As the figure emerged from the swirling fog, Asuma's Envision Magic spiraled out of control. Numbers flickered chaotically before his eyes, unable to lock onto a definitive rank. The aura emanating from the figure was unlike anything he had ever encountered—a mixture of overwhelming power and pure, unrestrained malice.
Behind them, the dead Greko stirred again. Its severed tail twitched violently, and the gaping wounds along its body began to knit themselves back together with sickening cracks and pops.
"WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" Asuma shouted, his voice breaking through the oppressive silence.
Amira's gaze darted toward the still-healing creature. Gritting her teeth, she lunged forward and unleashed a powerful kick, sending the Greko's massive body hurtling into the village chief's building with a resounding crash.
"Let's go!" Leon yelled, sprinting down the blood-soaked streets toward their horses.
As they ran, the ground beneath them began to shift. The dirt and cobblestones melted into a thick, viscous substance—a flowing river of blood that clung to their boots, slowing their movements. The villagers, once distant and ominous in their stillness, suddenly lunged at them like ravenous beasts. Their blank expressions twisted into snarling visages, their movements erratic and inhuman.
"Why are they attacking us?" Amira shouted, her voice strained as she fought them off. She struck with the blunt end of her spear, careful not to inflict lethal damage. "They're just... villagers!"
Leon swung his daggers to fend off two villagers clawing at his chest plate. "I'm more concerned about the ground turning into a bloody river! If this keeps up, we'll be dragged under!"
Asuma's mind raced. What is happening? Why is the sky bleeding? Why are these villagers attacking like wild animals? The oppressive humming sound from earlier grew louder, reverberating in his chest and making his head pound. What kind of magic is this?
"Blood... so much blood..." a voice purred, soft and melodic yet deeply unnerving.
Asuma froze as a woman stepped out of the mist, her appearance both mesmerizing and terrifying. Her silver curls cascaded around her pale face, framing crimson eyes that seemed to pierce directly into his soul. Her tattered silk dress dragged along the blood-soaked ground, the fabric frayed and torn as if it had been through centuries of decay. Her beauty was otherworldly, yet it carried an undeniable sense of menace, as though she were a character pulled from the darkest corners of a forgotten myth.
The woman tilted her head, her blood-red eyes narrowing with a mocking smile. "Are you scared?" she asked, her voice a mix of mockery and sinister glee. Her lips parted, revealing sharp fangs glinting in the crimson light of the sky.
"Asuma!" Leon called out, shoving his way through the frenzied villagers clinging to his armor.
"SILENCE!" the woman commanded.
A sudden gust of wind erupted from her, slamming into Leon with the force of a battering ram. He was thrown across the village, crashing through several buildings before disappearing from sight.
"Leon!" Amira screamed. She erupted in a crackling surge of lightning magic, sending a shockwave through the villagers around her. Their bodies were flung backward, temporarily clearing a path as she charged toward the woman. With a burst of speed, Amira thrust her spear at the figure, aiming straight for her heart.
The woman didn't flinch. With a single hand, she caught the spear mid-thrust, her fingers gripping the electrified weapon as though it were nothing more than a twig.
Amira's eyes widened in terror. "How is she this strong?!" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Asuma's instincts screamed at him to act. Gripping his sword tightly, he willed the flames along its blade to roar to life. With a shout, he charged forward and swung at the woman in a wide arc.
She turned to him with an almost bored expression, raising her free hand. With uncanny speed, she caught his blade, stopping the fiery strike dead in its tracks.
Before either of them could react, the woman's grip tightened around both Amira's spear and Asuma's sword. She flung her weapons aside effortlessly and grabbed them both by the throat. Lifting them into the air as though they weighed nothing, her nails dug into their necks with a painful, iron grip.
"Your skin... your bones... your flesh... your blood," she murmured, her voice distorting into a guttural snarl. Her eyes glowed brighter, the red bleeding from her irises like liquid fire. "I need it. I need it. I need it!" Her words devolved into a frenzied chant, her tone dripping with madness.
"What the hell is wrong with her?!" Amira gasped, struggling against the woman's grip, her lightning magic sputtering weakly.
"Let go!" Asuma choked, thrashing desperately, his vision darkening as her claws dug deeper.
The woman's lips curled into a wide, unsettling grin. "You're perfect," she whispered, tilting her head. "But not enough yet. Not enough..."
