Everything Has a Price

Luciel glared at Scarlet, trying to feel his arms again, but it was like they weren't there.

He could feel his spine healing, every vertebra snapping in its place with a sharp, stabbing pain.

It was only a matter of time before he could move again.

The only concerning problem was Scarlet who could kill him at any moment now.

"Answer me!" Scarlet raised her voice, earning a frown from Luciel.

Scarlet lifted her sword, pressing the tip against Luciel's chest where his heart was supposed to be.

Luciel stayed quiet for a moment, trying to think what he did that could make Scarlet so angry, except becoming a vampire.

He already managed to kill that one woman when he turned, he also bit Alex in front of her, but that was to mainly protect him from the possible consequences if someone found out that he teamed up with a vampire.

There was also a fact that today he and Kai harassed one more victim and who knows what kind of rumors those people that they fought for spread around.

"Shouldn't you first tell me what I did first?" Luciel asked, finally being able to move his fingers a little.

Scarlet glared at Luciel before spitting right onto his face, "Don't play around, vampire." 

Luciel's crimson eyes gave off a slight glow once Scarlet spitted on his face, making him feel slightly angry about that.

"You killed a good person back there. She was a friend of mine! And you killed her, sucked her dry, just like that!" Scarlet shouted at Luciel, wanting to cut his head off right here and now, but giving him a quick death sounded more like mercy than getting revenge.

Luciel bit his lower lip, he knew very well that it was his fault for what happened.

He might have lost control at the beginning, but it was his own choice to drink her blood, the only thing that he didn't want to do was kill her.

"That was an accident." He answered through his teeth, not going to explain himself any further.

There is no way that Scarlet would try to understand how much pain he went through that day, but Luciel could empathize with her.

If he would be in Scarlet's shoes, there was no telling what he would do.

"Oh yeah?" She got closer to Luciel's face, "And will she by accident get back to her family?" Scarlet felt disgusted by Luciel…. No, by the vampire in front of her.

She could see it in his eyes, there was not even a little bit of regret, no trace of any kind of emotion at the mention of an innocent human being getting killed by his own two hands.

"She won't," Luciel answered her, finally being able to feel both of his arms.

As he listened to what Scarlet had to say, the only thing that made him feel guilty was the fact that he didn't feel anything regarding the killing of an innocent hunter, all he could do was just savor the taste of back then.

It was the same feeling when humans would eat the chicken with the only difference being that blood was way more delicious right now than anything he had ever tasted.

"And what about your friend, Alex?" Scarlet continued, squeezing Luciel's neck more and more, "Was that also an accident? Sinking your dirty fangs into a guy's neck that would follow you to hell and back?" 

Luciel kept quiet this time. That wasn't an accident. That was just a stupid and dangerous plan he made on the spot.

Scarlet would have his head already if he didn't manage to let go of Alex at the last moment. She was a tricky individual to deal with. 

Luciel wanted to protect Alex, but to do so, he needed to continue playing the bad guy.

Scarlet played by the rules and she would turn anyone in that would break them, no matter who was was. She was the definition of blind justice.

If she ever finds out that Alex was on Luciel's side, without a doubt, Scarlet would pierce her sword through his chest.

"No answer, huh," Scarlet took Luciel's hesitation as a confirmation that he was fully aware of what he was doing.

"You know, it's kind of funny to see the great Luciel Ashford, succumbing to the will of a vampire just like that." Scarlet released Luciel's neck from her grip, making one fatal mistake - underestimating the vampire's healing factor, especially from the one that was recently fed, but she couldn't know that.

While Scarlet was taking her time, Luciel had a long enough period to recover from his injuries, but he didn't want Scarlet to know that just yet. He wanted to buy time for Kai to recover and run away if he was still alive.

Once Scarlet finally released his neck, he let himself fall on his knees, acting defenseless while waiting for the right moment to strike.

"But don't worry, I'll release you from your misery soon enough," Scarlet looked at the sword in her hand, dragging her hand across its blade, "I thank you for your service till now." 

She glanced over towards Luciel and raised her sword in the air, holding it with both of her hands, getting ready to make a clean, horizontal cut.

