Cold sweat beaded on Elena's forehead, and her brow was drawn tight with worry. She clenched her fists, fighting desperately to shake the paralyzing dread that gripped her heart. The heavy reality of the situation suffocated her, leaving her trembling with anxiety. This was not how things were supposed to go.
She looked ahead and realized the vampire knights meant to guard this room were already dead. Their bodies had been tossed callously to the side like discarded refuse.
"What are we supposed to do now?" she muttered, her voice thin and strained.
After the devastating fall of the teleportation gate, Decker began to make his move. He slowly advanced toward the small, trapped party with a vicious confidence, his boots crunching on the shattered stone. "Leonidas, you are going to die here."
Porto, sensing the imminent danger, quickly handed the Vampire Lord over to John. "Young Master, please take care of the Lord for a while. I will go deal with that scumbag."
The vampire knight Dante had already taken his stance. He gripped his sword with his right hand, his expression grim but resolute as he prepared for the battle to begin. He knew the shadow copy of Decker was still a threat, but he refused to back down again.
Leonidas looked at the vampire maid, Elena. He could see the conflict in her eyes, but he also knew the reality of their situation. "They will not be enough to take on Decker. You should go help them."
"Yes, my lord," Elena bowed her head and started walking forward to meet the villain head on.
John was not happy with the harsh decision made by Leonidas, especially seeing the dark, oily liquid still leaking from the eyes of Decker. "No, Elena, do not go!"
She turned her head to look at him, but she also noticed that the Vampire Lord was gazing intently at her, his eyes filled with a cold, silent command. "I have to go, John. It is my duty to serve the Crimsons."
"But you will die!" John pleaded, his voice cracking with emotion as he held the weakened Lord.
"I will not die."
"You do not know that!"
"How can I lose when you are here with me?" Elena said with a light, confident smile. It was a final, powerful moment of hope that she offered to John before turning her back on him to face the battle.
Leonidas did not say anything about their conversation. He immediately turned his head to focus on the situation developing as Dante and Porto engaged with Decker. His gaze was sharp, calculating the movements of his enemies even in his weakened state.
The black skinned vampire stood before the two loyalists, his silhouette flickering in the dim light crystals. "I will spare you two if you get out of my way."
"Die!" Dante screamed, unleashing his fury as he proceeded to attack the vampire with a violent downward slash of his sword. The shadow of Decker instantly stepped out of his body and started to engage Dante, its movements a perfect, dark mirror of the original. Decker looked at Porto and gestured for the vampire to come forward. Porto accepted the gesture and dashed toward him with rapid speed, his boots pounding against the stone.
Their clash created a small shockwave that rippled through the dusty air. Porto threw a straight punch, and Decker responded with his own straight punch. Their resulting clash created another short shockwave, and Porto could feel the impact putting immense strain on his arm. "My arm almost snapped," Porto said, gritting his teeth as he realized the vast difference in raw power.
Decker immediately followed up his punch. He stretched his arm as if it were made of elastic, the movement uncanny and sudden. He grabbed the right leg of Porto and violently threw him against one of the middle pillars across the room. The stone cracked upon impact. "You are weak," Decker stated coldly, walking toward the stunned Porto, who was still struggling on the ground.
Out of nowhere, Elena came racing in, using the opportunity to strike while the villain was distracted. She delivered a sharp, powerful kick to the dark-skinned vampire in the center of his back, the force sending him flying past the pillar and crashing hard against the wall. "Porto, get up!" Elena urgently encouraged the butler vampire to stand.
While Elena and Porto kept Decker busy, Dante was facing the shadow clone. The vampire knight used his sword to deliver multiple slashes, but each time the clone managed to keep its distance and easily dodge the attacks. "How do I kill this bastard?" he muttered in frustration. The dark shadow clone suddenly stretched out its hand and fired a dark energy ball from its palm. This caught the vampire knight off guard. "Shit!" Dante quickly used his sword to block the concentrated energy.
"What the hell is this power?" Dante grunted. The energy ball violently pushed the vampire back, his heels digging into the floor. He struggled, looking at his sword, which began to crack under the pressure. "No!"
