Fight Or Die!

Even the crown's weight can't sink the truth.

Fight Or Die!

Everyone spent most of the afternoon alone. For example, I just lay in my bed, Alex worked out, then he rolled on the carpet for half an hour, and finally, he started working out again — and I knew this from the fact that when he fell to the floor once in a while, even my windows shook.

I carefully read the articles on Kaleidoscope, which gave information that Crimson refused to fight against the Fifth King and retired to his residence — the whole country was scandalized by this act — so Blutkaiser failed. Some were happy that the world would soon turn into chaos, but most of them began to fear and the madness slowly, barely perceptibly, merged into everyday life. I sighed deeply — I knew that if we lost today, the whole country would descend into chaos.

Then, according to my internal clock, I jumped out of bed at about seven forty-five and took off my shirt. I unbuttoned each button one by one, trying to take my time as much as possible, and then opened my box on the bedside table.

I took out a neatly packed shirt and put it on. The material still gave me that unusual feeling of not wearing anything at all — it was light as a feather and conformed perfectly to my shape. I got myself a loose, black hoody, in the pocket of which I thought Rolo would fit comfortably. I took my mask and another dagger — my favorite dagger, the one my brother gave me along with the mask for my sixth birthday — and slipped it between my belt and pants.

"Your taste is very grotesque," remarked Rolo, entering my room.

I smiled under the mask. "I wasn't the one choosing it, it was a gift."

The kid threw a tiny purse at me, barely bigger than a wallet.

"What's in this?" I asked and was about to open it when he put his hand on mine.

"My clothes," he answered quietly.

"Your clothes?" I frowned, "In this?"

"It's equipped with space expansion magic and very expensive. So, if I may ask, take care of it, because it costs more than your life," he explained menacingly. "By the way, how did you think I was going to get dressed again after I changed?"

"Well, I thought you'd figure it out," I stated as he rolled his eyes and gestured for me to turn around.

When I heard the meow after a few minutes, I turned to face him again. It crossed my mind that I should trample the cute kitten a bit before leaving. Then I finally gave up on that plan and picked him up with a not-so-subtle move, and he let out an involuntary meow. After that I put him safely in one of my pockets — since he was tiny even among kittens, he didn't take up too much space.

At seven-fifty the two doors opened almost simultaneously.

"Are you ready?" I asked him.

Alex nodded – he was also wearing the mask.

A few minutes before eight o'clock, we reached the entrance to Rosenstein Alley. I must note that the road was quite crowded because everywhere I looked hunters were waiting, stomping, and whispering when I passed them. I sighed deeply.

"Shay!" I heard my brother's voice.

He immediately appeared next to me. Des loved to put on a show, and he couldn't miss this opportunity as well. He grabbed the head of a short, bald man, and then, leaning on it, swung over him to get through the human barrier.

Vincent Asaro turned around, his eyes sparking as even his sunglasses fell to the ground due to Des' action. The Japanese madman's fury lasted until he recognized my brother's mask, then gave him a murderous look and turned away again.

"Shay!" Des repeated melodiously and was about to hug me.

I successfully punched him in the chin, avoiding an embarrassing scene.

Alex's eyes flashed with recognition as he saw Des' mask with the grotesque, stitched-up grin and the family crest. It really looked like mine and many people confused them.

"I can't even hug my only little brother?" he sniffed.

"Please do me a favor and leave me alone!" I growled.

A lot of confused eyes stared at me, and I sighed deeply and calmed down before I made a scene. They rang the bell at exactly eight o'clock — the air began to glow, almost scorching with so much magic, it hurt just to breathe it in. An iron gate appeared in front of the crowd, the creaking of which I heard rather than saw.

"Team Alpha, line up!" I heard the voice of the head of the family, and it made almost everyone alert.

My brother's team stepped forward from the crowd, and for a moment I seemed to spot Geri, although I wasn't sure because of the mask. Alex and I joined them, among the many hunters who wore the crescent moon symbol on their masks. I was aware that they were all an exceptional force, and that they were fools enough to swear an oath to my brother — and inexplicably they felt pride to serve under him.

Mica also arrived, jumping from the roof of one of the buildings into the crowd and landing right next to Alex, who immediately had a heart attack. The vampire gave me a wave and pulled his lips into a kind grin. His mask, like most of the Alpha team's, only covered part of the face, and in his case, it was extended at the nose to form a beak. On his forehead, a letter B strongly reminiscent of lightning was carved into the snow-white material.

