Wandering

VI. Battle

Instinct.

Instinct was what he used to hunting down each of those despicable strigois.

Vermillion found out that the small group of strigois—the same one which both previous strigois whom he killed before came from—had invaded and slaughtered the entire inhabitants of this city. They were the worshippers of La Muerta—Vermillion vaguely recognized the name as one of those pseudo-vampire-gods commonly worshipped by lesser kind of vampires—and one of fanatic ones at that. The crimson lord resented the fact that they practiced their belief by thoroughly wiped almost all forms of life in the previously lively city. They just loved to butcher humans for fun. They surely didn’t do it just for quenching their thirst.

Despicable things, those strigois were.

Vermillion grunted as he dodged another claw with Shion. His instinct told him to somersault backward and he did it just in time as another strigoi launched an open attack at him, nearly ripping his chest. Thrusting one of Shion blades forward, he skewered the strigoi’s head, from the mouth right through the back of its skull. He sighed heavily as he leapt further from his opponent, avoiding a kick on his side in a thin paper gap. He was an experienced warrior; he knew how to win his fight.

Flinching slightly as his previously bandaged wound begin to bleed once more, Vermillion landed as gracefully as he could on the balcony of a ruined building. He glared at the remnants of the strigois, watching them calmly as they seethe and growl viciously at him. It was just an empty threat, though. He knew that their power and strength were far below him anyway.

But in his present condition, he somehow feared for the worst. He also had worry for the human family he had guarded for quite some times now. He glanced at the hastily retreating truck on the far end of the road. He smiled wryly, knowing for sure that he had to catch up with them soon. He would catch up with them soon.

Right after he killed all those pathetic things down there…

……

His instinct told him to feed.

Vermillion frowned. Hadn’t the woman’s blood satiated him enough? Seemingly, it hadn’t.

He had to feed now.

The crimson lord grimaced in disgust. Strigoi’s blood was despicably bitter and, for him, nearly inedible. He couldn’t stand the thought he was going to quench himself by drinking from one or some of them. Hell, he could possibly retch all of it once the abhorrent blood came into his throat. But still, he didn’t have a choice whatsoever. He didn’t want to drink from his human’s counterparts. He had drunk from David three days ago and he was sure the man was still recovering from his not-so-much blood loss. He also had recently drunk from Samantha.

Vermillion knew he didn’t have a choice but to drink from these obnoxious creatures.

He knew he had to.

---

David drove in almost frantic manner, though he still maintained his calmness. Samantha had Sean within her embrace, fastening their seat belt together. The boy was silent and tense as his mother held him.

They could hear the faint commotion of battle behind them.

“…I hope he’ll be alright.” Samantha whispered, more to herself than to the others.

David glanced at his wife and let out a shaky laugh. “He will, Sam. He’s strong warrior, we both know that.”

Samantha grinned at her husband and didn’t utter any word again.

They drove for nearly fifteen minutes and a couple of miles from the ruined city. Recognizing that there was no strigoi following, David pulled off the engine. He turned to see through the back window, for a better look. He saw no one, nothing except the dust from their hastily retreating truck.

“I can’t see him.” He murmured concernedly.

Samantha touched her husband’s arm and smiled consolingly at him. David reciprocated her smile.

Together, they waited.

---

Vermillion flinched as one of the strigoi’s talons grazed his arm. It was a light wound, yes; still it stung nonetheless. He grimaced and swung one of Shion’s twin blades towards the creature; it was split in half neatly from head to abdomen second later.

The crimson lord sighed. He couldn’t make himself to feed from even one of those horrendous creatures. Their blood stank badly, at least for his nostril and taste. His mind raced for a quick solution; he had to come for one, fast.

Vermillion jumped backward and landed nimbly on the nearby perch of the two stories apartment. Frowning, he analyzed the sight below him. Dead bodies of ghouls and strigois alike littered the ground, the result of their battle. He counted; there were three more left.

The crimson lord leaped from the perch he was standing before and managed to somersault midair. He eventually landed tonelessly on his feet, only a slight away from the startled strigoi. Before the creature even had the time to comprehend his situation, Vermillion had already beheaded him. Not even glancing to look at the rolling head before him, the crimson haired vampire had already dashed towards the nearby strigoi. The oaf could only grunt when Shion skewered his lungs and tore open his chest.

As the second of the last strigois fell dead, Vermillion turned around only to find he had lost the female strigoi. She had fled due to her fear. After all, she had witnessed all of her comrades found their death at the sharp side of the kodachi. She knew she had no choice but to flee for her life.

Though regretting her flight, Vermillion didn’t give a chase for her. He sighed, ran his hand through his crimson hair, and eventually settled for a thought to find a way to quench his ever-so-annoying blood thirst.

---

David’s tired eyes snapped open at the sound of scratching noise.

He realized he had eventually fallen to sleep—with Samantha and Sean similarly dozing off, leaning on his embrace—while waiting for their vampire companion to come back.

He peered outside and squinted—the vicinity had already dark. Just how long had he dozed off back then? He couldn’t fathom how long, but he knew it was long enough that the hours had rolled shamefully and the day had turned into dark and restless night out there.

