Marktavious Nicholson- Kick-Rat Village: Present
Reality can often be disappointing. However, this was not one of those disappointing times. I had expected a simple fetch mission for some crystals in the Hidden Grotto. It should've been straightforward. Yet as I stared into the crimson eyes of a vampire, I felt a pit in my stomach. I have stared the grim reaper in the eyes more times in one week than in my entire life back on earth. I have been stabbed on three different occasions, but this most recent one was personal. This silver-haired vampire used my spear against me, and honestly, it pissed me off.
There was destruction all around us, with various roots from my previous attacks sprouting throughout the battle zone. It was a complete mess, but then again, I should've expected as such. This is a fantasy world, and time after time has shown me that I have misjudged not only my own abilities but the tenacity of the people I have faced. These people were dangerous, but I would imagine there aren't many people as destructive as an arrogant vampire. His gaze locked onto me as I approached him.
'This man seems keen on taking what tributes. I'm offering a can of whoopass for consideration.'
Those may have been my words, but I was conflicted about how to address this situation. Here I was staring down a vampire with the gall to demand Claire and Mikangleo as tribute. I had heard it when part of me returned from my mana space.
'I was uncertain that I could do it, but I should've expected it to work. This magic shit isn't that difficult, but then again, I do have Mana Command.'
When Fawkes told me that I possessed the Holy Grail of Astral Arts, I imagined that the cocky fox was being hyperbolic. He was being genuine, and I understood that now. While I did not fully comprehend how I was able to do so, I was able to will my mana to activate Deciet Realm onto myself. With the spell flooding over my consciousness, I was able to operate within both the real world and my mana space.
However, there was a massive cost to doing so. While I could control the mana to get this arrangement in order, my reserves were quickly diminishing. Fawkes was right again. Deciet Realm is an incredibly taxing spell. Thought it was a spell that I needed to maintain to achieve. I needed to tackle this war on two fronts.
The vampire standing before me hit like a sledgehammer, and somehow materialized into some crimson mist-like haze. It was thanks to the Scurra that I understood the source of the Miasma.
"So, you mentioned that you have plans, Vampire?" I asked, earning a scoff from the vampire.
This individual was no slouch, standing at approximately six feet three inches tall with purplish skin. He had long silver hair with two bangs covering the sides of his crimson eyes. He had a scar that sliced diagonally from underneath his left eye to his chin. A second scar paralleled the first, but resided on his cheek. His ears were pointed like an elf, and fangs peeked occasionally from his lips.
It was a dead giveaway that he was a vampire. My tail wags softly, and my ears begin to twitch due to movement behind me. It was Scurra, and I would tell that she was following my instructions.
"You don't think I will allow that pesky rodent to run away with my treasures, Fox Man, right?" the vampire hissed.
"I'm not going to dignify that with a response. You aren't owed anything, but a foot up your ass for stabbing a brother when he's down," I spat, punching my palm.
Even that subtle action made my stomach churn in creeping exhaustion. There was a weakness in my left knee, and I focused my mana to mend the injury that was inflicted there. It was draining, which I should have expected. The Deciet Realm was weighing heavily on my reserves, but healing myself was a necessity.
"Tch- You bark loudly, but I could smell the desperation wafting off of you. It almost dishonors me to take down weakened prey," The vampire remarked. He puffed his chest out before fading into mist.
'Ah shit...Not this bullshit again.'
I was unsure what this ability was, but I knew it was terrifying. He vanished like the wind, only to appear in what he perceived was my blind spot. His arm manifested behind me, but I narrowly avoided the strike to the back of my head. However, before I could turn to face him, he had vanished.
It was risky, but I began channeling more mana into healing my knee. I felt a pop in that same area as the injury started to mend itself. The vampire was notably fast, but vanishing into a mist would do that to someone. My ears flickered around like satellite dishes as I relied on my most consistent sense to find him.
"Think so? Then, how about you fight me without turning into...?" I challenged, but his response was to reappear and punch me in my chest.
The punch landed hard, but I managed to hold my ground without budging too much. He appeared again to my left, swiping at my face with his sharp fingernails. I narrowly leaned away from the strike and clenched my fist to retaliate. It was unfortunate that I was too slow to succeed. My fist instead parted the crimson mist that he had vanished into.
