Jade lunged upon Ave, his wrath burning as the fires of hell! He cast forth his tightly clenched fist toward the Grand Aeon. "What hast thou done to Luna!" he roared, his voice thick with unbearable anguish and fury.
Jade's fist struck Ave's visage, yet his soul-kindred offered no resistance, receiving the blow with stark resignation.
Yet Ave remained untouched, Jade's very fist recoiling as if from unseen armour, unleashing a shockwave that shuddered the air about them, casting dust and pebbles aloft like a grey shroud. "Thou hast harmed my friend!" Jade cried anew.
"Jade!" Ave called out. Her slender right hand, swift as thought, intercepted the next fist hurtling towards her. With effortless grace, Ave swept Jade's legs from under him, sending the youth crashing heavily to the ground.
Ave planted her foot firmly upon his chest, pinning him fast.
Again a tremor cracked the very earth where Jade lay, the ground groaning beneath the pressure of Ave's foot. The youth thrashed with all his strength, striving to dislodge the sole that bore down upon him, yet his efforts were in vain.
"Listen to me, Jade! If thou meanest the woman I struck down earlier, Luna… I can heal her! I bore her no lasting ill will."
"I shall not suffer her to die. We face graver matters, Jade! A threat far greater looms!" Ave gestured with a nod of her head – still holding Jade fast – towards the heart of Alden's sky, now a canvas of raging battle.
Umbra Strixy wheeled and dove, harrying and assailed by the Dragon Conqueror squadrons, a fierce melee painting the night heavens. A Garuda could be seen tearing one of the fell beasts asunder with its sharp beak; the Mythical Beast fought alongside Hinabi high above Alden, their silhouettes dancing beneath the pale moon.
"I can feel the beating of that woman's heart, Luna's. And likewise, the two wolves that hide, wounded." Jade ceased his struggles, falling silent, listening intently to Ave's words, his eyes fixed upon her, filled with questioning.
He then realised, with a dawning awareness, that he too could perceive Luna's faint heartbeat, and the pained thrumming life of Fion and Gale, hidden somewhere amidst the ruins.
He scrambled to his feet the moment Ave lifted her foot from his chest. Swift as lightning, Jade sped to where Luna lay broken. With his one remaining hand, he gently lifted his companion's form onto his lap.
Ave followed, the Grand Aeon gazing down at Jade, who looked up, his face etched with worry. "Heal her, Ave. I cannot bear to lose Luna. Not another comrade…"
Jade's face was etched with sorrow, tears welling in his eyes. Yet, even as his expression pleaded with Ave to mend Luna, a low hiss escaped his lips. In the space of a heartbeat, Ave seized Jade's hair savagely and hurled him away with tremendous force!
The resounding boom of a shattered barrack wall echoed into the heavens, shattering the grim silence of the night!
Jade had almost yielded to the urge to devour the unconscious Luna, his newly awakened vampiric instinct nearly overwhelming him. Ave, quick as quicksilver, struck Jade again as he agilely regained his feet, only to charge her once more, fury blazing anew.
Ave restrained Jade, who had lost all control, maddened by the scent of blood trickling from Luna's nose – an aroma that ignited his predatory nature. A perilous power, blind to friend or foe, now threatened to master Jade utterly.
Ave's kick struck Jade's head with brutal force, the sound like the snapping of a dry twig. His neck broke! His body collapsed limply upon the earth.
With incredible speed, Ave immediately struck Jade's shoulder, the very spot that had just begun to heal.
She pinned him by straddling his stomach, holding him immobile. Ave pressed the two sides of the wound on Jade's shoulder together; a sickening crunch of mending bone was heard. Jade stared fixedly at Ave.
Ave swiftly dismissed the white aura that veiled her body, an aura almost invisible against her pale skin.
This was why Jade's fists had merely rebounded when they sought to touch the fine, downy hair upon Ave's skin. An aura as thin as woven cloth, like that which the Minotaur possessed ere it transformed into a monstrous brute.
Ave, having shed her aura, was instantly bitten by the uncontrolled Jade. The youth, like a rabid hound, sank his teeth into Ave's neck! Jade's shoulder regenerated swiftly, the wound closing slowly but surely.
Ever since receiving the Rem Transformation Vampyr directly from the Grand Aeon, Jade was indeed bound to drink the blood of his sire – Ave.
Only thus could he retain his awareness, his humanity, despite having become a Vampire. Unlike Ave, who was an entity beyond human ken, her existence untethered by mortal needs.
In other words, all recipients of the Rem Transformation would inevitably lose their sanity upon full conversion. Perhaps this had also befallen the Minotaur, which could not even speak, only rage and follow its base instincts.
Ave was in true pain, yet she did not release her hold on Jade until her blood began to react, bestowing awareness back upon the youth. Jade then jolted, his eyes flying wide as consciousness abruptly returned.
