"What? How? What nonsense is this?" Noala threw his controller to the ground. "How am I dead? How? Where’s my fault in all this?"
- You should not have looked at him, my dude.
"Do you want me to turn my back on the enemy?"
- Hide behind the dragon?
"That—" He brought his hand to his chin. "That’s not such a bad idea."
He went in again and died within a minute.
Almost an hour passed.
"No, bad Allaryx. Bad Allaryx. You cannot do that, Allaryx."
Noala was starting to lose his sanity.
"This is—what run now—forty-fifth? I wonder what will happen if I give up on this fight. There is no way the capital is coming back. Does Allaryx go around killing everyone? Does he get to rule the kingdom then?"
Just the thought of it was starting to piss him off.
"Fuck him, I won’t let that happen." He scratched his neck like a junkie. "After all the pain he has caused me, I won’t let him be rich and happy."
- Schizo Noala is real.
It was a difficult trial, but after a few more tries and hours spent, Noa managed to bring Allaryx’s health down to twenty-five percent.
"Just a little more."
But Valacry had other plans.
Seeing as how his opponent was starting to get slower, the dragon flung Noa aside and began a fierce offensive, leaving no room for hesitation.
"What the fuck, man? It was my moment!"
- It’s better than dying.
- Let him do the heavy work. You can at least be safe while the cutscene is on.
- It’s alright, Noa. Your big dommy mommy dragon will save you.
The fight lasted for three minutes.
- It’s like watching two gods battle.
- I did some in-game research. They are, in fact, part of this world’s myths.
"Are we winning, though? I can’t tell."
"You have become weak," growled the dragon. "Age has taken its toll on you, Vampyr."
"That’s weak?" screamed the streamer. "How strong was he when he was young?"
The dragon blew fire and smoke around the broken remains of their battlefield. Taking advantage of poor visibility, he launched himself at the enemy and bit into his torso with a satisfying crunch.
The blade of Allaryx shone red as his movements momentarily became far sharper.
Thousands of cuts pierced through the thick scales of the winged reptile. It was like watching a machine grind meat.
A scream erupted, followed by a deafening thud.
Without a word of admonishment, Valacry fell.
Allaryx had slain his mortal enemy.
But spite was a strong motivator to mythical figures. And it was that spite that kept the former from releasing its grasp on the latter.
Taking the chance, Noa rushed forward.
"Cooldown’s off!" Noala yelled as his avatar hit Allaryx with his strongest skill.
It was a sneak attack of the highest degree.
- That’s dishonorable, you ****.
- Have some pride, you *******.
"Nothing’s wrong here. Everything’s fair in games."
Scratching his helmet, Noa’s blade traveled lower towards Allaryx’s open chest.
As steel pierced the eye on his torso and plunged deeper into his heart, Allaryx felt the inevitable reaching for his life.
But for slaying a myth, there was a price to pay.
Allaryx clutched the neck of his foe and pulled him as his helmet—which had cracked in the fight against the dragon—broke and fell off into pieces.
From underneath, the shadow of a head swung forward, and two sharp fangs sank deep into his neck.
"What’s he doing?" Noala looked devastated. "Is he still not dead?"
Noa pushed the man away and rubbed his neck. There was blood there.
As Allaryx staggered back, for the first time, his face was revealed.
He had dark skin and long ears. His grey hair was long and parted to one side. His amber eyes left an impression.
Even though he was well over nine decades old, he looked young, as if he were in his 20s.
From the fragile structure of his jaw to the color of his skin, his race couldn’t be more apparent.
"Is that a dark elf? A handsome one at that."
It made Noala hate the guy even more.
"Now, you are my progeny," Allaryx said as blood pooled into his mouth. "Forever cursed to hide yourself."
The scare lasted for only about a moment as his eyes glazed over.
The monstrous knight was dead.
"We did it!" Noala jumped up and down. "Finally!"
It had taken the whole night, and it was already morning.
He read the chat, but contrary to his expectations, no one else seemed to care. They were engaged in a different discussion.
- It’s got to be him.
- I mean, look at him. Those are his eyes!
- Skin color is different.
- That can be managed. But it’s him.
"What are you talking about?" Noala asked.
But no one paid attention to him. The dead vampire’s face was what generated all the buzz.
- It’s definitely him!
- Who are you guys talking about?
Most of the Western audience was clueless, but there were still a few cultured sages willing to spread the word.
- This is him, I’m certain.
Attached to the message was a link. Noala clicked on it, which took him to Averie Quinn Auclair’s wiki page.
"An actor, huh? I guess he was making a cameo."
He glossed over the matter.
"Is he famous in Asia?"
- Watch BSPH. You’ll thank me later.
- It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
- To find him here, I am blessed.
His chat’s sudden fanaticism aside, something caught Noala’s attention.
An icon displaying an unknown status ailment was blinking over Noa’s health bar.
He stared at it intently, trying to make out the little details.
It was an upturned silver cross swirling in a viscous red liquid.
Suddenly, Noa took damage, and his health bar lost thirty percent of its health.
"No, no! What is this?"
He checked the text box at the edge of his screen.
It displayed the following:
Achievement(s) earned: [Vampire Slayer] and [To be a Creature of the Night].
Infected with Vampiric blood.
Constitution has changed.
Warning: seek shelter.
Taken critical damage from exposure to sunlight.