I sense Ninus bristle at the insult. He leaps towards Bryer, a furious scream on his lips, and swings his blade through Bryer's arm.
Bryer grunts as his blood splatters. Ninus grabs his throat and pins him against a tree. With an effortless motion, Bryer pushes Ninus off of him with one hand as he stabs at Ninus' stomach with the other.
However, Klevon already acted as support. He dashes towards Bryer and prevents him from doing any massive damage to Ninus. They continue to struggle until the three of them separate.
Klevon stands back while Ninus and Bryer continue their battle. Bryer's arm is bleeding while Ninus is clutching his stomach.
Klevon grunts. "Seems like my showing off is done. Now, it's Ninus's time."
"So you admit that you are just showing off," I say.
Klevon looks down at me and grins. "Did it work? Did you like me a little more?"
I scowl at him. "You do realize that Ninus is fighting against another original vampire?"
"I know," he says. He pinches my cheeks, and I slap his hand. "But I doubt he wants any help from me."
Then we hear Bryer's grunts. We turn our attention to the battle and see that Ninus has landed a blow against Bryer's face. It isn't too hard or heavy, but enough to splatter blood on Ninus's clothes. Ninus doesn't stop there, though. He punches Bryer in the face repeatedly until Bryer falls on the ground and curls up with his arms around his head as he whimpers in pain.
Bryer tries to get up but falls back to his knees as he grimaces in pain. He coughs up some blood and spits it out. Ninus watches him closely. He gets up again and staggers toward the rest of us.
"I think it's safe to say that Ninus has won," I comment.
"Yeah," Klevon says.
"Hold him, Ninus," Inanna orders. "I will make him unconscious."
Ninus wraps one of his arms around Bryer's neck while he forces his arms behind him to prevent him from moving. Inanna moves to them while he forces Bryer's head down.
"What are you going to do to me, whore-priestess?!"
He hits him across his head again. Bryer cringes, but then Inanna grabs his head firmly. She stares into his eyes. After calming herself, she speaks. "The Blood God has made you immortal, but not unkillable. You know that."
"Then kill me! Or else I will destroy everything!" he shouts. "I am a plague upon this world!"
Inanna shakes her head slowly. "The Blood God has not infected you."
"No!" Bryer screams in defiance. "He-"
Inanna hugs him. "What did he do to you, Bryer? What torture did you undergo to change into this?"
Bryer sobs in her arms, and Inanna strokes his hair as he cries and whimpers in pain. "It's okay," Inanna murmurs as she comforts him. "I will try to remove your pain. I will cleanse it."
"You can't cleanse it!"
Inanna presses her lips together and then sighs. I watch as her magic spikes. Bryer looks at her with eyes filled with disbelief, confusion, and uncertainty. His lips quiver as he watches her magic eat away at his own magic.
I take a deep breath as I watch the magic within Bryer slowly fade away. Bryer screams in agony, but Inanna hugs him even tighter. His body twitches, and when I blink, everything reverses. A claw is protruding on Inanna's upper torso. She is gasping in pain, and her magic spikes again.
I shift my attention to Ninus. Like Inanna, Bryer's wings are piercing his body. Both Ninus and Inanna release their hold on Bryer. Bryer stands up-the other two original vampires are entirely at his mercy. Then he laughs.
"Like me, you guys are also NOT unkillable!" He stares at me and smirks. "You are the reason the Blood God is no longer here. So now, I will kill you!"
He then charges at me with an insane look on his face. His claws stretch towards me. I only have enough time to block him with my arm before I activate my wind magic to create a barrier of wind to protect me from his claws.
Klevon appears and entwines the lasso around him. Electricity crackles on the whip, and Bryer shivers in pain. Klevon yells at Bryer to surrender. Suddenly, Gezer attacks Bryer. His claws dig into Bryer's chest, making his eyes glow brightly.
"You don't need a heart, Bryer. I will take it off you," he whispers.
Bryer grunts and snarls as he tries to rip Gezer away from him. The two struggle for a moment before Bryer breaks free. However, Gezer has his heart in his hands.
"Inanna! Get up! We talked about this!"
I see Inanna sit up. There are tears in her unseeing eyes. She turns her head towards Bryer and whispers, "Sorry, Bryer. But you have become a danger to this world."
With a weak wave of her hand, a bolt of lightning strikes Bryer right in the chest. His eyes widen, and his body jerks as he collapses. Inanna continues to mutter unfamiliar words, and Bryer quivers on the ground.
"What are you guys doing?" I ask.
"Destroying his soul," Ninus answers. "Inanna doesn't want to do it, but only original vampires can kill another original vampire. We must destroy his soul if we don't want him to return and wreak havoc."
Bryer's soul continues to be destroyed while Inanna continues to cry. Ninus remains quiet on my side, and both Klevon and Gezer watch the event unfold. The lightning strikes hit Bryer's chest over and over.
Finally, Inanna's magic stops, and her eyes blink open. Her breathing becomes deep and slow until she closes them again and becomes still.
I approach her as she sits on the ground. "Inanna?" I whisper her name as I gently place my hand on her shoulder.
She opens her eyes slowly and looks at me. "Bryer is dying," she says, placing her hands over mine.
I nod. "It's okay," I say softly. "You did what you think is best." Even if that means killing a comrade.
She nods back at me and slumps on the ground as if pained by removing Bryer's soul. I touch her forehead with my other hand, calling my magic to heal her. Her breathing returns to normal, and then she opens her eyes and looks at me with a weak smile on her lips.
"Thank you," she says with a shaky voice. "Kai–Oh, shit!"
I turn towards what she is looking at. On the ground, where Bryer should be dying, is the young woman with the side of her neck wounded. There is no more blood trickling from it. I look around and see that Klevon, Gezer, and Ninus are all unconscious on the ground.
I run towards Klevon and check for his pulse. It's still there, despite it being shallow and weak.
"What happened? Where is Bryer?"
"The young woman feeds herself to Bryer, which might have strengthened him," Inanna answers.
I search Klevon's body. I glance up at Inanna. "The magic sensor is not here."
I run to Gezer and Ninus. Thankfully, they are also still alive. "Inanna..." I turn to look at her. However, there is fear in her eyes.
"Kaiya, I advice you to either imprison them in your barrier or..." she says. "... run away."
I frown. "Inanna–"
She cuts me off before I can speak further. "No! Ninus!"
I turn to my side and see Ninus, who is about to attack me. He looks feral. He seems ready to drink on my blood. Fear rushes through my veins. Klevon is the first thought on my mind.
My heart races faster as I wheel around, only to see my fear coming to life. Gezer looms over him, his venomous fangs ready to sink deep into his flesh and draw out every drop of his human mage blood.
I run towards Klevon at the same time that Inanna presses her hands against Ninus's forehead.