Ketsuki
-------
The small mining city of Tinto
was in much better shape after the war.
The people were in higher spirits, and
trade began to flourish with renewed
passion and bolstered inspiration.
"Still dusty, isn't it." said
Sierra as she and Kahn entered the gates.
"Perhaps. But I decided that I
should check in here. It is where Neclord's
blows hit the hardest." replied Kahn, as he
remembered Tinto's plight. Neclord had come
to this city about a month ago, and had turned
its denizens into the walking dead.
Fortunately, almost everyone was
dispelled from their curse after Neclord was
killed by Viktor, who bore the Star Dragon Sword
combined with Sierra's True Moon Rune. It was
almost as if the undead tyrant had never laid
his evil magic upon Tinto at all.
Sierra sighed as she strolled next to
Kahn. "This desert sun is drying my skin."
Kahn looked at Sierra, humor glinting
in his dark grey eyes. "You could always head
back."
"But that wouldn't be any fun."
"Point taken."
Kahn slowed to a stop near the large mine
entrance at the top hill of the city. He sniffed
the air for a few seconds, then closed his eyes
in thought. Sierra poked her head in the cave
slightly, peering around the gloom curiously, before
looking to Kahn again. "What is it?"
"I don't know... for a moment..." Kahn trailed
off, his brow furrowing as he pondered.
"If you're wondering if you smell a vampire, I
smell it too. Whoever it was, they were here days ago,
and haven't returned."
"Then my senses aren't fooling me after all.
But their scent was very familiar." Kahn tried to think
of all the vampires he'd crossed during his life, but
as to which one this was, he couldn't put his finger on
it.
"Do you think they went into the mine?"
"Only one way to find out, Sierra."
Both nodded slowly in unison, walking into
the darkness of the mines.
***
The two had been walking in the dark mines
for almost an hour, combing it over carefully, searching
nook and cranny for any sign of the vampire. They were
about to give up, but something caught Sierra's eye as
she looked toward a boulder.
"Kahn, that rock over there..."
Kahn blinked, looking at Sierra, then at said
rock, narrowing his gaze. There was something...
All of a sudden, the realization hit Kahn. The
'rock' was slowly expanding, bipedal limbs growing from
beneath it, and stony arms extending from the sides.
"Sierra, be on guard, I think it may be a golem."
Sierra cupped her hands, a tiny light growing in her
fingers.
"Stall him, would you Kahn? I need a minute or two."
"No problem."
Kahn slowly approached the growing golem, his hands
held in his pockets leisurely. The golem was now easily
seven feet tall, as it slowly rose from a crouching position
on the ground. Rearing back its head, the large rock beast
roared loudly, the walls of the mine shaking heavily.
Kahn only stood his ground, switching his weight
from foot to foot to stay balanced. And his respone to
the deafening challenge of the golem?
"Let's go."
The golem charged toward Kahn, growling as its
empty eye sockets began to glow red. It swung one huge
boulder-fisted hand at the vampire hunter. Kahn merely
slid back, his coat flapping lightly.
"Too slow... obviously a halfhearted spell that
bred this one."
This outward calmness only provoked the golem, who
kicked a large foot toward Kahn. Kahn swayed to the side
heavily, a glint in his eye as he smiled a little.
"And so clumsy... rather easy to dodge at this rate.
But there's still something..."
By now Sierra had generated a small purplish orb of
energy within her hands. Her concentration was dedicated to
the spell, which was nearing completion.
The golem's hate-filled crimson eyes glowed brightly
as it spewed molten boulders of magma and fire at Kahn.
"Oh, so that's the trick. Nice one."
Kahn smoothly drew his sword from a concealed scabbard
within his left pocket, slicing a large fire boulder cleanly
in two. Following through with this circular motion, he spun
in place. The golem reached an arm toward Kahn to grasp him as
his back was turned, but Kahn's spin quickly turned him forward
again, as his blade cleaved through the golem's hand. With a
loud shriek, the golem withdrew its arm, the severed hand falling
to the ground, once more a pile of stones.
