Episode Fourteen
A Dream to Become a Death Weapon Part Two, It Takes Two to Dream?
A sound soul
dwells within a sound mind
and a sound body.
Nail rolled himself off of the couch and reached for his game system controller but couldn't find it. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the chaotic mess that was his living room. It was probably under an empty pizza box or some clothes. He started rifling through things but to no avail. The controller was nowhere to be found. When all else failed, go to the source and trace it back. He went over to the entertainment center and suddenly his world started caving in around him. The gaming system was missing.
Where could it be? He was so close to getting the epic gear that he needed for his character in his recent action RPG. He had to do several dungeon raids a day in hopes that the final boss would drop the piece that he needed for his armor set to be complete. Where? Where could it be?
"Hammer!" he yelled, suddenly realizing what was happening. He left the living room and stormed into the bedroom that he and his roommate were sharing. He was not in his room where he should have been. Their bathroom door was slightly cracked, and he could see light pouring onto the bedroom floor. From inside he could hear the shower running and Hammer singing to himself.
He burst into the door and threw open the shower curtain. Hammer covered himself and shrieked in horror.
BONK!
Nail found himself on the floor nursing a new knot given to him by his Weapon who solved his frustrations by violence. He looked up and the curtain was drawn again, but Hammer was poking his head out.
"You ever heard of knocking, Nail?" Hammer demanded.
"The door was open...where's my gaming system?" Nail snapped back.
"Oh…that," Hammer said. He disappeared behind the curtain and didn't say anything further. Nail could feel the proverbial question mark appear above his head.
"Yeah, Hammer: that. I woke up this morning and I couldn't help but to notice that my gaming system was missing," he said in accusation. He waited for a moment for an answer but Hammer just kept singing in the shower.
"Don't make me tear that curtain open again, Hammer. Being naked is not going to keep me from beating the information out of you," Nail threatened. Hammer turned the water off, reach out, grabbed a towel and threw open the curtain with the towel wrapped around him. He proceeded to go to the sink, brush his teeth and continue with his morning routine.
"This silent treatment isn't going to help you. Just tell me where it is and I'll leave you alone," Nail pleaded.
"I gave it to Ayame on a bribe that she would go on a date with me," Hammer said haughtily.
"That wasn't your gaming system to bribe girls into going on dates with you, Hammer. It belongs to me and I want it back. I'm going to get it from Ayame right now," he said, having heard enough to recover the system.
"Don't bother. She decided that video games weren't her thing so she gave it back to me," Hammer said. Nail growled in frustration.
"Where is it?" Nail asked.
"You can have it back when you start being more responsible with your classes and your lessons. You promised that you were going to be a better Meister and you were doing well for a while. Now you're slipping back into your old habits and as your Weapon I refuse to let that happen. You can have it back when your academic efforts and performance is to my satisfaction," Hammer said. Nail could not believe what he was hearing. He wasn't sure what else to do so he attacked Hammer.
He was hard to grab onto because he was still all wet. Nail was also having a hard time giving the wrestling match his full attention because it was kind of awkward to be wrestling an almost-naked man. He should have thought about it more because Hammer was stronger than him by a large enough margin to make a difference. Soon he was on the floor in a head lock with Hammer on top of him and he was pretty sure the towel had fallen off in the scuffle.
"Hammer get off already!"
"I'm not so sure I should," he growled. About that time Tsarevich walked in the bathroom.
"Hey guys I heard some commotion and—!" they both looked up at him. The expression on his face was one of shock, disgust and puzzlement. He just blinked a few times and made a half-groan-half-sigh.
"Sorry. I'll leave you two alone," he said walking away.
"Tsarevich! This is not what it looks like! Hey! Hammer get off of me!" Nail said, wriggling free, "And for God's sakes put your towel back on." He stepped out of the bathroom and let Hammer finish getting ready. They were going to have a discussion, maybe another tussle, but it was going to have to wait until they were both fully clothed.
At last, his Weapon walked out of the bathroom and narrowed his gaze at him as if to challenge him to try something again. Nail glowered right back at him waiting for him to break the silence, but deciding he could not wake.
"I want the gaming system back, Hammer," Nail said.
