Chapter 398 - 398: Hymn to Courage, Destiny of Blood

On the lookout terrace of Tesham Mutna, the wind rustled beneath the blood moon.

Dettlaff's body was tougher than Victor had expected. Frost's Lament, which had bitten into him through the left shoulder, became lodged among his ribs and could go no farther.

The next instant, the higher vampire lashed out violently with his claws, smashing straight through the Quen shield and sending the witcher flying. Victor crashed through a section of the low stone wall and brought it down with him.

Although his body hadn't been pierced, the successive impacts to his chest and back made Victor spit out a mouthful of blood, nearly knocking him unconscious on the spot.

Fortunately, the damage caused by the blade oil and freezing effect was equally severe, effectively preventing Dettlaff from immediately pursuing him for the kill. Victor seized the opportunity to pull out a Swallow potion and drink it to heal his injuries.

By the time he finally caught his breath and slowly pushed himself upright, it was already too late to stop the higher vampire.

All Victor could do was watch as Dettlaff ripped the dagger from his heart and hurled it far away, officially marking the failure of his plan.

Blood gushed from Dettlaff's chest like a fountain, staining the ground crimson while simultaneously washing the Vampire Oil from the wound. The oil increased the damage inflicted, caused excruciating pain, and slowed the healing process.

"Victor, I'm going to kill you!" Dettlaff said, his eyes bloodshot. "I acknowledge your strength, witcher. So from this moment onward, I will fight with everything I have! You should feel honored that you've forced me to take you seriously...

"This form will be the last thing you ever see!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the higher vampire began to transform.

His eyes disappeared, his face swelled outward into a distorted sphere, and every piece of clothing on his body burst apart. Scarlet flesh knotted and bulged across his frame, while two additional fleshy hooks sprouted from his back alongside a pair of batlike wings meant for flight.

A chill raced down Victor's spine.

It was the instinctive terror prey felt in the presence of a predator.

If Dettlaff's previous combat form had still retained some resemblance to a human being, then this could no longer be called human at all.

This was a genuine monster.

Judging purely by appearance, the transformation was undoubtedly a spectacular failure.

But those arms, each thicker than a man's thigh, and those fists the size of cooking pots were no laughing matter!

Victor was certain this was the transformation Regis had refused to show him before, the form said to strip away reason and leave the vampire consumed by extreme savagery and madness.

Victor's original two plans had both been designed around killing Dettlaff in a single relentless burst before he could undergo this transformation.

Unfortunately, neither had succeeded.

And now that the higher vampire had awakened the source of power within his blood, it wasn't difficult to imagine just how terrifying the strength he was about to unleash would be.

"I'll have to move on to the next plan..."

Victor sighed inwardly and took out a Dragon Power Potion.

After drawing a deep breath, he swallowed it in one gulp.

The ingredients were exceptionally difficult to obtain, so this was the first time he had ever drunk one.

A faint metallic scent of blood spread through his mouth...

As expected of an Epic-grade alchemical creation, its effects became obvious almost immediately.

The dull pain throughout his chest and back rapidly faded. His heart began beating with even greater force, pumping an endless stream of strength into his limbs.

His ears caught the sharp rush of beating wings.

Dettlaff had already taken to the air, black mist swirling around his body as he gathered strength for his next attack.

The hymn of humanity was the hymn of courage.

Victor raised his silver sword high and faced Dettlaff in the Roof Guard.

The stance represented his determination, to carve open a path forward, regardless of who stood in his way.

The next second, carrying the full force of gravitational acceleration, the vampire plunged from the sky.

Like a hawk diving upon a rabbit, he crashed head-on into the witcher's descending silver blade.

"BOOM!!!"

A sonic blast exploded through the air.

Victor was sent flying yet again and tumbled across the ground, but at the same time, the recoil brought Dettlaff's charge to an abrupt halt.

This exchange was still relatively even.

Dragon Power Potion against Dettlaff's third-stage transformation.

Although it wasn't enough to overpower the higher vampire, Victor was certainly nowhere near being killed instantly.

He rolled back onto his feet and swallowed the taste of blood rising in his throat.

As far as Victor was concerned, this result was entirely satisfactory.

The condition required for his plan to succeed had been fulfilled.

So when Dettlaff dived from the sky again, Victor didn't attempt to meet him head-on.

Instead, he rolled aside and let the vampire's impact smash a crater into the ground.

Compared with his previous form, Dettlaff was now faster and stronger.