'Damn it! He's too fast and too experienced in these hit-and-run tactics.'
Whoever this man was, he was a skilled combatant. That much was obvious. The crimson mist would only appear at split-second intervals, leaving barely any time for me to counterattack. My body began to creak and tense from the mana I was using to hold the Deciet Realm spell active.
My tail wagged in agitation, and I exhaled as my knee finally repaired itself fully. This was my chance. He has incredible mobility with his ability, which I had to admit was far above my current capabilities.
'How is he doing this... is it a spell? No. There is no incantation. So perhaps an artifact?'
If I hadn't seen that he was unarmed, then I would have sworn a sword had whizzed through near my face. The vampire had reappeared, lashing his sharp nails towards my face with surgical precision. He gashed my cheek before leaping and twirling into a back kick that I managed to block with my forearms.
'Nah, this must be the handiwork of ancestral skill, the same as my Kitsune healing. Vampires weren't ideal tanks in Infinity Unleashed. They were built for speed and advanced ambush tactics.'
Uncontent with standing around, I decided to test his timing against a moving target. The grass underneath my feet exploded with my movement as I leaped into the air. My target was the root barrier that I used to shield Mikangleo and Claire, and when I landed on it, the vampire was there.
He appeared, slamming his fist into my chest once again, but this time, I managed to catch him. My fingers tightened around his wrist, but that was as far as my counterattack went. When I attempted to knee him in his midsection, he had vanished. This sparked something in my brain. It wasn't a full-blown realization, but I had a theory.
'So he can appear near me up here at that same speed? How?'
My ears twitched, and without looking at him, I parried his attack with a swipe of my tail. For all the hit-and-run tactics that he was employing, there was an obvious factor to consider. The shock of seeing him vanish had temporarily overriden my common sense, but now, despite the magical drain, it was pumping on all cylinders.
I jumped down from the roots, and upon my landing in a crouch, he appeared once again. This time, he was to my right. His fingernails lashed out with frightening speed and nicked the side of my neck despite my leaning away. I recovered quickly and launched myself at him with a tackle. Unspriingly, it was a failure, but I quickly scrambled to regain my vertical base.
He had arrived when I stood, and this time appeared above my head. I was surprised to see him fall onto me, but I could smell this trap from a mile away. I shielded myself with my forearms, but before we could collide, he vanished again. I willed my tail to react, and with blinding speed, I shifted my body, and it slammed into the reappearing vampire to my back.
It wasn't the most devastating blow, but it was enough to catch him off guard. While I expected him to vanish once again, he instead was arrogant enough to withstand the attack. I was not one to pass up on a prime opportunity, so I shuffled on my feet and delivered a punch toward the vampire's face.
Instead of vanishing, he moved his head out of the way and lashed out with a counter of his own. His fingernails were as sharp as knives, and they proceeded to tear into my cheek like a piece of tender beef. While the pain was minimal, it was the principle that hurt more.
'This fuckin' bitch has a counter to everything...'
His hands moved like coiling snakes, but each time, I managed to repel the strikes. His kicks had missed, whether they were back kicks or spartan kicks, but man, did this man enjoy kicking. I sidestepped a high kick meant for my head before the vampire vanished in his mist.
I expected another attack, but this time, he reappeared with some distance between us. He was calm and collected, with his piercing crimson eyes showing indifference toward me. He brought his bloodied fingers towards his mouth and licked them much like a cat grooming itself.
"There is a difference between you and me, Fox Man. Could you grasp that simple concept?" the vampire asked. His face twisted in disgust after tasting my blood. However, this time, he continued rather than shaking it away.
"Thirsty?" I asked, which he responded to with a dismissive hand swipe.
He was correct, even if I had a hard time admitting it. This man was built for this type of fight, and had I not been what I am, then it's possible that I would've been dead. This man is an ambush predator, full stop. That is his biggest strength, but that is also his biggest weakness.
"I could grasp it. In fact, the longer this drags out, the better the chances my comrades escape. I think it's only a matter of time before I repel you," I responded, collecting my breath.
"Time is something we both do not have," he responded with narrowing eyes.
