Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son

Chapter 158  [Blood Of Fallen] [14]

Ash rose to the sky.

The roof of the tower burned, the explosion illuminating the area around, heat melting the snow on its surface.

"Cough... Cough."

At the edge of the tower, Azariah stood, coughing, a mana shield clutched in his forearm, extended to protect his body.

His instinct saved him from the point-blank explosion, but damage was still done.

The sleeves of his shirt were burned, showing his hands—lined with layers of thin old scars.

They covered his skin as if some beast had repeatedly raked its claws up and down, again and again.

Pain surged through his scars, but it was just his imagination.

"Arghh..."

He groaned, eyes snapping open, looking at the fire burning around him.

"Arianell!!!"

He yelled, running, crossing his arms to pass through the fiery pit to the other side.

Muspelh.

Heat slowly subsided, giving way for him to move.

Reaching the other side, he snapped his head around until his gaze landed on the white-haired girl gasping for breath.

A thin layer of Chi protected her body, but how she knelt on the floor showed that she was hurt.

"Hey!" He yelled, running towards her before kneeling right beside her. "Are you alright?" he whispered.

She shook her head slightly, lifting her skirt while twisting her leg to show the burned calf of her left leg.

A pungent smell of burning skin started to engulf their nostrils.

"That's going to leave a mark." She grimaced, clenching her jaws to not scream.

"This is going to hurt, but bear with it." Azariah whispered softly, bringing his hand close to her injury.

Neplh.

"Arghh!"

A thin layer of ice emerged, covering her injury, making her groan in pain, grabbing his hand.

'That should stop the bleeding,' He thought, standing up, retrieving his hand, and glancing around the place.

"We should go dow—"

His words abruptly stopped, his left hand moving parallel to Arianell's face.

With a swift motion, something flicked, looping around his arm.

 Azariah felt the cold metal tighten around his forearm, binding him.

"Azariah," she mumbled, limping to stand up as she looked up, his hand bound with a chain.

The chain suddenly yanked; caught off-guard, his body flew to the other end of the chain.

The flames died down, giving him a view of the opposite end, where a woman with black hair stood, one hand curled up, the other jerking the chain back.

"Shit!"

He yelled, face darkening as her right hand scythed around in a giant roundhouse strike.

He brought his forearm to his side face in an attempt to block her strike.

Boom!!

"Arghh!!"

Azariah groaned, his hand feeling like it was breaking apart as his body flew backward, toes landing first as he barely balanced himself.

'No broken skin, just painful to touch.'

He grimaced, rubbing the hand that took the blow, eyes never leaving that woman.

"Tch, and here I thought I would kill her in one strike." Faye shot a glance at Arianell, who stood looking dazed.

Then her gaze landed back on Azariah, standing at the edge of the tower, as she said, "That could have killed you if I hadn't held back at the last second."

Though she couldn't help but be wary of him, her strike was powerful enough to shatter his arm, but it didn't seem that way.

'Quickly kill her and take him away.'

She concluded, looking at Arianell.

Standing in the middle of the rooftop, Faye snapped open her palm, her nails elongating into sharp, menacing claws.

With a swift motion, she slashed her hand through the air, and from her fingertips, a crimson arc of blood materialized, forming claws that rushed toward Arianell with deadly intent.

"Arianell, snap out of it!!"

Azariah yelled, making her react just in time to move away from the trajectory.

Grabbing the chain, he used his entire strength to pull Faye back towards him.

Faye stumbled back a little, forcing her to look back at him.

"Be a good boy and let me kill her." She chirped, smiling at him before turning towards Arianell.

"Kill yourself, bitch." He snarled, glaring at her, gripping the chain firmly.

Arianell also took out her sword, jerking her leg to let blood flow to her burned part. It stank, but not enough.

"Uzume bloodline—Kagura: Mai."

She whispered softly, rushing towards her, drawing the sword up over her head and snapping it down toward Faye.

An invisible blade rushed toward Faye, and much to Arianell's horror, she just tilted her body to let it pass.

"Fuck!!"

Faye twirled her body around, the chain straining as she lifted Azariah and twirled him toward Arianell.

"Duck down!!" Azariah yelled at Arianell, who quickly squatted down, the chain rushing over her head.

