“Such conceit even when facing off with the true power of a perfect vampire bloodline. This is my ultimate form. It takes extraordinary amounts of mana to hold it for long. As you can see, I’m having to borrow some. Come, shapeshifter. Your blood will taste sweet as I drink it from your dead corpse.”
“I was told by a reputable source that only women drink sweet drinks.”
I blurred into action as he sipped on my last quip.
He moved only a split second after I did.
He’d grown in size after taking his ultimate form, but I was still twice his size. I slashed through his image and he blinked to the side and struck with his fist. Bounding back, I countered his follow-up strike with one of my own.
All the while we waded through a foot or more of liquid rock and yet it was less restricting than a shallow pool of water.
Attack after attack, we took turns pushing forward and looked for any possible weakness. There were numerous exchanges in the breadth of a few short seconds, and yet the battle only intensified.
I doubted my Vampire Form would ever reach the level of his genuine Trueblooded bloodline, but I was forced to admit that I’d greatly underestimated what a bloodline was capable of. With his ability to absorb mana from his surroundings, he was practically invincible as Jale had said. Without it, or if we were in a different location without an ocean of Dark Mana readily available, I would’ve just had to outlast him…
His vortex wasn’t a cheat ability. Not really. It was just perfect for the current environment. If things didn’t change then I was in trouble. I’d best change them.
Bounding backward, I used my experience with Core Creation and Crimson Incubus’s Impenetrable Skin to cast a newish technique I’d worked on last night. In reality, it was really just Core Creation modified, which allowed me to make a whole bunch of tiny Light Magic Discs in mass that were made of highly compressed mana.
Manu sensed the use of Light Magic immediately and hesitated to launch his next attack.
It had always been risky to use Light Magic in the arena even as a Blue Mage. Since I wasn’t in a Dark Magic Form, my Light Magic wouldn’t be repressed either. It still wasn’t the same as casting in my human form, but my hands were no longer tied. If I formed discs as quickly as I could, the danger of revealing my true nature was even greater because no vampire should have such control, but Manu Shah had left me no other choice.
As if a small flurry from the first snowstorm of the year had just appeared, dozens of discs spun into life. One after another, more and more emerged. The longer Manu waited, the more I would make. In moments, the Light Magic Discs surpassed a hundred and he knew he had something to be worried about.
I began prowling forward at a controlled pace. I kept my discs spinning close behind me like a growing hive of bees. The one in danger of running out of mana first was me, but I knew if I didn’t wait for the perfect opportunity, I’d lose my one chance of catching him in a state of uncertainty.
Finally, he sped forward, but instead of facing me head on, he stopped twenty feet out and battered the air with his fist, blasting a compressed wave of Dark Mana right at me. It was powerful enough that I had to dodge, which I used to my advantage.
I lunged forward and to the side, letting the blast scrape over my shoulder and pull my outer layer of magma with it. It was like losing a layer of skin. The sacrifice was well worth it. I’d halved the distance and my cloud of Discs was continuing to grow. It was close enough.
His fist flew and another wave of mana pressed forward from a distance that was impossible to dodge.
My mouth shot open and a large mist of Light Magic poured forth. It was impossible for my mana to block his own because it lacked the same level of density. His wave would punch right through mine as if it weren’t even there. Instead, I’d cast my magic into the air above his head. Such a spell wouldn’t damage his densely packed body either.
“Missed,” he cried as I took his attack head on and felt my face flatten beneath his destructive wave.
I missed him, but I hit exactly what I was aiming for.
His vortex was pulling in mana from the forcefield that surrounded us. It floated to him through the air in long wavy channels. His attack and ultimate form may have been dense enough to shrug off the reaction of Light and Dark, but the dozens of mana channels weren’t. Instead, they were the perfect fuel.
The mist of Light Magic at first seemed like a gentle cloud flying over him, but then Dark and Light kissed. A canopy of Cataclysm lit like gasoline. Not only did it cover him, but it ate its way up the closest mana channels and even followed the mana he was trying to absorb.
