Thanks to my [Hyper Foresight], I was able to see well enough ahead where the scythe’s path will travel. Just as it approached me, I leaned back like I was doing a limbo before the crimson weapon cut the air right above me. My eyes followed the head, noticing that it was stretched waaay beyond its original length from before the battle abruptly started. The tip grazed over the ground while striking down, cutting into it with ease, before the entire head reeled itself back away, returning to its starting length. The whole thing was like a freaky whipping motion.

Noire, after finishing the motion of her preemptive attack, smiled mischievously while I straightened back up, “You better keep on your toes, Jinma. Despite being clean and proper as I am, I do not hesitate playing dirty when I see an opening.”

<That was too close for comfort. Thanks for giving me that warning, Nyra,> I thanked.

<Don’t relax just yet! This Vampire’s got quite a bit of tricks up in her sleeve!> Nyra warned.

And yet, the way she pulled that off was oddly charming of her, I admitted to myself.

“Now, watch closely, I am trying to show you what I can do, after all,” Noire said before swinging her scythe, the head’s end of the shaft stretched and bended almost like rubber while moving in a whip-like motion again. 

I get it now, I thought as I read Noire’s attack pattern, using [Hyper Foresight] and [Hyper Perception] to dodge and evade in a way that looked like I was making close calls. My [Hyper Thought Processing] was giving me a chance to quickly think things through and analyze her fighting style during the battle. 

Using [Blood Manipulation], Noire was taking advantage of the blood’s viscosity to change the length of her scythe, while at the same time using the iron inside to harden and sharpen the blade, making it denser and deliver a deadlier force. She was still using a scythe, but it could also be used as a uniquely designed whip, or maybe something close to a chain and sickle. This would give her advantage in both mid and long-range, but there’s a chance after swinging that she’ll leave an opening for me to take advantage of. I could also sprint in close enough that the blade of the scythe won’t hit me mid-swing, but I saw Noire had an Orichalcum Knife equipped in her status. She was likely hiding it somewhere on her person in case of an emergency, and there’s always a chance that she’ll pull something out of her Magic Item Pouch as a substitute to catch me off guard.

After Noire finished a swing, she straightened her scythe to be at its default length. “Next … [Multi-Reap Slash]!” she exclaimed before swinging her weapon some more. What was different this time was that she threw wide, thin arcs of mana similar to the slash attacks from other bladed weapons, but I sensed these were far more dangerous than the ones I had seen back in Dondegarm. Noire continued throwing one slash after another, using the momentum of each swing to prepare for the next with grace, moving like she was giving an interpretive dance.

I dodged each of her slashes that came my way, and just as I feared, these were far sharper than usual. Their clean cuts into the ground, leaving a trail as they flew, told me just as much. If the [Multi-Reap Slash] was this powerful, then I shudder to think what the regular [Reap Slash] is like.

<Damn! She must really want to have a taste of your blood!> Nyra exclaimed, but I was too focused with my analysis to make a proper response.

To use weapon-based skills, it looked like Noire had to keep her scythe still and solid. There may be differences in power and range if she made her scythe bigger and denser, but she could not use her [Blood Manipulation] to stretch it out and use it like a chain-and-sickle while using her Attack Skills. Maybe despite the weapon being made entirely of blood, its solid form at an appropriate shape and dimensions was enough to pass it off as the real deal.

Using blood to make legitimate weapons that stretch and deliver strikes beyond the limits of their original counterparts, so this is the essence of a Vampire’s [Bloody Style] of fighting. I may not be able to control blood, but if it’s something similar … my thoughts trailed off until I remembered our discussion of her skills moments ago. 

“Our main racial skill, our specialty, you see, is called [Blood Manipulation]. With enough blood, no matter the species it came from, we can change it to take any shape we desire.”

“So, it’s like my [Darkness Manipulation], but using blood as its foundation instead of shadows.”

Like [Darkness Manipulation], using shadows as a foundation …

It was after having that thought that I was struck with inspiration. Just like how I learned my previous fighting styles, I saw myself making fighting motions from a third-person’s perspective, using a black bat for the demonstration. This image of myself was making similar motions to Noire’s attacks, throwing my bat that stretched and recoiled, aiming to hit my target with a powerful, blunt force. All of it came to me in a flash.