Azariah rolled on the ground, balancing himself before he prowled towards Faye.

'In a fight, footwork is always important.'

Lauryn's training words echoed in his head as he changed his approach.

The movement of his legs changed from formless to a rapid shuffling motion, so that he stayed balanced at all times.

Faye swept her hand, blood claws rushing towards him.

Azariah ducked, twisted, and sidestepped to avoid the trajectory as he reached close to her.

Both their hands were still bound by a single chain as Azariah reached close enough to throw an uppercut.

She leaned back, her clawed hand slashing horizontally at his face.

He propelled back to avoid, and she rushed close to attack.

He sidestepped her body, ducked under her clawed hand, bounced up again, and spun around.

Her chained left hand aimed at his chest; Azariah stepped on the chain, forcefully pulling her extended hand down.

She swung her right hand, forcing him to lean back, removing his leg, jerking his hand grabbing the chain with his right hand.

Using the strained chain as a shield, he parried her claws; the same move, she swung, he ducked, but her breathing was even—his, not so much.

"Is that all you can do, bloodsucker?" He spat.

A very bad habit that Azariah picked up from Esmeray was to look down on others—no matter the race, nobility, or class.

A thing that had stuck with him since he was a child.

And "bloodsucker," the term that vampires hate the most, was picked up by him because of her.

Faye's crimson eyes turned furious as she heard him. She snarled, "Enough playing around!!"

She came at him again, no hesitation whatsoever, same move.

But this time, as he ducked, she crashed an elbow into his side face as she spun her body around.

Light blasted in his eyes, making him dizzy. Clenching his jaw, he stomped, using the chain to loop it around her extended hand, ready to grab her hair.

"Uzume bloodline—Kagura: Mai."

Her vampiric instinct kicked in as she felt a few invisible blades aimed at her back.

But as she tried to move, Azariah pulled back her chained left hand and looped her right hand up, forcing her to stay in place.

"Tch." She clicked her tongue in annoyance as the blade hit the mark, slicing her back multiple times.

"All that for nothing." She snarled, a twisted smile adorning her face.

'Fuck these bloodsuckers!'

Azariah grimaced in his mind as her body started to regenerate, healing those cut marks instantly.

Faye snapped her head back as she looked at Arianell, rushing at her, but the injured leg made it look like a child running in Faye's eyes.

She looked back at Azariah, who stood up and headbutted with full force.

"Is that all?" She asked, smiling as she did the same, headbutting him.

Azariah stumbled back, his head feeling dizzy, making him memoryless for a moment.

She spun her body, her elbow crashing on his ribs, knocking the breath out of his lungs.

His body flew back helplessly, stopping right at the edge of the open roof.

Pain like knives deep-stabbing his ribs, as he clenched his heart.

"Azariah!" He heard a yell, recognized Arianell's voice, forcing his eyes to crack open.

He groaned, looking at her, noticing Faye rushing at her, claws extended, ready to end her life.

'She won't live long if she fights her head-on.'

He concluded, not feeling any murderous intent from Faye towards him, but only for Arianell.

Pain surged in his chest as he groaned again, rolling from the concrete roof to empty air.

Gravity did its thing, pulling his body down.

The chain snapped, straining, hanging his body by his arm in the air.

"Arghh!!"

He groaned, twisting his body, digging his feet into the tower wall before pulling the chain with both hands.

'Please work, please work,' he desperately pleaded, pulling the chain with full force.

And his prayer was answered as the chain yanked back, pulling his body up in one go.

His hand touched the bracelet, taking out his axe-hammer, and just as his body reached the rooftop, he buffed his hand, illuminating it with a silvery hue.

Before his feet touched the ground, he threw his axe-hammer. Both her hands left the chain to defend, but it was already too late.

The axe-hammer sliced through the air sharply, lodging itself deep into her throat.

"Huff... Huff..."

Azariah's ragged breath echoed as he stumbled on the ground, his eyes snapping to find Arianell laying in the corner.

.....Bruised but alive.

But before he could sigh in relief, Faye's hand moved, yanking the axe-hammer from her throat.

Her gruesome throat started to heal back the next instant.

Her voice returned, and so did her twisted smile as she asked again:

"Is that all you can do?"