He then channeled his inner power. The pupils of his eyes turned a deep, glowing red, and dark veins appeared under his eyelids as his vampire blood surged. With this new added strength, he managed to deflect the energy ball into one of the pillars on the left, causing a huge chunk of the stone to be destroyed in a shower of debris.
Decker noticed the destruction caused by the deflected energy and yelled at his construct. "Stop that, you idiot!" The dark shadow clone only shrugged its shoulders with a chilling, detached air before aggressively attacking the vampire knight again.
Elena then used the Blood Step technique as she dashed with incredible speed toward the dark-skinned vampire. However, Decker decided to do the same, executing the Blood Step technique with a fluid, terrifying grace. This was a brutal turn for the vampire maid, as Decker was significantly faster. As he closed the gap, his nails instantly extended into black talons, delivering a vicious slash toward her face. Blood splattered on the cold stone floor as deep gashes covered her skin. He quickly used this opportunity to knock her sword out of her hand, the steel clattering into the darkness.
The heart of John almost stopped as he saw her retreating. He watched the blood drip down her clothes and pool on the floor, his hands trembling as he supported the weight of the Lord.
Leonidas, sensing the terror of the boy, struggled to speak words of necessary cruelty and resolve. "You must be strong, boy. They are fighting for the sake of our clan."
"I know," John said, gritting his teeth so hard they ached. "I wish I was stronger. It is so hard standing here on the sidelines," he thought to himself, feeling the heavy burden of his own perceived uselessness.
"I know how you feel, boy. As you know, at the moment I am also weak. But we must have faith that they will defeat Decker."
"Do you really think that is possible, old man?"
Leonidas did not say anything. His eyes were merely gazing intently at the desperate battle taking place, his silence heavier than any answer. Porto re-entered the fight at that moment. Decker was busy pummeling Elena in the face repeatedly; her skin stained a dark crimson. Porto filled his fist with Spiritual force and aimed for the ribs of the dark-skinned vampire, the impact knocking the villain away from Elena with a dull thud.
"Hey, are you okay?" Porto quickly asked her while breathing heavily, his lungs burning from the exertion.
She could feel that the effects of the Warrior's Rage Potion were starting to fade, leaving her limbs feeling like lead. "We must end this battle quickly; I will not be much use the longer this battle drags."
"I have never faced someone so strong. But our lord is weak right now, and he is depending on us. We cannot let him down."
Elena looked toward the direction of Leonidas, but her eyes eventually fixed on John. In his gaze, she found her final spark of resolve. "Yeah, we cannot let them down." She breathed heavily, her chest heaving as she wiped the blood from her eyes.
"Are you ready?" Porto asked while she pulled herself together. Both of their bodies were screaming in pain, their muscles torn and bruised.
"Let's kill this fucker."
They both dashed toward Decker with their remaining strength. The dark-skinned vampire grinned as he blocked both of their kicks with a casual, mocking ease. "Weaklings." He then delivered a brutal kick to the chest of Elena, sending her crashing hard against the cold stone wall.
"You bastard!" Porto yelled, but before he could strike, he felt a cold, iron-like hand grabs his neck. Decker lifted him slightly and looked past him, directing his words at the paralyzed figure of the Lord. "Is this all you have for me, Leonidas?!"
Suddenly, Decker felt a sharp pain pierce through his back. "What?!"
It was the vampire knight Dante. He stood there, gasping for breath and covered in the dust of the ruined chamber. "Uh, what did you do to my clone?" Decker hissed.
"I removed his head from his shoulders," Dante said through gritted teeth, confirming the Shadow Clone was finally neutralized. Porto used this momentary distraction to quickly escape the suffocating grasp of Decker.
"Good, good," Decker said, feigning approval as a dark, twisted chuckle left his throat. He then reached behind him and grabbed the sword that was stabbed through his back with his right hand. "You missed my heart. You should have aimed for the head." The hand of Decker bled as the sharpness of the steel bit into his skin, but he did not flinch. In an instant, he snapped the heavy blade with his bare hands.
In a blur of motion, the dark-skinned vampire turned around and stabbed the broken piece of the blade into the neck of the knight. Dante fell to his knees, his hands clutching at the wound as blood leaked from his mouth. He looked up and saw Decker staring at him with an evil, black-inked grin before the villain delivered a final, crushing kick to his face.
