Kings of Awakening Vampires and Purebloods

by Arantes

  Dante had used his ability to move the blood from her body back to her neck. He separated her blood from the Purebloods’ blood and spat it out. He wiped his mouth and told Axil she was all right now. But Dante somehow looked apprehensive. He looked at Axil and said, “Take a look at this, Axil.”

  Axil looked at the bite mark, not seeing what Dante was trying to show him. “What is it that you’re trying to show me, Dante?”

  Dante gave a faint laugh and put his hand on his hair. “Oh that’s right, forgive me. I forgot you’re not a healer like me. Let me explain. When I was removing the blood from all the victims, I felt as if their energy had been drained from them.”

  Axil now looked curious. Dante proceeded on explaining. “I don’t really know how to explain this, but it’s as if their energy life force was being taken away. I think whoever did this was after more than blood.”

  More than blood? Thought Axil. “What could a Pureblood want more than blood? Are we missing something here?” Now Axil really wanted to find this mysterious X and find out what’s he up to.

  “Just like the others, it’s the same.” Dante got up and stretched his back. “Whoever this mysterious X is, we have to find him. For now we’re done, you can take her back to the Humans’ Special Division now. She’s going to need human blood. She was almost drunk dried.”

  “Why do I have to do it?” asked Axil.

  What a guy, thought Dante. “Because I did all the healing and saving, while you did all the standing around,” replied Dante with a smirk.

  Axil knew Dante was right. He gently placed her limp body over his shoulder. The last thing he wanted to do was damage her in any kind of way.

  As they walked away, Dante looked up quickly as he saw a shadow flying above him. He could see a man with a black cloak and a red mask on his face. So he came as the king predicted.

  “Dante let’s go, we have to start hunting soon,” said Axil quickly.

  ***

  As Albedo jumped on top of the next house, he could have sworn he saw someone as he was in mid air. He looked back to check, no one was there. He stood on top of a roof with his mask on and his black cloak in the middle of the night. He truly looked like one of the Black Reapers now. This feeling of being a hero was vast. It felt marvelous being able to jump this high. With his mask on his face, a dagger in his back pocket, and the cloak on his back, his confidence had no limit. He felt invincible, that he could save anyone who needed his help. Being a Black Reaper was great. He could eventually leave Inferno and see the outside world. When he thought he was a human he had no hope of one day actually seeing the outside world. Now that he was a vampire, his hope came back thanks to Sonia.

  “It’s time to see what I’ve got.”

  Albedo ran from the roof and jumped into the next house. His feet slipped on the edge. He fell on the ground but landed on his feet. Controlling the power of the Elder with his eyes open was harder than he thought, but he was successful. Jarvis had taught him well. “That was a close one.” He jumped back to the roof. “Looks like I’ll need some practice.” It was nighttime now and he knew the tribe of X would strike again. If they’re still here then the power of the Elder will surely flush him out. Albedo closed his eyes and concentrated. He began to feel everyone around him, even a bug from a mile away was in his range of senses. I can sense two Purebloods heading for the Humans’ Special Division. There’s a little human girl with them, unconscious! Could this be the tribe of X? As Albedo focused on their energy, he felt something different. But for some reason I don’t feel any evil from them… wait, I can sense evil? The power of the Elder is vaster than I thought; it allows me to sense evil! I can sense another one a few miles ahead. This one felt different. Albedo felt a dark aura coming from it.

  He felt the same evil vibe he felt from Vincent. Albedo had to now make a decision. Go after the two with the little girl or go after the one farther away. He decided to leave the pair and go after the one further ahead. He would have to keep using the Elder to keep an eye on them. Jumping from roof to roof would get him there faster; it was also a way not to get spotted by any humans. He thought back to some of Sonia’s training echoing in his head. “Keep your distance, run as fast as you can, and keep the shadow on your side.” As he gets closer, he could hear a woman scream. He quickly rushed to the scene. He stood up from the roof and could see a young woman. She was surrounded in a corner with a tribe of gang with cloaks and masks on their faces. She looked familiar, he thought. That’s that girl I accidently touched inappropriately in the market. There were eight of them with red masks on their faces marked with X approaching the young girl. They were surely the ones he was looking for. These guys are Purebloods, I can feel their ability. One came closer to the young women, took off its mask and Albedo could see a man’s face. His fangs were out, and Albedo could feel the bloodlust within him.

