Across the depot, Orus had shattered every light, bathing the battlefield in an eternal shroud of darkness. Hundreds of lacerating, black tendrils ruptured from every conceivable spot of darkness, darting directly for the hunter. Dodging was no longer an option for the hunter, as every shadow simply twisted back through the air if they missed their target.
The Black Wraith's battle had evolved into a cataclysm on a scale only heard of in the legend. The Last Necromancer, creature of myth, had been reborn. Arising upon the earth from the shadows once again and finally unleashing the horrifying power told in its eldritch tales.
Louie's sword and whip where the only source of light for miles around as they warped into sliver blurs, purging shadows from the world. The enchanted steel that forged them glimmering with a subtle white light in tenacious defiance against the powers of the Abyss. Their battle was a raging, unrelenting battle of carnage, with every movement the hunter made forced to be no less than perfect unless he wished for death.
The Black Wraith carved his way through the walls of the Abyss advancing towards the necromancer. Suddenly Orus vanished from sight, fading into the surrounding darkness, in a rapid display of unravelling shadows.
'Shadow walking,' Louie cursed. His realisation struck him a moment too late. He spun around but Orus had already materialised behind the hunter in the blink of an eye. The shadows forged a sword in the necromancer's grip and the mage thrust the weapon forward. Louie swung his sword and met the dark blade head on, its shadowy form quivering and wriggling as it struggled to maintain its form against the enchanted steel. The hunter tore through weapon of darkness, but, without delay, a barrage of shadows burst out towards him. He tugged on his whip tearing the main body of the attack apart however, some shadows still managed to dart through and strike Louie in his head. His body acted without thought turning his head to side allowing the shadow to simply slice across his temple rather than plunge through his skull.
Irritated, the Wraith growled as he felt a warm liquid trickle down half his face. The hunter abruptly spun, avoiding a shadow forged war hammer that was crashing towards his head and then he struck the necromancer with a back kick sending it recoiling back. Without missing a beat, Louie rapidly and repeatedly swung his whip around his entire body, it created a forcefield like defence in which every shadow that attempted to breach his shield was extinguished from reality.
His path clear, the Black Wraith charged forward and plunged his sword into Orus' chest. The necromancer didn't react to the attack, the wound already healing before Louie's sword had even impaled its body. Instead the mage leaned into the blade, closing the distance between it and Louie. It thrust its hand forward with frightening speed, trying to grip the hunter's neck, but Louie managed to intercept its wrist first, halting it in an instant. However, to the Wraith's surprise the Orus' hand began to slowly edge forward, and his own arm began to tremble and strain against the strength of the necromancer. It felt like he was trying to hold back a speeding car.
'Mages,' he cursed. Fighting them was always bullshit. Louie released Orus' hand letting its momentum carry it harmlessly past him. He stepped forward and forced a close melee brawl.
The hunter's fist became a bullet and violently snapped the necromancer's head to the side, with a punch, before he ragged its body forward and tried to rupture any insides, with a knee to its abdomen. The mage's body lurched forward like any other would however, the necromancer's face showed no pain, only annoyance. Orus hit Louie with a low punch and the hunter resisted a pained gasp as he felt muscle tissue shred and organs tremble. A shadowy claw suddenly coated Orus' hand and it struck out for Louie's head. The Wraith quickly drew his sword back from its abdomen and slashed upwards, severing the necromancer's arm completely. A blazing scowl shone upon Orus' face, but it done little to slow the Black Wraith down. Losing no moment, the hunter burst forward his sword plunging direct into the necromancer's neck, Louie's twisted and whirled past the necromancer, his sword following into his motion tearing through Orus' neck completely, severing its head from its body. However, he knew there was no point in celebrating, Louie didn't even need to glance back to see Orus' head being reattached and sown back to its body.
The Black Wraith leapt forward, avoiding a bombardment of shadowy spears that shattered the ground, where he'd stood.
Thankfully for the Black Wraith, the necromancer wasn't the only fighter in their battle with regenerative capabilities. While Louie's was nowhere near as potent as Orus', he could feel the cut upon his head had already sealed and the pain inside his body had subdued to a calm sting. A rageful scowl engulfed the necromancer's aged face, its appearance had suddenly become hollowed and decayed as the illusion of its magic began to fade. There was no point wasting energy appearing human in a battle like this, no matter how easy such a trick would be to the Last Necromancer.