"And I want a Meister who's worth a damn, but you don't hear me complaining," Hammer shot back.
"You're complaining now," Nail pointed out.
"Oh…right…well, you can keep trying to wrestle it out of me but we both know that's not going to work for you. You could try to get some more money to buy a new one but we both know you're too lazy to get a job. Or, you could get ready and come to class with me and start doing better and then maybe—maybe—I'll think about letting you play it for a few hours today," Hammer said. Nail's ears were most assuredly spouting out steam. He knew he had to be hot enough to cook an egg on. What choice did he have though? He supposed that he could find a different Weapon partner. That solved that problem easily enough.
"Why don't we just find different partners, Hammer? That would be easier. We're not suited for each other. I just want to live a normal life. You want to be a Death Weapon. Find a Meister who's better suited for you. I'll go back to the shack in the valley where I can play my video games in peace," Nail said.
"Yeah, well good luck with that considering the last sandstorm that came through leveled the place to the ground. And as far as finding another partner—good luck. There's not a Weapon in his or her right mind who would give you the time of day," Hammer said. Nail hated to admit that he was right.
"Then why do you bother?" Nail said.
"Because I know that you have what it takes and that if you just applied yourself we could do great things together," Hammer said, softening his tone a little.
"Now you sound like Professor Aurion," Nail complained.
"Well, he just might have been right about some things, Nail. Come on. If you hurry you could be fashionably five minutes late for class," Hammer said. Nail found his books and notebooks among the mess, decided to skip a shower because he just didn't care and followed Hammer on the way to class.
"Today is going to be a fun day in class. We're going to do some show and tell," Stein said to the class. Nail yawned. He found Professor Stein to be twice as boring and Professor Aurion. How was he supposed to learn anything when his teachers put him to sleep?
"We're going to practice resonating souls as a Weapon and Meister. Pretty soon, you're going to have to do this as a team which is much more complicated than resonating souls with your partner. Some of you still have yet to form a complete team. I really hope that you find a way to change that as we will have to rearrange the class to make sure there are at least three Meisters in every group," he said. He looked right up at where Nail and his friends were sitting. Hammer was right though. No one wanted to be on their team. They were the outcasts—the losers.
About that time someone walked into the class holding an armful of books, peering into a schedule. They managed to walk right into Professor Stein and dropped their books. He was average height, average build, blonde-haired and blue-eyed. He wore perfectly round, wire-rim glasses and dressed like he was a big dweeb.
"Oh! I'm so sorry. I'm looking for the Crescent Moon class," the kid said.
"You must be Ezra, the new exchange student from Oceania," Stein said with a smile, extending his hand. Ezra smiled and shook his hand.
"Yeah…that's me," Ezra said.
"You've found the right place. Go ahead and take a seat up there next to Nail," Stein said, pointing him out. Nail sighed loudly.
Great…another dweeb to add to the ranks.
"But before you do that, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself," Stein said.
"My name is Ezra, my parents got a job in the states so I transferred here to the DWMA from the Oceania branch," Ezra said, blushing at having to be in front of everyone.
"Are you a Weapon or a Meister, Ezra?" Stein asked.
"Oh! Right…I'm a Weapon," he said bashfully.
"Did you have a Meister partner back in Oceania?" Stein asked.
"Yes, but she wasn't able to transfer with me so…" he trailed off.
"That's okay. We still have a few Meisters who are looking to find a Weapon partner. Class, I would like you to be welcoming to our new student for as long as he is with us," Stein said. A few people let out half-hearted hellos. Nail gauged from the class that they were about as captivated as he was. Ezra made his way up to the empty seat on the aisle that Nail was sitting in.
"Hi. I'm Ezra," he said. Nail looked at him with an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah…I heard that when you introduced yourself in front of the whole class," Nail said sarcastically. He made sure not to make eye contact with the kid. He just didn't look like someone he would want to be friends with.
"Oh…right…sorry…you're Nail, right?" he asked. Hammer, being the social butterfly he was cut into the conversation and took over from there.
"Yeah. He's Nail. Don't mind him; he's in a bad mood today. I'm his Weapon partner, Hammer and these are our teammates: Tsarevich and his Weapon partner Vyse," Hammer said, pointing to people as he said their names.
