Chapter 162 [Blood Of Fallen] [18]
Chapter 162 [Blood Of Fallen] [18]
"Amun-Ra's blessing: third form: Iksna."
Azariah whispered, exhaling the misty breath softly.
A redeeming burst of energy escaped from his body.
With him as the center, an invisible half-sphere emerged around him, just a few meters in diameter.
The sphere matched his heartbeat, beating at the same time.
Azariah exhaled softly; the mana inside his body vanished instantly but started to slowly absorb the mana from the surroundings within the sphere.
He turned and glanced at Faye, softly landing on the ground.
He looked at his hand, only having the chain bound to his left hand and no other weapons.
"This will work as well."
He mumbled before wrapping the chain around his arm.
Turning around, he looked at Christina, who stood just outside the sphere's range.
*Assist me if needed, but do not try to come close to me,"Azariah firmly instructed, looking at her.
She opened her mouth to rebuke, but in the end, silently nodded.
Azariah took a step, walking towards Faye.
"I will not hold back, boy," Faye whispered, her claws extending. "You might actually die."
"And you think your goddess will let you live after that?" Azariah questioned, tilting his head.
Though he didn't know what she wanted from him, he did know that she wanted him alive.
That alone was enough for him to put pressure on her.
"We will see about that," Faye replied, squinting her eyes at him.
"...Andarnaur's second ring."Azariah whispered as he rushed towards Faye.
Four small purple orbs with a needle attached to them emerged around him. Extending his right hand, he grabbed one of them.
Faye's body blurred, reaching out for one of her own men.
"M-Ma'am."
A man stuttered, finding her standing in front of him. Before he could think more, she ripped his throat out.
She turned his body upside down, letting the blood fall to the ground.
As Azariah rushed in, she waved her hand. The blood on the ground trembled violently before turning into hundreds of spikes.
They rushed towards Azariah all at once.
Loosening the grip around the chain, Azariah jerked his hand, using the chain as a whip.
And as soon as the spikes entered the sphere around him, they halted in place before turning back into blood and falling to the ground.
Like the thing that bound them had vanished from within.
'Is this the reason my lady wants him?'
Faye wondered, looking at him with amusement, before Azariah reached close to her.
And as soon as she entered within the sphere, she immediately felt it. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The restraint in her body.
She could control her body without any problem, but the energy, like mana, felt constrained, making it hard to go all out.
Azariah jerked his hand, the chain whipping at her.
She used her claws to parry it.
Azariah darted in again, Christina following his every movement while she took care of those assailants.
He moved in from the side, running as Faye's claws whistled through the air and crunched down on him.
He ducked, ran at her back, and leaped, stabbing the orb's needle into her back. It vanished within her body. Azariah heard the sound of metal on his ribs, sending him sprawling.
"Argh."
He groaned, halted, and looked up at Faye, her claw mark on his ribs dug deep.
"Az!"
He heard Christina's scream, but instead of looking at her, he darted towards Faye again, grabbing another orb.
Using the chain, he whipped it towards her leg; she sidestepped, avoiding it.
"Az!"
Shouts, another scream drew his attention before a boy crashed into him, and they both fell to the ground.
"Argh."
They both groaned, quickly standing up.
"The fuck are you doing?" Azariah snarled, glaring at him.
"Shut up, peasant,"Oliver replied, glaring at him before turning around. "That bloodsucker is more of a pain than I thought."
"Can you handle him?" Azariah asked, turning around to look at Faye.
"Daphne is helping, but of course I could handle him alone," Oliver replied, grinning, opening the portal, and walking in.
He blinked, and Faye stood in front of him, a knee to his ribs sending him flying.
'She isn't holding back.'
He thought, gasping for breath.
Even after being restrained to half her strength around him, she was still powerful enough.
Faye emerged beside him again, and as she extended her clawed hand, Azariah pushed the orb's needle within her palm.
The orb melted, entering her body.
"Whatever you are doing isn't working," Faye commented, a mocking smile on her face. "On the contrary, it's making me stronger."
