บท 768: Vasile the Defiler

Reima nods, "Regis must be in the city, so I'll take care of the Higher Vampires near here." he says, but feels the sensation of someone using one of his amulets again... "Damn... Talem, change of plans, you'll have to manage without me. If you manage to subdue a Higher Vampire just continually burn and mutilate their bodies until Regis come to finish them off.

Talem nods and Reima disappears, heading straight for whoever was using the amulet...

Elsewhere :

Ciaran had just passed out as Sieglinde and Sif had fought their way through many groups of vampires... Only to find that Ciaran wasn't the only person present in-front of the Auction House.

Sieglinde "Stop! Who're you!? Are you an enemy!?!" shouts at the person standing over Ciaran. They have pale white skin and a bald head, dressed in what looks like rags... They turn towards the Catarina knight and open their eyes, revealing yellow irises with black sclera.

"You impede our conquest? How very strange." they mutter, glancing back and continuing to glare a Ciaran.

Sif growls at them and flips the sword in their mouth so it's ready to strike at the stranger...

Sieglinde "Stay away from our comrade, fiend." she shouts, cautiously walking towards Ciaran, sword still pointing at the man.

"Why would I approach them? I am a simply, kind, and generous soul." he says, looking at Sieglinde with a small ominous feeling-smile.

Sieglinde "With eyes like those, I suspect you are mocking me." she states, increasing her stride towards Ciaran.

Sif releases a bark and dashes towards the stranger for some reason, swinging his blade at them...

*Swish!*

But it passes through nothing, the man was no-longer standing there... Sif glances around before looking back at Sieglinde, only to see the man tearing her helmet off with speed and strength none of the vampires had displayed before...

Sieglinde "Arrgh! Unhand me fiend, you defile Catarina's honor with your actions!" she shouts, trying to cut the man but finding her arm locked in place by his... She looks into his eyes with a frown, finding that they don't look so monstrous anymore?

"Catarina? That's a beautiful name for a lady such as yourself, I am Vasile, a pleasure to meet you." he says, smiling and revealing the fangs in his mouth...

Sieglinde's eyes glaze as her face involuntarily blushes...

*SLASH!*

Sif slashes his sword at Vasile, only for Sieglinde to throw herself in-front of the blade.

Sieglinde "Stop!" she screams, as if the person dearest to her was about to be murdered. Luckily, Sif is able to redirect the slash upwards, performing a backflip and getting some distance.

Vasile grins and turns Sieglinde around, placing a hand on her face and looking at her adoringly, "You're very brave, you saved my life... What can I do to repay you?"

Sieglinde "I...I-..." she's cut off as a rock hits the back of Vasile's head, he turns and looks at whoever had dared do such a thing, his visage twisting into a vicious beast as he stares at the tearstricken face of Lut.

Lut "You killed my Grandfather! I'll never forgive you! NEVER!" He shouts, throwing another rock, attempting to draw the vampire's attention away from Sieglinde and more importantly, Ciaran.

Another rock hits Vasile in the face and he stumbles backwards as if it had done significant damage... He grabs ahold of Sieglinde's armour and looks up at her, "My lady, please stop him... I won't be able to take much more of this..." he says weakly.

Sieglinde robotically nods and starts dashing over to Lut, the young boy quickly running away to avoid being cut into pieces...

Yet again, a large ball of fur intervenes and blocks Sieglinde's blade on his own,

Sieglinde "What are you doing Sif? Can't you see I'm executing Justice?... If you try to stop me, then you must be evil then too, right?" she says in a dull tone, backing up and trying to stab at Sif.

*Flash!*

Reima appears in-front of Sif, catching Sieglinde's blade in his hand as it heads towards him, "What, the fuck is going on here..." he mutters, glaring at Sieglinde.

Sieglinde "Ah, Reima... Something is wrong with Sif, he's trying to stop me eliminating a threat."

...

Reima glances behind him at the small boy being protected by Sif and scowls, "Yeah, I don't think so." he says, punching her in the face and knocking her out. He then turns towards Sif and the boy and asks, "Now, can one of you tell me what's happening?..." immediately after feeling stupid for asking Sif to explain the situation to him.

Lut "Sir, Monsters attacked the city! Aunti Ci-Cia!" he shouts, looking over at an empty area with a small pool of blood on the ground and some debris.

Reima "Cia?" he asks, spotting three weapons and a familiar amulet on the floor that has his eyes open in realisation, "Ciaran?"

Lut runs over and kneels down on the bloody ground, "She was just here! That man with yellow eyes, he must have taken her!" he shouts, beginning to cry again.

Reima quickly scans the area with Observation Haki, not finding even a trace of her or the Elder Vampire who's apparently kidnapped her. He palms his face and scowls, "Shit."

Sif sniffs around and sits on his hind legs, rearing up and howling into the sky...

*Bang!*

The door to the Auction House slams open as Zoltan runs out, "Reima! Ye' can't just teleport here and disappear again! I fuckin' shat myself thinin ye'd left us!" he says.

Reima frowns, "I spotted Sieglinde attacking Sif through the window, so there isn't much I can do about that... We've also got a bigger problem than that right now... Ciaran's been kidnapped."

Zoltan looks down, feeling guilty that he wasn't able to do anything. "Is there anything I can do?"

Reima shakes his head, "No... And judging by the fact Ichor and Kaedwen were attacked, I reckon this isn't just a one-off incident... Vampires have made a play for the world." he says, shocking the dwarf.