Rather than staying indoors, as opposed to the visiting n.o.bles who rushed over, Gallienne stood outside. She was to act as the witness of said battle. The aura tense, the clouds covering the sun – Protectors for each kingdom were about to lay everything on the line.

  "Before we proceed," the queen spoke, "-I wish to have a fair and honorable duel – one that would make each side proud. If there are any questions, do ask the opponent and come to an agreement. The rules are to be decided by the fighters per the tradition." She sat, the Queen Mother remained in the castle, the boy she had seen so many years ago was back.

  "Master Raulf," Staxius spoke, the voice monotonous, "-are there any restrictions or rules?"

  "No, this duel is free – the only requirement is defeating the opponent by any means necessary," he replied sharply – the divine-blade was a monster of a warrior. An all-out battle without restraint to weapons.

  "Since the conditions have been made, both fighters get ready," a guard acting as another witness spoke. Raulf took a peculiar stance, the sword overhead and body close to the ground, he was ready. Staxius, on the other hand, did nothing peculiar, the hand rested on the handle – a fair stance.

  "There's no holding back," the crimson eyes lit, the face changed to neutral, concentration heightened.  

  "BEGIN," two loud explosions, each opponent rushed one another. Raulf took the initiative and used magic, the ground froze immediately. It had only been a blink, both men were out of sight – flashes of blue and red were seen. Strike after strike, no one knew what was going on.

A battle beyond human capabilities, the fight started. The usual dodging and holding back style would not have done any good. Staxius needed to fight all out, Raulf wasn't someone who could be underestimated. Even at his speed, the divine-blade kept up, every blink felt like a death sentence. The master-swordsman was specialized in stealthy and deadly style. He could vanish without much thought – invisible to anyone, even ones blessed with spirit-sense. Laps after laps, the two never stood still, they ran around waiting for opening then charged. Nothing extraordinary had happened yet, cards were being played smartly. With G.o.d knows how many years of experience below the master's belt, Staxius could not but feel the pressure of that man's aura.

With the cursed-blade unsheathed, the spirits that tried to latch onto his opponent were rendered useless. The immense aura that could deter an entire platoon for the attack was nullified and overpowered by the aura of a true warrior. Getting a stable footing was hard, not only was the speed reduced but it worked in Raulf's favor.

The situation grew disadvantageous by the second, he was where the man wanted him to be. 'Enough,' without thinking, the Death-element activated. Void-flames emanated from his feet; it melted the icy ground thus increasing the footing again.

  'Smart,' Raulf thought but didn't seem bothered. Each strike he gave was precise and targeted, each contact they made had a purpose. Staxius parried and counterattacked, it even injured the man on a few occasions, mild cuts to the cheek. Nonetheless, after each engagement – Staxius felt it, '-the steel-sword is about to break,' despite being cursed, the weapon wasn't ready to take on the best swordsman in the continent.

  's.h.i.+t,' the rhythm changed, from running around to a full-frontal a.s.sault, Raulf took him by surprise. *Crack,* the sword broke to which an explosion of dark energy shot out. It had the face of a screaming lady begging to be freed.

  "What the h.e.l.l is that?"  taken by surprise, Raulf jumped back trying to rea.s.sess the situation.

  "My apologies," the face dripped with small cuts, the eyes burnt vividly. The hand held out, it seemed as if the soul were absorbed. To which after the mist vanished, he pounced, it almost took Raulf out. Staxius changed to a closer range fighting style, with no weapons, he had to endure and continue fighting.

There was no time for thinking, with the sword gone, the mobility increased, the fighting stance more flexible, he could easily evade the divine-blade and try to get close. A few punches landed, the element of surprise helped, the armor took all the force. "d.a.m.n," forced to rea.s.sess and being in reach of the blade, Staxius jumped back.

  "You were careless," Raulf didn't allow it, he leaped with a downward strike. Both in mid-air, evading was out of the question. The battle was won, in normal situations.

  "Blood-Arts: Crimson Threads," the blood which dripped from the face all shot out with a flick of the wrist. Staxius could control the liquid at will,  as the name described, it made threads that had different densities. Instead of blocking, it shot out to one of the trees, thus giving him a chance to move. It all happened so fast none realized what happened. Shards of ice raised; many thought the battle was over.  

  "That was a close one," he spoke, the crimson threads hovered above his head as if a halo.

  "Impossible," the battle stopped momentarily. Raulf took a few deep breaths, "-I would not have expected this," he spoke, "-a nightwalker. Didn't your kind die out… and that blood-control, you're not some low-level fledgling, are you?" the face lit with rage.

  "You're right," the hair hovered subtly, the all-seeing eye came to life. Just like the Death element controlled his mana and magic, those eyes controlled another power. One given to a pure-blooded Vampiric-lord. Blood-Arts, the ability to manipulate one's blood at will. "I've gone past the human limitation, I'm no longer one of the living – I apologize for keeping this a secret, Divine-blade; but you must understand." The halo made of blood separated and formed tiny-sharp projectiles, "-I'm the Protector of Arda, a province filled with races that are unknown to the human race. A place alienated and shunned for being different, ever since the independence – the oppression onto demi-humans has subsided. So, it's not too weird to a.s.sume that the protector of said place isn't a mere human."

  "I must apologize for the sudden outburst," the battle resumed, "-in the days of old, vampires have killed and eaten our kind for generations. Having fought against them time and time again has made my blood boil," he smirked.

  "Well," Staxius vanished, "-I guess you know what to expect," it came from behind, the projectile launched. *Ice-element: Ice Barrier,* deflected, the high-speed fight was but an evaluation.   

  "You underestimate me," a voice came from behind Staxius, "-an ice-clone?" he called, the blade ran straight through his back.

