To the Edge of Shannia

"Are you convinced now?" I ask Nisha.

"You're crazy!" she lashes out. I find it funny.

She looks worried and not lost in her thoughts anymore. Her healing doesn't work on my Angelus Frame. I change into Algron and it worked a little bit just to stop my bleeding. I sit up and feel a little dizzy. Carmilla is still busy grieving about her precious stones like a greedy corrupted spoiled woman.

"Are you okay?" Nisha asks.

"Obviously not." I hit her shoulder as I grin. "Took you long enough."

"Long enough to what?"

"To take my place." I lie back on the ground. "I'm gonna rest here and you do your thing."

"What? What thing?"

"How could you be 500 years old? You're so dumb. Or maybe you're just so old that your mind has deteriorated."

"Do you want me to kill you?" She's frowning at me.

"Let's get to the Edge of Shannia, Nisha. I'll take you there and we'll find the Eternal Blood Chalice. I looked deep into Algron's memory and saw how much he loved you as if you were his daughter. He wanted you to be just as you are: a vampire. And I'm here to fulfill his last wish. He told me to take care of you. So. . ." I lift my wrist near her mouth. However, she is hesitant.

"But you said you don't want to anymore," she reasons.

Shaking my head, I say, "Indulge."

She swallows as our eyes meet. Her mouth opens, baring her teeth. Then bites me. I prepare for her uncontrollable hunger but I'm surprised that she's drinking my blood gently and not too much. So, I'm not that weak after she's done.

"Thank you," she says. "And yes, let's go to the Edge of Shannia."

Those were apparently the words I wanted to hear from her. Hear that, Algron? We're going to find the Eternal Blood Chalice. When I said to you that I wanted to get to the edge of the server, you believed that I could but you just didn't want to say it. We can—I'm sure of it.

Nisha summons her Angelus Sword. I guess she doesn't have to drink my Angelus blood. It's glowing brightly already. Her dress transforms into her usual outfit: a black short skirt, and a long-sleeved polo.

*Smug* So. . . her panty is black. I can see it well from down here.

Nope, show respect. Knock it off, man.

Meanwhile, Carmilla stopped trying to piece together the stones that gave her a youthful look. She turns her ugly, bat-like face here, glaring at me.

"Darling!" she whines. "Kill him! Make him suffer!"

Taking a stance, Nisha answers, "You're the one who's getting killed."

That gave Carmilla a shock that then turns into an ugly scowl. "Are you aware of the words you speak, Nisha?"

"I am," she confirms without hesitation.

"You're going to get rid of me—your Queen?"

"You are never my Queen."

Sighing excessively, Carmilla growls, "I will give you a chance to apologize, right here, right now. Just doing that is sufficient to excuse you."

"I don't give a damn about excuses. Remove the island barrier and we'll leave peacefully."

A loud, cackling laugh, Carmilla lets out. "Bringing it down will require you to kill me."

"Simple enough," I remark.

"But not easy," Nisha whispers to me.

"No, you can do it. I know you can." I was doing well in fighting Carmilla earlier until I ran out of gas. However, Nisha is far stronger than me. "Beat her, Nisha."

She grits her teeth, showing a sign of trouble. The Atasaia Queen wails like the sound of a very large bat. My ears could not take it even though I'm covering them with my hands. The scream can pierce through anything! Make it stop!

A flash of light breaks out, lighting up my eyelids. I open my eyes and then see Nisha using her sword to contest Carmilla's claws and strength. She retreats and used it as leverage to ready a counter as Carmilla leaps.

I'm surprised that Carmilla can dodge. I was conditioned that she will take every attack I unleash because she can just regenerate fast. She's cautious now. It shows that she is, indeed, vulnerable. She knows that and now thinking of protecting herself from harm.

With such speed, they clash. Every hit is catastrophically powerful. The ruins of the throne room are crumbling as the shockwaves disturb them. Dust clouds are covering the whole place and I can't see what's going on. How can they fight well in this?

I can't believe I always thought Nisha was weak. That changed now. She's far stronger than me and I feel ashamed when I said I will take her to the Edge of Shannia. At this point, she's the one who's gonna take us there instead.

A very powerful blast clears the dust cloud. I see them both retreating to safe distances. They're evenly matched. Nisha doesn't seem to be tired unlike Carmilla—who has bleeding scars on her forearms. She's in trouble for sure.

They clash once again but Carmilla suddenly summons thousands of bats as a distraction. Nisha finds it hard to get rid of them. It gives Carmilla an opening but Nisha blocked her claws with her sword. It was powerful and went through. Nisha is hurt as she hits a pillar. It crumbles down, burying her.

"Nisha!" I shout. Is she okay?

My world seemingly turns dark as something is behind me. I don't have to look to know who it is. I just have the feeling to lean to the side. Her razor-sharp swipe misses as I transform into Algron and shoot at her. It was a bad aim so I only managed to shoot her leg. She feels the pain and retreats, giving me an ideal range for another shot. But then a bat covers the muzzle of my gun just as when I pull the trigger. It bursts into pieces and I lost my chance. That aside, I can still shoot at her.

*Ping*

I'm out of bullets!

"YARGHH!!!" Carmilla bellows, opening her mouth so wide that her cheeks could tear apart.

She's going to rip me into pieces and I'm too late to escape. But she stops and leans back, dodging Nisha's downward slice. Nisha didn't stop there and goes aggressive, chasing Carmilla everywhere.

"You're making a bad decision, Nisha," Carmilla says as she retreats.

Then she stops, infuses her fist with dark energy, and punches the ground. The shaking throws Nisha off-balance, losing her momentum. Horizontally, Carmilla swipes the air, unleashing black slices that cut stones and steel. Nisha didn't dodge. She slices them with her sword. She knew if she dodged, I could've been killed, for I was behind her. Now, she has wounds on her arms.

"You okay?" she asks, looking at me over her shoulder. There is a wound on her left cheek.

"I should be the one to ask you that." I stand up to show her I can handle myself. She can't fight while protecting me. I can't allow that. "Don't worry about me. Beat her."

"Easier said than done. She's the Vampire Queen, you know."

"Quit whining and just do it."

She rolls her eyes, turning her gaze to our enemy. Carmilla is breathing hard. She's tired! Yes! Uh, wait. . . That's not it. Something is happening to her body. Things are moving under her pale and thin skin. Ugh! Disgusting!

"Uh, Nisha?" I ask. "What is happening?"

"I don't know."

In a bloody way, Carmilla sheds her skin and emerges as a bigger monster—ten meters tall. That does not look like Carmilla anymore!

<Carmilla 2nd Phase: Vampire Queen>

The system is still calling her a vampire queen? But that looks more like a drag queen and worse! It has a bat face, white eyes, long ram-like horns, spiky teeth as big as my wrist, rough pale skin, huge leathery wings, steel claws, huge muscles, and feet with incredibly long toes.

*Gulp*

It roars so loud and strong. We cover our ears and feel the ground below us trembling. Every inch of the island must be trembling like this too. After it's done, I'm still trembling as if that caused ripples inside my body.

"Holy cow," I mutter in fear. Nisha too can't believe what she's seeing. She's petrified as I am.

After all of that work and sacrifice to destroy the Darken Stones, that large bitch wasn't even showing her full strength. This is not gonna fare pretty well for us.

"What do we do?" Nisha asks me—the weaker one.

I have no idea why she's depending on me even though she's stronger. I'm supposed to be the one depending on her. Well, I'm the party leader, I should act like one.

—————

👋A QUICK SAY FROM THE AUTHOR👇

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