4 Chapter 4: Fighting With Children

Flash~

The ground glowed with a gentle vermilion hue as the three young vampires brought out their summons. When the light subsided, each of them were joined by a different creature that appeared beside them.

Compared to the others, Sly's summon stood out the most. It was a fully grown lion that was covered in a coat of flames. Strangely, even though it's entire body was on fire, the grass below it did not ignite.

Piri's was the most unique, appearing to be a small ball of purple light. However, upon closer inspection, Rel could see that it was actually a tiny fairy. Based on it's appearance, it was actually more accurate to call it a succubus rather than a fairy. The fairy was supernaturally beautiful and was dressed minimally, wearing nothing but a tight black one piece suit. It had pale vampire-like skin, red eyes, and two black wings that extended from it's back.

Rel nodded with approval at Sly and Piri's summons. Within the Sifr Clan, being able to summon exotic creatures was a mark of talent. However, he was slightly disappointed when he turned towards Ital.

"Ital right? I know its three against one, but I think you should bring out your signature summon."

Standing beside the boy was an ordinary brown monkey. Nothing really stood out from it and it didn't seem to possess any powers whatsoever. This puzzled Rel as summoned creatures, especially the ones similar to animals, usually always had at least one unique difference to them.

"This is my main summon! Kong may not look like much, but you'll be surprised at how strong we are!"

The monkey adopted a fighting stance and raised its hands in the air. While it may not have possessed an armor of fire or an aura of light, it seemed to possess an intelligence that was greater than others of its kind.

"If that's the case then it's fine. Now then, the rules are simple. If you get knocked down you're out. To make things easier for you guys, you will all have two lives while I'll only have one. The only limitation is you can't cause significant damage to the environment. We start whenever you are all ready."

Sly turned towards his two companions.

"Okay, I have a plan. Piri, start preparing your fairy's ability. If we can catch him in it, we will definitely win. Ital and I will create a distraction for you. Ital, start by going in slowly from the--"

"Forget the plan, we're taking him now!" Ital and the monkey Kong immediately took off and charged towards Rel.

"Wait! Ital!"

Ital and Kong weaved in and out of each other as they made their way to Rel. Their movements were perfectly in sync, with their feet hitting the ground at the exact same time. When they were within two meters of him they split into opposite directions, moving in to deliver a punch from both sides.

Rel let out a faint smile.

Turning towards Ital, Rel swiftly grabbed the wrist of the boy's punching arm and pulled him into the direction of his summon. The change was so sudden that Kong could not pull back his punch in time, causing his fist to collide into Ital's stomach. Kong gasped in shock after realizing what he had done and Rel used the moment of hesitation to send a hard kick into the monkey's chest.

Kong was knocked a couple feet away and started rolling on the ground with one hand over his torso. Angered, Ital tried to punch Rel in the face with his remaining hand. However, Rel stopped him by twisting the arm he was holding and crossing it behind Ital's body. Due to both arms going in opposite directions, Ital's entire body strained as he tried to land his fist into Rel's cheek. Unfortunately, the pain was too much and he stopped only a couple centimeters away.

"You and I are alike. We are Sifr, but we are good with our hands and know how to fight face to face. Too bad though, since I'm older my body is a lot stronger than yours."

Using one of his legs, Rel sweeped Ital off his feet, causing him to hit the ground flat on his back.

"Looks like you lost your first life." He said with a smirk.

"Damn it!" Ital cursed and smashed his fist on the ground.

"Ital look out!" A voice called out.

Ital lifted his head and turned to see Sly charging towards them on top of the flaming lion.

Rel's eyes narrowed and he took a massive leap back. As the lion closed in, it tried to pounce on him, but Rel evaded it by sliding under the beast's legs. He threw a punch towards the lion's underside as it passed, but his hand was set aflame the moment he touched it.

"Gah!" Rel took off his school blazer and suffocated the flames with it. He was surprised. His hand had been set on fire before, but he was usually able to withstand it for a bit before the pain would be too much. Yet, the moment he touched the flames surrounding Sly's lion, he felt a painful searing sensation that made him retract his hand immediately.

[Just what kind of fire does that lion have? Normal fire wouldn't have made me react like that.]

The flames on Sly's lion were very strange. When Rel touched them, he felt like his hand was going to melt. However, Sly was sitting on top of the lion with no strain whatsoever. Even his clothes were unaffected, as if there were no flames at all.

As Rel was pondering over the flames, Ital and Kong regrouped with Sly.

"Thanks Sly. If you didn't help me out there I think I would've lost both my lives already."

"I told you not to rush in like that. Anyways, it seems like my flames have a big effect on him. If we focus on that advantage we should be able to pull off a win."

"What if he puts those on?"

A few meters away, Ital and Sly saw a pair of black gloves materialize in the air in front of Rel. The gloves were thin, fitting like a second skin on his hands, but it was obvious they weren't just for show.

Rel turned towards Piri, who had her eyes closed and seemed to be standing in some sort of meditative position. While in her trance-like state, her fairy darted around her as if it were doing some kind of dance performance.

[Hmm... I wondered why she wasn't participating in the fight. Seems like she is setting something up, and I don't want to be around to find out what it is.]

"Not good it looks like he's going to go after Piri!" Ital said with concern.

"I'm on it."

