I pull Shadow Fang from it’s scabbard and drop into a ready stance. I bare my fangs in a demonic smile.

  “Let”s get this party started, asshole.” I shout.

  I raise my aura to it’s maximum. The shockwave sends my hair flying upward. I launch myself forward with blazing speed toward Hezukael and swing my sword backward, ready to strike.

  “Wolfpack formation!” I call out. Both teams spread out like a pack of wolves hunting their prey. Each team member casting powerful magic attacks or cutting the enemy that is in front of them.

  “Split to double-diamond!” I call out again. Both teams split up and we form diamond formations on the field. This helps to cover each other in case the enemy decides to flank us. This indeed proves to be useful.

  The commotion from the battle outside causes a disruption with the other students, as they are all gathering to see what is going on. Their curiosity is satiated, they are in awe to see me holding my own against a demon who previously demolished me on the battlefield.

  Feeling a sense of obligation, a majority of the students join in on the battle. The remaining students hang back.

  “We won’t help a vampire. As far as we’re concerned, this is a demon’s matter. If those people want to help a demon, they’re mothing but traitors!” the students shout.

  The clashing of weapons and explosions from magic thunder across the battlefield. Demon and human bodies are strewn on the ground, puddles of blood and mounds of entrails are littered everywhere.

  I look around at the carnage before me. I then shout to the sidelined students. “Don’t you see what the hell is going on here? Your fellow students are dying out here to protect your sorry asses! Are you that fucking arrogant that you’re willing to sacrifice your fellow students just to satisfy your racist agenda against me? Fuck you! Get off your goddamned high horse and help fight! Do what you were fucking trained to do! Don’t fight for me, fight for humanity! You say you love humanity, yet you do nothing to prove it! Well, this is your time, fucking prove it!

  My little speech seemed to light a fire under them, because one the students speaks up. ‘You know, that blood-sucker is right. That bastard is doing more than we humans are. For the time being, we should put our differences aside and help him out. After all, we share a common enemy. Slay the demons!”

  The remaining students join the fight. Now having fresh troops to join our rapidly depleting and exhausted forces is helping us immensely. But this battle was not going to favor us for much longer.

  The battle wages on into the evening. More human than demon bodies are lying on the ground, either dead or exhausted. Demons surround us on all sides. I have lost track of Sofie’s team, I pray that they’re still alive. Shizumi, Hanneke, Jesi, Jeni, Aaboli, Rebecca, and I all have our backs to each other. The situation looks seriously grim.

  Hezukael laughs, “Seriously, vampire, did you honestly think you ever had a chance against me? I let you have this little bout to give you an inkling of hope only to rip from you so that I could bathe in your despair. And now, I will make your despair complete.”

  Hezukael raises his hand and releases a flash of energy. Suddenly, all six girls drop to the ground, blood spilling out from their abdomens. They all cough up massive amounts of blood as they collapse and pass out. Their blood sprays all over me as I drop to my knees in anguish. Tears flow down my face, and I feel my body start to tremble from the shock.

  Hezukael laughs even louder. “There it is! The look of defeat and despair I have been longing to see1 You want to be the hero so badly, yet you can’t even save your lovers! These humans are so fragile, you don’t belong with them! Join me, and I will show you your true potential. You will never have to service these mongrel pets ever again!”

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  His words are enraging me. I feel the anger welling up inside me. Hate is flowing with every fiber of my soul. My red aura begins to shine brighter. Blue and green lightning begin to crackle around my aura. My shoulder-length brown hair fades to a ghostly white and my irises turn blood red. The ground trembles beneath me as my power grows. Shadow Fang is replaced with my sealed unnamed katana, and it begins to pulsate. Slowly at first, but then slowly increases in tempo.

  A pair of voices whisper sweetly in my ear. “Rise, beloved, and take your true form. Free the shackles that bind you and call out the name of your sword.”