Only members of noble families and paladins could wear a full mask, and the faces of other hunters were only partially covered — this was a signal to the monsters. Anyone who saw the full mask usually ran away in a frenzy.

I looked up at the sky: the sun had almost completely set.

"Team Alpha, operation begins!" I heard the following instruction.

Led by Des, his team started towards the gate and the hunters slowly disappeared, one by one, into the swirling darkness inside. Alex entered before me, and I closed the line.

I entered the impenetrable, fiercely swirling darkness. An electric current ran through my body, I was flooded with pain that penetrated my guts, tearing every part of me to pieces so that it could cut through the boundaries of time and space and drag me along with it.

When I opened my eyes, I was among the hunters again, only in a different location: the Redchild estate. I was a bit surprised, as Des's team turned out to be larger than the average eight-to-ten-man platoon — maybe more than two dozen of them.

Blinking a few times and taking a deep breath, I made my way to the front of the group. Des was standing not so far away; the Redchild residence was barely fifty meters from us. Its black towers stretched like huge thorns towards the sky, every tiny piece of the building radiated a terrifying, austere elegance. The landscape surrendered to the ominous evening twilight, and the cold breeze screamed around us. I took out my dagger.

"We're ready to do whatever it takes, aren't we?" Des asked in an encouraging voice.

He never made a long speech. When I thought about it, such a thing really wouldn't suit him. It was one simple question, yet it gave hope to all people. Hope to fight for. There were plenty of emphatic nods in response.

Des raised his sword. "I can not hear!"

"Yes, sir!" echoed the answer.

"This is more like it!" shouted Des with a grin. "We're luring out the bloodsuckers!"

He said all this with self-absorbed joy as if he had received the best Christmas present.

I sighed deeply — I was about to take a step that would determine the fate of not only myself or my friends, but an entire country.

Mica put his hand on my shoulder and nodded slowly. I was a little worried about him, since he was also a vampire, and the full moon was already scratching the tops of the distant hills. In any case, I hoped that he had a good dinner in the evening. I made a deep cut on my palm and held the blade there for a while to prevent it from healing. The fat drops of blood exploded onto their atoms on the parched earth with a deafening explosion — although it could be, only I heard it so loud.

Something moved in the distance, and Alex almost immediately put his hand to his nose. The small dots began to grow and take shape and form. I took the dagger from the wound, which closed almost immediately, then I got a handkerchief from Mica, which I wiped the blood with, and then I simply dropped it on the ground.

Like Alex, who clutched his daggers tightly at his sides, I lowered my weapon. Everyone watched the approach of the vampire army with cold tension. Then, at that moment, everyone thought of only one thing: even if we ended up in hell, we would take as many of these beasts with us as possible!

Then Des suddenly started forward. He shot towards the enemy with incredible speed compared to a human, his short sword glinting in his hand, which only thirsted for the blood of vampires. At first, only one person followed, then another, and finally, so many people rushed past me that I felt dizzy.

"Alex," I said.

"Yes?" he answered through the crowd.

"Take care of yourself," I asked, "and stay near me!"

After that, I ran too.

"I know!" I heard his voice.

When the army of vampires and humans met, chaos ensued. Everything happened so fast it was almost maddening. Vampires attacked and then fell to the ground losing their heads, the screams of humans mixed in my ears with the snarling growls of vampires.

I saw a vampire rip open the hunter's chest in one swift motion, then with brutal swiftness, he sank his huge, snow-white fangs into the dying man's shoulder and ripped out a sizeable chunk. A heavy spray of blood fell on the grass, and a moment later the corpse hit the ground with a dull thud. Hunters were torn apart alive in front of me, and the disgusting smell of guts and blood filled the air, which for some reason seemed a rather pleasant mix to the monster inside me.

The three vampires surrounded me, moaned hungrily, and then attacked me as a single beast. Sharp fangs dug into my body as I screamed in pain. The vampires eagerly sipped my blood, as if it was the only thing that could quench their thirst.

With my free hand, I immediately inserted my dagger into the skull of one of the vampires. I pulled it out several times and stabbed it again and again with overwhelming force. Although the vampire was already relaxed, I just stabbed and stabbed until he fell to the ground with my dagger in his empty eye socket.

