The scene morphed once more to show Melphie and the Vampire King fighting in the middle of the blood-stained battlefield. Unlike before when he had only been leisurely sitting on his throne, the vampire now wore black spiked plate armour with a white bone crown, though his movements were still just as fluid and leisurely as if he was in lounge wear. His rapier bit and snaked its way through the air like it had a life of its own, black and red tendrils reaching hungrily towards Melphie every time their blades clashed.

Melphie, on the other hand, was covered by a purple shimmering mass that flowed like liquid over her skeletal form coalescing every time the vampire's strikes made it past her guard as if it was anticipating his every move. Her sword was a jet black longsword that glittered with lights like stars that seemed to ripple with every clash as if it wished to swallow the vampire's sword whole.

"Color me surprised that you're stronger than that weakling of a master you showed up last time with." Despite their fierce clashes and the magic that each of them injected into the air around them, the vampire still appeared quite leisurely, as if he was on a stroll in the park rather than fighting for his life on the battlefield.

"What did you do, continue that old lich's legacy?"

Melphie gritted her teeth and said nothing as she shot forth shadows along the ground to eat at the vampire's feet.

"Ooh? Not one to talk. Tsk. So uncivilized, or is the battle too much for your pitiful mind to handle all at once. Oh, it must be so hard having only lived a handful of years. I'm sure you have to appreciate the—"

The vampire had to leap back suddenly as unexpected beams of dark light shot through the air towards him from Melphie's eyes. He had been watching his feet for her tricks, but she had only meant the shadows as a feint to draw his attention.

"Tsk. You should know better than to interrupt your betters while they're talking." His tone finally took on a touch of frustration, leading Melphie to grin, as she continued dodging his magical tricks while blocking his unrelenting sword play at the same time.

"Well," He paused, and drew back a moment. She threw an intense ball of darkness energy towards him, but he merely flicked his rapier through it dismissing the magic as he continued speaking. "This has been fun, but I think it's time we draw our little play to a close."

Melphie's sword was suddenly yanked to the side by an invisible force, and the vampire shot forward, grabbing her by the neck. She brought the sword back into his side where it quickly began consuming his flesh like a plague, but to Melphie's shock her sword suddenly blinked out of existence, though the vampire's flesh struggled to close around the necrotic area the blade had consumed.

"I was waiting for that," a cruel grin flashed across his face. "Ownership is a fickle thing, don't you think?"

His hand tightened around her jaw, her bones cracking under the horrible pressure. "You're just like your old man." He whispered venom laced in every word. "Weak."

Dark mana poured out of every seam of Melphie's body trying in vain to wrap around the vampire, but an icy aura rose from his skin keeping the darkness at bay.

He thrust his sword into her body, where the black and red energies began running rampant, devouring her from the inside out. "Let's see you return from this one!" He yelled, his eyes flashing with greed.

"You're just like last time," Melphie choked, black bile spilling out of her mouth. "Alone."

A sudden white light engulfed the entire scene, blinding me and forcing me to close my eyes even from the dark void that I watched the events from. And I fell back feeling strange aftereffects of a devastating force.

The purple fog of the void quickly began to regain control of the scene and the white began to fade as the scene changed once more.

Melphie woke in a small room decorated to be as cozy as possible despite the rock that it was carved out of. She immediately sat up and walked out of the door. She looked around for a moment before spotting a large lich.

"Report." He followed her stride as she continued walking quickly down the corridor.

"My lady, the beasts successfully retreated before the spell was unleashed as planned. They've taken heavy casualties, but it was still within our expectations."

"Any signs of the vampire king?"

"We can confirm that the divine fragments remain on the battlefield, but the energies of the spell are still far too active to confirm anything else."

Melphie didn't allow herself to look relieved. "Send in Vyro's unit as soon as they're capable of casting enough protection spells to make it in alive. I want the kill confirmed and the fragments retrieved before we stand down."

"Yes, my lady." The lich bowed, and separated from her as she entered a large cavern full of wounded and dying beasts of all shapes and sizes.

"Grimoir?" She approached a ghost nurse as soon as she entered.

"Barely holding on. I'll take you to him." The nurse bowed and began drifting through the files of injured beasts.

At last they reached an entrance into a smaller room where several beasts were gathered around the heavily wounded Shadow Chimera.

"Melphinoe," Grimoir gasped, his breaths coming heavy and ragged, his voice hoarse. "I'm glad you're here." His flanks were a mess of blood, rotting flesh, and black goo that heaved under the weight of each breath.

"Grimoir, my friend." She rushed to his side and held one of his paws in her bony hand. "What happened? Didn't I tell you to stay back and let the younglings do most of the work?"

The Shadow Chimera laughed hoarsely, grimacing in pain with each chuckle. "My time has been long enough. I wanted to feel the blood run through these veins one last time before the end."

"How bad is it?" She looked a little desperately for the attending doctor. "We should go fetch Varhelm, I'm sure she could fix this."

"Varhelm's already been here Lady Melphinoe," One of the beasts said gravely. "She said it was a miracle he wasn't already dead. He's past the point of no return." They shook their head as a sob broke in another beast's throat.

"Then what about turning you undead? Friend, I'll go fetch the materials right away, we can be done before you know it."

Grimoir only shook his head. "Don't. My soul is already in tatters, and I have no wish to become an undead. Melphinoe, there's something I never told you. Please, listen to me till the end."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.