CHPT 156: Blood Sucker Vs. Throat Ripper.
The two inhuman predators sized each other up in the incredibly dark DireRat Nest. One armed with sharp blades and a PitWolf, the other armed only with its insatiable thirst and incredible need to quench it.
In the dark room, the Vampire's pale and lifeless flesh looked almost blue— making the muscles the twitched just beneath its skin perfectly visible. It was waiting, it wanted him to run.
Claude stood a dozen or so feet away from the Undead monster driven by thirst. His ears now transformed and allowing him to hear the creatures faint hissing and snarls as it watched his muscles burst to life and fur sprout from his skin. All traces of the once human prey he looked like faded to the background as his Lupine form fought to fully express itself from where it resided deep inside of him, waiting for the right moment to come bursting to the surface.
This scenario no longer looked like a Vampire on the hunt, there was no prey in the room. It was now, a Vampire versus a Lupine.
For a small eternity, Frosty and Claude engaged in an eerily silent standoff with the Vampire— waiting to strike.
Seconds passed at a fraction of their usual speed. Wings stretched and flexed, muscles warmed and readied themselves, and fingers twitched. The final motion brought time back to its normal speed as they both prepared to attack.
In a flash, Claude's left arm moved blindingly fast as he unsheathed Bane of the Undead.
Shing!
The pure white stone blade came out of its sheath and lit the room up immediately, allowing Claude to see the Vampire had already left its previous spot and was closing in on him from above.
"SSHHAA!" The Vampire shrieked again and reached out for him with its thin needle like claws.
Before it could land on him, large teeth markings made themselves visible on the creature's leg before it was thrown off to the side as something growled with effort.
Claude silently commended Frosty and chased after the creature.
The Vampire was thrown through the air and headed straight for the cold dirt wall of the nest. In an unnatural movement the Vampire spun and used its wings to stabilize itself before latching onto the wall it was meant to slam back first into.
Before it had time to recover, Claude came rushing in to stab the creature.
Woo!
Csh!
In a flash of white skin and red eyes, the Vampire dodged. It landed silently behind Claude and lunged at him while he attempted to pull the shining white sword out of the dirt wall.
"SSSHHHSSS!" It hissed loudly and swung at his head from behind.
Luckily, he heard its approach beforehand allowing him to just barely dodge the attack and realize the Vampire was faster than him. It would be dangerous if this fight lasted too long.
The Vampire stumbled forward after grabbing a handful of wind instead of flesh.
Claude charged forward with a snarl and took a handful of the creature's long stringy black hair.
"RAGH!"
Woosh!
As soon as he grabbed ahold of the hair, he yanked the Vampire back towards him and his sword, Bane of the Undead, that was still stuck in the wall and in the perfect position for the Vampire to be beheaded.
Right when it's pale neck was about to be split in two by his sword, it dropped down, letting its hair be ripped from its veiny scalp.
Shrip!
The undead creature wasn't even fazed by it and recovered quickly, in a flash it was behind him.
Without even checking for sounds of movement, he pulled his sword out of the wall and spun to swing at the lightning fast creature behind him.
WOO!
Shhlck!
"SHHHAASHHHHSS!"
His sword ripped across its chest and shoulders, splitting its skin and causing dark red blood to drip from its chest as the wound steamed and sizzled.
Claude attacked again right after by lunging forward and delivering a front kick smashing into its chest.
Woo!
Crack!
His foot smashed into its sliced and steaming chest, sending it into the far wall near the dead Nest Mother.
"[You remember when I said to run if I tell you to?]" Arne suddenly asked.
"Your kidding right?" Claude thought in response.
"[No, I'm not! RUN NOW!]"
"FUCK! Fine." He said before sheathing his short sword. "Frosty, we're leaving. NOW!"
The two took off, leaving the wounded Vampire in the Nest to recover.
***
They exited the DireRat pathways and emerged on the tracks, kicking up dust and dirt as they attempted to escape the shadowy hell that was the Darkways.
Creature's in the distance howled and cried in response to the scent of blood and sounds of violence.
"Shit! Now we really have to escape. Hopefully that Vampire doesn't heal like I d—" Before he could finish his thought, the Vampire screeched and came bounding out of the Nest, moving with a mix of flying and skittering over the ground at high speeds on all fours. The cut across its chest was now barely a scar.
Claude picked up speed and spoke to Frosty through their link to communicate a change of plans.
A few seconds of running later and Frosty hopped inside the train through the ripped open doorway. Claude followed close behind, hopping over the limbs and bodies of Goblins, rats and Kobolds.
With one big flap of its wings, the Vampire rose from the ground and flew into the train close behind them. It's black and red eyes never moved from Claude's back.
Frosty reached the end of the train and hopped through the window they previously saw the Kobold hanging from.
