Chapter 19

Vire and Lupin were in an eerie forest. The soil was a deep black and dead black trees surrounded them. The bright moon took up a fourth of the sky. 

"Quit your crying already!" Vire exclaimed. 

"But...my father made those..." Lupin replied while on his knees. 

His voice was very shaky and his face was covered in tears. 

"Calm down kid, I'm just infusing them together to form a sword." 

"A sword? I don't know how to fight with a single sword! Not once have I fought with just one large blade!" 

"Looks like it's time to learn now, don't you think?" 

Lupin frowned. The blades that Vire was holding began to glow a bright red before forming together into a long two-handed sword. The blade was a deep blood red, and the hilt was silver with a spiraling cut. An orb, that was the same red as the blade was at the end of it. Lupin's tears suddenly stopped as he saw the blade reflecting the moon's light, covering some of the ground in red. 

"That looks intense!" 

"This is only half the fun, but you have to be an expert with this sword before I teach you the rest." 

"Okay." 

Vire handed Lupin the sword. It was surprisingly light. 

"Aren't two-handed swords usually heavy?" 

"Correct. But this sword is adapted to your soul. For you, it will be so light that you'll be able to swing with it with one hand, but as for others, picking it up would require unrealistic strength." 

"Interesting." 

"Now, let's see how well you can swing that sword." 

Vire held out his hand and a two-handed sword appeared. It looked similar to Lupin's except the blade and orb was an ocean blue color. Vire thrust the sword into the ground and the soil swallowed it whole. Lupin stared in confusion. Suddenly a hand burst through the ground. It was covered in stainless steel armor. The knight pulled itself out of the ground along with its sword. 

"Let me see how many tricks you can lay on this guy with your new fighting style." Vire said. 

The knight grunted as it bowed. Still confused, Lupin hesitantly bowed as well. Suddenly the knight slashed downwards towards Lupin's head. Lupin quickly rolled to dodge the blade and slammed his heel on the knight's ankle. The knight roared in pain as he fell to one knee. Lupin then spun around and slashed downward onto the knight's neck, decapitating him. The knight's body fell onto the ground. There was a small silence. 

"What was that?" Vire yelled. 

"I won!" 

Lupin smiled greatly. Vire ran towards Lupin and smacked him on the arm. 

"What was that for?!" 

"You were not supposed to win so damn quickly!" 

"But isn't that a good thing?!" 

"Yes! ...No!" 

Vire grunted in frustration. 

"Try again!" 

He summoned another knight that looked just like the last one. Lupin readied his sword. The knight leaped into the air and lunged downward with its sword heading straight for Lupin's head. Lupin quickly jumped out of the way. As soon as the knight landed, Lupin slashed at the knight and decapitated it as well. There was another small silence.

"How?! It took me centuries to become so good with a two-handed sword!" 

"The sword is light remember? It's even lighter than the blades I normally used." 

"Well, maybe I should go ahead and teach you the new ability then." 

Lupin cheered with excitement. 

"Sheath your sword and come here." 

Lupin suddenly felt the leather strap on his back. He wondered how long it was there as he sheathed his sword. He walked closer to Vire. 

"Give me your palms." 

Lupin held his hands outward, revealing his palms. Vire placed his finger on each wrist and began to chant words that Lupin couldn't understand. 

"Rotovo...Yabaska...Uridaliye." 

Vire's fingers suddenly stabbed through Lupin's wrists. Lupin was shocked at the sight, but couldn't feel any pain. Lupin's veins began to glow through his skin all throughout his body. The glow slowly faded away afterwards. Vire pulled his fingers out of Lupin's wrists. The small hole from the puncture stretched along his arm and then slowly closed, revealing a scar. 

"What just happened?" 

"We now have something in common." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Back when I was a human, I had a special ability known as 'Visioned Blood'. It was an ability where my blood could regenerate at insane speeds. I could control my blood, make it exit from my scars and transmute its structure to do specific things." 

"Wow..." 

"I could make it blow things up, help me fly, be a counterattacking blade; the possibilities were endless." 

"That sounds very disgusting...creepy...and difficult." 

Vire's eyes flared. 

"This is an ability that everyone wants! This ability will also give you great regeneration abilities along with creating anything your imagination could muster!" 

"Regeneration? Dawn can do that for me..." 

"And what if he dies? Then what?" 

Lupin eyes grew wide. That never crossed his mind before.

"That won't happen!" 

"What makes you so sure?" 

"He's not weak! He has a heart just like Ares and I! On top of that, his healing skills are far beyond powerful!" 

"Yes, it's true that killing a light magic user can be very difficult, but it is very possible." 

"No!" 

"And who knows? Arestasia could die as well and you could be all by yourself. At least you have your power to rely on to survive." 

Lupin grew furious. 

"They won't die! I'll make sure of it!" 

"Are you sure you can keep them from dying? You won't always be around them, you know. They might have already died because of the training." 

"Shut up!" 

Lupin clenched his fists. His hands suddenly was encased in hardened blood. The blood gauntlets quickly grew sharp spikes. 

"Don't ever question Ares or Dawn's lives! They will not die!" 

The spikes grew longer. 

"I will do everything in my power to protect them with my life!" 

The spikes were set ablaze. 

"They are all I have left!" 

The spikes began to spin like drills. 

"And I will mutilate any single organism that dares to challenge me!" 

The spikes flew in different directions and exploded with a fiery pillar. When the smoke cleared, there were no trees within a fifty-foot radius. Vire smirked. 

"And you shall succeed..."