A streak of fear clenched his heart and mind. What if Vermillion couldn’t make it…?

……

He almost yelped in shock as the dark form of his vampire friend looming over the left side of the car, right beside him. Vermillion had stopped before the left passenger door, waiting for David to see him. The latter had moved from the driver’s seat to the passenger’ seats to sit with his wife and son; they eventually leaned against each other and fell asleep. He couldn’t blame them. The whole chaos was too much for them to handle, somehow. They were just humans after all.

“…You’re back …and safe.” David rasped hoarsely, feeling relieved. For last couple days, he and his family had grown close to their odd comrade. He was rather enjoyable companion, since he didn’t speak much. He cared for them, though. He was also seemingly prudent, reserved, and, not to mention, an agile and reliable fellow. David was grateful for all his help. The vampire was indeed a kind soul, regardless his real nature.

Though, he had inkling that Vermillion hid something from him. Something very important…

But the man decided he didn’t want to pry it out from their silent friend. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been allowed to keep a secret or two from them, right? Right. It wasn’t like they were really close friends before anyway.

Samantha stirred in her sleep and David watched as her eyes slowly opened to reveal two hazy deep green eyes. Amused, he watched as his wife gave a slight yelp of surprise upon seeing Vermillion loom outside their truck. Her yelp itself woke Sean right away. The poor boy clutched his mother’s shirt tightly and looked around frantically, terrified.

“It’s okay. It’s just Vermillion.” His father soothed him and the boy blinked as he saw that, indeed, their vampire guardian stood outside the vehicle, simply waiting. “He came back unscathed. Thank God.”

Both mother and son shared a look and smiled in relief.

Vermillion threw his sight towards the dark sky, and eventually towards the thick, lining trees and foliages surrounding their vehicle. They were stuck in the middle of nowhere. However, the road still gave them a clear direction towards somewhere. Vermillion vaguely knew the path. It straightly directed them towards the small tourist town of Granvélde.

“Vermillion?”

David’s tentative voice jerked him back from his short reverie. He turned to look at his human companions; they watched him with somewhat confused and worried look. His lips twitched upward, forming an almost-smile, much to their surprise.

“It’s nothing.” He replied smoothly. “David, you still have strength to drive?”

The dark-chocolate haired man laughed heartily. “Of course I am.”

“…Then, let’s get out from here. We’ll find some place to stop by for the night and camping.” He sighed. “We can’t stay here for long. I’m afraid the strigois will come after us.”

David and Samantha’s expressions looked terrified.

“Didn’t you kill them all?” Samantha asked timidly.

Vermillion shook his head. “One fled. I didn’t give a chase; it wasted my time. Still, we have to be cautious.”

They nodded.

“Okay, let’s get the hell out of here!”

---

The rest of the journey only spent an hour until Vermillion deemed them to stop and call it a day (though it had already night after all).

They camped on the nice clearing near the small river, not far from the main road. Their mini truck was being camouflaged by David, who covered the vehicle by branches and foliages; as well as placed it behind the thick bushes. From the main road, they were, at least, invisible.

They made small fire for warmth and cooking. Samantha prepared their late dinner of roasted tuna sandwich and hot tea. Vermillion got some wild berries and other fruits for them, which Samantha accepted gratefully.

Having their dinner in somewhat comfortable silence, David peered at the crimson haired vampire settling himself on the nearby tree; and queried.

“Have you had your dinner already?”

Both Samantha and Sean halted their eating activity and looked upward at their vampire comrade. Vermillion’s face was hidden by the shadow of his bangs and nearby leaves, but they could see his gleaming crimson eyes fixed on them. The sight was neither intimidating nor scary; it was just disconcerting. Red wasn’t normal eye color after all.

“…I have. Thank you for asking.”

David pondered his next question carefully. “Did you, umm, suck their blood? Those strigois?”

Vermillion looked away and let out a noise that suspiciously sounded like a scoff. “No, I didn’t. I couldn’t. Not in a million year I would suck their disgusting excuse of blood.”

Surprised, the Rayburns shared a look at each other.

“Oh… well, where did you—”

“Blood bank. I found it near the ruined hospital.”

“Oh…”

David and his family were back to their dinner, musing about their vampire guardian; who barely fed on medical bloods in the blood bank. Somehow, the idea was kind of hilarious for David; if not relieving.

“That’s good to hear.” He murmured. Samantha looked at her husband with questioning look, but David only smiled warmly at her.

Vermillion heard his words clearly. He had a faint smile on his face upon hearing the sincere and relieved tone within David’s remarks. Leaning backward, the crimson lord prepared to take a nap and eventually close his eyes; when suddenly he felt something.

Startled, he snapped open his eyes and instinctively sharpened his senses. He waited for the feedback from his heightened and alerted senses. He didn’t wait for long when almost instantly the feedback came.

His crimson eyes widened considerably as he recognized the presence. It was a familiar presence, at least for him.

He peered at the human family below him. They were oblivious for the fact that there was a potentially dangerous presence creeping closer towards their place.

Vermillion sighed. He had to do something fast. He didn’t want the humans to be alerted and feared for their upcoming situation. He didn’t want them to be entangled with his battle with this disturbing presence.

