I stared discomfited at Kelia's headless body. Before I could come to terms with her premature ending, the headless body turned into red wisps. Startled, I looked around.

Behold, Kelia was standing in a corner of the place. She was in perfect health albeit slightly pale. The red wisps had gathered in her palm to form a humanoid blood figure. The proportions looked eerily like her own.

"Ho? What kind of trick is that? It seems humans, as well as vampires, have truly changed, compared to the past." The rumbling voice of the demon was heard. Only then did I remember, he was standing just beside me.

I turned as fast as I could while launching a kick toward his neck. Quicker than I, his hand caught my foot and he simply threw me toward a nearby wall. The impact was strong enough to destroy the wall and send me into another room.

"Argh..!" I vomited a mouthful of blood and felt a lot better. I immediately switched to a defensive posture but the following attack I was expecting didn't arrive.

I walked toward the hole I made in the wall and came back to the previous room. Inside a furious game of cat and mouse was happening. Kelia used her clone of blood? expertly. She avoided deadly blows by substituting with her blood humanoid. I marveled at her control.

In the meantime, she created various weapons of blood and harrassed the demon from all sides. I decided to help her from afar, I exerted my willpower on the air and watched as sparks bloomed before me. Quickly, they gathered into an orb of pulsating electricity.

I flung it and it became a bolt of lightning. The thunderous sound made the demon still. A second letter he was blasted flying by the impromptu lightning bolt. I used this respite to rejoin Kelia.

"Hey, are you alright? You startled me earlier. I thought you were dead." I said as soon as I came closer.

"I would have been if I didn't know how to use Hex magic. Before I was turned by a lunatic, I was a pretty damn good Hexer. We know how to employ a variety of bizarre and esoteric practices. 'Substitution of life and death ' is merely one among many." She answered and explain her trick.

*So many types of magic...

"Well, this is great. The idea of holding back this thing by myself is backbreaking. How much more time do we need to waste?" I asked while eyeing the demon who was getting back up.

The scorched wounds caused by the lightning bolt were already mostly healed.

"This power, I feel like I've seen it before?" The demon muttered to himself. I could naturally hear what he was saying. A drop of sweat appeared on my forehead.

*Don't tell me? he knows something about willpower. I always try to use it sparingly against my enemies in case someone or something senses the nature of this power.

*Generally, I end fights not long after it's used as such, my opponents can't tell. Even someone as smart as Lorn didn't conclude that I was using the power of gods.

Sigh,

* It's like the saying: When you are used to walking out at night, you will run into a ghost eventually.

"Not much longer, I reckon. He is draining energy faster while keeping this form, I would say he has not more than half an hour left on this plane."

*Thankfully, he will be sent back soon.

I was relieved by this fact.

"I want to try something," Kelia spoke breaking me out of my thoughts.

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"You'll see. But I need your help. First, can you spill as much of his blood as you can?" Her voice appeared in my mind directly.

"I'll try," I answered.

"Good enough." Kelia nodded.

*Ok, spilling blood. I can do that. First I need to fix him into place.

With that in mind, I crouched and touched the floor with my palm. This gesture allowed me to focus. Affecting the floor with my willpower would have been slightly complicated before but now, it was a piece of cake. This demon had caused irreversible damages to the array of glyphs that assured the durability of the walls and floors.

Thus, I went into action. The floor rippled beneath me like a calm pond disturbed by a stone throw. The demon was brought out of his musing by my actions.

He started sinking into the floor which had taken a liquid property. I stood up again and released my hold. The floor regained solidity. The demon was now mobilized up to the tighs for an instant.

I knew he was able to break through the floor to free himself I just needed him to stay put for a second. I clapped my palms together and stirred the air into a violent wind. I gathered the wind in a spiral shape which formed a small tornado. I then sent it upon the trapped demon.

He had already managed to free one of his feet. Thankfully, he wasn't yet free of his movements. He could only wither the mini tornado.

SWISH

BANG

CRASH

He was taken for a spin as the violent wind tore at his flesh. When he was freed from the tornado he was sent flying against another wall. He was now a mass of bloody flesh.

I turned toward Kelia. She looked impressed as she saw my handiwork from the corner of her eyes. She was sitting her legs crossed. Her palms were executing numerous symbols and she was wreathed in a bloody aura.

"Is that good enough?" I pointed toward the demon who had started to regenerate.

"Yes. It's perfect." She answered and pointed to fingers toward the writhing mass of flesh. As she curled her fingers, blood was extracted from the demon.

The blood gathered into a blob above her head. Obscure incantations spilled out of her mouth. Each word seemed to disturb the liquid crimson blob above her.

Suddenly her eyes were alit.

"Blood Effigy." At these words, the blood blob behind her turned into a perfect blood statue representing the demon.

The details were astonishing. The statue seemed alive causing goosebumps to rise on my skin. At this point, the demon was whole again.

"All of your actions are pointless. You can't bridge a difference in life order. We are on a different existential ladder. Even you, the immortal human. You may not be able to pass but I'll make sure you will come to resent this fact. You are the perfect delicacy for us, demons. You are the gift that keeps on giving. An inexhaustible food." He had a slightly passionate light in his eyes when he addressed me.

"I am sorry to cut your delirious monologue. But you are going back to your plane." Kelia suddenly spoke.

The demon's brow rose sardonically. He seemed to disregard her entirely. Still, Kelia was Kelia after all. She was a being of action.

"Blood Hex." As the words fell from her lips, cracks appeared on the statue above her. In parallel, the demon began howling in pain.

"YOU! What are you doing!!!?" His eyes were red from the pain.

She ignored him and raised a palm, the statue came to float above it. She used a sharp nail to poke a hole into the torso of the statue.

Like a live rendition, a hole also appeared on our foe. He roared in extreme agony.

"I may not be able to kill you. But I can make you wish you were dead." Her voice was soft but it carried an unflinching coldness.

"A mere vampire, making me the great Verlok suffer? hmph!" He looked at her arrogantly.

"Very well, let's continue then." She spoke plainly.

When I heard her voice even though I wasn't the one being addressed, I felt a chill on my back.