With a familiar loud "crack!", Alfreed the 6th-level swordsman nimbly dodged the Bone Dragon's attack with a backflip. He then stepped onto the monster's jawbone and fiercely hacked at it with his sword.
"Clang clang clang clang..."
Each strike left a deep gash in the bone. But the Bone Dragon felt no pain as an undead creature, and without vocal cords, it made no roar.
Still, having a puny human standing on its mouth must have pissed it off well. Since violently shaking its head failed to dislodge Alfreed, the Bone Dragon decided to utilize its aerial advantage and shot straight up into the sky.
"No brains sure makes things tough. Letting a human climb all over it just like that..."
The vampire clicked his tongue as he watched the aerial battle overhead.
Earlier, Adrian had said that the towers of Val City were somehow controlling these Bone Dragons. But clearly, it wasn't fine manipulation - the mindless undead were simply set loose to serve their masters through instinct alone.
So while the dragons boasted power and speed exceeding 6th level, their actual combat ability was severely limited. From my observation, they performed best in large-scale clashes where their massive bodies and lack of intellect mattered less. Smaller confrontations like this played more to their weaknesses.
If it were up to me, I would never have sent these war machines to chase us down. What was Val City thinking? Just like last time when they dispatched two dragons only to have me and Adrian jam them into the city walls.
Didn't they have any other flying 6th-tier forces?
"No matter. The rest of you look plenty weak anyway. I alone should suffice."
The vampire licked his lips hungrily as he eyed our group, poised to swoop down and finish us off.
Wasting no time, he charged at blistering speed, crossing the dozen meters separating us in the blink of an eye.
Hayden bravely stepped forward to meet the attack, raising his shield to guard the others. With a clear ringing sound, the shield shattered under the tremendous impact and Hayden was flung backward. Adrian and I rushed to catch him before he tumbled further.
Such terrifying power - the sturdy shield nearly caved in from that casual swipe! We sucked in our breath, alarmed. The squishy mages like Selene and Eleanora were now exposed before this monster.
But something about the vampire's devastating attack bothered me. It felt... off.
I took to the air, sword lifted overhead, and dove at the vampire while firing spheres of Purification from above. Sure enough, he instantly recoiled from the holy light rather than tanking the hits. Just as I predicted! I poured my strength into an overhead slash directed at his dodge.
My sword clanged loudly against his body as if striking solid stone. Pain and numbness shot through my hands. My blade snapped clean off, leaving me gripping a bare hilt.
At least he wasn't completely unharmed - a thin cut now marked his upraised arm.
I quickly flapped higher, hovering in midair.
The vampire stared at his injury for a moment before deciding not to pursue me skyward.
He really can't fly! A vampire that can't fly!
According to Adrian, vampires in bat form have powers akin to angels with tucked wings - basically useless. And he likely can't fly very quickly even transformed. Without hitching a ride on that Bone Dragon, he'd have never caught up to our ground-bound party from the city.
Even without wings, Alfreed and the rest easily outpaced ordinary humans with their 4th+ tier speed and stamina.
"Come and get me if you dare! Or turn into a bat and try to catch me! Can you jump this high?"
I taunted loudly, worried that he might ignore me and attack the others instead, which I'd be powerless to stop.
To punctuate my point, I rained down spheres of Purification, expecting him to dodge or nullify the bombardment somehow. But strangely enough, he simply stood there tanking every hit as they sank into his body without any noticeable effect.
What?! Why did Purification stop working?
I peered closer and noticed his skin now shimmered with a black aura that seemed to absorb the holy energy, similar to the dark orb used by the succubus to counter my attack.
The blackness appeared to be pure dark elemental energy, naturally opposed to my light-based Purification. Maybe that explained the nullification?
"Did you think height alone would protect you?"
Before I could analyze further, the vampire sneered up at me.
He can't possibly be thinking of jumping up here, can he? Last time the drunken demon Buck tried that, I just punted him out of the air halfway.
But I vastly underestimated this foe. Though truly earthbound, the vampire's leap easily cleared the distance between us, his speed dwarfing Buck's by orders of magnitude. I barely had time to react before his hand swiped at my stomach...
A piercing pain erupted through my body as an incredible force pummeled me straight into the ground.
"Feliciana!"
I heard the faint cries of Adrian and the others through the ringing in my ears.
I coughed blood violently. My vision filled with bursts of white sparks floating in the air - my blood vaporizing as it sprayed forth. It felt like my back was shattered.
This is finally it, I'm done for... Pain wracked my convulsing body. My sight dimmed and flashed, darkness and bright visions swirling indistinguishably as consciousness rapidly faded...
"You think me some pathetic drunkard like that Buck your nephew trashed? I'm nothing like that fool."
The vampire stood over my crumbled form, hand raised for the finishing blow. Then suddenly, his body jerked as a translucent blade burst out his chest...
"Feliciana!"
The next shout I heard wasn't from Adrian or Selene, but a much more familiar voice. And as I sank into oblivion, the last sight was the vampire bisected cleanly down the middle by a flickering sword I knew too well...
When I regained awareness, I opened my eyes to find myself surrounded by a ring of anxious faces both familiar and unexpected.
"Nicola..."
I exclaimed excitedly as she helped prop me upright.
"How are you here?"
No mistake, that sword was Condensation Sword.
"Don't move yet! How do you feel?"
Eleanora quickly stopped me.
"Normally healing angels takes many times more effort and magic. Yet you recovered so quickly..."
"Is that how it works?" I asked in surprise. But checking over myself, nothing felt out of the ordinary at all. The memory of agonizing pain now completely absent.
"I'm fine!" I insisted, rolling my shoulders to demonstrate.
"Strange... you're healing even faster than a human." Eleanora looked me over suspiciously, still unconvinced of my angelhood like Selene.
"As long as she's really better, that's all that matters!" Nicola swept me into a fierce hug before I could protest, crying "I finally found you, Feliciana!"
"Hey, not so tight!" Don't you know what you're smothering me with ...?
"Ah! Sorry!"
Nicola quickly released me from her smothering embrace. Seeing her actually blushing, I couldn't help but poke fun -
"Are you an imposter? You're acting strange..."
Nicola today seemed unusually gentle and feminine compared to her normal brash tomboyishness.
"You're the fake one!" she bristled in response.
"That much right in your face and not even a blink? Fess up, are you possessed by some lustful female ghost?"
She emphasized her point by lifting her chest.
Alright, I admit my imagination totally ran wild just now! But did she have to be so dramatic about it with everyone watching? How embarrassing!
I awkwardly looked away as the guys coughed and turned red, swiftly removing themselves from the situation.
"You two seem as close as ever!" Selene snarked from the side.
"Could she be the one you mentioned..." Eleanora whispered to her curiously.
Oh no, they've got the wrong idea! What nonsense has Selene been teaching the youth?!
"Nicola, keep your distance!" I quickly asserted, wanting to set our relationship record straight.
"How heartless!" she sulked in response.
"Do you know how long you've been missing? I finally found you in a place like this after endless searching, yet this is the reaction I get?"
"You're right..." Her reminder jolted my memory. From her view, I would have inexplicably vanished for at least 3-4 days by now. No wonder she had been so worked up earlier.
"I'm really sorry, but I was suddenly teleported here that day during a quest..." I apologized.
"I know already, Selene explained while you were passed out," Nicola interrupted my repetitive account.
"As for those monsters earlier..."
"Oh yeah! How did that battle end after I got knocked out?" I finally remembered to ask about what happened next.