Chapter 77 - A strange man

The next day, early in the morning, Thomas was waiting for his parents to come and pick him up. Saying goodbye was never easy, especially when it comes to his dear grandparents. But that's just part of life since he can't live with them forever, so with a heavy heart, Thomas hugged his grandmother tightly. She smiled warmly at him, before kissing him on the forehead. After he broke the hug, Thomas then turned to his grandfather, who patted him on the back with a proud grin on his face.

"I'll miss you both so much. Thank you for having me here and taking care of me."

They smiled warmly, assuring him that he would always be welcome here if he ever gets to bored with London.

Just as the moment stretched on, a familiar sound caught their attention. Thomas turned his head and saw his father's car parked in front of their house. With a heavy sigh, Thomas bid a final farewell to his grandparents, promising to visit them again soon.

As Thomas stepped into the car with his parents, he greeted them before he kissed his mother on the cheek, something that he had started to do ever since that incident when she almost died. On the way back to their home, Kate signed to him, curious to hear what her baby had done in the past two weeks, [How was your time with your grandparents and Irina's parents?]

At first, Thomas blinked in surprise, not expecting to hear his mother asking him about Touji and Myra, then again she knew him the best so maybe she expected him to go over to the Shidou's. Nevertheless, after he shake the shock from his face, Thomas told her what he had done, "It was incredible! Grandpa and Grandma spoiled me with their delicious cooking, and Uncle Touji trained me! He's an amazing swordsman, and I learned so much from him! I even show grandpa and grandma how I flew with my broom and some of the charms I've learned."

His father, who was driving, glanced back at him through the rearview mirror, smiling proudly at his son's enthusiasm.

Thought, Thomas hadn't mentioned anything about what he and Mars have done in his free time to them, since he didn't want to scare them or make them even more worried for his well-being than they were already.

<Flashback >

"Are you sure this is ok, Mars? I mean you are having me hunt down stray devils in the middle of the bloody UK. Don't you think the wizards would have sniffed out the devils if that was the case?"

"You're still too foolish to understand, Thomas," Mars replied curtly. "Not all wizards are the noble protectors you see them as. There are those who have made deals with stray devils or even fallen angels."

Thomas's eyes widened, since other than the dark lord he hadn't exactly seen any wizards that were pure evil.

"Even Bahamut agrees with me on this matter. Despite this being a wizardly community, it doesn't mean that other beings can't settle here in exchange for certain things."

[Indeed, Thomas. Rerek is right about this since alliances and agreements would always exist even within seemingly secluded communities, such as the wizards']

Suddenly, Bahamut stopped speaking and Thomas knew that something must have happened otherwise Bahamut wouldn't have stopped midway.

"What is it, Bahamut?"

[Thomas, twenty kilometers north from here, I sense a foul presence. It bears a resemblance to that of a devil, but not as strong as the one you have encountered before].

Thomas's heart skipped a beat at the revelation. Another devil presence nearby meant that chances are rogue wizards or worse death-eaters could prepare something. He then glanced in the direction Bahamut told him and while he wanted to help, Thomas wondered if it was worth the risks?

"What should we do?"

[You and Rerek should proceed with caution, Thomas. Alone or not, you can't ever be prepared enough for a fight, but can very well get ready to improvise.]

Neither Thomas nor Mars said anything, as they moved closer to the place where Bahamut felt that devil. And a few minutes later Thomas and Mars found themselves on a field near what seemed to be an abandoned farm. Once they were sure that no one was around them, Thomas and Mars slowly made their way toward the abandoned farm. The farm didn't look as if someone was living in it for years as its weathered wooden structures displayed the marks of time. The once-vibrant paint had faded, revealing the raw wood beneath, and vines snaked their way around the walls. In a way, nature had claimed its territory, reclaiming the land that had been left untended for years.

Though, that didn't stop, Thomas from surveying the surroundings, as his eyes looked at each and every shabby building that have been built on this farm. The main farmhouse, with its sloping roof and boarded-up windows, was the one that gave the most trouble feeling anything in it.

"Do you feel it, Tom?"

"The nothingness in the house? Because I can definitely not feel anything from it, which doesn't make any sense"

Just as Mars was about to respond to Thomas' comment, a strange-looking man charged through one of the boarded windows, his snarling face resembling that of a husk, almost as if its body was lacking any blood. The man's features appeared mangled and lifeless, with a sickeningly human mouth stained with blood. Gripping a large horse chopper, he wielded the weapon effortlessly with a single hand.

Reacting swiftly, Thomas instinctively dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the creature's swing. With a flick of his wand, he cast a shield charm, creating a protective barrier that absorbed the following blows raining down upon it. The shield trembled under the repeated impacts, but it held firm. One, two, three. The creature hit and hit hard, hit fast, and assume that the small prey would break.

Maybe it came from the experience? Maybe many did. Maybe they would trip, or their arms would go numb from the pounding. Thomas wondered about this since the creature looked way too sure for it to be an instinct.

Then just as the creature paused for a second, Thomas ducked to the side, and the creature wasn't ready for his burst of speed. The thing turned, too slow, as Thomas separated its hand from its wrist, using Incendio to burn through its thin arm. The creature screamed out in pain as Thomas spun about, ramming his dagger(the very same one that his teachers took from him when he took down the troll) into the stomach of another creature that jumped through the broken window, hoping to catch him off guard.

As soon as he was sure that the second creature was down, Thomas withdrew his dagger from the creature's body and plunge it into the first creature's neck. The lifeless beast slid off his blade, leaving behind a trail of blood as Thomas wiped his dagger on the cloth that one of the creatures had tied at its waist.

