Chapter 18: The fight of five moves

 

Though there are many different kinds of factors, the most well-known ones are the animalistic factors that give lycanthropes like werewolves and werecats their animal-like abilities. A vampire's capacity to use blood-related talents is made possible by their possession of the blood fiend factor. Harrison, for example, can control rats by simply letting them drink his blood and using their bite skill to spread the control to other rats.

The Von Yin family possessed an enchanted version of the blood fiend, which allowed them to transform living humans under their control into Batteries from which they could employ attack-based talents such as Blood scythe, bbloodstonemunitions, compress, and so on. This skill is only available once a Vampire has surpassed the second class of the Vampirism race, the CaCasanovaThere five known classes of Vampires:

First-class: Blood-ling

Second class: Casanovva

Third class: Wight

Fourth class: Carnivorous fiend

Fifth class: Blood Squire

 

Harrison was currently three classes ahead of the vampire race. Additional factors included the Chained Factor, Prisoner Factor, Blood Fiend Factor, Animalistic Factor, Untether Factor, Machine Influencer, and Elemental Factor, even the healing factor.

***

In a war of fists and tactics, like chess, psychological warfare is the most crucial element. Use the pawns as an educational opportunity, the knights as more seasoned combatants, and the bishop, who is employed to great effect.

All you have to do sometimes is question how many moves it takes to win a game of chess. However, the void controlling Brandon just needed five attacking moves.

Harrison swiped at the face with his claws, coming within inches of shattering his face. Brandon gripped the arm with ease, his face impassive in the wooden mask, gripping the hand as his bones were crushed with a loud snap.

Harrison suffered a jab to the face, cracking his nose and causing blood to flow from his nostril. Four more moves after the initial one.

Harrison stammered a little, smiled, and licked and wiped the blood. Just as Harrison was ready to launch himself once more, Brandon held a black rat in his palm. Harrison's arm broke the second time he squeezed the rodent.

The blood poured down, staining the polished wood, and Harrison had a mental image of a hideous smile pasted on Brandon's face as he moved out of the offensive lunge with a sidestep, tripping Harrison, who stumbled again; his actions seemed clumsy, which he didn't mind. When he attempted to utilize a high elbow, Brandon countered with a punch that fully broke his elbow. That didn't count as an attack but a defensive counter, the move didn't count.

Every bone, large and tiny, was obliterated in his elbow and spread to the arms. Harrison's hands were shattered, so he used his given physical speed to retreat as the rats cleared a passage. Immediately, one of the rodents defecated and transformed into a chilly red liquid, which levitated and entered Harrison's mouth.

He licked his lips and heard bones and flesh being torn and constructed painfully, but Harrison was unconcerned as he raised his left hand, another rat popped, and the red liquid retreated to the hand, swirling and forming a small pill-like pebble that he flicked with his middle finger toward Brandon with blinding speed.

Brandon took a guard position, and the pebble hit his wooden hands, causing him to move back owing to momentum and the collision with the blood pebble, but his hand stayed intact and undamaged.

'What material are those arms and hands made of?' Harrison thought inwardly. During the chaotic Treasure Age or Epoch, some magical practices remained unknown to everyone. Many races did not make their techniques public, and it was a highly troublesome Age due to an increase in sea criminals and smugglers but that was a chaotic Age where anything could happen. People needed to hide their trump cards; people began to make their abilities public due to the Half-breed rebellion of the Lost Age.

 

It wasn't surprising that there was an ability to replace severed limbs with wooden ones; perhaps it was an Elf-based skill, given their abilities are linked to nature's gifts. Brandon let his guard down as he slowly lifted his hand, the second of three moves left.

The cylinder structure rocked slightly as the rats stood still, undisturbed and unchanging. His legs creaked slightly, just enough for Harrison to notice something as he inwardly lampooned:

'Is that an attack?'

As the rats popped one after the other, the blood retreated to his two hands and swirled again, one of which formed many blood stones while the other continued to whirl, generating a miniature tornado that kept swirling.

