Vampires Legacy

"Oi oi Akutenshi, I can't believe you're really doing this."

"Stay out of this Rogi, I'm gonna see just how strong the number one Hunter is."

"So there's 2 of you."

Akutenshi is a battle-hungry vampire who's been itching for a big fight. Rogi is always tagging along to keep him in check, or if anything were to go wrong. None of the vampires from the upper echelon of the Slayers have fought against Shoyo, so none of them know just how strong he really is.

They're planning to make their move soon, so Akutenshi has a second motive for this fight: to gauge Shoyo's true strength. Everybody calls him an idiot, but he's no fool when it comes to combat. If he sees that his strength is not on par with the strongest Hunter, he won't hesitate to retreat.

"I'm not just going to watch. You can have your little fight, but I'll still support you."

"Tch, have it your way."

"Are you sure just the two of you will be enough? I'm pretty strong y'know."

Shoyo taunts them with a smirk.

"Ha, let's see if you can keep up with me."

Akutenshi charges at Shoyo, starting off with a heavy punch that blows a gust of wind in its aftermath. Shoyo dodges it with no problem, but another comes without delay which blows right past his face. He barely dodged the second swing that even he didn't expect to be so fast, but it wouldn't be a problem.

A barrage of punches pursues as Shoyo evades them all by a hair's width, leading Akutenshi to believe he can barely keep up. The second swing was indeed a surprise, but Shoyo adapted to it instantly and is using his punches against him to create an opening. In a moment, he draws his blade and cuts Akutenshi across the cheek. The slash was directed at his neck, but he was able to react and turn his body in time avoiding his demise.

Shoyo had almost ended this in one move, both vampires are aware of this.

"What's with all those punches, are you a vampire or a boxer?"

"I recently watched that new boxing movie, I had a little inspiration."

"Oh, that movie was great wasn't it?"

"It sure was."

"You moron, that's how you always start a fight. Get serious already."

"I am though, we're just getting started!"

Shoyo is charged at once more. This time, with each jab he dodges, a swing is returned in earnest. Each move has the intent to take the other's life. Akutenshi is relentless with his gatling of punches.

Tired of sitting back, Rogi finally hops into the mix, starting off with full power. He was about 30 feet away from Shoyo, but he clears that distance in a second. With his claws, he planned to rip off Shoyo's head. In the motion of Shoyo dodging this sudden attack, he managed to get a clean slash right across Akutenshi's stomach.

"You evaded that?!" Rogi yells in surprise.

"I was keeping a watch on you of course, waiting for you to attack. Looks like you activated it huh... Your Curse."

Black veins emerged on Rogi's right eye.

"Hold on a second."

"Huh?"

Shoyo backs away and pulls out his phone, Akutenshi and Rogi look on in confusion.

"Facetime Chifuyu."

Shoyo is... making a facetime call with Chifuyu?!

"Hey Shoyo, what's up?"

He answered.

"I'm fighting two pretty strong vampires right now, although they're weak to me, I thought I'd give a little lecture."

"I'm sorry?"

"Here, see for yourself."

Shoyo flips the camera screen to the vampires in question.

"Woah, you're right. Are you sure you should be calling me like this?"

"A little multitasking is no problem for me."

Akutenshi and Rogi clearly become agitated.

"This guy, he's totally mocking us."

"Yeah Rogi, he's actually pissing me off."

Shoyo intents to fight with his phone in one hand and his sword in the other.

"M-Mr. Shoyo is doing what right now?!"

Iris in the back overheard the current situation. Ariel's asleep so she won't be watching along. If she were awake, she would probably do everything she could to distract Shoyo and get him killed, even though Ariel would know that wouldn't actually work.

"So Chifuyu, you see the plain-looking vampire with some black veins in his eye?"

"Um, yeah but barely."

"Black veins emerge on a vampire once they activate their ability, which is known as a curse. It's a special power that only a small fraction of vampires possess."

"Shoyo, look out!"

Tired of Shoyo rambling, the vampires charge at him. Both of their attacks are effortlessly blocked with Shoyo's blade.

Alter weapons are forged in the Alter World, the ones that the handful of Hunters have are no different. Their durability can't be compared to a weapon created in Shioto. Although Shoyo wouldn't be able to tank a full-blown direct hit by a vampire, his blade can.

"Ah, here's a good close-up."

Shoyo points his phone closer to Rogi's eye.

Only a few Hunters would be able to fool around during a fight with vampires as strong as Akutenshi and Rogi, those few being Special Rank of course.

"When more black veins emerge, that means the vampire is outputting more of their curse power. Since this one still just has a few on his eyeball, he's either not using his full strength or... he's just weak."

"Why you...."