I dug my claws into another vampire and dug my teeth into his neck. I tore and gnawed and bit him until he was nothing but a pile of bloody flesh. The last vampire wasn't any luckier either, as I threw myself at him and pinned him to the ground. I grinned and bit into him. The vampire gave a sharp scream, but his voice sounded like a whisper against the noise of the battle. He cried bitterly until the last moment of his life.

I stood up and wiped my mouth. The blood and venom of the vampires washed over my body in intoxicating waves, and I have never, never before felt so light and free as I did then. All my wounds healed and I felt the vampire venom take over my body. My muscles almost burst from the tension built up in them, my gums itched, and my throat was thirsty for blood.

I had no idea when the ghosts appeared, but they proved to be of great help. They sucked the life out of the vampires with such cruel glee that even I stopped for a moment. Simon stayed by my side, always hovering near me, only really moving away when he froze a vampire with his touch before he could bite a hunter's throat.

Sometimes the ghost looked at me with a very strange look, as if he couldn't believe his eyes, but I didn't really care about his opinion. I pulled my dagger out of the corpse's eye socket and easily threw it away, setting it in another bloodsucker's neck. When in the next moment more bloodsuckers confronted me again, the situation was a bit tight. Simon placed his hands on the shoulders of two vampires, so after taking care of the first two, I executed the other two.

The fight dragged on, and despite the help of the ghosts, the hunters were increasingly at a disadvantage — I knew that in less than ten minutes we would be annihilated. We've probably already lured out most of the army, so support should have arrived by now. I began to believe that my grandfather really chose this day to rid of the family's shameful black sheep.

The remaining hunters gathered into a small group as the ring of vampires tightened around them. The soft drumming, which I first thought was my heartbeat, grew louder — I heard the first battle horn. Then a thousand of glass arrows fell from the sky, and if I hadn't jumped away, one would have hit me too — I took that as a hint.

Didn't you say you'd have an army? — I heard Titania's annoyingly satisfied voice in my head.

Glancing towards the forest, I saw her smirking in full battle gear. That's when the support of the hunters arrived. Tekla's Knight immediately started thrashing the vampires.

Here is my army — I thought.

Titania allowed herself a nod and then joined the fight. An army of fae suddenly rushed out of the nearby forest, crystal weapons and spears with twisted ends glittering in their hands.

"Alex!" I shouted because I couldn't see him at all.

Suddenly, I felt a grip on my wrist and then he appeared in front of me.

"How did the fae get here anyway?" he questioned.

"So, you got the signal," I grinned.

"That was really risky, you know right?" he said, and I nodded with a grin.

"Don't fall behind!" I started towards the forest, and he immediately got next to me. He had no choice since the charm only hid me when I was in contact with him. I took Rolo out of my pocket with my free hand, who was curled up and shivering with his ears pressed to his skull.

"Aren't you scared, little one?" I grinned, and his eyes immediately shot open. I never thought a cat could look so angry.

"Well, please show me the way!"

He jumped out of my hand and rushed towards the line of threes. Indeed, we could have been running for about ten minutes in the forest before the cat decided to stop next to a bush. He sat down, his tail twitching nervously.

"Is this the entrance?" I furrowed my brows, and he just mewled.

I shrugged and tossed his bag to him, earning an offended look, and then he took it in his mouth and disappeared into the leaves. I knelt, and with noble simplicity, I plucked the blueberry bush from its place, which a second later didn't even seem like such a good idea, because it managed to cut my hand deeply in several places. It's true that the wounds healed after a second, but they still hurt. The prickly bush hid a cavity covered with a rusty grate. Alex tried to pull the iron out of its place, but he was not very successful.

"Leave it to me," I offered, and with great difficulty, I managed to free the entrance from the grate.

"I'm lucky I have vampire ancestry," I sighed and wiped my forehead.

Alex looked at the hole rather uncertainly, so I went first. I was surprised because I landed in knee-deep water — I was just wondering if Rolo had survived when the aforementioned annoying kid spoke.

"It seems you aren't in a hurry, huh," I also got a sarcastic smile, probably for his wounded pride, and then he also put on his mask.

My teeth chattered at the sudden temperature change: it was maybe ten degrees cooler down there. I yelled to Alex that the terrain was safe and moved out of his way exactly one second before he fell. Alex fell to his bottom and successfully wet not only himself but also my pants.

"Quiet!" I said to him when he stood up, stroking his backside.

"Calm down," Rolo said. "This part is deserted. Well, shall we go?"

