Alexander flinched backwards, jumping into action as the intense flood of mana ravaged hus senses. Thanks to Lunaris, he was able to stay sain, nanites connected and even assisted in calming him down and lowering his heart rate.
He scanned the vampire even as the aura caused him pain, taking time to get a read on the vampire from the onslaught of mana. His power was far to strong for Alexander to take on his own.
"You flesh bags dared to call me filthy. Well let me bring you to my level and break some bones on your way down!" Lazio's body elongated and stretched over his skin as his bomes turned and broke. His finger tips sharpened to a needle point and his head became devoid of features. He became a true hidious monster with his mouth turning into a valley of teeth, sharp as blades and made for shredding. His transformation into a lesser vampire was complete and his bloodlust was over powering.
Geralt stood firm in front of Alexander, buffering the intense red wind swirling around, his body like a bulwark against a storm. "A flashy show indeed. Much like a match before it fizzles out. Delta, teach this creature some manners."
The soldiers, that until now neither moved nor flinched, nodded, drawing their swords. Their black tech armor regulated their mana and health and gleamed when their weapons were released in the dark room. The swords shined bright and looked like silver rays of moonlight.
The glowing silver light forced the creatures face to pale, fear and confusion ravaging his face. With no eyes to see it and just his predator like senses, he could tell immediately what the blades meant.
"You! You're...," Lazio's words were little more than spittle as one of the tech armored servants cut its chest in a flashy right armed slash from the ground, landing behind it ready to strike again.
The muscle and skin around the chest wound sizzled under the blades aura, causing noticeable damage to its red aura. The power of the blade somehow could cut the aura of other beings, something Alexander had never heard of.
Lazio held his chest as the wound slowly closed, healing itself with its aura. It clicked its tongue in disappointment, not reeling at all from the attack. "You really had me going there, you mutts. Ha! Ha! Ha! To think, I was neary frightened by a bunch of mortals. What would my master think of me."
Lazio's foot kicked with insaine speeds at the nearest of Geralts underlings with suprising force. Throwing her into the three others that tried to catch her. The force collapsed the bookshelves they crashed into as they were flung with her.
"Pathetic!" Lazio laughed, clawing at another armored male behind him. To his surprise, the man blocked his attacks skillfully. The blade chipped away at his elongated finger tips, making him spill blood around the library in large areas.
"You're different than the others I see. Couldn't deploy all your best for little Ole me? Let me hear you scream, so that I can savor your friends fear! Arrrgh!"
The armored man rose his longsword seadily, as Lazio struck downward, his left hand aiming for his shoulder. The man flicked his sword upwards with little notice, parrying the creatures strong attack. Lazio stumbled slightly, going for another attack.The man ducked under a right swing, cutting at the creatures legs that remained human-like, wounding Lazio deeply.
In a flurry of cuts, the others joined in after recovering from the previous attack. In synce with the other, Lazio's arms were sliced cut, shredded, and his chest was impaled. Lazio's vampire vitality was greate so he still struggled under the silver blades, buring him from the inside while constantly wearing down his aura.
"How can you defend this human so savagely!? You are all the real monsters here, attack your own kind like this, using powers that once allied the night!" He heavily coughed. His struggling became less and less against the bladed prison, unable to lift his hands or neck. His legs trembled to hold his forward weight, making him kneel from effort.
"And the worst of all, you. You stand there like.. some Noblesse, lord, king. King of what, traitors? Haha! You are no lion defending cubs. No you're just a collard mutt with a leash. Fat on the scraps of your Akamai masters!"
Geralt smirked and came to be I front of Lazio. "You're right, I am just a mutt, happened to have a mutt my whole life. So I wont kill you, you have my word. A collard pet shouldnt kill another." His words confused the vampire even more as it was till weakening.
Alexander walked forward from the darkness to stand in front of him. His core was full with mana, thanks to Lazio's foolish exuding of his aura. His nanites devoured as much energy as they could, hungrily. With the taste of that mana on their pallet, they asked for more, nearly begging in Alexanders mind. He placed his hands on Lazio's head and silver veins soon appeared, branching from his hands through his body.
Nanites swarmed through his body, devouring every cell in Lazio's body, absorbing his mana and turning it into fuel for their host and replication. It took a great deal of materials to keep them working, the better quality materials the better outcome of nanites that could be produced. With their new upgrades, they became more streamlined, instead of the gloop like substance they resembled tiny silver insects, injecting themselves into their victim.
Lazio dissapated Into fine powder, ironically, drained of mana and nutrients. The nanaites returned to him and Alexander felt rejuvenated and full of energy. His nanites had returned to safe mode, upgrading themselves again. With every upgrade, Alexander felt his control get easier.
He turned to explain to Geralt who was talking to his subordinates, but he declined. Stating he also had secrets, and that if he wished it to be kept a secret, it was safe with him. They discussed he should also expect a visit from elder Kelani today, as he heard about the mess and wanted to see him personally.
Before Geralt and his subordinates left, he had some advice to give him, "Don't let that power you have consume you. The look on your face as you didn whatever to that vampire, I've seen it many times from others. The hunger can take anyone if you don't learn to control yourself. It's flashy and very recognizable as non-Magic. You could use darkness to disguise its use. I've seen darkness spells do similar things. Be safe, master Mortem. Good job today."
Alexander nodded and said his goodbyes as they got into the dark SUV's. The others went to sleep thanks to s9me calming magic Gerwlt used. So Alexander had the lower rooms all to himself.
Standing alone in the hallway, Alexander thought about going to sleep but couldn't. The formations Geralt and his team placed around the library to keep the noise from escaping were still up, and he had an idea. With all the energy accumulating inside of him, he would try and focus it and expand his core.
'Better now, than never. Just breathe in and out like in training. In. Out.' Mana rose around Alexander, a mix of silver and green, waxing and waned for hours as he sat in the space of the library. His aura exuded strongly throughout the space until a stinging pain racked his body as his core reached its maximum.
Argh!
Searing pain shot through him like lava pouring down his mouth, flaring into his core as it circulated more and more mana. It expanded and flooded his body with mana, ravaging his insides by making pathways out through any way possible.
'What's happening to my stomach! Gods this hurts!'
The nanites reacted to the sudden change of environment, latching onto the new pathways and strengthening them by refining and adjusting them before they hardened. The result was a network of mana pathways coated in nanites, optimized to Alexander's body. His core was larger than ever and his body healed quickly with the abundance of mana.
However, the pain only increased. From every orifice a black substance spewed with every pulse of his core that pushed mana through his body, pressurized like a boiling pot. He had no control over himself as violent shivers ran through his body that the safety mode nanites couldn't calm down, resulting in a blackout as he passed out.
Later that morning..
"Alexander! Wake up. Curse the Gods, what's that smell?" Quin nearly gagged. He had come down stairs to see what the terrible smell fumigating the house. His search ended with his finding his brother in a pool of black liquid. He used basic darkness magic to clean up as much as possible, without getting to close or having it touch him.
"Is he still alive? Did the vampires come back?" Seraphina asked covering her nose in multiple masks.
Kelani had arrived an hour ahead of traffic and helped with the clean up. He looked at Alexander with a small bit of pride, as his teacher his student reaching D rank in such a short time had warmed his heart.
"No, little one. This is a cause to celebrate. Your brother has gone beyond his limit and reached the next plateau."
Alexander felt a sharp poke to his arm and ribs, murmuring incoherently as he tried to ignore it in his sleep. He jolted up in panic when a torrent of cold water doused his head.
"Wakey, Wakey!"