At the Western part of the castle, Hector and Kylian's side.
Bodies flashed around the hall as the vampires battled Hector and Kylian, slashing and lashing at them, aiming to kill them.
Hector growled loudly in pains as another claw slash appeared on his back.
He turned to retaliate but the vampire was gone and another was heading for him, he couldn't even react when a kick slammed into his chest.
Hector groaned as he fell to the ground. He turned Kylian who was fighting with a speed that clearly matched the vampires'.
Like the vampires who were all turned by Akotal, a Primordial vampire, Kylian was also turned by a vampire of a clan of Primordial Vampires, the Skulls. So their strength is on the same level, unlike Hector who was turned by a vampire.
However,
Bang!
Kylian was sent flying across the hall.
Hector's eyes followed Kylian's body as it slammed hard against the gold-lined wall. Quickly, he sprung to his feet and rushed to Kylian's side.
His fearful eyes glanced back at the ferocious vampires glaring at him as he got to Kylian. He helped him up.
Kylian grimaced and clutched his chest as he struggled to his feets.
Kylian smiled bitterly as he gazed at the vampires and turned to Hector.
"I was a survivor." Kylian said, a bitter smile etched by his lips as he added. "But they have the numerical advantage. None of them is lower than me in terms of power."
"Yes." Hector nodded in agreement. His fearful eyes moved to the vampires as he said. "I can't follow their speed. They are faster than I am."
"What do we do now? We can't possibly get past this much vampires."
"You were turned by a skull. The skulls possesses poisonous qualities. So I think you should have one too." Hector reasoned.
"I don't think so?" Kylian shook his head.
"You need to find how to activate it." Hector said with a serious look. Then he flicked out two wooden daggers from his sleeves. With the slightly colored tips, Kylian knew at once that the daggers are laced with vervain. "As for me, I will improvise…" He paused as he posed for battle with the daggers, then he completed. "With this."
Kylian sighed. His eyes flashed with complex emotions as he posed for a fight.
Growl!!!!!
Several growls and roar emanated throughout the hall as the battle broke out again.
********
At the southern part of the castle, Benzo and Heald's side.
Benzo coughed up another mouthful of blood as he strained to maintain his breath with the silver rod, stuck in his belly.
The vampire growl making the whole hallway tremble as it saw what it had achieved. Its savage looking eyes looked like beast's as it began to take steps closer to Benzo to finish him off.
Just then, Heald sprung to his feets, all healed up.
Growl!!!!!
He growled hard and faced the vampire squarely.
The vampire halted in its steps. Its long, razor claws like the scythe of the grimreaper himself, flexed and shone like metals as the little flames, the remains of Benzo's flames, on the ground flashed on it.
Roar!!!!!!!
The vampire roared back.
The walls shook hard, making Benzo groan in pains as he felt the vibration of the rod stuck in his stomach.
The floor trembled and Heald shifted his feets as a hint of fear shone in red eyes.
His eyes casted to Benzo as he said, "hey, you good."
Benzo coughed and gasped for breath as he whispered. "I don't think so."
"I really need to get that out." Heald shook his head, and with cautious eyes, still watched the vampire whose crimson eyes glared them both.
Bang!
The spot the vampire was standing on shattered into cracks as it lunged at them at insane speed.
Heald grabbed the silver rod stuck in Benzo's belly, and, ignoring the latter's loud yelp that rippled with agony, pulled it out.
With a swift swing, Heald plunged the rod into the incoming vampires neck and pushed his hand into its chest.
The vampire growled in pains and grabbed Heald's wrist, stopping him from pulling out it's heart. Heald roared as he felt his wrist being crushed.
The vampire pulled out the silver rod and slashed Heald's face and plunged it sharp claws into his chest instead.
Heald's slashed face whitened as he felt the sharp edges of the claws, lingering over his heart.
Just at the moment, a torrent of flames bashed the vampire on the chest and it was sent crashing away.
Heald collapsed on the ground weakly. Benzo fell beside him too, clutching his heavily bleeding stomach.
The vampire writhed in pains as it felt it whole chest being burned all over again, its horrible scream echoing all over the hall.
"We need to finish him now!!" Heald roared despite the pains that assaulted his entire body and quickly spring to his feets.
Benzo, with his right hand clutching his belly, grabbed the iron rod and followed Heald as they rushed towards the vampire.
The vampire, sensing their approaching presence, sprung up and roared in rage.
It lunged at them but Heald intercepted it, sliding under its razor claws and slashed the back of its neck.
Benzo stretched his left palm at the vampires and flames fell on its face and it shrieked in pains.
"Now!!!" Heald roared.
Benzo threw the silver rod to him and he caught it midair. Just in time as the vampire got out of the misery of the flames on his face.
With a swift swing, Heald swiped the rod at the vampire's neck and it was sent into the air.
The head landed on the floor meters away with a fleshy thud just as the body collapsed too.
Heald exhaled in relief and fell on his knees. Slowly, his slashed face began to heal but his chest, which the vampire's claws had pierced, was even more slower in healing. With the way Heald's face sweated, it's clear that he's getting to the brink of exhaustion.
Even though a vampire has limitless stamina and they don't get exhausted, when met with a powerful foe, they get exhausted.
Benzo too sighed and with a slow but steady downward move, sat down on his butts. His pale lips was ajaw as he tried to steady his breathing.
Heald moved closer to him and asked, worry shown in his eyes. "Hey, you feeling good?"
"It's not healing." Benzo flinched as he closed his eyes. "But if it's given time, it'll. You need to keep moving, okay?"
