It was the mark of any half-decent mage to always have a good landing strategy at the ready.

  Some controlled the wind to create a pillowy cushion of air, others always carried around enchanted shrunken broomsticks in their pockets. Those with a deeper mastery of magic could nullify their very momentum, take unaided flight in defiance of gravity, or even simply twist the fabrics of space and teleport themselves to the ground.

  Levi, for his part, had all three techniques under his belt. He was a personal fan of nullifying his own momentum, as it allowed for some rather striking entrances. Hey, after the years he’d spent as Death’s servant, it was only natural for some of Death’s flair for the dramatic to rub off on him. The other two methods had their upsides to them as well.

  However, as he fell through the air, he opted to not use any of them. It was an instinctual, automatic choice, one that had confused him at first. After a few seconds of contemplation, during which he fell another several dozen meters, he realized the reason why.

  If there was one lesson his time spent as Death’s servant had taught him, it was the utter sanctity of innocent life, and what it meant to violate it.

  So now, seeing the one responsible for the village’s indiscriminate slaughter looking up at him with a wide, savage smile on his face…

  Levi wasn’t very pleased about that.

  Magic exploded from his form, so dense and powerful that it made the surrounding air distort and shimmer. He gritted his teeth as he shaped and condensed the magic, his emotions tremendously amplifying the power but also making the control more difficult. He was used to it, though, and he exerted his iron resolve over his magic, bringing it under his will.

  Then, when he was only about a hundred meters away from the vampire, he let out a resounding roar.

  The skies responded. With a deafening roar of its own, a massive pillar of flames a hundred feet wide blasted downward, so blisteringly hot it caused the surrounding air to distort and shimmer.

  Instead of looking perturbed or even slightly worried, the vampire simply laughed in delight as he raised a single hand at the approaching flames. An enormous wall of blood rose up to block the flames, imbued with an immense amount of defensive magic.

  A horrendous screech sounded out as the flames crashed into the crimson shield. The vampire smiled – only for his eyes to widen in shock as the blood was instantly vaporized at the point of contact with the searing inferno, billowing plumes of red steam hissing outward angrily.

  “What–?!”

  The pillar of flames slammed into the vampire a moment later, swallowing him up completely. He disappeared from view, and whatever screams he might have released were fully drowned out by the mighty roar of the swirling inferno.

  Levi hit the ground a few feet away from the circle of fiery destruction, the flames still continuously blasting down from the skies above. He hadn’t bothered cancelling his momentum; the recoil of his attack had reduced most of his speed, and his reinforcement had absorbed the rest of the impact.

  He stood there waiting, observing the fiery conflagration in front of him. He had poured a staggering amount of mana into the flames, enough to instantly vaporize a small lake. Despite the scorching heat, not a single bead of sweat trickled down his forehead.

  Then, from within the pillar of flames shot forward a thin lance of crimson faster than the eye could blink.

  Levi merely tilted his head, the stream of blood piercing past him harmlessly. The blood then swiped to the left, but he had already anticipated it, dropping low to the ground as it passed by above. Behind him, several buildings toppled to the ground, having been sliced cleanly in half–

  A flicker of magic within the stream of blood caught his eye, and Levi immediately stomped on the ground.

  “What happened to water beating fire–?” A voice sounded from behind Levi, but cut off abruptly with a choked gurgle as spikes speared upward from the ground.

  He turned around to see the vampire impaled upon the earthen stakes he’d summoned; his True Sight had successfully analyzed and penetrated the function of the magic permeating the blood, allowing him to preempt the vampire’s translocation. Five spikes had shot upward and three had landed; one transfixed the vampire’s heart, the other its left lung, and the final one its liver. The fourth had nearly pierced the vampire’s head, but the vampire had dodged in time, his white-blonde hair still swaying slightly.

  Levi didn’t waste any time, unleashing several Sever and Cleaves. The vampire reacted instantly, swinging down his forearm and breaking through the magically reinforced earthen spikes like twigs. He leaped up into the air a moment later to dodge the blades of magic, apparently heedless of the lethal wounds inflicted upon his body.

  The reason why became clear a moment later as the gaping holes in his body filled with blood before healing completely, becoming unblemished flesh a second later.

  Levi narrowed his eyes. Highly regenerative properties capable of shrugging off mortal wounds. The vampire must’ve healed from the burns as well. Surprisingly, the vampire’s clothes weren’t burned at all; they must’ve been woven from some fire resistant thread. Levi instantly absorbed this new information and adapted his strategy accordingly.

  Against enemies with inhuman regeneration, his best bet was to cut their lines of death with a Sever and Cleave; it was impossible to heal from being overcome by the attribute of death. However, with how fast the vampire was moving, he doubted he’d be able to even hit him. He needed to somehow incapacitate or immobilize the vampire first.

  “Against normal flames, a wall of blood might’ve been enough to block it,” Levi said, finally responding to the vampire’s earlier question. “But against me… You might want to find an ocean.”