"Next..."
Kahn quickly thrust his blade toward the golem, dashing
quickly toward it, with a grunt, he stabbed into the monster's
large chest, carving a hole into it. The monster fell to one knee,
temporarily stunned. But already it began to regenerate its hand
and chest, debris from nearby seeming to melt into its massive
body.
"Sierra, now!"
Sierra now held a large orb of swirling purple energy in
her hands. Mumbling some arcane verses, she thrust her hands
outward, the orb rocketing toward the golem, hitting it directly.
With a flash of light and an explosion of rocks, the golem was
destroyed; turned back into the earth from which it was made.
For a long moment there was silence, as dust rose into the
air. Then with a ring of metal, Kahn's sword was returned to its
scabbard.
"Well that wasn't too bad."
Sierra tossed her head back lightly, long white hair cascading
down her back.
"Next time, should we switch?"
Kahn grinned slightly, before turning toward the now dead stones
and stooping to pick up a handful of rocks and dust. He stared at the
mass, then sniffed it lightly, before letting it slide out of his hand
and between his fingers.
"That vampire from before definitely summoned this, but I still
can't quite put my finger on who it is."
Sierra began to yawn, but froze as her hand began to cover her
mouth. The air within the mine had seemed to gone still. The torches
flickered, lowering to a minimal glow. The catacomb suddenly seemed
more like a tomb.
"Kahn..."
"Sierra, watch out."
Kahn looked about the dim room slowly, picking over every detail.
"It's been a while, Kahn. I see you and Sierra are still on the
losing team."
Kahn felt his blood go cold. Quickly, he drew his sword. Sierra
tensed, small lights beginning to form in her hands.
Near the remains of the golem, dark shrouds and wisps of purple
and green light began to form. Slowly they began to mold into a humanoid
shape. The shape flashed, turning into a tall man with shoulder-length
black hair and deep brown clothing. He was soon covered by a cloak of
swirling purple energy. With a small grin he opened his gleaming black
eyes, which assessed the two vampire hunters.
"Ketsuki! Damn!" Kahn said, suppressing a shudder.
"Ketsuki..." Sierra echoed quietly, her eyes downcast as the
lights from her hands faded.
Ketsuki looked from Kahn to Sierra, his grin broadening
slightly, revealing his vampiric fangs. "What's the matter, you two?
I expected more ceremony than this."
Kahn felt his temper rising; a rare occurence indeed. "Ketsuki,
why have you come here? Neclord was killed, or did you not hear?"
Ketsuki's grin faded, a serious expression replacing it. "I did
hear, Kahn. And I also heard that both of you were involved in the deed.
I hope you got that rune back from him at least."
Sierra nodded faintly. "We'll have to kill you, Ketsuki. You
know that."
Ketsuki slowly slid his hands further out of his sleeves.
"If you think you can... then by all means."
With a shout, Kahn charged toward Ketsuki, his sword whistling
through the air. Ketsuki laughed, his form turning to mist as the blade
passed through him. The vampire floated back smoothly, reforming. Sierra
fired two orbs of purple light, which streamed toward Ketsuki. Ketsuki
looked toward the orbs, his eyes flashing as he held up one hand, a large
orb of green and red energies discharing from his palm, destroying Sierra's
spell.
Kahn cursed. "You're stronger than before."
Ketsuki smirked. "You're observant."
Kahn smiled grimly. "Then let's see what you can do."
Kahn held out his right hand, the Resurrection Rune glowing
brightly. With a crackle of energy, white arrows flew from the vampire
hunter's hand, overtaking Ketsuki in a flash of brilliance. When the
light was gone, so was the vampire.
"Where'd..." Kahn trailed off, looking around slowly.
Suddenly, Sierra shrieked. Ketsuki laughed, his hand glowing
green as he struck the vampiress a grievous blow to her face, knocking
her unconscious.
Kahn growled, swinging at Ketsuki. "You'll pay for that."
Ketsuki's laughter continued as he swayed away from the slice.