  The man came closer to bite her. “Someone, help me!” screamed the girl.

  Albedo jumped from the roof. As he was coming down, he punched the first X with a blow that crushed his face. Albedo’s blood was boiling to save her. The power of the Elder had made his punches stronger somehow. Jarvis was right; the power of the Elder does increase your physical capability. As much as he was right about that, he was also right about one thing, the urge to seek battles was alluring. An excitement grew within Albedo. Deep down within him loved it! The fighting, the power, somehow it felt, marvelous! He looked back at the girl who had crawled to the wall in fear. The second X jumped at Albedo with a kick, but Albedo sense it. Albedo’s reaction was too fast; his body was moving beyond the capacity of a human being. The thought of a normal life was gone for him; after all, he did not want a normal life. He wanted to become like Sonia, to use his strength to help the helpless. He grabbed the second one that came with the kick by its leg and threw him forcefully on the wall. He killed the first and second one with his rage in control, then he notice that after he killed one, they turned into a mass of energy and vanished. Now there were six left, surrounding him. He knew fighting them all at once while trying to protect her would not be easy. He looked back at her, still frightened from all of this. Two of the tribe of X from the opposite side ran towards Albedo, two from his front also. This was their strategy, no means of escaping. Albedo had no time to think about a plan. He quickly jumped up and landed next to the girl. He smiled and quickly grabbed her and put her on his back.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I’m saving your life, now hang on,” he replied. He used his fire ability to blind them. He aimed it at them and the bright white beam of fire took their vision away. He jumped up to the roof. The Xs ran after him, two on his left and two on his right. They threw small knives at him. Unable to look back accurately with the girl on his back; Albedo had to rely on the power of the Elder. He focused hard; feeling the directions their hands was releasing the knives. It was like a third eye. He could feel when the knife left their hands; at the right time he jumped to avoid them. While in mid-air, he turned around. “Fire!” This time the fire was a fireball instead of a small flare. His fireballs caught two of the Xs by surprise. Just like the rock he had to destroy with the fire during training. Albedo was now able to use that ability to obliterate the Xs, make it explode. Thinking to himself, now I see what the old man was trying to teach me, use the fire to burn, blind, and as a force of explosion. The Xs blew up in mid-air as Albedo’s fireballs hit them. Their bodies vanished. Now he only had to deal with four. “Are you alright?” he asked the girl on his back. He could have sworn that she smiled when he used his fireballs. Albedo landed on the next roof and continued on running. He felt knives being thrown at him. He jumped back and stopped. Two of the Xs jumped above him and landed on the next house ahead. Albedo started to run again, they had managed to trap him in. They tended to use this boxing technique, blocking Albedo from every angle. He was now in the middle, two in front of him and two in behind him. With her on his back and the weight of the gear, his mov
ement was limited.

  “It’s a trap,” the girl said unexpectedly.

  Albedo felt it from the beginning. The ones running ahead of him stopped and waited for him. “I’m going to do something you won’t like!” Albedo said to her. The ones in front of him had a chain in the shape of a lasso in their hands, swinging it in a circle waiting for Albedo. They threw it. At that same moment Albedo reached the edge of the roof and threw the girl very high in the air. The girl screamed in fear. Albedo’s body was free now. His agility was superb! He leaped forward so fast; he went right through the lassoed chains before they could capture him.

  When the power of the Elder reaches it full strength, the Pureblood maintaining this power was marked. Albedo’s markings can now be seen. His forearms were engraved with straight parallel lightning like beams, leading up to spherical shapes both on his palms and the backs of his hands. The matching electricity colored spheres on his palms and the backs of his hands were connected to the fire lines in his wrists and fingers. The markings started to glow.

