Legacy World 4.20 Vlad vs Michael

The next day, Vlad led everyone to flank the army of angels fighting in the main battlefield. Now that Vanora regained her sanity, he trusted her to cooperate and survive on the main battlefield. The element of surprise gave the hell beings a temporary advantage. Everyone, except Vlad, went all out. Amidst the huge fierce battle going on all around him, Vlad focused more on ensuring that Vanora was always fighting with no more than three warrior angels at once. Whenever she fought against the stronger ones, he occupied any other being that wanted to interfere, no matter if they were angel or not. The pair's teamwork was almost impeccable, but Vanora knew that the credit belonged to Vlad. Eventually, the land lost to the angels got reclaimed. Nature withered and died, humans turned more and more bitter, and the land was devastated.

The hell beings continued to advance.

Everyday, Vlad made sure that Vanora ate a full meal before he teleported them to the surface. When they were done with their fights for the day, he brought her back to the room to bathe and sleep in comfort.

Despite days of experience and practice, Vanora still felt as listless and worn out as usual at the end of each day. She also continued to suffer from insomnia until she calmed herself down. Knowing her struggle, it became routine for Vlad to stroke her head to help her fall asleep. 

Since Vanora was not one to chat, much less talk about herself, Vlad knew that he had to ask to know more about her. Several times, he tried to chat her up, but he was still not very successful, especially with the state that Vanora was in.

"What sort of life did you live when you were a human?"

"I lived just like any other person in poverty."

"Did you train as hard as you are doing now even as a human?"

Vanora nodded. 

"Why?"

"To survive. Isn't it the same even if you're a demon? Too weak and you'll be killed."

"Well, lots of humans rely on the angels." He shrugged. Then, he puffed up his chest. "The ones who stray from that path are usually because of our influence."

Vanora raised an eyebrow. "Not all humans are one or the either."

"Then, what happened in your case? I know that the process of changing into a demon is really tough. You would need a lot of motivation to survive it. What REALLY happened to you that you actually pulled through it?"

She shrugged. "I just did."

This was the closest he ever got. He could only infer that it was something so bad that she was unwilling to talk about, and that it was related to her desperate desire to become stronger and survive. He never gave up hope, though. He looked forward to the day she would accept him by her side and share her story.

Meanwhile, Vlad could care less about the war. He did not need to put much effort in it. His mere reappearance evened out the sides.

News of their advancement and the appearance of a demon with indigo flames quickly circulated. It eventually reached Michael's ears.

/Is he there?/

Michael knew that there was only one demon lord so crucial to the balance of power in this holy war. He had been searching for that demon lord, but signs of that demon lord completely disappeared almost two months ago. Along with the disappearance, the scales tipped in the angels' favour, and they gradually and successfully purged the land of evil. Now that the tide turned with the appearance of a new demon, he immediately suspected the new arrival.

/What's that demon lord planning? This new demon must know something./

He asked for the cooperation of the other angels to report any sightings of indigo flames. After he gathered intel and studied it, he eventually noticed a pattern. With that, he predicted their next move and moved to intercept them.

On his way to the location, he came across a woman with blood red hair and completely decked in black. She looked human, but found it odd that she would appear here where there were no villages nearby. Her clothes looked stylish but odd, too. Finding it worthy to investigate, he went down to meet her. Despite his sudden appearance, she was not spooked. In fact, she looked so calm that it was like she had expected his arrival. /She's definitely not normal./

Vlad and Vanora had been on the prowl for their next fight but she needed to take a leak. Vlad gave her the privacy she wanted. He waited a distance away, while Vanora ventured a little deeper into the bushes to find a place with more vegetation that could surround her.

Just as she was done, BaoBao alerted her to Michael's appearance. [Someone whose looks matches Michael's description is approaching fast!]

/Michael? Come to think of it, Michael was supposed to be heavily wounded by Vlad, right? Is already time for that? But it may not be good if he runs into me first./

Vanora had already been heading back to Vlad, but Michael intercepted her path after just a few steps. /BaoBao, you informed me the moment you saw him, right?/

[Yes!]

Since BaoBao's scope was wider than hers, Michael had to be going at a speed that was comparable to Vlad's to reach here so fast. /What was he rushing for?/

She quietly studied him, just as he studied her. 

"You're a demon, aren't you?" Michael finally spoke up.

Vanora did not answer him. She wanted to drag it out for she was sure that Vlad would then come looking for her.

"Do you know anything about the demon with indigo flames?" Michael continued to ask, not caring that he did not get a reply. He was sure of her identity anyway.

/So news about me have traveled. But why would he be interested in me?/

"Or can you tell me directly about the demon lord you serve?" He decided to get straight to the point. It was a shot in the dark, but it was still better than nothing. All the hell beings he fought before knew nothing about Vlad's sudden disappearance. Because of their angel's blessing, Michael knew that those hell beings were telling the truth.

Michael slowly withdrew his sword from its scabbard. If she did not intend to answer his questions, there was no point in delaying his search for the demon lord.