Spinning swiftly, he kicked Kahn in the face, knocking the vampire
hunter back a few feet. With another kick, Kahn was sent reeling back
once more, dropping his sword to the ground. Ketsuki then held both
hands outward, a wave of red energy sending Kahn slamming into the
wall with a crash. Ketsuki floated toward the stunned vampire hunter,
landing lightly in front of him. With a slight grin, he watched Kahn
struggle against the force pinning him.
"Is this all you've got? I'm dissapointed in you, Kahn."
Cracking his knuckles, Ketsuki slammed a fist into Kahn's stomach.
Kahn felt the wind explode from his lungs, his mouth opening widely in mute
pain. Ketsuki connected to the now winded vampire hunter's face with his
other fist, blood splattering on the ground.
"How I've looked forward to this... you almost had me last time.
You should've killed me back then, while I was still weak. Now I'm stronger
than you. I'm even stronger than that mediocre vampire, Neclord."
Ketsuki pummeled Kahn's chest with swift punches, feeling the ribs
crack slowly, but surely. Kahn was in a world of pain, strangely disconnected
from the whole ordeal.
At last Ketsuki stopped, his face inches from Kahn's.
"Shall I kill you now? It's the least I can do for your mercy
previously."
Kahn growled out his answer. "I'll kill you."
A strange look passed Ketsuki's face, before he laughed.
"We'll see about that."
Suddenly, Ketsuki was thrown to the side in a brilliant
explosion. Sierra stood nearby, her face bleeding from the vampire's
previous blow. Biting her lip, she breathed in and out heavily.
"Bastard..."
Ketsuki slowly stood from his crouched position, looking at
Sierra.
"You'll pay for that one."
Swiftly he dashed toward her, a dark purple blade appearing
in both hands. In a blur, he spun quickly, cutting Sierra across an
arm and part of her waist. With a cry, she fell back, as Ketsuki
continued to spin after her, applying quick, shallow wounds to the
vampiress's body. After a few moments, Sierra was wounded too heavily
to stand, and so she collapsed, bleeding.
Ketsuki stopped spinning, a grim expression on his face.
"That's what you get."
All of a sudden, Ketsuki felt a strong force propel him into
a wall, rocks crumbling about him as he broke the surface. Slowly,
he pulled himself free, looking behind him. Kahn stood there, his
wounds seeming partially healed, sword held at the ready.
"You shouldn't let someone with a Resurrection Rune start
healing themselves, Ketsuki. Now I'm angry."
Ketsuki laughed, his eyes gleaming red.
"So I see. Now we'll see just how good a vampire hunter you
are, Kahn."
So said, Ketsuki quickly began to spin again, his form
becoming a mere blur of purple blades. As he spun toward Kahn,
the vampire hunter jumped into the air, turning his wrist and
throwing his sword down toward the vampire in a flurried spin.
This caught Ketsuki off guard, as he had no defense from an aerial
attack. The blade cut into the vampire's shoulder deeply, causing
him to stop spinning. Kahn landed lightly, kicking Ketsuki in the
chest and causing him to fall back a few steps, the sword sliding
to the ground.
Ketsuki slowly looked from his deep shoulder wound, then
to Kahn. Feral anger crossed the vampire's diabolical features,
before he smirked a little.
"You're pretty good. We'll finish this next time...
unless you want Sierra to die?"
Kahn looked at Sierra. A small pool of blood was
beginning to form around her. When he looked toward
Ketsuki again, he saw the vampire had vanished into the
darkness. Quickly Kahn kneeled next to Sierra, using
curative magic from the Resurrection Rune.
Sierra opened her eyes, sitting up. "Ketsuki's
much stronger than any of the other vampires I've
seen. What could have augmented his strength so?"
Kahn shrugged a little, helping Sierra stand.
"Whatever the case, he's left the mines. I doubt
he'll come to Tinto again anytime soon. He probably
thought he'd be able to easily take over Neclord's place
here, but he should be wary of us from now on."
Sierra nodded, and began to walk toward the exit
of the mine. Kahn fell into step next to her, and together
they left.
