Chapter twenty-four

In the Schwartz's home,

"Woah! Mr. White sounds so strong!" Maria lets out.

"You bet he is!" Louis says. "But he doesn't hold a candle to Damien."

"Tsk! The guy who got knocked out cold with a simple shove?" Maria asks mockingly.

"Quiet sis!" Cyril speaks up. "Let him finish his story. This is a valuable piece of knowledge."

"Oh, interested ei? How about you let your mom finish it up." He turns to his back and there Hannah stands leaning on the wall. "Come on now. I wouldn't want to spit on his grave no more by posing him as a weakling."

"*Sigh* If I have to," Hannah says walking towards the sofa for a seat. "But this doesn't make us okay!" She says with a frown. "Okay, this is what happened next..."

Eighteen years ago in the abandoned factory, a fight has sprung up between Damien and his squad and Dante. It was meant to be a simple arresting mission but little did they know (though they knew) that Dante was not a being they can mess with.

Hannah, Joan, and Louis are still taking cover behind their concrete wall though all guns have now been turned on Arthur who stands amidst a bunch of power-hungry thugs.

"All of you! If you do not have a clear shot do not pull the trigger!" One of the thug's orders. "If he moves we will end up killing ourselves. Now spread out and make sure you stand before no one." They obey and they all assume different positions. Meanwhile, Arthur is standing composed and observing them.

Louis shouts from behind the wall, "HEY! YOU ARE WASTING TIME! YOU HAD THEM JUST NOW!"

"SHUT UP!" He replies. "Where is the fun in that?" He says to the thugs "Come on now! We don't have all night. It has almost been six minutes and no one has pulled the trigger!"

Immediately he ends, *POW* a gun sounds from behind. The bullet makes an impact right in his lower back and the force throws him to the floor. He lies there and doesn't move a muscle.

"Did I get-"

"No, you didn't fool!" Arthur cuts him off. "Ouch! Damn that stung. But at least I know the armor works now and the Recovery Bracelets immediately took care of the pain. Nice!" He smirks. "Now come at me, like you mean it this time." He says but is answered with a long moment of silence. Nobody pulls the trigger. "Come on! How about this: aim for the head." Still, there is no reaction. "Okay then..." He dashes at the first his eyes meet and *SLASH*. The blade moves upward and cuts through the gunner's right wrist and then the gun and his left arm simultaneously. Blood is squirting out, body parts are flying and the mouth is screaming at the top of his voice. Fear and panic stings and all fingers react by pulling triggers. Bullets start to fly aimlessly toward their target but the target darts and the bullets pacify the yelping man.

"SHOOT! SHOOT! DON'T TAKE YOUR FINGERS OFF THE TRI..." The scared thug dies off silently with a blade running through his skull. The blade splits his skull open, brain matter flying everywhere and more blood gushes out.

*THUMP-THUMP-THUMP... * Heartbeats starts to pace too fast for the mind to follow. All brains send the same signal, "Don't take your fingers off the trigger." Meanwhile, Arthur is zigging and zagging to evade bullets and barring with his sword the lucky bullets.

Arthur stops in his tracks and then sighs with relief when he hears, *Click* *Click*. Four thugs are behind him spread out and the remaining one is a few meters before his eyes. "Finally out of chances, huh?" The thugs attempt to reload but Arthur not wanting to give that chance, darts for the thug before him and runs the sword through the guts, breaking through the spine and out his back. He leaves the sword and rips the gun out of the corpse's hands. He picks up the magazine and reloads and then turns to the remaining thugs. Without warning nor remorse, he pulls the trigger and all that's heard is the fast repetition of *BANG-BANG-BANG...*. All the thugs can do is wince as they die. All so peaceful and quiet. "Guys! We are done with them." Arthur tells. The friends taking cover pop out of hiding.

"Okay, then we better get Damien and get out of here," Hannah says. "We can't beat that fucked up bloodsucker so we best live to fight another day."

"Oh really?" Arthur lets out. "You think he is just going to let us walk out of...?"

