Elena's forehead dripped with sweat, and her eyebrows were tightly furrowed. She clenched her fists, trying desperately to shake off the paralyzing feeling, but the weight of the moment hung heavily in the air, leaving her restless and anxious. This was not how things were supposed to go. She noticed that the vampire knights who were meant to guard this room had already been killed, their bodies tossed callously to the side. "What are we supposed to do now?" she muttered, her voice strained.
After the devastating fall of the teleportation gate, Decker began to make his move, slowly advancing toward the small, trapped party. "Leonidas, you are going to die here."
Porto, sensing the imminent danger, quickly handed the Vampire Lord over to John. "Young Master, please take care of the Lord for a while. I'll go deal with that scumbag."
The vampire knight Dante had already taken his stance, gripping his sword with his right hand, his expression grim but resolute as he prepared for the battle to begin.
Leonidas looked at the vampire maid, Elena. "They will not be enough to take on Decker. You should go help them."
"Yes, my lord," Elena bowed her head and started walking forward to meet the villain head-on.
John was not happy with Leonidas's harsh decision, seeing the danger. "No, Elena, don't go!"
She turned her head to look at him but also noticed that the Vampire Lord was gazing intently at her. "I have to go, John, it's my duty to serve the Crimsons."
"But you'll die!" John pleaded.
"I won't die."
"You don't know that!"
"How can I lose when you're here with me?" Elena said with a light, confident smile, giving John a final, powerful moment of hope before turning to face the battle.
Leonidas did not say anything about their conversation, turning his head immediately to focus on the situation developing as Dante and Porto engaged with Decker.
The black-skinned vampire stood before the two loyalists. "I'll spare you two if you get out of my way."
"Die!" Dante screamed, unleashing his fury as he proceeded to attack the vampire with a downward slash of his sword. Decker's shadow instantly came out of his body and started to engage Dante. Decker looked at Porto and gestured for the vampire to come. Porto accepted the gesture and dashed toward him with rapid speed.
Their clash created a small shockwave. Porto threw a straight punch, whereby Decker responded with his own straight punch. Their resulting clash created another short shockwave, and Porto could feel the impact putting immense strain on his arm. "My arm almost snapped," Porto said, gritting his teeth, realizing the vast difference in power.
Decker immediately followed up his punch as he stretched his arm like it was elastic, his movement uncanny and sudden. He grabbed Porto's right leg and violently threw him against one of the middle pillars across the room. "You're weak," Decker stated coldly, walking toward the stunned Porto, who was still on the ground.
But out of nowhere, Elena came racing in, using the opportunity to strike. She delivered a sharp, powerful kick to the dark-skinned vampire in the center of his back, sending him flying past the pillar and crashing against the wall. "Porto, get up!" Elena urgently encouraged the butler vampire to stand up.
While Elena and Porto kept Decker busy, Dante was facing the shadow clone. The vampire knight used his sword to deliver multiple slashes, but each time the clone managed to keep its distance and easily dodge the attacks. "How do I kill this bastard?" he muttered in frustration. The dark shadow clone suddenly stretched out its hand and fired a dark energy ball from its palm. This caught the vampire knight off guard. "Shit!" Dante quickly used his sword to block the dark energy ball.
"What the hell is this power?" The energy ball violently pushed the vampire back. Dante struggled, looking at his sword, which began to crack under the force. "No!" He then channeled his power as his eyes' pupils turned red and dark veins appeared under his eyelids. With this new added strength, he managed to deflect the energy ball into one of the pillars on the left, causing a huge chunk of the pillar to be destroyed.
Decker noticed the destruction and yelled at his construct. "Stop that, you idiot!" The dark shadow clone only shrugged its shoulders before aggressively attacking the vampire knight again.
Elena then used the Blood Step technique as she dashed with incredible speed toward the dark-skinned vampire, but he decided to do the same, executing the Blood Step technique as well. This was rather unfortunate for the vampire maid, as Decker was significantly faster. As he got near Elena, his nails instantly extended, delivering a vicious slash toward her face. Blood splattered on the floor as deep gashes covered her face. He quickly used this opportunity to knock her sword out of her hand.