Harrison then flung his hand, causing the various pebbles to move at the same amazing speed. Some of the Pebbles impacted Brandon's body, which was not in a protective position, including his legs, arms, torso, and face.

Brandon's body was not in a guarded position when the Pebbles landed on his legs, arms, stomach, and face. Owing to an unidentified wood substance covering his body, he was able to deflect the pebbles' impacts.

His face was hidden by the wood, giving the impression that he was a silent knight wearing polished wooden armor, even with his hands still lifted. With his crown in place of his hair and head, he appeared more human than a monster species similar to the Trey-yin.

The tree-yin monsters, also known as resource chameleons, were so named because they could pass for trees to evade humans, whom they considered to be both prey and predators. They also could make nearby plants emit a lull when eaten, and they could lull an opponent to sleep by appearing as a tree fruit or being nearby.

"Monster, he is an manty-intelligent monster." Thought Harrison as he launched his attacks at the immobile Brandon, he made sure not to swallow the rats' blood again after he began his onslaught. He might have been injecting the rats with the lulling effect as he continued to test Brandon's Tree-yin capacity to lull.

The little tornado used the bloodstones as bullets, growing and then stopping. He then grabbed the tornado with both hands, causing it to shrink to the size of the pebbles and continue to swirl, he compressed it by cupping his hands.

He then placed his hands near his mouth and blew at the tornado, causing it to leap out of Harrison's hands as it expanded and expanded. As a result of the wind effect, many rats were trapped in the tornado's draw power and whirled toward Brandon, who was raising his hand.

If only Harrison could see Brandon's face right now, but everything is hidden by the wood-made mask. Harrison would have perceived a cunning grin. The remaining rats felt some trembles and the tornado's momentum was slightly disrupted as a result of the sudden, strong earthquake that reduced the tornado's speed.

The rats who remained in the tunnel went down, and some attempted to flee from the perceived dangers, but something seemed to be drawn to a power that told them that if they left, they would die; animals understand death is horrible and scary, even if their knowledge is limited.

Harrison leaped, causing more rodents to urinate, and the crimson liquid to swirl before reaching his hands. The twirl surrounds his arms and hands as armament and a source of strength; as it twisted, Harrison was carried down by Gravity and punched the ground, causing the speed to cease for a moment as he used his great speed toward Brandon.

However, that was a mistake since by punching the ground, he created fissures and openings that made everything was intended possible. Long green and brown items protruded from the ground with sharp edges, stopping Harrison's momentum and allowing him to fire a double punch as a momentum blocker.

As a result of the tall jutting wall, the tornado subsided and dispersed on impact, but Harrison was surprised to find that the wall he struck with his heightened strength remained still and unmodified. He repeatedly delivered quick fists to the wall until the swirls disappeared.

After that, he retreated his hand and some rodents pooped, swirling the red liquid toward it. Abruptly, he noticed a fast shadow appear, followed by a loud, thunderous clasp that sounded like someone had used a kendo stick on a human body.

Harrison is inconsolable, looking upwards after an uppercut, third move two left. Brandon had diverted attention with his wall of overhanging thorns. Tree yin can affect plant growth, especially seedling growth, and can cause them to grow quickly and without delay.

Harrison was startled out of his trance and was now back into the air. He reached out and felt a red liquid trickle back into his fingers and then whirl around his hands and arms to give him confidence. 

He rotated his body as gravity did its work, and before he could reach the surface, Harrison unleashed a torrent of blood sickles at Brandon, who evaded by fleeing, his attention never leaving the falling Harrison.

Brandon wanted to see where Harrison would land. Harrison gestured with his hand, claws spread as if he were attempting to grasp something and pull it toward him. Suddenly, some rats pooped and pooped; many of them were already dead and destroyed as a result of the battle's aftermath, but little amounts of their blood remained.