"—Hello."
"—Hey, how's it going."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Ezra said with a smile.
"Okay class, let's bring it back to the subject at hand," Stein interjected, "Soul resonance is one of the most powerful techniques that a Weapon and Meister can use. I can tell that you're all about to blow your brains out from boredom so we're going to make this interesting.
"Hammer! Nail! Get down here. You're the first set of volunteers," he said.
"We're not volunteers if you're calling on us," Nail complained.
"Just get down here," he said. Hammer and Nail made their way to the front of the class—Nail's least favorite place.
"Sky! Rain! You come down here too," Stein said after scanning the room as if trying to decide who he was going to pick. The two girls made their way down the stairs and Hammer was already drooling. If Nail was going to be in class he was not going to have his Weapon acting like an idiot.
"If you want me to stick around for this, you'll stop acting like a horny bulldog and be serious. You think you can manage that?" Nail whispered.
"Just look at them…the legs…the tits…dat ASS!" he said, much louder than he should have. Nail promptly slapped him in the face to bring him back to reality.
"Sorry about that," Hammer said, rubbing the red mark across his face.
"That's what I'm here for—I guess," Nail complained.
"Alright the four of you are going to spar. In order to pass the exercise you will need to perform at least one attack while resonating souls with your partner," Stein said.
"Professor Stein, I promise I'm not trying to get out of this exercise, but you do realize what kind of damage this class room might undergo if Hammer and I use a soul resonance attack, right?" Nail pointed out.
"The lesson stands. Weapons, transform; Meisters, take stance," he said. Nail and Hammer looked at each other and shrugged. Hammer transformed and Nail gave him the signature twirl. Sky also transformed and Rain performed a similar technique before brandishing her halberd. He and Hammer had never fought these two before. They were top-notch. He would never admit it to them out loud, of course, but they rarely lost matches.
Lucky for them, I don't lose matches either. I still have a score to settle with Vyse when this is all said and done, but it's time to knock these bitches down a peg or two.
"You ready Hammer?" he asked.
"All it takes is a fight for you to get it in gear," Hammer observed, "Aren't you glad you came to class today?"
"Shut up and get ready to bring some pain," Nail said.
"Begin!" Stein said.
Holy shit, she's fast! Nail thought to himself. He just barely had time to keep from taking the spearhead end of the halberd to the throat. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible or they would find away to attack him before he reacted. He twirled his body bringing Hammer in a wide, obvious horizontal swing at just the perfect height to jump over—which he was hoping she would do.
At the opportune moment, he arced his swing up into the air was happy to hear the sound of Hammer smashing into Sky, sending Rain flying across the room. She flipped around until her feet was facing the wall and braced herself, preparing for a propelled attack.
"Good improvisation, Nail!" Stein praised. He didn't have time to relish in it because the fight was still raging. Rain spiraled through the air, halberd pointed straight at Nail to drill through him. He used Hammer to bat Sky to the side and followed up with a downward chop. Nimble little Rain danced away from the blow and the axe-head smashed into the classroom floor, sending splinters of marble and wood into the air.
Nail could not help the smirk of satisfaction that appeared across his face. He wasn't about to spare the classroom after he had given Professor Stein a very fair warning as to what could happen.
He didn't have time to lift Hammer and block the blow so he ducked at the last possible second, pivoting Hammer around his body for a quick, short-ranged, horizontal arc. Rain blocked but the blow sent her sliding across the classroom floor all the way into the first row of desks.
"—Let's go! Soul resonance!"
"—Let's go! Soul resonance!"
Rain looked up at them and smiled guilefully. Nail didn't have to be using his soul perception to notice what was going on. The pair had powerful souls on their own, and as one the energy radiating from them was thick like warm static in the air.
"We should resonate souls too," Hammer suggested.
"Shut up, Hammer. I'm the Meister; you're the Weapon. You do what I tell you to do," Nail snapped.
"Hey! We're supposed to be working together as a team," Hammer protested.
"You just sit back, relax and watch the show," Nail said.
"Legendary technique of the axe-Meister: Divide Asunder!" Rain called out.
"They can use our move!" Hammer pointed out.
