Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Assault on the ruins (II)

After seeing the fall of their two companions, and that the third hadn't survived the Light Traps, the two surviving vampires quickly moved away from the place, where arrows kept coming. Thanks to this, they were able to discover where they were coming from. To their surprise, all the arrows were fired from a single point, although they couldn't distinguish who was hiding there.

Maybe, they were deadly to them, but the level of the attacks weren't higher than theirs. In fact, one was two levels above, and another one below.

For a while, they had been terrified, but upon realizing the situation, they regained their confidence. It was two against one, and their opponent was an archer. If they could get close, their enemy wouldn't stand a chance. Although they didn't like to fight during daytime, it wasn't the first time either. Therefore, after looking at each other and nodding, the two of them used their speed skills, and rushed towards the archer.

They didn't have any problems until they got out of the shield. Until then, the arrows could only enter through a hole, so they were no longer a problem for them. While Goldmi could have used Curved Shot at its full power, now that they were on their toes, it wouldn't be too difficult for them to dodge. Besides, she preferred to let them be over-confident.

She fired some arrows at them as they approached, but without Accelerate or any extra skills. That way, they were able to dodge or repel them. The vampires even smiled at the thought that their enemy was low on mana.

Of course, that was before one of them fell into a Light Abyss, which was overlapped by one of Wind. Those traps are more powerful than Light and Wind Traps, although they have the drawback that they needed to be placed beforehand.

The other stopped short, afraid of falling into another trap. He even turned around ready to flee from there, and abandon his partner. However, a huge feline Jumped on him, thus preventing him from escaping.

Thanks to Scratch, he managed to block the feline's claws, but her fangs were getting dangerously close. He could barely contain her. It was then that the Collide of an albino bird, that had Plummeted towards him, stunned him for a few precious moments. Before he could react, a powerful jaw had closed on his neck.

Fangorm arrived in time to witness a badly injured vampiress crawl out of the Abyss. The Wind one had cut her clothes, exposing her to the Light one, whose purifying glow was one of her weaknesses. She was barely recognizable, was blinded, and there were several arrows stuck in her. She was unable to dodge the barrage of arrows that greeted her, and the harassing of the sun.

A little further, there was a lynx on the lifeless body of another vampire, which the sun was incinerating. He didn't pay attention to the goshawk, who had returned to the sky, and was watching carefully.

Furious, he stormed towards Goldmi. Those five vampires were some of his most powerful children, and he didn't have many left. Furthermore, his level was much higher than the lynx or those attacks, plus his clothes weren't as fragile as those of his subordinates.

He had complete confidence in being able to overcome traps and attacks, and in taking down his enemies with ease. Without a doubt, his confidence wasn't unfounded, for the difference in power was important, more than ten levels.

Despite this, he was experienced, and didn't want to take unnecessary risks, so he advanced to where the vampiress had fallen. There had been a trap there, so there could be no other.

Goldmi turned and ran away, while the lynx joined her.

"Ha, ha. Do you think you can escape? It has been the worst mistake in your life to come here. But don't worry, I won't kill you. I'll suck your blood day after day, with a pain that will make you want to die," he threatened as he got closer.

The vampire was barely a few feet away when his run came to an unexpected halt. He was alert in case he fell into a trap, to react quickly and overcome it. However, Fangorn realized that he couldn't break those threads that had stuck to him because of Sticky Blood. The trap was more powerful than him.

"Long time no see! You know, you should never have attacked my mansion," a voice said from behind.

He twisted around as he could, terrified. The aura that had suddenly arisen intimidated him. It took him a few more seconds to understand what those words meant.

"Gja...ki?" he asked, terrified.

His mother had told him about that threat, which had been present in his nightmares for the last ten years. Therefore, knowing the identity of his enemy completely paralyzed him. All of him trembled.

He was unable to resist when she locked her fangs on his neck, and sucked his blood, while Unsettling him, though he was impossible to Adopt. After hundreds of years of life, his end only lasted a few moments, while he was trapped in a Cobweb of adamantine threads, and trembling.

"Ugh! What a sour blood!" Gjaki complained, and spat.

Goldmi looked at her stunned for a few moments. Then, she laughed, thus releasing some of the tension of the moment.

Elendnas' eyes opened. He felt exhausted and weak. His whole body ached from the inside. It was as if his own blood burned. He felt like he was dying, and perhaps it was true.

He glared hateful at the vampiress a few feet away. She was concentrating on some kind of concoction, heating it up, adding little by little some kind of goo. He supposed that she was going to make him drink something nauseating again.

"Fangorm?" she murmured, surprised.

She stayed stunned for a few seconds, looking into the distance. Without realizing, the vampiress dropped more than she should into the potion, which turned purple and began to bubble.

"Shit!" she exclaimed when she realized what had happened.

She quickly wrapped the potion in a mana sphere, thus containing the explosion.

"I'll have to start over..." she lamented, while looking at the broken remains of glass. Then, her tone turned furious. "How can Fangorm have died?"

He was the most powerful of her children. The last one she had left of that level, and it was expensive to create new ones. Therefore, it was a great loss. However, that didn't make her come out of her hiding place, but grab with one hand the necklace she was wearing around her neck. She confirmed that it was active, that she could escape.

If someone had killed her son, it meant this someone was powerful. Could they be one of her siblings? Gjaki? Just thinking about her made her shudder. Her body still remembered the pain of being severed.

She looked at the elf. She couldn't run away yet, her goal was too close, she would only escape as a last resort. She needed to know what was going on first, if it could be fixed. Maybe, she could just hide. It wasn't easy to find her in the underground in which she was.