325. Payment

I was glad. The meeting went well, and I could finally put this whole ordeal behind me. Lamarr said he was going to return to the Eastern Kingdoms, which sadly meant I likely wouldn’t be seeing him around campus now.

It was a bit sad to see him go, but I probably wasn’t going to be hanging around Mavos Academy for long anyway. I had things I needed to do. Like kill Belzu. That was probably number one in my priority list. Unfortunately, I probably couldn’t beat him without my [Divine Essence of the Daeva Cambion].

That Grand Skill had a cooldown period of about three weeks. It had only been about a week since I used it against the [Ancient Centinel]. So…

Well, anyway, I didn’t have as long of a cooldown for my other Grand Skill. Not that I was planning to fight Belzu yet. There were other matters I had to attend to. For example, Willy’s past.

“So…”

I turned to the [Will O’ Wisp] as he froze. He floated alongside me as we left the meeting room. I motioned vaguely back where we came. He knew what I was going to talk about— Thorsten Sigefried. The [Archbishop] from the Den of Souls.

And he was purposefully using my body to hide from the old man’s view.

“What is that about?”

I asked, cocking my head. Willy replied in an unusually panicked voice.

“N-nothing!”

He was very uptight about it, and I probably shouldn’t have pried any further. Maybe when he was more comfortable, he’d talk more. For now, I just laughed and waved a hand off. I had other things to busy myself with as well.

“I can finally go find Saffron… maybe even tell her what happened today.”

My lips curled up as I reached the end of the corridor.

“I bet she’ll be so excited! She’ll finally have a bunch of powerful people on her side—”

Willy and I turned the corner. He just fluttered around me as I giggled, trying to focus on my clone’s thoughts. On what she was seeing. It was like accessing a part of my mind that had been briefly cordoned off to do its own thing.

But all I saw was a brief moment of immense pain. My eyes grew wide as an intense hatred boiled deep within me. The simmering anger bubbled into a moment of relief.

Then a sharp strike to the head.

I physically recoiled back as my clone dissipated. Willy stared at me, puzzled as I just stood there.

“Something?”

I nodded stiffly.

“My clone…”

I turned to face the [Will O’ Wisp] with wide eyes. Her thoughts— her experiences— flooded through my head. Like I was recalling a memory that I’d forgotten until now. A pair of Demons had attacked Saffron. My clone fought them alongside Zin and Crocus before sacrificing herself to save my companion.

I clenched a fist.

“Is dead.”

“How—”

Willy started to ask, but I didn’t stick around to listen. I raised a hand and focused on my clone’s memories— her surroundings. It was recent enough for me to visualize it perfectly. There were a pair of Demons. A garden. The Norwood Keep lay destroyed. And Saffron was stumbling towards the treeline.

“[Long Range Teleportation].”

I spoke simply as ribbons of light wrapped around me. It pulled me into a fissure in space, and I found myself standing between the two Demons that killed my clone. They had their arms raised, aimed at Saffron.

“Oh well, goodbye, little Vampire girl—“

They blinked as soon as I appeared. I caught them by the arms, interrupting their spell.

“Who are—“

“—you?!”

“I’m Salvos.”

They leapt back, escaping my grip. But it didn’t matter to me. I saw the symbol burn itself into the red-skinned Demon’s skin. She narrowed her eyes as I produced my Divine Nebular Scythe.

“Wha—“

“And you shouldn’t have killed my clone.”

[Demon’s Mark]. A sphere of roiling crimson flames engulfed them. I smiled as I watched the explosion expand, before rapidly contracting. I waited, watching as my flames dissipated.

Saffron staggered over to me, blinking.

“Salvos—”

“Wait.”

I raised my hand. No notification came. The Archdemons were still alive. Saffron paused, turning to face the epicenter of my [Demon’s Mark] blast. The smoke cleared up and unveiled the pair of Demons, still alive.

They held each other by the hand as a black sphere covered them. A kind of barrier. I shook my head.

“Get back, Saffron. I’ll deal with—”

And I lurched forward, coughing up blood. The red-skinned Demon sighed as she strode out of their barrier.

“Seems like it’s finally taking effect. And here I thought [Blood Prison] wasn’t going to work on her.”

“You worry too much, Fictus. We didn’t spend all that time setting up the ritual for nothing.”

Her partner chuckled as he walked right behind her. She rolled her eyes.

“Don’t pretend you weren’t nervous for even a single second, Mentior.”

“Perhaps. But that doesn’t mean I was wrong. You’re a nervous wreck.”

My eyes flickered as I looked down at myself. I could see the stands of mana in the air cutting into my skin— directly reaching for my blood. It sliced thin little slits on my flesh. The fresh blood seemed to weigh on me, trying to tie me down. I gritted my teeth as my body moved sluggishly compared to before.

What is…?

Stats:

[Available Stat Points: 0]

[Vitality]: 150 (+30) (+10) (-10%)

[Strength]: 135 (+30) (+10) (-10%)

[Endurance]: 150 (+30) (+10) (+3) (-10%)

[Wisdom]: 265 (+30) (+10) (+13) (-10%)

[Agility]: 320 (+30) (+10) (+5) (-10%)

“A curse?”

It reminded me of the [Sage Centinel]’s Grand Skill. Except… weaker. And while it inflicted damage to me, it was minor. Still, it was a hindrance. I glared up at the pair of Archdemons.

“What is this?”

They didn’t reply, of course. Instead, Saffron spoke up from behind me. She clutched at her shoulder and looked at the blood on her palms.