"A halberd is an axe too, you know," Nail pointed out.
Rain advanced moving so quickly that she would be a blur to most, but Nail's keen eyes kept watch, Hammer held in both hands across his chest. She attacked from above and from the side, bringing down the glowing blade of Sky upon him. He waited until the last second and used Hammer to block the blow.
"AHHHH!" Hammer screamed in frustration and pain. Nail kept himself on the defensive as Rain slashed, stabbed and hacked at him like a maniac. The end of her Weapon was glowing with the power of their resonated souls. She couldn't touch him though. He was prepared of an all-out assault like this.
"Nail, you've got to stop using me as a shield. I'm strong but I can't take that many hits from her wavelength," Hammer warned. In his mind's eye, Nail saw Hammer down on one knee, clutching his side painfully, blood dripping out of his nose and mouth. He was in even worse shape than he was letting on. Maybe this would be a lesson to Hammer to remind him who was in charge.
"Ha!" Nail shouted, catching Rain off guard. He used the butt-end of Hammer to bust her in the chin. As planned she stumbled backwards with wide-eyed surprise. He swung Hammer like he would a baseball bat and sent Rain smashing into the ceiling, breaking the drywall above.
"Alright, Hammer! It's soul resonance time!" he said. They resonated souls and prepared to do their Hammer of Ruin attack, but something was amiss.
"What are you doing, Hammer? Resonate my wavelength!" Nail said.
"You can't expect me to do it after taking a beating like that. I'm not a shield, you know!" he protested. This conversation was not happening verbally, but in their mind so Rain had just started to fall down from the ceiling at this point.
"Hammer of Ruin!"
He smashed the Hammer into the classroom floor, sending a pillar of marble up through the floor and smashing into Rain. She dropped Sky and it was all over. Nail advanced and caught her by the throat, throwing her in the crater he had created with Hammer. He brought up Weapon over his head and brought the axe down on Rain who was cowering in terror…he stopped just millimeters before her face.
"You lose," he said with a smirk. Some of the class cheered and some of them booed. Some of them were silent. Sky and Rain did not often lose so it was a surprise for them either way. Hammer transformed and fell to his hands and knees and spit up some blood. To Nail's surprise Sky and Rain came rushing to his side.
"Are you okay? I'm so sorry. I thought he would try to dodge. I didn't think he would let you take those hits like that," Rain said. Suddenly Sky was in his face.
"That's no way to treat your Weapon. You did that on purpose! What did you think was going to happen?" she demanded. Nail just rolled his eyes, crossed his arms and looked away.
"They're right, you know?" Stein said, approaching the four of them. He knelt down beside Hammer and put his arm on his shoulder.
"I think that you should go see the nurse, Hammer," Stein said.
"No…" Hammer managed through gritted teeth, "I'll be fine." He turned and glared at Nail with fire in his eyes.
"Okay, if you're sure. The four of you can take your seat. You all pass this assignment," Stein said.
"Why do they pass? They lost," Nail pointed out.
"This assignment had nothing to do with winning or losing, but whether or not you could create a strong resonance with your partner. Both of you were able to do that so both of you pass," Stein said.
"This is stupid," Nail muttered under his breath. He made his way back to his seat. He walked past Sky and Rain who were helping Hammer to his seat. He was probably eating it up that he had his arm around two pretty girls and they were taking care of him. Nail was becoming more and bitterer towards Hammer than ever. He finally took his seat next to him, and leaned down on his desk, wiping the blood from his nose.
"You're a jerk, you know that?" Hammer said softly. It was only loud enough for Nail to hear.
"Just toughening you up for when I make you a Death Weapon," Nail retorted sharply. He had a plan for what he was going to do and he knew that Hammer wasn't going to like it. It was the only way that Nail could keep his word and not have to spend years stuck in this insufferable school.
A few days later Tsarevich looked up at the mission board and frowned. He couldn't help but to worry. He really hoped that whatever was going on with Nail passed soon. Ezra, the new kid, walked up beside him and looked up at the same mission on the board that had been accepted.
"Wow! You're friends are really brave! That looks like a hard mission," Ezra said. About that time Vyse had joined them. Tsarevich looked at him grimly. Vyse only shook his head.
