The vials smash against Blade's bloodied face, drenching him in crimson.
"DEACON!!" Blade bellows as he abruptly rises, the fresh infusion coursing through him. His wounds knit together almost instantly, his lips reflexively licking away the lingering blood.
Remarkably more agile than before, Blade moves like a force of nature, appearing directly in front of a reforming Deacon. I was going to strike next but I step back, deciding to let Blade have his moment of reckoning.
"You are dead!" Blade roars, his silver sword swinging with terrifying speed towards Deacon's neck.
SLASH!
At the last moment, Deacon's one good eye snaps open, and his hand moves with impossible speed, stopping Blade's silver sword mid-swing.
Sizzle Sizzle
The silver burns into his palm, smoke rising as his flesh sears. Yet Deacon doesn't flinch. Instead, his wounds knit together in seconds, his chest regenerating before our very eyes. Even his clothes reappear, as if pulled back into existence by some unholy force. The three silver bullets lodged in his skull are forced out, clinking to the ground as the flesh underneath repairs itself. I can almost see the blood writhing beneath his skin, swiftly healing him.
"You really think your little toys can touch me now?" Deacon's voice is dripping with arrogance as his other eye fully regenerate, crimson and alive with power. "I am Reborn! I am Invincible! Hahahaha!"
He laughs, swinging a backhand at Blade with monstrous strength. Blade narrowly dodges, but Deacon lunges forward for another attack.
That's when I act. Channeling Electricity through my body, I release a bolt of lightning straight at him.
CRACK!
The bolt strikes Deacon, forcing a howl of pain from his throat.
"Argh!" He abandons Blade's sword, and instead of turning into mist, he speeds towards me, his movements a blur. I have already activated my Radiant Shield and Electric Aura for protection.
"You meddling, inferior human!" he snarls, his hand morphing into a blood-red claw as it slashes towards my face.
His strike penetrates through my Electric Aura, Radiant Shield, and the forcefield I erected on my blocking arm, striking my hand with diminished force. In retaliation, I use my other hand to launch a Holy Fireball directly at his heart.
"Arghh!" His strike sends me flying, leaving a deep gash on my arm, the cut is so severe that even my bone is visible. Despite the pain, NZT dulls the sensation, keeping my mind sharp. I channel electricity mid-air, stabilizing myself and hovering just above the ground.
"UGHH!" He grunts in pain as the Holy Fire burns his chest, but the white flames fizzle out as the red blood within his body smothers them.
BANG! BANG!
"Silver Strike!"
Neither Elsa nor Sable hesitate as they attack him without delay. But this time, Deacon dodges both attacks with ease and reappears right before Sable.
"Oh, hello, beautiful," he purrs, gripping her shoulders with unnerving ease. "I have yet to taste human blood in this glorious new form. You will have the honour of being my first." His fanged smile widens as he moves toward her fair neck.
KEEEE!!
The small Phoenix perched on her other shoulder cries out, responding to my mental command. It opens its beak and releases a burst of Blue Phoenix Flames straight at Deacon's face!
At the same time, Sable also drives the small, broken Silver Sword into his stomach "Go away you creep!"
"Arghhh! You wench!" Deacon howls, backhanding Sable with monstrous force.
"UGHH!" She is flung across the room towards the wall. But I quickly intervene, using my Psychokinesis to stop her from crashing into it, catching her mid-flight, I gently lower her to the ground. Her face is bloodied and bruised, but the small Phoenix perched on her shoulder spits out flames, its blue fire healing her injuries almost instantly.
Meanwhile, Blade is relentless, charging and slashing at Deacon with the silver sword.
"I told you, these toys won't work on me!" Deacon growls, his burned face already healing as he dissolves into a dark mist, dodging my lightning strikes and Elsa's bullets.
"You are still the same arrogant vampire," Blade snarls, lunging forward with a vicious strike. "And I know very well how to put down your kind!" Blade plunges his sword straight where the black mist is reforming back into Deacon.
But Deacon reforms just in time and swiftly avoids the strike, his body twisting out of the way. Blade growls in fury, continuing to slash with his sword, but Deacon's agility keeps him just out of reach.
"Hahaha… just let it rest, Eric," Deacon mocks. "You can't even touch me. I am not even trying at this point." He dodges Blade's sword again, his smirk growing wider.
BAM!
"Let me correct your views, mate," Elsa says as she appears behind him, slamming the butt of her rifle into the back of his skull with such force that his face nearly twists out of shape. But it quickly reforms as red blood swirls beneath his skin, healing the damage.
"Not even you, a Bloodstone, are a match for me now, girl!" Deacon sneers, his hands morphing into bloodied claws. One strikes Blade, sending him flying, while the other swipes viciously at Elsa's face.
