...The nerve of this human.

Noapte had to admit, he was rather bold for someone who was only a few steps away from biting distance. In fact, the display was so brazen that he couldn't help but respect the stupid kid for following through on it in the first place. There probably wasn't a world under the moon where he would have mouthed off as much as this human did.

Ah, well. Let him have his moment for now. Stupid games had their prizes for a reason, and this upstart Devil would be due his shortly.

He thoroughly examined the bloodied human before him, top to bottom. Neither of them moved, they just sized each other up as the fires that had been his last few subordinates smoldered. Despite the break in his arm and the crimson ichor slowly staining his clothes, Henry continued to stare him dead in the eye, tension in his posture as he watched for the next move with bated breath.

He looked like a wounded animal. Perhaps, in a way, he was. It would certainly explain the conviction he held right now – when given the choice between death and any other option, the latter is most typically chosen. As for what he thought that other choice might be, however…

There was no clear indication. As well as no obvious reason he shouldn't just put the whelp out of his misery here and now.

"You presume much about the world around you," Noapte said in response to the ultimatum. "Most of all being the true depths of the gap between us."

Henry shrugged. "So, I take it you want to fight me first, then."

"Indeed."

Without any further preamble, their clash began.

It was as brief as it was ferocious. Henry swung first, but Noapte's enhanced physiology let him close the distance before the other could land. It forced Henry to switch from a strike to a parry, clumsy and unwieldy but just effective enough to block the strike headed his way.

His bones creaked with the force of the impact. Whatever magic lay within that artifact weapon of his, it was certainly potent, Noapte realized. Feeling a dull ache like that from just a blunt strike meant its strength was nearly equivalent with some of Măcel's weaker jabs. Impressive for a human, if still well within the tolerances of his own evolved frame.

He made a note to take things a bit more seriously on account of it. Wouldn't want to end up with any nasty bruises once this was all said and done.

He pressed the attack. This time, there simply wasn't any time for Henry to get a proper guard in place. The strange crystal in his chest flashed mere moments before Noapte's riposte sliced open his throat, sending vibrant, red blood sailing through the air. It staining the ground in thick droplets, but the arch-vampire was already leaping away from where he saw the new clone was forming.

By the time he touched down, his opponent had reformed and he could already make out a pair of similar lights starting to pulse in areas designed to catch him off guard from the flanks. Score one for the children of the night, but…

It was still rather bothersome, fighting this human in particular. He was never anywhere near capable of winning, but by the same token he was seemingly incapable of losing, either.

In a way, that made it awfully similar to the spats he'd fought with other powerful vampires, making him groan somewhat internally. Noapte really didn't want to take this fight if he didn't have to, especially since all he was actually here for was the Remnant soldiers. Perhaps there was a solution there…?

He spun around and unfurled his wings, aiming his gaze directly at the palace and the scattered defenders before it. Yes. He could see it now. The true test was not for him to beat this opponent head-on, it was to avoid the distraction entirely and break it without lifting a finger. The groundwork of the lesson had been laid before, a week ago. Now, all he had to do was follow the roadmap.

How clumsy of me not to see the lesson buried in his foolishness.

One powerful flex was all that was needed to see him airborne, soaring away from the nuisance.

His wings beat the air like heavy drums. The night held him aloft, carrying him on midnight rays as he rapidly bore down on the front gates of the palace. Overwhelming force was not what was needed, now that these soldiers had proven they had hidden teeth of their own. Right now he needed to make use of the more insidious side of his abilities.

With that in mind, he began to circulate the excess blood within him to form a small, fist-sized globule of enthrallment bile. Better to start preparing now than be caught without it once he inevitably arrived in person.

The half-living, half-dead liquid was something that took time to properly gestate. Especially when forming the first culture. Once that seed bed was planted, however, it could produce as much as was needed, and after seeing the total forces that were arrayed against him, he was certain that he would be needing plenty.

