In Chase's unconscious state, he started to feel hot. His discomfort across his body was enough to jolt him awake. He looked around to see if a fire had broken out but saw no signs of one. The air smelt normal enough for a medical room, and he saw no hint of smoke.
He didn't recognize the room, which meant he wasn't in Manaus anymore. Shadow Fang's group must have left after the scroll was retrieved. Beside his bed was Bre, startled by Chase's sudden wake-up. Her eyes were red from crying, which infuriated Chase. He wanted to cheer her up but needed to establish the current situation.
"Where are we?" he asked gently.
"Wiltshire, England," she replied. She didn't sound like she was crying recently.
"England? I didn't think dryads could cross oceans."
"They can't. You remember how we got to Manaus, right?"
Of all the things Chase forgot about, the portals at Shadow Fang's disposal were the least impressive. They could only send a handful of people at a time to a marked location. Nothing compared to portal gates that could send armies across dimensions. In all fairness, such structures couldn't be hidden, which would work against the most substantial advantage the militia had in their operation: the element of secrecy. But what were they doing in Wiltshire?
"Are you ok?" asked Chase. The finer details of what was happening could wait.
"John is dead."
"What!? Did Joe's group kill him?"
"It was Shadow Fang. I was concerned for your health after you were encased in rock. Then, all of a sudden, the rocks broke apart, and you were free. The doctors said you seemed fine, but they didn't know what was happening with you. I tried talking to Shadow Fang about it, but he attacked us out of irritation."
Chase didn't trust Shadow Fang, but he seemed reasonable to be forced to work with. Had things gotten that bad to break the vampire's composure? Even then, this was unacceptable. Chase continued to do as the vampire said, partly because of Shadow Fang's reasonable nature.
As for the part about lava rocks, Chase wasn't sure what to make of the idea. It could have been a sign that he had gotten supernaturally stronger. After all, Chase didn't feel tired, nor was there a hint of soreness. His body was hot, but not only was he not bothered by the heat, but he could manipulate it seamlessly, unlike before.
Beside Chase's bed was the sword he took from the Amazon pyramid. He had managed to bond with the weapon in the heat of the battle, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing. Was it cursed? Could it be because he touched it, he was experiencing such misfortune? Or was his renewed vigor only possible because of the sword?
Even if the weapon was cursed, Chase could only blame himself. If he hadn't accepted Shadow Fang's offer, at least his friend could have died in his home county. If Chase had been stronger back then, he might have declined and fought off the vampire. But he wasn't as weak as he was before. Chase got out of the bed, grabbed the sword, and made his way out of the room.
At least, he would have left the room if Bre didn't stop him from getting off the bed in the first place.
"Where are you going?" she asked frantically, holding down her boyfriend as best she could. His temperature was almost average, which gave Bre at least one thing to be grateful for.
"To avenge John by killing Shadow Fang," Chase was blunt and confident. Even though Chase felt like he overexerted himself in his last fight with Joe, it felt like an even fight. Now, Chase felt more in control of his body's temperature than back then. He didn't know what changed, and it didn't matter.
"You just woke up, and you want to fight the leader of a militia?"
"He is no leader. He's a scared man hiding behind an army. He's only the leader because he's the only person who can speak to the 'One who could Rival the Blue Dragon.'" Chase knew enough about the Blue Dragon to get by. The first dragon to be born, the creator of Skyland, and bonded to the current king of Skyland. This Rival must be as strong and could easily find a replacement if needed.
"He's still a vampire with a strange daemon arm, and you just woke up," Bre tried to push Chase back into a resting position while emphasizing the latter part of her statement.
Chase pushed back and eventually stood up. It was enough to force Bre to stand as the chair she was sitting on toppled.
"You want me to rest after our friend was murdered?" Chase asked. He struggled to keep his angry voice down. Bre was worried about him and wanted to keep him from doing something stupid, but Chase was overwhelmed by the thought that his girlfriend didn't believe him.
"I don't want you to die like he did."
"What makes you think I will?"
You're not strong enough, was what Bre wanted to say. Even with Chase's new powers, even after fighting Silver and living to tell about it, Bre was not convinced that her boyfriend was strong enough to pick a fight with everyone and win.
"You passed out after fighting Silver," she began gently. "We don't know your limits or what has happened to you since then. You're not ready."
"...Then what should we do?"
"We can leave using the portal doors that brought us here."
"I can't just leave. Not after everything that they did to me."
"Doesn't mean they own you. What can they do to us if we leave now?"