SWISH! SPLATTER!
Blood splatters across Elsa's face as three deep gashes appear, dark red blood pouring from them. Despite the vicious strike, she doesn't stumble. Instead, a wide smile forms on her bloodied face, the red Bloodgem around her neck glowing with intense crimson light.
"You are a worthy prey to hunt, Bloodsucker," she says, her grin feral and maddened. With a swift punch, she strikes him square in the face, forcing him back a step. Deacon stares at her, astonished, as her face rapidly heals, the bloodied wounds vanishing in moments.
"Silver Strike!" A sharp cry rings out as a curved silver beam slashes through his back!
"You ants... know your place!" Deacon snarls, his pointed teeth bared and red eyes flashing with fury as he turns to attack Elsa ferociously. Blade and Sable rush in, joining the fray. The three of them relentlessly exchange blood for blood, and with each strike, Deacon's irritation grows as he becomes more and more enraged by their tenacity.
"It is time!" I declare, standing a bit farther from the chaotic battle. Up until now, I have been silently using one of my powers, Storm's Embrace, to reach out and communicate with the thunderclouds high in the sky.
I close my eyes, focusing as I channel golden lightning from deep within my body. When I open them, my black irises have transformed into a brilliant gold, streaks of electricity crackling and dancing around them.
Golden arcs of lightning surge across my body, gathering at my back as I slowly lift off the ground, hovering in the air. The lightning continues to build, accumulating faster and faster, swirling around me with ever-increasing intensity.
BOOM!
A surge of power pulses through me, electrifying the very air around me. I touch the ground again, two massive Wings of Golden Lightning unfurling from my back, crackling with energy.
"Deacon," I say, my voice echoing with divine authority, "Let me show you the true-Apex!"
Deacon, Elsa, Sable, Blade, and Nyssa all stop, eyes wide as they witness the raw power radiating from the man before them. The air hums with energy, and they can feel the intensity of the force surrounding him.
RUMBLE!!
At the same time, above the ruins, the thunderclouds grow increasingly turbulent, converging directly above the very building where the battle rages.
CRACK! CLACK! ZAP!
Not just the clouds, but even the lightning itself begins to merge, the chaotic bolts twisting together to form one massive surge of power. In an instant, the colossal bolt hurtles downward with lightning speed, a strike that seems to tear the sky itself apart.
"Thunder Bolt!"
I bring my hand down, and the Lightning obeys.
BANG! CRACK! BOOM!
The Thunderbolt smashes through the building, obliterating everything in its path. Stone melts into magma, the bolt crashes straight through the floors of the building, obliterating rock and brick alike.
Nothing can halt its relentless descent as it tears through the structure, splitting the ground open and slamming into the basement, just above Deacon Frost's head!
I was already prepared for this, so I pull Blade, Elsa, and Sable away from the impact zone with my Psychokinesis and Forcefields, ensuring their safety.
Deacon Frost barely hears the ceiling crack before looking up, only to be blinded by a bright, stinging light. His instinctive danger sense blares alarms as he quickly turns into black mist, narrowly evading the strike.
THUNDER! BOOOOM!
The thick, blinding lightning bolt crashes into the ground, dissipating into the earth. The stone beneath it transforms into molten magma, scorching everything in its path.
Everyone watches, wide-eyed, at the spot where Deacon had been just moments ago. The ground beneath him is now flowing with molten rock, a massive crack splitting the earth open.
"Under the heat five times hotter than the surface of the sun, not even your dark mist can maintain form! Get Burned by the Heat of Plasma!!"
I grin broadly as I retract my lightning wings. It is too difficult to maintain their form any longer, especially after the immense strain of controlling such a massive bolt of lightning.
CRACK! CRACK!
In the next instant, massive fractures splinter across the basement ceiling, spreading like spiderwebs through the wide hall.
Outside, the ruins crumbled entirely, collapsing into rubble under the sheer force of the lightning bolt's destruction.
CRACK! BOOM!
Blade watches the spot where Deacon had vanished, his expression stoic. Elsa and Sable, however, are focused on a more immediate concern as they look up at the crumbling ceiling above them.
"Don't worry and trust me," I say, raising my hand and enveloping myself, Elsa, Sable, and Blade in a Psionic Forcefield Bubble each. I had anticipated this might happen, so I was already prepared.
BOOM!
Just as I speak, the ceiling collapses all at once, a heap of rocks and stones crashing down upon us.
"Ughh, no! Quickly set us free!" I hear the whining voice of the raven-haired woman. Seeing her pitiful face pressed against the ground, I raise my hand, immediately forming a psionic forcefield around her.
The rocks, sand, and gravel then fall upon my shield, isolating me from the outside world, and plunging everything into complete darkness!
***
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