He appeared to be sizing me up, and I could sense the gears in his head working overtime. I did the same to him. He was barely phased by all of the exertion that he had performed so far. It would have been unsettling had I been an idiot. He was attacking nonstop, aiming for my jugular, but now he decided to stop and chat?
There was clearly more at play. There must be a reason he decided to stop and test my blood despite being adverse to it. My instincts told me to trust my logic and my intuition. I needed to push him more, but for now, I'll take this reprieve.
"I literally could do this all day, Vampire," I retorted, pushing my glasses up onto my face.
"I doubt that. Your breath caught during that bluff, and you're huffing harder than the wind is blowing."
My lips twitched at that remark. He was telling the truth in this instance. Despite having this new kitsune body, there was only so much travel and fighting I could do before my body reached its limit. I believe that limit was coming sooner than I would like to admit.
My eyes were getting heavier, and there was a weight latching onto my limbs. While magic was not as challenging to use, it was draining on my weakening body. Meanwhile, my opponent was fresh and at the top of his game. It is unrealistic for me to overcome him with these odds, but something within me told me that it was possible.
"Alright, maybe I am bluffing. I am tired, but I'll do what I must. That goes without saying," I stated after exhaling deeply.
The vampire observed me cautiously before crossing his arms. We locked eyes before manifesting his malicious aura. It became oppressive, weighing me down as if gravity itself had grown stronger.
"What you must do is surrender. Give up this fight and become my prisoner, Fox Man. Further delay will result in your death," the vampire said.
I pushed my glasses onto my nose and looked away from the man. I briefly considered his offer, weighing the different off-ramps available.
'Being a prisoner is not ideal, but neither is battling on two different fronts. The miasma in my body is a nuisance, and the creature within is more difficult to defeat... Perhaps...'
"I am amenable to your suggestion, so long as you remove the miasma from my body," I proposed, clenching my chest. "I offer a proposition rather than my surrender. Release me from your miasma's influence and allow my allies and me to leave. If you do that, then this clash will be unnecessary. I came to this area to mine crystals, not to interfere with your plan, whatever it may be."
The vampire's gaze hardened at the mention of the crystals. He began to circle to my right, but he kept his distance just in case I decided to sneak attack him. There was contemplation in those crimson eyes.
"I demand tribute for your discretion and insults," The vampire responds after stopping. "Provide me with the blood of your female companion, and I will-"
"You're going to have to ask for something else," I snapped, cutting him off.
He frowned at my bluntness, but I remained firm in my resolution. I could smell the malice oozing from him, and so, I was not surprised when he vanished into mist again.
"We could have gone our separate ways without further bloodshed, vampire," I said as I braced myself for his attack.
My body had fully healed by this time, which was a relief I needed. With less mana being burned to sustain my body, I was able to stabilize the activation of the Deciet Realm spell on my body. I looked to my left and then to my right, but he didn't appear in either direction. Unexpectantly, he appeared in front of me, and he hit me with a spin kick so powerful that he sent my ass flying.
I roared through the air and crashed onto my back with the grace of a baby deer. The impact made my muscles tense, and the grass caved into a crater. My mind began to spin, causing me to remain grounded longer than I anticipated. This was perfect for the vampire as I reappeared next to me.
I attempted to sit up, but a boot was slammed onto my chest. He stomped not once or twice, but at least six different times, each more powerful than the last. My ribs fractured, but I poured my mana into repairing them. However, despite my instantaneous healing, it didn't stop the pain of having my chest caved in by his metal boots.
Once he was satisfied with his assault, he glared down at me with contempt. Blood caught in my throat, forcing me to cough indiscriminately to clear my passage. He leaned down and stared into my eyes. He may have expected weakness or submission, but I was becoming more than pissed off. I assumed he didn't like my glare as he grabbed me by my throat and then lifted me onto my feet.
He squeezed and flashed his fangs threateningly. I brought my hands around his wrist, but the lack of oxygen made my grip falter slightly. My heart began pounding, and his sharp nails started digging into my neck. Had I still been a human, the pressure of his grip alone would likely have decapitated me. That thought alone made the situation worse than before.
"You are resilient, I will give you that, but you are too weak to stand against me. I am Drajkovane, Fox Man, commit it to memory as I send you to meet your ancestors."