A heavy lump grew in Chase's stomach. Bre's plan was unpolished, but she was right. The militia was preoccupied with preparing for whatever they needed the scroll for. The portal doors would be the least guarded since they could only be accessed by those in the group. With Silver/Joe aware of what was happening, the militia would focus on speedy production rather than bulking up defenses since there was little they had to stop Silver and whatever backing he received from Skyland. The only benefit Chase would offer would be to slow Joe down, offering the militia's spellcasters a few minutes in the worst case.
Chase could leave, but he didn't want to.
"I never told you what it was like, the procedures," said Chase through gritted teeth. "When I was awake, my blood was like boiling water, and my organs bounced around my skeleton. I can still taste my blood as if my tongue was coated in copper. I begged the nurses to feed me ice instead of water at room temperature, but I was always denied.
Then I saw Joe again. When I heard his scream of pain when I used my new powers, it was like we were back in the forest. Satisfying. All that I suffered through was worth it. Finally! Now, one of my own is killed, and, this time, I can do something about it. I can change our world for the better. I can kill Shadow Fang! But you want to run away?"
Chase's temperature grew, but it wasn't as unbearable as before. It was different, but not in the same way when he would catch a sickness. It was akin to growing a foot taller. A natural change.
Chase made his way to the door, gripping his weapon tighter.
Bre was motionless, heartbroken, and horrified. After everything Chase had been through, he had found himself on a higher tier of play than where he was when they were just students at a school. Bre loved the status of being a track star's girlfriend, but it was temporary. She understood well enough that one day she would just be a lowly leatherback in a world of monsters and ascendiets. At least she would still have her crew.
That's what she thought, but they were slipping from her grasp one by one in ways she both couldn't imagine and somewhat expected.
Chase stood at the door to think of something to say. He had no intention of dying, but if this was the last time he would be able to speak to Bre, he wanted his last words to her to be somewhat pleasant.
"I can't leave but won't force you to stay. Take everyone home. The militia shouldn't have any reason to follow you so long as they have me."
I'll make a better world for all of us, he silently promised. After that, he bolted down the halls, leaving Bre to mourn for the life they could have had.
---------------
Shadow Fang was growing more nervous by the hour. Throughout his life, he rarely ventured far from North America, his birthplace. With his immortal life, Shadow Fang could not wait to explore the world when there was so much to discover on his continent. He preferred to be able to walk somewhere rather than having to rely on something or someone else to get somewhere.
His facility was surrounded by trees and thorny vines created by the druids. This was their most important base since it was about a mile from Stonehenge, the Red Dragon's prison. If they had put the facility any closer, it could have drawn unnecessary suspicion and prompted an investigation from local authorities or, worse, The Order of the Eye. Now that the scroll was in the militia's hands, preparations would be made to alert those Watchful Eyes and draw them to the strange activities. If not handled correctly, the Order could easily find said facility.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Shadow Fang needed Dina revived now more than ever, but he was being denied by the doctor who worked on Chase and was the leading expert on the Silver Challenger Project.
"We don't have the resources to bring your ghoul back to life," proclaimed the short, long-eared doctor. "We put the last of what we made from the Silver Challenger notes into Chase. We would need a few more months--"
"I don't have months," Shadow Fang snapped, making the small creature shrivel in fear. "We don't have months. With the dryad in his custody, Silver can figure out what we are doing and find his way here."
"Why give her up if you knew that was a possibility?"
"I thought Silver would kill her. Wasn't expecting the White Haired Huntress to be working with him either."
"Regardless, even with the resources, every spellcaster within the England base works tirelessly to decipher the scroll and muster the power to cast the spell. The most I can do is transfer the heart to another body, but I can't think of anyone who could handle that infusion of power."
Constructed monsters, such as zombies, animated armaments, and elementals, gain their false lives through magic being poured into them. The more magic they receive, the stronger they get, and the magic can either be from the caster that created them or the world around them. However, the magic has to be stored somewhere since constructed monsters don't have souls. Where some end up creating artificial souls that dissolve upon the creature's death, those like Dina stored the magic in points of interest like a piece of paper that activates a golem, a painted symbol for armaments, and the heart for zombies.
Notably, Dina was augmented through the Silver Challenger Project, which increased the magical energy stored in her heart. While not a pure soul, the heart had enough power to disintegrate anyone who would try to absorb it if their bodies weren't built to handle the instant infusion. The power transfer was feasible in small doses, but time was still problematic.
Shadow Fang sniffed the air suddenly as if he was about to sneeze. A new, peculiar scent was in the air. The vampire couldn't determine if it was burning flesh or melting bronze. Before he could come to a consensus on the smell and whether it was weird that he was smelling it, a dim orange light caught the corner of his eye. As he turned to see what was coming, his dark arm morphed into tendrils to block the hot, glowing macuahuitl that Chase was now using.
