n

n

nSeems he has acquired some handy new skills.

n“Let’s stop this clownery and take the second route,” Cy seemingly suggested, but it was more like an order than anything.

nStill, I lightly chuckled to myself before completely disintegrating the spear in my hands, allowing the bloodlust to flow back inside of my body.

nTup… Tup… Tup Tup Tup Tup Tup Tup

nThe echoes of our footsteps rung throughout the entirety of the dark domain surrounding us, and as we picked up speed, our eyes locked onto each other.

nCy made the first move after throwing his spear behind him.

nBAM

nHis punch nearly clocked me in the nose, but I quickly deflected it and went for a shin kick that he quickly checked before throwing a crescent kick to my head.

n“Ugh… What are you doing?” I muttered before catching his foot and bringing him close to me, hitting him in the liver.

nI then pushed his foot up, sending him off balance and stumbling back, only for him to flick backward to avoid my next flurry of kicks.

nTup Tup Tup Tup

nOur separation was quick and sweet as we soon clashed again, exchanging a few blows until we got close enough to fight as if our lives depended on it.

nCy grabbed onto my hair, pulling my head in for a knee to the chin, but I quickly blocked it with my free hand and then grabbed his face with my other hand, ignoring his second knee that connected with my liver.

nI felt like throwing up, and the pain was so excruciating that I could barely think, but I still managed to pull through and activate,

n“Vampiric Drain,”

nCy felt the chilling amount of bloodlust erupt from my hands and coat his face, so he quickly let go of my hair and, seemingly flashes, stepped back, just out of range of all of my attacks.

n“I didn’t know you wanted to do 2.5?” He smirked, and his swirling black eyes locked onto me yet again, and his footsteps continued to echo throughout the void.

nTup Tup Tup Tup Tup Tup Tup Tup

n“Royal Black Magic,” I heard Cy mutter, and he visibly let out a malicious smile that sent shivers down my spine.

nI felt something appear from behind me, but when I snapped my head backward, all I saw was a monstrosity, a chimera made up of hundreds of monsters glaring down at me with its salivating mouth hung open.

nBAM

nI felt a punch collide with my spine, bending me backward and the presence which I didn’t even know existed revealed itself from the side of me.

nWhen I slowly turned my head to look at it, I saw Cy slowly creep behind me and ruffle his hand into the center of my long hair.

n“Should’ve tied it back, asshole,”

nBAM

nHe slammed my face into the abyssal floor below us, and as the monstrosity from behind him disappeared, I grabbed onto his hand with both of my hands and activated my skill once again.

nVampiric Drain

nHe tried to escape by shooting my arms with magical weapons made from a black aura, but my bloodlust served as more than enough protection to allow me to continue with this ruthless attack.

nI felt the man’s mana get drained straight into me, and his arm slightly shriveled up as if the blood and moisture from within it had got up and left.

n“ARGHHHHH!”

nHe lifted up his head and headbutted the back of my head with all of his strength, causing my grip to loosen and allow him to take a few steps back.

nAs I slowly got onto my feet, I cracked my neck and ran towards the injured man who had somehow already healed his shriveled-up arm.

nThough, that didn’t matter to me as I punched him in the nose, causing blood to draw from it, but at the same time revealing an opening that he used to grab my arm.

n“Decay,”

nHis words sent a shiver down my spine, and instinctually, I summoned a spear and slammed the blade against Cy’s arm, which had been coated in a deathly pale-gray aura.

n“Then I guess we’re going back to the first route, right?”

n“*sigh*… Whatever,” I muttered before releasing more bloodlust to completely coat my spear and make it even stronger and bigger than before.

nCy also created his own spear of swirling darkness, and as we both began to walk towards each other, it soon turned into a jog, and then a sprint, and then a full-on dash where we met and collided, sparks of red and black electricity threatening to burn the demons watching.

nAnother pair of aura’s spread across my body, making my muscles bulge yet at the same time making my body feel as light as a feather.

nI twirled the spear above my head, building up momentum for a swing downwards that was immediately deflected and then shoved right back at me with another attack.

nThough, this time, I completely blocked it and reached out my foot, pressing it into his gut with a swift and easy push kick.

nHe was sent flying backward but I didn’t even allow him to scan his surroundings for me as I reached out my hand and muttered,

n“Royal Blood Magic,”

nHis body paused for just a second, and as I appeared behind him, my blade about to cut through that thick black aura protecting his neck and head, even more blades and tendrils erupted from the small cuts he had given me.

nFWOOSH… Ting

nThe aura protecting his neck and head rapidly expanded, threatening to devour me as I lost control of the blood within Cy.

nIt ran rampant as if it was trying to escape the confines of its user, and just as it attempted to devour my soul through the skill, I took a step back, a mistake for me but an opening that Cy immediately used.

nHis head craned back, with his eyes locking onto me once again, causing a blast of darkness to erupt from him and form into the tip of a lance that nearly pushed straight through my gut.

nIf I didn’t block some of it with my own blood-ridden aura, then I would’ve had a gaping hole in my stomach.

n“Haaaaaaa…. Haaaaa…. Haaaaaaaa….”

nBlood dripped from my mouth as I coughed up heaps of it while also using it as a delay with my Royal Blood Magic by forming small daggers and sending them flying towards Cy.

nHe easily deflected them with his spear, but it bought me enough time to get back onto my feet.

n“Ah… seems that’s a wrap,” Cerberus muttered as I slowly stood up and whipped my left hand up, causing it to reveal the massive web of bloodlust that I had laid out with Vampiric Creation this entire time.

nBut, just as it began to wrap around Cy and nearly cut through his very being, he stomped on the ground, creating a burst of black magical aura that nearly cut through my seemingly uncuttable webs.

nEven when he tried his best to break it or try to attack me to stop the process, I just quickly took a step bakc.

nThe only time he came close to nearly killing me with his flurry of desperate yet rapid attacks was when he flash stepped right into me… but I already had predicted it and ripped a massive wound through the side of his torso.

nIt spilled so much blood onto the floor that I could’ve made an entire armory out of it… and that is exactly what I did.

nThis wasn’t a skill but a combination of skills that I had practiced over the entirety of my hellish experience with Cerberus.

n“Iron Maiden,” I muttered, and the swirling armory of weapons made purely of condensed blood shot through Cy, who had been wrapped up by my web of bloodlust.

nHe was like a neat package just waiting to be stabbed, and as soon as the weapons had pierced his body, I let him drop to the ground.

n“*cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*…”

nMy friend coughed up a heap of blood that splattered against the abyss, his eyes turning hazy as he slowly looked up at me with a malicious grin.

nBAM

nA black hand erupted from behind me, stabbing straight through my stomach and completely eradicating every single bit of organs that were in my torso.

nI slowly turned back, just to see Cy’s hand, which had erupted from the abyss below and winded over to my torso, shooting straight through it while being reinforced with that silent black aura of his.

n“Shit…” We both muttered before flopping to the ground, motionless.

n…

nWhen I awoke, I found myself laying against a silky carpet within the center of a grand and beautiful throne room lined to the tee with marble and black ornaments.

n“You awake?” A familiar voice asked, handing me a cup of water that I desperately needed.

nAs I chugged it down like a rabid beast, I turned to Cy, who had a light smile, extending his hand to help me up.

n“Yeah… thanks,” I muttered before taking his hand and shooting straight up before walking beside him as we exited the grand throne room.

n