Demitri stood over the crumpled mess that was his opponent with a sense of bemusement. Standing on a leveled pillar, he looked like a statue, right down to the pose. The bloody thing below him moved, but not to any alarming degree. Demitri, however, was rather disappointed in this, and his face reflected that now.
"Do you still struggle? It's lost some of it's initial charm, I have to say." he said.
The thing took no notice of this, and attempted to lift itself up, albeit hopelessly. It's muscles were pushed well past their limit, and it heaved and gasped for air. The amount of blood it had lost didn't help either. Still, it tried feverishly, with great motivation. It wanted very badly to just stand up, as if to do would practically gurantee victory.
The bloodied victim was named Talbain, a werewolf. The two had been chosen to fight each other, and so they had. It was the last battle to be fought in the tournament, the victors of the past matches looking onward at the two, watching, wondering as to who they might have to fight in the coming matches.
"Geez, this is pretty brutal, eh?" quipped King Zabel the Awesome. Le Malta clung to his back, and peered over his shoulder with his eye. He said nothing, preferring to just watch the events unfold. However, someone did hear Zabel, and they made sure to make their friendships known.
"Don't say that! Talbain's making a comeback, just you watch!" She yelled at him, smashing her pitiful fists against his shoulder. Zabel stuck his pinkie in his ear to avoid hearing her.
Zabel furrowed his brow as he went back to watching. He hated Demitri with a burning passion. Talbain was okay in that he never really messed with Zabel, but Demitri was another story. He hated everything about him: the arrogance, the fact that he had an entire of harem of girls, the way he always managed to one-up Zabel. Hell, I'm the emperor, for Christ's sakes, He thought, what's he? Nothing. You know what? I hope he wins so I can beat the chumpstain.
Much to Demitri's chagrin, Talbain made it to his feet. He glared at the vampire king, and said nothing as he breathed heavily. His glare was matched by Demitri's, and it was a stand-off.
"I've seen your kind before. You like to think that you're tortured, that the world is so cruel to you. It's pathetic. I will be the first to show you what your fantasy world truly is, so take note." Demitri announced.
Talbain stood unchanged by his words. It's odd how very little affects you when you're broken. Blood was literally sweating off Talbain's body as he began to speak.
"I know your kind as well. You act like you're better then everybody, and you bully anybody who doesn't agree with you. That makes me sick to my stomach, really it does. I know that as long as I try, you will never be able to beat me."
With that, Jon's body launched itself towards Demitri. A bright blue flame enveloped the werewolf's body as to give it the appearance of a fireball. The move was called the Beast Cannon, and with it Jon had defeated some of the best fighters around the world, even coming close to winning Demitri's dark tournament when they first met.
Demitri, however, was unimpressed by the move. As Jon closed in to hit him, Demitri sidestepped nonchalantly, and flung his cape up in a way almost like a matador does to a bull. He then quickly gave an uppercut at Talbain, made all the more powerful by a burst of dark energy that overtook Demitri's arm. His nails, which he grew out and filed to sharp points, cut into Talbain's skin and gave off more of the sweet nectar that Demitri craved.
Demitri was not done with his opponent quite yet, as he followed suddenly with a hook punch from the same hand. The power of such a punch flung the werewolf to the ground. Demitri stood again, triumphantly upon the pillar, smiling his satisfied smile.
"Do you see now, what true pain feels like? True pain is not losing yourself. It is not feeling abandoned. True pain is feeling the skin being peeled off you, as you have just felt. I'd suggest remembering that, in case you ever wish to complain about your miserable life." He said to Talbain. He lifted his hand, and noticed all the blood streaming down it. "A good start, but I can assure myself that there's more to be had."
Talbain was sprawled on the floor, back where we began. He wasn't thinking anything in particular, as exhaustion and blood loss had taken away in skill of strategy he had once possessed. All he wanted right now, was for the fight to end. He didn't care if he died now, just so long as he didn't have to worry, or feel, or think anymore. Then, a thought sprang in his mind. Suddenly, the wounds he had didn't seem that bad. They were still there, of course, but they were more like nuisances now.
He got to his feet, feeling alive, energy surging back into his body. He did not grin, but he didn't need to. Demitri knew how he felt, and this made his face go back to stoicism. He was ready for anything, but he knew from bitter experience that overconfidence costs fights, and that was certainly something he couldn't afford.