[You have now learned [Shady Style] LV 1!]

… Really? Of all the names that can be used, that was the best they can do for this fighting style? Who even comes up with this shit? I thought.

Just as Noire threw the last of her skill’s attack, she held her scythe behind her and pointed an open palm towards me, “[Flare Rain]!” At her chant, multiple flicks of fire shot from her hand in a wide, scattered pattern approaching me at a fast pace. They were all too close together for me to evade efficiently and too spread wide for me to move out of the way fast enough. 

I could attempt to jump over them, I’m confident I could do it high enough with enough power in my legs, but not only would I be completely vulnerable in the air, but I’m afraid I might freeze up after looking down from a high enough height. When I thought I was getting pulled off the ground in my spar with Gabriella, I had to fight off the urge of going into a panic attack from my acrophobia. That was just to retain enough of my senses to use [Darkness Manipulation] to pull us back down earlier. I don’t think I’ll have that mental strength again to think straight while being so high up in the air.

Dammit! 

With no other option, I cast the [Water Magic] spell, [Water Blast], to extinguish Noire’s flames. I did this without voicing a chant, which I probably shouldn’t have done if I wanted to keep my magical expertise on the down-low, but it had become a habit at this point. Thankfully, it looked like [Flare Rain] wasn’t a spell that had homing properties as those my water spell didn’t touch only flew past me. At least, that’s what I was guessing since I couldn’t feel any flames hitting me.

The reason why I had to use this spell as a last resort was because it would obstruct my view after it was cast. I had to make it big enough so Noire’s flames wouldn’t graze me. Any hit I would take, magic or otherwise, would be an automatic loss for me, no matter how little damage it does. I needed to play it safe, and I could only make [Water Blast], a magic that shoots a perfect, circular pillar of water, bigger by increasing its area. I couldn’t manipulate it into an elliptical shape that benefitted me. So really, I was making my own large blind spot by casting this spell, not giving me any view of what’s coming from the sides or the back, until I deactivated my spell.

I would be screwed at this point if I didn’t have a second pair of eyes helping me out.

<Jinma! Coming at you at 9 o'clock!> Nyra exclaimed.

I deactivated my [Water Blast], seeing there weren’t any more of Noire’s [Flare Rain] coming at me. I turned to my left  to see said Vampire coming at me with surprising speed, winding up her solid crimson scythe for a large swing while a manic smile was plastered on her face.

That unexpected face and the suddenness of it all surprised me, but I reacted just in time to change my tanto into a bat with my [Darkness Manipulation] before I met the Vampire’s attack head on. Just like my encounter with Gabriella, there were continuous rings sounding through the arena due to the ultrasonic vibrations from the Chaos Metal in my weapon as it met Noire’s. What made this duel different from that, however, was this Vampire’s surprising offensive power. I knew that her ATK stat was higher than Gabriella’s, higher than Eugus’, even, but not enough to overpower me. Still, this was the strongest blow I’ve received from a demon so far. I could tell how much it differed from the humans of White Rapture that I took out the other day, even though I was at a lower level back then.

Another thing that made Noire’s duel different from Gabriella’s was the mood. The Dark Knight was constantly glaring at me like I was scum, and though it was a spar, it looked like she was trying to kill me. This Vampire, on the other hand, was driven by the goal of victory and an adrenaline rush. As I was pushing her back, while our faces were so close, I could see excitement and a hint of hunger glimmering in her violet eyes. The manic smile on her face also showed just how good of a mood she’s in today.

“To see through and efficiently dodge all my attacks with no wasted movement, and to cast magic with silent chanting, just like your wife … you just get more and more mysterious by the hour! I have never had so much fun trying to figure someone out before!” she exclaimed in a hushed whisper, keeping this talk of ours private from the audience behind her.

“You’re really into this, Noire. You want to taste my blood that bad?” I asked while we were pushing each other back, our faces just centimeters apart.