My form shrank by a couple feet as my head quickly reformed. My sight took another moment to go from dark to blurry but seeing where he was wasn’t necessary. The screech that reverberated from him wasn’t just unmanly, but no humanoid would ever make such a noise.
As beautiful as it was as a well-placed spell, there was no chance that the mist would be enough to defeat him. What it did was force him to drop his vortex and lowered his defenses just a tad.
It had been a large amount of Light Mana, but without a constant source replenishing it, the cataclysmic reaction depleted rapidly. That’s when, with the help of my newly reformed eyes, my 99 Stabbies swarmed forward. Technically, it was a lot more than 99, but an ability has to have a name and it sounded a lot better than 317 Stabbies.
The highly compressed Light Magic Discs were only about the size of silver dollars and based on Intermediate Light Orbs instead of Advanced or Master ones. Still, with their density closer to that of Manu’s ultimate form, they left shallow jabs in his flesh before going off like plastic explosives.
I leaped back as he turned into a grenade test site and began to form three more Light Magic Discs. These were based on Master Cores. As I finished them, they spun around each other as if in an indiscernible orbit.
With the fury of a maddened dragon, he rushed forward to try to escape the remaining explosions, but also to take me down with him.
He no longer looked human, or monster. Only portions of his purple outer layer remained, and the ebony flesh showing beneath it was ripped and swollen.
What remained of his maximum mana was still nearly half of what he started with and he suddenly thought it was a good idea to throw it all into a single fist.
I retreated again to gain as much room to work with as possible. His charge didn’t cease, and despite being injured, his speed was only increasing.
You want to leave it all to one last move? Then let’s finish it.
Though my mana had dipped down to less than a quarter of my maximum, it was more than enough. As a Primordial Cat, a bit smaller than before, I charged.
His fist shone like a brilliant star. If that thing hit me head on, reverting back to my human form would be the least of my worries. It all came down to timing. If I timed this right, I’d win. If not, I’d die.
Mana Sight was at full power, but my awareness was drawn to a fine point and I was able to see everything at once. The entire Tir family was on their feet, and the elder was ready to flash into action the moment the exchange ended. Jale was also ready and would come whether the others wanted her to or not. There was a livid cry sounding from Sai as he cheered and broke every rule of vampire civility at once. An entire section of orcs and dark elves were falling all over each other as they howled. Eshana and Jelly both seemed to have conquered the people around them and had climbed atop them as if it would help them be heard.
The Shahs were also on their feet. I wasn’t sure who was readying to save Manu, but they were just as likely to try and kill me while they were at it.
The half-melted landscape worked more in my favor because of the size and shape of my paws on the unstable stone. Leaning hard to the right, my path deviated slightly as I aimed for the best angle.
He didn’t seem to care. He just had to throw his fist forward. If he’d retained even a shred of rationality, he wouldn’t wait to hi
t me head on, but deliver it when there was still a short distance between us. All he had to do was be close.
As he reared back, I let my Master Light Discs fly. They kept their orbit as they flew in his direction until the star of compressed Dark Mana in Manu’s hand darted forward. As the tsunami of Corruption took form, my Discs shot apart in different directions. One flew wide, another low, and the closest looked like it was going to be swallowed up by the incoming wave.
There was one reason I had yet to dodge. I shifted the trajectory of each of my discs, and only then did I jump up with all of my might.
The wave of Dark Mana was too immense. I wouldn’t be able to fully scale it in time.
Extending my neck as if it would make any difference, I reached up with my front paws to save as much magma as I could. It was the most I could do as the tidal wave swept under me, taking half of my body with it.
It was enough to save my life, but I couldn’t be sure I’d be able to stop myself from reverting to my human form. At least I’d won one concession after clearing his attack. While flying over Manu’s head, I got to see my handiwork. The arm he’d attacked with was severed completely just below the shoulder and his other arm hung by a thread. He struggled to catch his balance as one of his legs hung limp from my Disc which had split his thigh bone in half.
