Vincent knew his night vision sucked, but all he could see were black tentacles and the occasional flash of eyes or flesh. He peppered the monster with arrows, but he wasn’t getting far.

 

“It's so nice that my target came to me.” The monster said.

 

It clicked then that the elf lords sent an assassin when they heard he would feed the city.

 

“Thank you for confirming who was responsible for this annoyance. After I get rid of you, I’ll pay them a visit to return the favor. Maybe I’ll rape them nice and slow.” Vincent said.

 

The monster chortled. “You rape my mistress. I will rip the flesh, split your bones, and drink your marrow. There will be nothing left of you that isn’t a part of me.”

 

Five more arrows flew rapidly as the spindly mass of limbs and darkness edged closer, barely slowed by the arrows. Vincent sighed and put his bow away while still out of striking range.

 

“What’s wrong? Are you giving up? Don’t worry; soon, your body will be sewn into mine, and you will know perfection.” The monster cackled madly while it shifted from side to side to confuse him. “What’s your name, fleshling? Tell me, and I will tell you who you will become a part of?” The monster said.

 

Vincent pulled out his club and gently swung it; a blast of air shook the nearby bushes. “Your brother bear was also resistant to my arrows. If I can’t pierce you, I will crush you into hamburger meat.” The barbarian said.

 

“I’m still not hearing a name.” 

 

Vincent crossed into range, and four dozen hands shot at him. He swung, breaking them and hitting the ground. A small crater appeared as the spinning, broken-off limbs of the monster fell to the ground. He acted swinging his club four times in a heartbeat. Every blow broke instead of cut.

 

A bony limb shot past his guard and speared through Vincent’s shoulder. “Too bad you were a strong one.”

 

 Vincent grabbed the limb and crushed it before yanking it out. The wound was already scabbed over and mostly healed in a heartbeat. He smashed the monster with his club.

 

“What is this? The monster asked.

 

Vincent barely saw the monster as it moved and speared him again through the gut. The barbarian broke off the monster’s attack and continued to wait on it knocking away branches with each hit. Limbs covered the ground, appearing like hands under the mostly blocked moonlight. The monster lunged, but it was a feint, and it fled.

 

His presence tasted the monster’s fear, and Vincent gave it hunger. “You want to eat me.” The monster said.

 

The club that had broken a bear’s bones shattered the monster's trunk. Screams echoed out of the monster like damned souls trapped, always grasping for freedom.

 

Vincent waited for the monsters to stop shrieking. “You are so dramatic. Most of those were love taps to test how much my club could take. And I am pleased to say I will have no problem smashing you to bits.” Vincent smiled under the pale moonlight as the monster shied away from him.

 

The monster wasn’t as on the backfoot as it appeared. If it had aimed for something vital, Vincent wouldn’t be able to keep up. He was getting better at feeding emotions into his opponents. It hadn’t recognized the dread, uncertainty, or pants-shitting terror as implanted. Vincent raised his left hand.

 

“What have you done?” The monster asked.

 

“It seems breaking you was too much to do one-handed. So, I’m going to use two.” Vincent said.

 

The monster shied away from him, and its form changed. Limbs curled around each other, forming incredibly long arms and legs. Soon the monster towered over him with a nearly 15ft reach. Instead of punching with its new appendages, Vincent heard bones break and dozens of screams as the arms cracked like whips.

 

Vincent blocked with his weapon and felt it crack in his hands. Then he threw himself to the side for the next attack. A tentacle caught him in the chest, knocking him back with his split club. His body impacted a tree, and he felt his body sink into the bark a few inches. A couple of his ribs broke, and it felt like he could barely breathe. He felt his body healing quickly, but his limit was knocking on the door.

 

Time and training were necessary to increase his strength.

 

“What’s wrong, friend? Can’t you handle me now that I’m serious? What happened to those intimidating words?” The monster said.

 

He spat out a mouthful of blood. Blood might be in his lungs, or he could have damaged them somehow. His teeth were bleeding, so he might have swallowed too much blood. Vincent smiled viciously.

 

Bare knuckled, he had to kill the bastard; that was the only way. Peppering it with arrows wouldn’t seal the deal unless he bought a special arrow. As the monster lunged for another round, Vincent sucked in a breath and prepared himself. Agony filled his body, but he leaped with his knee aimed for the center of mass of the monster.

 

The tentacles whipped out, and he turned the blows away from his head with his arms. Then, before they both could withdraw, Vincent caught one. Then he pulled using all his might.

 

In the blink of an eye, the monster was off the ground, and Vincent smashed it into a tree before launching himself forward to kick it hard. He heard a crack before the other tentacle launched him back. Vincent turned with the blow and stopped his movement not far. He felt like he was still figuring out how to use his body.

 

The barbarian shot across the distance and shoulder-checked the monster through a tree. Vincent felt the monster freeze, and he threw a punch wrapped in his presence. His breath quickened, and a gaping hole opened in the monster’s body. But, there was another way to use presence; he could enhance his strength. Without the white pill, his presence and purpose didn’t have the order to work together in his body.