Jon positioned himself into a fighting stance, made somewhat awkward and ragged by his tiredness. He wanted to focus, but his muscles fought against it. Unfortunately, focus was the very thing required for what Talbain had in mind.
Meanwhile, Demitri was perched on top of the pillar, looking on with interest. His body was tensed up, as he was preparing for any assortment of attack. He eyes scanned all around Talbain, looking for the exact spot that Talbain would use to launch his comeback.
Talbain could feel the blood rush through his veins, his fighting spirit as they called it coming to him. His muscles finally gave up their own desires and let Talbain tense them. The desire for victory was at a fevered pitch inside him. There was no turning back for him.
Talbain roared, roared as loudly as he ever had before, and shot a spiral of four beams towards the waiting vampire king. The ends of the spiral were peculiar, as they bored resemblance to wild dogs, teeth gnashing, howling. A bright aura surrounded the werewolf as his energy flowed through his hands. This was known as the Dragon Cannon technique, seldom used because of the amount of energy required, but nigh indestructible should it hit. It was one of, if not the most powerful move in Talbain's arsenal.
Demitri braced himself, preparing to not to dodge, but to end the fight right there. He exploded from his perch and shot in such a way as to dive through directly the hole of the spiral blast, his body changing in odd ways, growing more bestial and fearsome. Wings were birthed his back, eyes glowed a fiery red. Naturally, he didn't dodge the attack completely, as the outer edges of his body felt the horrible burn of purest fire. In the blood lust of his transformation, however, this mattered little.
Talbain looked on in shock and horror, as he could see his opponent fly through his his final stand of an attack. He couldn't do anything, either, as the Dragon Cannon requires the user to remain as still as possible, so as to focus one's energy. He closed his eyes, and awaited his fate.
Demitri's right and primary hand plunged deep into Talbain's chest, his nails and new-found power aiding him in this task. Jon collapsed and flew to his back, the aura fading off him and floating off like fog. Demitri slowly pulled his hand out, tossing his head back as he reveled in the victory, and the blood, and the violence, and the degradation of his opponent. Talbain was limp, and the match was over.
The vampire lord stood up and changed into his usual human form, and after a few seconds of taking in the pleasure, and was silent as he was teleported back into the waiting room, his confident smile hung on his face.
Once all the winners of the previous were united in the waiting room, their host and death leader appeared before them, floating carefree amongst the winds over them.
"Ah! Such a climatic ending, and so fitting for our delicious orgy of sacrifice!" He announced cheerfully. His guests looked on, some with uneasiness, some merely listened with apathy. All took notice of what he said.
"I'm pleased to announce that our semifinals will be underway shortly, but first, perhaps you would like to see your death partners beforehand? Is it not so much to ask for your patience for a moment?" He asked, somewhat bemused.
"GODS OF PAST FIGHTS, ROLL THE VIDEO!" He voiced boomed deeply, unusual given that his regular voice was rather soft and mellow.
As soon as Jedah made the announcement, his very prescence was gone as all looked onward to the wall directly behind where Jedah had been. A kind of odd yellowgreen moss began to grow rapidly. As the moss spread out, a small, flat box began to expand from the center of the wall. It was an odd thing to watch, and the competitors certainly didn't know what to make of it. Then again, this was to be expected of Jedah, who was well known to have a taste for bizzare and complex theatrics.
When the box had finally grown large enough as to cover most of the wall, music began playing. The choice of music was strange; a weird kind of victorious 80s pop rock without vocals. Zabel looked on perplexed, wondeirng as to who he would face in the quarter-finals. He began going over the different possible outcomes, as well the strategies he would implement against them.
Bulleta...No real threat, just gotta keep outta the way of her guns and stuff.
Lillith...waay too many young girls for my liking, but I ain't got no problem against Morrigan Jr.
Bishamon...
It went on like that for a while.
After the initial introductions had been made ("Welcome to the Quarter-Finals" it read with big white letters on a black background), an excited female voice exclaimed that they would announce the first match-up. Zabel snapped back to reality and focused on the screen. Although he had no physical heart to speak, as this useless device was taken away during his ressurrection, he could feel the energy flowing from his veins as he waited impatiently to see who'd be the first.
"Our first fighter is...ZABEL ZAROCK!"