John's heart almost stopped as he saw her retreating, noticing the blood on the floor and dripping down her clothes.
Leonidas, sensing John's terror, struggled to speak words of necessary cruelty and resolve. "You must be strong, boy. They are fighting for the sake of our clan."
"I know," John grit his teeth. "I wish I was stronger. It's so hard standing here on the sidelines," he thought.
"I know how you feel, boy. As you know, at the moment I'm also weak, but we must have faith that they will defeat Decker."
"Do you really think that is possible, old man?"
Leonidas did not say anything, his eyes merely gazing intently at the desperate battle taking place. Porto re-entered the fight. Decker was busy pummelling Elena in the face continually; her face was stained with blood. Porto filled his fist with Spiritual force and aimed for the dark-skinned vampire's ribs, knocking the vampire away from Elena.
"Hey, are you okay?" he quickly asked her while breathing heavily.
She felt that the Warrior's Rage Potion effect was starting to fade. "We must end this battle quickly; I won't be much use the longer this battle drags."
"I have never faced someone so strong. But our lord is weak right now, he is depending on us. We cannot let him down."
Elena looked toward the direction of Leonidas, but her eyes were fixed on John, and she found her resolve. "Yeah, we cannot let them down." She also breathed heavily.
"Are you ready?" Porto asked Elena while she got herself together. Both of their bodies were screaming in pain.
"Let's kill this fu*ker."
They both dashed towards Decker. The dark-skinned vampire grinned as he blocked both of their kicks. "Weaklings." He then kicked Elena, sending her crashing against the wall. "You bastard!" Porto yelled, but before he could do anything, he felt a cold hand grab his neck. Decker looked past Porto, directing his words at the paralyzed figure. "Is this all you got for me, Leonidas?!"
He then felt something pierce his back. "What?" It was the vampire knight Dante. "Uh, what did you do to my clone?"
"I removed his head from his shoulder," Dante said, gasping for breath, confirming the Shadow Clone was momentarily neutralized.
Porto used this chance to quickly escape Decker's grasp.
"Good, good," Decker said, feigning approval. He then grabbed the sword that was stabbed through his back with his right hand. "You missed my heart. You should have aimed for the head." Decker's hand bled because of the sharpness of the sword. And in an instant, he snapped the sword's blade.
In a blur, the dark-skinned vampire turned around and stabbed the broken blade into the vampire's neck. Dante fell on his knees; blood leaked from his mouth. He looked up and saw Decker staring at him with an evil grin before delivering a final kick to his face.
"I really thought that we won the battle, old man," John said to his grandfather, his voice filled with despair.
"When this is all said and done, I am going to put him through a training that he will never forget," Leonidas muttered, his eyes burning with furious, cold resolve.
Elena in the meantime ran toward the bodies of the dead vampire knights and took two of their swords. She rushed and tossed one of the swords in her left hand to Porto. "Thank you, Miss. Elena, let us do our best."
Both ran toward Decker and slashed at him at the same time, but Decker managed to retreat, easily dodging the simultaneous strikes. "Come back here, you vermin!" Porto yelled, filled with defiance.
"A mere servant dares to call me vermin?" Decker mocked, his hand shooting out like a viper, striking toward Porto.
However, Elena used this chance to deliver a precise downward slash, slicing Decker's arm clean off. Black liquid instantly oozed onto the ground where the limb fell. "You fu*king bitch!" Decker roared.
Decker retracted his severed arm, and it began to heal immediately, the dark flesh knitting itself back together in a grotesque blur. Elena continued her advance on Decker, holding the sword in both hands. The female vampire unleashed multiple strikes. Yet, the dark-skinned vampire dodged all her strikes and waited for the perfect moment to counter, whereby his dark shadow clone came rushing out of his body with a fast and powerful punch, sending the vampire maid flying back.
"Uh, I can't waste time anymore with you lot. Time to wrap this up." Decker declared, his voice cold and final.
Dante, at this time, had already removed the piece of broken blade from his neck. He picked up his sword and made his way to where Porto and Elena were standing. All three vampires were battered, in pain, and breathing heavily.