"I really thought that we won the battle, old man," John said to Leonidas, his voice filled with a heavy, hollow despair.
"When this is all said and done, I am going to put him through a training that he will never forget," Leonidas muttered. His eyes were burning with a furious, cold resolve as he watched his grandson struggle with his own helplessness.
Elena, in the meantime, ran toward the bodies of the fallen vampire knights and grabbed two of their discarded swords. She rushed back and tossed one of the weapons to Porto. "Thank you, Miss Elena. Let us do our best," Porto said, his grip tightening on the hilt.
Both of them ran toward Decker and slashed at him at the same time, their movements coordinated by desperation. Decker managed to retreat, easily dodging the simultaneous strikes with his uncanny speed.
"Come back here, you vermin!" Porto yelled, his voice filled with defiance.
"A mere servant dares to call me vermin?" Decker mocked, his hand shooting out like a viper toward the throat of Porto.
However, Elena used this chance to deliver a precise downward slash, slicing Decker's arm clean off. Black liquid instantly oozed onto the ground where the limb fell. "You fu*king bitch!" Decker roared.
Decker retracted his severed arm, and it began to heal immediately. The dark flesh knitted itself back together in a grotesque blur of shifting muscle and black liquid. Elena continued her advance on Decker, holding the sword in both hands with a white-knuckled grip. The female vampire unleashed multiple strikes, the steel whistling through the air, yet the dark-skinned vampire dodged every movement with an effortless grace. He waited for the perfect moment to counter. Suddenly, his dark shadow clone came rushing out of his body with a fast and powerful punch, sending the vampire maid flying back across the room.
"Uh, I cannot waste time anymore with you lot. Time to wrap this up," Decker declared. His voice was cold and final, echoing off the high stone ceiling.
Dante, at this time, had already removed the piece of broken blade from his neck. He wiped the blood from his chin and picked up his sword, making his way to where Porto and Elena were standing. All three vampires were battered, in pain, and breathing heavily, their chests heaving in the dim light.
"Get ready, you two. It looks like he is about to get serious."
Decker spread his arms wide, and his eyes started to glow a fierce, unnatural red. His spirit force began to rise like a physical weight in the room, making the air feel thick and hard to breathe. His muscles bulged little by little under his damaged clothing. "He is powering up. I suggest we do the same," Dante said while he, too, released his full power. Elena and Porto immediately did the same as the irises of all three vampires turned a deep, burning crimson. Dark veins started to protrude from under their eyes, marking the absolute limit of their physical forms.
"Listen, I will lead the assault by attacking him from the front. Butler, you will get him from behind," the vampire knight said. He then took a glance at the vampire maid. "Maid, you will get him from below. Understood?"
"Understood," both vampires said in unison, their voices heavy with a grim determination.
"Follow me."
Dante sprinted forward with his sword in hand. "Time to die, you foul demon!"
Decker stood perfectly still, spreading out his arms as if welcoming a long-lost friend. "I will take that as a compliment."
Porto used the Blood Step as he ran around the dark-skinned vampire, his movements a blur of speed. Elena came from the side, staying low to the ground. John and his grandfather were watching from the sidelines. The heart of John was beating heavily within his chest, hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. Leonidas, on the other hand, hoped for a miracle, but all the experience he had accumulated throughout the years had taught him to predict certain situations. This was one of them. He looked at the three brave souls rushing toward their doom and realized the "vicious" truth. He had foreseen that all three vampires who were fighting against Decker were going to die.
As the three vampires reached their enemy, a dark shadow clone instantly walked out of the back of Decker to block the attack of Porto. Decker then quickly shot a dark energy ball toward the vampire maid, sending Elena flying backward into the shadows. Dante made the split-second decision not to hold back and continued his advance. He thrusted his sword forward, aiming to directly pierce the chest of the dark-skinned vampire. "Phantom Pierce!"
The attack was incredibly fast, but Dante did not know that the dark-skinned vampire had already used his dark energy to reinforce his right hand. The sword headed straight for his heart, and Decker was fully aware of the intention of Dante. He shifted his body a little to the side at the last possible moment, allowing the blade to miss his heart by a single, crucial inch.
"Yes, he killed him! It went straight through his heart!" John was screaming with sudden, desperate joy. He thought the fight was finally over.