Losing so much magma didn’t hurt so much as make me feel extreme cold. The flame inside me with enough energy to power a large city had been snuffed out.
I suddenly cut off my channeling and cast Crimson Incubus Form while still flying through the air. The form wouldn’t require any mana beyond my normal regeneration rate, so I hoped I could recover enough to transform to be ready to respond if somehow Manu had anything else left for another attack.
My transformation happened faster than I’d feared, and my wings shot out to stop me in my path. Thankfully casting my skeletal armor had become habit, because there was no way I would have thought about such things in the moment.
I spun in the air to find a powerful vampire kneeling down over what was left of Manu Shah. The fight had already been called and I hadn’t even heard the announcer’s voice. My opponent’s ultimate form had faded and all that remained was the frail body of a broken vampire. As a good Blue Mage, I took advantage of the moment and cast Forced Learn. In the state he was in I didn’t need much mana.
Plunging inside of him, I quickly scanned his circulatory system to examine his blood-mana connection and took a look at his core. What I was really interested in was what I received after my perceptions returned to me.
Energy Vortex
Level: 1
Rank: Novice
Allows for the gathering of mana en masse by creating a great suction force. The Alignments you’re able to gather are limited by the spell’s level and rank. At the highest level, all mana can be gathered and filtered.
Current Alignment: Fire Mana
Immediately, I took notice that it was set to the Fire Alignment while I was in my Crimson Incubus Form. That meant that I could use it immediately.
Casting the spell for the first time, I felt my body become an attractive force and my sense of balance started to wobble while I wasn’t even standing. The vortex was spinning around me counterclockwise, so it took a moment for me to adjust.
Mana started filling me immediately thanks to all the fire mana I’d released over the last few minutes. As soon as it was activated, I saw a problem. It didn’t filter the mana in the air, so the Dark and Earth Mana were being drawn to me as well. It might not be a big problem, but I stopped the spell because it wasn’t time to play around with such things.
I flew over and descended at a steady rate. Manu was already starting to recover, but the arm he lost would take some time to regrow and it wouldn’t be a fun process. The place he lay looked like a bed of cooled over lava that had hardened enough for him to relax.
The beast-feeder elder appeared at my side before I knew he was there, and Jale followed a moment after.
The vampire working on Manu didn’t look up, but a second vampire emerged before us as if he’d always been there. Just from looking at his suit with the skinny cloak that reached down to his heels, it was obvious he was one of the Shahs.
“The match has been won, Blue Mage,” the man said with a subtle hiss. “Peculiar use of Light Magic for one so young.”
“Thank you,” I replied without backing down and adding a necessary lie. Shamash and I had discussed how best to handle such questions since before we’d even reached Hallow. “I almost died learning it and have spent the months necessary to bring it under my control.”
“So you have. Now say your piece.”
Letting my vampire form overtake me, I glanced at Jale and took a deep breath before swallowing my yearning for revenge. “I let Manu live when I could have easily aimed my three discs at his core. I’ve never held anything against him or the Shahs, and even after he almost killed my friend and then tried to kill me, I will choose not to hold any of it against him either. I ask that all of the hostility end here.”
“Does he speak the will of the Tir family?” the elder vampire said, turning to Jale.
She didn’t answer right away, and her voice rang clear in my mind. “Are you sure you can live with this?”
I replied, “They showed their fangs first. This is as much as I can do to make peace. I can live with it, but I’m not convinced they’ll be sincere if they agree.”
“If you are sure, then leave the rest to me. They won’t quickly break a bargain struck with so many witnesses.”
I stepped back and nodded.
Jale turned back to the man. “The will of the family of Tir is peace.”
“Then there will be peace,” he said, with a wave of his hand as if dissolving the matter.
The elder and Jale moved to leave soon after, and I moved with them. Before we could take the final step, the audience began to rise. There was no question who they were honoring. I both felt and saw millions of pairs of eyes regarding me.
