Ryker spun dramatically, attempting to cut down the agile foe in front of him. His penchant for the dramatic hadn't given him too much trouble thus far (aside from his very first match, with that short girl), but it was proving to be a hindrance against this man.
Ryker clicked his tongue in displeasure as the man gently backed just out of reach of his claymore. For some reason, he just couldn't hit this guy!
What a rude platinum-haired brat! Did he think he was some kind of royalty? He should just bow down and die already! Ryker was destined to be the victor of the Storytelling Games, and he wouldn't have anyone getting in the way of that!
Collin, for his part, was narrowing his eyes as a familiar sensation grew stronger.
Just why was he feeling it here, though?
Curious, he invoked his Bloodline Authority.
"KNEEL," he commanded, the word spoken softly yet with an undeniable aura of power.
Ryker gasped, collapsing onto his knees in the sand.
Since this was the final team battle where participants could choose their teammates, there were no fancy settings or rules. Just an all-out brawl. Therefore, the surroundings were that of a simple gladiator arena. This afforded the Patrons with a close and personal view of events, compared to large map events like Capture the Flag.
Nearby, their various team members were engaging in deadly fights.
To his horror, Ryker discovered that besides himself, Jiselle and Cumenai, only one other remained.
He noticed this in the brief second he took to look around himself in confusion, wondering why he had knelt.
He, the great Ryker, an Archduke-ranked Vampire (thanks to the Species Change Ticket he'd selected for his Boon), had knelt on command?
"So you're a vampire, too?" Collin asked.
No, no, it simply wasn't possible! There were no ranks above Archduke, he couldn't have been subdued using Bloodline Authority!
"... Hello? Are you listening? Answer me."
"I am not listening, my Lord," Ryker's lips betrayed him.
Yet it was happening! How could this be?!
Collin snorted in amusement. "Clearly not. Look up at me."
There… there was only one explanation for this.
"You seem confused," the platinum-haired vampire said.
Only one possible explanation.
"Allow me to explain."
He was --
"I am a Progenitor Vampire."
--
Alesha danced backwards, dodging the semi-transparent projection of where the woman in front of her was about to swing her greatsword.
Isn't this ability just plain overpowered? She thought as she counterattacked. Her opponent was good, however, actively adapting to Alesha's Battle Foresight skill. The fact that she's good enough to adapt to it scares me, though!!
Jiselle kicked a wave of sand towards Alesha, obscuring her view. The tactic was doubly effective because she didn't see only where the sand was but also where it would be in the near future.
Then, attacking from her blind spot, Jiselle thrust her greatsword forward, spearing Alesha through the gut from behind.
In a rush of panic, Alesha instinctively stabbed the pointed bottom end of her spear backwards, towards where Jiselle had to be.
However, her spear struck nothing and the momentum made her stumble.
She looked around frantically, discovering as she did so that Jiselle had abandoned her greatsword in Alesha's body. The weight of it aggravated her wound as it tried to heal.
Crap, Alesha thought. She's got me all figured out! If I heal, then she just needs to stop the healing, and if I can see the future with my eyes, she just has to attack me from where I can't see!
Weren't we supposed to have the advantage in this fight??
--
Natalia and Veronica worked together, firing off powerful spells in a destructive combination at their opponents. Rather than singling out opponents like the others, they preferred to fight alongside one another; and the strategy was proving quite effective.
In short order, they (and their other teammates) killed off most of the opposing team's fighters. Katarina was lost in the process, but that was an acceptable loss.
Trading one life for five was an unfortunate but manageable rate of exchange.
Veronica took quick stock of the situation.
Lotte', their surviving archer, had taken a few minor injuries but was otherwise alright. Hatil was uninjured and surprisingly chipper (considering her spontaneous species change overnight), and Katarina had, of course, already been accounted for as dead.
Collin appeared to be doing well in his fight.
As for Alesha… she had a giant sword stuck through her??
That didn't seem good.
She was about to give orders to assist when she realized something. There had been eight opponents at the start; five had died, and two were engaged in single combat.
Where was the eighth opponent?