"Get ready, you two, looks like he is about to get serious."
Decker spread his arms wide, his eyes starting to glow a fierce red as his spirit force began to rise, his muscles bulging little by little under his damaged clothing. "He is powering up. I suggest we do the same," Dante said while he, too, released his full power. Elena and Porto immediately did the same as all three vampires' eye irises turned a deep, burning crimson red and dark veins started to protrude from under their eyes.
"Listen, I will lead the assault by attacking him from the front. Butler, you will get him from behind," the vampire knight said. He then took a glance at the vampire maid. "Maid, you will get him from below. Understood?"
"Understood," both vampires said in unison, their voices heavy with determination.
"Follow me."
Dante sprinted forward with his sword in hand. "Time to die, you foul demon!"
Decker stood still, spreading out his arms as if welcoming a friend. "I will take that as a compliment."
Porto used Blood Step as he ran around the dark-skinned vampire. Elena came from the side. John and his grandfather were watching from the sidelines. His heart was beating heavily within his chest, hammering against his ribs. Leonidas, on the other hand, hoped for a miracle, but all the experiences he had accumulated throughout the years had taught him to predict certain situations—and this was one of them. He had foreseen that all three vampires who were fighting against Decker were going to die.
As the three vampires reached their enemy, a dark shadow clone instantly walked out of Decker's back to block Porto's attack. Decker then quickly shot a dark energy ball attack toward the vampire maid, sending her flying. Dante hurriedly made the decision not to hold back and continued his advance, thrusting his sword, aiming to directly pierce the dark-skinned vampire. "Phantom Pierce!"
The attack was fast, but little did Dante know that the dark-skinned vampire had already used his dark energy to reinforce his right hand. The sword headed straight for his heart, and Decker was fully aware of Dante's intention. He shifted his body a little to the side, allowing the sword to miss his heart by a crucial inch.
"Yes, he killed him! It went straight through his heart!" John was screaming with sudden, desperate joy, thinking the fight was over.
"Why are you celebrating, boy? It's not over," Leonidas stated, his voice flat and controlled, reflecting his cold, strategic certainty.
"What do you mean, old man? Are you blind? Did the knight not just stab the guy through his heart. Is a vampire's weakness not his heart?" John demanded, his brief moment of celebration shattered.
"No, you're correct, a vampire's weakness is his heart, but unfortunately for the knight, he slightly missed it," Leonidas stated, his voice devoid of emotion.
As the sword sliced through Decker's chest, he quickly grabbed and held onto Dante's arm with his left hand. "Let me show you how to impale someone properly."
Dante was shocked as the dark-skinned vampire grabbed hold of his arm. In that split second, he thought of his wife and his baby girl. "Alice my wife, I'm sorry I won't be able to return by your side. Please take care of our baby girl, Joy."
Decker then struck his right hand, his fingertips sharpened into lethal talons, through the vampire knight's chest, destroying his heart in the process. The dark-skinned vampire then secretly ordered his shadow clone to move in stealth beneath his feet, slithering along the floors like a snake. Nobody noticed the shadow moving, traveling with great speed until it neared the base of the stairs.
As Dante fell to the ground, Decker grinned, his eyes fixed directly towards Leonidas and John's direction. "It's time to die." He then walked toward them, his pure bloodlust filling the room.
John's eyes stretched, and his heart was racing. "Come at me, you bastard!"
"Boy, are you stupid? You don't stand a chance against him. We need to run," Leonidas said, watching his enemy's approach.
"Wait. You want me to leave the others here alone?"
"Yes, we will only hold them back."
"No, I can't. I can't leave Elena alone." John closed his eyes, fighting the tears from falling.
"You must, Young Master John."
John opened his eyes and saw Elena getting back to her feet, her body screaming with pain. "You must leave."
"But I just got back to you," John whispered, heartbroken.
"I know. We will see each other again. I promise."
A loud explosion then could be heard in the background, but Decker did not flinch; he continued his walk toward Leonidas. "Oh, how touching. I will kill you both so that you can be together forever." Decker laughed as he advanced.