Another kick rushed at his ribs. He sidestepped, using the chain to loop around her leg before grabbing another orb and lodging it deep in her leg.
"Argh."
Faye extended her hand, grabbing his hair, pulling him up, and whirling around, she threw his body.
He remained extended in the air before a crackle of electricity flicked in his ear.
Christina caught him mid-air before landing, making sure her sword didn't hurt him. She asked, "Are you alright?"
But she quickly noticed her energy draining, including her mana, making her weak.
"I am alright," Azariah replied, pushing her out of the sphere's range. "Stay away for now."
But she didn't listen; instead, she rushed towards Faye.
"Idiot!" Azariah yelled before darting after her.
Using both her swords, she swung them at her face. Faye stepped back before grabbing her arm, intent on breaking it.
Rotating her other hand, Christina sliced Faye's arm with her sword, breaking free.
The next instant, Azariah rushed in, grabbing her sliced hand before pricking it with the last orb's needle.
Propelling back with Christina, he threw her arm back. She grabbed it before reattaching it.
A sense of calm washed over her, like she had been regenerated, making her gasp.
"What did you do, boy?" Faye asked, tilting her head. "Are you trying to coax me with this?"
She focused once again on her body, feeling better every passing second. As if she had her goddess herself watching over her.
"You know," he whispered softly, trying to catch his breath, a smile lingering on his face, "anything related to Taishareth is the greatest blessing and curse for the vampires."
Faye's expression hardened as she heard the name of the goddess worshipped by vampires. She whispered in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Azariah drew in a deep breath as he whispered, "I sacrifice her soul in the name of goddess Taishareth."
Faye's eyes rolled back as she fell helplessly.
"Az!!"
And the same happened to Azariah as well, as he knelt on the ground, with no pupils in his eyes.
---
Faye's eyes fluttered open, her head pounding with unimaginable pain.
She snapped her head around, finding herself in an eerie environment with dried black lands and no stars in the open sky.
Dead bodies of thousands of little girls decorated the ground in spirals.
Long red thorny plants with twisted human mouths were feeding on those bodies.
But everything looked upside down to her.
She looked down, finding herself bound and hanging upside down.
"Where is this?" She whispered, her voice filled with fear.
"WHERE AM I?!" She screamed, trying to break free but finding it impossible to do so.
"Shhh."
She heard a whisper, her head slowly turning to the sound.
The human heads of those thorny plants now stood below her, mouths wide open, saliva dripping through their mouths.
Fear crept within her as those mouths reached to eat her face.
"A sacrifice?"
A voice echoed in her head, making her entire mind numb.
Her vision blurred, and her head moved, finding a purple-haired boy standing in front of a—goddess.
'No, she isn't real.'
Faye thought, glancing at her loosing her mind in process.
An otherworldly face with a pale body draped in a robe, her back was decorated with feathered wings of glossy onyx, arcing gracefully away from the muscles of her upper back.
Elegant hands were tipped with long, slender nails of glossy onyx, touching the boy's face.
"You brought a sacrifice?"
She asked again, her black nails moving to touch his face, drawing blood as they moved.
The boy nodded, his voice barely audible, "Yes."
"Are you Andarnaur's ring holder?" She asked again, her wings continuing to cut through his face.
Again, the boy could only nod his head as he whispered, "Yes."
"You are using my divinity?" She asked again, scratching his neck. "How can you do that?"
"I don't know." Azariah replied, unable to move his body even a little in her presence.
His mind was already at the point of breaking just from glancing at her.
"...I know you," the goddess whispered again, peeling the skin around his neck. "You saved my Vessel once, right?"
"..."
Azariah remained silent, making her smile.
A dark, deadly, maniacal smile.
"I refuse the sacrifice," she whispered, grabbing Azariah by the neck, her bright green orb-like eyes staring into him.
"I am your divinity, so I can't kill you, but know this: I don't like being used."
She threw his body aside before looking at Faye.
The smile still lingered on her face.
A smile that broke Faye's mind.
She parted her lips and whispered, "Go berserk."