  With that, he twisted his hand and a thin lance of lightning shot forward, splitting into dozens of branches that curved through the air and pursued the vampire like homing missiles. All the regeneration in the world couldn’t stop the paralysis that came from the nervous system being overwhelmed with millions of volts of electricity.

  The vampire became a blur of movement as he dashed across the ruins of the village, the living lightning crackling after at his heels. It kept on expanding as well; dozens of branches became hundreds, until the air was so dense with plasma tendrils that it was downright blinding to look at.

  Soon, the vampire seemed to realize that he was neither going to outrun the lightning, nor was the attack going to fizzle out on its own. Changing tactics, he suddenly turned on his heel and barreled straight toward Levi.

  Oh? That was a bold decision. Levi let the lightning die down and

  Slashing his hands across the air, he fired off multiple Sever and Cleaves at the rapidly approaching vampire. However, despite running forward in a straight line, the vampire was able to dodge every one. He leaped over the first, contorted his body in an incredible display of flexibility to avoid the next, before dropping low to the ground and gliding across the earth to bypass the triple Sever and Cleaves above him. He lurched back to his feet without skipping a beat, and before Levi knew it, the vampire was right in front of him.

  “Not bad!” the vampire laughed, his eyes glinting scarlet. “You’re pretty damn good!”

  Levi was forced to leap backward as the vampire punched down with a fist coated with hardened blood. The attack struck the ground instead, causing fissures to crack outward. Then, the blood that coated the fist rippled and turned into liquid, spilling onto the ground and snaking toward Levi. Levi leaped back again as he blasted the blood away with a gust of wind.

  “Who are you?” the vampire asked. “Don’t you know it’s rude to attack someone before introducing yourself?”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Levi raised an eyebrow. “You believe you deserve civility?” An immense pressure exploded forth from him. The air suddenly became suffocating to breathe as his magic spilled out, and the vampire’s eyes widened in shock at its sheer potency. “To slaughter all these people, to have such a complete disregard for innocent lives…”

  “Innocent lives?” the vampire scoffed. “Please, spare me the drivel. The only thing that matters in this world is power and the ability to wield it. The people of this village were weak, and that’s why they died!”

  With that final word, he brought his hands together in a reverberant clap and a small condensed sphere of blood no larger than a marble swirled into existence at the tip of his fingers. Then, a massive torrent of blood blasted forward at such high pressure it pushed the vampire back several feet, a rotating crimson jet eight feet in diameter.

  Unlike before, Levi didn’t dodge. Instead, he fired off rapid Sever and Cleaves one after another, his magic slicing into the vampire’s attack. Droplets of blood splattered the ground between them as Levi’s Sever and Cleaves met the vampire’s continuous jet of blood.

  The vampire laughed. “You’re really going to take my [Hemorrhage Cannon] head-on?” Blood bulged and gushed from his hands, the stream widening and thickening as he pumped more power into his attack. “You sure you have enough mana for that?”

  Levi didn’t respond. Instead, his magic rolled and heaved like the ocean itself as he increased his rate of casting, multiple Sever and Cleaves blasting forward every second. First three, then six, then twelve.

  Slowly, the vampire’s smile faltered as his stream of blood was gradually pushed back by the nonstop onslaught of Sever and Cleaves. The confidence in his crimson eyes was replaced first by confusion, then a sudden worry as instead of slowing down or fizzling out, Levi’s Sever and Cleaves became only faster and stronger with every cast.

  Sweat poured down his face as he channeled more magic and blood into his attack, but it was futile. However, for some reason, he didn’t end his stream of blood. Instead, the vampire’s face split in a wild smile as he doubled down and continued to meet Levi’s attack head-on, even as the Sever and Cleaves grew nearer and nearer.

  “Extraordinary!” the vampire laughed. “Oh, how I wish we could continue this fight. However, I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

  “Has there now?” Levi asked. “That’s quite unfortunate.” By now, the Sever and Cleaves were only a few inches away from the vampire. “Oh well–”

  There was a flicker of darkness before the ground between them exploded upward from some unknown attack. Levi and Syto both immediately cut off their attacks, leaping backward to gain distance.

  Levi frowned and turned to the side. “Why did you interrupt?”

  “Alrighty,” Qorbin said, materializing into existence. “How about we take a step back before we have an international incident on our hands?” He grinned. “Because between you and me, I do not want to deal with the paperwork that comes with all that.”

  At the sound of ‘paperwork’, Levi twitched slightly. “Why?”

  “Because I don’t think that vampire was the one to massacre this village.”

  Levi paused. “Truly?

  “Truly.”

  “...”

  “...”

  “Oh.”

  Across from them, the vampire was glaring at Qorbin.

  “Ravenbane…”

  Levi looked between the two. “You two know each other?”

  Qorbin grunted. “Unfortunately. His name’s Syto. We’ve had the displeasure of meeting before on the battlefield. Multiple times. ”

  “The current score is three to four. My favor, of course.” Syto smiled. “But who’s counting?”

  “Three to four? I won the last battle, you–” Qorbin stopped, shaking his head. “No, I’m not doing this again.”