  “What is this?” Albedo wondered. Master Jarvis never mentioned this to me. It felt as if his hands became stronger. He was too fast for the two Xs to move out of the way. He came down faster than he himself could imagine. His punch went straight through their chest, leaving a gaping hole through their ribcage, finishing them before they realized what happened. The other two behind him came surprisingly, but not unexpectedly. Albedo turned around quickly. “Fire!” The massive fire coming out of his hands was enough to kill them. This time his fire was hotter and more massive. This time there were flare-like flames flaring from his hands. It must be the Elder’s doing. He was told that using the Elder while using your ability would make it stronger. His strength and speed had become three times more powerful.

  “The girl!” He jumped backwards and caught her before she could fall and hit the roof.

  He put her down gently, he knew she was terrified and the last thing he wanted to do was scare her even more and made his leave.

  “Wait, don’t leave. I haven’t even thanked you yet,” she said with a warm voice.

  As Albedo truly looks at her, she was a beautiful young woman. She had curves like Sonia, beautiful lips with light colored eyes, and long hair. She’s beautiful, he thought. He approached her, but rapidly as if he had something to say. “Aren’t you going to say don’t hurt me.”

  She smiled and gave him her hand. He saw warmth and kindness on her face. He took off his mask and she could see the same on his face. “You’re different from the other vampires and Purebloods. Your kind and charming,” she said.

  “And how do you figure that?” he asked.

  “I don’t know, I guess you can say I can read people’s movements. When someone fights they do it with their feelings. I saw it from you. When the ones with the Xs fought you I saw rage and anger.”

  “You’re a weird human you know that,” said Albedo jokingly. He reached out his hand and put her on his back. It wasn’t safe to leave her out here by herself.

  “Wait! I remember you. You’re that boy from the market.”

  He had hoped she had forgotten that they already met, sort of. “Hmm, yea about that, sorry,” said Albedo.

  She started to laugh, “What is your name, Pureblood?”

  He was surprised that she wanted to know his name. “My name is Albedo.”

  She and all humans hated vampires and Purebloods. But there was something about Albedo that she liked; there was no room in her heart to hate him. His passion showed in his eyes when he was protecting her. She felt that almost everyone who met him would quickly fall in love with him. “My name is Natalia, that’s what my friends call me.”

  He thought Natalia was beautiful. She was as beautiful as his beloved Sonia; but Sonia had the power to make his heart beat.

  They got closer to her house. “Hey, is this it?” asked Albedo.

  She smiled at him. “You’re different than anyone I’ve ever met. Vampires and Purebloods are hated by humans. They don’t see that there are a lot of good ones like you Albedo. Your heart is what makes you different from all of them.” Natalia was now home. She kissed him on the cheek and said goodnight. She quickly closed the door and went inside, leaving him dumbfounded.

  He blushed. Albedo now understood why Sonia gave him the mask. She was right, only a Pureblood could fight and Pureblood. He knew that the king was aware of his presence. Maybe the King knew Albedo would put on the mask and fight. He started to think if he was the one who sent him the letter.

  ***

  Lou did not look too pleased when Dante and Axil came into his office. The last thing he wanted to see was more Purebloods. After Vincent penetrated Inferno Lou had been on edge. He was constantly wondering how to keep vampires and Purebloods away. He thought about how useless the vampires guarding the gate were. One thing Lou did not understand was that these men were vampires and not Purebloods. He failed to understand that vampires could not fight a Pureblood, they’re merely too strong and too fast, not to mention they have abilities. He lit his cigar on the corner of his mouth and blew out smoke tunneling straight up to the ceiling. He had let the window open to allow the smoke to go outside instead of suffocating the room. On his desk, he had a drawing of his wife and children. There were papers lying all over the room, books stacked along the walls, and traces of his meals from the week. It was clear he needed a major clean up. This of course did not sit well with Dante. He hated filth. He looked around and saw the dirty floor, dingy with tattered clothing. Lou appeared as though he hadn’t showered and shaved in a week, stench and three o’clock shadow to show for it.

  Lou, disgusted, tapped the ashes from his cigar steadily puffing the smoke and asked, “So tell me, did you catch those bastards?”

