"Keep your guard up!" Markus yelled as he raised his hand. A second later, he formed Dereshi's blood into weapons under his command. Swords, axes, and knives quickly soared through the air.
'So that's his special power' Elias noted. Fisch could heal, and Markus could manipulate blood.
He knew they were linked to a specific power source, as the energy both powers emitted felt relatively similar.
The only person whom he couldn't detect any energy from was Dereshi. As far as he could tell, she was a 'normal' girl with an affinity for knives.
'So what would my power be?' Elias thought, his mind scrambling to figure out the answer.
While he continued scanning the environment for an ambush, Elias tried to figure that puzzle out.
The necklace Fisch wore looked similar to one that a priest on earth would wear. Additionally, healing was something commonly attributed to priests.
Taking a closer look at Markus, Elias realized that the energy he felt was emitted by a ring on the kid's forefinger.
'Artifacts,' Elias noted.
Glancing at his coin, Elias tried to imagine what his own power would be.
Coins were often attributed to many different things, such as wealth, power, or luck.
Because of that, his power could vary from something as simple as wealth generation to something as earth-shatteringly powerful as luck manipulation. But whatever the power was, he had to learn to wield it if he wanted to survive.
Holding the coin up to the sky, Elias studied the dragon's head, which was the only part not covered in rust. Maybe that sigil was the key to his power.
'It did turn hot.' Elias recalled. Even if he had been rubbing it, coins usually took minutes to even become warm.
Deciding it was his best lead, Elias began rubbing the dragon's head.
At first, nothing happened. If the other 3 weren't focusing their attention on the hiding vampires, Elias knew they would think he was nothing more than a crazy person.
But after a few seconds, the coin was shining a vibrant white. The rust itself was melting off and falling onto his fingers.
Suddenly his hand was scorching hot. Molten puddles of rust fell directly on the palm of his hand, instantly seeping through the pores of his skin and into his bloodstream.
He could feel the old valor of the coin itself being absorbed into his body. Even though the intense heat should've scarred his hand, all Elias felt was a chilling rush.
As if the fire was nurturing him, not hurting him.
'I don't know what this is...' Elias thought as the last bit of rust was melting off. 'But thanks, Pops.'
After just a few more seconds, the rust was completely gone, revealing a breathtaking ivory coin.
The entire coin sparkled under the sunlight, shining so bright it could even light the abyss.
Furthermore, Elias could feel power surging through his veins.
[Ding!]
[Absorption of the first Constellation: Heart of Tiamet beginning!]
'Heart of Tiamet?' Elias wondered as he studied the system screen in front of him.
It was surprisingly reminiscent of a few webnovels he had read, so he more or less knew what the message entailed. However, at the moment he couldn't access the system.
'Vampires first then,' Elias decided.
Quickly shoving the coin into his pocket, Elias surveyed the garden for any bloodsucking bastards.
The first one had nearly killed both him and Dereshi before they even noticed its existence. However, Elias could already tell that his senses had heightened.
He could hear every leaf blowing on the soft wind, feel the moisture in the air, and pick out each individual smell even though he was in the middle of an aromatic garden.
More importantly, he could sense the vampires well before they attacked.
'3 on the left, 4 on the right.'
To his surprise, there were none ahead or behind them.
'So they're confined to the rules of this world, then?' Elias realized.
It did make sense, considering that this was their homeworld. That's probably why Markus said they had to take the fight to them as well.
If they fought the vampires on earth, something told Elias that the monsters would be able to move in a 3d manner. However, because they took the fight to the Flat Mirror, the vampires could only move as 2d beings.
'Smart' Elias concluded.
Maneuverability was a big advantage in a fight, especially against enemies that were faster and stronger than you.
As long as they could use that advantage, at least.
'They're approaching fast,' Elias furrowed his brow as he looked to his right.
Four monstrous figures were rushing toward him. Their fangs absorbed all of the sunlight around them, making their mouth look like a bottomless pit.
Their red, feral eyes glared at Elias. Sharp grunts bellowed from their mouths as they ran forward, eager to tear the party apart.