But just as Regis had once explained, he was also more brutal and primitive.

It was difficult to say how much reason remained in him.

His attacks seemed driven almost entirely by instinct.

Looking at his combat pattern specifically, Dettlaff's movements had become extremely simple.

He repeatedly flew into the air, gathered momentum, then launched another diving attack.

Although this relentless method forced the witcher into a thoroughly miserable position, occasionally clipping or slashing him, Victor wasn't afraid.

As long as he avoided taking a direct hit, the various potions circulating through his bloodstream meant he was still a long way from collapsing.

Hope gleamed in his eyes.

All he needed to do now was wait patiently.

Eventually, Lady Victory would smile upon him.

...

Some time later, furious roars still echoed across the lookout terrace of Tesham Mutna.

But rage couldn't alter the simple reality that prolonged high-intensity combat consumed an enormous amount of stamina.

Eventually, Dettlaff found an opportunity.

He slammed Victor to the ground, pinned the young man beneath him, bit straight through his shoulder armor, and began frantically drinking his blood to replenish himself.

His feast lasted only a few seconds.

"Aard!"

A point-blank Sign blasted the monster away.

Dettlaff landed some distance away and released a satisfied, savage howl, traces of Victor's freshly consumed blood still staining the corners of his mouth.

Victor forced himself upright.

Aside from the dark violet markings covering portions of his face, his skin had become deathly pale, an unmistakable sign of severe blood loss.

The young man swayed unsteadily on his feet.

Yet a brilliant smile √ spread across his lips.

"Finally... Dettlaff. I win..."

"You win!?" the higher vampire sneered arrogantly. "Have you started hallucinating from blood loss?"

Victor slowly exhaled.

"I really have won. Even though you abandoned the habit of drinking blood centuries ago, once reduced to pure instinct, you still couldn't resist the temptation of fresh blood..."

The instant those words left his mouth, Dettlaff suddenly staggered.

Beneath his swollen crimson muscles, his bulging veins began turning into streaks of black.

Violent stabbing pain followed the flow of his blood and spread throughout his entire body, leaving him almost unable to control himself.

"This... this is... poison! You poisoned your own blood to lure me into drinking it, you despicable bastard!"

Hearing the insult, Victor let out a cold chuckle.

"Oh, come on! You're far too naive. We're fighting to decide not only the winner, but who lives and who dies. I'm a witcher. If I don't use traps, what kind of hunter am I? I'd be the one getting smoked!"

Joking aside, Victor knew better than to give a beaten enemy time to recover.

Given enough time, the constitution of a higher vampire might genuinely allow Dettlaff to survive the poison.

So despite losing a tremendous amount of blood, Victor staggered toward him one step at a time.

His silver sword dragged across the ground, producing a harsh scraping sound.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps...

Sensing the lethal threat approaching, Dettlaff finally unleashed an earth-shaking roar.

The moment Victor came within reach, he summoned his remaining strength and lunged at him.

Unfortunately, the desperate struggle of a dying creature was useless.

Against a monster that had lost its overwhelming speed, the witcher easily pivoted aside and avoided the attack.

Then Frost's Lament came down in a brutal vertical slash, severing Dettlaff's wings and fleshy hooks.

Victor twisted his waist, gathered power, and followed with a horizontal cut that cleaved straight through the vampire's spine.

No longer able to control the lower half of his body, Dettlaff stumbled and collapsed.

The once terrifying higher vampire now crawled miserably across the ground.

He desperately tried to drag his ruined body away with both hands, but all he managed to leave behind were faint claw marks etched into the stone.

Moonlight flowed like water.

A detached voice drifted through the wind, devoid of any trace of joy.

"What a shame... Mr. Dettlaff van der Eretein. What a terrible shame..."

Standing over him, Victor looked down with a flicker of compassion in his eyes.

Then he raised Frost's Lament high with both hands.

And drove it down with all his strength!

...

[Name: Superior Black Blood]

[Type: Recovery]

[Quality: Fine]

[Traits: Ironclad Effect, Super Quality, Blood Scent]

[Effect One, Black Blood: Turns the blood within the body black and viscous, making it a lethal poison to blood-drinking creatures.]

[Effect Two, Come and Get It: Makes the blood within the body emit an irresistibly sweet aroma that is intensely alluring to blood-drinking creatures.]

[Note: Vic's Special Blend, rich to the last drop.]

//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters //[email protected]/Razeil0810