12 Chapter 12: Against The Wall

Taking advantage of the momentary break in combat, Rel swept his eyes across the area. Raising an eyebrow with slight surprise, he noticed that there was no rubble obstructing the entrance of the building. In fact, it looked like it had been completely unaffected from the cave-in from earlier.

Rel let out a bitter laugh. It was as if fate was playing a joke and he was the victim.

[If only it were that easy.] He thought to himself.

Even though it seemed like escape was only a couple feet away, Rel knew that running was not an option. Livac was going to recover soon and in his current condition he was definitely not getting far.

He also wasn't about to leave the three junior vampires alone to die either.

Despite only just meeting them, Rel was already willing to risk his own life for their sake. There were no second thoughts or doubts in his mind. Was it out of a sense of duty to his old master? Perhaps. However, it also could have been due to the strong Sifr bloodline that ran through his veins.

Even though they were vampires, the Sifr were known to be much more compassionate compared to the other clans. Though there were always exceptions, generally vampires of the Sifr Clan were known as the the most human among their breed.

No one knows exactly why, but most speculated it was due to their culture revolving around summoning. While Sifr vampires usually had many summons at their disposal for a variety of purposes, they would often have one in particular that was their favorite. The bond between a Sifr and their main summon was very strong, akin to that of a human and a pet they had grown up with.

When one develops such tender emotion for another, it naturally affects their character and personalty, whether they are human or vampire. That was why some vampires referred to the Sifr as 'domesticated' due to how human they acted.

Rel sighed as he examined the few options he had. He despised how weak he was and how little he could do with only half his power.

[Well, I'm really in a pickle aren't I... What should I do...]

"GARGHHH!!"

His thoughts were interrupted by Livac, who let out a screaming shout of agony. Blood dripping from his right eye socket, he angrily got back on his feet.

"What goes around comes around! Not only will I be taking both your eyes for this, but I'll also cut off all four of your limbs!"

Fueled with rage, Livac began to charge forward. He didn't bother weaving around the rubble and instead just powered his way through. From his point of view, Rel was completely worn out and immobile from his last attack.

Without many options left, Rel commanded his crow to attack again. The crow obeyed without hesitation and soared towards Livac, its talons raised.

"I don't think so!" Taking out a large dagger from his cloak, Livac threw the weapon with great force. It skewered the crow right through its stomach and pinned it against the wall. Rel let out a sigh of futility. He knew that this would happen. The only reason he managed to sneak an attack in earlier was because he had the element of surprise. Even though Raven's crows were highly trained, they were meant to be used in groups and were extremely weak in one on one confrontations.

"Guess there's only one option left then..." Rel muttered.

Depending on the clan they belonged to, every vampire had one emergency ace that they could use in the most dire of circumstances. The result of using this ace was usually death, even for the most resilient of vampires. However, the sheer magnitude of these abilities could instantly change the tide of any battle.

For the Sifr, that ability was to use their own bodies as a vessel for summoning. The vampire would turn their body into a living summoning portal, which would release every single familiar in their arsenal. Depending on the Sifr, there were three types of forms this ability could take on. An endless army, a squad of extremely powerful beasts, or a single invincible monster that could not be stopped.

Because the hosts own body was being used as the connective path, it did not require any energy to use. However, doing so causes immense pain and strain on the body which is why most Sifr often died after utilizing the ability for only a few minutes.

Closing his eyes, scarlet lines began to slowly emerge on Rel's face. His body twitched as he felt a faint pressure build in his center.

None of Rel's actions escaped Livac's eyes. However, he was already too consumed with rage from the loss of his eye that he didn't care.

"I don't know what you're planning, but it won't work! Your beaten and exhausted, it's all over!"

As Livac closed in, Rel's eyes shot open. His gaze was filled with focus as he stared at his charging foe.

"Your right, it is over!"

Twack~

Suddenly, at the height of the confrontation, a small projectile flew past Rel and hit Livac right in his remaining eye. Livac immediately stopped in his tracks and roared with pain. The disruption was so abrupt that Rel lost his concentration and canceled his technique.

Rel was puzzled as to who had helped him in this critical moment. Turning around, his eyes were wide with shock and disbelief. Standing by the entrance was his substitute teacher and classmate Sera!

"What are you doing here?" Rel asked.

"Saving your life? I was in one of the buildings nearby and heard a loud crash, so I decided to see what was going on. Luckily I came just in time to stop that maniac from killing you. Come on! I've already called the police so let's go!"

"I can't..."

"Why not?! Look at you, look at this place! Why on Earth would you want to stay?!"

"You don't understand... The police aren't going to be of much help. Also, I hid the kids under piles of rubble so I'll need to get them too."

"You did what?!"

"RAAH!!" Rel and Sera were cut off by Livac, who let out another howling scream. Stomping his feet, the strength behind his stomps were starting to shake the already weakened foundation of the building. Struggling to open his remaining eye, blood trickled down his eye socket as he squinted a glance at Sera.

[What the hell is Sirvis doing! Couldn't he have taken care of that girl from outside?! She's only a human, but still! Grr... that's it! I'm actually glad she called for the police. I am itching for a bloodbath today!]

In the floor directly above, Sirvis knelt at a spot that was ideal for reconnaissance. It was an area that could be considered a blind spot from the floor below, but gave him full view of everything both inside and outside. Covered by an intentionally dirtied cloak and surrounded by rubble, unless one was specifically looking for him, it was unlikely he was going to be spotted.

"What an arm that girl has. And how disgraceful for you to nearly lose your second eye to a human." He mocked.

"As much as I'd like to help you my friend, I don't want to reveal myself unless absolutely necessary. I'm sure our target down there knows that there was one more from the previous attack that has not shown himself yet. So really, I'm doing you a favor by keeping him on edge."

Looking outside a nearby window, Sirivs let out a slight smile. With his enhanced senses he noticed that additional company was closing in fast, with a patrol of campus security rushing over from only a distance away.

Lifting his hand towards his mouth he bit down on his index finger. A tiny stream of blood began to flow out of the incision, but much more than one would expect from such a tiny wound.

"Haha... I'll leave the police to you, but I think I'm going to have some fun myself."

Back on the main floor, Livac had recovered from Sera's attack. He wiped the blood dripping from his eye socket and looked at it with disgust.

"Damn girl... You've just signed your death warrant!"

Picking up a large rock, Livac arched his hand back and threw it towards Sera. The speed behind the rock was enough to rupture an organ on contact.

Sera didn't seem to understand the severity of the rock, fumbling for something in her dress pocket. However, Rel did and tried to move himself in the line of fire. Unfortunately, he underestimated the strain on his body from the previous beatdown and attempted sacrificial technique, falling over on the first stride.

"Sera run! If you get hit by that your a goner!" Rel closed his eyes. The rock was coming in too fast and there was no way for her to dodge it in time.

Just as he was bracing himself for the eventually sound of Sera's body hitting the ground, Rel heard something else. The sound was similar to that of an aluminum foil plate hitting a surface. Opening his eyes, Rel was baffled to see that Sera was completely fine!

The rock that was thrown at her was nowhere to be seen and she was holding some kind of charm in her hand. The accessory looked extremely worn and ancient, with strange markings written all over it. Livac's pupils shrunk when he saw the charm.

"You! How did you get that?!"