Chapter 522 - Lusica
As the flames died down from the battlefield, it was clear to see that the vampire had yet to perish. The attack has struck it properly, but the monster regenerated before the attack could end its life.
"We need to strike it with an attack that hinders its regeneration," muttered the Knight of Courage to the knights behind her. "I can use my ice to freeze it, but is this not a chance to prove yourself, Lusica?"
Everyone turned to look at him, and he could feel their confusion. After all, he was no stronger than a neo-ranker and but one man. However, Lusica felt relieved when he was met with that question.
There was one truth that Lux did not know about him, and it was that he loved to let the darkness out. This truth might scare his friend away, but Lusica had reasons for it.
His soul was infested by the darkness, almost gathering each day. The Seika ensured that the darkness stayed at bay, but his disappearance made it hard for Lusica to keep a sane mind. It was as if the medication that made him survive was taken away, and Lusica needed to let the darkness out.
This was through fighting. The destruction of the world satisfied the creature sitting quietly behind the darkness. His heart was weak, unable to push the creature out, so Lusica had to make amends with it.
It was not without benefit, too. The powers of the fallen were leaps beyond the standard ranking of humanity. But, despite being a neo-ranker, Lusica was not afraid of fighting a monster that could not be killed.
"Thank you, captain," Lusica bowed his head slightly, and the Knight of Courage waved her hand for him to go ahead. The knights parted ways to allow him into the battlefield, his first war.
Lusica carried nothing but a dagger on his waist. A single dagger in its sheath befriended his name, which the Seika carefully chose. The knights knew the meaning of his name, and it generated expectations because everyone wanted to know.
What did the Seika see in this knight?
The Lord of Runera was a wise man, enough to climb through the ranks and threaten the rest of the lords. His choices were akin to the hand of god, taking the seedlings out of the ordinary.
The chosen knights were the ones to inherit the Seika's most powerful weapons. However, the exception was the man walking toward the battlefield. The one left behind, others assumed.
This was why the Knight of Courage chose him to fight against the vampire, who was not killed by a mecha. It was a chance to prove himself capable of being a part of the next plan. However, the other members, Devil Hunters, Lance Squad, and knights, were not satisfied that he was not a foot soldier.
Lusica breathed in, and the stench of burned flesh filled his nostrils. The vampire was still regenerating, its skin charcoal, but alive nonetheless. It was no different from a titan of ten meters tall.
The vampire paused as he sensed Lusica's approach. It turned toward him before a wide grin filled his face. The tongue protruded out, wiggling like a tentacle.
"You sent me food; how delightful," said the vampire after he realized Lusica was nothing but a neo-ranker. "However, you are too skinny to have any blood inside of you. I wish they sent a fat one, hehe."
"I am sure that you have a name, monster. It does not matter if it belongs to the human you used. I still want to know it."
"A name?" titled the vampire, his head with confusion, his voice hoarse and deep. "A name," it repeated, "is not something I need. I simply need to devour."
"And I need to kill you, so give me a name. Give me the name of the person you were before the Vampire Overlord turned you into this freak."
"We are all freaks, young knight," the vampire's skin started healing, returning to the bluish shade of white. "You are more of a freak than me. I kill for my pleasure; you kill because you serve someone."
"You are right. I am a freak," Lusica unsheathed his golden dagger, and the weapon's aura pushed his hair upward. "However, the Seika taught me that every life is important. Every battle is a collision of fates and desire, making it noble. Let us collide, and whoever is destined to stay stays."
The vampire was silent after he heard the words. Lusica knew that the monster used to be a person because he saw the transformation himself. It reminded him of himself and the power that wanted to erode him as if he was looking at his future self.
"Marten... Bellisa. My name is Marten Bellisa," the monster said with the last shred of humanity before that also disappeared. "Thank you, honorable knight," the voice was young, trapped before it sank into a roar of monstrosity.
Lusica's eyes teared up for the first time since he obtained this power. The vampire shook the battlefield as it ran toward him, seeking to devour his flesh. A single tear rolled down his face before the knight snapped his eyes open, and he allowed the darkness to run amok.
"I was cursed with this power that never allowed me to sleep. The voices in my head ask me to do the cruelest of things. However, only one man saw through the reason I survived."
Lusica remembered his childhood. The massacre he caused, and how his family called him a monster. The countless lives he took as a young child to protect Lux. Even Lusica thought of himself as a monster, and he was waiting for the darkness to overtake him one day.
However, the Seika told him about the reason that he survived. It was the ability he was born with, the one that bloomed through his soul.
Perseverance.
"The odds can turn against you," the Seika said with a smile. "However, you will survive because you are my dagger in the night. You are not haunted by the darkness but the one haunting it. You are their curse because you will survive no matter how much they try to control you."
Those at the academy called him a creep because of his pale, sleep-deprived eyes. However, the Seika still wanted him, and he believed in him more than anyone. It was time to repay.
His mouth opened to scream as the darkness exploded through his seams, but no voice came out because the darkness devoured everything. After that, there was nothing left, not his body and not his soul. This was the art he learned, the trick that made him powerful.
Surrender.
This was the reason that Lusica loved to let the darkness out. Then, finally, there was a moment where he did not need to fight anything anymore, and he was at peace. It was the first breath after a long nightmare.
"You are mine."
The voice spoke through his mouth, and it made the vampire flinch before stopping its steps. However, it was too late. Lusica was too close to it. The scene was comical as the vampire looked afraid of the puny human in front of it.
"This cannot be... why is a human... using the powers of the Nameless..." the vampire was shaking with fear as the human in front of him turned into a walking flame of destruction. "You shouldn't be alive!"
It was true.
Lusica knew that he should be dead after surrendering. This was the first time he allowed the darkness out of his body, becoming its portal into this world. However, he was not afraid because he was holding the dagger.
The blinding light of his weapon banished the nightmare. It shone brightly with golden light like that of the Seika, and it brought him back into the living. Lusica snapped his eyes open as the weapon bound him to this world still, preserving his body from destruction.
Then, it happened.
A black flash of light cut through the sky, passing through the vampire. There was no effect until a few seconds later when the vampire's head rolled on the ground. The body was about to regenerate before Lusica jumped through the air and landed on the shoulder.
"You can rest now, Marten Bellisa," muttered Lusica before he stabbed his dagger into the vampire's neck and infused the body with his darkness. His eyes closed as the titan began to dissolve into nothing and exploded.
Lusica jumped back as he held the dagger tighter, using the last bit of his consciousness to activate the powers of the Seika. The darkness sizzled as the powers of creation appeared to push it back into Lusica, the portal.
There was nothing left of the vampire, and it was a one-sided fight. Finally, Lusica fell face forward as the silence fell on the battlefield. All those who witnessed knew that this was either a miracle... or a calamity.
"You did well," the Knight of Courage appeared in front of him and allowed him to lean on her.. "I can't believe that you carried all this darkness within you."