Blood dripped from Arthur's nose-
Controlling the chains wasn't that simple, although they seem to be moving on their own, in truth Arthur was controlling them with his mind. A feat that requires a lot of mental strength and fortitude.
Actually, what he's capable of right now was just the tip of the iceberg. In his former life, Arthur could easily control thousands of chains and perform intricate techniques with them. He could even recreate a whole city with just his chains.
Arthur called this heaven defying technique, Chains of Tyranny! A technique that could encase a whole continent easily if he really tried. The technique is composed of personally handcrafted spells that he invented and modified. Initially, he wanted to create a weapon that could be used for attacking, defending and supporting his battle style. But in the end, he ended up making something more profound and powerful. He used chains as the medium since he liked their flexibility, lethality and range.
The chains he controls could become as soft as silk or as hard as metal if he wanted, but right now with his current state, that would be impossible. Changing the properties of the chains would take some practice to be used in actual battle. He's already having a hard time controlling a few of them, if he added more spells and modifications then he might as well just plant a bomb in his brain.
The profundity of this technique was immeasurable. Even Arthur in his previous life hadn't brought out the full potential of this technique, the limitless application was simply mind blowing.
Anyhow, currently Arthur could only use eight chains, nonetheless they were enough to deal with Kain and his team.
"Radiant!" Shannon waved her hand and called forth the bident that she threw toward Arthur earlier. The weapon vibrated then flew to her grasp.
She charged with nimble movements, sidestepping and sliding to avoid the onslaught of the chains. Behind her was Harry, using his shield in a unique way by throwing it to swat away the chains in Shannon's way. His shield was like a boomerang, always returning to only to be thrown again or be used as a guard.
Seeing how Shannon and Harry could easily counter his chains, Arthur let the two advanced in secret, it was subtle, but he made sure they would come his way. The two already realized that their weapon was effective against Arthur's powers, so they were eager to inflict damage on him.
Kain wanted to join the two but unfortunately Arthur made sure that didn't happen. Butch was also kept in his place.
*HAAAh! Shannon stabs after arriving in front of her worst nightmare.
Using his sword, Arthur parried her with a sidestep kick to the rib. The sword made from darkness shattered but Shannon received the heavy blow and grimaced. Too bad for her Arthur wasn't finished, he slashed the tendon on her ankle causing her to kneel for execution. He was about to slit her throat when Harry hurriedly followed up to save his teammate. Arriving a few seconds late and she would be undoubtedly dead.
Cold sweat trickled down Shannon's back, 'huh?' She was in disbelief, it only took Arthur a few moves to overpower her, she almost died. Like really died, this was the moment real fear and uncertainty creep into her heart.
Harry furiously roared and charged. He smashed his shield toward Arthur who instantaneously used Shadow Step. He didn't want to risk being hit by a weapon imbued with holy energy. With quick calculations, Harry threw his shield toward a spot and just as he thought, Arthur had appeared there.
'Not bad, but stupid!!' Arthur praised and used Shadow Step once more returning to where he was earlier, beside Harry.
For a moment, it looked like there were two of him but the other quickly turned to smoke and the other one that had become an empty husk, became the real Arthur once more in a blink of an eye.
"!!!"
With a lightning quick slash, Harry was cut down from his left shoulder to his right side. With no shield, Harry was simply a sitting duck ready to be hunted at any moment.
"NOOO!" Seeing his demise, Shannon despaired! Everything happened too fast.
Arthur showered in Harry's blood, regaining some vitality and energy. Vampires were truly a formidable opponent. If not killed immediately, they would keep on replenishing their lost power with the blood of their enemy.
To them, blood is an endless supply of power.
Unable to control her emotion, Shannon attacked Arthur without a second thought forgetting her near death experience. She brandished her bident with all her might.
"Divine Fragmentation!" She roared as her weapon glowed golden. Like glass, the space around them cracked and every piece reflected her.
As the original moved, so did the reflection. She thrust her weapon. Like a sun ray, a holy light was released from the tip of the bident. Arthur, who was in the middle of the laser show, stayed calm and retracted his chains, he then rotated his chains at a quick pace, resembling a red cyclone.
It was a scene that was hard to forget, nevertheless in the end it was Shannon who fell first. She exhausted her Aera and as soon as she stopped, two obsidian cross swords flew from within the cyclone.
*Putchi!
The swords were so quick and powerful that she flew and smashed heavily on a tree. Her body was embedded on its hard bark with the swords stuck in her lungs.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she lost consciousness.
'Why is this happening?!' Kain wondered, his team was in disarray, making mistakes and succumbing to their emotions like new recruits. Unbeknownst to them, this was Arthur's doing. Time had run out for him, the sun was already peeking at the horizon. In the end he couldn't end the group fast enough while testing his limit.