 

Moonlight shined down after the tree he knocked the monster through fell. He saw a collection of faces from victims stitched together into an inky black substance. Vomit shot up from his stomach, and he failed to hold it in. His dinner blasted the monster in its face before the vomiting stopped.

 

At that moment, all he could feel was hate. He stepped forward and felt a deadly purpose settle into him. His plan was simple he would dismember the monster, burn its remains, and rip the elven lords down from their ivory towers.

 

He grabbed the monster on either side of its body. Black inky wires tried to dive into his skin, but a blazing field of his presence rejected the black wires entirely, giving form from his purpose. The barbarian’s muscles bulged from his efforts. Vincent tore, and the monster shrieked as it was stretched to its breaking and beyond. Seams split as the tapestry of flesh the monster was made from popped and fell apart.

 

Vincent tossed the two sides of the monster on the ground and grabbed some dried wood. The eyes of the monster blinked as the barbarian rubbed the wood together at incredible speeds. Smoke billowed off the limbs before they caught. He tossed the flaming sticks on the ground, added twigs, and fell to his knees to breathe life into it.

 

“Did you want to see me in my full beauty?” The monster asked.

 

“Nothing will remain your ashes, and dust I will scatter,” Vincent said.

 

Wiggling pieces of the monster struggled to pull themselves back together as the fire grew higher. Then Vincent grabbed a wiggling piece of the monster and tossed it on the fire. It shrieked as the fire burned it. Vincent smiled.

 

“My mistress will avenge me.” The monster said.

 

“Who sent you?” Vincent asked.

 

“Know terror mortal, my mistress is the noble lady, Elizabeth Corbin.” Smiles stretched on the faces of the torn monster. His remained stoney while the monster spoke. “Are you reconsidering burning me now? You’ve already drawn my mistress’s ire, but if you let me go, I can give her an apology on your behalf.”

 

Vincent turned the go-pro towards himself. “Good news, we have a new Livestream to be announced; we’ll call it blood night; the name is pending.”  

 

It tried to fight and shrieked as more pieces fell into the fire. Pieces of it crawled away in all directions as Vincent did his work. It was like finishing off a Twilight vampire.

 

“You know what I’m about to do to the vampires is ironic from a certain point of view. I doubt you would get it.” Vincent spat on the ground. “Do you hear any screams or sounds of panic?”

 

The barbarian wasn’t playing with his food; he was keeping the monster’s attention so it couldn’t focus on escaping while the fire burned brighter.

 

“I will be avenged; there is a cutey back home just like me.” He tossed another piece of the monster on the fire and watched it burn up quickly. “Do your worst?”

 

He didn’t say a word more; he cleaned up the clearing, burning pieces of the monster until there was no more of the beast. The horrible screeching sounds filled the forest while the fire burned necrotic fats. Even as it burned wetly, popping in the fire, Vincent searched around with his presence to make sure it was finished. When he finished, he continued to feed the fire until Hector joined him with an honor guard of 20 men.

 

“The stakes are in the ground, and the vampires have been captured. What are we going to do with the prisoners?”

 

“What would the elf lords do about them?” Vincent asked.

 

“They would ransom them back to the north for favors,” Hector said.

 

“Ransome them for favors. What does the common elf want to do with them?” Vincent asked.

 

He stared at one of the soldiers until the man stepped forward. The other soldiers looked on, jeering at the man singled out.

 

“We would kill them. Vampires never do anything good living.” The man said.

 

The barbarian captain nodded and turned away from the fire. There was no more screaming or bits of flesh left holding on. Orange flames danced in the wind leaking smoke. Vincent stared up at unfamiliar stars. One of them he imagined resembled a car, but stars mean things to different people. He missed home, and it's simple lizard man problem and flat earth with no provable curvature. A round planet with complicated politics was a lot of trouble. The March province was a big place with too much trouble.

 

“Lift the vampires and impale them on the stakes ass first and let them fall on it throughout the night,” Vincent said.

 

Vincent joined his men on their first execution under him. The vampires sent a monster after him; most likely, it was an assassin paid for by the elf lords. He was tempted to kill Fall on the spot, but that could wait. He needed to confirm before he did anything drastic.

 

The elf he impaled with a spear was kicked out, kicking and screaming. He looked around at the other prisoners, and a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes.

 

“Wait, I turned another. Spare me, and I will tell you where she is.” The guards paused and then continued moving towards the stake when Vincent made no motion for them to stop. “Wait, please, we’re vampires; your lords can ransom us to the nobles to lower the annual tribute.”

 

He fought, but after being stabbed and chained, the vampire couldn’t handle a couple competent elf soldiers in hoplite armor. They carried the vampire up a set of stairs that ended at a large vertical stake. They lifted him over the implement, spread the vampire’s legs, and dropped him. The stake pierced the vampire slowly. Vincent let the crowd hear the vampire scream as the stake slowly slid through the bastard’s body.

 

The barbarian waved his hands, and his elf guards moved to the next prisoner. Once the deed was done, he dismissed his men and retired for the night.

For more chapters check out my patreon or subscribestar