“Mmm, that is certainly part of it, darling, but … if you want my honest opinion, I have been itching to dig my fangs into your neck for some time now, since I first set my eyes on you yesterday,” Noire admitted, “It is hard to describe, but it is like I have a fire burning in my bosom in ways I have never thought to experience, and that heat is drawing me to you. Even now, I am tempted to bite you right here and now with everyone watching us.”

<Holy shit, she is THIRSTY!> Nyra exclaimed.

“Something else I should mention, but I believe you have demonstrated your capability enough already,” Noire then said, “You and Mei defeated Gabriella and Beelzebub in such a spectacular fashion, and you are holding yourself well against me. I can say with confidence that I officially deem you and your party qualified to escort me to the dungeon. So, how about you admit defeat now and let me have a gooood, looong taste of you?” 

<Ooh,> Nyra uttered.

“I heard from other Vampires that the first time always hurts at first, but they all quickly learn to love the penetration later,” Noire added.

<Ooohh, baby!> Nyra responded.

“From me, I will be gentle and only use the tips for your first time. You have my word as a lady, so what do you say?” Noire asked before seductively licking her lips, “Would you do me the honor of being my first taste of a male?”

<Oooohhh, the innuendos! Being ‘gentle’! The ‘tips’! Being her ‘first taste of male’! Sooo delicious! This Vampire’s got the makings of a dirty talk expert, Jinma!>

<Why are you getting excited over this?> I asked Nyra, though I couldn’t deny I was feeling something similar.

<She’s giving you the okay, man! You and your party are good to go for the quest! There are literally no consequences in this! Are you seriously not going to take this chance?!> Nyra asked.

“… I will admit, Noire, after the way you delivered that offer, it’s tempting of me to take,” I answered to both her and Nyra.

“… I am sensing a ‘but’ here,” Noire said, looking slightly displeased.

“I get the feeling there’s more significance to that bite than you’re letting on or Konjiro wouldn’t interfere the way he did,” I explained, “Call me a coward, but I’m not one to rush making commitments until I know all the stakes behind them. Also, though I made a fool of myself with that freudian slip, I can’t let my harem, especially my wife, see me give up so uncool-like.

“I’m sorry, Noire, but we’re gonna have to take this soak and cool our heads down a bit,” I said before giving a mischievous smile.

“What do you—”

Before Noire could say anything further, both of us were dunked by a waterfall produced by a large sphere of ice-cold water above us, its diameter about a quarter of an Olympic swimming pool. While Noire was talking to me, with my [Hyper Thought Processing] skill, I was mentally formulating the dimensions of my [Create Water] spell and conjured it above our heads. She seemed so focused and attentive towards me throughout the spar, especially when we were so close, I thought I should take a shot. Turned out that was the right call. 

After the large orb of water spilled the last of its contents on us, I quickly hopped back, getting distance between us. Both of us were sopping wet and the arena got soaked enough that the dirt turned into mud. Our clothes were clinging to our bodies like we just came out of a raging river. The way Noire’s outfit clung onto her was especially enticing, really showing off the luscious curves of her body frame as water dripped down. In fact, with how cold she must be right now, I could even make out some of her nipples erecting against the fabric. The Lady Vampire’s crimson hair tied in a ponytail had also become soaked as it hung behind her. 

Noire stood there in shock, her scythe still in her hands, taking in what just happened as her body shivered. “… C-Cold,” she stuttered while wrapping her arms around herself, “Th-This is s-so c-cold … in more ways th-than one.”

Ah, nothing like a splash of freezing water to bring someone back to their senses. Thank you, Mom, for resorting to this cruel method when I refused to get up from bed back in my rebellious phase.

I had no problems with the cold water, however, as I had my [Body Temperature Stability] skill to help me endure radical temperatures. It was more like I felt the ice cold water at first, but my body produced enough heat to balance things out. 

“You pull off the wet look really well, Noire, but you should probably get yourself warmed up before you catch a cold. Thankfully, I got these before they got wet,” I said before I swung a black piece of fabric around in circles with a smirk.

And with that, this spar had come to a close.

Orange_Rain

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