Shadows writhed with their master's ire and the Orus charged forward with a shadow step. However, to the necromancer's irritation Louie did not attack. Instead with a demonic grin, he once again leapt back and retreated into the darkness.
Valdosk was a more dreadful foe than Rosa could have ever imagined. He rampaged forward with such speed the only thing Rosa's eyes could follow was his glowing red afterimage. Valdosk dashed past the commander and struck Emma in her abdomen with such force, Rosa sworn she heard a crack beneath her sister's clothes. Emma's eyes bulged wide, and a pained gasp burst from her chest and all the air raced from her body. Her sister flew back, luckily she was quickly plucked out the air by Sam, who caught her in a strained embrace. They were both sent crashing to the ground, under the force of Emma's momentum. Rosa shivered as crimson bile splashed onto the ground from her sister, in between violent coughing fits.
With a rageful growl, commander Ruthor charged forward. A thunderous boom accompanied him as Audrey unleashed rifle fire at the vampire. Despite the short distance between them, Valdosk somehow managed to twist out the bullet's path, once again faster than Rosa could process, leaving only a ruby afterimage for her to catch. Rosa heard Audrey curse as another bullet went to waste, and she instantly loaded another into her weapon's chamber.
Valdosk didn't give her a chance to fire, he gripped hold of her rifle's barrel and ragged it back. Thankfully, Audrey acted just as quickly releasing her hold on her firearm before she could be dragged into the vampire's range.
Suddenly a flaming fist struck Valdosk's face as Ruthor met the vampire lord without fear. Valdosk was forced to release the rifle as he recoiled back with a snarl. A scorch wound was left upon his face where the commander had struck, but it had already began to miraculously heal by the time Rosa even noticed it. And after a few moments there wasn't any evidence it had ever existed. A ball of flames ignited in Ruthor's hand, and he launched the incantation at the vampire. Valdosk raised his arm letting the fire harmlessly extinguish against it, however the simple action gave Ruthor the needed time to close the distance between them. Whatever recoil the commander had suffered from his earlier display of destruction seemed to be slowly fading away as Ruthor set his fists ablaze and raised them in a boxing stance.
The commander and Valdosk's confrontation erupted into a violent and brutal brawl. Ruthor unleashed a barrage of jabs, crosses and hooks, with such speed, power and precision Rosa thought him better than any professional boxer she'd ever seen. The commander's movements were practically supernatural, his skill in melee outclassing even that of the vampire lord's however, that didn't stop Valdosk from holding his own. It was clear to Rosa that a hunter was no equal to a vampire lord as, Valdosk's overwhelming physicality easily compensated for what he lacked in skill. He was able to react and trade blows with the commander effortlessly and whenever he struck back Ruthor grunted and strained under the force of the vampire's blows.
The vampire lord, lashed out with a vicious punch, that Rosa feared would turn any normal man into nothing more than a grim pile of chunks and blood. Ruthor ducked the blow by and hair. Despite the opening the failed strike created, he made no attempt to strike back at the exposed vampire and instead gripped tightly hold of Valdosk's arm and shoulder, spinning him to the right.
"Now Audrey!" The commander roared.
Valdosk's bulged wide. Before him stood Audrey her rifle raised and loaded. He launched Ruthor away, tossing him metres back, Valdosk's body became engulfed in a subtle crimson glow as he attempted to dash away but it was too late.
Audrey's gun roared and its bullet shook the air and burst straight through the vampires torso, tearing half his ribs to blood and mist. The bullet was aimed for his heart, but the vampire's last movement had saved his life.
The vampire roared in pain and his eyes were bloodshot red. His cries sent fear flooding down Rosa's spine. Instinctively she attempted to recoil back but an abrupt snarl of the camaz upon froze in her tracks.
"You dare!" Valdosk bellowed. Rosa watched terrified as blood crimson seeped into the balls of the vampire lord's eyes link, painting them completely. His nails grew into talons and his size swelled. Suddenly the blood from his wound began to congeal and flow in an abnormal pattern. It began to actually shape and replace the vampire's missing torso, healing his wound.
"Blood magic," Audrey gasped stunned. From both her and the commander's expression Rosa assumed that wasn't an ability they knew Valdosk possessed. Rosa had no idea what blood magic meant or was capable of, but from their horrified expression it wasn't in their favour.