  *Cough,* blood sprayed, he teleported but the blade went straight through the stomach. 'You can't breathe for a second with him,' just as he thought, Raulf continued his a.s.sault. He had pierced through the enchanted uniform without breaking a sweat.

  "You also underestimate me," he whispered. Raulf was in mid-air with Staxius's head as the target, the mind narrowed – an opening presented itself. His eyes opened wide; a dark-crimson colored substance traveled under the ice-floor. Without warning, it broke out and pierced the right leg and left arm. Despite injured, Raulf continued his path to Staxius's head. – Tharis unholstered, *Void Flame Aspect: Maximum Capacity,* the trigger pulled – a giant beam burst forth, one the size of two cars. The sound which echoed around was the highest-pitch screaming one could have heard, it nearly drove some people deaf.

On one side of the arena, crouch with one hand covering the stomach wound and the other holding Tharis, he waited, the Death Element activated, regeneration at twice the speed.

On the other, still standing with steam emanating from his body and armor, Raulf stood without big injuries. Moments before the trigger was pulled, he slashed forward thus separating and dispersing the beam on either side, the ground burnt with a white flame, he stood in the middle.

  "Raulf Serlo," the injuries healed, Staxius stood, "-how powerful of a monster are you?" he smiled. The blood used returned to being a halo over his head, the more blood he lost, the more powerful the arts became.

  "Look who's talking," he laughed, "-it's been a while since I had a worthy opponent," both were joyful; letting loose was the best feeling and honor a man could have. With a shake of the head, "the battle isn't over yet, King of Arda – show me what you can do," he jumped.

  "I agree," *Blood-Arts: Orenmir, Blood Blade of the Queen,* a sword came forth, one bearing similarities to the one he bought in the capital with the blade red and a long handle. Not wanting to move, Staxius stood still, Raulf leaped – an ice-beamed shot from his leg, it tripled his velocity, *Divine-blade Technique: Moon,* the shape of a crescent, the sword swung downwards, whirlwinds sp.a.w.ned with devastating strength. The surroundings turned into a death trap.

The moment the blades touched, the ground cracked, a shockwave blew everything in a twelve-meter radius away, the guards who watched over the fight threw up blood. Having countered such a move without moving, it took a toll on the body – in that instant, Raulf smiled, *Divine-blade Technique:  Earth,* feet steady on the floor, a horizontal slash which came faster than a blink. Instinct took over, the second strike was blocked by turning the body rather than moving the sword, it lowered the defensive strength to which Staxius got blown away.

  *Ultimate Divine-blade Technique: Earth, Moon, and Sun,* no breathing room given – Raulf's eyes looked emotionless – the man fought on instinct, his speed increased and overall combat capabilities from the instant Tharis was shot. He slipped into the world where impossible became possible; Clarity. Strikes in multiple directions, a thrust, and a downward slash – the swordsman used all the techniques learned in a single a.s.sault. No block nor dodging, Staxius took the beginning of the a.s.sault fully.

  'I'm not losing any longer,' the eyes closed, wings sprouted to which a single flap later, both men broke through the castle wall and went off the hill atop which rested the castle. A giant fall was what awaited the combatants. *Blood-Arts: Crimson Threads,* more blood which dripped were turned into the vampiric arts – it pierced Raulf's hand and went all the way to the neck, the man was out cold. With the chest opened for all to see, Staxius bled more and more. Flying away was out of the picture, body strength depleted, *Ancient Magic: Teleportation,* rather than hitting the ground at full speed – they materialized in the arena and landed with the same impact.

The speed at which Staxius flew and speared Raulf and paired with the speed of breaking the wall, would have killed anyone instantly. The icy-ground turned into a puddle of blood, Raulf was badly injured, all that people could see was a heavy mist. "Stay with me old man," grabbing the potions made for self-use, he injected it into his foe.

All the blood being lost turned into crystals. In turn, they were used to cover up any mortal wound the divine-blade might have sustained. For the first time, Staxius felt the need to do something, Raulf Serlo was an amazing person under which he could learn a lot. A few seconds later, the icy-cold mist melted, none realized what had happened. The healing potions worked, Raulf came to as soon as the plugged-up wounds regenerated.

The eyes opened, he gasped for air as if drowned. "What happened?" he panted, Staxius sat right beside. "I won," he winked and healed. "I get why people call you the divine-blade," the eyes stared at the sky, "-your technique and raw strength are unbelievable. I shudder to think how powerful you might have been in the olden days."

  "No need to flatter this old man," he coughed, "-you're the second to survive, Earth, Moon, and Sun," memories flooded back.

  "Who's the first?" he asked with interest piqued.

  "Your father, Tempest Haggard," he smiled.

  "Yeah, that's something he would do," Staxius chuckled.

The mist cleared, Gallienne walked, her footsteps echoed. Both warriors stood, "-I apologize for failing you, majesty," the old man bowed to which she stopped and hugged. "No, you were amazing," a tear shed – it might not have been apparent, but Raulf and her were as close as family.

The face neutral, the hair which seemed on fire, the flames in the eyes quelled. Staxius stood victorious – the wings retracted, Blood-Arts dispelled, the crystals soon turned liquid.

  "Protector of Arda," the hug ended, "-you've defeated our protector and the kingdom as a whole, what is it that you wish?" bound by prejudice, the queen thought that war would be the thing the man sought after.

  "On behalf of my kingdom as well as the wishes of my Queen, setting our differences aside – what I wish is for a lasting peace between Arda and the Royal family. Once human and now vampire; I understand how badly the demi-humans were treated. Thus, I wish for but a thing, cooperation and to set aside our crude past. As the new queen ruling your many domains, tis in thy hands."