"What… are those?"

[Thralls. Those are the paws of a vampire.]

"B-but this is England. We don't have vampires!"

"And I'm from Egypt. That's not the point Tom. The point is that there's a vampire in that house and sooner or later it would attack you."

As Thomas turned around, his eyes widened at the sight of a towering man standing in the doorway of the farmhouse. This man was taller than anyone he had ever encountered in terms of height, and while he seemed to glance at Thomas, the man didn't seem to care about the two dead thralls, maybe because he had four more around him.

One of them made for Thomas. Stepping forward to meet its charge, Thomas reminded himself of the lessons learned fighting the youkai assassin. When the thrall lashed out at him with claw-like hands, Thomas was careful not to meet the sharp claws directly with his shield charm for fear the thrall attack would pass right through it. Instead, he feinted with the shield as though he was going to parry with it, before sidestepping the attack at the last moment.

As the thrall's claws slashed through empty air, Thomas thrust his sword at the gap created in the creature's guard. The blade struck home, stabbing deep through the creature's body and into its chest. Pulling the dagger free as the thrall grunted in pain, Thomas resumed a high guard position, confident his enemy was about to fall.

But he was wrong. Turning to face him once more, the thrall spat out a mouthful of dark blood and showed its sharp teeth in a snarl.

Thomas was sure he had stabbed the creature in the heart, but incredibly, the thrall seemed hardly fazed by the wound. Redoubling its efforts to kill him, the thrall charged forward once more, swinging its claws as it uttered a roaring cry of defiance. Trying a variation on his previous tactic, Thomas dodged the blow and tried to slash at the back of its legs, aiming to hamstring the thrall for an easy kill.

This time, the thrall was ready for him. Catching him by the hand, it swatted Thomas like a fly, hitting him with a force that sent him reeling. Barely managing to keep his feet, Thomas took a more open stance as the thrall turned to face him again, hoping to tempt his enemy into making another charge.

He did not have to wait long. With a roar, the thrall lumbered forward. Making another feint, Thomas jinked as though he was going right before he suddenly rushed to the left. The movement exposed the thrall's right side as it lifted its dagger to strike just as Mars bit the creature's neck. While that happened, Thomas thrust his dagger forward with all his might, the blade stabbing between the monster's ribs and digging deep. Pulling the weapon free with a twist, Thomas stabbed at his target a second time before the thrall could react. Disengaging swiftly, he took a step backward, moving to a safe position beyond the creature's reach.

Again, the thrall snarled in defiance. But, this time, the damage done was more than it could shrug off. It moved a step forward. Then, another step, before the creature collapsed to its knees and slumped forward as its lifeless body fell to the ground.

As the lifeless body of the thrall hit the ground, a slow applause echoed through the abandoned farmhouse. Thomas turned his attention towards the towering man, who had been observing the entire battle. The man's eyes glistened in the dim light, and a sly smile played on his lips.

"Bravo, young wizard," the man said, in what Thomas could only describe as a blend of admiration and curiosity. "You fight with the prowess of an exorcist, yet you possess the spirit of a knight. Quite the intriguing combination, wouldn't you agree?"

Thomas straightened his stance, keeping his dagger at the ready, and adjusted his grip on his wand, preparing himself for whatever the vampire might do.

Upon seeing this, the vampire's smile grew larger, before he raised his eyebrow as he heard Thomas's words.

"I've been trained in various combat styles. I believe in adapting and utilizing the skills that suit the situation. I'm adept at learning about different disciplines and merging them into a cohesive style that suits me."

The man nodded, as he applauds once more. "A commendable philosophy, indeed. It seems you've grasped the essence of combat which I've to say in my thousand years of being alive I've seen few beings do."

"And who might you be? You seem quite knowledgeable about different fighting styles yourself."

"You may address me as Dieter Febel," the vampire said, "I am a wandering champion of chaos, yet at the same time a follower of honor. Throughout my existence, I have traversed countless realms, witnessing the ebb and flow of battles and the dance of chaos and order."

"And what brings you to this abandoned farm, Dieter?" Thomas inquired, curious to hear why an old vampire like Dieter was doing here, in the middle of nowhere.

Dieter's eyes flickered as he smiled at the young boy. "Ah, the intricacies of fate are ever mysterious, young wizard. It is true that our meeting could be seen as a fortuitous coincidence, but I sense a convergence of destinies, intertwined by a shared purpose."

He took a step closer to Thomas, before looking at the sky. "You see, within this forsaken farm lies an ancient relic, a key of great significance. It holds the power to shape the balance of forces, both dark and light, and I believe that together, we may uncover its secrets and wield its power for the greater good."

Thomas looked back at the vampire in shock and just as he was about to ask the vampire what he was talking about the vampire spoke. "The key, young wizard… is the power of friendship."

When Thomas heard Dieter's words, he froze, dumbly looking at the ancient creature who was laughing his ass off when he saw the boy's dumbstruck expression.

"Apologies, young wizard," Dieter managed to say between laughs. "I couldn't resist playing with your expectations. The truth is, I am here out of sheer curiosity and a desire to witness the passage of time. England, after all, has changed quite significantly in the past three hundred years."

Dieter's laughter gradually subsided, and he wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye.

"Fear not, young wizard, for our paths shall cross again in the future," Dieter assured him, his voice tinged with a sense of certainty. "The dance of chaos is an unpredictable one, and it often leads to unexpected encounters. Until then, I bid you farewell."

<End of the flashback>

Even now, Thomas shivered in fear remembering that vampire and how unnatural he felt around the man. At least, he would not meet him again anytime soon. But who knows as the dance of chaos is an unpredictable one.

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