Body of Trueblood here I come… Jale had also stopped and joined the crowd while offering me one of her rare public smiles. I sighed while trying to hide it.
Chapter 30 – Can Vampires Blush?
From my seat in the Tir section, I could hardly believe what I’d done to the arena now that I looked at it from afar. Hundreds of feet of stout tile had been obliterated in the span of a couple minutes. Even the areas we’d left untouched, of which there weren’t many, had melted into a malformed glassy sheen. The walls of the arena hadn’t fared any better. Besides the craters we’d made when tossing each other around, the surface had liquified to one degree or another and hardened again in waves and ripples.
Even before Shamash spoke, I knew there was a possibility that my actions had revealed too much. I wouldn’t even be able to fully refine my mana to reach my peak state until I could return to my human form. A Light Magic race was a tempting explanation as to what had happened and even more likely than me being a vampire with the freakish ability to command Light Magic to such a degree with my Blue Magic talent. “It is finished. There are another couple of fights today, then Manu and Eshana will fight tomorrow to see who takes second and third place. We will leave tomorrow night after the awards ceremony.”
The adrenaline was still pulsing through me, but I settled myself down enough to respond to his private message. “Must we leave like this? Could the Tirs not help us in any way?”
“They could, but what happens when we get what we came for? Would you really have them help you knowing that you’d have to leave afterward and end up owing them even more? It’s not them that I’m concerned about, but how making that choice would tie you even closer to them. I’ve already conceded that returning here one day is possible, but if you rely on them now, you’ll be torn between the care of two families. Do you possess the strength to protect them both? The Tir family is powerful. Far more powerful than the Shahs give them credit for, so if you leave them their survival
is likely.”
He put aside the vampire act for a moment and looked me in the eye. “Manu has shocked the Hallow Amphitheater with his hidden talent. He surprised even me, but don’t think for a minute Jale and the Tirs don’t have their own secrets. Nevertheless, you’ve only begun to realize how exceptional you are. Today, the world has seen a Blue Mage with incredible promise barely manage to snatch victory in the face of defeat, but as your abilities grow, especially your Light Magic mastery, it won’t just be small tournaments you win that will draw people’s attention. Your continued presence may become the very thing that brings them to ruin. It’s unlikely your actions today have drawn the eyes of any ancient vampires, but one day, that will change. Once your talents are found out, even if they don’t expect your true origins, such monsters will seek to control you. And if they can’t control you, they’ll make sure no one else can. The Tir family is more than enough to go to war with some lesser noble house, but against an ancient, they’ll disappear overnight.”
I looked down at my lap. It was Dark Mana that ran through my veins, but it wasn’t the true source of my power. Light Mana-rich blood and a Light Mana Orb supplied my true body and I used it to change my form to what everyone saw now. The source was hidden, but it was no less real. “I know it’s naïve for me to even consider it, but is it really impossible to bring the good people of the Underworld together to fight against such ancient monsters? If the Tir family, the Illuminated Cathedral, some of Eshana’s people, the orcs, and maybe the dwarven clans came together as one…”
“Impossible? No. But you already know where the greatest difficulties lie. The Tirs are only one of the many beast-feeder families, and not even the most powerful. You’d be hard pressed to find any as honorable. Then you’ve personally seen the infighting among the humans of the Illuminated Cathedral, and Eshana’s people might have their virtues, but can be even worse. Wading through dark elf politics is like trying to balance on a razor’s edge. At the least, your feet will get cut. If someone were to accomplish such an unlikely feat, they’d need undeniable strength and uncommon ties with every party involved. In other words, they’d need someone who could fight toe to toe with one of these ancient monsters and at least force a stalemate. No such person has appeared in thousands of years. And for those with the strength, why bother with the infighting of other nations? Instead, these powerhouses usually create their own nation and chisel out a realm from the existing ones with their own might.”
Underworld - Scorching Sun: A LitRPG Series Page 27
