Ambrosia jumps and attacks Melissa from above. She tries to grab her by the neck, but Melissa avoids her by a hair and gets some distance. It seems that the whip isn't the ideal weapon for close combat, so she pulls her dagger and tries to attack. Ambrosia quickly knocks it from her hand, giving a sly laugh as she does. I'm at a loss and don't know if I should help any of them or escape.

"You're weak, there's no way you can defeat me. Surrender now fool!" Ambrosia says with a sinister smile.

Melissa tries to catch her breath. "I think that you are the fool here. You think my master, Nestor, wouldn't have thought you or your pathetic Forgemaster wouldn't try to ambush us?" Melissa's pale expression and shock turn to a grin.

I can still hear the humming coming off Melissa’s body like a soft song carried by the wind. Ambrosia doesn't let up. Slashing at her opponent again, her wrist gets wrapped in Melissa's whip. I watch as Melissa holds her own, pushing Ambrosia back. Ambrosia smiles again and shifts her weight, knocking Melissa off guard. There is almost no distance between the two. With the whip wrapped around Ambrosia's wrist, it almost looks like the two of them are engaging in some kind of intricate dance.

Ambrosia's claws rip Melissa's light armor, tearing pieces off of it. The vampiress moves in, to tear her exposed skin. Melissa lets go of her whip and throws a roundhouse kick into Ambrosia’s side. The vampiress is taken back. It is the first offensive move Melissa has made and it does some damage.

"That was a lucky shot," Ambrosia says, unwrapping the whip from around her wrist and tossing it to the ground. Melissa stands on the other side of her, both of them about thirty feet away from me. Their bodies seem to glimmer in the white light of the moon, as shadows showcase every curve of their bodies. Watching the fight turns me on more than I imagined. If I wasn't so powerless I would take both of them right here and now.

Ambrosia advances, and with a quick move wraps her legs around Melissa's neck. Both women fall to the ground. It looks almost like she will suffocate the Vampire Slayer. Just as the vampiress seems to have the edge, Melissa lifts her leg, unstraps the armor plating around her calve, and uses her newfound flexibility to move her foot around Ambrosia's neck, by shifting her weight.

Ambrosia is caught by surprise but presses forward, moving her crotch back onto Melissa's face and bends backward arching her spine. Both of them look like they do gymnastics. They sit there intertwined for a moment as Melissa moans under Ambrosia's body.

Shifting her weight again, Melissa breaks free and takes a deep breath. With her guard down, Ambrosia attacks again with a vertical slash of her claws but misses.

"Enough playing with my food," the vampiress says, licking her lips. I should have known she is planning to bite her. Everything up to this point has just been games for the mighty Ambrosia. Turning toward me, she adds, "You should watch this, little pet."

Taking her eyes off her prey has given Melissa the time to gain some distance. The blonde Vampire Slayer takes a gem out of her pocket and laughs wickedly as if she's the villain here.

Ambrosia seems troubled now and for a good reason. "A Soul Trap gem," the vampiress exclaims. "There's no way you can use this item."

"Let me prove you wrong," Melissa tells her as she lifts her hand and activates the gem.

I can hear it. Louder than before. Louder than ever. The gem is the source of the enchanting sound I had been hearing. There is a burst of red light as wisps of energy fly around the entire courtyard.

"Nooo! This cannot be!" Ambrosia shouts, now trapped inside the small gem that Melissa holds. Her voice is as clear as ever, but there is an echo.

I focus on the gem and a tooltip appears above it with a notification: The gem holds the trapped entity indefinitely or until it's broken.

"Now, where were we?" Melissa glowers at me, picking up her whip and dagger from the ground. Stretching the whip she moves her fingers down across it slowly as a way of mocking me. It looks like Ambrosia isn't the only one that likes to play with her prey. I see a tiny drop of blood falling from her lip and I can smell it from where I'm standing. I feel a tingling sensation over my entire body as if it overloads my senses. Is it fear? Frustration? Some kind of mixture of both? This game has made me feel emotions that I can't even name.

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Melissa has taken some damage from Ambrosia but overall it isn't too bad. Not enough to make a difference between the two of us. She snaps the whip again and licks the blood away from her lip. I'm both deathly afraid and turned on by how badass she looks.

