Night fell. The moon shone in a waxing crescent. Yusuke sat at a table in the tavern, nervous. The time was nigh for the showdown. Wilhelm and Joanna had retired for the night, putting their faith in him. Yusuke almost considered ordering a mug of regular beer to ease his nerves. But he resisted. All he could do was wait for his opponent to arrive.
Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long. The vampire, Crina, entered the tavern space in her robes. She walked to the young man and extended her hand in invitation. "Let's depart to our arena, where we can test our mettle."
Yusuke nodded silently, standing to his feet. Crina beckoned him to follow her, and she walked to the inn entrance. He took a deep breath and followed her tracks. He was unsure how this 'sparring session' would turn out, and he didn't want to think about the worst.
All he needed to do was to indulge in her wishes and win without killing her.
Darnell, standing behind the bar, could only mutter to himself. "Careful out there, kid."
***
The battlefield Crina chose to lead Yusuke into was a clearing in the forest. The snow had melted, leaving a wide patch of grass. The trees surrounded them from afar, creating a sense of enclosure. It was an arena, in all but construction.
The vampire brought him to the center of the clearing. After giving him space, she removed her robe. She unveiled a sleeveless black shirt beneath a crimson vest, revealing her pale shoulders and upper arms. She also wore a pair of combat pants and boots, colored black and grey, respectively, held up by a leather belt with an ornate silver buckle. She wore gloves, which were used only for battle purposes.
She wasn't just a vampire. She was a bare-handed fighter, as well. A rarity among vampires.
"Your turn, Iriki," she said. "Transform into your mighty insect warrior form."
Whether or not she goaded him, Yusuke had to transform. Not out of choice, but necessity. As was the case for his many battles before this, and before the orcs.
He crossed his hands in front of his waist. He focused his attention on pooling power around his waist, feeling a warm sensation just under his navel. Then, the belt-like armament materialized around his waist, with the silvery buckle and red gem at its center.
He felt that same urge to say a certain word in his native language. A word that was mundane in other instances, but symbolized his temporary shedding. From a man into a warrior. A word that references his insect-like form, and also meant a lot to him as Kervagta.
That word was...
"Henshin."
Metamorphosis. Transformation.
The dormant power was reawakened once again to his will. His eyes glowed red, and his body transformed into the familiar form of Kervagta, with its crimson colors.
Crina was awed, if momentarily, by the event. Witnessing the transformation firsthand was a different experience from simply watching the resulting form. It made her more eager to test her might against him.
Before anything else, Yusuke, or Kervagta, asked. "What you said about forcing my hand if I refused... did you mean that?"
Crina didn't answer immediately. Instead, she gave him a knowing smirk. "You would still agree to fight me either way, Iriki, regardless of whether I lied or not. I had a feeling that you were that sincere and protective."
Kervagta only took a battle stance in response. As the cold wind blew, they stood silently, waiting for an invisible signal.
The wind eventually calmed. When the air halted, the two dashed towards each other, rearing their first attacks.
Kervagta took the first blow to the chest, sending him skidding back. Crina had the advantage, and she began capitalizing on it. She swung her fists with intent. Kervagta blocked her attacks, but some had slipped past his guard, hitting him right in the chest and abdomen.
He rolled away, giving himself space. He ran to the side, and Crina followed. Feeling herself, she lunged again, but Kervagta timed his punch and hit a hook on her side. A one-two combo and a knee to the gut later, Crina stepped back.
"This is it! A battle!" she cried out. "No other race I've fought has sent me reeling like this!"
Kervagta only winced, his mind rewinding to the past for a moment. The last time he had heard words of such nature was before he came here, and it was from a sociopathic monster who derived pleasure from violence.
He wanted to believe that Crina was different, and he had little reason to think otherwise. But her battlelust wasn't making it easy for him.
He began to wonder if she was holding back just for the thrill of it.
The battle marched on. The rhythm went on like this: size each other up, engage, step back, and repeat. When they engaged, they sometimes traded blows and sometimes dodged each other's attacks. The momentum swung back and forth, from Crina to Kervagta, and vice versa.
For Crina, this was a pace she had yet to experience. Her past battles ended as soon as she got into the flow, either due to her opponent's surrender or knockout after a few blows. On rare occasions, she had ended her opponent's life, either as part of an agreement or as an unfortunate incident due to being too excited. Either way, she honored the loss of life by drinking the felled opponent's blood.
For Kervagta, for Yusuke, this pace was par the course. It was a rhythm he had grown familiar with in his battle against the ancient race of monsters that his powers were designed to defeat, much to his distaste. A rhythm of battle that felt tense, like a bowstring on a bow, pulled to its full length. When the tension broke, the battle would end in either his victory or defeat.
That familiar tension was building to its crescendo.
After letting the excitement get to her head, Crina was hit in the jaw by Kervagta's uppercut. A roundhouse kick to the gut sent her flying quite a distance away. She managed to land on her feet, but the sheer force of the fall made her crouch.
Kervagta knew he had to end this soon. He stepped back with his right foot, charging it with power. Please don't kill her, please don't kill her, please don't kill her! He thought loudly in his head. His calf and foot began to warm, but it stayed warm, instead of getting blazing hot.
Crina stood and gathered herself, a smirk visible on her face. "Preparing that mighty kick of yours, huh? Unlike those orcs, I won't stand around and take it!" she shouted and ran towards him. Kervagta then ran in her direction. Their distance inched closer and closer, and it seemed that they would run to each other full speed.
To Crina's surprise, Kervagta jumped into a somersault. She couldn't slow her speed fast enough, and when the insect warrior extended his leg for the flying side kick, she was a standing target.
The kick hit her flush, and she was blown several feet away, landing on her back. Kervagta landed on his feet in a full crouch.
As the insect warrior stood tall, the vampire struggled to get to her feet. "I have to say..." she grunted. "No one has ever put me... on my back... ngh!"
She clutched her chest, and a familiar sigil began to appear and glow. Yellow cracks spread from the spot to most of her body. Not long after, she exploded.
After the explosion settled, Kervagta returned to becoming Yusuke and ran towards her previous standing spot. He was clearly worried about the possibility of killing another being who hadn't harmed anyone yet. He didn't want to bear that particular cross on top of everything else he carried as Kervagta.
When he arrived, what he saw made him sigh in relief. Crina was lying on the cold ground, unconscious, but alive. Her skin was dirty and bruised, her clothes were slightly damaged, but all in all, intact.
"The stone in my waist always listens to me, doesn't it?" he humorlessly mused, alluding to his desire to keep her alive. He picked the unconscious vampire up in a princess carry and walked back to the Sleeping Forest Inn.
For once in his life, he didn't end another in battle.