The Crimson Reaper-Chapter 74: Alex Vs Luciel

"Also, no divine arts, you understand?" Luciel pointed with his finger at Alex, staring into his soul as he approached him, swirling his sword before grabbing it for the handle with both arms.

"No promises." Alex grinned, placing one foot forward as he raised his wooden sword. He wanted to face Luciel fair and square, but what is so fair about this match if he only had his human strength and speed at his disposal.

Meanwhile, Luciel was a walking powerhouse, armed not only with his skills but also with his vampire abilities.

The two were locked in a staring competition, slowly walking in a circle, facing each other.

A single drop of sweat rolled down Alex’s face while Luciel exhaled slowly, steadying his breathing.

The two didn’t even notice the crowd which started to gather around them.

While the hunters hated Luciel only because he wasn’t human anymore, there was no denying it when it came to his sword skills.

Missing it just because of hate would be a waste. After all, it’s not every day you get to see him in action.

"What? Are you just going to stand here all day?" Alex taunted him, wanting Luciel to make a first move. If he were to strike first, the attack would easily get blocked.

"Or are you afraid to face this gorgeous hunter?" Alex moved away one of his hands from the sword, flexing his muscles.

Luciel didn’t know whether he should admire his friend’s stupidity and bravery or feel angry at the display in front of him.

He stood dumbfounded, lowering his weapon and blinking a few times before shrugging with his shoulder when Alex started to hold his sword with one hand.

"Wait wait wait, hold on!" Alex shouted, stepping back and quickly grabbing the sword with both hands, swiftly raising the tip into the air.

Luciel rushed toward Alex like lightning, going for one, precise strike, cutting through air until the two wooden swords knocked against each other.

Due to the sheer force, Alex slid backward against the light brown, wooden floor, but still managed to hold his ground.

He greeted his teeth, but before he could counterattack, Luciel already took a step back and swiftly thrusted his sword forward toward Alex’s chest.

The room was filled with a loud bang of two swords. Alex could feel the shock wave spreading throughout his arms to his shoulders. He even had to move one hand from the handle and press it against the blade for extra stability.

Groaning, Alex hastily riposted Luciel’s attack. He bent his knees a little and put all of the strength into his legs, pushing back the sword.

Swiftly, Alex made a clean, horizontal swing, aiming at Luciel’s neck, but he hit nothing instead almost fell over.

"Slow," Luciel commented, tracking the sword movement with his eyes. He moved aside, observing, like in slow motion, how the blade went right next to his skin.

Like all of this wasn’t enough, he went to trip his friend as well, causing him to stumble.

Luciel had a grin on his face, showcasing his fangs as he enjoyed the difference in power, but he knew that Alex could do much more.

There was a reason why Luciel asked him not to use divine arts and that was to measure his strength against ordinary people. He even had to hold back since he didn’t want to accidentally hurt Alex. In short, he became a natural predator of humans.

"For someone who was all blue a month ago, you sure did get accustomed to this." Alex whipped his lips with his hand. His back facing toward Luciel as he chuckled.

’Of course, you adapted. It was silly of me to even doubt in you.’ Alex thought before mumbling something under his chin.

Hearing the words that Alex had said under his chin right now, followed by a blinding aura that erupted below his feet before disappearing, leaving a faint outline around his body, made Luciel grip his sword more tightly.

He recognized Alex’s incantation as an advanced enchantment spell. It allowed a user to gain strength, speed, and reaction time that of an above-average vampire. The game was on.

Turning around, Alex swiftly swung his weapon, going for Luciel’s neck again.

Luciel widened his eyes at the sudden change of pace, parrying the attack in the last second.

The swords got trapped in a contest of strength, forming an X shape of deadly intent.

Eventually, after a few minutes, Alex managed to push back Luciel with a yell before thrusting his sword forward where his opponent’s heart was.

The hunters that were watching the spar started to clap at Alex’s achievement, some even whistled, encouraging him to win.

