' Why can't I sense him? ' Max wondered as his body moved on its own under the influence of unstoppable assault, fighting subconsciously in what would be Max's peak condition.
Every move that Seraphiel made, everytime he bruised and battered Max, it was like Max felt the direction from which the attacks were coming, he had an innate intuition about how things would proceed, but he could not act on it in time to do something constructive about it.
' This is frustrating as hell- , I just need to be a bit faster! Come on body, push! Push! ' Max thought as he urged his body to move faster than it ever did before and started to listen more and more to his dormant instinct rather than relying on his active deduction.
' You need to win this game Max! You need to get whatever ultimate treasure Seraphiel offers.
It will all be worth it in the end, so push! ' Max motivated himself as in an absolutely shocking turn of events, he cancelled the move Unstoppable Assault and decided to place a gamble on his latent senses.
" I'M NOT STOPPING TILL I CATCH YOU" Max declared as in the haze of battle, Max's eyes shifted to a deeper shade of red, unbeknownst to him.
He had no awareness of it; his focus was solely on the elusive movements of Seraphiel as he closed his eyes and let his intuition take over completely.
' It's coming from the left ' Max's intuition screamed as he moved to the right and tried to punch Seraphiel in the gut on the left.
*PAH*
Max spat a mouthful of blood as he got absolutely battered from the left, however, just the fact that he was able to sense what general direction the attack was coming from was a big win for Max as it urged him to trust his senses more.
*PAH*
*PAH*
.
.
.
.
.
*PAH*
About a hundred attempts of guessing the general direction of attack correctly, a subtle change began occurring in Max's body.
As Max's wounds healed rapidly due to his constant regeneration, the first signs of his transformation continued subtly. His eyes, once a faint shade of red, now glowed with a brighter hue.
Max's anticipation for Seraphiel's moves became more refined. No longer was it a 180-degree gamble. It had narrowed to a 90-degree window.
Seraphiel noticed it too, the concentration of blood droplets around Max had re-organised in a way that made it harder for Seraphiel to approach Max without coming in contact with them.
Although Max did not realise it himself, the instinct by which he was detecting Seraphiel was through the network of blood droplets around him.
Although he did not actively track them any slight disturbance in their configuration was passed on as a subtle message to his brain and the better he understood this process the better he could predict Seraphiel's movements.
Though he didn't counter the next hundred attacks, he got closer and closer to getting the timing right as his nails elongated into subtle claws, hardening and becoming more weapon-like in what was the second part of his transformation.
Unlike Dracula, Max's claws were not purely his nails hardening and elongating- it was more of a case of his bones growing out of his nails like claws of a dragon which became as hard as forged weapons.
Still, Max's thoughts were entirely occupied with reading Seraphiel's next move as he did not even notice the subtle changes to his own body.
As Seraphiel's attacks intensified, so did Max's intuition. It was as if a noose was tightening, narrowing the zone of incoming attack down to a 30-degree angle.
He wasn't aware of it, but as his response to Seraphiel's attacks narrowed down, so did his agility.
Ever since he was a tier0 warrior, agility was his highest stat and one that was most difficult to maximise as his race's cap for agility was unlike any other.
The primordial vampire thrived on being faster and more brutal than anyone around and as Max embraced his true fighting nature, he reverted to the style of using that superior speed as his weapon.
Even as Max dodged with newfound agility, he remained blissfully unaware of his enhanced speed of reaction, as if someone had turned up the dial on his reflexes.
Seraphiel hesitated. His expressionless visage seemed to acknowledge something. "You're close to realising it, aren't you?" He asked as in that brief pause, a swirling mist of blood began to form around Max, constructing an aura that he himself did not notice. It felt as if an invisible chain had shattered.
Max's fangs grew out of his lips at that moment as his eyes radiated the complete glowing red look of a primordial vampire.
In that moment, Max had finally surrendered to the base instincts of his which he had suppressed for too long and embraced the powers that it brought.