More black veins streak across Rogi's cheek, and a bunch of normal veins as well due to Shoyo's aggravating mockery.

"You want my full power, you got it!"

"Ha, seems like you're getting into it now Rogi!"

"My blood is boiling just looking at this guy now, we're killing him Aku."

"There's that nickname I like."

"Listen up, Chifuyu. Curses can be tricky to get around, so always wait for an opening to strike. Maybe you can do some practice with Ariel."

'Ariel! I wonder what her curse is,' Chifuyu thinks to himself.

"Well, that'll be all from me for now. I'll see you and Iris later tonight."

Shoyo hangs up.

"Done with your call. You don't really think we'll let you leave this place with your life, do you?"

"I could say the same thing. After all, you two are just second-rate vampires."

Shoyo, the god at provocation succeeds in getting Akutenshi and Rogi at their highest boiling point.

The onslaught of attacks continues as Shoyo dances his way around them with a smug face. Rogi's speed has increased significantly and is attacking at intervals along with Akutenshi, his attack pattern consists of lunges from dozens of meters away as Akutenshi engages him at close combat with each move meant to swipe off Shoyo's head. It's a plainly simple pattern, so no matter how fast Rogi is, Shoyo is ready to dodge the moment before his claws make contact with his head.

A few other Hunters have gathered outside the perimeter of the mall parking lot and are merely observing.

"Are you sure it's fine to just watch? What if they turn the tables on Shoyo?"

"That'll never happen."

"But those two are undoubtedly the strongest vampires we've seen in a while."

"You know what the rule is when it comes to him. Never interrupt the strongest in a fight, you'll only get in his way."

The Hunter with doubts pushes away his concern and just continues to watch, albeit with a sour face. Most Hunters look up to Shoyo, but there are still plenty who find him disagreeable at the very least because of his attitude.

"I'm starting to fall asleep over here, is this really the full strength of your curse?"

Rogi's curse gives him a significant boost in speed at his initial takeoff, and by doing this consecutively, his speed is increased each time.

"We're just getting started, you bastard!"

Damage is finally inflicted upon Shoyo. Rogi managed to land a little scratch with one finger horizontally along Shoyo's back. Like every attack, it was directed at his head but he managed to sway his body.

"Ohh, I had an itch back there, thanks for that."

"Tch."

"Ha!"

Akutenshi almost lands a heavy blow, but Shoyo blocks it with his blade. Since he was a bit off balance after barely dodging Rogi's last attack, he still gets sent flying but perfectly lands on his feet.

"I think I see how this curse of yours works, seems like it'll be a nuisance, so I'll take you out now."

Before he gets any faster.

"Huh?"

In an instant, Shoyo teleports to Rogi's next landing point right before he gets to it and beheads him.

Just like that.

"Haha, you actually killed him!"

"What, don't tell me you're sad or something."

"Not at all, he's the one that wanted to tag along with me."

"Damn that's harsh. He must be crying in hell right now."

"Well, let's continue."

"Hmph, I'm starting to like you. What was your name, Akutenshi?"

"Yeah, that's right. What about you, strongest Hunter?"

"It's Shoyo Kusakabe."

Akutenshi rips his shirt off for some reason. His upper body is covered with scars although vampires are able to heal themselves.

In any case, this battle is just getting started.

***

An hour passes and the two are still fighting in the parking lot. Akutenshi persists with hand-to-hand combat which is unusual for vampires. At this rate, the fight is getting nowhere. But neither mind, they're simply enjoying themselves.

"Haha, this is the best fight I've had in ages! Don't disappoint me now, Shoyo!"

Black veins emerge on Akutenshi's right eye. His curse has been activated.

His body begins to morph. His pants and shoes rip apart as hair grows on his lower body and changes shape, with hooves replacing his feet. A bow is conjured into his hands with dozens of arrows on his back. Akutenshi had taken the form of a centaur.

"Quite the form you've taken, I've never seen a centaur in person."

"Don't get too distracted, this is where the fun begins," yells Akutenshi with a huge grin.

Charging full speed at Shoyo, he has no choice but to evade and immediately strike. This attack was meant to swipe off Akutenshi's left arm, but the transformation also bulkened his muscles while he intentionally flexed them to trap the blade. He grabs Shoyo's face and sends him flying across the parking lot. Lightly landing on his feet, he sees three arrows coming right for him so he immediately follows up with a few backflips to evade. They don't stop there, arrows are shot in rapid succession leaving Shoyo no time to stand in one spot.

Without his blade, Shoyo is unable to teleport, but dodging the arrows won't prove to be a problem. That is, if they only shot in a single trajectory. 5 more arrows are shot ricocheting off the surrounding pillars. One misstep and Shoyo can be pierced by any one of these. Following their movement with the eyes of a hawk, he skillfully avoids them all with the acrobatics of an Olympic athlete.

