Before Jack could react, a sudden explosive shockwave radiated out from Luther. Jack who was still having trouble standing, was swept by the force and slammed into the wall. He received 1515 damage, which was exactly half his HP pool. He was also afflicted with Dizzy status but his Purifying Pendant quickly negated that.
“What the hell was that?” Jack asked.
Peniel had phased into her hidden dimension when she saw what had happened to Luther. She phased out again after the shockwave passed.
“Someone had placed an enchantment on him, most probably his vampire father. A protective spell that took effect when his life was depleted. It replenished his HP and blasted away all those are around him.”
Luther, who had come back to life, looked around. He realized that although he was saved, he was not out of the woods yet. His guardian, Keiran, had perished. The perpetrator was still around and was higher level. The vampire seemed to find what he was looking for and dashed at it.
Most of the furniture in the room had been reduced to rubbles due to Jack’s Lightning God Barrage. The walls surrounding the room were surprisingly sturdy, except for the windows which had also been blasted to pieces. This mansion was situated rather far away from the street, but Jack still hoped no one had passed and seen the explosion when he used his skill. Otherwise, patrolling soldiers could be on their way at the moment.
Jack’s body still felt numb, the effect of using his sword art’s burst attack and the explosion from Luther’s enchantment left his body sore. He could only watch as Luther dove into the rubbles and fished out a bottle. It was one of the things that had been marked by his monocle. The one in Luther’s hand was marked with orange color, signifying a super rare grade potion.
“Oh no! Don’t let him drink that potion!” Peniel shouted.
Jack tried his best to stand but was still having difficulty. He summoned his magic staff again and cast Energy Bolts. Eight Bolts flew at Luther, but he ignored it. He drank the potion even as the eight bolts stabbed at him. A native’s high HP allowed him to tank through this basic spell’s damage.
After emptying the bottle, Luther smashed the empty bottle onto the floor. An inhuman howl was released from his mouth. Jack saw his features changing. Cracks appeared on his smooth and clean skin, its color also turned brownish. The skin was now more like scales, hard and rough.
When Luther turned around, the human face was gone, replaced by some sort of a demonic aspect. His eyes were round and dark, his nose became larger and had its tip pointed upward. His ears also grew longer and pointy. The teeth in his mouth were now sharp, not only his two fangs. The two fangs had become even longer and intimidating.
Jack felt like he was seeing a weird human with a bat-shaped face.
“See what you have done!” Luther yelled in a bestial voice. He was touching his face hysterically. He went over to where the dresser with the mirror was, forgetting that he had shattered the mirror before. There was even no longer a dresser there, Jack’s Lightning God Barrage had demolished almost everything. Luther squatted down and scoured through the rubble, searching for something.
“What the hell was that potion he drank?” Jack asked Peniel as he got up.
“Ancient Blood Awakening Potion,” Peniel answered. “It was a potion that only affects the Vampire race. When it was used, native vampires will gain an enormous boost to their power for a time. The effectiveness differs depending on the blood lineage of the users. Those with low lineage will even experience deformation to their appearances.”
“I will say that qualifies as deformation,” Jack said.
“Yes, but that can also be due to his newborn status instead of low lineage. His blood has not yet fully vampirized.”
Jack wanted to ask, ‘What the hell is vampirized?’ But didn’t, because Luther was now staring at him.
Luther had done scouring and found a piece of the broken mirror which he used to look at himself. Only to find that his reflection was still not there. He smashed that piece in rage and bellowed, before turning at Jack.
“See what you have done!!!” Luther yelled as he lunged forward.
Jack could feel that the newborn’s aura had intensified, he didn’t dare to be careless. He used Flash Step to evade before rolling away to put more distance with the raging vampire. He used Inspect at the same time.
Luther Solus (Rare Elite Vampire, Newborn), level 40
HP: 41,000/48,000
“What the… His grade and level had increased!” Jack exclaimed.
Peniel said, “Be grateful, his HP stayed the same even when his level had increased by fifteen. If his lineage is any better, his HP will increase as well, and his level might increase even more. Still, the grade increase should have increased his attributes by a lot. He should also have access to skills and spells that he should only get when he becomes an older vampire. Stay sharp!”