"Any other questions? I don't like being interrogated. So shoot it all out at once." Vanora finally spoke.

"Yes. Will you answer, or will you not?"

"If I answer, will you let me go?"

"Only if you're willing to repent and start anew. I can't let you go otherwise."

"How does that make me want to cooperate with you? There's no incentive for me, whatsoever."

"Because I don't need your cooperation. I'll find him eventually. Your answers would only help speed up the process. So, what's your decision?"

"Repent, huh..." Vanora pretended to consider her options.

The silence was broken by someone whining, "You're taking looong..."

Michael and Vlad froze in surprise as they locked gazes. They shared the same thought at the moment, /Shit, I was careless./

Vlad's eyes immediately darted to Michael's sword. The moment he processed that Michael was pointing a blade at Vanora, he acted. His rage helped him recover his senses a beat faster than Michael.

Although Michael was slower, Michael crossed his arms and raised a barrier in time. Vlad's palm strike still blasted Michael away from Vanora and through several trees. Michael jammed his sword into the ground to stop himself from flying back any further. Even with the barrier, his body suffered the aftershock of the force that Vlad hit him with. 

"Wait for me. I'll take care of him. He's not someone you can deal with now." The words flew out of Vlad's mouth before he went after Michael. Vanora had nothing to say. It was her intention from the start anyway.

Vlad wanted to finish this quick and return to Vanora, so he started with one of his strongest power. Everything around him instantly decayed.

Fortunately for Michael, he kept his barrier erected, and this protected him from the devastation. Michael's eyes widened in realisation. /Isn't this that demon lord's power? And that strength.../

"Tch!" Vlad was annoyed that the battle would drag out longer than he liked. The stronger the angels were, the stronger their blessings. With an angel of this calibre, Vlad knew that it would be best to rely on his physical skills and strategy to wear the angel down. /How annoying./ The thought of how Vanora was at his mercy earlier made him growl. /How bloody annoying. He'll pay for this./

Vlad instantly created several copies of him and surrounded Michael with them, then continuously swooped past his barrier from different directions, landing a heavy strike to the barrier each time. The barrier trembled with every hit.

/So his illusions can really hurt you./ Vanora observed, while she lazed against a tree. 

[So this is what Vlad looks like when he goes all out.] BaoBao commented in awe. He was on a completely different wavelength from Vanora. [He'll win, won't he?]

/He will. It's written in the book. This is when Michael gets severely injured by him./

BaoBao gasped with the realisation. [Ah... I should have known!]

/Then again... The attacks are different from what I remembered... If I'm not wrong./ She frowned a little as she continued to watch them fight.

The longer she watched, however, the more her thoughts drifted, and the more dead her eyes became. She could not help but feel powerless against the plot and the world's consciousness. No matter what happened and how much the story got derailed, things will somehow fall back into place one way or another. /What's meant to happen will happen huh.../

She ended up wondering if everything she did to save Erica in her original world had all been for naught. /I wonder how they're doing now.../

[Vanora... I think you should know tha- Ah! Won't Michael die with that?!]

Vanora paid attention to the fight again and saw Vlad hiding among the tree canopy. His suit was in tatters and he was injured, but he continued to grin as if he had already won. Comparing his state to Michael's state, Vanora could easily understand where Vlad's confidence came from. /It can't be. Vlad isn't supposed to kill him now./

Michael was put in a tight spot. With all the copies coming at him, he could not move a single step. So, he focused on cutting down anyone that got close enough to him. They traded blows equally like this. Michael believed that he would eventually hit the real body, as long as he kept it up. Such a great demon lord would not be so cowardly as to use fakes to fight in his stead and finish a fight.

Sweat gradually covered Michael from head to toe. It took a lot of out of him, mentally and physically, to keep the barrier up and keep up with the attacks. Even when the number of cracks on his barrier increased, the real person still refused to reveal himself. Marks of a black rose suddenly appeared on the trees around him and on the ground. The place came alive and targeted Michael. Spikes shot out. Whips flew at high speeds. 

Michael ditched his barrier to focus all his energy on going offensive. He swung his sword so fast that slashes of light overlapped each other and formed a giant net covering the entire area around him. It grew in size from the source and disintegrated everything it touched into smithereens. Parts of the ground and wood twitched like it was trying to regenerate, but white sparkles lingered on the bits and pieces.

Michael started to chant, intending to dispel the curse. However, only some words left his mouth before a heavy punch landed on his face and threw him to the ground. 

Vlad continued to pummel Michael into the ground with kicks and punches. Meanwhile, Michael kept his arms up to block Vlad's attacks, with the sword still in his hand. He just needed to catch one breath to do something, but Vlad was relentless.

Michael began to lose the feeling in his arms. He knew that he was nearing his limit. Blood flowed out of his mouth uncontrollably, indicating the grievous internal wounds he suffered from this rain of blows.

Michael gave up blocking and swung his hand to stick the sword into the ground. He channeled all the power he had left into the sword. Light streaks with rough edges shot up from the ground in a haphazard way. /There's no way he can escape this!/