redvbooks Chapter 352: Blood domination
Chapter 352: Blood domination
Vale knew he was the one that taunted them, but to think they actually had such a way to handicap him! How was he to know they could do that with darkness?
He lit up with power, his fire causing more harm to Dravenyx, but the vampire-turned darkness refused to leave him.
There was no time to do anything else before the spear hit.
But Vale still tried anyway. "Hellfire Moon!"
This time, he directly activated the Moon in front of him. His reasoning was based on the fact that his own fire wouldn’t hurt him, and it would nullify most of the spear’s power.
Just as the spear hit!
The blood spear also had no time to dodge, and so it collided with the Hellfire Moon. It was a chaotic blast of energy. The spear pierced the moon, and the two detonated. Fire ripped through the air, too powerful for Vale to control. He couldn’t maintain the mental protection afforded to his clothes, and they were burned away.
Dravenyx’s cry turned into one of absolute terror, but it was swallowed by the roaring of the explosion, the shockwave and fire finally pushing the darkness back.
Vale didn’t escape as well, as the force sent him hurling back. He didn’t truly escape the spear either. Although most of it had been destroyed by the explosion, a good portion still came through and stabbed him in the side, amplified by the shockwave.
As the spear’s blood met his own blood, it dissolved within him, mixing with his blood. And now, it was Vale’s turn to scream as pain ran through him. The blood that dissolved in him was followed by a rush of power and invasive essence. A wrongness that began to devour his own blood in a dominant manner.
Vale’s muscles spasmed, and he bent at wrong angles, his body jerking and stiffening, his nervous system all wrong. Even his mind was somewhat affected as it began to dim. Something was invading him!
The only thing that protected his mind from blanking out completely was the natural madness of Infernal Dominion. But even then, he was rapidly losing control of his body.
"Fucking bastard! Fucking bastard! Fuck!!!!" Dravenyx screamed as he appeared, solidifying once more. The man was now a shadow of himself, almost an imitation. He was terribly thin and pale, half his body badly burnt, and he wasn’t healing.
He sat down on the dirt, his eyes wide as he shuddered, shivering without cold. "My soul... part of my soul has been burned away! It has affected my core! We’ll kill him, we must kill him!"
Kaelvaris shivered. He was standing, but his whole body was rigid and stiff, his body covered in sweat. A vampire covered in sweat! He gritted his teeth. "We... fuck... how is he resisting my refinement? He doesn’t have blood power! How’s he doing all of this!"
Vale was still jerking on the ground, naked and dirty. But it wasn’t really a choice; his body was fighting his control while his blood was getting devoured, his essence declining rapidly. And even though he still managed to keep his mind calm, he was beginning to feel a lick of fear.
How does one fight with blood? Kaelvaris was right, he did not have blood magic. He was fighting back through sheer force of will alone, and by all accounts, that wouldn’t work for long. Kaelvaris was taking control of more of his body.
Kaelvaris let out a breath, and his body relaxed, a small smile on his face, even though he was still looking weak. "In the end, only those who have blood magic can stop domination and refinement from me."
"Let’s kill him, Kaelvaris!" Dravenyx hissed, his eyes filled with resentment and pain.
Kaelvaris shook his head. "Maybe before, but he’s now under our control. We’ll finish the mission by returning him... and seriously, you are always the reasonable one. Why do you want to kill him? That should be something I want to do."
Dravenyx shook his head and shivered. "His soul power... Kaelvaris, I’m not generating any essence! He burned my soul. He could erase me... I don’t know! I think he broke my mind a little..."
Kaelvaris swallowed. He had never seen his partner in such a state of mind before, and it scared him. He looked at Vale with caution and hesitant respect. "You, what did you do to him!"
Vale had stopped moving now, lying on the ground and breathing gently. His face calmed, and there was even a twinkle in his red eyes. But underneath, he was in full raging panic mode. Because he didn’t stop moving because he wanted to.
No, Kaelvaris was now in control of most of his body. He forced a smile and managed to make it look casual. "I might answer if you also answer a question of my own."
Kaelvaris glared. "You... are you in a position to say anything? Your body is already under my command, and once I have full command, nothing will be hidden from me."
Vale smiled. "You lie. You might be able to control my body, but my mind is my own. That’s something you can’t have. You already know this—you can’t control my mind."
As if in response to his words, a probing wave of sharp power targeted his mind, but it failed to penetrate. Again.
Kaelvaris glared again, and then he looked down at Dravenyx, but his partner was occupied with matters of his own and paid him no mind. He would have to deal with things himself, something he wasn’t used to doing. But he still needed to repair the damage done to Dravenyx.
Kaelvaris took a deep breath. "What questions do you have?"
Vale’s eyes lit up, doing his best not to think about the fact that half of his body was under another person’s control. He tried, but it’s an almost impossible thing not to notice. "How are you taking over my body?"
Kaelvaris shrugged. "Like darkness, blood magic is inborn for vampires. And for normal vampires, the true creatures of the night and not an imitation provided by the Mark Order, they can use their blood to directly create more of their bloodline. Our Knight ability mirrors that. We can use our own blood to forcefully put others under our control, devouring their blood and mind. But unlike the vampires, we can’t sustain it for long, and there will be lasting effects on the person."
Vale slowly digested that, surprised that Kaelvaris actually said that much. "You haven’t told me how exactly."
Kaelvaris glared and hissed, his fist clenching and unclenching. "You want to know the how? Vampires, including us, have extremely dominant blood, and they can dominate any blood they mix into."
Vale’s eyes widened. So, it’s not merely devouring... it’s also dominating!
What a frustrating and powerful ability.
"Can you use the abilities of those under your command?"
"What is this? Are you the one supposed to be interrogating me, or the other way around?"
"If you want to fully know what I did to Dravenyx..."
"... To some extent, we can use their powers, but not that fully or as well as the owner. Now, tell me, what did you do to Dravenyx? How can you fix it?"
Vale looked at him blankly as his brain went into overdrive to figure out how to get himself out of the mess. He blinked slowly. "It’s soul corruption. He’ll heal naturally if he does not do anything foolish. Master Knights have strong souls, unlike lesser Knights. They would be nothing more than husks by now."
"How long will it take?"
"I’m used to the ability too, maybe a few days? Weeks? Months? I really don’t... I figured it out!"
"What?"
"I figured out how to get out of this controlling thing!"
Kaelvaris scoffed. "That’s impossible. Not when I’ve invaded this far. Maybe you are not understanding."
Vale’s body moved without his command, and he stood up. His right hand formed into a fist. He raised it, and then he began to punch himself. It wasn’t a particularly strong punch, but it held deep meaning.
Kaelvaris sneered. "I should kill you if not for the stupid..."
Vale interrupted him. "I think, once a fight falls into a life-and-death situation, then you should not hesitate to kill your opponent. You should absolutely assume they would do the same. The only way to prevent that is not to fall into a life-and-death battle in the first place."
"What?"
"You should have killed me when you had the chance."
"What?" Kaelvaris asked again. He just couldn’t understand what Vale was talking about. "There’s absolutely no way you can get out of my control. What’s all the bullshit about life and death?"
Vale smiled. "I just need to dominate your blood back. That’s the way to break your hold on me. I dominate your blood back and reverse it."
"Yes. But how are you going to do that?" Kaelvaris gave a mocking laugh.