"They're not brave, Ezra; they're stupid, and they're going to get themselves killed. Taking on L'stat and his entire coven of vampires at once is suicide," Vyse interjected.
"Why did they take such a hard mission? It says there that this mission is recommended for an entire team or a three-star Meister," Ezra pointed out.
"Nail is trying to turn Hammer into a Death Weapon so that he can retire. He deliberately took a mission that will yield him a lot of souls," Tsarevich explained.
"Do you think they're going to be alright?" Ezra asked.
"It's hard to say. They are strong together—I know because I've fought them before," Vyse replied, "but their greatest strength lies in how well they work together. Right now, Nail isn't even speaking to Hammer. He's just using him as a tool to swing around and kill those whose souls have become Kishin eggs. I worry that if he doesn't let Hammer in they may very well die on this mission," Vyse replied.
"I'm afraid you're right, but I hope you're wrong," Tsarevich added grimly.
"Me too," Vyse agreed.
In the far reaches of where Transylvania used to be, hidden deep in the forested mountains there was a castle on a cliff. It was a dark, cursed castle where evil that does not sleep made its home. The tall, black spires speared the sky even from a distance. Even though it was summer, the trees were completely bare. Dark, wet ,brown leaves swirled in the wind and made an eerie rustling sound over the dank earth. The place seemed dark even with the bright sun shining down upon the castle. It was as if its black stone sucked the life, light and goodness right out of the atmosphere.
"This place gives me the creeps," Hammer said, walking close to Nail's side. He did not respond. The two of them hadn't been speaking and it was not on Hammer's part. Hammer had been mad about the whole ordeal with Sky and Rain, but he got over it. Still, he refused to return the gaming system until he saw some actual progress with Nail. Taking on a mission was as step in the right direction, but Hammer worried that they had bitten off more than they could chew.
The old rusty gates pushed open with ease. There was nothing standing guard to prevent entry into the castle. Then again, Hammer supposed that a coven full of vampires would welcome stragglers and passersby. It wasn't everyday that food just waltz into one's door.
Growl…
His stomach groaned in protest at the thought of food. He was hungry and they had not eaten since they arrived in Transylvania…or wherever this place was. He knew better than to complain to Nail about food. The most response he had received from him in days was an occasional grunt of annoyance.
Thunder rumbled in the distance. Hammer looked to the east and saw the promise of a storm brewing inside of dark, rolling clouds. Flashes of electric light sparked from inside the clouds. It was still far away—hours away—but Hammer didn't like the looks of it.
At long last they arrived at the doors of the castle. Nail stopped walking and looked at the doors. It was very obvious what was waiting for them in their. Hammer was surprised when Nail did the research to discover what it was that these 'vampires' could do. They were not unlike Dahmer in the sense that they drank the blood of their victims and then, in turn, devoured their souls as well. They sapped them slowly like one would suck the juice out of a berry.
Hammer always preferred to swallow the souls he consumed whole. There was something very filling about having the power of an entire soul enter one's body all at once. He, of course, never at regular human souls either. He only took the souls of people who had strayed onto the path of evil—those who souls had become kishin eggs. These 'vampires' would not consider themselves to be such souls, but the there was no denying the truth of what they really were.
"Hammer, I want you to transform," Nail said. Hammer looked over at him in surprise. It was the first that he had heard from him in a while.
"What's the plan?" Hammer asked.
"You don't need to worry about it. Just stay in Weapon form and resonate my soul like you're supposed to. This is going to be an all-out assault. We're not going to stop until every one of them is good and dead," Nail said. Hammer tried to say something but Nail looked away and held out his hand which was the signal for him to transform. Hammer sighed and did as instructed. He could only hope that they had what it takes to do this. This mission was very dangerous. There was said to be a lot of 'vampires' hiding out in this coven. Maybe as many as hundred, and that's why Nail took the mission. If they survived this, he would find a Witch to hunt.
Boy that'll be the day, Hammer thought to himself.
"Here we go!" Nail said. He kicked the door open to a grand foyer full of people with glowing red eyes and elongated canine teeth to form fangs.
"My-my-my, what do we have here?" one of the 'vampires' asked. Nail looked up at the man dressed in colonial-English style clothing perched up on a banister like a bird—or bat.