This can't be good, I think to myself.

A notification appears: Quest update: Defeat the Vampire Slayer.

Then a second: Optional Quest: Free Ambrosia

OK, you gotta be kidding me. There's no way I can defeat a Threat Level 9 opponent. There's something broken with the difficulty level of this game. What's worse is that I haven't been able to perform a long rest, so I can't cast anything else other than Cantrips.

Without a second thought, I cast Fire Bolt. I can feel the heat as it bursts forth from my hand. It doesn't hurt me. The cantrip finds its target but fails miserably as Melissa deflects it with her whip.

"Those tricks don't work on me, Vampire Sorcerer. You better try something else," she mocks me while whipping the ground.

This time I know she's missing on purpose.

I think of my options. Should I release Ambrosia or try and fight Melissa by myself? The way I see it, it will be impossible to fight the Vampire Slayer on my own. On the other hand, there's no guarantee that the vampiress will help me. But what choice do I have?s

I look around the courtyard again, wondering if there is something I can use as a shield or weapon. Seeing enough skeletons here, I wish I could reanimate the dead and create some draugr as cannon fodder that would allow me to escape but I don't have that kind of power. I really can't do anything. For all my wishful thinking, I cast Chill Touch and try to grab the gem with the ethereal skeleton hand that I animate. It takes all of my concentration and luckily I catch Melissa completely off-guard. My action, most fortuitous. The skeleton hand shutters the gem and Ambrosia is released. Another wave of wisps appears as Melissa cries out in disbelief. Her mission failed.

Optional Quest: Free Ambrosia completed!

That was easy. Let's see how things go from this point on.

Melissa curses. "You idiot, do you have any idea what you just did?"

"Just helped an old friend of mine," I give her my sexiest smile.

"Thank you, pet," Ambrosia tells me with her soft voice. "It is time I give a good lesson to this fool who tried to imprison me for eternity."

Melissa seems more hesitant than ever. The tables have turned and now she faces a stiff challenge. She knows there's no way she can defeat the beautiful Ambrosia only with her whip. She then does something unforeseen and takes her dagger off the ground and points it to her bare neck.

"You will never have me. I'd rather die than become your pet or even worse," she says determined to end her life.

I can see the knife breaking her skin. My senses heighten again. The smell of her blood like scented flowers. I can't let her. There has to be another option. I take the chance and intervene, knowing that what I'll do is completely stupid, but hey, I can't allow gorgeous Melissa to die in vain. I enjoy acting the hero when I can.

"Don't be a fool, it's not your time yet," I tell her, pointing her with my forefinger. Then I turn my look to Ambrosia. "You should think smarter Ambrosia. Leave her be. There's no reason to continue this battle. Your army of ghouls has been annihilated and Nestor is stronger than you. If you kill his bride, then he'll hunt you to the end of the world."

She stares at me with her cruel face, "Oh, I'm a fool now? And what should I do? Let them have their time with me as they please and kill me? And I’m not alone, I still have my Forgemaster."

Its time I make another stupid proposal. "You can come with me, the world is vast, or at least that's what I think. Leave this place and build your legion somewhere else."

Ambrosia is intrigued by my offer. "Pedasa has been my home for centuries. Do you think I should be the one leaving and let a new Vampire Lord do as he pleases?"

"This is a game and you've lost. Just admit it and be done with it. The only thing left is your life. Live to fight another battle. You're immortal, a new opportunity will arise. Leave your pride behind now."

The vampiress is actually thinking about what I've just said. There is a lengthy pause. I can even see Melissa's hand shaking as she wonders what will happen next. Neither one of us wants to die here.

"Good, I'll take your advice for now, but don't forget that I'm the master here pet!" She looks at Melissa. "You can keep your pathetic life mortal. I'll leave this place and don't forget to remind your master that I still have him," she points at me, then continues, "Nestor's biggest disgrace."

Melissa gives an empty threat. "I'll never stop hunting you."

"You are free to follow us..." Ambrosia provokes her, as she approaches me from behind and licks my ear. "Hm, aren't you tasty?"

A pop-up notification appears: A new member joined your Party!