The Crimson Elf

With a renewed surge of determination, Kal charged. This time, he fought with a calculated ferocity.

He anticipated Silax's movements, using his superior strength to overpower the redirection attempts. He dodged Elara's attacks with practiced ease, his focus unwavering.

Elara scanned the battlefield, her eyes were sharp and focused, then she switched her position to another pillar, to be better hidden from Kal's line of sight. Then she fired another salvo flaming arrows at him.

Kal grunted as the attacks landed on him, he became momentarily disoriented. He narrowed his eyes and looked up, searching for the source of the unseen attack.

Silax seized the opportunity and darted forward, he aimed a precise kick at Kal's knee. Unfortunately Kal's reaction was fast, he pivoted on his other foot and sent a kick flying back at Silax. The kick connected with a glancing blow, sending a jolt of pain up Silax's leg.

Kal followed up with a powerful right hook, slicing the air as his fist flew towards Silax's face.

Silax made a subtle shift with his body and raised his arm in a block to deflect the blow. After avoiding the attack, he spun around to get some distance between himself and Kal.

Despite his excellent skills, he was beginning to tire from the constant redirecting of Kal's blows that were filled with brutal raw power.

Elara sensed another opening and unleashed an arrow from her hiding spot. The arrow streaked through the air like a miniature comet and closed in on Kal's back, but at the last second Kal twisted to avoid the arrow.

The arrow only managed to graze his shoulder, Kal thought he had avoided it, but this arrow was different. As soon as it made contact with Kal's shoulder, it exploded into a blazing fireball, the shockwave from the explosion sent Kal flying across the hall.

Kal pulled himself off the flow, taking a look at his burnt clothes and charred skin.

"Impressive. You both fight well together." Kal said, his voice hoarse.

Silax and Elara exchanged a surprised look, they were shocked that he could shake off that attack so easily.

Kal bent his knees and droped into a lower stance.

"...but this ends now."

He launched himself at Silax once again, this time he didn't aim for a specific blow. He simply bulldozed forward, charging at Silax with speed and force. Silax was caught off guard by the change in approach, he stumbled backwards in an attempt to avoid Kal.

Kal's charge was to fast, he slammed into Silax, the generated force sending them both crashing onto a pillar. Kal disarmed Silax with a swift move, he looked up at where Elara was perched and threw the weapon at her, slicing through an arrow she had sent his way.

The flight of the blade deflected the arrow and still managed to stab into Elara's chest, knocking her off the pillar. She crashed onto the floor without a loud thud, the sound of bones breaking resounding clearly in the hall.

The fight ended with Kal pinning a subdued Silax against a pillar, and Elara laying sprawled on the floor.

Kal, despite his victory, wasn't without his share of cuts, bruises and burns.

"You both fought well, but there was no way you were winning this fight.

"I would have liked to spare your lives, but this well is too important to us, and information about it cannot be allowed to spread."

He lifted Silax from the pillar and punched him in the jaw, the hit landed squarely on his jaw with a sickening thud. Silax went limp immediately and Kal released his grip on him, letting him slip onto the floor, where he lay unmoving.

Kal walked to the spot where Elara had fallen, he grabbed her head with one hand and lifted her up. The movement caused her to awaken, the first thing she saw was Kal's face, with the look of ruthlessness in his eyes.

Right behind him, on the periphery of her vision, she could see Silax slumped on the floor, his head sagged in an unnatural way. She felt a pang of concern for Silax, seemingly forgetting her own predicament.

The way his head fell wasn't a good sign, her eyes began burning with anger. She pulled on the reserves of energy left in her, conjuring a flame in her palm. 

Kal was amused by her effort, he seemed to be back to his aloof self.

"You can summon the flames without the bow? I believed it was just an enchantment of the bow." Kal said, as a smile spread on his lips.

He put strength into his grip, squeezing his fingers into Elara's skull. Elara didn't seem to feel the pressure, she continued condensing the flames in her palm.

Just as Kal's finger began digging into her flesh and drawing blood, a dagger flew at him, stabbing into the back of his head. This made his grip loosen, he turned around and saw Silax struggling to get up.

"How are you still alive? I'm certain I broke your neck with that last punch." Kal said, his grin replaced by a surprised look.

Silax grabbed onto the pillar and pulled himself into a standing position. The immense regeneration of a vampyre had shown itself. A broken neck wasn't enough to keep him down.

"Same question I should be asking you. You have a dagger lodged into the back of your skull, but you seem to be doing just fine."

Before Kal could respond to Silax, a massive explosion erupted on his chest. Elara was sent flying towards Silax who caught her as they bought stumbled back onto the floor he had just struggled to get up from.

Silax sighed as he looked upon Elara face, she had fallen unconscious again.

'I'm fed up with being tossed into the ground. This is the third or fourth time already.'

He looked up to see if Elara's last-ditch effort had any effect on the seemingly unkillable Kal. He was met by a scene that shook him, pieces of flesh were raining in the hall, the explosion had blown apart Kal's body.

A heavy silence settled upon the hall with the aftermath of the battle. Silax hadn't expected much from them in their clash with Kal. Kal's raw power alone was more than enough to handle him or Elara.

Their joint effort gave them a way to resist, but that was all it was, resistance. The fact that they had come out the eventual victors was surprising. It was a testament to their valiant efforts despite their disadvantage.

Silax lay Elara to the side, he pulled himself to his feet and staggered towards the well. He stared into the liquid, which he was now sure was blood. His gaze was transfixed on his reflection, his formerly brown eyes now had a golden hue to them.

'I'm sure this well is filled with blood, but there must be something different about it. What makes it so special to make Kal decide that killing us was the best course of action?'

He leaned towards the well scooping out some of its content with his hands, he brought his hands to his lips and swallowed. A jolt spread all through his body, filling him with bliss. He immediately fell into a state of ecstasy.

He roared in euphoria, then plunged his head into the well and gulped uncontrollably, he didn't pull his head out until he felt full.

He examined his body, all his cut and bruises were already gone, but not only that. He felt rejuvenated and full of energy, as he was right now, he could run for miles at full sprint and not feel tired.