Defenestration

Hunter throws a jab at the witch but when the punch connected, the witch stood still, unaffected by the strike.

Merlin stamps his staff to the ground before drawing the energy of the souls he had captured from the lamp and wraps it around his hand. He uses said hand to throw a furious hook at his opponent, sending him crashing into the ground.

Hunter rolls and coughs out blood while the witch moved closer to him and kicks him away. The sprite rises to his feet and rushes forward, he throws a quick jab that lands on the witch's temple. The sprite followed it with an uppercut that sends the witch flying. He turns in the air and lands on his feet. Because of the protection spells, Merlin didn't fill any pain nor did the strike cause any damage.

Merlin used the soul energy to extend his hand, making it longer. He grabbed the sprite by the throat and pulled him close before sending him to the ground with a furious left.

Hunter gets up again and the witch rushes forward, he raises his hand to throw a punch and Hunter quickly rolls out of the way only for the sprite to see the witch still in front of him with his fist so close to his face. "Shit!"

...

"Why did you ask me to stay behind after the regular training?" Hunter asked. "If you want to commend my hard work, there's no need; I already know how great I am," he added.

"You're so full of yourself," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Rich coming from you," Hunter countered.

"I can afford to be full of myself because I've earned it. What have you done save for beating your teammates in a race," the fiend retorted.

"First of all: ouch. Secondly: I'll have you know I am known statewide in Skyline as the most legit exorcist; the exorcist," Hunter stated.

"You're really bragging about being the number one contributor to the list of 'individuals responsible for exposing the mystic secret to the outside world'."

"I mean -- people believe in ghosts but very few would believe vampires exist outside of the fictional world," Hunter pointed out.

"You're here because I wanted you to train more since you're singlehandedly dragging your team down," Zoe said.

"No ... There's no way that's true," Hunter said.

"It is ... Come at me," Zoe instructed.

"You sure?" Hunter steps forward and throws a quick jab, the fiend moves her head, allowing the punch to fly over her shoulders, and she counters by slapping his chest, sending him to the ground.

"And this is why you're the only one of the sprites that is here right now," Zoe said.

"Oh come on, you're so much faster than I am, you saw me coming from miles away," Hunter complained.

"Wrong. The reason I was able to see your next move is that your attack is palpable; it was an easy read for me," the fiend stated. "Even during training, you seem to alternate between boxing and taekwondo moves and that's your entire arsenal. I could predict your move before you even attempt it. You have to be innovative."

"Please, I am the King of unconventional fighting," Hunter stated.

"Seriously? You just tried to hit me with a jab, that's as conventional as it gets," said Zoe.

"I thought you wouldn't see it coming," the sprite argued.

Zoe frowns, "it was a jab." Zoe moves into a fighting stance. "Come at me again; this time try being inventive," the fiend instructed.

...

"Why the hell am I remembering that right now?" Hunter muttered as blood flows freely from a cut on his forehead.

"Ah, fuck it!" He added rising back to his feet.

'How did his power increase so much in so little time?' Merlin thought as he felt a sudden burst in energy from the sprite.

Hunter rushes forward and throws a punch but the witch quickly jumps back to avoid it. The sprite instantly closes the distance and Merlin attempts a jab only for Hunter to slap the attack away and reply with a strike of his own. 'He's incredibly fast,' Merlin thought, 'no, that can't be it.'

Hunter pulls his arm down at a 45-degree angle. He rotates his body and throws a thunderous hook that catches the witch on the jaw. 'Was that a black light? No way,' Merlin looked at the eyes of his opponent, 'he's drawing energy from me!'

Hunter closes the distance between them and throws another black bolt attack. Merlin staggered backward only to receive another strike.

[That's it! His protection spells are down]

Merlin's hands turn black as his protection spells come down. His eyes moved swiftly from side to side unable to track Hunter who was now moving at an incredible speed. The sprite throws another black bolt attack, and another, and another sending the witch to the ground.

'He's too fast, if I was to increase my energy I'd match up to him," Merlin thought. His lips curl upward as he absorbed the energy of the souls around his hand. The witch rises to his feet and gets into a battle stance.

"Wrong move," Hunter stated before springing forward with his right hand raised. The sprite turns just before the distance between them is closed and launched a black bolt strike with his left.