"Shhh!" Joan sounds. "Something is coming. Sounds like...a car."

"Oh shit!" Arthur cusses. "One of them called for backup."

"Well let's get Damien and get out of here. The bastard doesn't seem like he is going to attack." Louis points out.

They start to walk towards the wall Damien is embedded in. They get there and pull him out and rests him on the floor.

"He will be in better shape than this if only you had handed him your bracelet!" Hannah lets out.

"What!? You blaming me? Okay, that's it..."

The two start to argue. As they do, little did they know what approached. They argue and argue until they are interrupted by a huge *CRASH* a heavily armored truck comes making an entrance through the wall on the opposite side. Just three ridiculously brawny men get off the truck. All they all wear is a pair of black trousers and they are not armed. They have these identical smirks plastered on their faces as if they are on top of the world.

"Hey, these guys are on a different level," Joan warns. "Hannah, Louis, give Arthur and me a boost."

"Come on! When will we get to fight..."

"This is not the time!" Joan shuts Hannah up. Normally Hannah will throw a fit but when she saw the look in Joan's eyes she knew, this was really not the time.

"Okay, we will give the boost. Louis!" He nods in response.

*****

The three menacing men stand by their truck observing. (Let's call them, the first, second and third).

"This should be interesting." The first man says.

"Look at them chant the spell." The second mocks. "That must be their best."

"They are like mice in a maze. *Sigh* Their spell is long meaning this will be fun. Let's make sure to give our master the show of his life." The third says.

*****

"...aumentar!" Louis and Hannah simultaneously end the spell and in unison Arthur and Joan both fall to their knees.

Veins are popping up visible on their arms, necks, and other places. It seems painful and they react by grinning. Joan begins to change. Her irises turn amber. Her body starts to smolder, the visible veins start to turn black as she starts to grow claws and fangs, and then her ears also start elongate as she starts to grow hair in some places. The pain suddenly seizes in both their bodies and they get on their feet. Joan has undergone a complete transformation but Arthur looks the same. The only difference is the veins still popping up on his skin.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" Hannah bursts. "You said these guys aren't supposed to be messed with and you don't go full howler on them. You trying to get us killed?"

"What? I like this dark outfit. I didn't want to rip it."

"I agree with you but, really!? *Sigh* Then Arthur don't hold back. Use all your Slots."

"I don't think so! I'm feeling so strong I want to hold back. I am using just three of my Slots."

"Good then. So why are you talking like you have more than three? Isn't three the most a Decent blood can get?"

"Did you forget? I have... Never mind." He shakes his head. "Let's beat them up. Real bad... Cheater slot, Fly slot, Elephant slot, activate." Uttering this, a sudden outburst of air just comes off his body like *PUFFF...*. He was like deflating balloon. Only he wasn't reducing in size. "Can you get my sword?"

"Sure." Louis answers and moves his hand in that 'come on' gesture and the sword comes out of the corpse and shoots headed for Arthur. He catches it by the handle and whips off the blood.

*****

"They seem ready now." The first say.

"We have never fought a Mythic since our transformation, right?" The second asks.

"Precisely." The third answers. "So go all out from the beginning."

*****

Arthur dashes at his incredible speed. He is going right for the one in the middle (the second). He receives an unexpected welcome, a jab coming right for his face at a speed too fast for even Arthur. He sees only one way out of this. He swiftly leans back and then performs a knee slide. He plunges his sword into the ground to slow himself down and when he is finally out of momentum he realizes blood trickling down from his forehead. The bracelet takes action immediately and it starts to heal.

"That jab...wicked."

Out of nowhere, the third appears behind him with an axe kick coming down like the General Sherman Tree. Joan darts in the way with her arms crossed and she blocks the kick. The heaviness of the kick forces cracks in the concrete floor below her feet. Her arms are shivering but she acts tough.

"Are your arms hurting, little girl?" The third asks.

"You... BET!" She shouts as she pushes him away. "Hey, Arthur! Get up and let's fight together!"