[Vampire Prince Macass]

Health: 18,700/18,700

Blood Energy: 2080/1040

Con: 37

Str: 35

Dex: 33

Int: 37

Spc: 36

Skills:

- High-Lord: + 15,000 health, +300 Maximum blood energy, +15 blood control, +30 Regen

No other skills can be read

Seeing these stats and recalling how miserably the previous hunter had died, Genji preemptively splashed himself with his mutation healing potion. Given the frightening nature of Macass's blood control, there was no doubt that he would sustain heavy injuries.

A huge surge of vitality swelled within Genji as his body absorbed the liquid. His muscles wriggled strangely, gaining a strange quality. Then, he activated Berserk and boosted his stats so he could survive the stat difference.

A familiar surge in strength enriched his body as he swapped to his dual daggers. This was Genji at his peak, but he knew survival would still be a struggle.

The remaining hunters shared his sentiment, but they weren't willing to go down without a fight.

"Rampage, Ragoden," Zepher declared, unleashing the trump card that he had previously intended to use.

His signature red bandana expanded, transforming into a miniature cape that dangled from his arm, flapping wildly despite the stillness of the surrounding air.

His aura exploded in intensity, going berserk and running wild without constraint. His grip tightened around his weapon, and his body tensed up, ready to burst into action. Sequentially, a violent sensation enveloped him, giving him the presence of a god of war.

Compared to before, Zepher seemed like a completely different person, boosting everyone's morale. Sensing this change, a wide smile appeared on Macass's face, akin to how a child would look at a new toy.

Ignoring his eerie expression, everyone charged toward him, each launching their own attacks. Zepher's heavy sword sliced through the air, sending a powerful wind scattering in all directions.

Genji followed suit with his daggers moving like sinister snakes, searching for a fatal weakness to exploit. A shroud of darkness cloaked the blades, hiding them in the shadows of Zepher's forceful movements.

Both of them pushed their attacks to new levels, synergizing in unforeseen ways. They were doing everything they could to finish this fight, fully aware that their boosted states wouldn't last long.

Yet, despite these attacks, Macass remained unfazed. A tired yawn escaped his mouth as he shook off the centuries of slumber that clouded his mind. He groggily waved his hand, as if trying to dismiss a nuisance, but this movement had other effects.

As if following his command, countless blood vessels burst around everyone's bodies, erupting like a volcano. Numerous wounds tore through their flesh from inside and dense mists of blood scattered around them.

These grievous wounds caused many hunters to collapse onto the ground as their organs were shredded and their bones pulverized into dust. The vampiric traits inside them tried to repair this damage, but microscopic traces of vampire blood seeped out through these openings, depriving them of this bonus.

With this plundering, their vitality drained like a whirlpool. Their eyelids grew heavy, and their vision darkened. In mere moments, the last of their consciousness faded into darkness as the vampire blood swirled around Macass.

Macass looked at these dying hunters, his smile hinting at mockery. This was the first time he had seen someone so foolish as to use vampire blood against a prince.

Ignoring their fallen comrades, Genji and Zepher continued their attacks, each enduring their wounds with their own methods.

Genji withstood the wounds using the effects of his potion, which quickly reconnected his severed flesh and sealed the wound shut before he could lose too much blood.

On the other hand, Zepher completely disregarded the damage, having lost all sense of pain. His rampaging energy kept his muscles taut and maintained his body structure, allowing him to remain unhindered.

Macass was intrigued by their methods, but it only made him happier. It was only fun when his toys could last.

Macass lightly hopped backward and evaded the destructive strike. In his place, Zepher's blade shattered the ground and sent jagged shards of stone into the surrounding area. A few of these projectiles shot toward Macass, but a small swirl of blood redirected the attack at the pursuing Genji.

Multiple small holes opened in him as these bullet-like shards cut through him. Genji dug the tip of his foot into the ground to counteract the inertia and shot forward again, brandishing his daggers in unpredictable ways.

Dagger Arts: Flow

Multiple sparkles of blood materialized between them, attempting to deflect his attacks. But these defenses were useless as Genji's persistence in pursuing sharpness finally paid off.

What does it mean to reach High-Legendary by focusing on sharpness? It meant that there was little that the weapon couldn't cut!

Macass was shaken when he felt his defenses crumble without resistance. Using the remaining window of time, Macass hurried to tilt his head. Streaks of blood flew into the air as Genji's dagger brushed his face and nicked the cheekbone.

Then his other hand came down, threatening to behead Macass. More sparkles of blood manifested between them, only this time, on the offensive. Instead of putting up a pointless defense, he would force his opponent to back off.

