Shock. That's the emotion that every survivor in the clearing was experiencing. They had been watching the intense battle praying for the three warriors to conquer the beast. Their very lives depended on them winning. But in a moment of what should have been an ultimate act of comradeship, betrayal. A warrior pushed to his death by the one he risked his life to save.
Milas was petrified. He knew that it was Deogratius' order that drove him to that but he couldn't believe it. He refused to believe it. He helplessly watched as the wolf tore the lord's son apart. The act itself was swift but brutal. The vampire could only scream once before his head was crushed by the jaws that had been baying for his life.
Asher tried to interfere but the wolf created distance from him, dragging the mutilated corpse with it. The wolf was intent on turning the corpse into unrecognizable shreds. It's vengeful nature as a creature of the Forsaken Desert was on full display. Asher kept an eye on Milas who remained motionless. He had already figured out that it was the order he received that made him do it. Now he was hoping he would recover fast enough to help him.
"After all that talk about imposing your ideals on those who oppose you, you were beat up by a little dog." Van said to Milas who was kneeling before him. He had summoned Milas to his subconscious domain immediately after he killed the lord's son.
"You need to let me out of here. There's a wolf outside, I could die."
"You would die either way. But don't worry too much, I let the other guy take over. Based on what I've seen him do, this injured wolf is simple for him to deal with." Van said as he summoned a pool of blood on the floor. The blood displayed the image of what Milas should have been seeing. "Now, go deal with that dog. I want it dead in less than two minutes."
Van's words were like a trigger as Milas' body moved. "I really love how obedient the other guy is."
Milas' body picked up the sword dropped by the lord's son and dashed at the wolf. Asher was swinging his hammer horizontally when a blur passed by. The wolf noticed the charging vampire and tried to bite his head off. With a slight shift of his body, Milas dodged the bite and was now beside the wolf.
Milas watched as his body slid underneath the wolf, slashing its legs with the sword. The wolf distanced itself from the vampire but couldn't get far. Asher kept getting in its way, swinging the heavy war hammer as though it was weightless. The wolf was slowly but surely bleeding out. The wounds that had been left by the lord's son hindered its movements and the swift vampire was adding new wounds across its body.
(Authors note; For future reference, everytime Milas is taken over I'll call it Other Milas.)
Other Milas channelled blood energy into the sword and slashed at the wolf. The slashed missed completely but something else stabbed it. A spike of hardened blood energy had stabbed its side. Other Milas leapt on the wolf, clinging to its huge body by the fur and used the sword to stab it. Asher could only watch from the side as the fight between wolf and vampire turned a new gear. He had tried to swing at the wolf and almost hit Milas.
The violent tussle suddenly ceased as the blood covered combatants seperated. The wolf no longer looked imposing as it was missing fur and chunks of flesh on multiple parts of its body. A sword hilt was sticking out of its chest and its bloodstained fur was clinging to its body like a wet carpet. It knew that it would die even if it managed to escape so it decided to fight till the end. Looking at the state of its opponent, it was sure it would at least outlast him.
Asher shuddered when he saw the state of Milas. His friend was covered in wounds that even he would find difficult to heal from. The leather breastplate he wore looked like a rag. Other Milas stared down the wolf as his blood energy raged to a seemingly uncontrollable level. Milas, watching from the subconscious domain was about to panic when he thought about the risk of shattering his core when it finally happened.
Fear. For the first time in its entire life the wolf felt fearful of a being weaker than itself. Under the gaze of those bright crimson eyes, the wolf felt it's previous resolve wavering. A thick crimson mist blanketed the vampire it had been fighting. The blood mist skill suppressed everyone in the clearing. Even Asher who was initially worried felt overwhelming dread.
For the vampires who had experienced the skill before, this felt even worse. They could hardly breathe under the pressure. As for the target of the skill, the wolf was immobile. All thoughts of resisting had vanished from its mind. And then, he spoke. A single word filled with murderous intent.
"Perish." The word was spoken calmly but its effect were anything but. The surrounding vampires felt their throats clench. The air in their lungs seemed to vanish and they started to suffocate. Asher fell to his knees while grabbing his throat. He looked up at Milas and saw blood energy gathering on his pointer finger.
A single long, needle-like spike of blood energy shot from his finger. The attack easily punctured the wolf's head. The hollow spike spewed black blood and tiny bits of blood seconds later. Milas who was within the subconscious domain could only watch in awe. The two skills he had taken for granted had been used to kill a beast he didn't stand a chance against.
"It took a little longer than two minutes but the showmanship was entertaining so I'll overlook it. Now, do you see how a true warrior fights?" Van said to Milas with a mocking smirk. Milas didn't know what to say. He couldn't even come up with an excuse since it was his body that did all that. And all the skills used were the same ones he knew.
Milas' vision blurred as he left the subconscious domain. He blinked slowly as he saw the dead wolf and students who were trying to recover from the blood mist skill. Then came the pain. The pain from his wounds, the burning sensation from his veins due to overusing his blood energy and the exhaustion from pushing his body beyond its limits. All these sensations overwhelmed his brain and Milas passed out while foaming at the mouth.
Asher saw Milas fall to the ground nearby. He wanted to help him but he hadn't recovered from the blood mist skill. And even if he had recovered, he had something else to worry about. The injuries he suffered weren't healing because he was out of energy. Which meant that he was losing his rationality.
Asher looked at the students who were still alive and noticed two more problems. The first was Aileen who was staring daggers at the unconscious Milas. Her eyes were red from crying and tear streaks stained her face. The red was replaced by a blinding glow as rage took over. A dagger appeared in her hand as she stumbled towards Milas.
The second problem was aiming right for Asher. Another vampire, wearing blood stained uniform from Royal Academy was staring at him. Asher sighed when he looked at those familiar crimson eyes filled with rage and hate. He slowly struggled to stand using the long handle of the Warhammer as support.
"Can we do this later Aster? I'm really not in the mood." Asher said with a low voice that was barely heard by the vampire before him.
"You sneak attacked me then left me to die when that wolf showed up. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now." Aster said angrily, his eyes glowing brighter as he spoke.
"Because I'm your older brother and dad will be heartbroken when he finds out." The statement was filled with sarcasm that only enraged Aster further.
"YOU ARE NOT MY BROTHER!!!!!!! And dad will thank me for doing what he never could." With that, Aster attacked. He threw a punch but Asher dodged it easily and pulled Aster into a bear hug. Aster couldn't understand what Asher was planning until he got bit on the shoulder. Pushing Asher off him, he looked at the missing flesh on his shoulder.
"Finally, some energy." Asher said as he swallowed. Aster braced himself for Asher's counterattack but it didn't come. Aileen who had gotten close to Milas wasn't expecting Asher to stop fighting and charge at her. She braced for Asher to tackle her but Asher had other plans.
He took a page out of Step's book and used her favorite move. Aileen felt her chest cave in and air emptied from her chest as Asher dropkicked her chest. "Sorry Aileen but I owe him my life."