Custos, Eliisabet, and Chrono looked up at the unknown figure. He stood atop the dead three-headed wolf that he had killed with a single kick. He smiled down at them, showcasing strange vampire-like fangs at each corner of his mouth.
"I wonder just how strong you've gotten," said the strange man.
"Do you know this guy, Custos?" Asked Chrono, gripping his sword tightly.
"Can't say I'm familiar with him. Honestly, I think this is my first time seeing him which is strange given that I've gathered information on most of the students here. But the Hemo Energy that's pouring from his body is enough to make me sweat. Something's strange about him..."
"Tsk! I agree... It's like every bone in my body is urging me to run... I have a really bad feeling about this."
"Custos... I... I don't think we should fight him..." Trembled Eliisabet.
Custos glanced back at Eliisabet to see her bathed in cold sweat. This dragged his curiosity. Eliisabet wasn't the type to get scared without good reason. Not to mention that she had two powerful allies. The fact that she was afraid spoke volumes.
Just then, a swift breeze flew by Custos and Chrono before they could even shift a muscle. They immediately looked behind them to see that the strange man was calmly resting his arm around Eliisabet as if they were best friends. None of them could believe their eyes.
"Don't tell me that you've already noticed who I am, Regina. That's quite disappointing. Hmm... Well, on the bright side, Custos hasn't realized who I am as yet. So let's make a deal, shall we? If you keep quiet about who I am then I promise not to kill them. Do we have a deal?"
Eliisabet was shaking far too much to give a proper response. Even her knees threatened to collapse under her from the anxiety. Fortunately, Custos quickly came around with a swing of his blade, forcing the man to move away.
"Who the hell are you?" Questioned Custos.
"Who am I, you ask? Well, for now, you can call me Vale."
"If you think you're going to get our scrolls without a fight, you're making a big mistake. Taking all of us on at the same time probably wasn't the wisest move on your part," warned Chrono.
Vale laughed, "I'm not interested in your scrolls. I'm here for an entirely different reason."
Chrono frowned. Vale wasn't making much sense.
"If you're not here for our scrolls then what are you here for? Aren't you taking part in the Second Round?"
"You could say that. But I came to you three for the sake of killing some time."
"We don't want any unnecessary fights. If you're not here for our scrolls then we have no reason to fight you," declared Custos.
"Is that so? Well, I'm interested in fighting you. Let's give you a reason to fight me then."
Suddenly, Eliisabet was heard screaming in terror. Custos quickly turned back toward her to see that she had vanished into thin air. Vale had done something to her.
"You bastard!! What did you do with her?!"
"If you want to know then force me to tell you..! I feel like entertaining myself a little,"
A small vein appeared on Custos' forehead. He gripped the hilt of his sword and looked up at Vale in rage. He was far from happy with what Vale had done.
"Custos, calm down. I can tell that girl means a lot to you but you need to keep your composure. As Sicarius, the last thing we want is for emotions to blind us in dangerous situations like these," warned Chrono.
"I know. But no one touches Eliisabet and gets away with it!"
In the blink of an eye, Custos dived toward Vale. He swung his blade at him, aiming to sever his head in a single cut. He wasn't about to show even the slightest shred of mercy. However, Vale easily dodged the attack, catching him off guard.
He then quickly countered with a powerful kick to the gut, sending Custos slamming into the ground with a heavy crash. However, this wasn't all. Chrono had used the opportunity to get in behind him. He came up with a lethal swing of his blade, ready to clip Vale in half.
However, even this proved to be fruitless. To Chrono's horrific surprise, Vale caught his blade with his bare hands.
"I'm not sure who you are but you're not half bad," complimented Vale.
Vale then countered with a painful slap to the side of Chrono's face. It stung like a killer wasp. The slap was so powerful that Chrono found himself crashing into the ground beside Custos.
Custos and Chrono groaned in pain as they picked themselves up. A single attack had left both of them struggling to remain conscious.
"I must say that this is quite disappointing. You're both struggling to stand after only a single hit? I guess you don't want your precious Eliisabet back," taunted Vale with a frown.
Custos gripped his sword tightly between his fist. He was now more annoyed than ever.
"Chrono, you said you knew I was holding back this entire time, right? Well, now you've got the chance to see what happens when I'm serious..!"
Blue Hemo Energy then began pouring from Custos' body. It was heavy and quite thick. It was even thicker than the Hemo Energy inside the Hemo Capsule. This was the proof that Chrono needed. The sheer weight of Custos' Hemo Energy was more than enough to prove that he was no amateur. There was more to him than met the eye.
"Hmph. It's about time you started taking things seriously. I guess I shouldn't hold back either then."
Similar to Custos, White Hemo Energy began flowing from Chrono's body. He too was about to give it everything he had. Gripping their swords, they both attacked.
"Bloodline Art: Plasma Divide!!"
"Bloodline Art: Vector Cut!!"