These droplets of blood transformed into dangerous blood needles and shot at Genji's heart. Macass was certain Genji would retreat because this was a fatal attack.

To his elation, Genji didn't budge and continued as if he didn't sense the attack.

"I guess this was too much for him. That's the problem with using temporary power that your mind can't keep up with."

This thought, however, was cut short when a transparent barrier appeared around Genji. The blood needles stabbed into the barrier, shattering it and dissipating. With the pending threat blocked, Genji swiped through Macass's neck and sent it airborne.

Then capitalizing on this moment of paralysis, Genji pivoted on his foot, ready to dismember the body.

He could do this because as the head soared, Zepher leaped up to bludgeon it with his sword. Macass sensed the intense force coming at him and expelled a fountain of blood to propel his head above the attack.

Despite his miss, Zepher remained calm and stomped down on the air. A huge crackle deafened the surviving hunters and Zepher soared slightly for another attack.

In response, more blood flowed out of his wound, before condensing into an octopus mechanoid. Tentacles moved into the path of the attack and protected his fatal point. Then the powerful impact kicked in, sending the head zipping into the ground.

Upon landing, a huge crater formed, sending dust particles everywhere and interrupting the ongoing battle between the other hunters and vampires. Macass glanced at them coldly before all of them exploded into blood mist. Neither vampires nor hunters were spared as Macass callously massacred everyone to replenish his energy.

Then he reoriented himself to give Genji an annoyed look.

'Since you like cutting my body so much, how about I reward you?'

Genji sensed the sudden malice and quickly flashstepped, escaping the range of countless blood explosions from the limbs. Then more blood flowed out and transformed into sharp legs that swiftly carried the body parts back to the head. The only part missing was the leg that Genji dissolved with a bottle [Titan Feller].

Witnessing this creepy scene, Genji's first thought wasn't disgust but how to capitalize on it. Knowing Macass would be distracted in controlling these blood constructs, he flashstepped again, seeking to wound him further before he could recover.

Flashes of metal chipped away at Macass's makeshift body, forcing him to revert to a liquid state. During this exchange, droplets of blood gathered from the distant bodies and formed a domain of blood.

Then they transformed into a storm of needles, bombarding Genji without pause. Genji tilted his body to avoid the fatal attacks and allowed the mutation potion to heal the rest. His health dropped like a waterfall, but Tyrant Shoulder Guard gave him an excess amount, helping him endure this wave.

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In exchange, Genji destroyed a large chunk of crystallized blood, forcing Macass to enter a tough defense against Zepher. Genji retreated and attacked one of Macass's crawling arms, seeking to destroy it before Macass could recover. The more damaged his body was, the more blood energy he needed to spend to maintain the blood constructs.

As Genji diced the limb into small cubes, a loud collision came from his side. Then the whoosh of a heavy object being flung was heard as Zepher skipped across the ground, tumbling with splatters of blood and dust.

When he got up, Genji noticed myriad cuts across his body, all of them were forced shut by his taut muscles. Trickles of blood seeped through these cracks, informing Genji of his horrible condition. If this continued, Zepher would fall before him, leaving him to deal with Macass alone. In this situation, that was tantamount to a death sentence.

"Here. Use this," Genji said, tossing an orb of mutation potion over.

Without hesitation, Zepher caught the gel orb and smashed it on his chest. Upon contact, his flesh twitched slowly as his strong muscles resisted the change. But even with this weakening, the potion did its job and closed Zepher's wounds.

Then they turned to look at Macass, who had reassembled his body again, with the exception of his left leg and right arm. In their place, a hideous blood construct protruded out unnaturally. A deranged smile warped across his face and a storm of blood swirled around him.

Genji breathed out and sheathed a dagger, opting for [Jaguar] and its poison-laced blade. Then Genji and Zepher charged again, ready for a second round. Zepher tanked the attacks like usual while Genji faded between Zepher's wide movements, making it difficult to lock onto him.

Then he appeared beside Macass again, slashing the defenses with [Lethal] and grazing with [Jaguar]. Upon contact, dark smoke fluttered from the wound as silverbane burned away at the flesh. In response, a tentacle of blood whipped at him, ready to slam him into the ground and chain a multitude of attacks.

Genji leaped into the air hard and sheathed his dagger to manifest [Curse Bearer]. As he took aim, a look of mockery came from Macass.

'What kind of idiot puts himself in the air without a flying ability?'

To punish this mistake, three blood tentacles shot at Genji, ready to tear him apart. But Genji expected this, unfurling his cloak and activating Like A Feather to glide over the attacks.