"Why are you celebrating, boy? It is not over," Leonidas stated. His voice was flat and controlled, reflecting his cold and strategic certainty.
"What do you mean, old man? Are you blind? Did the knight not just stab the guy through his heart? Is a vampire's weakness not his heart?" John demanded. His brief moment of celebration was already starting to shatter.
"No, you are correct. A weakness of a vampire is his heart, but unfortunately for the knight, he slightly missed it," Leonidas stated. His voice was completely devoid of emotion.
As the sword sliced through the chest of Decker, the villain quickly grabbed and held onto the arm of Dante with his left hand. "Let me show you how to impale someone properly."
Dante was shocked as the dark-skinned vampire grabbed hold of his arm with a grip like iron. In that split second, his mind raced to his wife and his baby girl. "Alice, my wife, I am sorry I will not be able to return to your side. Please take care of our baby girl, Joy."
Decker then struck his right hand forward. His fingertips were sharpened into lethal talons that tore through the chest of the vampire knight, destroying his heart in a single, vicious motion. The dark-skinned vampire then secretly ordered his shadow clone to move in stealth beneath his feet. It slithered along the stone floor like a snake. Nobody noticed the shadow moving, traveling with great speed until it neared the base of the stairs.
As Dante crumbled to the floor, his eyes already glassing over, Decker let out a wicked grin. He locked his cold gaze onto Leonidas and John.
"It is time to die."
He began his slow advance toward them. His pure bloodlust rolled off him, filling the enclosed space like a thick and suffocating fog.
The eyes of John stretched wide and his heart was racing. "Come at me, you bastard!"
"Boy, are you stupid? You do not stand a chance against him. We need to run," Leonidas said. He watched the steady, murderous approach of his enemy.
"Wait. You want me to leave the others here alone?" John asked, his voice trembling as he looked back at the carnage.
"Yes, we will only hold them back," Leonidas replied, his voice a cold anchor in the chaos.
"No, I cannot. I cannot leave Elena alone." John closed his eyes tightly, fighting the tears that threatened to spill over. The thought of walking away while she bled for him was almost too much to bear.
"You must, Young Master John," a voice urged him.
John opened his eyes and saw Elena struggling back to her feet. Her body was screaming with pain, and her movements were stiff, but her eyes were fixed on the enemy. "You must leave."
"But I just got back to you," John whispered, his heart breaking in his chest.
"I know. We will see each other again. I promise."
A loud explosion then could be heard echoing from the upper levels of the castle, sending a tremor through the floor. Decker did not flinch. He continued his slow, predatory walk toward Leonidas. "Oh, how touching. I will kill you both so that you can be together forever." Decker laughed as he advanced, the sound grating like stone on stone.
"Go, Young Master!" Elena screamed as she rushed toward Decker one final time. Porto followed her lead, his movements a desperate blur. He attacked from the right and Elena attacked from the left in a final, sacrificial gambit to buy every second they could.
John turned around and rushed toward the stairs that led to the exit. He wiped his tears with his left hand, his vision blurred and his breathing ragged. "Please do not die on me, Elena," he thought desperately.
The boy ran for several seconds before reaching the foot of the stairs, but an unnatural darkness was already waiting for them. A flat, solid black shadow slithered rapidly across the floorboards to cut off their escape. Before John could react, the darkness peeled itself off the ground, swelling upward and twisting into a solid, humanoid figure. It was a massive, physical clone made entirely of solidified shadow.
Across the room, the real Decker had already knocked Elena and Porto away with a casual wave of his power. He looked at his prey with cold amusement. "I am sorry, but I will not allow you to leave."
John backed up slowly as the physical shadow clone took heavy, menacing steps toward them. He looked toward the blocked exit, his mind racing. "Hey, old man, do you have any ideas?"
"No. I guess we are going to die," Leonidas said, his voice flat.
"You good for nothing old man!"
John quickly looked up at the menacing shadow clone with a wry, panicked smile. He was desperately trying to bluff his way through the fear.
"Look, Mr. Dark Decker. Can you please, please get out of the way?" John asked, shifting his weight and tightening his grip to make sure he did not drop his grandfather.
Leonidas let out a heavy sigh right next to John's ear. "Idiot."
