Born in Blood



Liam grimaced hearing those words. 

There had to be some sort of sensing ability that came with a Rank 3 Nexus, or something that had to do with the Blooder's Blood Arts. 

Over the past two days, the group had slowly killed off the vampires one by one, taking them by surprise. It wasn't easy, but they came prepared. 10 different Nexus's were stored in Liam's ring, preserved in special containers for later study. 

Some of them had coughed up the base layouts and trap locations, which helped greatly in taking down the following enemies. 

After killing the last one, they had finally decided to take the final Rank 3 vampire. 

Although Liam would have attacked close-up as soon as he was noticed, he was cautious around a higher ranked species. Rin and Nord almost attempted to burst forward at the vampire, but Liam's mental relay stopped them.

"Are you waiting for me to force you out?" Vxich's cold eyes scoured the large spire hall adorned by medieval-like furniture.

Six pillars made from blood-wood held up the ceiling and the spire above it, behind which they hid.

To test the vampire's strength, Liam shot an Umbral Needle at his flank.

The vampire made a small gesture with his finger. A hardened wall of blood intercepted the spell and its noxious smoke.

[Fire,] Liam's mental transmission reached Rin, Nord, Gerald and Nessa. 

Simultaneously, everyone began shooting their spells from different angles. 

Nessa took out a potion containing yellowish gas and threw it forward. 

Upon impact, the glass exploded and began to expand, rising in heat before surging into red flames.

Gerald finally finished casting his spell. Tendrils of obsidian earth formed a large boulder that shot towards the vampire. He looked exhausted from doing that, 

[Stop.]

Liam didn't think the same tactic they used would work against a complete Rank 3 vampire, but what they saw made deep scowls form on their faces.

A large sphere of blood encasing the vampire absorbed all the hits and brushed them off like nothing happened. It was both hardened and liquidized at once, the surface of which rippled slightly. 

Liam's eye widened as he saw the sphere gather concentration onto thousands of little spots.

[Take cover!] 

The sphere shattered into a flurry of arm-sized spikes before Liam could complete his relay, shooting in random directions with unbelievable speed. 

Liam ducked behind the wooden pillar right before spikes poked holes in his body. Even the pillar behind him was getting splintered by the rapid barrage.

On one side of the room, Rin, Niveh and Nord looked fine, but some of the spikes grazed their skin and drew blood.

On the other, Nessa and Gerald were much worse – the former's hand got impaled before she got to safety, forcing out a yelp from her, and the latter had a spike tear through his wounded shoulder once again, making him growl in anguish.

"Sun-bathers… what are you filthy creatures doing in my domain?" Vxich's cold and scornful voice rang out once the attack finally subsided. 

Liam didn't respond, his mind rushing for a plan. 'There's no way he can do that attack again, can he?' 

Liam's heart told him he can. Niveh was difficult to deal with while it was still a two versus one, those standards couldn't be applied to a higher vampire.

Even if he decided to bait out his attacks enough to gas him out, Liam didn't know the limits of a Rank 3 Nexus or Blood. 

Even a sub-advancement for a human core allowed it to store twice the amount of 'Ora'. 

Still, they were six now… though in reality, they were four – Liam had factored out Nessa and Gerald's participation in the inevitable clash.

'Niveh still had her cocoon ability that she could use. Vampires are susceptible to fire… this is doable.'

Having the earth element on their side would've been a lifesaver… but Gerald had used most of his strength on his spell, and he wasn't in any condition to fight. 

"That little girl is also with you, isn't she?" Vxich spotted the crimson lines below his feet that melted into liquid. 

A wicked smile formed on his face. 

"After I'm done sucking you humans dry for every drop, I'll make sure you wish for death, Niveh."

Fear grew on Niveh's face… but Nord, despite the seriousness of the situation, couldn't help but chuckle. 

Liam didn't laugh at the vampire's poor choice of words, still focused as ever. 

Eventually, a simple plan emerged from his mind – inundate the vampire with numbers. Him, Rin and Nord would go physical and up close, while Niveh provided backup. 

He relayed the idea instantly to everyone, then gestured to Niveh.

"That doesn't sound as cool as you think it does. Sucking us dry? C'mon now," Nord said, but gave Liam a firm nod from the side. 

Red veins formed on Vxich's pale face, his eye twitching. 

He stretched out his clenched hand, blood oozing through his pores and gathering around his palms to form sharp javelins.

At the same time, a coating of blood-hardened armor started to form around the vampire's figure, giving him sleek, knight-like armor that sleeved even his fingers – which had turned into sharp claws.

Only his sharp scarlet eyes were visible through the helmet on his face.

Liam's face grew dark. 'That was not supposed to happen.'

Taking a javelin-stance, the vampire's hand blurred as he shot the javelins at Nord's location, splintering the pillar and missing Nord by a hair as he ducked.

Another blood-made javelin formed in the Blooder's hand.

At that point, Liam realized there was no point in hiding. 

He was the first to engage, followed by Rin and Nord that shot out from behind their pillars. 

Like a heron circling its prey, Liam hurled several needles as he ran around the vampire's figure with his blades unsheathed. 

He aimed at the joints where the knight-like armor interconnected, knowing he couldn't land a direct hit.

Rin's daggers burst in flames and Nord's glaive began multiplying mid air. 

Niveh, on the other hand, began to form her cocoon.