"It's not everyday that two delicious meals come waltzing through our door," he said.
"Sir! One of them is a Demon Weapon!" another said. Nail's eyes darted. He used this time to starting counting them.
One-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight-nine-ten-eleven-twelve-thirteen-fourteen-fifteen-sixteen damn there's so many of them! Seventeen-eighteen…
"I can see that, Mikaeus. They are a Meister and Weapon from the Death Weapon Meister Academy, am I wrong?" the one perched on the banister asked.
"My name is Nail. I'm a one-star Meister from the DWMA and I have come to collect your souls," Nail said gripping Hammer tightly in his gloved hands.
"A student! My-my-my you must either be extraordinarily gifted or extraordinarily stupid to come waltzing in to my coven threatening to eat our souls," he said. Nail figured that this one must be L'stat. Nail looked at him and kept his face and clothing in his memory so that he could find him later—save him for last if possible.
"We don't take kindly to threats. Dinner is served," L'stat said.
They attacked all at once, jumping, leaping, sprinting faster than people should be able to move. But they weren't people. Aside from the beady red eyes and fangs, they looked like people until their jaws unhinged showing rows of jagged, serrated teeth. There was no possibility of leaving the mission unscathed, Nail realized. He would have to pick and choose when to take his hits.
Whatever you do, don't stop attacking. Keep swinging until they're all dead and don't let them overwhelm you.
"Nail! What are you doing? MOVE!" Hammer screamed. Nail ignored him. He took stance and just at the right moment, when they were closing in to range for his Hammer-swing, it began.
He swing Hammer axe-first in a circle, hacking through the first row of attackers. He killed the first three that the blade passed through and injured the next six or seven. He jumped up and back bringing Hammer down in a long, figure-six motion as flipped completely forward, axe-first, chopping through another two or three. This created a line for him to dash through.
Even with his back turned, he could tell the horde of attackers was closing in on him. He swung a wide, horizontal arc behind him, but only managed to hit one of the attackers, and just barely hitting him. They were catching onto his attack style, sliding under or jumping over his swings.
"Ah!" he yelped as he felt the claws of one of the 'vampires' slice through the flesh on his arm. Another slice came across his back and down his side. Their claws moved through his clothing and flesh easily, but they did not cut as deep as he thought they would.
He twisted and swung in wild angles, trying to be unpredictable. He managed to bring down another two of the attackers, but suffered another dozen slashes from them. At this rate they were going to tear him to shreds. He expected this though. It wasn't supposed to be easy to make a Death Weapon. He just didn't want to waste the time on endless missions. He had to kill these wretches and let Hammer eat their souls so that he would leave him the hell alone. He would show him that he wasn't a lazy, worthless Meister.
"Nail! Stop staying in one place and letting them come to you! There's too many of them. You gotta keep moving and take them out when they leave themselves open!" Hammer said. Nail ignored him and held his ground slashing and smashing the 'vampires' as they came to him.
Though he would never ever admit to Hammer that he was right, that moving around would be the best course of action, he was starting to wish that he had listened. One of them slithered their way behind him, jumped on his back and clamped down on the meaty flesh between his neck and shoulder, trying, like a snarling dog to find a vein.
Nail put the handle of Hammer between him and the 'vampire' chewing on his shoulder and ran forward, flipping in the air and pushing out to pry the 'vampire' off his back. Airborne now, he did an aerial flip and swung the axe-head around into the neck of the 'vampire' who had bit him. He was smiling a bloody smile even after his head left his shoulders and rolled across the ornate, hardwood floors of the castle.
He looked at saw that there were only seven of them left. Wait! There were two of them crawling up the walls and across the ceiling in the shadows. He would not have been able to see them except that he had been working on his soul perception. He would pretend that he didn't see them, rush head-on into the group of 'vampires' that were now holding their ground, taunting him, luring him into a trap, and then he would spring a trap of his own.
He let out a wild bellow with Hammer brandished overhead and moved in for what would be an obvious downward strike. The 'vampires' on the ground retreated until he was just below the two on the ceiling. It happened so quickly it could hardly have been said to have happened at all, but the adrenaline pumping through Nail's veins made every second seem to span over the course of minutes.