What followed next was a video package hyping our illustrious champion. It showed clips from his previous fights, things like his signature spots, poses, along with this quote, which happened to start off the video:
"For those of you who arn't familiar with me...allow me to introduce myself...I am the most charismatic demon in the world, and if of you guys wanna rock with me, I'll be happy to show each and everyone of you why I'm the main-event. From. Hell!"- His debut at Demitri's Tournament, Transylvania.
Zabel smirked as he watched his greatness and past victories; him posing on Victor's fallen body at the first Darkstalkers meeting; him illustrating the use of the Death Voltage on various people; multiple shots of him changing into his demonzombieghoul form. While all this was shown, Zabel could a type of music playing in the background; apparently his theme music. Zabel listened closely, as he had a fairly good knowledge of most types of metal, especially the type that was playing now; a kind of mix of speed and power. As he listened, he noticed that the lyrics seemed to be written with him in mind, and he concluded that the root of this song must have been Jedah himself.
So goes the song:
You give him the best and he'll take them
Down to Hell!
Bloody king raised to kill them
Kill them all!
Took trust now and he trampled it
Now unbridled!
Now bow or face your fall
Give him your heart and he'll take it
Down to Hell!
Give him your soul and he'll break it
Breaking all!
Striving to be the one and only
Now new Devil!
The one who stands up pure
Legends all now fall
He stands atop the mountain
Uncontent
There still remain something
Calling him now
Took his sacrifice, and made it pay
Now immortal!
Power flowing through him
Gruesome one!
Emperor of the fallen
Bloody cross!
The giants will be slain
Legends all now fall
He stands atop the mountain
Uncontent
There still remains something
Calling him now
Although the video had briefly put Zabel at peace, near it's end he could feel unrest grow in him. Although he was obviously confident in his abilities, he realized that PLANNING before fighting was actually more useful then just winging it. As the video faded to black, he clenched his fist as he awaited who his opponent would be. To her credit, the voice did not appear until after an excruciatingly long amount of time for our hero (about 30 seconds).
"And his opponent...HSIEN-KO!"
Even though a video package had begun playing in much the same style as Zabel's, it didn't matter. Zabel's eyes grew large and wide, or at least they would have had his pupils not been forfeited upon his resurrection. He backed away in shock, and fell to his knees. Le Malta looked on with a mix of embarassment and resentment.
"I...I...I will not fight my love! This ain't fair!...Agh!" He shouted.
Hsien-Ko herself stared in disbelief and mild annoyance. She certainly didn't mind my fighting this weird creature, but it amazed her how big of a whiner he could be in the face of bad luck.
Zabel got up off his knees and lit a cigarette, still mumbling how awful his luck was and how he didn't such harsh trials. Le Malta only sighed, thinking to himself about the same thing. As Hsien-Ko's music video rolled to it's conclusion, Zabel looked on with some interest as to what the next match would be.
"For our second match, please welcome...Bulleta!"
Le Malta's eye widened at the sight of the young girl, who promptly leapt to the air triumphantly.
"Tee-hee, I'll do my best to win! I promise!" she said.
Offensively sweet pop music began to play, complemented by quite possibly the most annoying female voice in existance. However, if one were to look at the screen playing clips of her, one could see the viciousness and contempt in her eyes. Shots of her blasting foes with rounds from her Uzi were shown, as well as other fire-arms.
To be sure, as soon as Bulleta's show ran to it's logical end, a low dirge began with a single low cello note.
"On your knees, dog."
"And her opponent...Demitri!"
As soon as the first shot of Demitri posing, blood dripping down his hand was shown, all eyes fell upon the vampire lord, who lowered his head and grinned. Zabel's expression changed from mild annoyance to flat our despise as looked towards Demitri.
"You're in luck Bulleta, as I shall make a proper woman out of you." He smiled.
Le Malta's eye watered up at the prospect of the two fighting. "Go on, my sweet! I will wait for you when you return victorious!" He shouted. Zabel looked at him with a mix of shock and disgust. "That...that's not cool, man.". Le Malta seemed as if he couldn't hear him, or if he did, he didn't care.
As the finalists for the other matches were decided, the video screen projected the brackets for the quarter-finals:
Zabel (d. Rikuo) vs. Hsien-Ko (d. Victor)-
Demitri (d. Talbain) vs. Bulleta (d. Sasquatch)-
Morrigan (d. Huitzil) vs. Bishamon (d. Felicia)-
Lillith (d. Anakaris) vs. Donovan (Bye)-
Zabel could feel his skin crawl, and felt like cold sweat was covering him. He hated that feeling.