So, he used an ounce of his Devil Origin Physique power, just an ounce. After all demonic power is much more powerful than vampiric power. He was already under a lot of stress, no need to add more. His sclera turned pitch black while his iris glowed red, whenever he made eye to eye contact with his opponent, he sent depressing feeling like, fear, uncertainty and rage towards them. Basically, he became a walking mass of negative energy.
As the red cyclone slowly stopped, a mad roar was heard! Butch who saw the death of another teammate reached the pinnacle of rage. Tears of blood simultaneously flowed from his reddened eyes.
He launched toward Arthur who didn't give him much attention.
'This is my chain's limit' He thought as he stabbed Butch in the leg with one of his chains and with another, parried Jasmin's throwing knife which came out of nowhere.
He then jumped back to create some distance while his chains continued to assault the remaining enemy. He was planning on performing one last move before his chains lost their use, because frankly his head was about to burst from controlling them.
Suddenly the frenzy chains that wreaked havoc stopped on their track and began to weave into a larger and more menacing appearance. Arthur appeared like he had a massive tail or tentacle made of pulsating chains sprouting from his back.
He looked at everyone determining their position then swiped his massive chain around!
His nose was bleeding, yet his expression remained as wicked as ever.
Trees and debris created a chaotic scene where in the center, was a lone young man, madly destroying everything around him.
"Ugh!" Jasmin hid behind a tree far.
*Bang! A tree smashed into her direction, fortunately she managed to duck in time.
…
Kain casted a defensive spell!
*Boom!
*Cough! He had no choice but to vomit blood after receiving the weight of the attack.
…
Butch on the other hand, instead of hiding or defending like the rest, he contended with Arthur head on.
"GRAAAGH!!"
The two collided causing a massive explosion of energy. The giant actually managed to halt Arthur's attack, but he slid a few meters before stopping the massive chain.
The chains unfurled, three chains came loose which then stabbed towards that titan's body!
*Putchi! *Putchi! *Putchi!
One on the collarbone, another where his liver is, and the last on the chest, where his heart is.
The thick muscles and tendons were able to suppress the chains however, like a drill, the chains spun and thrust deeper into the flesh.
Butch roared and swung his body uncontrollably but the chains remained deep inside his body.
Using the chains like a straw, Arthur drained Butch's blood in an instant.
"Stop!" Kain advanced but he was kept at bay by chains with spiky clubs for edges.
He slid on the ground with each attack he received. With resoluteness, he jumped and then stabbed his great sword at the ground. His eyes glowed as he casted one of his strongest spells.
"Land of blades!"
Numerous swords varying in shape and sizes sprouted from the ground, destroying the chains.
"Dagger Art: Hollow Strike!" Jasmin suddenly appeared beside Butch! With consecutive attacks she managed to break the chains that tethered him.
"HAHAHA!" Seeing their resolute and unyielding expression, Arthur laughed like a madman. His Devil nature was stirred even more. His thirst for blood and destruction skyrocketed. He already got a decent amount of blood from Butch. He then used Blood Dominion to stir the blood from Harry and Shannon. With a strong vacuum force, he took their blood in-
"[Crimson World]" Red miasma gushed out from his pores and painted the whole place red!
The fog slowly began to move, it began to circulate and rise and soon it formed dark clouds with bloody lightning coursing through like a vermillion beast that was let loose after a long period of imprisonment!
Seeing Arthur occupied, Kain hurried toward Butch and together with Jasmin, the two carried the pale titan away.
Butch fell on his knees, he had regained his sanity. Arthur had inadvertently helped him. When extreme rage clouds his mind, his blood would rush toward every part of his body, forcing his Aera to stir and boil. His muscles would expand, greatly boosting his physical prowess. The berserk Aera would also overheat his mind causing him to lose his sanity.
Unbeknownst to anyone, even to himself, his berserk state would actually generate immense pain all over his body. Fortunately, or not, because he had lost his mind, he could endure the pain like it was nothing.
After Arthur sucked half of his blood, his Aeara slowly returned to being normal.
"Leader- "
"Get up, the fight's not over. No matter what, we will survive!" Kain helped the giant up.
Despite feeling weak, Butch held his axe with unwavering resolve. The three warriors looked at Arthur, who slowly floated towards them. As he approached, a sense of bloodlust and killing intent rained down on the trio. Despite this the three didn't back down and faced him with confidence and unfaltering will.
Suddenly the air felt stagnant, the calm before the storm! Arthur was no longer human in their eyes. He had transformed into a malevolent monster, embodying darkness and chaos. Eight crooked chains flailed on his back, his thin frame accentuated by long, messy hair. His blood-red eyes glowed apathetically, sending shivers down their spines.