John blinked and craned his neck to look over his shoulder, looking genuinely offended despite the giant monster in front of him. "Whatchu say?"
"I said you are an idiot," his grandfather replied flatly.
Before John could argue back, the shadow clone raised its massive arms to grab him. The young vampire boy shrieked for help and braced himself for the impact. Suddenly, the dark construct froze completely in place. John was confused for a split second until a hand violently erupted outward from the center of the shadow's chest.
"The Young Master asked you nicely, sir. Now if you do not want to get out of the way, then I guess I have to make a way."
Rebecca struck her other arm through the body of the shadow clone and ripped the dark form in two. The shadow dissipated into black mist with a wet, tearing sound. John was utterly shocked, his mouth hanging open. "Whaat?"
Leonidas sported a light, pleased smile. "Good, good."
Rebecca lightly bowed, her uniform perfectly pressed despite the chaos. "Rebecca, at your service, my lord."
"Head Maid Rebecca, thank you for coming. Go and help the others. We are going to escape."
"As you wish, my lord."
"Miss Rebecca," John called out.
The Head Maid looked at the young boy, her expression softening for a fraction of a second. "Please be careful."
She smiled faintly. "This one will try, Young Master."
Rebecca quickly made her presence known and appeared next to Elena. The maid was happy to see her senior arrive to help, but she was also profoundly sad. She knew that the arrival of the Head Maid meant the situation had reached its absolute breaking point. "Head Maid Rebecca, thank you for coming, but we are facing an enemy like no other," Porto said as he moved to join the two women.
"I know we face a formidable foe. If I cannot fell him, I will hold him long enough for my lord to get away, and I suggest you do the same." Rebecca's voice was steady and resolute, more like a seasoned soldier's than a head maid's, and it carried the kind of authority that brooked no argument.
Porto and Elena both took a glance at each other. "We will do our best, Head Maid Rebecca," Porto said. "I will attack him from the right."
"Then I will attack him from the left," Elena said, her voice resolute.
"That leaves me to attack his front."
All three vampires immediately executed their plan. This was not the first time they had tried this coordinated tactic. Dante had died using it, but this time the Head Maid was taking charge. Decker used his dark shadow clone again to hold off Porto. He then tried to form another dark energy ball in his hand, but before he could fire it off, he noticed something unexpected.
The Maid Rebecca was incredibly fast. She met him head on, the air snapping around her, and struck the middle of his face with a powerful straight punch. The bone crunching impact sent the dark-skinned vampire hurtling backward. She then rushed at him, refusing to give him a single moment to recover. She quickly seized the ankles of her opponent with a grip like a steel vice. In one fluid, terrifying motion, she spun Decker around, using the raw momentum to generate a powerful whirl. The air crackled with kinetic energy as she released the hold, flinging the heavy body of the vampire across the ruined room.
What Decker did not know was that two vampires were already waiting in the shadows for his landing. Both Porto and Elena attacked at the exact same time. Porto struck first with a crushing downward punch, while Elena followed a fraction of a second later with a devastating kick to his midsection.
Black blood erupted from the mouth of Decker as his body folded in the air. Leonidas watched the situation unfold from afar and did not react. His cold eyes knew this was only a temporary reprieve. Porto, who had landed near Decker, chose to remain in the fight and step forward to attack the downed vampire again.
"Let us go, boy."
John did not say anything, but a wave of elation washed over him as he saw the tables turn for a second time. He adjusted his grip on his grandfather and began the heavy, desperate climb up the dark stone stairs.
Decker fell to the ground with a sickening, wet thud. Through his blurred vision, he saw Leonidas leaving on the back of the young vampire, their silhouettes disappearing up the stairwell. A quick, sharp flash of his dead daughter appeared in his mind. The memory was like a spark hitting dry powder, and his dark rage was instantly ignited.
As Porto reached down to finish him, the arm of the dark-skinned vampire suddenly extended. It swung upward through the air with the blinding, whistling speed of a whip. The vampire butler stood completely still for a terrifying, frozen moment. Elena watched in pure shock, her breath caught in her throat, while the Head Maid kept a perfectly calm composure. The head of Porto then slipped from his shoulders and fell to the stone floor. A heavy fountain of blood sprayed from his severed neck, raining down in the dim light.