The leatherback did not let up, using his speed to maneuver to the back of Shadow Fang, only to be stopped by the arm again. Chase increased his attack speed, starting to outpace the arm's reaction time. Leatherbacks were terrible at making sharp or sudden turns once they reached a certain speed, meaning that Chase had to stay close as his speed increased. This would have been a problem for Chase if not for his body and weapon radiating enough heat to burn Shadow Fang if he tried to touch the leatherback. The dark arm was the best counter since it didn't feel pain, but a counterattack would risk opening the vampire up for a successful hit.
Shadow Fang dodged backward just as the glowing sword got through his defense. The hot blade effortlessly cut through the vampire's shirt and skin. The skin wasn't cut deeply, but it felt like it was boiling as burn scars and boils formed where the blade managed to reach. Such a wound would take time to heal.
Shadow Fang was standing on the ceiling like a gecko, a vampiric trick he learned a decade ago. Ever since he received his dark arm, the ability to fly wasn't as enticing as before, meaning he had time to master this technique.
"Get down from there and fight me!" yelled Chase. Armed militia members started to flood into the room after seeing Chase run in. Shadow Fang halted them with a single-hand jester.
"I'd rather talk," Shadow Fang said calmly. His was hanging off of his one arm, revealing the dark mark pulsating like a breathing animal. It looked like ink was spilled on the vampire's side where his missing arm was, but everyone knew it was just his dark arm compacted and ready for use. "Wasn't expecting you to wake up so soon."
"I bet you thought you had more time to revel in killing my friend as well."
The long-eared doctor looked up at Shadow Fang with horror. Was she surprised by the revelation? Chase understood her confusion. Now, there was no telling if Shadow Fang would do it again or who he would attack next. Chase was not going to give the vampire another chance to try.
"I had a headache, and your girlfriend wasn't helping."
"Is that supposed to justify yourself?!"
"It's what happened. Now you want vengeance, I take it?"
"I'm here for justice."
Shadow Fang snickered at the word "justice." "You have no idea how often I've heard that, and I have yet to see this 'justice.' What makes you think you can do what others have failed to do before?"
"You gave me the power to fight Silver. Now that power is going to be used to kill you."
The lights began to flicker as Shadow Fang's face twisted with annoyance. "You still don't get it. But if you think that power is enough to kill me--" Amongst the flickering of the lights, he managed to remove himself from the ceiling but was nowhere to be seen. Then, an intrusive whisper entered Chase's ear as Shadow Fang continued his statement. "--them show me what you're MADE OF!"
Chase was shoved through a wall as the whisper turned into a scream. The dark arm did most of the work in the demolition, but Chase was no less rattled now lying in a grass field under the afternoon sun. The cloud cover was sparse, and Chase was a good ways away from the building he had been pushed out of. Shadow Fang made a mistake.
No, this wasn't a mistake. The vampire was disadvantaged, but Chase remembered how the vampire took care not to step in sunlight. Unless Shadow Fang's 100th year of being a vampire was recent, he should still be deadly allergic to sunlight.
Shadow Fang walked confidently towards Chase from the hole in the wall, but he removed his torn shirt to reveal that every part of his exposed skin was covered by the malleable form of the dark arm. If Chase understood the powers of the arm correctly, this meant that Shadow Fang didn't have access to the ability where the arm could increase in size and grab people. However, if his whole body was covered by the arm, then Chase would have a hard time cutting the vampire.
Shadow Fang continued the fight by rushing at Chase, all while cackling like a deranged lunatic. Chase increased his body temperature, and the sword did the same. Shadow Fang was fast but slower than Chase. Chase ran to meet the vampire and prepared to slash at the neck while staying on the side of Shadow Fang's missing arm.
In seconds, both fighters were inches from clashing with each other, and, at that moment, Shadow Fang sidestepped so that his excellent arm could reach Chase. Three curved and black claws sprung from the top of Shadow Fang's hands, and he used Chase's momentum to rake them across his sides.
The cuts were cauterized as soon as they were formed. Unlike the other times this happened, Chase didn't feel pain from the cauterization but relief. He wasn't healing and knew this would only work as fast for minor wounds.
Chase extended his claw to stop himself by stabbing the ground, leaving dead grass where his claws met the ground.
Shadow Fang was slower, but he had a better reaction than Leatherbacks. Shadow Fang was on the back foot last time because of the surprise factor.
The fight continued, and Chase tried to get close to Shadow Fang without getting hit. Shadow Fang would morph his arms into weapons like long swords, axes, and elbow spikes. Every so often, the vampire could feel the odd resistance of Chase's skin but could never go deep enough.