Tiny drops of water on the ceiling reflected the sparse light like diamond eyes. Between the musty, damp walls, one could barely breathe, the tension-filled silence reflected even the tiniest sound by multiplying it: the drops that sometimes fell from the ceiling crashed with a bang into the water that was only up to the ankles. I thought I discovered cauliflower-shaped limestone formations in some places on the tufa walls. I don't like cauliflower...

We moved upwards, so the wooden walkway framed by a black railing slowly emerged from the water, which was probably made by the owner because the basement system had previously been flooded by water or some underground spring. Below us, the water flowed peacefully, I could hear the sound of the waterfall in the distance. We walked on.

The wooden slats ended later, as did the water. We came to an arcaded maze, so I thought we might be in the middle of nowhere. Rolo's footsteps sounded calm, making a slight echo. The smell of blood mingled in the damp air, and I saw barrels full of grenade juice, and not far from them a container full of corpses.

"When enough are collected, they will simply sell them to the dark mages," the kid stated. "That way no one will be aware of their death, since people will not remember their existence."

Alex's teeth gritted loudly, and even though I wasn't looking at him, I could still feel his anger and sense of his helplessness flooding his heart.

Simon gently tugged on my top to get my attention. He shook his head and walked towards one of the corridors.

"Guys," I said, "There! That's where the kidnapped human will be."

Probably some unearthly bond developed between the vengeful spirits and me because I felt like shit. An overwhelming sadness took over me that I had never experienced before. Impotent pain, icy fear, and invincible anger raged inside me, and I thought these emotions would tear me apart.

Simon didn't want to return to this place again, but he did. He did it because he wanted to save the kidnapped humans. I really understood what the ghost was feeling when I saw it with my own eyes. I didn't particularly like humans, but I didn't want them to be treated like that either. I felt nauseous at the thought that someone could actually do such a thing.

The abducted people were locked in small cages where they could only fit if they were curled up in the fetal position. The place smelled of ammonia, as they had no other way to relieve their needs than to defecate under themselves. They looked so skinny and sickly that I thought one rougher touch and I would crush them — not far away in a basket rested bits of moldy and spongy bread, this was their only food, which they probably did not have very often.

They whined softly, some caught a cold in the icy dungeon and coughed heavily. Then when they noticed our presence, they were scared and retreated to the farthest corner of the cage — as far as the space allowed.

I glanced at Simon, who was watching the humans with a face distorted by pain and memories. His hands trembled with pent-up anger — they could have done the same to him.

Alex was frozen and unable to move, Rolo no different. I was the one who approached one of the cages. Its occupant immediately flinched and crawled further away, mustering all her strength. I took off my mask for a moment.

"Everything will be fine," I said to her. "We came to save you."

Her startled eyes fixed on my face, and then she slowly nodded. "Please... Please help!"

I grabbed the lock and ripped it off the cage in anger. This is simply unforgivable!

The door opened and she threw herself into my arms sobbing. She just cried and cried unstoppable while mumbling unintelligible things. I tried to calm her down and stroked her hair, which might once have been light blonde. Meanwhile, Alex came to his senses and started freeing the other humans using a similar method.

"Everything will be fine," I repeated, but I knew that nothing would be fine with these people anymore.

When the wolf finished freeing them, I turned to the kid. "According to the plan, you will stay here with them and wait until the situation is safe, understood?"

Rolo nodded.

"Simon," I called the ghost. "Take us to the Fifth!"

The ghost nodded and started again, this time in the opposite direction. Guided by the ghost, we reached a grid similar to the one we arrived on. I pushed the iron in, which now went noticeably easier than in the first case. After climbing out, we found ourselves in a basement.

"Alex, you have to disappear now," I instructed him. "You can't be spotted."

The wolf nodded, then turned into thin air the next moment. The ghost, before leaving the room— that is, going through the door — looked back to see if we were following him.

I set off and followed the apparition. My steps were silent, I didn't want the vampires to find me prematurely — and in the end, I didn't meet a single guard until I reached the double doors of the great hall. Of course, I could have started to get suspicious here, but I had too much faith in the perfection of my plan in terms of luring out the vampires.

I leaned against the wall and peeked around the corner of the fourth corridor. The two vampires stared straight ahead on either side of the door. In an instant, I appeared in front of them and cut their throats with my claws — they didn't even have time to be surprised, and it was perhaps too merciful a death for them.

"When the hunters show up, we'll step down," I said softly before I pushed the door open.

To my surprise, there was no need for this, because it opened to me by itself.