  I slowly stand up on my feet. “Hezukael!” I shout, “You are going down this day! This sword, which was bestowed to me as a dowry, will be the thorn that pierces you! With every clash of blades, it’s voice will sing the song of lamentation it feels in it’s very soul! You will shed blood for my pain! GEMINI’S LAMENT!’

  I pull the sword from the scabbard. The chain that seals it begins to shatter as I pull on the hilt. The chain breaks away and I swing the sword behind me. The red aura that surrounds it also crackles with blue and green lightning. Armor begins to appear around me. It is black with red tiger stripes. A gold emblem appears on my left pectoral. It is a dragon perched atop of a cross, blood dripping from it’s claws. A cloak slowly materializes. It is blood red with black trim. The same emblem appears on the cape. A large hood covers my head and face.

  The armor is tougher than diamond, yet as flexible as soft leather. My forearms and backs of my hands have armored plating, as does the chestpiece.

  I drop down into an attack stance and lunge forward. Hezukael draws his sword and blocks my swing. I summon Shadow Fang in my other hand and make a deep gash into his sdie to catch him off guard. He winces in pain and throws me away from him.

  I land on my feet and slide back low to the ground. I jump into the air and start to spin, my swords, like razor blades, are whipping about.

  “Razor hurricane!” I shout.

  I manage to land several slashes on Hezukael’s chest before he sings his sword to flail me away. I quickly jump back toward him and proceed to follow up by land mutiple quick-fire thrust, piercing his chest cavity.

  “Stigmata!” I call out.

  Blood is flowing from Hezukael’s wounds as I continue to pummel him, yet, somehow, he seems unphased. His stamina is surprisingly fortuitous.

  “You fight well, vampire,” Hezukael jeers.

  “Shut yer fuckin’ trap!” I angrily snap back

  We continue to exchange blows back and forth. We then stop for a minute to catch our breaths. I jump back a few yards to keep a safe distance. We look each other squarely in the eyes.

  “It seems we’re fighting at a stalemate.” Hezukael boasts.

  “Fuck off, will ya? It’s time to end this bullshit!” I snarl.

  With one last burst of energy, we charge at each other. I hit my maximum speed, making a sonic boom at the speed of light.

  “Sonic..... Warp!” I yell out.

  We reach each other in less than a second. Our blades hit each other’s bodies at the same time. I feel Shadow Fang rip through the abdomen of Hezukael. His blade tries to rip through me, but the armor does it’s job and protects my vitals. I follow up with Gemini’s Lament and swing at his neck. Feel the blde glide through the skin and grind on the bones of his neck and spine. In that instant, it was over, and Hezukael’s lifeless head rolls like a bowling ball to the ground, blood spurting like a sprinkler from the base of his neck and onto my face.

  I sheath both my swords. My cloak, armor, and swords dematerialize as I turn around to walk back to my team. I drop to the ground where they lay and star sobbing. I pull them close to me and look at the severity of their injuries. I can hear their heartbeats, but just faintly. Two of them are near death.

  I cradle their heads in my lap and continue sobbing. What am I to do? There are six girls and one of me. Do I have the power to save them all? Who lives and who dies? I let out a blood-curdling scream.

  In my despair, I start clawing at my chest. I’m ripping away layers of skin to expose my ribs. Once exposed, I punch through my ribs and rip my heart out my chest cavity. I can feel it beating in my hand as blood oozes from the gaping hole in my chest. I carefully pull my heart out feeling every bit of pain as the heart detached from the aorta and ventricles in my chest. But the pain in my chest is nothing compared to the pain of losing the girls that I love.

  I place my heart on one girl’s mouth so that she can drink my blood. Once I see that she starts to heal, I continue on with the next. I do this until I get to the last two girls, but I’m so exhausted the hole in my chest that I pass out. Before losing consciousness, I can sense the two girls' heartbeats getting weaker. My heart rolls out of my hand and onto the ground.

  In the shadows, the cloaked woman is observing me unnoticed. As I pass out, she smiles. “I’ll be seeing you soon, little brother.” She then quickly disappears into the night.