The vampire staggered and took a few steps back. He reached out with his hand to the blade sticking out in the skull, but Anya had already pulled it out and inflicted another puncture wound, piercing the head just above the ear. With a muffled groan, Victor took a few more steps and fell to his knee, parrying Klein's attack. However, he was unable to repel the attack of the incredibly powerful werewolf, and Larkar, who occupied the girl’s body, tore out the vampire’s heart with a powerful blow of his claws, breaking his chest. With a victorious howl, the werewolf raised his heart above himself and crushed it, washing himself in the pouring blood.
- Finally. – Klein sighed with fatigue, relaxing a little. - It was incredibly long...
Anya, meanwhile, to be completely confident of victory, cut off the head of the undead and put it away from his body. Klein didn't particularly like the sight, but he understood her concerns. Although no one, not even vampires, could live without a heart. He turned to her:
- Do you have something to wake up the others?
The assassin did not have time to answer. Only an instant reaction and heightened senses saved her from instant death, forcing her to duck. And a moment later, the werewolf's claws cut through the air where the girl's head was. She rolled, dodging the repeated attack, and, breaking the distance, looked coldly at the monster.
- Apparently, not everything is over yet. It's time to put one puppy to sleep.
She grabbed the dagger more comfortably and took a few steps back, into a darker corner, not taking her eyes off the new enemy. However, Klein grabbed her hand and cried out in concern:
- Hey, what are you going to do!?
- M? Kill the monster, of course. Moron.
- This is not a monster, - the paladin answered angrily, looking into the girl’s eyes, - this is Isabella! She is our friend!
- Yeah, and what do you propose to do, genius? Let her kill us?
- She wouldn't...
The next second, Klein had to defend himself from the furious attack of Larkar, who no longer had to fear the threat from the vampire. He went on the defensive, completely concentrating on the claws and teeth of the creature. Anya, who was no longer held by the hand, had already disappeared somewhere in the shadows, looking for a moment to attack. The young man understood that if he did not want to let his friends kill each other, he had to end this somehow, and as quickly as possible. But he didn't know how. And there was not much opportunity to think, all his attention went to self-defense. So, he shouted into the void in despair:
- Anya! Do not dare! Give me time, please! I can get her back!
The answer was only silence, cut only by an animal growl and the sound of claws hitting steel. Desperate, Klein decided to take the most obvious route.
- Isabella! Do you hear me? Please stop! I'm going to die now, damn it!
The sound of rolling dice was heard in the young man's head. Charisma check. And it failed, showing only the pitiful number “7”. Despite this, however, Klein was encouraged. After all, this means that he had a chance to reach the Druid’s consciousness with a simple cry! Even if it didn’t work out right now, but by rolling the dice over and over again, you can sooner or later get the desired number!
And the paladin continued. He defended himself and shouted without attacking in return. More and more cuts appeared on him, but thanks to the considerable strength and experience of the young man, they were not mortally dangerous. The fight continued and Klein screamed. And at some point, he succeeded. Isabella, floating in the emptiness of her mind, heard the guy. Her mind cleared, and the girl instantly used [Calm], causing Larkar's spirit to move, ceding some control back to Isabella. The werewolf began to gradually decrease in size, clutching his head.
But only a little. The furious, hungry gaze again turned to Klein, and the paw began to attack when another cast of [Calm] did not disturb the spirit’s thoughts. Isabella was no longer the simple little girl she had been almost a decade ago. She devoted years to training in the skills of the Druids, and was able to at least partially suppress her bestial nature.
- Yes! – Klein shouted, encouraging his friend. - Come on, you can do it, just a little more!
The beast grabbed its head again, shaking it as if trying to drive out the original owner of the body. He began to whine, wagging his tail erratically. Calm and reasonable eyes, instead of wild and hungry ones, looked at Klein, and at that moment a blade appeared from the werewolf’s chest, piercing him right through.
- What?.. – The paladin was taken aback.
A tall, pale figure appeared from behind the werewolf. His blood-red blade absorbed the blood flowing abundantly from Isabella and healed its owner. It was no longer possible to say that someone had cut off his head no more than ten minutes ago. The wound healed, and Victor, alive again, standing in all his glory, pulled the sword out of the werewolf’s chest, and he collapsed to the floor. Klein checked his neck. The Necklace of Clarity still hung on her. What he saw was not an illusion.
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- It's a pity, I was hoping that you would kill each other. I had to intervene myself, you know...
The vampire's words were interrupted by another blow from Anya, who struck the first cervical vertebra, knocking it out of its position. The girl, frowning, struck several more blows: she cut the flesh between the vertebras in the chest area, and plunged the steel into the armpit of the undead. Unsatisfied, she deftly jumped back, avoiding the boss's retaliatory blow. The girl shared her observation:
- I strike, but I don’t feel at all like I’m causing harm.
- He has the Immortality skill... – Klein remembered. – I’m not sure that he can be killed by conventional means...
- And what will we do?
- I don't know yet. Let's continue, maybe he has a limit.
