The sounds of Vesper and Zeleti clashing bounced off the laboratory walls, the research facility became Vesper's springboard as he tried to bring his enemy down. Cassius watched like a proud parent as his legacy battled his first true adversary. With his aura hardened Vesper continued to launch multiple attacks on Zeleti, delivering a variety of combinations to try and catch him off guard. However, to no avail, Zeleti continued to block, deflect and counter the punches and kicks that came his way.
*Yawwwn* Iggi taunted Vesper with a dull expression.
The scales on Vesper's armour throbbed at the provocation.
'Perhaps If this was 200 years ago, you and the rest of your family could have taken me down.' Zeleti caught Vesper's gaze, turning a furious red, with pupils beginning to look more and more like a beast.
With a twitch of his eyebrow, Zeleti stiffened his aura. Crawling up from the ground like a zombie came his own aura, shifting into a long spear, he lunged it towards Vesper with speed that the young heir's eyes could not follow. Vesper knew he had to react; he had to move. Yet his body couldn't do so in time. Vesper knew this and braced himself for impact with eyes wide open. Although his vision was quickly obscured with Cassius' back, his coat tails still in the air as they had not yet adjusted to the speed. Cassius had displayed yet another impossible feat in order to catch the spear head on with his aura coated hands.
Vesper stood amazed once again, but this time not because of Cassius' strength but Zeleti's. Cassius looked back to check on Vesper, upon seeing his pupil's surprised gaze, he realised he was still holding on to the spear.
This was unusual.
The normal response for anything that touched his aura was to decay. And yet, there it stood still trying to push its way through. Cassius' dark aura grew more solid as he threw the spear back at Zeleti.
'Well now this is interesting.' Zeleti caught Cassius' counter mockingly and inspected the damaged tip of spear. The spear was eroded partially but not entirely, Zeleti was excited to be facing someone who could finally make his long-life dream come true- to die.
'There's no shame in using your family, come, let us finish this.' Cassius held out his hand for his pupils.
Vesper smiled at the gesture; it meant Cassius saw him as more than just a boy.
'I'll still land the final hit.' Vesper smirked as he took Cassius' helping hand.
'I wouldn't expect anything less. Find your timing, I'll tear him down until then.' As Cassius finished his words, Vesper hi-fived his hand, tagging him in.
Vesper ran out wide, circling a giggling Zeleti, jumping off the laboratory desks, scaling the wall. First the desk, the chair, the large machine; with a final aura step to leap and rest on one of the platform rails, like a leopard waiting to pounce.
'Keheheheh.' Iggi couldn't contain his amusement, clutching his stomach in joy. 'The irony of meeting a foe that could cut me down as I've finally accomplished the perfect weapon.' Switching over abruptly, Zeleti stood deathly still in contemplation.
For the first time in what felt like eons for Cassius, he hardened his aura. He threw several black spikes towards Zeleti. Under their cover, he stormed in to close the distance staring at a frozen Zeleti, Cassius was prepared for anything.
Zeleti stretch out his arm to swallow the dark spikes with his aura.
'What a vile taste!' Zeleti coughed painfully and returned the spikes back to Cassius. The whites of his eyes slowly being devoured by his addiction.
Cassius sliced backwards and sent a crescent shaped aura attack with a kick to counter his own initial attack.
'It had been a while since I've had a battle like this, it is indeed a shame your power came from ruining your own family.' Cassius ran to circle Zeleti, attacking with more spikes, this time rather than trying to swallow the attack, Zeleti hardened his aura and blocked them off. Cassius continued his barrage of spikes, laying aura platforms each time he circled his prey.
Zeleti continued to block.
Cassius seemed to have no end to him, as the aura platforms had begun to form a small cage where Cassius had not only laid them, but used them to attack from various angles surrounding Zeleti. The spikes continued to chip away at Zeleti's shield, although damaged it still stood firm. Despite the onslaught of attacks, the smile on Zeleti's face continued to grow. The prospect of him dying in this fight was an excitement that he could not hide.
