CHPT 536: Within Monolith, Without Ally…..

Blood.

[75% HP Remaining]

[You have been hit with a (Bleed) Effect]

A Vampires driving force for everything. Thought, instinct, hunger, balance.

Blood.

[65% HP Remaining…]

A concept— a physical thing, growing lesser within Claude as he warred with shadows and fiends alike.

A dozen black tornadoes swallowed the caves interior. A million eyes and clawed hands danced in the currents, swiping and grabbing at Claude. Ripping out tufts of fur and rending skin in bright red lines.

He roared as he charged through the murky blackness, grabbing hold of the unfortunate blood fiends that couldn't maintain their shadowy forms or turn away from the compulsive pull of his blood.

He moved with urgency. Putting it all on the line. Ripping heads from bodies, contorting his spine as Gil exploded from his back— a massive chimera dragonoid expulsion of fire and rage.

The shadows swallowed his flames. So Claude gave the shadows someone like their own as the Phantom Wolves danced in their environment, forming their own tornado.

Two black winds. Clashing in blows of claw and fang. Of shape and hunger. And rage and lust.

Ego damaged and Will challenged.

If there were ashes and dust against the Orc, within the cave there was hunger and dark. The dark that follows a predators jaws swallowing your w—

BLAM!

A small explosion rang out through the cave. The noise bounced off the walls like a pinball of death followed by a white hot metal ball ripping through Claude's shoulder.

He sagged back with a growl. An undead wolffish beast pounced on him. Another shot rang out, illuminating the black for a moment— allowing the worlds most sensory deprived to witness the horrific shadowscaping collage of animal and undead.

Claude flipped the beast over to absorb the shot. It ripped through the weak flesh and hit his stomach.

Undead blood mixed with his own, making his skin burn and crawl as another shot rang out.

[40% HP Remaining]

BLAM BLAM!

[30% HP Remaining]

"[Claude your defenses. Please!]"

Claude reached for the icy nature beneath the ice beyond the cave. With an almost impossible pull, a single slowmoving spike of nature entered the cave like an old snake coming to die.

He wood-weaved a spiraling guard around himself and the beasts within.

The General continued firing shots.

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

Lights flashed. Blinding. Wood exploded in a million splinters, wearing and tearing under pressure born before the Old World. Primordial pressure backed by undead vengeance.

"Lupine! You put up more fight than I would've expected for someone looking half dead! Not so strong when you aren't—"

Claude let out a sonic howl, remembering the last time he knocked down the Elder in a similar way.

In a cave— much like the bullets fired, the auditory blast bounced and crashed, zig zagging across the stalactites above like a madman on horseback.

Vampires died with blood spilling from their ears. Others crashed into walls, blown out of their misty forms. But the spinning wall of shadows barely held, now showing open holes of midnight gleam.

The shadows lunged, ripping apart Claudes last defense.

"You won't kill me. I can't let you. I can't die here."

Claude prepared himself as the wall fell.

The Vampires had cleared out. The General stood at the exit of the cave with a cannon beside him. Runes ran along the barrel and shell inside giving it an ominous glow.

"I won't fall for that twice." The Elder pulled plugs from his ears and yanked the firing cord.

BOOOOM!

Claude pulled his beasts back to their home within him. With no time left he placed a hand out, finding the translucent rainbow glow of the dominance spear illuminating the cave.

His spear met the cannonball head on. Sparks of light and magical brilliance spiraled and fell like snow. When the light show ended, his arm was mangled— still holding the spear. A spear that was so small it looked like a dagger. The cannonball's forward motion had been completely thwarted.

It fell to the ground and rolled.

[Your Mana has reached critically low levels! Continued use—]

"Shut the fuck up."

Claude pointed his dagger at The General.

DING!

[Enemy Dominance Overwhelms…]

The spear evaporated in his hands.

A Vampire's lulling fangs sunk into his shoulder.

"ACK!" Claude fell to one knee.

Gil and Ashe exploded from each shoulder, closing their jaws around the Vampires neck until its head popped off like a child's toy.

"By the gods is that Cerberus!? No….. not nearly. It's a dead dog all the same."

Vampires everywhere laughed.

"[Claude…]"

"Here."

"[Listen closely. He's a sick bastard. As sick as they come. With that in mind, he wouldn't want you dead so quick in some cave in the middle of nowhere.]"

