Little Boy

Lucian swung his katana aimed at the man's head, but instead, the blade clanked against metal.

Lucian and Pedantris swapped places after dashing past each other.

They both quickly spun on their feet, facing each other once again and charged.

Clash

The same thing happened again, swapping places, and pivoting to face each other.

This time though, neither of the two men charged.

Instead, they glared at each other in readied positions.

Silence hung in the air once again, the vampires and werewolves watching intensely.

Physically he's strong... Probably stronger than me. Our clash sent vibrations through my arm.

...

I'll have to use magic.

Lucian hopped backwards and tapped into his blood source, drawing from its powers and cultivating it into a ball of blood in his hands.

Vampires could draw their blood from their body, and manipulate it in many ways.

The magic that Lucian used now, was a sheathe.

He pressed the ball of dark blood against the blade of his katana and allowed it to revolve around it.

Pedantris watched with the smirk still on his face, intrigued with the power.

After Lucian was done, the blade was no longer a silver metallic colour, but now a dark red blade that seemed to radiate powers from another world.

He held his sword high, and Pedantris must not have known what he planned to do, as he didn't try to defend himself.

But Lucian slashed the sword downwards, sending an arc of blood energy flying through the air towards the werewolf at blinding speed.

Pedantris' face quickly switched to one of terror, and he tried to cross his arms to defend against the blow.

But using the physical body to block magical attacks was foolish. The arc of blood crashed into him, sending him tumbling backwards along the floor

The werewolf's strong skin prevented him from being sliced in half, but bloody wounds were still left on his arms.

Gasps of shock sounded through the crowd of werewolves, but Lucian wasn't finished.

He slashed again, and again, sending two more arcs of blood towards the werewolf that now lay crumpled on the floor.

But this time, Pedantris fought back.

Whilst he lay on the floor, the werewolf slashed twice with his claws, sending two arcs of his own towards Lucian's.

The arcs were blue and larger than Lucian's.

The forces clashed with each other, creating a small explosion of purple energy.

It was powerful, forcing some of the weaker spectators in the crowd to shield themselves.

Pedantris flipped himself onto his feet, once again ready to go on the offence.

His magic is strong. Even stronger than mine.

...

Will I be able to beat him with regular abilities?

Pedantris struck again, with four fast consecutive strikes.

With each strike, an arc of blue energy was sent flying towards Lucian.

But the young vampire poised himself, deflecting each strike with his katana, sending them flying into the crowds.

Some of the werewolves were able to block, but others were sliced apart by the ability.

"You're good, little boy. But try this!"

Pedantris roared as he slammed his claws into the stone floor and sent an earthquake tumbling towards Lucian.

It was as though the very stones had become angered, and came tumbling towards him.

Lucian leapt into the air and channelled more blood into his katana, sending another powerful strike towards the werewolf.

This strike was larger than all of the previous ones.

But the beast leapt to the air as well, the arc flying beneath him.

Perfect.

Lucian had anticipated the move.

Now that both of them were in the air, Lucian knew that the battle was won.

Holding his katana like a blood-filled javelin, he threw it towards the werewolf with incredible speed.

Instantly he saw the man's face twist with fear.

Draven had taught Lucian something important before their journey north.

Werewolves were heavier than the other races, making it difficult for them to move whilst in the air.

Pedantris pushed against the air, trying to change his trajectory to dodge the incoming sword.

But it didn't work.

The katana took him in his shoulder, and exited out of the back, crashing into another werewolf in the distance.

Blood flew into the air as both of them fell to the ground, but the werewolf was wounded, his left arm limp and uselessly hanging by his side.

Then, Pedantris let out a wicked laugh and managed to speak between breaths.

"Good tactics, little boy! But you've underestimated me entirely. You have left yourself weaponless, whilst I... I have yet to even transform yet!"

The man let out a sickening growl, and as he did, the air began to change around him.

The hair on his arms began to thicken, becoming a protective fur. His teeth and claws slowly began to grow more fierce, and his muscles began to expand, becoming ever more impressive.

But this, again, was something Lucian had been warned of.

And once again, something he had calculated.

Whilst Pedantris slowly transformed, Lucian tapped deep into his bloody source, accessing an ability that he crafted himself.

Every vampire had access to blood magic, but only a few were able to cultivate an ability that surpassed simple blasts and shield abilities.

Abilities like Prudence's, the 3rd knight, who could create a bow and arrow from her blood.

These were called Blood Blessings.

And Lucian had one of his own. Now that he no longer worked as a scholar, all of his time was put into studying the ways of blood magic and training.

He drew blood deep from his blood source. The liquid was tainted by the bite from Draven, the vampire lord himself.

And after he had drawn from it, it only took a second for him to cultivate the ability, much faster than the Werewolf's transformation.

A new katana appeared in his right hand. Then, another in his left. Both entirely made from blood and double the size of his previous sword.

The Twin Blades.

He dashed forward, barely giving the werewolf time to react.

Pedantris didn't expect it at all. All of Lucian's attacks before had relied on the use of his material katana.

Now that he had thrown and lost it, the man was sure that he had no abilities left strong enough to interrupt his transformation.

But he was wrong. He underestimated the man he had called a 'Little Boy'

"Wait!" He shouted desperately. "We can-"

Lucian dashed passed the werewolf, ending up behind him.

The room fell silent for a moment. Both the crowd and the two fighters.

Lucian allowed the twin blades to evaporate into the air. Something advised against, as a vampire's blood was finite, and would leave them feeling drained if they lost too much of it before replenishing themselves.

But Lucian knew that a new source of blood had just been created for him.

Thud.

Something heavy hit the floor, followed by a spraying sound

Lucian turned to look at the results of his work.

Pedantris stood there, body half transformed, but his head was now on the floor, rolling, as blood squirted from his neck like a fountain.

A few seconds later, the body went limp and fell to the ground with the head.

Thump.

A pool of blood was created beneath him, and Lucian's mouth began to water.

Better not waste it.

The werewolves watched in disbelief as the small boy walked over to the body of the giant he had just defeated and began to drink his blood.

Soflera, the 5th Knight stepped forward from the crowd, a smile on her face as she addressed the group of onlookers.

"This victory is ours." She announced proudly, words echoing through the hall.

"Pedantris, Captain of the First Peak, has fallen. Now let's finish what we came here to do!"

She drew the longsword from her back, and swung in a wide arc, taking the head off of a nearby werewolf.

As Lucian continued to drink the blood of his victim, he heard the sounds of werewolves being slayed around him.