The Hall of Trial was not particularly a bright location, and as the hours passed the hall was getting darker and darker. The four had been in that place for so long that the light that came from the upper layers of Sanctum was not enough to see the shadow creature approaching them.

Viktoria quickly grabbed one of the torches that hung from the pillar in its vicinity and raised it as far as she could in the dark. The more the torch was raised, the more visibility the group had over its surroundings. Jin's trembling fingers pointed towards the east of the Hall of Trial, the direction from which he would have heard whispers just moments ago.

And then they saw ...

Aside from the fangs, the pale and youthful hue of the skin was its most famous feature, sung in taverns and romanticized in poems for many years. But that couldn't be further from the grotesque reality before them. Her skin didn't look smooth and youthful as sung. On contrary. She was covered in wrinkles and her skin looked more like rubber. Aged and distorted over the span of centuries. Her skeletal body was similar to someone who hadn't eaten in weeks. Her frail and sick body was covered only by a dirty nightgown. Her nails looked more like claws that were so big and sharp that they resembled an animal creature. The black hair that fell to the waist hid its face. As if the creature before them was entirely guided by the heartbeats, that for her, may have echoed through the cold hall ticking like clocks.

Drawing their swords made of steel, Jin and Tristan positioned themselves facing the creature before them who walked slowly until an arrow shot interrupted its march by piercing the ground.

“Please don’t come near us or we’ll have to hurt you!” Cried Eliza, holding a bow and arrow. Shooting it right away towards it, the arrow pierced inches from the creature's feet as if marking the border for the start of the battle. Eliza as a diplomat would always give the opportunity for negotiation, even when it came to dark creatures such as vampires. A warning shot.

However it was a futile attempt, there was no way to reason with a bloodthirsty being. Any kind of communicative ability that this being could have had in the past has long been withered away by its hunger. Now all that was left was a shell of the original being with only animalistic instincts, their mind consumed by the hope of consuming blood once more.

Showing superhuman agility, the creature dashed towards its meal.

Dodging horizontal and lateral cuts of the two boys' blades, Tristan took a kick in the chest that made him be thrown with his back on a pillar far across the room. Cracks followed the blow, quickly spreading over his muscle cuirass.

"If it weren't for my reinforced armor, I would have had my ribs broken with just that blow."

Those were Tristan’s last thoughts before he lost consciousness. Firing arrows quickly was Eliza, two of whom hit the target in the back. However, despite having the arrows of the archer hanging from her body, it showed no sign of stopping.

"She isn’t slowing down?!"

Fear grew tenfold inside Eliza when she realized that her arrows only irritated her more and more. Each attack made by Jin also did not have the expected effect. Each time he was lucky enough to hit the body of the creature, the cut did not last long. Healed in a matter of seconds as if nothing had happened.

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And it was then that Eliza had the brilliant idea of combining her newly awakened powers of wind with her mastery with the bow. She was quick to give voice to the magic words, while focusing all her vital energy on her bow.

『“Genos - Give me strength.” 』

Eliza's bow began to take on a different shape as if the girl's thoughts and desires materialized in reality. Stretching in width and length, her bow began to stretch so much that it was physically impossible for a girl of that size to continue to hold it. But for Eliza, that bow now weighed less than a feather.

For anyone witnessing the scene, it was as if the impossible was happening before them.

『Genos - Nail Shot』

At that moment the arrow was fired with such speed that the projectile seemed to ignore any kind of air resistance. As if the Elemental God of the Wind himself, Genos had given his blessing for Eliza's special attack. The arrow flew over the Hall of Trial and was accurate in the chest of the bloodthirsty creature. The force of the impact on its skeletal body was so great that it hurled the creature while the projectile made its way through the hall.

The creature was pierced and hung on the wall, impaled like an animal. Trying to squirm and move like a fish out of the water, the arrow acted like a nail trapping the foul creature against its will in a state of endless agony. The eyes of Jin's jumped with what had happened before him. That was the elemental power, which his father Alaric, his brother Vendrick and now Eliza were able to summon in battle.

“That was incredible!” Exclaimed Jin.

Ignoring her partner's praise, the blonde girl knelt and tried to catch her breath. Her exhaustion was noticed by Jin at each time she panted. Eliza was already beginning to feel the adverse effects of using a special attack of that caliber on her body. She felt like a headache that was impossible to ignore had just hit her, the pain pulsing over her skull as if her head was about to explode.

"Don’t mind me guys, I’m just feeling a little dizzy." Said Eliza, failing terribly to hide her lack of energy.

"Jin and Viktoria, please go assist Tristan, he may be wounded!"

"I'll be right behind you two." She assured the duo by using her bow as a cane to keep her balance.

"We need to help Tristan, and fast," Viktoria said promptly running towards the unconscious boy.

Jin nodded and immediately went on to assist Tristan along with Eliza.

Running as fast as they could, the young pair found themselves in front of Tristan. Knocked out and still leaning against the wall, his condition was alarming. Judging by the state of the wall, which had cracks that outlined the shape of the boy's body, the impact had been very strong. Jin, trying to make himself useful in a situation he had never seen anything like before, started snapping his fingers trying to get Tristan's attention.

“Tristan! Hey! Wake up!”

"Please tell me you are still breathing!" He insisted on waiting for an answer from his unconscious friend. Unsuccessfully.

"Excuse me Jin, can you please give us some space?" Viktoria bent down beside Tristan and pressed two fingers on his neck checking for a pulse. Thump Thump ... Thump Thump ...

"His heart is beating." Said Viktoria, a half-smile showing.

The girl promptly started to untie the boy's cracked armor to check for any signs of cuts or wounds that could be fatal. Removing the clothes from Tristan's torso, it was possible to determine that he had nothing more than superficial scratches from the outside.

However, Viktoria remained concerned, her knowledge of medicine was not so great but she knew that the possibility of some internal bleeding still existed. Especially for the case of Tristan, who had been thrown by a kick from a dark creature that possessed superhuman strength.

"We need to get him out of here fast and seek medical help on the upper levels of Sanctum." Said Viktoria, while slapping Tristan in the face, trying to wake him up. Slowly his eyes began to open, disoriented, and looking around as if he had lost track of the time he was knocked out.

Tristan tried to warn the girl ahead of him, but the fear was so high that the words needed escaped his mind during that crucial moment. If they were lucky his stutter would be enough. Tristan’s lips moved but the sound came out with great difficulty, he could feel the taste of iron on the tip of his tongue.

Viktoria brought his right ear close to the boy's mouth. She could faintly make out what was being said…

"Be .... Be .... Behin ..Behind you!"

“— —!!!”