After so long, the time for final cleanup had finally arrived.
Those words repeated in the eldest son's head for a long time, as they came from the mouths of those who were always by his side.
Now that they had captured the last remaining member of the Von Legurn royalty, the family could put an end to Vast Los Filho as soon as Eduardo allowed them to do so.
"How long do these damn subordinates take to look at someone?"
Alex Baskerville, the main heir of his family, sat in a cozy armchair awaiting the return of his younger brothers, who had gone down to the basement to check on the prince's situation.
Being Vast a Cursed One, he never thought they would be able to capture him. However...
10 Indulgents, 10 Vagrants, and 8 Descendants!
This was the firepower granted to the Barskerville family by one of the Original Vampires, Eduardo. This was not to mention that all the family members — a total of five, including Alex — had been turned into Cursed Ones.
"They should have returned by now." He checked the clock. Twenty minutes had passed with no sign of anyone.
Soon it would be time for dinner with Eduardo, and lateness was something Alex would never dare to commit against that existence.
He considered going after the subordinates, but the need was only to get up. The moment he paid the slightest attention to his surroundings, short and powerful crashes reached his ears, quickly amplified by the approaching cause of it all.
BLAM!! The door was thrown away along with part of the wall. In the hallway, carrying in his hands a head that was finishing dissipating into a dense mist, was the prisoner Vast Los Filho, already in possession of that strange weapon on his arm and the nunchaku.
"Are you the eldest son?" He wiped the dirt off his clothes. A short click of the tongue as he looked at the torn collar.
"Vast Los Filho... Ugh! I thought you would have given up on escaping by now. Lesser vampires are truly terrible subordinates. So close to the end, and they let you out."
The prince entered the room. On the shelves, books were lost in what had recently been only a beginning of a fire, but in a few minutes, it would take over the mansion completely. Family pictures fell off the walls, and Vast still took care not to step on them. Now, his attention was focused on the young man in front of him.
"Alex Baskerville. We've met once before, haven't we? I believe it was at the third meeting after I was Cursed."
The young man chuckled in response. His hands moved carefully, but obviously in preparation for the inevitable battle.
"Your memory is truly impressive, but I don't think you'll waste time chatting, right?"
From his pockets, he took out bracelets. They were made of copper, the color gleaming golden from the lamps that still worked throughout the mansion, some already failing. He put on the accessories, one on each wrist, clashing them together in a motion similar to clapping. Sparks flew for a moment.
"I would actually like to ask just one question... What's the reason for the betrayal?"
Alex arched his eyebrows and examined the prince more closely. The hands and clothes were stained with blood, one that didn't dissipate into mist. With a better analysis, he noticed the silence that flooded the mansion, broken only by the rapid crackling of flames and the beginning of the collapse of one room or another.
He sighed. As expected, the rest of the work fell to him, the eldest son. He would think about restoring the family later, if the moment ever came.
"Vampires, Prince Vast. You may not see it, being a poor prince, but you can't keep a business going if you're on the wrong side of the coin." He pointed upward with his hands, simulating a gun. "If you can't beat the enemy, join them. Simple as that, no secrets. It's pure self-preservation."
From the tips of his fingers, beams of light emerged. Almost invisible, they entered two of the many lamps scattered across the ceiling and in the chandelier of the room.
"I already know why you're here, so don't worry. Let's go! You can vent all the anger you've held back!"
The arrogant smile on his face, highlighted even more by the symbol above his head. The lights he shot began to travel among the various lamps in the sky, so fast that at a certain point, they became a continuous streak, without flaws. The symbol formed was a square with an eye in its center, hovering over the two opponents.
"A Cursed One. Well, no surprise."
It was impossible to know the effect of the mysterious eye. All the other enemies, Indulgents, Vagrants, Descendants, and all the other family members, none of them uttered a single word about each other's abilities.
Anyway, it wasn't a problem for Vast — someone more experienced in using his own Curse — to defeat them. Thanks to this field ability and surprise attacks, most were defeated with a single blow, leaving only Alex still standing.
Everything would finally end there. Even in the imminent battle, nothing but relief ran through his body.