A few were buried beneath the rubble left by the towering brown thorn wall. So, few were still alive, such as the ones in the tunnels, but some must have broken free from his control when he was briefly knocked out, so they fled beyond his range, and those that remained became his batteries. 

Harrison used that blood to create the bullets of blood that he used to rain down on Brandon, who kept dodging without allowing the raining bullets to alter his gaze as he looked Harrison in the eyes.

He dodged with grace, composure, elegance, and beauty in his unbroken moves and movements. Harrison made some hand moves, and the swirling of blood around him created three blood sickles as massive as Harrison's muscular physique. He then made a gun gesture, and they shot toward Brandon. His eyes snapped to the approaching onslaught, and he merely stood there.

Harrison desired to land and develop a diversion skill that would allow him to escape this wooden fiend. Since the enemy is not as weak as he had assumed, the wood of all things has made his search less thrilling and more fearful; the fun has been replaced by boredom.

Harrison used his claws as a guide for the sickles as he swiped, and many sickles were launched toward Brandon, who stood still as the pouring bullets and sickles pelted his wood-covered torso. The aftermath of the assault made the area a little dusty and slightly apparent to the eyes, providing enough cover for Harrison to flee.

The now-fragile surface nearly broke as a result of his landing. Harrison leaped once more into the tunnels in an attempt to get away, but before he could, there was a loud rumbling that made him turn to look, and saw right away a jutting thorn from where he had jumped.

Using the wall, he pulled himself away from the tunnel and an incoming projecting thorn, which obstructed the tunnel he was passing through. Harrison landed and sprinted toward another tunnel with his gifted speed, but before he could jump toward the higher tunnel, he heard another rumble.

Then a long protruding thorn rose from the ground and covered the tunnel; without thinking, Harrison used his claws to dig at the thorn and attempted to climb it. The thorn vibrated slightly, and then a small thorn sprouted quickly with a penetrating desire to attack the climber; however, before they could puncture Harrison's flesh, he sprang off and fell to the ground.

He used his last piece of control to make the rats pop and use their blood as energy. Harrison looked frightened and hopeless when he realized that all he had been doing was battling, arming his body with internal energy, and utilizing the rats as fuel for his spells and attacks.

Harrison was adamant that he would defeat the just awakened Brandon, kill him, and consume his flesh and blood as nutrients for his recuperation, but he hadn't followed through on that.

The more recklessly he handled those rats, the less he thought about getting better or making an escape; instead, he reveled in his arrogant show of strength, which caused the seasoned fighter to forget one important detail. After learning how his factor as a blood fiend had helped him take a path to evolve into a new class, he became a Wight approximately a month ago.

However, with evolution came something called a Factor Limit, which serves as a gauge for his power and limits it to prevent his body and mind from becoming corrupted and destroyed as a result of overuse.

 His factor limiter was termed hunger and quench, and it made him incredibly hungry whenever he used his talents to fight. He had hoped that the limiter had a loophole that allowed him to use his blood manipulation ability on another organism rather than himself.

Thus, while using the rats as batteries did effectively limit his ability usage, he had forgotten that the Wight's assault mode is also impacted by the hunger and thirst factor limiter. He was doomed since he hadn't obtained nourishment in time. Because he does not find food before reporting to the organization, he will foment unrest among the citizens, if he rampages into the city.

He would be arrested until he could gain control of the factor limiter, but owing to his now fuzzy and distracting mind from the consequences of the total use of his energy, Harrison's Wight form came undone quickly.

His once-hairless face had grown a white beard, pale skin, and a massive frame, his monstrous form was gone like a puff of smoke. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, his once-bright scarlet eyes had become dark and light-less. 

People who knew him well would say he was attractive, but those who have been damaged by aging would remark his beauty was gradually fading.

Now, he collapsed on one knee while thinking:

'My biggest attacks came from the sickles and blood rain that had been deployed. Maybe my strikes pierced the wood armor that had protected Brandon, and the thorns were a final resort. The long jutting thorns were gone, and the earth was silent; the smoke was beginning to disperse.