'They want to eat us,' Elias thought as he entered a battle stance.
GRARR!!!
The first of the vampires lunged forward, slashing wildly at Elias.
With its talons mere inches from his face, Elias was able to dodge at the last moment. But there was no chance for counter attack as the other 3 vampires were right on top of him.
'Where's my backup?' Elias thought, gritting his teeth.
Each person should've only had to fight 2 vampires. Even if Fisch was just a support role, only one person would be unlucky enough to fight 3.
Were they really being overrun then? If so, if veteran saints like them couldn't easily defeat a single vampire...
'Doesn't matter,' Elias shook his head, blocking out the unfairness of the situation.
At the end of the day, these were the cards he was given, and it was his job to turn them into aces.
Therefore, he focused entirely on the vampires' wild approach, trying to find any weakness.
There was the whole 3d thing, but that only worked at the last second. If he simply ran north or south this instant they would be able to follow him. Otherwise, Markus would've already had them walk north.
Gritting his teeth, Elias raised his hands to his face and prepared for the onslaught. At the last second, he had to–
Fwish!!
A slash flew from behind, nearly decapitating Elias then and there. It was sudden and nearly impossible to detect.
Maybe it was the slight shift in the wind or simply a sixth sense, but whatever it was, it gave Elias the slightest opportunity to duck.
Otherwise he would be dead.
"Grr!! Grah!!"
The other 3 were on him instantly.
This time he had no chance to dodge, he simply had to shove his hands forward and pray.
'Muay Thai is bullshit,' Elias complained as he kicked his right leg up. 'Not once was I ever trained for fucking vampires.'
His leg connected cleanly with a Vampire's private, sending him spiraling backwards. Even though it was howling like a dying animal, the other vampires gave Elias no openings to truly go on the offensive.
They continued slashing wildly, cutting away at his arms with lightning speed. Within seconds they would be eviscerated entirely, leaving his face defenseless against the same onslaught.
No matter what, he couldn't let that happen.
With his back against the ground, Elias did the only thing he could in this situation: go for another cheap shot.
Blasting his leg through the air with the strength of a pistol, he blindly aimed for another Vampire's weak spot.
It hit cleanly once again.
The painful howling of the dying once again reverberated through the ground, but he paid it no mind.
The job wasn't done yet. There were 2 vampires pinning him down, trying to have their way with him.
If he couldn't find a way to nutshot both of them, he was still going to die.
Because nothing changed.
Even if he found allies, he still had to fight for himself. That was just the way this world worked.
It was selfish and evil and didn't give a damn about him.
And yet he always found a way.
As long as he trusted in himself and only himself, he would be fine. At most, he would use other people before they used him.
In the end, they would do the same anyways.
Markus was just the latest example.
'For a kid, you're kinda an asshole,' Elias thought as he prepared to kick again.
But this time his injuries were too much. The talons had sliced cleanly through his last bit of flesh, and now his arms merely dangled at his side. Filled with nothing but pain, he was unable to stop the vampires from attacking his face.
All he could do was move his head side to side, hoping to dodge them for the rest of eternity.
But eventually he would falter, and then he would die.
[Ding!]
[First Constellation absorbed!]
Suddenly, a burning sensation from his pocket erupted. It gave Elias a small surge in strength. For most it would be barely noticeable, but for him it was just enough.
Just enough to send one final kick out and...
Bam!!
Connecting cleanly with the vampire's jaw, Elias felt his kick go right through and decapitate the bastard on the spot.
Which only left one more vampire: the first one who attacked, the one who was behind him, out of reach of his kicks.
If this was really how everything was going to end, he had to at least go down fighting. When the vampire made its move he would kick his legs up and over, making his knee collide directly with its skull. It would likely leave him completely defenseless against the vampire's attack, but it was also his only hope.
"Fuck me..." Elias groaned before closing his eyes and preparing his final gambit.
"I'm not fucking you, you pervert!!!" Dereshi yelled before tackling the final vampire.