As the final platform was laid, Cassius pushed off and landed swiftly on the floor before clasping his hand tightly. This triggered the several aura steps to connect and condense inwards closing in on a trapped Zeleti. Interlocking his fingers, Cassius then caused spikes within the trap to form, striking Zeleti with no escape.
Vesper's armour scales began glowing beneath their constant vibration; excitement, rage, anticipation, too many emotions were sizzling under surface as Vesper watched on the sidelines.
'This won't be enough! Stay ready!' Cassius could sense his pupil's eagerness.
*Creek*
*Crack*
Slowly cracks began to form on the dark cage sitting in the middle of the laboratory. Kai, Camilla and Hina, in the back watching subconsciously all stepped back upon seeing the cracks grew. The energy emitting from this prison felt different, although everyone could sense this, no one apart from Casius knew the danger of what was escaping. Vesper's eyes widened as the cage fully erupted to show a fully transformed Zeleti charging at Cassius.
Iggi had completely taken over, the whites of his eyes were soaked in red with no differentation between his crimson pupils and eyes overall. The skin of his jaws had torn apart as his teeth sharpened and fangs morphed into something resembling a saber tooth tiger. His claws not only grew outwards and edged inwards into his skin taking over his hands. In this state Zeleti had sacrifice his freedom to bring out immense power, an ancient form lost over the years- Vampyr. The wounds Cassius's attack created were being covered, from them extended Iggi's aura that gave him four extra limbs.
This told Cassius two things.
One- Zeleti's healing capabilities were that of an average Vampire, and since he couldn't fully heal his wounds, he resorted to blocking them. No matter how much blood you may ingest, a vampire's healing capabilities cannot be changed or enhance, this was something you were simply born with. This would directly link to how long a vampire could live as well as recover.
Second- Zeleti, Iggi, whoever was in control, could not possibly last in this imperfected Vampyr state, with such wounds for long. Even without reason, it seemed Zeleti was looking to die, as his focus still stayed with Cassius rather than looking for the nearest blood source to recover.
Cassius knew he only needed to bide his time till Iggi burnt out, although that in itself was a difficult feat to achieve.
Cassius hardened his claws with aura and grew them to match his foe, his fangs grew showing he was no longer hiding his strength. A relentless barrage of attacks came his way, he was dealing with 8 sets of limbs, trying to block, deflect and dodge what he could. The aura limbs seemed to have a mind of their own as they moved unpredictably. Cassius continued to keep up with this and even managed to land a few slashes of his own in, but with minimal damage.
However, slowly he was being driven back, yet he remained calm.
'AHhHHHhhh!' Camilla's scream filled the room even above the sounds of the beasts clashing.
Cassius heard this and looked down to find one of the aura limbs had struck him in the abdomen. He paused for a moment. Since he had not felt pain in what could be called as forever, he hadn't noticed he was harmed. Although that fraction of a section was all it took for Iggi to penetrate Cassius' defence.
The other limbs continued their attack, Cassius was able to catch one, ripping it apart, but not before another struck him through the shoulder.
The sight of Cassius wounded was not one Vesper could comprehend, his body reacted before he realised and the scales on his hardened aura erupted and fired, homing in on Iggi's back.
The scales hit Iggi like missiles, even when trying to block these, the scales decimating his aura limbs entirely before disappearing. The blood cascading from the gaping holes in Cassius was disregarded, he simply countered and slashed back at Iggi, using the opening Vesper had provided.
'I missed you, old friend.' Cassius looked nostalgically before he delivered several kicks catapulting Iggi up towards Vesper.
The Young heir didn't need any prompting, as he leaped off the banister meeting his revenge for a final blow.
*BANG*
Everyone stood deathly silent as what they thought would have been the end of a battle, was interrupted with the sound a gunshot. The sound echoed with a roar unlike the usual modern artillery.
Kai was the one holding the barrel up to the air, the smoke still escaping the weapon.
*Thud*
Iggi's body fell to the ground as his transformation slowly ended, although in pain, he continued to laugh even as Zeleti took control. The reason everyone was frozen however, was seeing Cassius' body that was just on the floor milliseconds ago, was also falling from the air with golden bullet glowing within his chest.
*Thud*