  “How do you know he wasn’t the one to kill all these people?” Levi asked, keeping his gaze locked on Syto.

  “Because, as much as I hate to say it, he’s one of the few vampires who don’t sustain themselves on human blood.”

  Levi blinked, looking over at Qorbin. “What?”

  “I used to be a human turned into a vampiric thrall,” Syto said helpfully. “Over the years, I was able to regain my sentience and attain freedom. I’ve since become a fully-fledged vampire, but I still remember my roots. Drinking human blood is rather disgusting.”

  “I see… But if you didn’t kill the people of this village, then why did you say all those things about them being too weak?”

  Syto shrugged. “Because they were?” Levi’s eyes narrowed, and to his satisfaction Syto hesitated. “It would’ve taken too long to resolve the misunderstanding, and I didn’t think you would’ve believed me anyway. Besides…” He smiled. “I got pretty bored looking for clues. I wanted a good fight.”

  Levi nodded after a moment, accepting the answer. “Fair enough.”

  Oops. He might have jumped to conclusions a little too quickly again. In his defense, the situation had looked pretty damning. Ah well. It wasn’t his first time doing so, and while he’d like to say otherwise, it probably wouldn’t be his last. The memory of the beginning of his conversation with Death in the teahouse came to mind.

  “What are you doing here, Syto?” Qorbin asked.

  “What do you think? We heard about the string of massacres that occurred. We didn’t care much at first, until we received new intel that a bloodless corpse was found in one of the villages. The Vampiric Lords sent me to investigate.”

  “Still doing their dirty work, huh?”

  Syto snorted. “Like you have any right to talk. The Church send you here?”

  “No, the Adventurer’s Guild, actually.”

  “Pathetic. At least I only serve one set of lords. Between the Church, the Guild, and the Royal Crown, you serve three.”

  “I don’t serve any, for your information. They asked for my assistance, and I chose to help.”

  “Sure you did.”

  Qorbin narrowed his eyes. “On second thought, maybe I shouldn’t have saved you from getting diced into a thousand little pieces. Go on, Levi. Sic ‘em.”

  “Saved me?” Syto bared his fangs menacingly. “I had things well under control. Your interference was both unnecessary and unwelcome.”

  Qorbin snorted. “Well under control? Please, you were two seconds away from experiencing what it feels like to be caught in a blender–”

  “Why didn’t the Church send anyone?” Levi asked Qorbin. To his knowledge, the Church specialized in hunting down dark creatures like vampires.

  Qorbin shrugged. “They were going to send a priestess out, but the higher-ups stopped them. This situation required a more, ah, delicate touch.”

  Syto nodded. “If I were facing a Church priestess right now, then we would end up fighting to the death no matter what, even if she knew I was not the one responsible. The Church is a zealous lot, to say the least. Still, to think your higher-ups needed a delicate touch, yet they sent you…” He shook his head. “This is why Luminarche nearly lost the last war.”

  “Sorry, what was that? I can’t hear you over the sound of my teammate cutting down an Old Vampiric Lord without receiving a single scratch in return.”

  Syto’s eyes narrowed. “You dare–?”

  “So the massacres truly weren’t Arcedia’s doing?” Qorbin said, his tone suddenly serious.

  Syto composed himself. “They weren’t,” he said, nodding. “We are well aware of how this looks from the outside, but I give you my word it truly wasn’t us this time. The Lords suspect either a rogue vampire or some third party attempting to stir trouble. That’s why they sent me to investigate.”

  “Let me guess,” Qorbin said. “They also needed a delicate touch?”

  Syto smirked. “No, they needed someone strong and intelligent.”

  “And they sent you instead… This is why Arcedia did lose the last war.”

  In a flash, Syto’s blood extended out from his wrist like a blade. “You want to say that again?”

  Qorbin’s sword materialized in his hand. “You heard me, old pal.”

  They stared each other down, the tension in the air growing thick as Levi and Liliya watched from the sidelines, utterly engrossed.

  Before Qorbin could finish what Levi had started earlier, Levi decided to step forward.

  “Anyway,” he said, drawing their attention. He looked at Qorbin. “If the vampires aren’t responsible for the massacres, then do you think it’s them?”

  Qorbin grunted but lowered his sword. “Perhaps. It very well could be.”

  “Who is them?” Syto asked, his blood turning to liquid and getting sucked back into his wrist. Levi watched the process with a look of morbid fascination.

  “Nothing you have to worry about,” Qorbin said. “Anyway…” He sighed. “I feel like I’m going to regret this, but if we’re both investigating the same thing…” He seemed to age a decade, looking as though he were sucking a particularly sour lemon. “Would you like to team up?”

  “I think I’d rather kill myself,” said Syto.

  “You motherfucker–”

  “That being said…” Syto turned to Levi. “You are strong,” he said. “I can respect that. Would you like to join forces to investigate this unfortunate series of events?”

  Levi’s eyes flickered with amusement even as Qorbin looked on in outrage.

  “Sure. Why not?”