"What's wrong?" Reginald asked, his voice calm but sharp as he approached Jerry, noticing the tension in his posture.
"We have a serious problem. A very serious one," Jerry responded, his red-and-silver eyes still locked onto the now-revealed box. His tail flicked, the runes upon it pulsing slightly.
"What do you an?" Reginald pressed, his massive fox form still wreathed in flas.
"A Blood Beast," Jerry stated grimly.
Reginald blinked, unimpressed. "I don't see the problem here."
Jerry exhaled sharply as if trying to suppress his frustration. "They are almost immortal. Blood Beasts are vampires who failed to control their urges, transforming into mindless beasts. There is only one way to kill them, and we don't have it."
"Is that the only way? Aren't you like a Vampire Progenitor or sothing?"
"Yes, I am, but I'm not the actual creator," Jerry admitted. "It's either we get a blood-sealing artifact to kill it or the Primogenitor of Vampires himself—and we have neither."
"So, we just leave it?" Reginald asked, flicking his tails impatiently.
"No," Jerry said, shaking his head. "It will complicate things too much, and the King can't afford any more complications. We'll have to knock it out sohow and send it to him."
The words had barely left his lips when a blur of movent erupted from the box.
A deafening shriek tore through the battlefield like a blade, so sharp and piercing that even the flas burning around them wavered. Jerry's eyes flashed dangerously as he whipped around, but the mont he moved—
Ssshhk!
A flash of crimson shot through the air, and in an instant, deep claw marks tore into his side.
Jerry barely managed to twist away, but the speed was unreal. He skidded backward, blood dripping from the fresh wounds.
Reginald snarled, his massive fox form bristling with fire, his eyes locking onto the figure now rising from the ruined box.
It was female.
A harpy-like creature, its body long and slender but wrapped in sinewy, blood-red flesh. Its limbs were too thin, too elongated, its fingers tipped with black talons that glead with wet crimson. Enormous, tattered wings stretched out from its back, the feathers dyed in deep hues of maroon and black, pulsating as if alive. But the most terrifying feature was its face—
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Or what was left of it?
Sunken eyes of pure black bore into them, and where its mouth should have been, there was instead a vertical slit, lined with needle-like fangs. As it opened, revealing its ghastly maw, a second row of fangs glistened beneath, twitching as if hungry.
Its breath reeked of iron and death.
"Ah… fresh blood…" The creature's voice was not spoken—it was felt. A shuddering, echoing sound that crawled up their spines.
Jerry's fingers curled into fists, his claws extending. "Damn it…"
Without another word, the harpy moved.
It vanished in a blur of red.
Jerry barely had ti to react before she was on him, talons slicing down like blades. He jerked to the side, but one claw raked across his shoulder, slicing through his reinforced skin like paper.
Reginald roared, his entire body igniting as he lunged. His burning tails lashed forward like whips, crashing into the harpy's side. The sheer force sent her skidding backward, but she didn't fall.
She twisted, using the montum to launch herself off the ground. In an instant, she was above them, wings flaring wide.
Then—
Blood exploded from her body.
It wasn't an attack. It was alive.
Dozens of crimson tendrils shot downward, writhing and lashing out like whips of living flesh. The mont they touched the ground, they corroded it, sizzling as if lting the very stone.
Reginald snarled, leaping away as the tendrils lashed toward him. He snapped his jaws, releasing a massive blast of spirit fire—a fla that could burn through both soul and flesh. The flas roared up, swallowing the tendrils whole—
But the harpy laughed.
Her wings flapped once, and suddenly—
The fire turned black.
Reginald's eyes widened as the flas shifted, twisting and changing until they were no longer his own. They reversed—exploding toward him instead.
BOOM!
The blast sent him flying, his massive body crashing into the ruins of a nearby structure.
Jerry clicked his tongue. "She can manipulate blood to an insane level…"
The harpy landed, tilting her head. "You taste… different," she purred, her voice a mixture of intrigue and hunger. "You reek of power…"
Jerry wiped the blood from his lip, rolling his shoulders. "And you reek of a failed existence."
The harpy's eyes darkened.
Then—she scread.
The sound was wrong, a frequency that sent a pulse of agony through Jerry's head. His body froze for a fraction of a second—
Which was all she needed.
She was there.
Claws thrust toward his chest—
Jerry twisted at the last second, grabbing her wrist in a vice grip.
