With a snarl, Ezra''s darkness burst out of him in the form of barbed spears, spearing through the falling ghosts.


    They veered away, each one retreating from the tide of darkness.


    Ezra paid them no mind, searching in his soul for ways to bypass the key''s barriers but it was absolute. No ability could get in, only vitality.


    He was stuck this way forever. The main ability of his soul bond, taken away from him.


    He roared in anger as James dashed in and released his Domination Aura.


    Instantly, the spikes of darkness covering Ezra shattered at the weight of the Aura and the ghosts disappeared.


    He stumbled and reached instinctively inside of him and ignited his vitality, his own Domination Aura rushing out and bncing James'' cancelling it out.


    But the damage was done.


    James had the upper hand, snarling as he tore into Ezra.


    Ezra backpedalled, trying to block the hits but some passed through. He tried calling up the blood song but James didn''t give him any space or focus to do that.


    His whole focus was on blocking. Until James smirked.


    His eyes widened as he followed the next attack, an uppercut. He threw his head back to dodge it and hit the solid barrier of the ck zone behind him.


    His head bounced back just as James'' ws passed, ripping out a chunk of his cheek. "Argh!" He twisted his head just before the w could take out his eye.


    Losing an eye wouldn''t be permanent but it was an instinctive protection of a vital organ. And James predicted he''d do that.


    Just as he twisted his head to the side, James'' knee met the side of his head in mid air. His head snapped to the other side and James grabbed it and twisted, trying to rip his head off.


    Ezra jumped, moving with the twist. His hand came up and grabbed James'' hand. The moment his feet touched the ground, he dug in and snapped James'' hand.


    He tried to throw himself back but he wasn''t fast enough. An ethereal leg snapped out of James'' stomach and kicked him, sending him flying.


    Crash!


    He mmed into the stone throne of the money king, sending stone flying everywhere. His eyes widened and he flipped away just as James'' leg stomped on where his head had been.


    James followed him with a snarl.


    Ezra retreated, knowing that if he wanted to win this, he''d need space to do something big enough to change the momentum of the fight.


    Space that James was experienced enough to not give him.


    "Fuck."


    **********


    Experience tales at empire


    Michngelo fought like a man possessed. Not because he was but because that was the only way to stop the force of nature in front of him.


    The fight down in front of the basement had taught him that his Domination Aura was useless against Nicodemus but that hadn''t stopped him from using it in this fight.


    But just like the previous fight, the beast shrugged off the Aura and fought with reckless abandon.


    Michngelo had fought back with every tool at his disposal. His Earth maniption, his swapping ability and his perception ability.


    He gritted his teeth as he fended off an attack, his eyes going to the hole in Nicodemus'' chest.


    He''d almost died at the basement. If it had been an intelligent opponent, he would be dead but the beast hadn''t gone for his heart.


    He''d fought more cautiously, throwing everything at the vampire. His perception ability was useless as there was apparently nothing for the tattoo to grab hold of and deceive.


    His Earth maniption had done a good enough job of creating weapons but the beast had gone through everything and healed by itself.


    But his Earth ability had excelled in its ability to create constructs he could swap himself or the beast with as he fought but as he''de to learn, it was all moot.


    Why? Simple.


    The beast just won''t die.


    He''d done everything. He''d torn out every limb, he''d destroyed the body, he''d even destroyed the heart but the beast just kepting.


    Even now, it fought him with a hole where its heart should be.


    That was when he realised it. This had to be the work of a relic. Nicodemus was a prince.


    And to defeat a prince, he had to give it everything he had. Which was why he was fighting like a man possessed.


    He didn''t need to kill the man. Not when he wouldn''t die. He just needed to restrain him.


    He fought as best as he could, taking some hits as he peppered the beast and as he fought, he kept pumping his vitality into the earth beneath him.


    He needed something strong. Something just as strong as the chains around Nicodemus'' hands.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    He kept the beast entertained as he built up the energy until he finally amassed the necessary vitality for what he needed.


    Now, it was time.


    He stopped his retreat and nted his feet as Nicodemus charged him. The beast crashed into him and he seized a hold of its reaching hands and twisted, sending it over his shoulder and crashing into the floor.


    That was when he unleashed what he''d been building.


    The ground surged upward like a wave of liquid and began wrapping itself around the struggling immortal.


    It had taken him more vitality to use stone as a liquid instead of a solid but that wasn''t what the bulk of the expended vitality had been used for.


    It had been used to make the liquid stone as heavy as possible.


    Now, the beast can''t just jump out of it like child''s y. Especially when he was already lying t on his back with no leverage.


    The liquid stone kept covering the beast until its thrashing wasn''t visible anymore. But it didn''t stop.


    He gritted his teeth, pouring more vitality into the liquid coffin as it grew bigger and bigger until it was just as big as a shipping container.


    And with a snarl, the stone snapped from liquid to solid, sealing the vampire in the centre.


    He exhaled and-


    "Urk!"


    He spat, looking down at his chest. There was nothing there but that was only because he was looking from the front.


    Then, a familiar and spiteful voice whispered behind him. "This is the end of the road for you, Attendant."


    "Your wives are gone and now, you too. All that remains is to kill Ezra Matten and I''d have everything I need to write the perfect story. The Captain''s wife is behind Nicodemus'' death and came to Faewall to continue after years have passed."


    "She was helped by her husband who ascended to the sixth ring and killed everyone from the Ark using a relic from the progenitor. What do you think? Perfect, right?"


    James chuckled. "Thank you for taking care of that monster for me. Now, you can join your wives in hell."


    His heart was yanked tight out of his chest and in an instant, he was dead.


    And so ended the story of Michngelo, right hand man of Fortuna, elder of the Council of Vampire Society.


    James grinned at the dead body and turned to the second coffin inside the ck zone.


    Ezra had wrapped himself inside a cocoon of darkness.


    James activated his relic, Tomb, and Michngelo''s ghost appeared beside him. His first sixth ringed ghost.


    Time to kill Ezra Matten.