The trio looked at each other, a silent understanding-
Jasmin faded from sight leaving Kain and Butch to face Arthur.
The two gripped their weapon tightly while their hearts shook with trepidation.
Kain wondered what would have happened if they split up and run from the start. But seeing what Arthur was capable of, he could only sigh with sadness an indignation. There was no escaping the monster in front of them and even now he doesn't know why they were attacked.
"AHHHH! COME DEMON!" Kain roared with rage.
Seeing this display, Arthur couldn't help but nod. 'Alright, I'll play with you proud warriors!' He made up his mind.
"[Bloody Mary]"
*Rumble!
Lightning streaked across the red world. Slowly it began to rain blood-
*Drip! *Drop!
It was a soft rain at first but gradually its heavy pour drowned the world. The ground, the trees- everything was painted crimson.
A puddle of blood soon became a small lake,
At first Arthur was planning on facing them head on and destroying them with absolute power, but now he couldn't help but want to break their will! He even created an environment that would make any Vampire five times stronger. A place where blood rained, and darkness loomed.
A Vampire's playground if you will.
But change of plans, he no longer has the desire to beat them up one-sidedly, no, he just wanted to see them broken, never to be the same again.
*Budum! *Budum! *Budum!
Heartbeat reverberated throughout. The bloody lake shook causing ripples to run about.
Kain trembled as the heartbeat echoed in his mind.
A suffocating pressure then weighs down on them, like a giant mountain pressing on their shoulders. "What's happening?" fear had begun to creep inside their hearts. If before they have an undying fighting spirit, right now they've truly realized that no matter what they do, death is simply imminent. Their psyche took a three hundred and sixty turn, immediately shattering their once overwhelming confidence.
Then there was movement-
Slowly a ruined temple rose from within the bloody lake. Broken arcs and broken foundation decorated the structure. It continued to rise until it reached the height of a small mansion.
Seeing this scene, Arthur was ecstatic! "HAHAHAHA" his malicious screech added the final ingredient in making the view more thrilling and scarier.
There was a monolith in the center of the broken temple. A dark monolith that rippled as a figure of a woman gradually emerged from within. The woman in the lake was something out of this world. Her very presence was otherworldly. She was garbed in a scarlet thin fabric with the hood covering her face. Her figure was obscure-
Her lower half remained inside the monolith along with her arms, painting a very pitiful scene.
Kain and Butch stood idly, they couldn't even breathe properly because of the pressure so they had no choice but to watch the thing that would eventually end them slowly came into being.
They faced Arthur with vigor and pride as warriors before yet now they couldn't help but feel like they're simply animals waiting their turn to be butchered.
The temple eventually settled, a hundred steps awaited Butch and Kain leading to the woman in red.
"A-are we supposed to fight that thing?" Butch thought as his eyes trembled. He wanted to go berserk but he was simply too afraid to be angry. His shaking huge frame made an amusing sight.
'This is the most powerful spell I could cast right now' Arthur thought as he observed everything unfold. It's weaker compared to when he casted it at his peak, but this is more than enough to deal with his opponents. Blood dripped down from the corner of his lips. The power of the spell was too much for him to handle. He actually received damage just from casting it.
This spell wasn't created by him, it was an ancient spell he found inside a mysterious ruin. This spell was so mysterious and profound that the caster was required to have a deep understanding of Blood Arts to cast it, a type of power that uses blood as a medium. If Vampires consume blood and reap lives, then Blood Art users use blood to give life.
Arthur had a speculation that the creator of Blood Arts had a strong connection to some Vampire Progenitors. They have a very deep understanding about Vampires. How they're born, created and how to weaken them. Dismantling a bloodline link was one of the examples and Arthur wouldn't have known that there was a way to sever this connection if he didn't study this bloody Art.
Blood Art spells also had a lot of similarities to Vampire spells. Like how it's formed, the incantations and the intricacies of the magic circle also had an uncanny resemblance. Yet for some reason, Vampires cannot use this Art no matter how deep they're understanding was in using blood. Arthur would know since he had done countless experiments regarding this. Along with not being able to use it, the effect on the Vampires was also very strong! Like it was especially made to counter them… 'Maybe I'll uncover the mystery in this lifetime' Arthur thought as he observed the woman in the monolith.
The duo below doesn't know how to react. In a matter of hours, Arthur had given them countless heart pumping surprises. They witnessed spells that had never been reported before, abilities that were so profound, they're own spells simply looked elementary.
After seeing that the spell had settled, Arthur looked in the distance, someone was approaching fast.
…
Unbeknownst to Arthur, as he was eyeing the approaching figure from afar, the figure in the monolith was peeking at him from within the hood that covered her head.