“Blood magic. It’s a ritual. I’m trying to find the source—”

“Then go.”

I spoke simply. I faced down Fictus and Mentior as the young Vampire nodded and took off into the trees. They tilted their heads in opposite directions.

“She’s running off, Mentior. Should we do something about it?”

“I believe we have a bigger problem to deal with, Fictus.”

A pair of wings spread from behind my back as I floated into the air. The Demons followed suit, flying up after me. I bared my teeth at them.

“So, you thought you could just hurt my companion and get away with it, huh?”

They snickered in unison.

“We weren’t just going to hurt her.”

“We were going to kill her.”

My brows snapped together as they exchanged a casual glance.I activated [Haste] as I snarled.

“You’ll pay for that.”

The Archdemons froze as . They momentarily stood in shock as I launched their way, swinging my rainbow-colored scythe. Fictus blinked, regaining control of her body a moment sooner than her companion.

She parried the attack, only to be struck by a flaming kick to the back of the head. Mentior assailed me from behind as I spun my scythe. Our clash didn’t last long as vines reached up and gabbed him by his feet. I looked over to the side— Zin Norwood nodded at me, and I grinned.

“[Radiant Slash].”

He raised a hand and ran his claws over his own forearms. A splash of black blood shot out, creating a barrier that actually managed to repel my attack. I blinked, only for a glint to catch my eye.

I dodged out of the way just in time for a blast of black energy to shoot past me. Fictus flew back to Mentior as he tore his way out of the tangling vines. They floated side by side once again, only for a figure clad in heavy armor to soar towards them.

Crocus Merryster cleaved the clouds in half with a swing from his blade as they darted back, now surrounded by myself, Zin, and Crocus.

“This is getting annoying.”

“I agree. Perhaps we should put an end to it.”

I tensed, watching as Fictus and Mentior once again brought their hands together. They pointed at me with their right and left respectively, and I tried to swerve out of the way.

“Salvos, look out—”

“[Blood Prison Enhancement: Blood Bindings].”

Crocus started, but a flurry of needle-like threads struck me. They were woven out of my blood, wrapping around me as I screamed. I dropped out of the air like a rock in water. The pair of Demons brought their free hands up, creating small black spheres from their own blood.

They tossed it down my way as I was still caught in the web of paralyzing blood. Crocus leapt in front of the attack, slicing the individual spheres out of the air with a Skill. Zin sent a volley of thorns towards the two Archdemons and forced them back. The webs vanished as I forced myself back to my feet.

“What was that?”

Crocus shook his head as he helped me up.

“I don’t know. Some kind of snare. They caught me with it too, earlier. But as long as you break their concentration, you should be fine.”

“Huh.”

I watched as Zin was knocked out of the air by the two Archdemons. Their teamwork was annoying. And the magic they cast when they touched hands was always far above their level.

“We need to separate them. We can’t beat their combination casting.”

Crocus spoke as he started forward. I narrowed my eyes.

“Combination casting?”

I’d done that before. Once. With Edithe. And I knew it was nothing like this. I didn’t even need to touch her to do it, in fact. It tired me plenty, too. Yet—

“Why won’t you pesky Vampires—”

“—just die!”

The Archdemons clasped their hands together and fired the same beam of black energy that killed my clone at Zin. The [Druid]’s form changed as she rapidly burrowed out of the way. They devastated the landscape. They tore apart Norwood Keep with their magic.

I snorted.

“If all we have to do is split them up, then we just have to use numbers to overwhelm them.”

I snapped my fingers, activating [Salvo of Vanity]. Five of my clones appeared by my side, all raring and ready to fight. I dashed past Crocus as he stared.

“Don’t worry! Me and my ‘selves’ have got this!”

They waved at him as we bounced into action. The two Archdemons stared at the destruction they caused, searching for Zin until they caught sight of my clones’ glinting. They cursed in unison as they flew higher and higher.

Fictus and Mentior unleashed the same attack once again. Me and all except for one of my clones managed to dodge out of the way. It obliterated her— although she didn’t explode. I wasn’t going to detonate my clones from this close of a range.

One of my clones overtook me, drawing closer to the Archdemons. But she was caught by a black ring that ignited her. She fell as I flew around her. Fictus and Mentior tossed a barrage of spikes, but I easily zipped out of the way.

Another clone was caught in the blasts, but she didn’t immediately dissipate. The Demons hadn’t been using combination casting for that attack. They were getting tired. Now, it was just me and two other clones left.

We surrounded Fictus and Mentior, grinning as they had nowhere else left to go. My clones moved ahead of me and slashed for a Demon each. I halted as I saw the glint. I heard the clap. And I drew back.

My clones were caught in the pulse. A black sphere expanded around them. I knew my clones were gone even before the blast receded. Fictus and Mentior came out of the attack unscathed, protected by the same barrier as before.

I charged them as they floated there, striking in a frenzy with [Barrage of Cinders]. Their barrier held up as they exchanged a glance. They smirked, and suddenly there was a flicker. The sphere that had been protecting them vanished.

I swung between the two of them, but they swapped places. I missed my attack, and they brought their hands together, aiming for my head.

“You were too reckless. You lose. [Combined Skill: Blood Bath].””

They spoke at the same time. A black beam shot out at me, engulfing me entirely.

Reckless. Had I been too reckless? Maybe. But that was the point. I needed to tire them out. And I needed to get close to tear them apart.

“[My Flames Shall Burn Until Eternity Ends].”

I flew straight through the attack as they stared in shock.

“You’re wrong.”

I sliced off Fictus’ right arm, meeting their gazes.

“I won.”