CHAPTER 119: FACING DRACULA: PART-5 [BONUS]

BOOM!

The explosion ignited before his face, blinding light and roaring fire tearing his face... The massive blood spear he had conjured vanished instantly.

"ARRRRHHHH!!" Dracula’s scream ripped through the air as his face was torn open, half of it blasted away. Flesh burned, bone and muscle revealed beneath the blackened gore before it slowly began to knit itself back together.

His mind rattled, fury overtaking him in a haze of instinct. His gaze snapped downward, locking onto Leo.

In a blur, Dracula was there. His claws clamped around Leo with monstrous strength, lifting him like an insect.

Leo flinched and trembled, gasping for air as Dracula squeezed. The vampire’s scorched face repaired itself before his eyes, the sight more horrifying than any mask.

"You lowly being," Dracula spat venomously. His jaws parted, fangs lengthening, mouth stretching wider and wider, ready to devour Leo’s head whole.

Clucckkk!!!

Yet, His neck jerked violently.

In a single motion, the cloaked figure struck from behind, her rusted curved blade cutting sharp and clean through his throat.

Thud!

Dracula’s head tumbled to the ground, bouncing once before rolling lifelessly.

Leo dropped from his grasp, falling hard. He groaned, clutching his neck as he gasped desperately for breath, lungs clawing at the air.

His eyes locked on Dracula’s fallen body... He almost thought he died... Man, that’s so fucked up!!

Then he turned towards the cloaked figure as she approached and lifted him.

"Y-You... you killed him," he whispered, a small, exhausted smile breaking across his face.

The cloaked figure shook her head, her arm steadying him. "We killed him," she corrected, her tone firm yet weary.

She held Leo, whose legs trembled uncontrollably, veins burst and darkened across his thighs and calves, blood coating his feet. "Let’s leave," she urged, supporting him as she tried to carry him away.

Yet—

"Who told you you could leave?"

The voice echoed cold, detached, indifferent.

They froze. Both turned slowly toward the sound—the body.

"He’s dead... right?" Leo asked, horror seeping into his tone.

But before his eyes, the severed head’s gaze rolled upward. Its lips curved into a smirk.

And then... the blood spilled from the neck wound shifted, writhing like serpents. The thick crimson streams slithered across the floor, snapping forward, and coiled tightly around the cloaked figure’s leg. With a violent pull, she was dragged into the blood pool!

Splash!!

The blood rose and swallowed her whole.

She pushed Leo in a matter of seconds before she got swallowed.

"No!!!" Leo roared, his hand reaching out helplessly as she vanished into the blood. He couldn’t even touch her. In an instant, she was gone, consumed like a drop of water dissolving into an ocean.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

Then... his face twisted into a grimace.

"Not bad..." Dracula’s voice slithered into the chamber. "Watching your pain... is truly exciting."

Leo lifted his head, rage trembling in his eyes as he saw him.

There... Dracula’s severed head floated above the body, blood stretching like a string, stitching the corpse and skull back together like a grotesque puppet.

Leo gritted his teeth. "Where is she?!" he roared as he clenched his chest, standing up and struggling to inhale when—

Chuckk...

BOOM!

The blood spear tore through him, stabbing deep into his shoulder and pinning him against the wall with a sickening...

Crunch!

"Cough... cough..."

Blood gushed from his lips. Leo groaned, his vision blurring as he glanced down at the crimson spear stabbed through his flesh, his shoulder exactly.

Blood poured across his forehead from the violent impact, flowing into his eyes, blinding him as he hazily lifted his gaze. Dracula was there, slowly striding toward him with deliberate steps, each one echoing like a death knell.

"What? You think I would let you die so easily? After all the humiliation?" Dracula smirked, cruel pride dripping from his words. His broken flesh knitted itself back together with wet cracks, bones sliding into place as he flexed his neck,

"Ahh... that feels good," he muttered, relishing the restoration. His gaze sharpened when he saw Leo raising his trembling fingers.