"Don't worry, I will definitely vent my anger." He took a defensive position. "But it won't be with you."
The first advance was made. In a powerful leap, Vast disappeared and appeared face to face with Alex, who defended against the first punch.
The young man flew against the wall, dodging subsequent blows with commendable agility. Among the attacks, the prince's considerations invaded his head.
The danger of attacking a Cursed One while still unaware of the effects of the ability was clear. What was that eye? Could it attack him? Would it do something? The possibility of it being another Curse that stripped sanity from the opponent sent a shiver down his spine.
This last one was the worst-case scenario, as the fight could end up lasting longer than necessary. Time was literally the last thing Vast could afford to lose now.
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"He dodges very well, but I don't see any change in the standard speed."
Alex moved like a normal person but with due experience in combat. Fluid movements and no excessive energy expenditure. However, he didn't counterattack, at least not at the beginning.
With a sublime footwork, Alex dodged a jab and returned with a precise hook to the chin. Absent of injuries, the healing aura of [Mutter] restored the little accumulated fatigue in the young man. Then he backed away with short hops.
The brief moment they locked eyes was enough for Baskerville to inquire:
"Has any vampire offered you blood to become one as well? Was there any reason for you to refuse?"
Vast stroked his chin. It was a weak blow, but extremely precise. He would have lost consciousness in a normal situation.
"You've already answered that question for me. In fact, I believe it's me who should be asking, considering you only became a Cursed One."
Vast glanced at the eye of light briefly. It was starting to flicker, blinking like an old lamp, but being restored by two more shots from Alex's fingers. Soon, the latter replied:
"The idea of not being able to go out in the sun doesn't appeal to me. I like to sunbathe in the afternoon."
"Hmph! You're more normal than I thought." He allowed himself a smile. "I thought you'd be another one of those with a screw loose!"
And he advanced again with a thump that tore boards from the floor. From the Crimson Shooter, blood flowed, enveloping Vast's fists like large padded gloves. Maximizing damage and minimizing recoil.
"Choosing the Vampires over Humanity isn't a matter of having something missing in your head, but simply knowing which one to choose."
"What a pity you chose the wrong side."
"People make many mistakes throughout their lives. They make premature choices because they can't distinguish between the desires of the heart and the mind. However, that doesn't happen with me."
Alex dodged most of the blows, being grazed by a cross punch as he stumbled over a loose board. He returned with a jab, followed by a straight punch and a knee to the prince's stomach. The healing aura refreshed his fatigue once again.
Vast backed off a bit, surveying his surroundings. The eye didn't follow him or Alex; it just stared at the ground in a straight line, but it definitely had some kind of effect. Despite being notably skilled at dodging, Alex didn't have the strength — let alone the physical stature — of someone who trained in martial arts. It was time for some tests!
He made a new advance! He went straight at Baskerville, observing his relaxed posture. However, before getting close enough for a blow, he kicked the ground, allowing him to make a tight turn. He landed to the right, repeating the movement three times in a row.
Completely open, he noted. Alex didn't even bother to follow him with his eyes. The last one was supposed to be real! He was behind Alex and jumped, aiming for the solar plexus. In a normal person like him, a punch with the doubled strength of [Mutter] and the reinforcement provided by the blood gloves would be more than enough to pierce his flesh. That is if the blow landed.
Alex sidestepped with a simple step to the side. There was no visual contact with Vast, let alone a minimal movement in his arms, neck, ear, or anything else capable of explaining it. From the prince's perspective, it was purely instinct.
As if that wasn't enough, what hit him on the counter-attack this time was also far from a punch. Stronger than a vampire's bite, a short wavy blade of a dagger pierced his hip, jumping out afterward and drawing a jet of blood along with it.
Vast grunted in pain for a brief second, staunching the wound by tearing the sleeve of his clothes and tying it around his waist. Brief, but enough to keep him alive while the healing aura recovered Baskerville.
"You're quite resilient. No wonder you've come this far," said the boy, sheathing the dagger at his waist.
Instead of retorting, he received a question.