Chase started to notice that the length of the weapons Shadow Fang could create was shorter than the vampire's arm's length. Chase felt less resistance on the other side of his opponent's body if the weapon was too long or complex. Was this his win condition? He might get through the inky armor if he time it right and strike hard enough.
Chase started to slow down to average human speeds. The exact speed he used when running track. Chase pretended to be out of breath and twisted his face to make it look like he was in pain. He was in pain; he just had to show it.
Shadow Fang wasted no time creating a sword long enough to pierce the heart of the leatherback. He licked his fangs as he bolted straight towards Chase. Shadow Fang's bloodlust made him so elated that he didn't notice how calm Chase stood in place. Chase tried to dodge out of the way at the last second but missed the timing. The blade pierced his shoulder but missed his heart. The area around the blade cauterized faster than Shadow Fang realized, and the blade became stuck in the strange body of the leatherback.
Chase used that moment of shock to pore what power he had left into the sword and swung as hard as he could at Shadow Fang's side. The vampire screeched in pain. The blade managed to touch the flesh of Shadow Fang. When Chase could smell the skin burn, he pulled the blade back, allowing the saw edges to rip deeper into the body. The cut was deep enough to almost reach Shadow Fang's spin, and the sunlight touched what skin was exposed, causing more damage to the vampire.
Unfortunately, this worked against Chase, and the blade embedded in his shoulder was violently ripped out. Molten blood spewed out of his shoulder, leaving an uneven hole that was slowly closing up.
With the blade free, the dark material covered the part of Shadow Fang that was exposed, and with a simple fist, he punched Chase in the gut hard enough for air to suddenly escape the leatherback's lungs. Chase flopped to the ground, and dark spots peppered his vision.
Shadow Fang used his foot to roll Chase on his back and kicked the macuahuitl away from reach. Although he was in pain and the damages weren't healing, Shadow Fang smiled with his fangs glistening in the light. Once he was sure Chase would be able to hear correctly, he began to speak as if he was giving a lecture.
"You are a marvelous prodigy. In terms of growth over a short time, you should be proud of what you managed to do to me. But you said you could kill me. I thought of you with one arm in the sunlight and limited access to my daemon arm's abilities. This was the best you could do before falling on your back." Shadow Fang traced his fingers over the cut on his side.
Chase was out of breath, and the Shadow Fang's foot on his chest didn't make breathing easier. Heavier still was the feeling of shame and despair. What seemed like the whole militia was staring at his broken body as Shadow Fang mocked him.
Joe's blood body in the middle of the woods stood out to Chase. Was this how Joe felt?
"Your watery eyes betray you," Shadow Fang said softly but not kindly when he pointed out the tears forming in Chase's eyes. The leatherback didn't realize he was on the verge of crying. "Do you understand now how weak you are compared to Silver?"
Chase's voice was a whisper and cracked as he tried to push the words out through his tight throat. "Yes."
If you had time to train, you may have stood an actual chance. We are out of time. You need more power. That's what you want?"
"Yes."
Shadow Fang's smile revealed every tooth in his mouth, and he turned towards the doctor. Her wide eyes and trembling hands told the vampire she knew precisely what he wanted to do next.
---------------
Crucible did as Raya commanded: report that someone or something was following Shadow Fang. Since then, he waited for Raya to contact him or the higher-ups to give him something else to do. While he wasn't expecting a new mission since he rarely received any, he was nervous as days passed with nothing from Raya.
She wasn't dead. Captured, maybe. Raya was too seasoned of a veteran for such a thing to happen to her unless it was intentional. Once his nerves got the better of him, Crucible contacted his superiors. Last they knew, Raya was on a plane to South America and was last seen going into the Amazon Rainforest from the north. Some notable activity involving the Amazonians of that region was reported in Manaus when Raya was seen there. After that, she disappeared.
The Order of the Eye remained watchful of Manaus and were rewarded with more strange activity. This time, an unidentified faction moved onto the Amazonian territory with a level of authority that had no apparent reason behind it. Not long after, people in Wiltshire, England, noticed strange things around Stonehenge. Strange trees around the monument grew alarmingly, and people started spreading rumors that odd movements could be seen.
Lower-ranked members of the Order were sent to investigate, and Crucible was ordered to go and deal with whatever was happening. Despite nothing being confirmed, it stood to reason that he would be sent whenever old monuments had strange things happen around them.
Crucible was halfway across the Atlantic in a private plane. He was joined by five other members of the Order. They were all awakened ascendeits, though Crucible didn't care to ask what each one could do. What stood out to him was that they were all ascendeits, and the Order would send so many. It made sense, but it meant the Order took this very seriously. This was only the amount accompanying Crucible. No telling the amount that he would meet up with in England.
And what of Raya?