Ravikus was stunned.
For a heartbeat he did not move. His mind raced as the smoke cleared, and he stared at the mangled remains of one of his blood slaves.
That slave had thrown itself forward by his command the instant the blast came, and now it was nothing but dust drifting in the air like red ash. The entire street smelled of burning metal and rotting blood, a scent Ravikus was long familiar with, yet it still crawled under his skin.
He hissed softly, his voice smooth and cold, the sound sharpened by the hollow timbre of the undead. "That was close. Too close."
Slowly, with stiff motions, he turned toward the source of the blast.
Standing in the cracked doorway was the creature from the hotel. The small dog. The six eyed demon. The legendary curse beast that had followed that brat around like a clueless puppy earlier. But this time, its eyes glowed brighter. Darker. Deeper. They were like six tiny stars orbiting around a void.
Ravikus whispered, "Impossible."
The dog trotted in the street without hesitation. Its fur was as black as a moonless night, swallowing even the light of the moonlight. Ravikus felt an unnatural chill crawl across his spine.
"How are you here?" Ravikus asked. His voice echoed strangely. "You are not supposed to follow orders. I saw it myself. That brat was telling you what to do, and you ignored every command like a stubborn cub. You refused him. You sniffed the ground. You acted like a mindless beast. So why are you standing here now?"
His words trembled at the edges.
The beast did not answer. It simply stared.
Ravikus clenched his teeth. "No matter. Coming here was your mistake."
The demon dog opened its mouth.
A bright light built up inside its throat, swirling with rapid force. Ravikus did not move. He wanted to measure it. To understand it. To see how the energy formed so he could counter it with his own blood curse.
That was his second mistake.
The blast erupted.
The explosion filled the entire ritual street. The walls cracked. The floor split. The ceiling above shook loose powdered stone. Ravikus's body shattered with the sound of a ruptured melon, blood scattering in thin tendrils.
For a moment, he was nothing but a crawling mass of red sludge.
But he reformed.
Bones cracked back into place. Muscles knitted from strings of blood. Skin stretched over the frame with a wet slap. In one breath, he stood again, though his form twitched like something half-finished.
Ravikus smiled.
It was a slow, predatory smile, sharp as broken glass.
"You coming to me is the most foolish thing you have ever done," he said. "If you merged with that brat, you might have forced me to use more of my curse mana. You might have even caused some trouble. But here, by yourself, you are nothing but prey."
The dog's six eyes flared.
It opened its mouth again.
Ravikus stiffened. "You dare?"
Bang.
Another blast tore through him, tearing off half his torso. His body splashed across the floor. Blood writhed like living tentacles and pulled him back together.
He had no time to speak before another blast hit him.
And another.
And another.
The room turned white over and over. Ravikus kept reforming, each time weaker, his breath growing shorter. At first he was irritated. Then annoyed. Then he became worried. And eventually, something he had forgotten the taste of crept into his bones.
Pain!
A slight pain!
Then the next blast came, and he noticed something strange.
When his skin reformed, a faint line appeared along his shoulder. A thin wound, like the graze of a blade.
"That was not there before…" Ravikus whispered.
He stood still. Another blast came. He regenerated. Another faint cut appeared, this time along his leg.
A chill went down his spine. "No. That cannot be. That must be my imagination."
But then another blast struck him. This time, a long cut traced across his ribs. Ravikus touched it with trembling fingers. Blood seeped out slowly. Too slowly.
He understood.
His eyes widened. "Don't tell me it is adapting to my immortal blood."
His voice shook. "No. No. This cannot be happening. This is impossible."
Another blast came. Ravikus tried to dodge, but the air around him felt heavy. His body felt slower. The beam grazed his arm.
Boom.
His arm flew off, torn cleanly at the joint. It landed with a wet slap on the floor, twitching.
Ravikus stared at it with growing horror. "Heal."
Nothing happened.
Cold panic ripped through him. "Heal!"
The flesh wiggled. But it did not reattach. It did not regrow.
His voice came out broken. "It… it is not healing."
He stumbled back. "What is this beast? It only has one attack. Just one. Legendary beasts always have multiple abilities. They shift forms. They call storms. They command shadows. But this one…"
He swallowed thickly.
"Only one attack."
He corrected himself as another blast narrowly missed him.
"Worse… this attack looks like it adapts."
The demon dog stepped forward slowly. Calmly. As if this entire fight was nothing but a warm-up. As if it was learning. Observing. Growing stronger every second.
Ravikus felt bile rise in his throat.
"Enough!" he shouted.
He gathered his curse energy. Blood rose from the floor, twisting around him like crimson vines. He formed a long spear from his own life essence and hurled it with explosive force.
The spear hit the demon dog.
It vanished the instant it touched its black fur.
Disappeared without even a spark.
Ravikus's knees trembled. "My attack… what happened?"
He sent more blood attacks, faster, stronger, denser. Splitting the air. Ripping through stone. Summoning every drop of cursed power stored in his veins.
Ravikus felt fear. "My attacks were being devoured!?"
Each attack vanished into the dog's fur like water pouring into a void.
Ravikus was angry, "I refuse to believe this beast is invincible!"
Fear closed around his chest like a metal fist. His instincts screamed. His body shook.
He turned to flee.
But he was too slow.
The demon dog appeared behind him in a blur. Ravikus stumbled backward and threw up a shield of hardened blood.
"Bloodshield!"
The blast hit it. His shield cracked.
Ravikus summoned another shield.
It shattered.
Another. Stronger. Thicker. Lined with cursed bone.
Shattered.
He kept summoning shield after shield, each one fading the instant the demon dog's mouth glowed.
The dog was adapting to every layer. Every structure. Every reinforcement.
Ravikus felt desperation clawing at his throat.
He snarled, "I am Count Ravikus of Blood Moon Dawn. Peak Curse Beast Conjurer of the Crimson Eclipse. Lord of the Thirteen Familiars. The last survivor of the Blood Moon Clan. I will not fall here!"
He unleashed everything he had, every spell, every drop of blood curse he had stored over centuries.
The street erupted in red storms.
Then came one final explosion.
When the dust settled, Ravikus stood bent over, shoulders heaving. His body was intact, but his curse energy… it was almost gone. He had nothing left.
He looked at the small dog standing unharmed amid the ruins.
Ravikus whispered, "You… are not a normal legendary beast. Not at all. If I had known… I would have fled the moment I sensed you."
He lifted his head weakly toward the ceiling. "My summon… I hope you do not come…"
The demon dog stepped forward.
Ravikus tried to back away.
Gruig's mouth suddenly opened wide. A thick blood smoke poured out, forming Ravikus's true shape, a ghostly face contorted with rage and fear.
"I will not die like this!"
He tried to flee through the sky.
But a bright light erupted from below him.
Boom.
The blood smoke scattered into nothing.
Ravikus, the count, simply vanished forever.
The dog circled once, wagged its tail, and turned away as if the entire fight bored it.
Gruig's lifeless body lay still on the floor.
Then suddenly, one of his fingers twitched.