Woo!
In a single leap, the PitWolf cleared the window and landed on the tracks on the other side. The stairs to the exit weren't too far away now. The PitWolf was ready to keep running until he started to hear violent shrieks and snarls inside the train.
"RRrr..." Frosty spun around snarling madly as his link to Claude communicated pain and anger. The train shook and rattled on the tracks as the two fought inside madly.
"RrrRAGH!"
Shlck!
"SHHHAAAKKHH!"
BOOM!
Right when Frosty was about to find a way back in, the door he hopped through was blown off its hinges, making a sound so loud that it echoed all the way down the Darkways.
The Vampire's wings spread out from behind the metal door as it came crashing to the floor.
The door hit the ground with Claude snarling on top of it as he held off the snarling and snapping Vampire on top of him.
6 shadowy figures hopped out of the train behind them soon after. Before Frosty could do anything, the shadows snarled and latched onto the Vampires legs before ripping it off of Claude and allowing him to get back to his feet.
The Vampire flew into the wall in a cut and dirtied heap of white flesh.
Claude quickly picked up Bane of the Undead, shining the pale white light on the Phantom Wolves that now stood behind him with dark Vampire blood soaking their fangs.
"Everybody move! Their waking up!" Claude yelled before the monsters in the dark began to scream and roar in response to the surge in noise.
Claude and the Wolves took off immediately, not wasting any time to see the Vampire recover at lightning speeds.
"SHHAAKKH!" Its screech reverberated through the tunnel, wrapping around them again like blanketing waves of sound and signaling that it was back on the chase.
The sound distracted him from the Goblin hiding in the shadows on the tracks.
Woo!
It lunged at his stomach with a rusted dagger.
Before he could react, Frosty came out of nowhere and snarled as he snatched it up by the throat.
The PitWolf seemed unfazed as he ran with the Goblin in his jaws, fighting and wiggling to get free.
CRSHH!
It was silenced soon after as Frosty closed his jaws around the Goblins neck and removed its head from its body, all while still running for the exit.
***
The Wolves and Claude reached the stairs a minute or less later. They could see the barely rising sun making the Forest seem like heaven in comparison to the Darkways and pushing them to run harder to escape.
He could feel the burn in his quads as he skipped the stairs four at a time to escape. He felt like it was all worth it once he emerged from the Old World abomination and stood on the lush forest ground.
The hellish cries of the monsters beneath shook the ground and rattled his nerves, but the sounds of the wind and early morning birds fought to do the opposite.
"We made it...." he said to the Wolves that panted in front of him.
"God damn. Vampires su—"
"SHHHHAAAAKK!" The Vampire surprised them all as it screeched and flew from the Darkways beneath the earth to rip into Claude.
The creature landed on him and the two tumbled and rolled through the floor for a few seconds before departing in the grass.
They rose to their feet at the same time, ready to go again. Claude now had a number of advantages. One being the very thing that was lighting the sky.
The Vampire looked up at the sky and flinched involuntarily before looking back to Claude and then to the entrance into the Darkways. The fight in its black and vermillion eyes was gone. Survival was all it yearned for now.
"[Claude, you want to kill it right? The sun is your greatest weapon! Use it!]" Arne yelled in his mind right before the Vampire made a break for it.
His Prey Drive took over immediately and he was lunging after the Vampire as it tried to run past him before he knew it.
"COME HERE!" He roared as he reached out and grabbed ahold of its wing.
"AARRCK!"
Before it could try to fight, Claude grabbed ahold of its remaining wing in a crushing grip.
The Wolves backed away, seeming completely confident that he wouldn't need help for what he was about to do.
"Shoulda never came outside, dumbass!" He growled before spinning with the Vampire to load up a throw.
While the two spun, a surge of strength rumbled through his arms and they transformed fully in an instant, giving him access to strength he still didn't know the limits of. All he knew was, it was more than enough now.
"RAGH!!"
WOO!
"SHHHRREAAA!"
At the tail end of his spin, he threw the Vampire into the sky. It's pale lightweight body flew above the trees helplessly forced to ascend further and meet the suns rays head on. The creature crashed through branches and leaves, causing the birds that once watched from afar to fly off in fear as the Vampire headed towards the clouds.
Immediately, the Vampire let out a screech lined with pain as its body went up in black and red flames before bursting into nothing but black ashes.
[+200 EXP]
DING!
[You have Leveled Up! You are now Level 15!]
[+1 Skill Point]
[New Passive Skill Unlocked: (Wild Boost)]
***
Claude stood silently in the forest as the black ashes fell from the sky like rain, signaling their victory and growth in strength. The Wolves surrounded him soon after and howled triumphantly, drowning out the screams of the monsters beneath.
"Now that. That is how you kill a Vampire."