Distracted by the conversation, Klein did not have time to react to the suddenly approaching vampire. He put all his strength into this jerk, finding himself next to the man. The young man began to raise his shield in fear, retreating back, but he was too slow. The vampire lord's sword scratched the skin around the guy's neck, causing little damage.
However, the goal of the attack was achieved. He tore off the necklace that protected Klein from mental magic. And the guy instantly felt the changes. Something suddenly began to put pressure on his mind, interfering with his thoughts, confusing them. Someone else's voice appeared in the head, distracting him, preventing him from concentrating, and the vision became a little blurry. “Damn it, this is what everyone has been feeling all this time!?”, Klein was horrified.
- Well, now it’s time to finally start in earnest. – Victor smiled predatorily, throwing off the mask of a noble aristocrat, revealing his fangs and his bestial, bloodthirsty nature. – [Illusion], [Minor Illusion]
Nothing around has changed. And that's what scared Klein. If he couldn't notice what happened, then he won't understand what the difference is between reality and this illusion... Lord, he hasn't even seen the illusion yet, but he already understands what problematic enemies illusionists are. Disgusting school of magic.
The paladin engaged in close combat with the smiling vampire, exchanging blows with him. The young man carefully observed any detail, any discrepancy, in order to understand where reality ends and illusion begins.
- Kha! – The guy sighed sharply.
He looked in surprise at the puncture wound that appeared out of nowhere in his side. Klein was confident that he had parried the final blow. And right now he saw all of Victor and his sword extremely clearly. He couldn't touch the paladin's body!
- [Minor Illusion]
The battle continued, and soon, Klein received another serious wound. After taking a few steps back and casting [Healing] on himself, he realized what had happened.
-You created the illusion of your hand!
- Oh yeah. - The vampire answered smugly, demonstrating how it works. The spell has expired, revealing the truth. Suddenly, the vampire's hand holding the sword disappeared into thin air, revealing to the world her true position in a completely different place. With magic, Victor hid the true position of his hand, creating a fake instead. And when the victim tried to block the non-existent illusory hand, the real one struck from the other side.
- And also, - Victor continued, - I created an illusory copy of myself a little to the side.
- But I don’t see her. – Klein frowned.
- So it’s not for you.
And Anya appeared from the darkness, with murderous intent launching an attack that should have, if not finished off, then severely wounded the vampire. However, she appeared about four meters from the monster’s true position. He cast an illusion on the girl, showing that he was in another place, forcing the assassin to come out of hiding. And he succeeded.
With a bloodthirsty, gleeful grin, the dungeon master rushed towards Anya, delivering his own final blow. And at that moment, a massive wolf-like figure stood in his way, attacking the boss. He managed to dodge, but Klein, taking advantage of the moment, used his own miracle:
- [Light Beam]!
The light pierced the vampire, scorching him, vaporizing his flesh. Seriously wounded by this attack, Victor took a few steps back, looking at the three opponents in front of him. He became serious, realizing that he would not be able to finish quickly.
- Well, then I’ll just chop you all up and drink you.
----------------------------------------
The battle went on for a long time. Klein was almost exhausted. Anya stood to the side, breathing heavily, drinking her fourth stamina potion. With her Vitality stat, a battle of attrition was her worst nightmare. Only Isabella could continue the battle as if nothing had happened, furiously pressing on the enemy.
They had already inflicted life-threatening injuries on the vampire many times. Incompatible even for the undead. However, the beast was not going to die, constantly restoring its own health by stealing the blood of his enemies.
The battle went on, and Victor lost over and over again, but could not lose completely, exhausting the strength of his opponents. Any wounds that were inflicted on him were immediately healed. Any wounds the adventurers received could not be healed so quickly. Yes, people drank Anya’s healing potions, but they only accelerated regeneration, which even so could not cope with the volume of injuries. And on top of that, the boss's cursed sword was preventing the wounds inflicted from healing, making the situation even worse.
And the vampire spun like a clockwork. He did not lose strength, did not lose health. He struck one after another. Granted, not all of them hit the target, but those that did damage more than covered the damage inflicted on the vampire himself. What's worse, the cursed undead had the [Memory Reading] skill. And he actively used it, constantly talking during the battle. He pressed the adventurers on sore points, telling continuous stories about how little chance they had of getting out of here alive. The voice in the head actively helped, adding fuel to the fire and driving crazy.
- Shut up already! [Light Beam]! – Klein caught the moment when he saw that Isabella had driven Victor into a corner.
The miracle began to burn the vampire's flesh under his cry of agony. Piece by piece of flesh fell away from his lifeless body, struck by the holy light. Until the light stopped. And the boss smiled triumphantly, seeing Klein’s tired, desperate face. The vampire spoke predatorily:
- It seems you have lost your last chance to win, kids. I see your mana. My monocle is an artifact that shows the magical power and reserve of magic of those around me. And yours, my dear paladin, is at zero. You can't harm me anymore. You lose! I didn’t live these centuries just to die here, like this!
Klein lowered his head sadly. Victor's verbal attacks worked. They worked because he told the truth.