Audrey fired off another bullet directly at Valdosk's heart. The vampire's arm moved, so fast it might as well have teleported. Valdosk snatched the bullet out the air, inches from his chest.
"You're out of your depth hunter," Valdosk growled at Audrey. "You're aware your talents have no use in this fight, and still desperation has driven you into my claws of sanguine and towards Abyssal jaws."
"Why can't you bloodsuckers ever get with the times. Speak English dammit," Audrey grumbled.
"I count one bullet left. How will you waste it?" the vampire grinned.
Audrey responded with a scowl and loaded the chamber of her rifle one last time. All of her usual confidence and playful demeanour had vanished leaving only a stark and focused stare, reminiscent of Louie.
However, before either party could make their final move two sudden streams of fire engulfed the vampire tearing across his flesh and searing his clothes to embers. Rosa turned to see the commander back on his feet, the dying flares of his recent incantation still lingering around his extended arms.
Valdosk lashed around at the air with such force the flames upon his body couldn't bear to hold on any longer and died off into the night. He turned to Ruthor and casually raised his hand, a thin, translucent red glow rippled through the air, and suddenly a powerful telekinetic force sent Ruthor crashing to the ground, like his gravity had suddenly multiplied tenfold.
"I see your flames return commander. But's futile nevertheless," Valdosk stated.
The vampire curled his arm and suddenly the commander flew through the air into his grip. Valdosk's hand clenched tightly around Ruthor's neck, and he placed him in between himself and Audrey, blocking her shot. Despite being smaller in stature, the vampire held up the ginormous man effortlessly, like he was made of air.
"My camaz have spent your body and your Noctrm fades with every second. Your battle is done."
The commander paid no attention to the vampire and claimed hold of his arm. A vibrant glow illuminated Ruthor's tattoos and flames burst from the commander's palms, viscously searing the vampires flesh.
A feral snarl escaped Valdosk. Overcome by primal reflexes, he struck the commander across the head. A gruesome crack echoed through the air as Ruthor's head snapped to the side and Rosa flinched as his body rocketed into the ground, shattering the earth upon impact. Commander Ruthor didn't move. Not even an inch. Rosa couldn't even tell if the man was still breathing. The hunter mutations should've made him resilient enough to survive that right, Rosa thought. Right?
Audrey's rifle split the air one last time. In fact the bullet had emerged long before the commander had even hit the ground. The second that Ruthor had been struck from her view, Audrey had taken the shot.
His speed enhanced by his mysterious, vampiric aura, Valdosk reached for the bullet. But he was too slow. The bullet tore straight through his hand and, losing minimum momentum, rampaged on. The shot barrelled through the vampire lord's chest, shredding any flesh, muscle and bone it met, bursting out from Valdosk's back and spraying scarlet gore across the gravel. Valdosk spat and gurled blood from between his fangs. He stumbled back his hand tightly clawing at the wound through his chest.
Relief and hope flooded Rosa's body. Her body began to feel light, and she could hardly even feel the camaz pinning down her body.
Valdosk stopped. His coughing came to a sudden halt, and he stood up straight. Rosa heart dropped as she witnessed the wound upon his chest began to seal. Audrey had missed his heart, it must've been by only mere millimetres, but she'd missed it. Her last bullet had failed.
Valdosk released a deep, almost relieved, breath as the last layer of flesh regenerated.
"I now count-"
Audrey struck Valdosk with the stock of her rifle before he could even finish his sentence. Immediately, her rifle curved back for a second strike but with an irritated growl the vampire caught it in the air. Audrey released her firearm without hesitation. A metallic glare flashed into the night as the hunter drew a silver dagger and plunged it into the Valdosk's abdomen. A pained snarl forced its way out of the vampire's maw as the wound sizzled and smoked, from the enchanted steel. Audrey attempted to draw back her dagger for a second attack, but Valdosk was faster. His hand blitzed forward and grasped the hunter's forearm and snapped the bones inside like they were twigs.
Audrey cried out but it was almost instantly cut off as Valdosk locked her throat in a steel grip and raised her high into the air. Audrey's legs helplessly kicked out as she futilely pried at and hit Valdosk. The vampire began to squeeze and instantly the hunter's ragged and shallow breaths became strained coughs and gags, as all the air was choked from her body.