---TO BE CONTINUED---
-------
The small mining city of Tinto
was in much better shape after the war.
The people were in higher spirits, and
trade began to flourish with renewed
passion and bolstered inspiration.
"Still dusty, isn't it." said
Sierra as she and Kahn entered the gates.
"Perhaps. But I decided that I
should check in here. It is where Neclord's
blows hit the hardest." replied Kahn, as he
remembered Tinto's plight. Neclord had come
to this city about a month ago, and had turned
its denizens into the walking dead.
Fortunately, almost everyone was
dispelled from their curse after Neclord was
killed by Viktor, who bore the Star Dragon Sword
combined with Sierra's True Moon Rune. It was
almost as if the undead tyrant had never laid
his evil magic upon Tinto at all.
Sierra sighed as she strolled next to
Kahn. "This desert sun is drying my skin."
Kahn looked at Sierra, humor glinting
in his dark grey eyes. "You could always head
back."
"But that wouldn't be any fun."
"Point taken."
Kahn slowed to a stop near the large mine
entrance at the top hill of the city. He sniffed
the air for a few seconds, then closed his eyes
in thought. Sierra poked her head in the cave
slightly, peering around the gloom curiously, before
looking to Kahn again. "What is it?"
"I don't know... for a moment..." Kahn trailed
off, his brow furrowing as he pondered.
"If you're wondering if you smell a vampire, I
smell it too. Whoever it was, they were here days ago,
and haven't returned."
"Then my senses aren't fooling me after all.
But their scent was very familiar." Kahn tried to think
of all the vampires he'd crossed during his life, but
as to which one this was, he couldn't put his finger on
it.
"Do you think they went into the mine?"
"Only one way to find out, Sierra."
Both nodded slowly in unison, walking into
the darkness of the mines.
***
The two had been walking in the dark mines
for almost an hour, combing it over carefully, searching
nook and cranny for any sign of the vampire. They were
about to give up, but something caught Sierra's eye as
she looked toward a boulder.
"Kahn, that rock over there..."
Kahn blinked, looking at Sierra, then at said
rock, narrowing his gaze. There was something...
All of a sudden, the realization hit Kahn. The
'rock' was slowly expanding, bipedal limbs growing from
beneath it, and stony arms extending from the sides.
"Sierra, be on guard, I think it may be a golem."
Sierra cupped her hands, a tiny light growing in her
fingers.
"Stall him, would you Kahn? I need a minute or two."
"No problem."
Kahn slowly approached the growing golem, his hands
held in his pockets leisurely. The golem was now easily
seven feet tall, as it slowly rose from a crouching position
on the ground. Rearing back its head, the large rock beast
roared loudly, the walls of the mine shaking heavily.
Kahn only stood his ground, switching his weight
from foot to foot to stay balanced. And his respone to
the deafening challenge of the golem?
"Let's go."
The golem charged toward Kahn, growling as its
empty eye sockets began to glow red. It swung one huge
boulder-fisted hand at the vampire hunter. Kahn merely
slid back, his coat flapping lightly.
"Too slow... obviously a halfhearted spell that
bred this one."
This outward calmness only provoked the golem, who
kicked a large foot toward Kahn. Kahn swayed to the side
heavily, a glint in his eye as he smiled a little.
"And so clumsy... rather easy to dodge at this rate.
But there's still something..."
By now Sierra had generated a small purplish orb of
energy within her hands. Her concentration was dedicated to
the spell, which was nearing completion.
The golem's hate-filled crimson eyes glowed brightly
as it spewed molten boulders of magma and fire at Kahn.
"Oh, so that's the trick. Nice one."
Kahn smoothly drew his sword from a concealed scabbard
within his left pocket, slicing a large fire boulder cleanly
in two. Following through with this circular motion, he spun
in place. The golem reached an arm toward Kahn to grasp him as
his back was turned, but Kahn's spin quickly turned him forward
again, as his blade cleaved through the golem's hand. With a
loud shriek, the golem withdrew its arm, the severed hand falling
to the ground, once more a pile of stones.
"Next..."