Miniscule droplets of blood swirled around him in a cyclic barrier as the moment Seraphiel breached it to try and launch an attack, Max turned with almost inhuman speed to face him and landed a punch to Seraphiel's gut that was driven through instinct alone.
A guttural sound echoed through their battleground, a sound of impact but also of something more: a barrier breaking, a latent power acknowledged, even if the one wielding it remained unaware of his own transformation.
-190,000
" I'VE DONE IT, I WIN! " Max roared in elation, his voice sounding much deeper and ancient than his usual vocal notes as Seraphiel grinned ear to ear witnessing his progress.
Round three belonged to Max, but it was clear that the battle had been merely a catalyst for something far greater.
For Seraphiel, knowing that Max did have the purest primordial vampire genes was enough.
There was still a lot that Max needed to figure out and in Seraphiel's eyes he was a long way from bringing the full potential of his bloodline to the surface, however, today's battle was a glimpse of what Max could achieve if he continued down this path.
Shattering the soul-space, Seraphiel commanded Max and his own consciousness to return to reality as a moment later Max found himself in the final treasure room of the dungeon.
*************
( Meanwhile the commoners )
The aftermath of losing the battle on Ixtal was bad for various clans, however, none were worse off than the Aurelius clan.
The Aurelius clan had lost several elite fighters, the vampire royal treasury, their home planet and much more in the assault as the remaining Aurelius forces were in the lowest of low spirits.
The royal declaration from Regus that Ixtal had fallen, that he had been severely injured in battle sent shock-waves through vampire society as it confirmed the return of the primordial vampires.
Two Aurelius vampires, Aria and Valen, stood in a dimly lit alleyway in a secret Aurelius retreat, a military outcrop which was a far cry from the regal halls they had once roamed freely on Ixtal-
They leaned against the stone wall, their eyes meeting for a brief second before flickering away.
"You've heard the news, haven't you?" Valen broke the silence, his voice a mere whisper as if he was afraid that uttering the words would make the reality even more unbearable.
Aria nodded solemnly. "How could I not? It's everywhere. Screens, holograms, even in the eyes of our people. Ixtal has fallen and with it the pride of the Aurelius clan- ."
Valen clenched his fists. " King Regus was Tier 8, Aria. Tier 8! If he can fall in battle, what chance do any of us stand?"
ραndαsΝοvεl ƈοm "Exactly. That's the terrifying part," Aria said, her voice tinged with disbelief. " He was our king, our protector. I grew up listening to stories about how invincible he was. And now... he's severely injured? Just another casualty of the primordial monster? "
The heavy words hung in the air as both vampires lost themselves in their thoughts. Their world had crumbled, and the sense of security that came with being a part of a strong, proud race had vanished in an instant.
"Did you see the royal decree?" Valen finally asked, referring to the last message from Regus.
"I did," Aria replied. "It was haunting. It's like it was a farewell message. The future is uncertain, the king said. What does that even mean for us commoners? Should we prepare for the end?"
Valen sighed deeply. "Or perhaps it's a beginning. A bleak one, but still a new start. The question is, do we still have the will to fight? To rebuild?"
Aria looked into the distance, her eyes clouded with uncertainty and fear. "I don't know, Valen. All I know is that our universe just got a lot darker."
"And it could get even darker," Valen added. "I heard whispers that other planets are next. We could be refugees forever, Aria."
She shook her head, her eyes meeting Valen's once more. " Then let's not let it come to that. If this is indeed the end, I'd rather go down fighting than live in eternal fear. "
Valen nodded, his face hardening with newfound resolve. " Agreed. If the sky is falling, then we'll just have to learn to live in the shadows until we can bring back the light "
They stood there for a moment longer, each coming to grips with the gravity of their situation. The weight of their lost home bore down on them, but so did a flickering flame of hope and defiance. In
that small, shared moment, they silently vowed to hold onto whatever slivers of courage they could muster.
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