Heald hesitated a bit, before nodding. "Okay. I will find the rest."
******
Hector slashed a vampire neck with the daggers in his left hand and stabbed it in the heart with the second. The body of the vampire darkened in a flash and he dropped dead.
Kylian on the other hand, tried to keep them off, from getting near Hector since the latter can't match their agility, but Kylian can.
They worked in accordance and one after the other, the vampire dropped dead.
Bang!
Kylian flung a vampire away and slashed another that tried to get near Hector. The latter did the final job of stabbing the vampire in the heart with the vervain coated dagger.
But soon things got dirtier when the vampires stopped attacking one by one and began to attack at once. As seconds passed, claw marks and cuts began to appeared on them, especially Kylian who was taking the front.
Bang!
Kylian barely had time to duck as a kick slammed into his chest. He was sent flying and with a very high force, collided into Hector, taking him along in a long crash.
After crashing about twenty meters, they came to a stop.
The fierce growls of the vampire made them spring back to their feets.
The duo backed up each other as the vampires growled at them, surrounding them in a closed circle.
"I think you need to trigger your poison powers." Hector gritted hard.
"I told you, I can't."
"Maybe, you should trigger the curse."
Kylian shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. The pain that it brings upon me is overwhelming."
"But it shuts out at the end. The pain stops at a point, remember."
"But after the pain had almost crippled me."
Hector sighed. "Do you have any other plan?"
Kylian heaved and muttered to Hector, "We need to move away from here."
"Seriously?" Hector groaned. "We haven't even killed half of them yet."
"We really need to move." Kylian gritted as he said, again.
Hector's face was dark as he counted the vampires that lurked around them. "Are you telling me that these eight vampires will let us move away from here?"
"I'm not saying we should move. I mean run!!!" Kylian screamed.
Bang!
The duo took to their heels while the vampires followed.
Their bodies flashed across the hallway and soon they are out of there.
They kept running with the vampires, closing in on them, as seconds passed.
From hallways, to passages, to corridors, to altars to staircases to hallways again.
They couldn't find an end to the castle.
"I don't think these bugs will back down!" Hector's voice revealed how alarmed he is. "We have to improvise, we can't outrun them."
"Keep going." Kylian's voice thundered back.
Then they went on.
******
At the Eastern part of the castle, Mei Li and Sarai's part.
Mei Li swing her sword cutting into two the last beast. She collapsed to her knees, heaving heavily as she dropped her sword beside her.
Her whole was drenched in her own sweat. She had fought and fought and now all that's left around her was the torn flesh and bones and pool of blood that all belonged to the warthogs.
But she didn't do all that unscathed too.
Her previously neat black outfit had several claw slashes on it and through it, one would see bloody gashes on her perfect white flesh.
This was on her arms and her abdomen and her right thigh.
If the fight had lingered a little longer, she wouldn't have been able to hold up.
She heard something move and lifted her head.
What she saw next made her pale lips break into a smile.
"Sarai." She muttered as she saw the person before her. "You are up."
"Yes. You did great." Sarai smiled still on her butts as she commended.
She stood to her feet and looked around, at the bloody scene with awe. Then she nodded firmly.
"Now you have to find Kylian."
Mei Li didn't say a thing. She just stood to her feets. She grabbed her sword and faced Sarai squarely.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
Sarai smiled, "I should be asking that."
"I'm fine." Mei Li nodded.
Sarai sighed and patted her on her shoulder. "The ritual will have already started now. You need to find Kylian and move to stop the ritual."
"How do I stop it?"
"You will see. Just go now." Sarai said firmly.
Mei Li dropped a nod and a flinch ran across her face as she walked past Sarai.
"Please, don't die tonight."
Mei Li halted as Sarai said this.
She didn't say a word. She only looked over her shoulder and dropped a nod.
With that, she bolted off.
Sarai's eyes trailed behind her as she left.
After Mei Li is out of sight, Sarai closed her eyes and lifted her two hands.
"Ello Armadi illuminatio!" She chanted at the top of her voice.
The whole building began to tremble. Outside, the sky thundered and lightning flashed.
Sarai could feel the whole building, she could hear every voice and every lamentation.
Then she began to see flashes.
Two figures, among which there's one with silver hair, running while a group of about eight vampire trailed behind them.
Two figures fighting a giant vampire. A rod stuck in the stomach of one.
A female, who had a sword in her hand running across hallways and passages.
And finally, an altar. On it was a lady.
She began to see everything that's in the castle.
But then, she saw three figures clad in black. In the hand of one of them, was a scepter that had a dark gem, that's almost unnoticeable on the dark scepter.
Sarai could feel her heart thudding against her ribcage as the three figures turned to her in the vision.
Their eyes, surrounded by dark lines connected with hers and-
Then she muttered. "Dark Witches."
Her eyes shone with shock as she thought. 'Things will be more harder than we thought.'
*********
In a spacious altar room in which the sacrifice is taking place, Akotal waited as the three Dark Witches casted spells after spells.
Step by step, the ritual went on, unhindered.
All of the sudden, Anna, the leader of the Dark Witches opened her eyes. Shock were visible in it as she turned to Akotal.
"My Lord, the Armadi witch is in here. She's trying to know where we are carrying out the ritual." Her face was etched with worry as she said.
However, a grin was what Akotal was what Akotal responded with. "Let her know it. Don't stop her. Don't stop any of them. Let them all come."
Anna bowed deeply, "yes, my Lord."
*********