Merlin had thought that absorbing more energy would make him stronger but he couldn't be more wrong as the move only gave Hunter more energy to work with since he was drawing power from Merlin. The witch figures this, albeit late, and expended the energy causing an explosion.

BOOM!

Merlin looks around as the smoke disgregates. It looked as though he had killed the sprite as he was the only one around. The witch chuckles lightly; he might have just lost the souls he took months to gather but it didn't even bother him so long as the sprite was dead.

Merlin felt a black bolt strike his lower body that throws him to the ground. He looks up in fear, he could feel it; all those souls, all the energy he expended, the sprite absorbed it all. Hunter sits on him and delivers another and another and another.

[Hunter stop! Look at yourself]

The sprite looked at his reflection in a mirror nearby to find that three thin lines were starting to appear under both his eyes and stretched down to his cheeks.

[Using chaos magic causes you to get markings on your skin. Yours isn't permanent yet but it would be if you continue to use it]

Hunter exhales loudly before unclenching his fist and lowering his hand. The sprite then moved away from the witch.

Merlin coughs, "I ... I on ... I only wanted to create a better world for people like you and me -- t ... They ... are afraid of what they don't understand ... Your power ... They'll come for you." The witch then took out a dagger and stabs himself in the chest. His breathing slows before coming to a standstill.

"Can you help him?"

[I could but it's better this way. They are many who would use his knowledge and research in even worse ways]

Hunter sighs. [Look to your right]

The sprite turned to see a book he's only known for a short while yet was oddly familiar with it. "The Darkforge?"

[Yes. You should take it to Alastair]

"Okay."

[You should also inform Jade about the situation. Tell her to destroy all of Merlin's research papers and references]

Hunter nods, taking out his phone and dialing the vampire's number. "Hey, we just raided Merlin's place; he's not here," Jade said.

"Yeah, he's actually in Skyhill; I'm sending you the location right away," Hunter stated.

"Great. Stay where you are and do not charge in until the team gets there," she ordered.

"About that ..."

.

.

.

"Hey," Hunter said walking up to Leah. "Hey," the younger vampire greeted him. She smiled before turning, leading the sprite into the building his friend was recovering. "Hope I didn't get you in too much trouble?" Hunter said.

"It's fine," Leah shrugged, "Jade is just really pissed about the way you handled the situation. Going alone was reckless ... According to Jade that is," Leah added.

"I'll make sure it doesn't turn into a habit," Hunter promised.

"Your friend's in this room," Leah said pushing the door open. Hunter peeked through to see Sophia lying on the bed. The sprite walks into the room and sits next to his friend, her skin was noticeably paler.

"I gave her some sedatives; it'll take some time before she wakes up," an unknown soft male voice with a thick northeastern accent said. "I'm doctor White, but you can call me Gareth," he said extending his hand. "I'm Hunter," the tanned skin boy said taking the doctor's hand.

"Your friend is mostly fine; she is healing astonishingly quickly, even faster than I've seen with Jade and Leah," he stated.

"Ah," Hunter said. 'Wait, did you turn her into a vampire?'

[No. But she's no longer human. And before you ask, yes, that was necessary to revive her]

'I'm sorry for sounding ungrateful,'

[You're fine. It's natural to ask these questions]

'Thank you ... for bringing her back,'

[Huh? You know we made a deal for that, right?]

'I do ... Though I can't remember what I agreed to -- still, thank you,'

...

*ELSEWHERE*

Jade drives into a dark alley, stopping at a corner that had no way through. She taps her hand on the steering wheels as she waited. A short while later, someone pulled the car door open and slide into the seat next to hers.

"Any updates?" She asks.

"Nothing yet ... You know you're asking for information on an agency outside the bureau, right?" He says.

"Why am I here then?" Jade asks raising an eyebrow.

"I have some news I thought you should know," the man said, "it's about that kid you've been going about with ... Hunter," he stated.

"What about him?"

"Well, his name debuted at the top of the Red College hit list," he revealed. "I just thought you should know given how dangerous the Red College mercenaries are," he added.

Jade nods, "Who put the bounty on his head?"

"Anonymous, but they are paying a handsome amount for his head," he stated.

"How much are we talking about?"

"Enough to burn a thousand bucks every day for a hundred years and still live comfortably off."

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