  At that moment Dante decided he did not like this man. He took a chair from the corner and sat down. He stated sarcastically, “Well, since you asked…if you must know all the victims are safe.”

  Axil stood by the door with his eyes closed and his arms wrapped around his chest as always, looking irritated and careless.

  Lou was offended and slammed his fist on the table in rage. He did not like their attitudinal approach. “I don’t care about those victims! What I want to know is how the hell the King can send the two of you? Both of you are merely children. Where are Sonia and Angelione?”

  Dante titled his head as if to say, this mere mortal human dared to raise his voice in anger at a Pureblood.

  Axil noticed Dante’s reaction as he opened his eyes and contributed to the some attention to the conversation. He knew Dante wasn’t as level headed as he was. He responded, “Lou, they’re out on a mission, so you must deal with us.” He thought Lou was brave to raise his voice against them.

  Dante asked, “So tell me, Mr. Lou, have you ever chased a vampire or a Pureblood before?”

  Lou looked baffled. “What kind of question is that? That’s not my job that’s you people’s job.”

  Something Dante hated was a human that was ill-mannered. Dante said, “Well if you don’t know then allow me to enlighten you. Catching a Pureblood that we don’t know the location of is a difficult task. I’m sorry that the King sent us ‘children’ to do a Black Reaper’s job.”

  “Just make sure you get rid of him, and maybe this time they can stay out,” said Lou.

  Dante said, “Make sure that little girl and all the other victims get plenty of sleep and blood.” He said in a casual way, but of course he wanted to jump over the table and rip the guy’s head off.

  “A few months ago it was Vincent, and now this X,” said Lou in frustration. He put the cigar back in his mouth and blew the smoke to the ceiling once again. Lou wished Sonia, Angelione or any of the other Black Reapers were here instead. Lou hated these so called Black Reapers’ apprentices.

  Dante hated the smell of the smoke; the heaps of smoke always find its way to enter his nostrils. Axil gave Dante a nod saying it was time for them to go. They walked outside and started
to wonder what their next move was going to be. King Victor had trusted them and now this was their chance to prove themselves.

  “It must have taken a lot out of you not to kill him,” said Axil casually.

  “Yes it did, I wanted to snap his neck off.”

  It was times like this that Axil wished he had the power of the Elder to sense his opponents. They jumped from the ground to the roof and started their search.

  ***

  The scream of a child yelling for help caught Albedo’s attention. More of them. He quickly focused and used the Elder for guidance. This one was close, a young girl maybe about the age of six. He could sense she was being surrounded, this time he counted thirty Xs thanks to the power of the Elder.

  He wasted no time running in her direction. As he jumped to the next building he felt dizzy for a moment. He had remembered about his master’s lesson, that the Elder drains a lot of your energy. He needed blood. He knew he had to find the girl quickly now, without the Elder he would not be able to fight thirty of them. He arrived at the scene just in time. The girl was being surrounded on the hill. He remembered this place. He used to come here after school to clear his mind. He looked down a couple feet from him and saw them by the pond. He jumped down with a punch on one of the Xs. He looked back at the little girl and she looked frightened.

  “Stay back there, and don’t come any closer.”

  She seemed petrified and confused at the same time. He took the two daggers from his back pocket. Six attacked him. Albedo dodged and killed two of them. Still he felt his energy level had been drained. The power of the Elder was a great advantage but it had its flaws. One behind him came with a strike. Albedo ducked and killed him. As usual it disappeared.

  Albedo spun and killed three at the same time. One came in front of him and he blocked his punch and kicked him. But, unexpectedly one hit him from behind. Impossible I didn’t sense him. He fell to the ground; he got up quickly and blocked one who came down with his knee. That power that he used earlier, he wished he could activate it now. Thanks to that mysterious light from in his hands, his strength had become stronger, his speed faster, but now it was gone and he had no idea on how to bring it back. Albedo had a bigger problem. The Elder was beginning to wear off. He looked at the Xs getting closer to him and Albedo could feel his head spinning. The power of the Elder was now gone and it had drained a lot of his energy. What’s happening? Did I use it too much? His vision was dim, his speed and strength had been diminished.