For the first ti, her expression shifted.
His grip tightened—then with a flick of his arm, he slamd her into the ground.
The battlefield shook.
Blood exploded outward, the ground cracking beneath the force.
Reginald, now recovering, took the chance. "Flarefang!"
His two tails split into four—each one glowing white-hot as he released an ocean of fire upon her.
The flas consud the harpy, the ground turning molten beneath them.
Jerry exhaled, his claws still glowing. "Did that do it?"
A pause.
Then—
Crack.
The fire shifted.
Reginald's eyes widened. "No way—"
The harpy rose, completely unhard.
"Nice try," she whispered.
Jerry's jaw clenched.
Reginald cursed. "…Yeah, this is bad."
Jerry exhaled. "We need to end this now."
The harpy smiled.
"Try."
Then she lunged again.
The battle was far from over.
...
Jerry didn't hesitate. The mont the harpy moved, he moved faster.
His tail flicked, runes pulsing as he twisted his body mid-air, narrowly avoiding her lethal claws. The mont her attack missed, his knee slamd into her ribcage. The impact sent shockwaves through the air, but the harpy barely flinched.
Instead—
She twisted unnaturally, her body bending in ways that no creature should. Her elongated arm lashed out, claws slicing toward Jerry's throat.
Shit—
He barely had ti to react.
Then—
BOOM!
Reginald's massive form crashed into the harpy from the side, his burning jaws clamping down on her arm with enough force to crush steel. Flas erupted from his maw, spiraling up her limb in a violent inferno.
She scread—but it wasn't pain. It was rage.
With terrifying strength, she ripped her arm free, black blood spraying from the wound. The mont she was free, her body convulsed.
Then—her wings tore apart.
Not as if they had been destroyed—no, they were shedding. The feathers burned away in streaks of crimson mist, revealing sothing far worse beneath.
New wings sprouted.
They were longer, thinner—twisted and organic, made of pulsating flesh and hardened bone. Veins of pure black energy ran along the lengths, and as she flapped them, the air itself distorted.
Jerry's instincts scread.
"Reginald—move!" he barked, just as the harpy's wings flashed.
In an instant—
The entire area turned red.
A wave of blood energy erupted from the harpy, expanding outward in a violent pulse. Jerry barely managed to throw up his arms in defense before it hit.
BOOM!
The force sent him flying. His body smashed through a broken tower, stone, and debris crumbling around him. Reginald was thrown back as well, his massive fox form skidding across the battlefield, carving deep trenches in the earth.
The harpy landed gracefully, her blackened wings twitching.
Her head tilted, her sunken eyes locking onto Jerry as he pulled himself from the rubble.
"You're strong…," she whispered, her voice everywhere and nowhere. "But you are still less."
Jerry wiped the blood from his mouth, eyes glowing dangerously. "I really hate talking monsters."
Reginald groaned, shaking off the impact. "Tch… Jerry, tell we have so way to kill her."
Jerry exhaled sharply, eyes narrowing. "Not kill."
"Then what?"
His fingers curled.
"We rip her apart until she can't move."
Reginald's fox lips curled into a grin. "Now that, I can do."
The harpy screeched, her wings pulsing with power.
Jerry and Reginald charged.
The battle reignited in a blur of fire, blood, and fury.
...
High above the battlefield, hidden within the swirling clouds, a pair of deep draconic eyes glead with intrigue.
A massive figure lood within the sky, her silhouette barely visible against the rolling storm. Her wings—vast, ancient, and burning with deep orange hues—moved in slow, rhythmic beats, effortlessly keeping her aloft.
She observed the chaos below with a smirk curling at her lips, her gaze filled with both amusent and curiosity.
"They must be subordinates of my mate-to-be. Strong... but still lacking in experience. Let's see how they fare against a Grandmaster-level Blood Beast."
Her voice was a whisper lost in the wind, yet her presence alone made the very air tremble.
Her sharp eyes flicked to the battlefield, watching as the Sanguine Harpy's monstrous form moved with terrifying precision.
"I never expected a creature of her caliber to appear here... What an interesting turn of events."
Nestled securely in her arms was a boy—unconscious, his grey hair tousled by the wind, his wolf-like ears twitching even in sleep. Regnare.
She held him carefully, almost protectively, though the gleam in her eyes suggested motives known only to her.
Whatever she was planning, whatever sches swirled within her mind—only ti would reveal the truth.
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