On the second day he discovered a vampire woman. She trudged through the unwelcoming terrain in a scarlet and black layered dress. Her pure white skin stood out in the forest like a snow rabbit hopping in a forest of green.
Clearly afraid of traveling alone, she seemed to be forcibly dragging a young boy behind her. He was tall and lanky and possessed a strange body. Whereas his own armor was worn on the outside, the boy wore his on the inside.
Though there were exposed fleshy parts, areas such as his shoulders, knees, and hands glinted with a metallic sheen. A faint blue light emanated from them, but he couldn't begin to guess what powered it.
After observing the pair from afar, he ambiably approached them, though it was the vampire who noticed him first. He had been behind them and nearly one hundred feet away, but after a twitch from her bat-like ears she turned to face him.
Letting go of the boy's hand, she practically sprinted towards him.
"Wow! I was hoping I'd find you. Escort me to the tower, would you?" she said, winking her ruby red eyes seductively.
The metallic boy lagged behind lethargically. Pausing with a sigh after walking mere feet, he moved with the vigor of a sloth.
'Not yet' Percival thought. The woman was effectively dead, in range of his sword, but then the boy might run.
"I hoped to find you as well," said Percival. "There looked to be some untrustworthy ones among us. That robed fellow with the pointed hat was rather strange, yes?"
"Him too. I was just hoping to avoid the fatso. Who knows what he'd do with me?" She brushed her long, purplish black hair to the side. Her actions were feminine and disarming, but he took note of the fangs dangling from her mouth each time she spoke.
The boy finally shuffled reluctantly to the woman's side.
"Well, let's keep heading north. I caught sight of the tower earlier. It's only a few miles away," said Percival.
During his search of the jungle, he'd taken the opportunity to climb to the top of a gargantuan tree. Having seen the cylindrical structure from afar, he'd simply been circling the perimeter, looking for the others.
"Wow! Strong and reliable. You're the whole package aren't ya?"
The woman turned her back, going in the designated direction. The boy followed her close behind.
In the blink of an eye, Percival had drawn his sword. He planned to strike the boy's neck and chest, before attacking the weaker woman. His deadly arc suddenly stopped, meeting a hard and steadfast obstruction.
Seemingly, with no intent from the boy, his artificial hand had unnaturally extended backward, catching the deadly blow between palm and finger. A piercing shriek wailed as metal caught metal.
Turning his head lazily, the kid's dull and uninterested neon blue eyes stared at him as though to ask: "Really, walking is enough of a pain. Now I have to deal with this?".
The vampire scuttered away, holding her sensitive ears. Anger flashed in her eyes, as a small tear escaped gently wetting her cheek.
'That hurt, you idiot!" she exclaimed in a tone almost as grating as the clash of metal.
Percival tried tugging his sword from the boy's ironclad grip to no avail. He kicked his opponents lower back, far removed from the protective sections of artificial flesh.
"Aaa," the boy grunted monotonely, though he did ease his pressure on the blade.
The painful noise gone, the woman seemed ready to join the fray. Baring her fangs, she assailed Percival with the murderous glare. Her eyes glowed, and he could feel an animalistic bloodlust directed at him.
Reorienting himself, the boy also faced his assailant. The faint blue aura surrounding him had grown brighter. Somehow, Percival knew that wasn't good.
The element of surprise gone, he now faced two supernatural foes. He didn't like his odds. So, in the face of an unlikely victory, he executed an ancient and viable military stratagem.
He ran.
As he blitzed towards a nearby grove, he heard his deadly adversaries speak.
"He's getting away. Why are you just standing there?" said the woman.
"You want me to run?" said the boy, deadpan.
That same night, Percival heard the god's second announcement: two more had reached the tower. However, he soon saw a plume of smoke rising in the distance. There were two others left, hopefully less deadly than a machine boy and a vampire lady.