With a sudden, inhuman strength, she hurled both of them toward the chief's building. Their bodies tore through the structure, smashing through its walls and colliding with the ground. The force sent them skidding across the floor and out the other side, where they landed with a splash in the murky red waters of the river behind the village.
Am I going to die? Asuma thought as he sank deeper into the cold, red river. His limbs refused to respond, his body screaming in agony. The icy water pressed around him like a suffocating weight, dragging him further into the depths. I can't move. I... I failed. His vision blurred, and the glow of the crimson sky above faded.
Just as the darkness began to close in, something wrapped around his body—a shadow-like arm, firm and unrelenting. He felt himself being yanked upward, breaking the surface of the blood-filled river. Gasping for air, his lungs burned as the cold air hit him.
"Wake up!" Leon shouted, his voice strained. He had dragged both Asuma and Amira out of the river, his own armor battered and stained with blood. Amira was conscious but barely—her body bruised and broken, a distinct hand-shaped bruise darkening her neck.
Asuma coughed violently, expelling water from his lungs. "I'm... alive," he muttered, his voice weak as he struggled to sit up. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest, but adrenaline kept him moving.
"Can you see her rank?" Asuma asked, his gaze darting toward the vampiric figure slowly approaching through the crimson haze.
Leon shook his head. "No. The Envision spell doesn't work on her."
Amira winced, clutching her side. "Jon warned us about a vampire... but this? A demon with enough power to warp reality itself? She's got to be Rank 5 or higher."
Asuma clenched his fists, his mind racing. "Why is a demon of that level roaming freely in the empire? The Black Knights should have dealt with her long ago."
"Does it matter now?" Leon snapped, his voice tinged with fear. "We need to get the hell out of here before she kills us!"
Before they could act, the ground beneath them trembled violently. The blood river swirled and churned, sending ripples through the viscous liquid. Around them, the villagers who had attacked earlier began sinking, their bodies dragged down by unseen forces. Their screams echoed briefly before they were silenced, consumed by the river.
"The villagers—no!" Amira gasped, her voice breaking as she watched the horrifying sight.
The sound of splashing footsteps pulled their attention. The vampiric woman emerged from the swirling river of blood, her tattered silk dress trailing behind her like a shadow. With a deliberate, almost leisurely motion, she raised her arm, slicing her palm open. From the wound, a sword of blood began to form, long and jagged, its edges writhing with tendrils of crimson liquid. The blade pulsed and dripped like it was alive, the sight enough to churn their stomachs.
Her red eyes glowed brighter under the bleeding moons as she dragged the sword across the ground, leaving trails of steaming blood in its wake. "Blood... so much blood," she whispered, her tone almost playful, though laced with unmistakable malice.
The trio stood frozen, their bodies trembling involuntarily under the oppressive weight of her aura.
Asuma swallowed hard, his voice cracking as he spoke. "We have no choice. We have to fight her."
Amira tightened her grip on her spear, her hands trembling. "Can we even win against something like that?"
"No," Asuma admitted, his jaw clenched. "But we can survive."
Leon shook his head, muttering bitterly. "Our first contract's a bust. We should've taken the one in Draka City."
"It's too late now," Asuma replied, his eyes never leaving the woman. She moved with an unnerving grace, her figure blurring slightly as though reality itself recoiled from her presence. One moment, she was gliding toward them; the next, she was gone, leaving only her shadow in the blood.
"Where did she—?" Leon started, but the answer came with terrifying speed.
The woman reappeared inches away, her blood sword slashing downward in a blur of crimson light.
"Shit!" Leon shouted, throwing himself to the side as the blade carved a deep trench through the river and split the ground beneath them, sending a shockwave that knocked the trio off their feet. The sheer force of the attack cleaved the river behind them in two, the waters parting like a wound.
"Fire Magic: Spiral Slash!" Asuma roared, his sword igniting as he charged at her. He unleashed a flurry of flaming strikes, each one aimed with precision, but the woman deflected them effortlessly. Her sword moved like an extension of her body, countering every attack with a casual grace.
Before Asuma could react, she drove her foot into his stomach with bone-crushing force, launching him across the village. He crashed into the remains of a building, the impact leaving him momentarily stunned.