Alex didn’t allow Luciel even a moment of rest. There was no time to block the incoming attack, so the only thing left was to duck, touching the floor with one hand while having the sword in another.

With a short snarl, Luciel started to rise up, aiming at Alex’s head with the tip of his sword.

"O Goddess of Light, I summon thee - protect me from darkness." Unlike the body enchantment spell, the warm energy lingered only around his hand from which came a sudden, burst of bright, yellow light, illuminating the shadows.

Luciel hissed at the bright light in front of him, baring his fangs as he closed his eyes shut, backing away and dropping his sword, regretting his decision.

He should have just backed and looked away, but instead, he decided to rush forward and take the hit, wanting to take down his opponent. Closing his eyes while being so close to the enemy usually spelled doom.

There was one more thing that Luciel had underestimated, and that was his ability to recover after the light bang.

He shook his head and carefully opened his crimson eyes, but everything was a blur, but there was no time to rest.

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed inside his ears along with the sound of a sword going through the air. The sword was like a knife traversing through butter.

Seeing a blurred version of Alex rushing toward him, Luciel started to approach him instead of running away.

He ducked under the sword and extended his sharp, long claws that slid over his fingernails. Grabbing Alex by the wrist, he swung his other hand at his face.

Noticing what was Luciel aiming for, Alex raised his leg, kicking his friend’s abdomen with pure force, making his body fly into the audience.

Luciel groaned along with the two hunters he fell onto, at least they were kind enough to break his fall.

"Anything but the face." Alex clicked with his tongue, walking toward Luciel, pressing the tip of his sword against his neck.

"I win." Alex declared, breathing heavily as he stared into Luciel’s eyes. For a newbie, Luciel was admirable. The thought of what a menace he would become in the future sent shivers down Alex’s spine.

Any experienced vampire hunter would say to kill him while you still have a chance, but Alex could never do that to a friend.

"Of course you do. I don’t have my divine arts anymore." Luciel gladly accepted Alex’s hand, helping him get up. He appreciated the gesture, even if it wasn’t needed.

Luciel looked behind his shoulder at the hunters who slowly started to get up, giving him hateful looks before whipping off the dust from their clothes.

"And what about that mist you displayed yesterday?" Ever since he started to use divine arts, Alex was anticipating Luciel to use the same attack he displayed earlier or at least summon it as he did inside the meeting room, but nothing happened.

"I don’t know how to control it properly, I don’t even know how I did that yesterday." Luciel explained, glancing at the hunters that still surrounded them, "We should go somewhere private."

"But where? And why?" Alex scratched his head, wondering what was so important that Luciel didn’t want anyone else to hear.

"Your room?"

At the moment when Luciel mentioned his room, Alex got flashbacks of his living room from a month ago when he and his two companions got drunk. And they dared to just disappear after that!

"Buddy, look..." Alex placed his hand on Luciel’s shoulder, closing his eyes and slowly shaking his head, "Unfortunately, my room is off limits. You still owe me from that time." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Luciel bit his lower lip, not being able to argue with that. He even felt slightly guilty since he could have prevented that from happening, but never bothered to do anything and instead got wasted on the counter.

"Well, if you don’t mind the mess, we can go to Helen’s room." Alex was always a clean freak, so Luciel wanted to avoid inviting him there, but that was the only private space he could remember, except his friend’s room that is.

"Depends, do I need to stare at the dirty socks lying around?" Alex questioned, picking up Luciel’s sword so he could put it back from where he took it, along with his.

"Oddly specific, but no. It’s more like a scientific mess." Luciel observed Alex’s actions before approaching the door, waiting for his friend to come.

"What’s a scientific mess?"

"Well, you should just see for yourself."

Luciel smiled nervously as he led his friend towards Helen’s room, afraid of the following reaction.

In the meantime, Alex was wondering in what kind of dumpster was Luciel leading him.

When they arrived, Alex snapped the doors wide open, but he became frozen at the sight in front of him.

"Mama Mia! What is this?!" He shouted, grabbing his head with both hands, staring at the messy room, or better said - a laboratory.