A white light came from the palm of his right hand. He took his right hand from his chest. His shirt was burned through with the Mark of Knowledge. Not only was his clothing marked, but his flesh also. A crimson insignia was stamped on his body. Strangely enough, he didn’t feel any heat or pain. Laudis looked around him and saw Solisia. Her mouth was moving, but no sound came to him. Somehow, the youth could actually use the power on himself. However, the fight didn’t stop. Sloth charged at him, taking a swing with his Whip of Sands. Crimson Eye tried to distance himself, but he was too slow. The weapon was right in front of his face. Suddenly, a thin Earth Wall appeared between the whip and the boy. Despite that, the vampire easily broke through the mere defence. Laudis, quickly, blocked the strike with his forearms and rolled backwards. He took a look at his wounds. The cuts bled more than usual, and they seemed to enlarge with every second. He took off his shirt and tied it around them. The material was soaked in a moment. At first, the boy didn’t care for the pain, but after some time, it only grew greater.

  ‘So that’s the Whip of Sands. It hurts like hell if I were honest. Still, I’ve got to kill him somehow. I sacrificed my hearing for strength, but what does it mean? I didn’t run faster or have better reflexes. Dammit,’ thought Laudis, looking at the undead.

  “I’ve got bored, let's see what you’ve got,” said Sloth, glancing at the Earth sorceress.

  Tshh! The air singing accompanied his dash. Solisia tried blocking his dash with the Earth Wall, but he was faster, way faster. The Upper Hand was creating an ice tunnel while he was running. The structure was about thirty centimetres thick in the shape of a semicircle. Unlike the previous summonings, that one started melting. The process was even faster than it should have been. The undead was getting closer and closer to his target. The Crusader followed him, but his wounds and tired body didn’t help him much. He fell with an impact. The youth looked at the sight, helplessly. The vampire summoned a ramp, sliding and then jumping at her. He was taking a swing with his whip, aiming at her face. The girl raised her flail, wanting to parry the strike. Out of nowhere, Laudis felt his pain fading away. Still, Sloth was too close to her so that he couldn’t do anything. A thought pierced through his mind.

  ‘If only I could go fast enough to protect her. If only, If only I could actually do something…’

  His heart started beating faster. His veins became even more pronounced. His sight sharpened. The same symptoms that accompanied him while he hit the bag. The boy rapidly stood up and threw his Sun Sword, aiming at the undead. Tshh! The blade cut through the air like it was an arrow. Both of them glanced at the steel. Sloth quickly rolled sideways, avoiding the steel. Thuck! The weapon pierced through a barrel. The Sloth’s troop flinched at the sight. After all, they murdered a lot of people and saw many warriors. But not a single one could have matched the power of that strike. Sloth walked to the steel and took it out of the piece of wood. Then, he lightly threw it at him. Crimson Eye caught it effortlessly, beginning to hear again.

  “Why’s your eye bleeding?” muttered Solisia, looking at him.

  Laudis glanced at his reflection in his sword. His left, normal eye was crying out blood. Soon after, his odd one joined it. He guessed it would dull his vision, but he was mistaken. Despite the liquid pouring down his face, his sight was quite sharp.

  “Are you done, princess?” mocked Sloth, walking in their direction.

  “Only if you are,” the youth replied.

  The Upper Hand raised both of his hands into the air. An ice sphere with spikes appeared above his head. There were a few dozen spikes, each of which was sharp and tall. The summoning fragmented the moonlight, making it seem even more ominous than before. The undead started circling his hands, and the object followed his commands.

  “Earth Wall invocare!”

  Thuu! Sloth threw the spiked ball at them. Solisia had created the Earth Wall as thick as she could, that is, about one metre thick. Despite that, the wall slowed its speed by a fraction.

  ‘I can use the Cage of Sword, but she’ll end up dead. That’s the best choice. It’s not like I really care about her. Still, my mind tells me to forget about her and protect myself. Yet, my flesh disobeys my will. I’ve grown even weaker than I was. Dammit! What should I do now, huh? The Void Creation is too thin to actually protect us. I doubt she’ll do something. She’s used sorcery, so it’s no good. What now? What’s that strange tingling in my hands? Almost like there are ants under my skin,’ thought irritated Laudis.

  The Crusader jumped in front of Solisia, surprising herself and Sloth.

  ‘Fuck it! I said that I wanted to die in a battle! Now I can fulfill my wish!’

  “Sloooth!” he shouted, looking at the foe.

  Despite his bold declaration, his body was trembling in fear. His hands were shaking like they were sunk in a cold lake. His face filled with emptiness and fright. When the object was about half a metre from him, the youth took a swing at it. He wanted to die fighting, and not as someone who gave up without even trying. At first, it seemed like the Sun Sword bounced off it. Still, the boy pushed forward with his weapon. The steel changed its colour to deep crimson, illuminating for a second. The sound of melting ice came from his direction. To their shock, he cut through the spiked sphere like butter. The summoning lost its velocity, crashing to the ground.

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  “That was just a fraction of my power. Are you ready to see my real potential, you dirty bastard?!” shouted Laudis, aiming at the undead with his sword.

  ‘That was freaking weird! How did I cut through that ice?! Maybe I’m actually invincible.’

  “I see, so you’ve been hiding your true power. Your eyes’ve changed. You really do look like a vampire,” replied Sloth, withdrawing his Whip of Sands.