Then he landed on Macass's blood constructs and ran down, ignoring the barbs that tore away at his foot with each step. After repositioning himself, he leaped off and propelled himself to the center of this storm. During his fall, he canceled his slowing ability and spun like a torpedo, decreasing in altitude at rapid speeds.

As he drew near, he reached out with his flintlock and pressed it against Macass's head. Then, he pulled the trigger, blasting him at point-blank and causing his arm to recoil backward.

The next moment, Genji crashed into the ground, kicking up another dust storm and reading another attack. [Jaguar] lit up with a faint shadow flame as Genji slashed down, severing Macass's remaining arm.

In response, Macass channeled all the blood to wildly attack Genji instead of repairing the giant hole in his head. Deep wounds opened on Genji's body, outpacing the rate his potion could heal him.

Genji, though, knew all of these wounds were worth the arm. That was because Zepher had caught up again and was prepared to cover him. Ferocious at this tag team, Macass fused the majority of the blood and slammed him with a large tentacle. Should this attack land, there was no doubt Genji would be instantly pulverized.

And since this was close up, Genji had no time to dodge. Knowing he had to endure this, Genji brought up his arm and guarded his head. Then he curled up and activated Solid Core, trying to minimize the damage.

Then he ricocheted into the distance with an arm so mangled that only EverRealm could repair it.

In fact, his entire right side had turned into a mush of crushed bones and flesh, depriving him of all sensation. After severe rough tumbles, Genji finally stabilized himself. He weakly sat up and took out multiple healing products to recover. Afterward, he stabbed some potion needles into his thigh and dashed back into combat, where Zepher was exchanging forceful attacks with Macass.

With the addition of Genji's potion, Zepher no longer had to worry about his injuries and transitioned into a true berserker. Rather, this fighting style was optimal for his unleashed legacy, which locked his body condition and boosted his strength in proportion to the damage he sustained during the activation.

The mutation potion might be weakened, but its healing abilities were strong enough to make a difference, creating a powerful synergy. By now, Zepher had sustained close to 300% of his total health in damage, making his strength on par with Macass's.

And with each additional wound, Zepher's aura grew in intensity, allowing him to scatter the blood through sheer force. In fact, Macass was becoming nervous about how Zepher's strength seemed to have no limits.

'There's no way his mortal body could sustain such strain for much longer, right?'

Then, Genji rejoined the battle with a limp arm, launching a barrage of sinister support attacks. His daggers always found the opportune locations to sneak through and force a defense.

To Macass's annoyance, he could afford to neglect this as doing so would be risking decapitation again. With his current energy level, the defense that was needed to recover from that would severely endanger him.

'Seems like I can only use that,' he thought, ready to risk his life to finish this fight.

With that decision, all the blood constructs around him melted, returning to a liquid state. But it didn't stop there as soon, his blood started boiling, igniting into his own flame pattern. Then the particles of blood evaporated and turned into air before slowly seeping into their bodies, ready to turn them into human torches.

With this change, his presence weakened drastically, as if he had sustained a severe injury. His energy fluctuations dropped, and his once-handsome appearance shriveled, instantly aging into the look of an elderly man.

Vampire Blood Arts, Ultimate Finisher: Funeral Incendiary!

Genji and Zepher tried to stop this ability, but Macass simply endured all their attacks. Why would he care about these minor wounds when they were only hastening their own demise?

Seeing their desperate attacks, maniacal laughter emanated from Macass, sending shivers down their spines.

"Hu za dijshe nocasu look se ('Let's see which one of us can endure this longer, you or me! Now ignite!') Mauhahahahh"

Although they couldn't understand what Macass said, they knew they were in trouble. The next moment, a burning sensation came from their lungs, and used their life force as fuel.

Both Genji and Zepher frantically used their healing consumables in an attempt to preserve their lives, but the damage only accelerated. Intense pain racked even Zepher's body, despite his pain receptors being shut down. This, though, only meant another piece of bad news: his legacy release was reaching its end.

If he wasn't careful, he would instantly die once his accumulated wounds stacked with this ability. Urgency creased his face as he rapidly racked his brain for a chance of survival. After everything, he was unwilling to die like this!

Genji felt the same sentiment and endured the charring of his organs. A flash of insanity and ruthlessness passed through his eyes as he also decided to gamble. A gamble on this theory working the way he hoped instead of backfiring on him.

Then a similarly deranged smile appeared on his lips, matching the craziness of Macass. No, it surpassed his, startling Zepher on this new side he never expected.

'Had he always been like this?'