Luther lunged at Jack again. He was not using any weapon, but the nails in his fingers had also deformed and formed long claws that easily left marks on the sturdy wall that had resisted the lightning explosion.
Jack moved away while casting Myriad Ensnaring Chains. Luther’s speed had obviously increased, but there was not much space to move around inside this room. The chains easily covered the whole room. The eleven chains wrapped around Luther’s body and kept him in place.
Jack didn’t waste time. He cast all ranged offensive spells and skills. Shredding Fang, Mana Bullet, Mana Beam, Arcane Turbulence. Throughout the bombardment, there was spell formation being formed on Luther’s hand.
Luther’s two little hands suddenly enlarged disproportionately. Their sizes were now larger than his own head. He could easily grip a grown man’s head in those hands and they seemed to be able to easily crush one as well. There was a swirl of sinister aura accompanying each hand.
“That is one of Warlock’s spells, the Demon Hand spell,” Peniel said. “It not only increases his strength. It inflicts a portion of Chaos Damage, so it will bypass your high defense. It will also absorb your HP to heal himself with every hit.”
Hearing it, Jack cast Barrier spell for insurance.
Luther’s gargantuan hands each grasped at two of the chains which were entangling his body. He gripped hard and pulled. Sounds of cracking were heard. The two chains were soon shattered. He then went to the next two chains.
Jack took out his Companion Token. “I’m not wasting time with you. You are angry? Well, same here!”
Heathcliffe appeared next to him. He was already level 47, two levels higher than when Jack accepted his companion Token. It seemed Heathcliffe didn’t waste time to utilize the benefit of becoming an outworlder’s companion. The Knight was ready with his large two-handed mace. He looked around to appraise the situation, then focused his attention on Luther who was in the process of destroying the chains.
“Finish him!” Jack gave his order.
Heathcliffe nodded. He then made a praying pose. The opponent was restrained so he could afford to make preparation. His hammer was alighted with a blue flame.
“That is Sacred Flame, a Paladin’s skill. You are lucky your companion knows the skill. It inflicts extra damage to demon, undead, and Vampire race,” Peniel explained after seeing it. Heathcliffe never used this skill in the raids during their journey. He used it now because their opponent was a vampire.
Jack was not paying attention, he was already moving after summoning Heathcliffe. He circled to Luther’s back, intending to attack the vampire from two sides, all the while throwing burst ranged attacks from his Rapid Dazing Staff.
Luther made a hard yank and shattered the remaining six chains with one pull, just as Jack and Heathcliffe were approaching. The vampire spun around, two arms extended. Both Jack and Heathcliffe who were delivering their melee attacks at the moment were repelled by the demon claws. The rotational force threw Jack and Heathcliffe in two opposite directions.
Luther didn’t bother with Heathcliffe, his rage was solely on Jack. He chased after Jack just as Jack was balancing himself after hitting the wall. Luther slammed down with both his claws. Crashing Jack’s Barrier, but the two claws were stopped, one by Jack’s Magic Shield, the other parried using Storm Breaker. Jack still received damage though, he was the one tasting the chaos damage now.
Seeing Luther’s back was wide open, Heathcliffe threw his large hammer using a skill. The hammer was wrapped in spherical energy that left some trails as it flew, making it resemble a meteor. It struck the vampire’s back. The vampire howled in pain as a blue flame burned his back. Even after the hammer left his back, the flame was still burning.
Jack took the chance when Luther was distracted by the pain to move away. Jack’s fleeing caused Luther’s rage to ignite again, enough for him to ignore the pain.
Luther chased after Jack and clawed again and again. Jack had seen the claws needed to be evaded, not blocked, so he executed Eight Diagram Illusory Steps as best as he could. Combined with Flash Steps, it allowed him to keep on dodging long enough for Heathcliffe to pick up his hammer and come to his aid.
The two of them alternating in the offense. When Luther had his attention on Jack, Heathcliffe struck his back. When Luther turned around to deal with Heathcliffe, Jack’s stabbed.
Frustrated, Luther made a loud growl. His eyes suddenly glowed with eerie red light. Luther stared at Heathcliffe with that glowing eyes. Heathcliffe immediately found himself unable to move. Luther punched out and the native was sent away with a devastating force.
After sending Heathcliffe away, Luther now turned to Jack. Intending to focus his attention on this pestering outworlder.