A dozen or more mages…

Noapte counted them one by one, practically salivating at the idea of enthralling them all. The amount of pure vitae he could reap from such a batch!

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

The distance began to close, and gradually more of their attention began to fall on him. Spells began to zip through the night like tracers. Bolts of flame, maybe the size of a felt tip marker and burning a healthy orange, sailing through the air at high speeds and aimed in his general direction.

Pitiful. The vast majority of the shots were completely off the mark, and even that small percentage that weren't barely even tickled. Their passing was about as noticeable as that of a mosquito: arriving rapidly in great numbers, causing mild discomfort, but ultimately failing to outpace what his passive regeneration was capable of.

The bile wriggled in his second stomach, the first signs of it beginning to breathe. He would have to wait to unleash it, sadly. One lucky firebolt now would be more than enough to turn them into plumes of greasy smoke if he wasn't careful.

He passed the median trench line undeterred, a thought occurring to him as he zipped across the 2 meter gap.

The harassment by the so-called Devil, Henry… it felt even weaker compared to the last time they had clashed. This was somewhat perplexing to him, as it seemed like at first the intent had been to draw him out so that they could kill him as one. Obviously, he hadn't let that happen, instead allowing his kin vanguard to push them back, but the mismatch made something feel a bit… off.

It didn't quite make sense. Was it supposed to be a headhunt or not? And if not-

A slight stirring of motion caught Noapte's attention out of the corner of his advanced eyesight. From the trenches directly surrounding the palace, a single elf in a grimy approximation of a uniform rose, standing shoulders height above the other men gathered and staring straight at his inbound form with a baleful glare.

He spoke no words. Only magic. His eyes began to glow with a faint yellow light, then the soldier next to him, and the one next to him as well. One by one their irises lit up, and before long, every single set was locked onto him, flickering softly like stars reflected on the surface of a still pond.

The effects were immediately obvious. Overall accuracy dramatically improved, causing nearly every firebolt cast now to land squarely somewhere on Noapte's body. The stinging sensation on his skin increased, feeling like a swarm of spiders with dull needles for legs were crawling all over him, but the discomfort was still more than bearable.

Though, he would ­definitely need to forcibly contain the bile within himself now; the pace at which the flames collided with him now resembled a concentrated jet more than the hail of stones it had before.

Worse yet, there were other risks he had to address with suboptimal counterplays. The constant stream of fire forced him to land once more or risk a hole burning through the thin membranes of his wings at an inopportune moment.

Was it a vanity decision? Absolutely, but there were practical aspects to it as well. No need to risk faceplanting like an idiot when lumbering menacingly towards them offered the same result, just a little slower.

It wouldn't be for long, at any rate. Once that elf ran out of Domain mana to channel his spell across so many people, he was home free to take to the skies once more.

Is this truly the best they can do to stop me?

The heavy thrum of an electric guitar answered Noapte's rhetorical musings.

Two more figures emerged from the trench – one slowly rising atop an ebony-white platform heavily laden with audio equipment, the other crawling out the more mundane way with a shovel in her hand. Both of them looked haggard, but equally determined to… do whatever they were about to do.

The musician continued to play, shouting nearly as loud as his own instrument.

"WHO'S READY FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF A LIFETIME?!"

His voice carried unaided, even through the crackling of embers against his own skin and the chorus of cheers that followed. "BLOODY LOVE TO HEAR IT!" one responded, slightly louder than the rest.

The musician grinned in response. "THEN GET READY FOR SOMETHING HALLOW LONDON HAS NEVER SEEN THE LIKES OF BEFORE!!"

The earth in front of him began to rumble. Actually, physically rumble, like an earthquake was localized entirely on the small patch of dirt that lay directly between himself and the arch-vampire.

Before long, those tremors turned into cracks. Those cracks turned into a mound. And from that mound… a large, claw-like skeletal hand emerged from below.