Leon gritted his teeth, fear and determination warring in his mind as he rushed forward with his twin daggers. He swung at her in rapid succession, each strike aimed for vital points. The woman evaded his attacks effortlessly, her movements fluid and almost lazy. She retaliated with a series of devastating slashes, each one tearing through the ground and sending waves of crimson energy spiraling outward.
Leon barely managed to block the strikes, his arms straining under the force. The ground beneath him sank deeper with each blow, the blood clinging to his feet like quicksand.
"Lightning Magic: Piercing Bolt!" Amira shouted, appearing in a flash of light. Her spear, crackling with electricity, struck at the woman from behind, aiming for her heart.
Without even turning, the vampire caught the spear mid-strike, her grip tightening until cracks began to form along its shaft. Amira's eyes widened in shock. "How... how is she this strong?!"
Asuma recovered from the earlier attack, charging in with renewed determination. The trio attacked from all sides, their movements a desperate symphony of fire, lightning, and steel. But no matter how coordinated their assault, the vampire deflected every blow with inhuman precision. Her blood sword danced through the air, a whirlwind of death that seemed untouchable.
This woman... Asuma thought as he steadied himself, blood dripping from a gash along his forehead. She's as strong as Aunt Salami. No... maybe even stronger. His grip on his sword tightened, the weight of the situation pressing down on him. Every instinct screamed at him to run, but his body refused to obey. He couldn't abandon Amira and Leon.
The vampiric woman tilted her head, her mocking grin widening. "Tch... Weak," she hissed, her distorted voice reverberating through the blood-soaked air.
Before they could react, she moved—a blur of crimson and malice. Her blood sword arced through the air with terrifying speed, striking all three of them simultaneously with a single, devastating swing. The force sent them flying in different directions, their bodies slamming into the ground with bone-rattling impacts.
Asuma skidded across the blood-soaked ground, coughing violently as he struggled to his knees. Leon, airborne from the blow, managed to twist mid-flight and grabbed his bow. "Wind Magic: Precision Shot!" he yelled, loosing a volley of arrows in rapid succession. The projectiles, infused with slicing winds, shot toward the woman like a storm of deadly needles.
The vampire moved with unnatural grace, evading the arrows effortlessly. Her sword danced through the air, cutting through the wind-charged arrows like paper, each slash leaving trails of crimson energy in its wake. Her movements were elegant, almost playful, as though the attack were a mere inconvenience.
The ground beneath her rippled like liquid, and she stabbed her blood sword into the quivering earth. "Blood Magic: Dead Hands," she intoned, her voice carrying a cold finality.
The blood-soaked ground erupted as crimson hands—formed from the twisted remains of the villagers—burst forth, clawing and grabbing at the trio. The grotesque hands latched onto their legs, arms, and torsos, their grip like iron as they began dragging them downward.
"They're trying to drown us!" Leon yelled, frantically hacking at the hands with his daggers. He managed to sever several of the grotesque appendages, but more rose to take their place.
Amira, her spear crackling with lightning, stabbed and slashed at the grasping hands. Each strike sent jolts of electricity coursing through the bloodied limbs, disintegrating them momentarily. "It's endless!" she shouted, her voice strained with desperation. "The more we cut, the more there are!"
Asuma swung his flaming sword in wide arcs, slicing through the writhing mass of hands pulling at him. His breathing was ragged, his arms burning with exhaustion. Damn it... There's no end to this!
The vampiric woman stood motionless, watching with a cold, detached smile as her spell overwhelmed them. Her glowing red eyes gleamed with twisted amusement as the bloodied hands pulled the trio further into the ground, the crimson liquid rising around their waists, then their chests.
Asuma struggled to keep his head above the rising tide, his vision blurring as exhaustion set in. The blood was thick, choking him as it seeped into his lungs. His arms faltered as he swung his sword weakly, cutting through one last hand before it latched onto his wrist, pulling him under.
The world went dark as the trio was dragged beneath the surface of the blood-soaked reality. The sounds of their struggles faded into an eerie, oppressive silence. They sank deeper and deeper, the weight of the blood crushing them, suffocating them.
Is this how it ends? Asuma thought, his mind spiraling into despair. The faces of his sister and grandfather flashed before him, and his chest tightened. No... I can't die here. I can't.
The vampiric woman's voice echoed in the void around them, distorted and haunting. "Sink into despair... drown in your weakness... and become part of my perfect masterpiece."