Claude blinked in understanding.

"[He'd want something more for you. As a Vampire, he might make your punishment living in opposite of the quiet of death.]"

"Alright so let's speed this up."

Claude flared his claws on his good arm and brought them to his throat.

Suddenly The General was right in his face. Another Vampire held him in deep red magical roping.

An Undead HexBlade.

"You've got to be smart to some degree to be working alongside Rupont. No matter how you all sensationalize our end. You know I'm not here to kill you."

Claude could feel Gil superheating his throat.

"You th—"

PTOO!

Claude coughed up a wad of steaming spit into the Elders face.

He groaned as burns opened and closed on his pale skin.

The HexBlade tightened his binds.

"The bigger picture, My General." She reminded in a voice that made Claude's skin crawl.

The General wiped his hands on his long coat. "You really are a mongrel. You'll fit right in where you're going. I hope you don't fall in line. I hope they treat you as the outsider you are and tear you limb from limb to dine on your magic! THAT'LL BE A MUCH BETTER END FOR YOU!….."

He came deathly close, aiming a Rune-Written Revolver into Claudes mouth and shoulder in case Gil or Ashe tried anything.

"What do they call you…? Yes, Final Lupine. If you fall in line, I will make you a dog of war. I will send you into any and all hells in the name of strategized corruption. You'll be the driving force of our Blood Supremacy….. and along the way, I'll drain the fight and life out of everything you love. Do you think the Heads of Night will have no respect for me forever? Because of you? You're already forgotten. You're a dog. A mutt."

Claude looked up at him, leaning into the Revolver barrel. Feeling it's heat. Feeling the intent behind it. Facing opposition. Dominance.

"You do this to a lot of ShapeShifters? You think I'm Aeron?…."

The two Vampires spoke a thousand words in a single glance.

"You think I'm a piece on your chessboard?! You think you can just move me around for your plans!? DO YOU KNOW ME!? You can't break me, General. I'm already in pieces…. It's my strength. Someone's already done what you're trying, you fuck. You won't get what you thirst for. But you're a Fiend…. You'll do it anyway. I won't kill you where you stand..."

The HexBlade did something. The wires began to twist and bite like teeth, draining him further as he dropped to one knee.

"I'll make you run…."

The General smiled and picked him up by the throat.

"Look at you….. you've already given me what I want. Your bark speaks beyond your bite. You could barely stand a fraction of my reserves…. MY RESERVES… not even my most active nightly kin. You won't do shit. You got lucky last time. Now it's my turn."

Claude's ears twitched at the sound of a Portal opening. Then The General threw him through it.

VWOOMP!

He hit the ground on the other side hard. Cold hard tile met his face with an uncaring kiss. He only knew it was tile because his claws raked over the dips in the ground making the perfect square shapes.

Old World.

With his one good arm, he flipped himself up onto his feet in response to one of the most overpowering scents ever.

Wolf... and something similar to man. That same body odor and musky greasy hair. But animal.

His eyes scanned the area, glowing as they swallowed the faint lights. Many things did the same against the walls of what looked to be the interior of a skyscraper.

Many eyes. Amber Wolven glow. Some blue, some silver, some black. They glowed against the stainless steel walls and scaffolding above that ran like the buildings skeleton.

WereWolves. WereLions….. Tigers…. Crocs. Some were new and afraid— like Aeron. Some were injured— burned. Children. But many…. Many were readying themselves for a fight. One thing about Wolves, they didn't need words to speak.

And Claude had already spoken with all of them in the silence.

He raised his good arm and mangled arm in an x over his snout, pouring the negative reserves of mana into bulking his arm muscles with magical might.

"You can't break me."

Out of nowhere something heavy landed on the scaffolding above and began swinging. Hooting and hollering. Body massive and covered in fur. Feet like hands tipped by curled dirty claws. Above he could see the roof was missing, allowing the moonlight to shine.

The beast man thing landed on the central metal scaffolding. Slowly, it crouched on its hand feet, peering down at him through its black knights helm— that went terribly with its undersized longcoat. The three Lunar Artifacts hanging around its neck jingled as its tail waved.

It only said two words.

"PACK. WELCOME."

And then it happened. Claude got swarmed by a pack of SilverCursed in a SkyScraper ruled by a WereWolf StoneApe.

What the hell would a Vampire Elder want with this?