. “I was watching you two from the shadows as you walked along the river’s edge, when all of the sudden you two vanished into thin air.” His voice had just the slightest touch of hysteria. “I combed the entire riverside looking for you. Eventually I noticed your return when you two came out of that mountain passage.”
“Shadow movement really helps you move fast, huh.” His statement made more sense than what they had just gone through, but the lingering annoyance at his absence, not fault of his own, persisted and he felt little interest in talking about it. That was until he remembered something. “Did you see it!?” Alex shouted.
“Saw what?” Hanz asked.
“Then you didn’t. If you had, you would know exactly what I am talking about.” Alex retreated back into his thoughts, trying to figure out their next step. Truth is, if Hanz hadn’t seen it, and they did only after having mysteriously disappeared, then what did that mean? “I can’t believe a monster like that exists… well a vampire did.” Alex’s thoughts were now leaking out.
“A VAMPIRE!?” cried Hanz.
“Yeah, a True Vampire, name Clavis Braun Sith. One hell of a customer.” Alex said, pointing to his limply hanging right arm. “Can’t feel it, can’t use it. Honest truth, lucky to have it after it was cut off.”
The look on Hanz’s face was one of disbelief. “Y-y-you killed it?” he asked stupidly.
“Yup, thanks to Lili. If not for her, we would both be dead.” Alex looked down at Lili, a smile crossing her face. She was no doubt happy to have been of help. “Now, I figure we need to find the Witch. If she is as great as Hordin made her to be, maybe she can fix my arm.”
Now as a complete company, they walked into the forest together. It was only a few hours before Alex unknowingly walked into an invisible solid wall with a hard thud.
“What the?” he said, with his left hand now firmly placed on the structure blocking his path.
“That is close enough. Why are you here?” came a disembodied female voice, from the direction in front of them.
“We are looking for the Witch of the North Woods.” Alex responded.
“Is that what they are calling me now?” it replied.