'You better hope this kills first or I will do everything I can to drag you down with me,' Genji thought, pulling out two bottles of suspicious liquids before chugging their putrid contents. One bottle consisted of a murky gray liquid that tasted like rotting meat while the other was a light green liquid with visible particles of black. Both of which were utterly disgusting on their way down.

Genji had to suppress his gag reflexes to drink them, but this was only made more difficult with his knowledge of the effects. In contrast to Zepher's hopes, these weren't cures or healing potions, but poison! To be specific, a mutating poison and an infectious one, both containing the essence of the two legendary inheritances he developed.

As these poisons flowed down his esophagus, Genji felt the burning sensation increase as the poisons compounded with the ability, putting his body in a horrendous condition. His lungs ruptured and boiling mists of blood seeped out of his mouth. His condition worsened, forcing him to take out another mutation potion to consume.

The gel membrane broke under his ferocious chomp, and a cooling sensation soothed his pain. This surge of vitality, however, only made the poisons act up as they fought to gain sovereignty over his body. Large gouges of his flesh were eaten away as the microscopic creatures reproduced rampantly to combat the blood particles.

This was a conflict where neither party would relent, racking his body with mind-melting pain. Luckily, the mutation potion kept him alive and his resolve kept him sane. The battle between the two forces continued and eventually mellowed out as both died in masses. With this, the damages of both afflictions entered a controlled state, each restraining the other.

Genji felt this miraculous turn of events and knew his gamble had paid off. At least for now before his body fell apart from everything. Looking up at Macass, Genji flashed a ferocious grin filled with his blood teeth. Macass was unnerved by this sight, but he quickly dismissed that thought.

'He's just bluffing. There's no way he can move when my blood is destroying his body like that.'

But Genji was not bluffing. Drawing his saber, he ignited a shadow flame again and flashstepped, appearing before Macass, who was also enduring the burns of his own ability. Macass's eyes dilated into needles as he hurried to burn more blood, forming a dense, red fog around him.

With this cover, he could easily burn Genji before he could reach him. Yet Genji disregarded this and charged through, swinging to kill.

Macass saw this motion and smirked, having gotten Genji exactly where he wanted. With a thought, the mist before him entered a second ignition, using the blood particles as fuel.

At this stage of the fight, energy meant nothing. As long he could kill Genji, Zepher would soon follow. Then he could easily recover using the surrounding sacrifices and unleash a massacre onto the world.

The air burst into bone-searing flames, but Macass instantly realized something was wrong. The smell in the air, it's lacking a burnt odor!

'How is that possible? No one should have been able to survive that!'

The next moment, he got his answer in the periphery of his view, as a black flame swept toward him. This was all he needed as a second mental command turned that area into a fiery hell.

To his dismay, he still hadn't detected the burnt smell that was common with this skill. By now, it was too late, as his view soared through the air again. Looking down, Macass finally understood why he couldn't burn his opponent. Genji had swapped positions using Dance of Death.

'But so what? As long as my brain is intact, I won't die.'

Then Macass canceled his ultimate and changed his blood back into a liquid form. Using the remnants of the blood mist, a chain formed between his neck and his body.

Then, it rapidly retracted, reconnecting the two just in time to parry another attack from Genji. Macass stumbled backward, but he didn't care. His blood was boiling again, and this time, he refused to miss.

The air around him heated up, and Genji made another dash at Macass. His saber arced back, and he made his last swap, instantly appearing behind Macass. However, Macass expected this and torched that area as well.

'Did you really think I wouldn't notice your little trick?'

Macass was certain this was the end. Genji had no more shadow figures to swap with, and his energy had reached an all-time low. There was nothing he could do to turn this around.

Genji, however, wasn't one to give up. Even if there was no chance, he refused to give up, grasping onto the craziest of ideas. This time, was no different as he did something completely insane.

Instead of utilizing his remaining energy in this attack, he circulated it wildly before giving up control. This then caused it to rampage, destroying multiple organs and collapsing his lungs. There was no doubt this was a suicidal move as not even the most experienced fighter would dare let his energy run amok like this.

A geyser of blood and organ bits spewed out his mouth, coating the air around it. This blood, however, was what Genji wanted. Remind me again, what was in his blood? It was poison! Specifically, the poison that had adapted to counter Macass's blood mist.

That was why Macass felt his control slip when Genji's discolored blood mixed with his own. Upon contact, Macass's blood corroded, making him realize the contents of what Genji had chugged.

'He's insane! What kind of person poisons himself before using his blood like this?'

Then Genji's blade bisected the vampire prince, cutting off all chances of survival.