Side Story: Blood Hunt (Part Three)

As Kulkiri stepped into the light, he was immediately blasted with a ball of Nether to the face, which he promptly dodged by turning into mist. His transformation didn't spare him entirely though, as he could feel the Nether latch onto and start eroding his soul. One of the downsides of his Skill was that while all physical damage was reduced by 90% it left his spirit open to attacks, which any Ascender would tell you is a bad idea. 

Behind him, the others spilled out and took in their surroundings. Twenty to thirty Vampires had assumed formation in what seemed to be some sort of atrium, with their target being at the very back: Viscount Harold Kismet, an Epic Vampire who had lead the Sky Cross branch of the Blood Coven for well over a century and whom was rumoured to be a distant descendant of a Royal Vampire. Crimes included murder, theft, arson, terrorism, blasphemy, torture, rape and all other horrific acts. While Kulkiri didn't overly care about the past of his targets, he would enjoy removing such scum from Orvonia. 

He saw Isabelle and Anne huddle together from the corner of his eye, hiding the Artefact in their clasped hands. Beside him, Menes and Aryll joined in as the vanguard, while Erich and Johan vanished in the shadows. Victoria and Himmel defended the sides while Ruby hung back with the Priestess'. Getting into position took only a few seconds, during which the Vampire had also gotten into place. Funnelling another burst of Mana into his blades, Kulkiri licked his lips and initiated the first attack: lunging forward, his body exploded into mist and reformed directly in front of a surprised Vampire at the forefront.

Silver blades gleaming, he cleaved down and caught the Vampire from shoulder to hip, nearly splitting him in two as the sound (and smell) of sizzling meat rang out. The Vampire's comrades reacted with remarkable calmness, sending out synchronised waves of Nether and claw swipes. Dodging two and dematerialising for a third, Kulkiri sidestepped a Vampire, drove his left blade into his calf and then spun away to focus on another.

The front line was comprised solely of Masters, though Kulkiri sensed five further back...as well as a behemothian presence that could only be Kismet. Just focusing on him for a second caused sweat to break out along his back, so Kulkiri avoided eye contact and focused on those in front of him instead. He saw a pink flash to his right as Aryll fought two Vampires at once using a slender sword, while Menes was fighting one almost as big as himself. Two shadows appeared in his focus for a moment before slinking away again, leaving bloody gashes on multiple Vampires who resorted to indiscriminately bombarding the ground in an attempt to catch the two brothers. 

Victoria and Himmel fought back to back, and surprisingly well for strangers at that. Himmel had lit his sword aflame, while Victoria covered her rapier and forearms in a dense black fog that gave Kulkiri an uneasy feeling. Poison Ascenders were a nasty bunch, and prolonged fights were their specialty, as were crowds. Large numbers of enemies gave the poison the perfect breeding ground to spread and mutate, with sufficiently strong Poison Ascenders being able to literally destroy an entire battlefield at once. Given enough time, few Affinities could match the sheer lethality of Poison.

As it stood now, every cut she inflicted turned black within seconds, and Kulkiri could see it spread up the arm of a Vampire with his naked eye. Said Vampire was resisting by burning minute amounts of Nether, but Victoria seemed to have prepared for that scenario well since the Mana fought back admirably. The Vampire was already panting gently, and sweat trickled down his brow. 

Ruby was chanting something in the back, her staff held aloft with the gems embedded at the tip shining an azure blue. Isabelle saw similarly whispered something to her clasped hands, no doubt releasing the seal placed on Return to Roots. She had already told Kulkiri that it was unable to differentiate between friend and foe, so they had to make sure none of them were too close when it activated. She had asked everyone to buy them a little over five minutes, and to take down as many grunts as possible so Return to Roots focused on Kismet and the Grandmasters once it was released. 

As his blades cut through another Vampire like they were made of butter, Kulkiri felt his blades began to heat up as all the blood splattered on it began receding. A strange singing sound started emanating from the silver as more and more blood was absorbed, and Kulkiri felt the familiar bloodlust start to cloud his mind in tandem with the rising pitch of the song. Kulkiri no longer had the ability to focus on anyone else as his own situation took priority: his muscles were straining against his flesh and his eyes became bloodshot behind the mask. The negative effects of his blades came into play almost immediately after being used so extensively during the day, and his mind was slowly enveloped in a red haze.

[Fenrir's Bite (C): Twin curved daggers made of Moon Silver, the precious metal said to be enchanted by Chanteur. 1) Deals both psychical and mental damage with each hit, and has a Purifying effect on Devils, Demons and Vampires but has limited effectiveness against Holy entities. 2) Interferes with the regeneration of targets. 3) Absorbs the blood of the slain to strengthen the user.]

[Long ago, it was said the God of Dreams slew a nine-headed Dragon with fearsome regeneration using a blade of Moon Silver, thus setting the legend of Moon Silver as the bane of immortals. Forged by a Legendary Blacksmith, these blades incorporate the same properties as Chanteur's weapon.]

[Negative Effects: The blades will gradually corrupt the user, driving them into a bestial rage the longer they use the blades. Once a certain threshold is reached, the user loses all control and transforms into a permanent monster.]

That was the description of his weapon, which technically wasn't even his, but actually belonged to his sister. An old heirloom of his family, he had to go through a lot of trouble to borrow it, but it was definitely worth the cost. The number of dead Vampires was testament to that. 

Still, the mental encroachment was a pain in the ass, and Kulkiri could already feel the wards he placed pre-emptively start to resist the negative effects. If it had started already, then it was quite bad. But that just meant Kulkiri had to kill the Vampires faster, not that he had to let the blades go. Yes, that was a much better option...Killing them all was a very smart choice to make. He was quite a smart guy wasn't he? Not at all like the rest of his family, no, they were fools drunk on past glory. Not at all like him, who was here carving out his own path in life. Using borrowed blades yes, but that was just temporarily. Kulkiri Mist had higher ambitions than clearing out a Vampire nest with a mere C-Grade Artefact. 

A flaring pain on his left shoulder snapped him back to reality, as a Vampire attempted to set his blood on fire with his claws. A stupid move, considering Kulkiri could feel his blood already boiling in his veins, but the Vampire wasn't to know that. He never would, since Fenrir's Bite nestled itself in his right eye socket. With a satisfying pop, he wrenched the blade free and started bellowing mist, covering all those around him and cutting off their visibility. Despite the racial disadvantage they were up against, the Adventurers were winning, thanks to their superior Tiers. However, these Vampires didn't seem...right. They were paler than usual, and their red eyes were slightly dulled, as were their movements. A sense of unease tickled the back of his mind, breaking through the Artefact's haze.

His gaze flickered towards the Vampire Grandmasters in the background, and the man who was leading them. Kismet was not looking at his dying subordinates, but rather focusing all his attention of an item in his hand. It was a tree branch roughly as big as his arm, entirely pitch black and seemingly made from oil, as it glistened and slightly jostled with each touch. However, it was the evil and profane aura emanating from it that caused Kulkiri's heart to palpitate. While others might not strictly recognise it, the aura was one Kulkiri knew quite well. 

It was the Divinity of a God.