Sly slapped the lion on its side and the lion began to charge towards Rel once again. This time, as the lion approached, Rel did not back away. Instead, he met the lion head on and gave it a hard punch to the temple. The gloves he had on were heat-resistant and allowed him to clash with the lion without fear of the flames surrounding it.

As the lion staggered from the punch, Rel leapt over the lion's head and delivered a jump kick onto Sly's chest. Already unbalanced, it didn't take much for Sly to fall off the lion's back and onto the ground.

Ital caught up shortly after and paused when he saw Sly with his back on the dirt. He resisted every urge to attack Rel as he knew that he would just be wasting his last life if he went in alone.

"Looks like you've learned some self-control, that's good. As for you lion boy, looks like you're on your last life too. Now then, I guess its time for me to check on your other friend!"

Rel rushed over to Piri with a speed inferior only to Sly's lion. Sly recovered quickly and chased after him with Ital, but the distance between them was already too much for them to catch up in time.

When Rel was three meters away from Piri, her fairy tried to stop him by shooting a purple ray of light towards his head. He dodged it and slid forward, slide tackling Piri off her feet and causing her to fall forward.

However, as she fell, one of her hands started to glow purple. Pointing her finger down, the color concentrated onto the tip of her finger and another beam of light shot out.

[Shit!]

With the short distance between them and Rel's current position, he had no way of evading the light. The purple beam struck him head on and he closed his eyes as he braced himself for pain.

Surprisingly, no pain came. Piri fell to the ground face first and Sly and Ital came over soon after.

Confused over what Piri's attack actually did to him, Rel put some distance between himself and the three children. Standing by the sidelines, Raven raised an eyebrow after seeing Rel get hit by the purple light. Although it seemed like he was slightly surprised, his expressionless face made it difficult to tell what he was really thinking.

Rel quickly did a brief checkup on his body. After what happened the night before, he was very tense when it came to any kind of spells being cast on him. He stretched out a bit and was relieved when he found out that his strength was not diminishing. However, he was still cautious as there had to have been some motive behind Piri's attack.

[These kids are young. At their level, they probably wouldn't be able to cast any spells or curses that do a ton of instant damage. So it must be one that affects me in the long run! Losing to kids would be pretty embarrassing, so I guess I'll have to end this quick before the effect takes hold!]

"You did a good job getting that spell on me girl, but I don't feel anything right now. You used some kind of curse that affects me gradually over time right? Unfortunately for you, when I get serious, it will only take a few seconds for me to take you all down."

As Rel sprinted towards the three vampires, Piri got up and brushed the dirt off her dress.

"Good job Piri, now that you tagged him with that spell this fight is pretty much over." Sly praised.

"Don't let your inner Ital take over Sly. We thought that about Mr. Raven, but he still beat us. This guy has a strong body so we can't be overconfident."

Ital sneered at Piri and stuck out his tongue. It was clear he did not like the reference she made.

"Got something to say, Mr. Hit-By-His-Own-Summon?"

"Hmph! If we win this, I'll forgive you. Let's go!"

As the three young vampires turned their attention to Rel who was charging towards them, they met his offensive with a charge of their own.

[What are these kids planning? Shouldn't they be delaying as long as they can so that the spell can take effect?]

Sly took the lead on top of his flaming lion. The lion opened its mouth and a jet of orange flames spewed out.

"I don't think so!"

Sly blinked and in that split second of time Rel vanished. His enhanced senses compelled him to look left, but it was already too late. Rel sent out a strong punch into the side of the lion's head, hitting it so hard that the beast almost toppled over.

"We're coming Sly!" Ital shouted.

With no fear whatsoever, Ital and Kong ran up to Rel and attacked him using hit and run tactics. They jumped in and out of the fight at random intervals, preventing Rel from focusing on one target.

Piri and her fairy backed him up, shooting balls of purple light that flashed brightly in front of Rel's face whenever he got close.

Sly jumped back in soon after. However, unlike Ital and Kong, he and the lion fought Rel head on. This time, the lion was fighting evenly with him as he had to worry about the others as well.

"You kids are pretty good. However, it's still not enough to defeat me!"

Rel's eyes flashed red. His hands and legs moved like violent tornadoes as he viciously beat down Ital, Kong, Sly, and the lion all at once. Piri's eyes widened as she watched the tide of the battle change in an instant. Turning a cold gaze towards her, Piri froze and plopped onto the floor flat on her bottom.

The two boys and their summons laid on the ground in pain. The last exchange hurt them so much that they couldn't even muster up the strength to lift their heads. Letting out a sigh, Rel's eyes turned back to their normal human brown. He didn't want to admit it, but he actually overexerted himself a bit during the final bout.

"Not bad. You squirts are pretty good. Sorry if I overdid it at the end there, I'll make sure you guys get--"

Rel's pupils shrank. The bodies of his defeated opponents began to blur and eventually disappeared. Even Piri, who was seemingly sitting on the ground with a look of fear on her face, began to fade.

[What? An illusion? No! Then that means--Gah!!]

From behind, Rel felt a large mass tackle him hard. Hitting the ground, he discovered that he was pinned down by some invisible force that he could not see.

Suddenly, he heard laughter coming from directly behind him. Gradually, the air around him started to distort and Rel saw that he was being pinned down by a large lion. On top of it were, Sly, Ital, and Piri, who looked down on him with smiles on their faces.

Seeing the smug and happy faces of the three children, Rel let out a deep breath.

"Can't believe I lost to a bunch of kids."