He saw the blood streaming from the bite marks he had inflicted upon Ave, the deep crimson staining her pale, golden skin. Yet, the wounds sealed instantly as Ave once more veiled herself in her protective aura.
She cupped Jade's cheek, down which tears began to trace paths – tears of remorse and confusion.
"Art thou returned to thyself? Thou wert on the verge of consuming thy friend, Luna. Did I not tell thee never to stray far from my side, Jade?"
Within the Nypocampus, Jade had indeed heard all the consequences of his new power. He had protested repeatedly, refused it whilst with Ave in that realm.
However, Ave's will was absolute, and Jade was bound by their soul-bond.
"Jade, grieve not. As a mere mortal, couldst thou have defeated the Umbra Strixy wheeling above Alden? What of the Minotaur just now? Thy strength now far surpasses such foes."
Ave rose gracefully. She turned from Jade, moving towards the prone form of Luna, kneeling beside her after carefully laying the girl flat.
Jade followed, standing beside Ave, gazing at Luna with a troubled countenance.
Ave looked up at him, her tone gentle yet firm, "Jade, hadst thou but used thy power sooner, this maiden would not have been so grievously wounded." Jade lowered his head, guilt and the fear of losing control warring within him.
Which very fear had nearly slain him, though he knew his body would rise again through his Vampiric power.
"Jade, thou couldst have truly perished if that Minotaur's axe had been forged of Mythrillblood," Ave continued, reminding Jade of perils yet lurking.
"Besides Luna, it seems General Lance also possesses a spearhead wrought from Mythrillblood. Perchance his family line has used such blades for generations in crafting their dragon-conquering spears."
"Now, aid them, Jade. Aid Hinabi and General Lance with thy strength." Jade looked skyward, beholding the fierce contest between the airborne forces and the flock of Umbra Strixy.
Jade clenched his fists, determination hardening his features. He looked back at Ave, his eyes still holding questions and doubt.
Ave smiled gently, understanding the turmoil in Jade's heart. "Dost thou still recall how to use the skill for flight? Thou art my one true soulmate. And a Lord Vampire now. Thy power is nigh limitless."
"The laws of gravity bind thee no longer when transformed. Go now, Jade. I shall heal thy friends."
Jade's face clouded with sorrow. He spoke, his voice fraught with worry,
"But what if I lose control again, Ave? What if I consume one of the innocent townsfolk? Or even Hinabi… or General Lance?"
Ave smiled softly, already tending to the wounded Luna as she answered Jade, her tone reassuring, "Thou needst not worry, Jade. I am here. I shall stop thee should that come to pass."
"And do not imagine thou couldst easily overcome General Lance and Hinabi, even transformed as thou art. Their strength far exceeds what thou currently comprehends."
"Even shouldst thou draw near with ill intent towards Hinabi, the Garuda would tear thee asunder with its beak and Mythril talons."
"Just as I severed the Minotaur's head with the tips of my nails, which were indeed formed of Mythrillblood since my beginning," Ave explained, revealing the truth behind her seemingly impossible feat.
This also confirmed instantly why she could slice through the Minotaur as if with bare hands.
"And General Lance with his dragon spear? Thinkest thou to slay him easily?" Ave pressed, challenging Jade's lingering doubts.
"That man drove back the black dragon Rivotra with naught but sheer muscle force and his Mythrillblood dragon spear."
Jade drew a long breath. He had been too fearful of his new power, not yet fully mastered. He had held himself too mighty, underestimating General Lance, a mere man wielding muscle force.
He suddenly recalled how General Guan had nearly killed him and his two companions, despite using the same special power – Muscle Force: All Rage. Jade had been powerless before General Guan.
"I entrust Luna to thee, Ave." Jade turned and strode towards the cliff's edge overlooking the besieged city.
His body became sheathed in a blood-red aura that seemed almost black, a sign of his nascent Vampiric might.
Jade leaped from the precipice, the ground beneath his launching point cracking and sending forth another shockwave! Dust billowed into the sky as he shot towards the battle.
From the shoulder-height position he took mid-flight with incredible speed, he landed smoothly upon the air itself and kicked down an Umbra rider along with its mount with devastating force.
He seized the rider with one hand, wrenching its head clean from its hapless body. He then used both hands to savage the Umbra downed by his kick, tearing the beast's carcass brutally.
With swift motions, he ripped out the Umbra's sharp scales – formed of Mythril – to use as weapons against the remaining creatures.
From her vantage point high above upon Garuda, Hinabi watched in stunned horror as the youth they knew transformed into a creature of the night.
Hinabi gasped, her hand flying to her mouth, eyes wide with disbelief and burgeoning fear. General Lance, though weary and leaning heavily upon his dragon spear, stood tall, his gaze fixed upon Jade's terrifying metamorphosis.