Kahn quickly thrust his blade toward the golem, dashing
quickly toward it, with a grunt, he stabbed into the monster's
large chest, carving a hole into it. The monster fell to one knee,
temporarily stunned. But already it began to regenerate its hand
and chest, debris from nearby seeming to melt into its massive
body.
"Sierra, now!"
Sierra now held a large orb of swirling purple energy in
her hands. Mumbling some arcane verses, she thrust her hands
outward, the orb rocketing toward the golem, hitting it directly.
With a flash of light and an explosion of rocks, the golem was
destroyed; turned back into the earth from which it was made.
For a long moment there was silence, as dust rose into the
air. Then with a ring of metal, Kahn's sword was returned to its
scabbard.
"Well that wasn't too bad."
Sierra tossed her head back lightly, long white hair cascading
down her back.
"Next time, should we switch?"
Kahn grinned slightly, before turning toward the now dead stones
and stooping to pick up a handful of rocks and dust. He stared at the
mass, then sniffed it lightly, before letting it slide out of his hand
and between his fingers.
"That vampire from before definitely summoned this, but I still
can't quite put my finger on who it is."
Sierra began to yawn, but froze as her hand began to cover her
mouth. The air within the mine had seemed to gone still. The torches
flickered, lowering to a minimal glow. The catacomb suddenly seemed
more like a tomb.
"Kahn..."
"Sierra, watch out."
Kahn looked about the dim room slowly, picking over every detail.
"It's been a while, Kahn. I see you and Sierra are still on the
losing team."
Kahn felt his blood go cold. Quickly, he drew his sword. Sierra
tensed, small lights beginning to form in her hands.
Near the remains of the golem, dark shrouds and wisps of purple
and green light began to form. Slowly they began to mold into a humanoid
shape. The shape flashed, turning into a tall man with shoulder-length
black hair and deep brown clothing. He was soon covered by a cloak of
swirling purple energy. With a small grin he opened his gleaming black
eyes, which assessed the two vampire hunters.
"Ketsuki! Damn!" Kahn said, suppressing a shudder.
"Ketsuki..." Sierra echoed quietly, her eyes downcast as the
lights from her hands faded.
Ketsuki looked from Kahn to Sierra, his grin broadening
slightly, revealing his vampiric fangs. "What's the matter, you two?
I expected more ceremony than this."
Kahn felt his temper rising; a rare occurence indeed. "Ketsuki,
why have you come here? Neclord was killed, or did you not hear?"
Ketsuki's grin faded, a serious expression replacing it. "I did
hear, Kahn. And I also heard that both of you were involved in the deed.
I hope you got that rune back from him at least."
Sierra nodded faintly. "We'll have to kill you, Ketsuki. You
know that."
Ketsuki slowly slid his hands further out of his sleeves.
"If you think you can... then by all means."
With a shout, Kahn charged toward Ketsuki, his sword whistling
through the air. Ketsuki laughed, his form turning to mist as the blade
passed through him. The vampire floated back smoothly, reforming. Sierra
fired two orbs of purple light, which streamed toward Ketsuki. Ketsuki
looked toward the orbs, his eyes flashing as he held up one hand, a large
orb of green and red energies discharing from his palm, destroying Sierra's
spell.
Kahn cursed. "You're stronger than before."
Ketsuki smirked. "You're observant."
Kahn smiled grimly. "Then let's see what you can do."
Kahn held out his right hand, the Resurrection Rune glowing
brightly. With a crackle of energy, white arrows flew from the vampire
hunter's hand, overtaking Ketsuki in a flash of brilliance. When the
light was gone, so was the vampire.
"Where'd..." Kahn trailed off, looking around slowly.
Suddenly, Sierra shrieked. Ketsuki laughed, his hand glowing
green as he struck the vampiress a grievous blow to her face, knocking
her unconscious.
Kahn growled, swinging at Ketsuki. "You'll pay for that."
Ketsuki's laughter continued as he swayed away from the slice.