Shoyo now makes a dash to retrieve his sword. Once he closes the distance, Akutenshi stands on his hind legs and shoots an arrow at point-blank range. Anticipating something like this, Shoyo didn't slow down. With the momentum of his sprint, he spins catching the arrow and returns it piercing his centaur belly with seamless motion. Wrapping around Akutenshi, he pulls his sword out and this time cuts across his real stomach.

"Augh, damn that hurt!"

Attempting to grab Shoyo, he jumps back which ends up leaving him vulnerable. Akutenshi quickly turns around and kicks him with his hind legs, or so he thought. Shoyo teleported right in front of him and sliced his vampire half right off from the centaur body.

To kill a vampire, you must decapitate them or destroy their heart. As Shoyo goes for the finishing blow, a sudden combustion blows him back. Akutenshi's body is wrapped in flames, and he takes on another form. His body grows even bigger, his head becomes that of a bull, and a flaming axe is conjured up. Black veins now run from his right eye to the bottom of his neck.

"What's this, you're a minotaur now?"

"Hahaha, now this is a battle!"

Akutenshi has now morphed into a inferno minotaur. His curse allows him to take on the form of any monster he's killed as well as call forth their weapon if any.

Pounding the ground causing flames to erupt from it, Akutenshi blitzes Shoyo before he can react. Grabbing him, he continues his charge into the mall destroying everything in his way. Realizing he's about to get body slammed into the floor, Shoyo cuts the wrist of the hand he's captive in and teleports to the third floor right above them. Akutenshi leaves flames in the wake of each one of his attacks. After slamming into the floor, he pounces right up to Shoyo with a lethal swing from his axe. Shoyo has no choice but to fall back slowly evading each attack to gain space. Shoyo knows one hit from that thing will be nothing less than fatal. He has to go all out now.

Teleport. Slash. Teleport. Slash. Teleport. Slash. Teleport. Slash.

He mustn't give Akutenshi time to react. Shoyo teleports all around him consecutively leaving deep cuts with each incision. Teleporting dozens of times in rapid succession takes an enormous amount of concentration, one slip up and he could risk lightheadedness and nauseousness. The cuts would be much deeper if his muscles were that of the average vampire, but Shoyo's not complaining. He slowly chips away at him, Akutenshi can't attack back let alone defend himself. Shoyo wouldn't be able to take his head or heart in one move, so this is the most efficient.

"Raaaaaaah!"

In a split second, during an interval between Shoyo's attacks, Akutenshi slams the floor causing it to collapse. Shoyo teleports away as Akutenshi falls through the third and second floors. This fierce battle won't slow down. Teleporting back to him, Shoyo continues being on the offensive. It'll be trouble if Akutenshi does another area-of-effect attack, so he has no choice but to let him use his axe. As soon as he gets a swing off, Shoyo evades it and returns a strike in earnest. This exchange continues several more times. No matter how many slashes Akutenshi receives, he simply heals them. His attacks are heavy and not slow in the slightest, but he just can't connect a hit.

Finally, Shoyo claims the arm holding the axe and a leg from Akutenshi. Collapsing on his one knee, it looks to be the end for this vampire. Shoyo goes for a piercing attack straight through his heart, but his blade is caught by Akutenshi's one arm. He's tenacious, even Shoyo clicks his tongue in irritation. The grin Akutenshi's had on this entire fight opens wide and begins to compress fire inside. He's building up a blast breath, an attack Shoyo wasn't aware a minotaur had. Shoyo quickly pulls his blade out and attempts to get out of there. Akutenshi had been storing up the flames for this attack this whole time. Within a second, the fire breath is blasted from his mouth and engulfs the entirety of the mall in front of the release point.

Regenerating his limbs, Akutenshi stands up and looks around. Behind him on the second floor is his opponent.

"Shoyo Kusakabe, you are without a doubt THE STRONGEST HUMAN!!"

There stood Shoyo, with the front of his uniform scorched in tatters and burn marks on his abdomen. He had quite literally evaded the blast at the last moment. This was no miracle, but indeed one of the closest calls he's ever had.

The two could still go on fighting, but they were satisfied. Sooner or later their fight would be interrupted anyway.

Akutenshi pitches his flaming axe at Shoyo, yet he doesn't budge an inch, it just flies right by his head. The vampire returns back to normal. They merely grin at each other. Not many words were spoken during this fight, but these two know exactly what needs to be said to the other.

"The next time we meet, I will kill you."

Shoyo watches as Akutenshi exits the burning mall.

They may be enemies, but they have respect for each other as true warriors.

No other Special Rank Hunter would've been able to fight Akutenshi one on one. That's how strong Shoyo Kusakabe is.