  “What’re you talking about—”

  Crimson Eye took a look at his reflection. Both of his eyes were identical to the vampire's. His hands started shaking even more than before. After a moment, he cooled down. Despite his bizarre and rather odd appearance, the boy didn’t sweat a lot about it. He was familiar with such sights. After all, he had been living in Mundusia for almost eighteen years. The Crusader tightened his grip around the Sun Sword. Laudis nodded to the right for a fraction of a second. He rushed straight at the undead, looking into his bloodthirsty eyes.

  “Earth Wall invocare!”

  Solisia summoned the Earth Wall to the side. Sloth was prepared for the upcoming strike; the same attack wouldn’t work on him twice. The vampire took a swing and awaited his opponent. The Upper Hand was fooled once again. Laudis dashed to the left, attacking him from the other side.

  “Sword Technique No. 1: Void Creation,” he muttered, aiming at the general.

  Fwoosh! The foe was sucked closer to him. The youth swung with his sword from the right. Sloth effortlessly blocked the impact with ice. Yet, it wasn’t Laudis’ true intention. When the blade bounced off the summoning, the boy spun in place, striking the other side. The devil opened his eyes in shock and in an emotion somewhat similar to fear. It wouldn’t be accurate to describe it as fear, because the vampire wasn't shaken at all. However, the additional force of the bounced steel increased his velocity. Sloth couldn’t spare the strike completely. He blocked the blow with his left shoulder, summoning as thick a layer of ice as he was able to. Despite his greatest efforts, his protection was one centimetre thick at best. Tshh! The sword destroyed the coating with ease. The vampire instinctively rolled backwards. He glanced at his left arm. The cut was rather shallow. It hurt his ego more than his body. The undead sent him a grin, yet with a frown. Shivers went through the youth’s body. However, he kept his cool. Sloth dashed at him, swinging with the Whip of Sands. The youth parried the strike with ease. Suddenly, the general glanced at Solisia and started walking in her direction. The girl was quite surprised by his offence. Despite that, she was rather calm.

  “Earth Wall invoca—”

  “Frozen Mist invcoare!” the vampire shouted, interrupting her incantation.

  The temperature around them rapidly cooled down. From a pleasant, warm night to a winter day. The Crusaders were shivering, looking around them. Small summonings floated around them, like fireflies. They distinguished them as frozen water droplets. Laudis touched the tip of one of them. His finger was completely frozen, and the freezing process continued. When he warmed it up by putting it in his mouth, the process stopped. That technique was treacherous. Sloth was getting closer and closer to her. The youth tried to help her, but he got trapped in an ice box. It was at least ten centimetres thick. The boy nervously started hitting the summoning. From time to time, a shard broke off the main structure. Yet, it was really tough for him to continue. His body was exhausted, and the previous wounds caused by the whip were coming up. He had lost a pretty big amount of blood. His vision was getting blurrier and blurrier with every hit. His breathing grew heavy, and his senses were getting dull. With his last ounces of strength, he continued the fool’s work. He could have only tried to escape and watch the colour spots change with time.

  “E—Earth Wall invocare!” muttered Solisia, distancing herself.

  The Earth Wall was summoned, but only the bottom part. As soon as it touched the droplets, the summoning froze, and the spell ceased to summon it. The girl, trembling in fear, fell to the ground. The cold sand stuck to her clothes, giving her an ick. Still, it wasn't the real problem here.

  “It’s pointless,” replied Sloth, coming at her.

  “Everything that’ll be summoned is going to be frozen instantaneously,” he continued, bending over her body. A sickening grin drew on his pale face.

  “Eek!” she blurted out, reaching for her flail.

  The Upper Hand stomped on her hand. The Earth sorceress loosened the grip, allowing him to kick her weapon away. The undead extended his left hand, aiming at her left leg. Before she had even realised, her left thigh was coated in a thick layer of ice.

  “You know, I can not only create and manipulate ice.”

  The aggressor closed his hand.

  “Aargh!!!” the girl shouted in agony. Tears poured down her dry cheeks.

  “I can also erase it by will,” he continued, smiling at her.

  “Sloooth!” answered Laudis, banging on the ice box.

  His strikes grew louder and faster. After a second, he broke out of the structure. Crimson Eye was horrified by the image. Solisia was lying in a puddle of blood. The substance poured down her left leg. The youth tightened his grip around the Sun Sword.

  “Now, why don’t I draw a smile on your face?”

  Sloth took a swing at the girl, but something intercepted it. Laudis had rushed there, almost in an instant. His back got cut even more. The boy turned back, striking his opponent. The vampire summoned a layer of ice to protect himself. Still, it wasn’t enough. Somehow, ten centimetres of ice wasn’t enough to stop him. The general glanced at his chest. It was cut right in the middle. He had enough. The Upper Hand punched him in the stomach, sending him flying. The youth collided with a brick wall. Laudis lost consciousness…

  “Where am I?” wondered Denir, looking around.

  The man was inside a white room, with no floor or ceiling. He wandered around the area, wanting to explore it. Yet, it was almost like the room followed him. The butcher sat down, awaiting something to happen.

  “I guess I am dead. Ha! It was good while it lasted. I’m really going to miss being alive,” he muttered, lying on his back.