"Go, Young Master!" Elena said as she rushed toward Decker. Porto followed her lead. He attacked from the right and Elena attacked from the left, a final, desperate sacrifice to buy time.
John turned around and rushed toward the stairs that led to the exit, whipping his tears with his left hand. "Please don't die on me, Elena," he thought desperately.
John was running for a few seconds before reaching the foot of the stairs, but then something was already waiting for them.
Decker had already knocked Elena and Porto away and looked at his prey from afar. "I'm sorry, but I will not allow you to leave."
John backed up slowly as Decker's shadow clone walked ever closer toward them. He looked toward the exit. "Hey, old man, do you have any ideas?"
"No. I guess we are going to die."
"You good for nothing old man!"
John quickly looked at the menacing shadow clone with a wry smile, trying to bluff his way out. "Look, Mr. dark Decker. Can you please, pretty please get out of the way?"
"Idiot."
"Wachu say?"
"I said you're an idiot."
"How am I an idiot?"
The dark shadow clone then raised its arms out to grab John. The young vampire boy shrieked, "Help!" It was not long before the shadow clone froze in place. John was confused for a moment until he saw a hand coming out from the dark shadow clone's chest.
"The Young Master asked you nicely, sir. Now if you don't want to get out of the way, then I guess I have to make a way."
Rebecca struck her other arm through the shadow clone's body and ripped its body in two. John was utterly shocked. "Whaat?"
Leonidas sported a light, pleased smile. "Good, good."
Rebecca lightly bowed. "Rebecca, at your service, my lord."
"Head Maid Rebecca, thank you for coming. Go and help the others, we are going to escape."
"As your wish, my lord."
"Miss Rebecca," John called out.
The Head Maid looked at the young boy. "Please be careful."
She smiled faintly. "This one will try, Young Master."
Rebecca quickly made her presence known and appeared next to Elena. The maid was happy to see her senior here to help them, but also profoundly sad, as this meant that they were all going to die here. "Head Maid Rebecca, thank you for coming, but we are facing an enemy like no other," Porto said as he also came near the two females.
"I am aware that we are facing a powerful opponent, but if I can't defeat him, then I will do my best to buy the Lord enough time to escape, and I suggest you do the same." Rebecca's voice was utterly calm and decisive.
Porto and Elena both took a glance at each other. "We will do our best, Head Maid Rebecca," Porto said. "I will attack him from the right."
"Then I will attack him from the left," Elena said, resolute.
"That leaves me to attack his front."
All three vampires immediately executed their plan. This was not the first time they had tried this coordinated tactic. Dante had died using it, but this time the Head Maid was taking charge. Decker used his dark shadow clone again to hold off Porto. He then tried to use another dark energy ball, but before he could fire it off, he noticed something unexpected.
The Maid Rebecca was incredibly fast, meeting him head-on and striking the middle of his face with a powerful straight punch. The dark-skinned vampire was sent hurtling to the back. She then rushed at him, not giving him a moment to recover. She quickly seized her opponent's ankles with a vice-like grip. In one fluid motion, she spun Carlos around, using the momentum to generate a powerful whirl. The air crackled with energy as she released the hold, flinging the dark-skinned vampire across the room. What Carlos did not know is that two vampires were already waiting for him. Both Porto and Elena attacked at the same time. Porto first attacked with a downward punch while Elena followed suit with a devastating kick to the dark-skinned vampire's mid-section.
Blood splurged from Carlos's mouth as he spun through the air. Leonidas looked at the situation and did not react, knowing this was only a temporary reprieve. Porto, who was near Decker, chose to remain in the fight and attack the vampire again.
"Let us go, boy." John did not say anything but was elated, seeing the tables turn for a second time. He then headed up the stairs with his grandfather.
Decker fell to the ground with a sickening thud and saw Leonidas leave on the young vampire's back up the stairs. A quick flash of his daughter appeared in his mind, and his rage was instantly ignited.
As Porto reached Decker, the dark-skinned vampire's arm extended and swung through the air like a whip. The vampire butler stood still for a terrifying moment. Elena was in shock while the Head Maid kept a calm composure. Porto's head fell to the floor, and blood sprayed from his neck.