The dragon conqueror squadrons slowly drew back, retreating towards the temple. Their Wyverns balked and fought against approaching Jade.
Jade, now wielding his deadly new armaments, became a phantom of the night, a whirlwind of destruction against the remaining Umbra Strixy haunting the skies above Alden.
He moved with speed and agility surpassing mortal limits, a crimson blur against the pale canvas of the moonlit night sky.
Each thrust of the Umbra scale was swift and lethal, rending the tough hides of the monstrous creatures as if they were mere parchment caught in a gale.
The air filled with the dying shrieks of the Umbra, their hideous cries echoing across the ruined city, mingled with the fell sibilance of the Rem Transformation Vampyr's power – a sound that spoke of death and a terrifying, intoxicating might.
Throughout the long night, Jade slaughtered the aerial forces of Oran Ramon and their mounts, the thrill of the hunt driving him onward with relentless fury.
He soared through the air, a predator unleashed, every movement precise and deadly. The Umbra, once fearsome in their numbers, now scattered before him like frightened birds before a hawk.
He carved through their ranks, the wickedly sharp Umbra scales his chosen weapons, leaving trails of viscid purple ichor against the star-dusted backdrop of the heavens.
Hinabi and General Lance watched, their hearts filled with a mixture of awe and dread at the raw power the youth now commanded.
As the faint fingers of dawn began to paint the eastern sky with strokes of grey and rose, the last of the Umbra Strixy fell silent, their lifeless bodies strewn across the ravaged landscape like fallen leaves after a violent storm.
Jade, his form drenched in the dark ichor of the fallen creatures, landed softly upon the rooftop of a house in Alden's city center.
The exhilaration of the hunt began to fade, replaced by a rising urge that threatened to consume the last vestiges of his humanity. His eyes, now glowing with a fierce, unnatural light, held a dangerous glint.
Jade's gaze fixed upon Luna's form, now resting atop the Garuda, and a dark, overwhelming hunger surged within him – a craving for the lifeblood pulsing beneath her skin.
Just as Jade's control began to fracture, his fangs lengthening and his senses sharpening to a terrifying degree, a gentle hand rested upon his shoulder, a touch that felt strangely calming amidst the tempest raging within him.
Ave stood behind him, her beautiful face etched with deep concern, her golden eyes filled with sorrow. "Jade," she said softly, her voice a soothing balm against the feral urges threatening to overwhelm him,
"Thou must drink again, my soulmate. Only my blood, the blood that now flows between us, can anchor thee to thy humanity and quell this rising darkness."
With a despairing groan that seemed torn from his very soul, Jade turned as Ave offered her slender wrist. He sank his newly formed fangs into her vein.
Warm, life-giving blood flowed into him, pushing back the shadows clouding his mind and restoring the light of reason to his glowing eyes.
"Gently, Jade. I shall not leave thee," Ave murmured, embracing him from behind.
Hinabi and General Lance witnessed this exchange with a mixture of relief and lingering disquiet, understanding the strange, powerful bond that now connected Jade and Ave.
Dawn broke fully over Alden, casting its golden light upon a battle-scarred city, and upon a young man forever changed by the horrors of the night and the gift of the Rem Vampyr's power.
Hinabi and Garuda drew closer to Jade and Ave. She leaped down from her mount to approach them.
The day ended in victory for Alden. Smoke curled lazily from burning houses, soldiers limped through the streets, some aiding the beleaguered citizens.
Meanwhile…
Two blocks away in the heart of Alden. Visible from the sky, down below.
Two men were seen approaching General Lance from afar. The General sat resting beneath the fountain monument in the city center. One man carried a Dragon Spear with a blade identical to General Lance's.
The other, clad in a lab coat, hefted a Buster Sword made of Mythrillblood. This man was the royal blacksmith, Alfonso Demitria, and the scientist known as Prof. Philippe Geraldine – the one who had injected Jade and his companions with the Muscle Force Serum.
The three were seen engaged in conversation.
Meanwhile, far to the east…
Within the province of Xiangdu, the sprawling ruins of its capital city were visible. Atop the towering palace therein, a figure with a shaven head stood, arms folded across his chest, gazing towards the rising sun.
His powerful forearms were adorned with golden bracelets. His robes were opulent, decorated with the motif of a serpent devouring the sun.
A woman in golden armour approached, a shotel sword sheathed at her hip. She knelt before the man standing on the balcony in his luxurious robes, and then spoke.
"Prince Abisheka Rah's. I bring tidings from our spies." Abisheka turned. "What news, Sarilla?" The prince approached and stood before her.
"Our air forces were routed and defeated. One who managed to escape and return also witnessed a large host marching towards the Asyr fortress, west of Xiangdu."
"It is likely reinforcements intended to bolster the Asyr garrison," Sarilla explained, referring to the land forces of Duke Herman Syailendra, which were soon to arrive at the Asyr fortress.