“I see. He drank blood? The Akaoni did?” Tsukiharu mumbled to himself, grasping the reason for Kouya’s newfound strength. His widened eyes slowly narrowed and his lips curled into a placid smirk. “But from the looks it, you only drank a drop at most. Plus, seems like you’ve used most of your strength to repair your body.”
“……”
“I can win if that’s all I’m up against.” Tsukiharu raised his hand, the broken trees and debris scattered around them lifted into the air. Glass fragments from the smoldering building glinted amid the floating debris. The glass and branches turned their sharpest point toward Kouya.
“Hopefully it just ends with writhing pain,” Tsukiharu said and lowered his hand. A countless number of jagged tree branches and glass fragments flew at Kouya from all sides.
“Futile.”
“…!”
Just when Tsukiharu thought he sent an attack no one could dodge, a blinding flash accompanied Kouya’s one word. Once his vision cleared, Tsukiharu saw all his weapons had turned to a cloud of ash. Unlike Azusa, who couldn’t follow the instantaneous attack, exhilaration filled Tsukiharu’s face.
“Amazing…that was a plasma attack, right? Maybe calling it lightning would be easier to understand. Even I can’t use that yet. Awesome…mind-blowing, really. Looks like the name Akaoni wasn’t just for show after all.”
“……”
“Too bad for you; I’m the more amazing one here!” Tsukiharu exclaimed and raised both his hands.
Ten times the amount of debris, glass, and trees lifted into the air and aimed for Kouya. Another wave of flashes cracked down from the sky and filled the forest with blinding light. Ash fluttered from where the debris once floated.
“I told you it’s futile.”
“You’re amazing. Truly, impressive,” Tsukiharu cheered, clapping his hands, glee filling his face. Almost as if he were an owner impressed by his dog’s new trick. Kouya’s frown deepened at Tsukiharu’s reaction.
✦ ✦ ✦
AZUSA desperately strained her eyes to see the battle through the blinding flashes of light. The third blazing flash cracked down. She could tell it was coming this time from the way they postured, so she hid her face behind her arms to keep her eyes from blurring again.
The flashes finally stopped. She opened her eyes to see the debris gunning for Kouya raining down as ash. Kouya and Tsukiharu faced each other under the black ash rain. They glared at each other; tension so thick running between them they almost seemed to stop breathing. Azusa spotted something glinting in the pile of dirt behind Kouya.
That’s…
“Kouya! Look ou—” Azusa shouted just as a knife sprung out of the dirt and embedded itself deeply into Kouya’s back.
“Agh… Silver?” Kouya groaned.
“Yes. A silver knife. This was my trump card, so I didn’t want to use it, but you were the one person who could get me to,” Tsukiharu sneered.
Kouya pulled the knife out of his back—blood spurt out and showed no signs of stopping.
“Silver is still an effective countermeasure against vampires. Isn’t it especially useful against a vampire with power on par with our ancestors like you? I have silver knives buried all over this area. I can attack you from anywhere, at any time.”
“Damn it…” Kouya staggered.
“Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you all the knives have been dipped in the poison I had Shiro make. It’s not a poison that will kill you right away, but it appears its effectiveness is…superb,” Tsukiharu speculated upon seeing the sweat trickling down Kouya’s face. “I dare say it’s taking all your strength to stay standing, no? You can’t summon any more lightning in that state.”
“……”
“Guess it’s time to finish this.”
Tsukiharu raised his hands again. However, he didn’t pull up trees and debris to fling at Kouya this time. Twenty silver knives ripped from the ground and lined up in front of Kouya like a military execution. All twenty knives flew at him.
“Kouya!” Azusa ran forward to protect him. But the battle was over before she could even get close.
Three knives.
Only three silver knives pierced Kouya’s body. The remaining seventeen knives snapped in half or were repelled into the surrounding trees. However, the battle wasn’t over yet.
SPLAT! Tsukiharu plunged his hand through Kouya’s abdomen with a grotesque sound and ripped it back out. Blood dyed his hand a dark red.
“Damn it!”
“Oh wow, to think you still had that much strength left…”
Kouya narrowly leapt out of the way of Tsukiharu’s hand coming to pierce through his chest. A single scratch marred his pristine face. He nonchalantly jumped back to a boulder thirty feet away and looked down at Kouya.
“It’s over, Akaoni.”
“…!”
“Don’t!” Azusa jumped in between them. A silver knife glinted in her right hand. She pointed the blade straight at Tsukiharu.
“Move!” Kouya painfully shouted behind her. He was on his knees gasping for air, his shoulders heaving with the effort to breathe. Blood pooled beneath him.
“I don’t want to!”
“Azusa!”
“I said I don’t want to! Silver knives are like kryptonite to vampires, right? It should work against Tsukiharu too then!”
“Azusa, are you possibly thinking you can defeat me? Seriously? Haha…hahaha!” Tsukiharu burst out laughing like he was greatly enjoying himself. He laughed so hard tears came to his eyes. “You really are the best! You think you can defeat me when even the great Akaoni couldn’t? With just one measly knife? You’ve surpassed recklessness and stupidity in one audacious act!”
“…We won’t know the impossibility of it until I try!”
“I know! It’s impossible, Azusa. It’s not possible for you. You are a normal human girl! The only one who has the slightest chance of killing me is the barely alive Akaoni behind you!”
“……”
“It’s impossible. It’s absurd. It’s reckless. You can’t even hurt me with that knife,” Tsukiharu laughed. Azusa glowered at him. Something thudded behind her.
“Kouya!”
Azusa quickly looked over her shoulder to find Kouya had fallen from his crouched position as if he was at death’s door. She rushed over and knelt down to help him up, his blood coated her arms in a thick, sticky red.
“Aww, he’s really going to die on us. He might have won if he drank a little more blood before coming too. It’s kinda disappointing.”
“……”
“…Well, whatever. Let’s go, Azusa. I have several other hiding places. I know just the place no one will ever find us.”
“Don’t come any closer!” Azusa pointed the knife at Tsukiharu again.
“I told you that you can’t hurt me.” He grumbled in an almost disappointed tone.
“…Then, all I have left to do is this.” Azusa ran the blade along her wrist and dragged it across. Blood gushed from the long slice and streamed down her hand.
“Wh-Wh-What are—”
Azusa cast a sidelong glance at the flabbergasted Tsukiharu as she brought her bleeding wrist to Kouya’s mouth.