He rushed forward and used the nearest 'vampire' on the ground as a boost for him to get up high. In mid-air he saw the two coming at him, claws and fangs bared to tear into him. He caught the first one in the ribs with the axe-head, let Hammer absorb the momentum, while he continued to sail upward. He twirled around Hammer like he was a gymnast's parallel bar. He arced his body so that his feet came down across the 'vampire's' back and forced him down on the edge of the axe, splitting him in twain.
To keep from getting a vasectomy from the edge of Hammer's axe-head, Nail used himself as the fulcrum and swung Hammer around in a wide, vertical arc, and caught the other mid-air 'vampire' with the hammer-head. He braced his arms and transferred the inertia to the end of the hammer, forcing the 'vampire' to plummet into its friends below and even smash through the wood, sending most of the falling into a dark hole below.
He landed close to one of the 'vampires' that had not fallen through. He used his fist to punch him hard in the chest, where his heart would be. He wished he could project his wavelength like Tsarevich right then. While he may not have been able to do the things with his soul that Tsarevich said, they had confirmed that Nail's soul was actually the larger and stronger of the two. The ability to obliterate an enemy with a single blow was something that he envied.
Until then, he would have to settle for using the strongest Weapon in the Academy he could get his hands on to slaughter any who stood in his way. Aside from the blood soaking into his clothes and dribbling down his back and chest, he was doing pretty well.
"That was a lovely display of an angry bull in a china cabinet," L'stat said. The whole while he was up on the balcony that overlooked the main foyer. He was no longer perched on the banister like a hawk, but was pacing back and forth and drinking a dark red liquid from a goblet. It was hard to tell whether it was blood, wine or a mixture of the two.
"You are strong, but you are undisciplined. I admire your courage, but this tirade ends here," L'stat said with a sneer. Like skittering beetles, vampires crawled out from the hole below, from hidden crevices in the ceiling and walls. There was probably another thirty or forty in all. It was not ninety-nine, as Nail had hoped for, but it was still a nice chunk of souls.
"You all are dead and you don't even know it. Come at with your claws and your teeth! All of you! I'll kill you all!" he screamed. He lost himself in a berserker rage and the horde was upon him. He let out screams of war cries, pain, anger, frustration all at once. He felt flesh and bone tear and crack under the weight of his blows. In the back of his head he could hear the sound of his Weapon screaming something but he was not listening. He was lost in a place that only he could go.
No amount of pain, no injury sustained could deter him. He saw only wide-mouthed, fanged targets and the need to bring each and every one of them down. He was wearing down though. Slowly but surely they would overtake them. He saw that now and that there was nothing that he could do to stop it.
All of his efforts to make Hammer a Death Weapon would be in vain. It would all be for nothing. He had doomed them both to a terrible death at the hands of 'vampires.' How could it have come to this? He was so sure. So confident. So ready to take on whatever came his way. Now everything was a blur of teeth, claws, and blood.
"You seem to have an affinity for taking in reckless students, Merios," Lord Death observed. Merios could only shake his head in dismay. It was true. Then again, he was never one to follow the rules. He let Vyse, Hammer and Nail participate in a mission they were not supposed to participate in.
I also let Vyse believe that I did not foresee him trying to get the Witchblade to escape. If that got out, I'm sure that I would lose my job.
"Even if they somehow manage to survive this, we should probably start putting restrictions on the mission board. Most people have common sense enough not to take on a mission that is way over their head. Unfortunately, Hammer and Nail are not most people," he said.
"What do you foresee? Do you think that they'll escape? I must admit, from this perspective things aren't looking too good," Lord Death said, tilting his head to the side.
"There's a lot of different possibilities—most of them end in death and defeat. The only ones that lead in escape or victory is if they start working together. Right now Nail is shutting Hammer out. He's not letting his partner in on the decisions. He is using him as little more than a tool to channel his rage," Merios said.
"Well that's unfortunate. At this rate, I don't think that any of us could get there in time to intervene," Lord Death said.
"No. There's not a possibility that I can foresee where anyone shows up in time to make a difference. It's all up to them now. I just hope that Nail sees the light and starts letting Hammer in or this is gonna be messy," Merios said.