Spinning swiftly, he kicked Kahn in the face, knocking the vampire
hunter back a few feet. With another kick, Kahn was sent reeling back
once more, dropping his sword to the ground. Ketsuki then held both
hands outward, a wave of red energy sending Kahn slamming into the
wall with a crash. Ketsuki floated toward the stunned vampire hunter,
landing lightly in front of him. With a slight grin, he watched Kahn
struggle against the force pinning him.
"Is this all you've got? I'm dissapointed in you, Kahn."
Cracking his knuckles, Ketsuki slammed a fist into Kahn's stomach.
Kahn felt the wind explode from his lungs, his mouth opening widely in mute
pain. Ketsuki connected to the now winded vampire hunter's face with his
other fist, blood splattering on the ground.
"How I've looked forward to this... you almost had me last time.
You should've killed me back then, while I was still weak. Now I'm stronger
than you. I'm even stronger than that mediocre vampire, Neclord."
Ketsuki pummeled Kahn's chest with swift punches, feeling the ribs
crack slowly, but surely. Kahn was in a world of pain, strangely disconnected
from the whole ordeal.
At last Ketsuki stopped, his face inches from Kahn's.
"Shall I kill you now? It's the least I can do for your mercy
previously."
Kahn growled out his answer. "I'll kill you."
A strange look passed Ketsuki's face, before he laughed.
"We'll see about that."
Suddenly, Ketsuki was thrown to the side in a brilliant
explosion. Sierra stood nearby, her face bleeding from the vampire's
previous blow. Biting her lip, she breathed in and out heavily.
"Bastard..."
Ketsuki slowly stood from his crouched position, looking at
Sierra.
"You'll pay for that one."
Swiftly he dashed toward her, a dark purple blade appearing
in both hands. In a blur, he spun quickly, cutting Sierra across an
arm and part of her waist. With a cry, she fell back, as Ketsuki
continued to spin after her, applying quick, shallow wounds to the
vampiress's body. After a few moments, Sierra was wounded too heavily
to stand, and so she collapsed, bleeding.
Ketsuki stopped spinning, a grim expression on his face.
"That's what you get."
All of a sudden, Ketsuki felt a strong force propel him into
a wall, rocks crumbling about him as he broke the surface. Slowly,
he pulled himself free, looking behind him. Kahn stood there, his
wounds seeming partially healed, sword held at the ready.
"You shouldn't let someone with a Resurrection Rune start
healing themselves, Ketsuki. Now I'm angry."
Ketsuki laughed, his eyes gleaming red.
"So I see. Now we'll see just how good a vampire hunter you
are, Kahn."
So said, Ketsuki quickly began to spin again, his form
becoming a mere blur of purple blades. As he spun toward Kahn,
the vampire hunter jumped into the air, turning his wrist and
throwing his sword down toward the vampire in a flurried spin.
This caught Ketsuki off guard, as he had no defense from an aerial
attack. The blade cut into the vampire's shoulder deeply, causing
him to stop spinning. Kahn landed lightly, kicking Ketsuki in the
chest and causing him to fall back a few steps, the sword sliding
to the ground.
Ketsuki slowly looked from his deep shoulder wound, then
to Kahn. Feral anger crossed the vampire's diabolical features,
before he smirked a little.
"You're pretty good. We'll finish this next time...
unless you want Sierra to die?"
Kahn looked at Sierra. A small pool of blood was
beginning to form around her. When he looked toward
Ketsuki again, he saw the vampire had vanished into the
darkness. Quickly Kahn kneeled next to Sierra, using
curative magic from the Resurrection Rune.
Sierra opened her eyes, sitting up. "Ketsuki's
much stronger than any of the other vampires I've
seen. What could have augmented his strength so?"
Kahn shrugged a little, helping Sierra stand.
"Whatever the case, he's left the mines. I doubt
he'll come to Tinto again anytime soon. He probably
thought he'd be able to easily take over Neclord's place
here, but he should be wary of us from now on."
Sierra nodded, and began to walk toward the exit
of the mine. Kahn fell into step next to her, and together
they left.
---TO BE CONTINUED---