"Apologies to any reptilian fans in the crowd!" His grin reaching from ear to ear now, the musician was entirely within his element, toning things down to a more conversational tone. "We couldn't get the T-Rex skeleton from the British Museum on such short notice, but don't let that get your spirits down! We still aim to inspire tonight with our debut performer…"

A second arm emerged from below, followed by the snout of the skull and the broad shoulders of the body. Polished ivory, rows of sharpened teeth on full display.

It was a fully animate werewolf skeleton. And it stood at least a head taller than him, with shoulders possibly twice his width.

"EVERYONE GIVE IT UP FOR… GRIMM!!!"

The soldiers cheered as the wolf let out a silent howl. The flames pressuring Noapte redoubled in strength, seemingly carrying the fervor of their casters in the heat. It now took noticeable effort to put one foot in front of the other.

"BUT WAIT! WE'RE NOT DONE YET!"

The werewolf dropped to all fours, and the woman with the shovel strode up completely unafraid. From a pouch at her waist, she withdrew a small handful of green crystals, emptying the contents of the bag entirely, as roots began to snake from the ground in thick, ropy cords.

They wrapped around each of the werewolf's four limbs and enveloped them entirely, steadily snaking upward along the entire length of its frame. Layer after layer of reedy plants covered the bones, building depth, life, and a sense of presence it had lacked moments ago.

They were… forming a new body for it. To fight him.

Perhaps he had been wrong to assume that overwhelming strength would not be necessary to finish this fight. By the time the apparent Flora caster finished and promptly passed out from the exertion, the imitation werewolf cut just as much of an imposing figure as any living one.

Matter of fact, it probably had more than a few of them beat.

"GO GET 'IM, BOY!!"

Grimm howled in wild approval, no longer silent and instead bellowing a discordant roar like a demonic pan flute. With a single command, The beast closed the distance in four great bounds, leaping at Noapte with fangs bared.

As it drew close, the flames momentarily ceased – no doubt a measure to prevent their new ally from being destroyed prematurely. It provided the arch-vampire just the opportunity he needed to spring into motion once again.

Seizing the opportunity with both talons, he launched himself forward in a single explosive motion. His first goal was to see if he could get past it first, and perhaps see if eliminating the casters rendered it inert. He now understood that this was the final test that awaited him before the reward for his efforts truly arrived.

Trials within trials, this place, he mused. Truly, the Grand Design searches for only the most worthy of followers!

Something he hadn't felt in a long time began to well up inside him. A spark of excitement.

It blossomed in Noapte's cold, dead heart. Blood pounded in his ears, heavy like drums of war and urging – no, demanding that he face this head on. Those same instincts had made him into the vampire he was today, at his lowest of low points. Today, they added their voice to the chorus in full.

It had been months since that had last happened. And, should he succeed here, they promised they would never leave, and make him into a true follower of the higher cause by tomorrow. Such a reward… He had to have it, to take it for himself!

He channeled a considerable portion of his blood into one overwhelming strike, ready to turn the construct into splinters of wood and bone alike. A high-pitched keen escaped his bloodstained lips, causing the gathered onlookers to shudder at its mere presence.

THIS is the power of a true child of the night!

He punched. The aim of the strike couldn't possibly have been straighter or truer.

The impact rattled his being to its very core.

But the damage… the damage was nowhere near the level he'd been anticipating. Just before his strike landed, a thin film of nearly unseen force caught his hand.

< -|- -|- >

Henry stooped low to pick his abandoned shotgun from the ground, pausing only to sneak a quick peek at the commotion being stirred up in front of the palace. Looking at the sight made him exhale through his nose in amusement. "Was Dee holding out on me?" he wondered out loud. "This wasn't in the final draft of the plan."

He slowly limped his way towards the fray, patched up with nothing but the few bandages he had on him. As it stood, it was unclear if they'd actually need his help to handle this. Felt a bit weird to not be the one in the direct line of fire for this last stretch, he realized.

He also realized… he was more okay with the idea than he'd expected. The anxiety that normally popped up at times like these was completely absent, for some reason.

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