"Audrey!" a girl screamed horrified.
Rosa looked over to see Sam standing over Emma, who was still fighting holding her abdomen and quivering on the ground, coughing up blood. Sam's eyes trembled as she witnessed her older sister's battle.
"Take her away," Valdosk suddenly commanded, his eyes on Rosa. "But make sure she can still watch," he finished, with a malicious tone.
Suddenly the pressure from Rosa's body was released and replaced by a tight, clawed grip across her back. She was dragged away from the fight towards the darkness. Her captor was quickly joined by a number of other camaz forming a small pack, to ensure she couldn't escape.
"No!" Rosa yelled. She desperately but pointlessly struggled against the camaz's hold.
Suddenly a paralyzing pain radiated across her skull, freezing her body instantly. The world went silent.
'A vision?' Rosa realised. Everything looked identical to the normal world but some unknown sixth sense told her this wasn't reality. Her body continued to be dragged back, and Rosa powerlessly watched the carnage ahead. The hunters were beginning to be overwhelmed by the remaining swarm of camaz, with just four hunters still standing. Ruthor's body quivered, and his head weakly glanced up at Valdosk. Rosa watched horrified as, the Vampire lord raised Audrey even higher into the sky displaying her for all to see. The muscles in his arm flexed and every fibre rippled beneath his skin. The vampire's talons ripped through flesh and bone and Audrey went limp as her head and body fell in different directions.
Suddenly, another immense pain struck her brain.
Rosa's eyes snapped open. She was closer to the fight than before, she noticed, as if she'd re-winded back a few moments in time. Audrey was still alive, and commander Ruthor still lay motionless on the ground. Rosa had to do something. If it was true that she had clairvoyant abilities then the future she'd just witnessed would come to pass in only a few seconds.
Fuelled with new found desperation and fear, Rosa attempted to free herself of the camaz. She watched as Valdosk raised Audrey high into the sky.
"NO!" Rosa screamed. Something began to build up inside of her. A force, an incredibly powerful one. It felt … familiar. "STOP IT!!!" she bellowed.
A sudden, immense force erupted from her body, carried by Rosa's words. It took the form of a translucent green glow and emerald embers. It expanded out in a sphere from Rosa's body destroying everything in its path. The gravel below was scorched and excavated and the pack of camaz didn't even have time to scream as they were erased from existence. Their bodies didn't even leave behind a drop of blood, just a few specks of dust. Rosa collapsed into the ditch she'd made and found herself suddenly gasping for air, her lungs and body crying out in agony. She managed to crane her head to witness as Valdosk, eyes bulging and body suddenly trembling, drop Audrey to the ground. The hunter's body crumpled limply but unlike in Rosa's vision she was still alive. However, now the teenager was met with a different issue. The vampire lord's attention was solely upon her and that strange sixth sense she possessed was screaming at her that she had no more explosions of destruction left in store. Her power was completely drained.
"Impossible," Valdosk murmured. An abrupt murderous and hateful scowl darkened his expression.
Fear spiralled down Rosa's spine and she attempted to retreat back. Her body didn't move, it didn't even attempt to respond to her commands, it didn't have the strength. Rosa's fear multiplied tenfold as she realised she couldn't even crawl away. Her heart pounded against her ribs trying to break free as the vampire slowly approached. He eyed her cautiously, as if waiting to see if Rosa would unleash further devastation.
"Rosa!" a gargled scream echoed across the night. Rosa spared a glance behind the vampire to see Emma attempting to limp towards her. A camaz quickly cut off her sister and Sam was forced to pull her back.
Rosa scanned around the battlefield, all the hunters were trapped by the camaz and both Audrey and the commander were still out of commission, barely even able to witness the vampire lord approach Rosa.
"You should be extinct," the vampire lord growled viciously. "She is meant to be only one left."
"I don't know what you mean," Rosa coughed, terrified.
"You're a mage, girl," the vampire barked. "Now I understand why she wants you." He stood over the girl, glaring down at her shivering body.
Valdosk went for the killing blow but hesitated at the last moment. A sudden fear flashed across the vampire lord's face. However, it lasted barely a second before being consumed by a burning hatred.
"Fuck her. For the sake of all living creatures upon this world, you must die child."
Valdosk bared his fangs and spread his claws high.