Harrison remarked with a hint of thrill that hunger and quench were influencing his thoughts on the inside:

'Perhaps I can gnaw at the wood and peel him out enough to obtain a nipple of his flesh to slow down the factor limiter, giving me some clarity and a sense of mind to think straight again.'

His body was still too weak and fatigued to get to where Brandon had been, so he began to stand and walk slowly. He would fall, but it didn't stop him from crawling for a while and getting up thanks to the thorn debris on the surface. His fangs were now apparent, and he walked with saliva in his mouth and grinning teeth.

His tongue had been out and about, tiredly punting like a dog when it's tired or during the summer heat. Spring had arrived, and the holidays would be finished in roughly three days.

Harrison smiled and remarked in a sleepy voice, "You better be lying like you were when you made me hungry. Your entire body wouldn't be enough; perhaps after I devour you, I'll target your father's frail body." He said, with a sour laugh:

"His sick body would make a great snack, now this is just a dinner before the true supper"

He then collapsed on his knees, unable to move his two feet. The Cylinder construction in the deep sewers was uneven and fractured, and he had to crawl on it painfully.

He noticed the dust gathering and grinned broadly, crawling with everything he had, his eyesight becoming a little jumbled and fuzzy. He was almost there. He couldn't see very well, and suddenly he felt like his power had run out. He wanted to walk and approach the prey, knowing in his dark heart that it was waiting for him to consume it.

His hands moved as he grasped a nearby piece of rubble to aid his mobility, but this posed a difficulty for him. It appeared as though he was completely immobile; had his energy gone out?

No, that couldn't have happened because the factor core wouldn't have enabled him to move or crawl at all, putting him on the ground, motionless and completely unfazed, until something akin to a stray rat tries to eat him, depleting his body of its vital blood and energy to aid in the factor core's recharging.

Harrison wondered what had forced him to remain motionless; with his last shred of power, he peered behind him to check if anything had nagged his skin and was impeding his movements, but there was nothing.

He felt weak and drowsy for no obvious reason, as if his core was being drained as if the rats were his favorite drink, and he was drinking without pausing at all.

You are out of moves after five moves. At that same location, Brandon remained unharmed and immaculately polished—he was now nude. He still had his wooden limbs, his half-breed torso had returned to its thin, skinny form, and the wooden armament had disappeared.

Harrison could not see or hear anything, and he fell asleep with a dry expression on his face. A tiny, hair-like object had sprung from the earth, resembling waving strings that had now attached themselves to the sleeping Harrison.

It seemed as though they might break at any moment due to a sudden movement from the body or a slight blast of wind since they appeared so frail. As they multiplied and attached themselves to Harrison's sleeping body, the hair-like fibers took on a lifelike appearance.

The more they grew, the more something happened to the body. Gradually, the body appeared to age due to the growth of hair-like fibers. Eventually, the flesh disappeared, leaving just bone, while the fibers carried on with their function.

As the skin was pulled off the sleeping vampire, Harrison felt tired, resting, and fatigued, but he hadn't realized he had fallen into a trap, and that trap had taken his life peacefully.

All that remained of the vampire was dust as the hair-like strands multiplied and adhered themselves to its bones. They vanished below the surface right away, leaving no trace of their presence.

Brandon's eyes glowed vividly once again, and the purple had vanished. He vibrated slightly, as though he was emerging from a dream. His wooden limbs began to twitch as a white fluid spilled from them, turning them pale like the rest of Brandon's skin. The shaking subsided, and the limbs took on the same skin-covered appearance as the rest of his body, his original color was back, charming and still.

Brandon used his right hand to contact his left hand before knocking on his arm. His hands were back; there was a familiarity to the knock and contact. He also looked at his legs, hopping a little and feeling familiar intent again. He didn't know how, but his missing limbs didn't appear lost anymore.

Brandon's thoughts were elsewhere as he glanced at the cylinder's crate and added in a quiet voice:

"One down, three left to go"