"Does the Curse have any relation to prediction, isn't it?" The short startle was a positive response to himself. "You're not the warrior type, not even paying attention to me. It's like an automatic reflex, or if you allow me to put it in better words… as if you know what's going to happen."
An instant of silence fell. The mansion was increasingly closer to destruction by fire, and amid the intense crackling, a low laughter that even Vast struggled to hear echoed.
"Truly impressive, my prince..."
Seeing the eye falter, he shot three times at the bulbs.
"You know, I observed you at some moments while coming here. Can you guess the reason you've easily defeated some vampires? It's easy! Simply because they're dumb."
Vast frowned. He agreed with the explanation, in part, but it was surprising to hear such a thing from someone who allied with the Vampires.
"Well, I wouldn't exactly say dumb," he continued, "but pride beyond limits. Vampires love to humiliate opponents, and the best way to do that is by explaining their abilities and defeating the opponent right after. The problem is, against someone like you, that doesn't always work. But..."
He pointed at the bulbs. A bright sphere accumulated at the tip of his fingers until it was the size of his head. When fired at the bulbs, the eye grew in size and widened, being overlaid by three identical but smaller eyes.
"But I intend to finish you off here, so don't expect me to make such foolishness."
"I don't have any reason to. It would be a waste of time."
"Great!"
Alex awaited the prince's next move. He had no intention of using the dagger, but rather the swords still hanging on the walls of the room. They would be more useful according to the future. However, before his attack, Vast added some new words.
"Just know one thing, I'm not here to let you live," his gaze narrowed, a pair of black stones capable of forever fueling that red-orange world. "Let this be clear... You're not leaving this house alive."
The eyes on the symbol glowed more intensely, and in contrast, Alex's lost all the life they had a little while ago. The reason was simple: he saw that the prince, or rather, that thing before his eyes, was telling the truth.
Alex Baskerville's ability, as Vast supposed, consisted of predicting the future. By summoning that eye — which was intangible, by the way —, he became capable of foreseeing the opponent's next actions. The more time passed, the further he could predict. However, we're talking about a Curse.
The further into the future the prediction goes, the more immutable it becomes. Events within a few seconds are minimally changeable; one to three minutes is still possible with great effort; but from five minutes forward, the user is totally at the mercy of their vision, whether it's favorable or not for them.
After the prince's words, all that was seen on the boy's face was a portrait of screaming. His face paled and became thinner, his eyes bulged in such a way that they lost their shape. The mouth, in a ghostly aspect, undulated through the chin down so that it almost reached the ground, if it weren't for the hands that groped the face to ensure it was in reality.
This guy... he's insane!! That was the only plausible realization.
In the future of three minutes, Alex would still be dodging blows, while Vast would have more wounds accumulated on his body. However, he was far from giving in, unlike the mansion on the verge of complete collapse over the two of them. He tried to escape, but the prince blocked his every attempt. A dead-end route. A cornered rat that ended up crushed by the flaming debris.
And, after such a visual disturbance, his reaction was nothing but to scream.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME, YOU MANIAC!!!"
He had to get out! The future was in three minutes, so immediate action might be able to change things. That's what he thought before a hand grabbed him by the leg, making his face collide roughly with the boards on the floor.
A moment, just that brief instant was enough for Vast to catch him off guard. Now, he loomed over him.
"Any last words, Alex Baskerville?"
Did he have any? He couldn't think, didn't even want to. His legs trembled, impulses coming from muscle spasms that only wished to move him away from that person.
The room was beginning to collapse on the two of them, and when the chandelier was attacked, the eye dissolved. Even the scalding metal falling against his exposed arm was of little consequence. Those black eyes wouldn't budge for anything.
Amidst the silence — broken by whimpering —, the prince began, never taking his eyes off his captive.
"For betraying the Kingdom of Von Legurn, attempting against the safety of its inhabitants, and conspiring with Vampires against His Majesty..." The gloves vanished, leaving only the Crimson Shooter pointing at the individual. "I, Vast Los Filho, condemn you to death!"
Alex saw the rest of the world collapse, along with a red beam he couldn't say how long it took to hit his face.
That day, the Baskerville Family's house was completely engulfed in flames.