She wanted to make this painless for Luciel as much as possible. He might be a sickening vampire now, but he used to be a good man. Giving him a painless death was her showing him respect and mercy.

As she was about to cut his head, Luciel quickly got up, dodging the sword and moving right in front of her, between both of her arms.

"I'm disappointed in you, Scarlet." Luciel went to return the kind gesture. It was his turn now to grab her neck.

"You should have known better, never trust a vampire." 

With a powerful swing of his arm, Luciel threw Scarlet towards the trees that were still standing.

With a flick of his hands, he extended his sharp, black claws and headed towards Scarlet, jumping in the air, wanting to pin her down.

Having her body refined with divine arts, Scarlet barely felt a thing when she got thrown into the tree. She didn't even feel any kind of pain, just a numb sensation.

Seeing Luciel not giving her even a second of rest, she rolled aside, still holding her sword in her hand as she watched Luciel miss her by the hair.

Both fighters quickly got up with Scarlet making a first swing with her sword.

Luciel took a step back, bending his back a little bit more backward as he watched the sword traveling horizontally towards his neck, making a slight cut that looked like it was burned before it started to heal.

Once Scarlet finished with her attack, Luciel quickly grabbed her by the arm, pulling her closer and sending a kick towards her abdomen, making her stumble.

Scarlet sent a glare towards Luciel. She wasn't going all out since she thought that this would be like a walk in the park, but that didn't seem to be the case.

While Luciel still didn't show any talents that some vampires possessed, there was still layer upon layer of battle experience that no one could take away from him.

Luciel was about to make a swing with his claws toward Scarlet's face, but he quickly retreated, jumping back a few meters as he heard Scarlet starting to chant. A divine art, a borrowed power from a divine realm where gods and immortals reside.

"-vanquish the evil in front of me. With your thunder, lead me to salvation." Scarlet raised both of her hands in the air with her eyes glowing yellow, beaming with electricity as a few sparks could be seen coming off them.

The sky instantly turned dark, getting covered with ash-gray clouds.

Not even a second passed and there was a huge pillar of lighting coming down from the sky, followed by a thunder.

Seeing the lighting pillar ascending from above, Luciel was forced to close his eyes due to the bright, blinding light coming from below.

He frowned at the sound that made his ears ache. It was getting annoying how one of his greatest assets could be turned into one of his greatest weaknesses.

Not wasting any time while Luciel was recovering, Scarlet placed her hand on the ground.

Luciel could hear her chant something, but he could not understand what she was saying due to his earstrying to recover from the latest shock.

Opening his eyes slowly, he started to get dizzy due to the lighting overstimulating his senses.

He was surrounded by multiple, smaller beams of electricity that seemed to come out from the ground, making a small cage.

Luciel might have gotten a few hits on Scarlet and he would be a tough opponent to deal with if this was only a physical combat, but unfortunately for Luciel, this was where his story would come to an end.

Being a vampire, with nothing but his enchanted body, there was no way he could clash against divine arts in his current state.

Luciel felt like his old self which made his blood boil.

It had been a long time since he felt angry at his own fragile state, reminding him of the time when he was forced to watch his mother getting killed right in front of his eyes by vampires, with him and his siblings being next on the menu.

He and his siblings were saved that day, but since then, Luciel had to give everything in his power to avoid this feeling of helplessness ever again.

Unfortunately, being surrounded by a cage made of lighting where even a small touch could fry him, Luciel had no other options left but to keep dodging and blocking Scarlet's attacks.

At one point during the fight, Scarlet quickly chanted another prayer, taking Luciel by surprise.

He wasn't expecting Scarlet to be able to muster more strength in her due to the advanced arts she had been using.

There was body enchantment and a lightning cage that she had to keep up constantly. She would cast an occasional light pillar that would strike down on the ground, corning Luciel even more and she used the divine wings just to arrive here. Besides, who knows what else she used and was using.

As a result, Scarlet shooting a lightning bolt from the palm of her free hand shocked Luciel, quite literally, since he got hit straight in the chest.

Luciel groaned as he hit the ground. It felt like his whole body got fried, he could barely move.

Looking up, he could see Scarlet hovering above him, swinging with her sword, making Luciel's life flash across his eyes.