Chapter 1788: All four in one place.
The shell that had appeared in front of Erin to block Laxmus's punch wasn't an ordinary shell, nor was it a beast item. Instead, it was another Familiar and one of the legendary Four Kings known for his defensive shell and massive turtle-like body, Genbu.
Of course though, despite the shell getting more robust over the years as Genbu de-shelled and got new ones, it was nothing in front of a being like Laxmus's fists because the latter had enough strength to destroy mountains and quite possibly the Earth itself if hit and directed at the right spot.
However, Erin had already predicted this but still used the shell for a reason that it was a backup plan, and it did work because the shell turned out to be strong enough to give her a few moments to get a hold of herself.
The shell cracked and was slowly getting destroyed as the force spread out. Finally, when it dispersed into energy particles, Laxmus's fist continued onward, but Erin was no longer there, having escaped the shadow's spider web.
This fight wasn't over yet, and neither of them was willing to give up as both readied themselves to continue this battle.
*** *** ***
The group was observing the fight between the two from far away, and after hearing what Ni had just said, they were starting to release many of them, and the others, hardly knew anything about the dhampirs. Vampires were just taking in what they had learnt and been taught for years, about the dangerous nature of the dhampirs, and because many vampires were being targeted and attacked by the latter regularly, the new generations took it as fact, but now, after hearing about another side of the story, it didn't seem like things were as straightforward as they had all believed.
"Wait, isn't that the Boneclaw that Quinn used to have?" Peter finally noticed the huge figure fighting off Layla.
"I am pretty sure that's Quinn's familiar, but didn't she also use that turtle? How can a person have two familiars? I thought that wasn't possible."
Honestly, the others were confused about many things too, and most of them hadn't even heard of the Familiars.
"I'm really not sure," Xander replied. "The Familiars have been acting strangely with the vampires after the war."
"Contracts became almost impossible to form, and those vampires that did get contracts were killed by their Familiars, so we stopped the whole thing altogether."
"You must keep one thing in mind, these aren't just any familiars. Those are the Kings that rule that world. Maybe the rules don't apply to them, or Erin figured out some way to make it like this?" One person, in particular, was devastated by this news, and she couldn't hold it in.
"Ni, you have to explain to me. Why does she have that turtle spirit thing? I must get to the bottom of this!"
"Tell me, Ni... Was Erin who killed Owen Graylash?!" There was a reason for Lucia's little theory.
The familiar Genbu had stayed with Owen and stayed with him for a long time through his struggles to establish a safe haven for everyone. So much so that there was even a statue of this Familiar on the main Graylash planet.
It was why Lucia also knew of the turtle, but for what the elders of Graylash family had told them, these spirits or familiars, as she heard the others call, didn't leave their host's side unless they or the latter died. So seeing Erin with it, she could only think of one thing, and her friendliness to the Dhampir captain was on thin ice.
"I'm sorry, Lucia, I know you want an answer, but I honestly don't know," Ni replied.
"This is the first time I have seen our Queen use it in battle. She has used the other one before but not this one. However, I want to give you the answers you are looking for because you saved my life."
"Although I don't know anything about it, someone else might. The first dhampir that Erin turned, Flora, has always been by the former's side. So I am sure she might know the answer."
At that moment, Xander and his two kids turned to look at Peter shaking their heads and almost facepalming.
Not too long ago, Peter had managed to defeat Flora with ease. In fact, he had dragged her out of the rubble by her hair.
However, the kids started to shout at Peter and came toward him. Since Peter had no clue who these people were, including Xander, Peter believed them to be more enemies and jumped back.
In that split second, Flora took advantage of Peter's wariness against the trio, she hit the floor with the heel of her foot and, using all her dhampir energy, shattered the rooftop, causing them both to fall. Unfortunately, by the time they regained their composure, Flora was nowhere to be seen.
Since Peter thought he had more people to deal with, he didn't even bother chasing Flora and felt that even if he let someone as weak as her left running about, it wouldn't change anything.
"We could have gotten a lot of answers from her. For instance, what happens to Owen?"
"And the familiars? Also, most importantly, why is Erin being like this, and why does she hate the vampires so much?"
*** *** ***
The battle in front of them continued with neither person getting the upper hand. It looked like Laxmus was slowly getting faster, his hits getting more powerful, and they weren't sure if it was an illusion, but his size was getting bigger as well.
As the fight continued, Laxmus carried on with more powerful techniques, different blood abilities and such. This was all because his so-called master was supplying him with more energy as the fight continued. Laxmus had only one goal: to defeat the person in front of him, but still, despite all of this, Laxmus was failing.
"I've had enough!" He shouted so loud at the top of his lungs that it resounded throughout the underground settlement. "I will beat you no matter what I have to do!"
Letting out a large wide-range beam, Laxmus tried to hit Erin, or at least this is what she thought he was trying to do, but she noticed it was the first time he had made such a wide-range blood breath attack compared to his normal single beam.
That's when she noticed that Laxmus had both hands raised, and the shadow in his hands looked like flames.
At the same time while this was happening, the others who were fighting against the Guardians noticed something. Ashely, Muka, Jake, Shiro, Mitchell, Hannah and the Dhampirs suddenly noticed their opponent's shadow powers had dispersed.
"What... what did you do?" One of the guardians shouted in panic.
"I didn't do anything," Ashley replied. "I can't use the shadow myself."
The two of them looked off in the distance, and after concentrating, they could see the shadow either leaving their bodies from their feet or the crystal. Their powers were disappearing, being sucked from them and heading in a certain direction.
*** *** ***
"I originally owned the shadow, and by adding it with Celestial powers, I have made the shadow stronger than ever! With this power, I will become a god of the shadows and make it so everyone suffers the same fate I once did."
"The fear of the sun, the fear of sunlight, the pain it brings is excruciating. Everyone, human beings, life forms, or anything that lives will experience what I had to go through. I will become the God of Darkness." Laxmus's words once again resounded throughout the settlement.
And when he finished his words, the shadow began to envelop him and turn solid, leading to a whole new transformation of Laxmus.
Over his shoulder, giant shoulder guards with several spikes sticking out for them appeared. Next, shadow armour appeared on his forearms and body, and this armour had the same face, somewhat like how Laxmus's current face looked like. Then on top of his head, two horns appeared, solidified by his shadow but looked partially cut off as they were thick and flat at the end rather than sharp and pointy.
Finally, clasping both hands together, Laxmus began to create a separate attack, and this one too looked like Laxmus's normal blood breath, but instead of red, this one was dark in colour. It didn't have the same consistency as his shadow powers but was undoubtedly the same colour, and it looked like even Laxmus was struggling to condense the substantial amount of energy because his hands were shaking.
"It looks like I might need everyone's help for this one!" Erin shouted, and just then, a light appeared below her, and what emerged was none other than another Familiar King, the great horse that a certain person used to ride. It was glowing with a green aura from its nostrils and eyes.
At the same time, another black cat figure appeared on Erin's shoulder, quickly moving to her head.
And while these two appeared, Erin clutched her demon tier weapon as her armour also began to shine.
"This is the end!" She shouted as the horse charged forward, and Laxmus unleashed his dark beam of energy toward her.