Suddenly, he felt the presence divert its way and away from their spot. He exhaled sharply, almost painfully relieved for the sheer fact that they, somehow, had avoided the potential danger. Vermillion doubted he could fight in full strength with most of his true power still sealed within Shion and his body. His resurrection drained most of his strength already. He only had less than one tenth of his true strength.

Vermillion pondered his chance. He could use his fire, yes; but it wasn’t fully powerful. Just a small fraction of his soul to fuel his fire; and it wasn’t enough to fight something powerful like that disturbing presence. He couldn’t use his magic yet; magic needed more soul aura than elemental power did. That left only his martial ability and sheer physical power—which didn’t fully return after his long dormancy. He could fight and parry; but he only fought small fries up until now.

No, Vermillion doubted he could win against something—no, someone—as powerful as Opal from the Eastern Coven of EX-Apocalypto.

He grimaced. Every memory of the silver haired Symbion wasn’t exactly a pleasant one. Vermillion didn’t really hate him—he never really hated someone—but, honestly, he despised the other man with passion.

The man was one hell of a narcissist gay. And a pedophile too. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. How despicable…

{~My Lord, Ariadne spots us~} Shion abruptly told him.

Vermillion closed his eyes in sudden despair. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to calm his nerves.

{…~How long until Opal eventually reaches us?~}

The phoenix was silent for a moment, estimating the time and location. {~Ten minutes, no less than that. The silver assassin isn’t in his best mood. Nor does he seem having any interest to chase after us. Your aura, Milord, is well concealed after all~}

Vermillion felt his heart skipped in fleeting relief. But then, his worry and fear for the human family’ safety were back with vengeance. Trying to keep his inner voice (and maybe his vocally voice too, if he decided to speak out) from shaking, he queried Shion once more.

{~Does he and Ariadne recognize us?~}

{…~I’m …not too sure, Milord. Perhaps; considering Lord Opal’s keen intuition. As much as I loathe to say this; Lord Opal is one of the best trackers in EX~}

Vermillion chuckled somehow nervously at his blades’ words.

{~Well… we don’t have any choice then, Shion. We have to prepare for the inevitable battle, I guess~}

The phoenix didn’t reply, but Vermillion could feel his warm presence filling his inner mindscape, seconding his words. He smiled warmly, touched by his spirit’s loyal support. No matter what, Shion would always support him and simply be with him. The phoenix was essentially him after all.

Straightening his back, Vermillion spread his heightened senses once more to identify and locate Opal’s position. The silver haired vampire wasn’t too far away from his current position; which worried him. He glanced downward and saw that the family was preparing to sleep. Sighing inaudibly, he leaped down and landed almost tonelessly on the ground.

David blinked in surprise to see Vermillion landing behind him. Just a moment ago, he presumed that the crimson haired vampire had already dozed off.

“Vermillion, what’s wrong? I thought you’re sleeping.”

Vermillion fixed him with a look that David interpreted as apologetic look. There was also a fleeting worry and fear within those deep crimson orbs, which in one and many ways worried him.

“Vermillion?! Something’s wrong?!”

“Hush… just go to the truck with Samantha and Sean; and wait there. Don’t talk, don’t move, just wait there.” Vermillion told him curtly. David shared a look with Samantha and Sean. They could clearly see anxiety and, not to mention, fear, radiating from their vampire companion. Vermillion rarely showed his emotion, let alone being afraid of something.

Something wasn’t right. Something wasn’t truly right.

“Vermillion! Explain to us, what’s wrong?!” David’s eyes widened in shock as he half-yelled, “Don’t tell me there’s a pack of horrible monster after us! Strigois?! Zombies?!”

“Not a pack, just one.” Vermillion snapped, irritated. He glared at David and shushed him. “And it’s worse than those two. Strigois and ghouls are barely a challenge for me. They’re just small fries.”

The humans stared at him, terrified.

“Then, if it’s neither of those two, what—”

David’s words were halted by the sound of shrill cry coming from the direction of the dense and thick rows of trees behind them. Turning around, Vermillion and his human counterparts prepared for the worst.

“Wha—what the hell’s that sound??” Samantha stuttered in fear, her eyes never leaving the darkness before them. She had her son in her embrace, Sean clutching his mother’s jacket in sheer fear and worry.

“…Ariadne.”

The Rayburns snapped their heads to stare at Vermillion, who already had both of Shion’s blades in each hand. They didn’t comprehend the crimson lord’s answer.

“Huh??”

Vermillion glanced at them. His gaze was solemn and dark.

“You’ll see. Now back off, humans. This… is something you’d rather not see after all.”

Their eyes widened upon hearing Vermillion’s tight words. They could feel his anxiety, his fear, and… his despair. Somehow, knowing that their strong and seemingly invincible guardian was desperate over something terrified them.

“Vermillion…”

“Back off, humans!! NOW!!”

With those yells, David and Samantha quickly backed off and half-ran towards their truck, Sean in his mother’s embrace. Glancing behind to see Vermillion standing defiantly to face whatever thing that came after them, David couldn’t help but fear for their friend’ safety.