"Nail! Get your head out of your ass and listen to me, damn it!" Hammer was screaming and had been since the battle started. Once he saw dozens of the bloodsuckers skittering out of the woodworks of this castle, he knew they were doomed. He had a good idea but there was nothing that he could do in Weapon form.
If he transformed, he would leave both of them vulnerable and it would ensure certain death. Still, his hard-headed Meister was not making thing easy for him. He screamed and cursed and did everything he could think of in order to get Nail's attention but nothing seemed to be getting through.
What was worse, in the midst of all of the fighting, Nail seemed to be completely oblivious to the countless injuries he was sustaining in his all-out assault method. The blood and walls were spattered with those that he had slain, but just as much of his blood had been spilled in the process. He was covered head-to-toe in scratches and bites.
Hammer could tell by the intensity and frequency of his swings that he was slowing down. He was becoming more and more exhausted and soon wouldn't be able to so much as lift Hammer, let alone swing him or use him properly. Hammer wasn't sure what else to do to get his attention, but what he was doing wasn't working. He knew that he had to try a different approach.
"Nail," he whispered, "Hey, nail."
"What?!" Nail growled.
"We're going to lose if we keep this up, you know," he said, keeping his tone soft and delicate.
"I know that! You think I don't know that?" Nail asked.
"We can still win. I have an idea, but you have to let me in," Hammer said softly. Suddenly the connection between them became very clear to the point that their souls were starting to resonate.
"Alright, let's hear your big idea, Hammer," Nail said.
"First we have to take care of something—this thing between us," Hammer said.
"There's no time for that!" Nail snapped.
"You know that there is. We can speak to each other at the speed of thought which is a hell of a lot faster than speaking out loud. Now tell me what's wrong. You can't be this upset over a gaming system," Hammer said.
"I just feel like a failure, Hammer. It made me feel like a child being scolded when you all but grounded me from my video games. I know that I have been slacking and I know that I have failed you and everyone else. I don't know what's wrong with me. I just can't seem to stay motivated," he admitted.
"Stop being a big baby and feeling sorry for yourself. And don't ever shut me out again. No matter what happens, we are in this together; we're partners, remember. You're going to make me into a Death Weapon. We didn't come this far to lose now," Hammer said.
He could feel Nail's soul smile and Hammer smiled back. He wasn't about to let one little fight get between them and victory. Aside from that, there really wasn't much time.
"Thanks, Hammer. Let's hear your idea," Nail said.
"How do you kill a vampire?" Hammer replied with a question.
"Lot's of ways: garlic, crosses, fresh running water, silver, chop them into pieces, a stake to the heart, sunlight…"
"Sunlight! The sun is shining, remember? That's why they're not out side and there inside this dark castle. Bust the ceiling off of this place and light these guys up," Hammer suggested.
"It's a long shot," Nail pointed out.
"It's our only shot," Hammer added grimly.
"Alright! Here goes nothing!"
He jumped into the air, their souls resonating at their most powerful. He swung Hammer into the vaulted ceiling of the castle's foyer and sunlight exploded into the room. The 'vampires,' L'stat included, instantly burst into flames and were rendered to nothing but smoldering piles of ash within seconds.
There were about forty souls left over at the end of the battle. Hammer transformed and took his Meister under the arm. He was a little worse for wear. One thing was for sure, it was going to be a while before he went on another mission or to class.
"How'd we do?" Nail asked blearily. Hammer took a look around.
"Same as always," he said with a grin.
"That' bad, huh?" Nail said with a chuckle.
"Every time I start to doubt you're going to follow through with what you say, you remind me why I agreed to be your partner," Hammer said.
"Any chance I can get my gaming system back now?" Nail asked.
"While I have you on a roll like this? Not a chance!" Hammer joked. They laughed. It was good to have things back to the way they were.
"We're a good team, Nail," Hammer observed.
"It's our greatest strength: working together. I learned that the hard way today," Nail said.
"Are we cool?" Hammer asked.
"We're cool," Nail affirmed holding out a bloody fist for Hammer to pound. Hammer gave it a playful punch and laughed as he began to collect the souls.