A flick of the hand... an orange stone appeared, glowing faintly as Leo hurled it forward with the last of his strength.

Dracula smirked, not even caring... just with a wave of his hand, the stone was swatted aside, exploding harmlessly against the far wall. "That won’t work on me again," he said with a mocking tone.

Leo gritted his teeth, ripping the blood spear from his shoulder. His body sagged, blood trailing behind as he crawled forward.... trying to reach his bag that was across him.

His torn bag, the deck of cards spilt across the ground, scattering like feathers.... He is trying to reach them again.

"Crawling like a bug~"

Dracula’s smile widened as he watched. The sight of Leo dragging his mangled body across the ground filled him with savage delight.

Honestly, he was glad he hadn’t killed him instantly. Watching this broken creature struggle only made him happier.

Dracula grabbed Leo by the hair, yanking his head up to meet his eyes. Dracula studied his battered face, bloodied and hollow, trembling under his grip.

"So pathetic," he muttered. His hand cracked across Leo’s cheek in a vicious slap. "Oi? Come on... give me some more!" Another slap. His grin widened, his voice twisted with amusement.

"This is really getting interesting. Come on, mongrel! Struggle even more!!"

After a flurry of slaps, Dracula sighed. Leo’s head lolled lifelessly, no response, no fight left in him. With a snort, Dracula tossed him aside like trash, across... exactly near to his bag where Leo tried to get there.

"Come on... This is what you want, right? Do something... don’t be a Mongrel now~" Dracula mocked. "I was starting to enjoy this, man." He shook his head with feigned disappointment, as if this wasn’t a battle for survival but some plaything.

Leo didn’t move... Laid near his bag... motionlessly.

Dracula sighed, rubbing his forehead, "Honestly..." His lips curled into a smirk. "Your beloved champion is still alive... don’t you want to save her?"

Twitch!

The words struck deep. Leo’s fingers spasmed.

Dracula’s grin grew sharper. "Yes. Your champion still lives—inside my blood. If you want her back, you’ll have to kill me. Come on... struggle more, you pathetic mongrel!" His laughter filled the chamber as he watched Leo’s eyes flicker open.

Leo lifted his head, blood dripping across his face. His gaze locked on Dracula with a deadly seriousness; his bloodshot eyes burned even more. Slowly, with trembling hands, he grasped the deck of cards from his bag.... and flung one forward.

Dracula was ready, bracing for another explosion. But—

The card hit his body, but... nothing. It simply fluttered to the ground.

No tricks?

No blasting stones?

Dracula blinked, then chuckled. "Haha... no more tricks?" He grinned, watching as Leo threw another, then another... But they didn’t reach him. They fell uselessly at his feet, fluttering to the ground like leaves.

As if Leo had lost the will to summon his power.

"Hahaha... so pathetic," Dracula chuckled even louder... Watching this wounded thing struggle amused him far more than victory itself.

Leo’s trembling hands kept throwing card after card, yet none of them reached their mark. They scattered around Dracula’s feet, useless.

Leo’s fingers quivered violently, his muscles getting even harder to move.... He could barely lift another card. His head dipped low.

"...." he muttered, voice too faint.

"What? I couldn’t hear you," Dracula taunted, stepping closer.

"...r..."

"What? Louder, mongrel," he hissed, leaning down, fangs gleaming.

"...er...."

Dracula sighed in disappointment, shaking his head as he stepped forward. His foot landed right in the centre of the discarded cards littering the ground and...

Crack...

Dracula froze...

Leo, his face drenched in blood, his reddish black eyes glowed, lips curling into a wicked grin, clenched his teeth. Inside his mouth, a green stone shimmered faintly. He bit down, cracking it in half.

That was the last thing Dracula saw.

BOOM!!

The cards beneath him erupted in a chain reaction, explosions flashing one after the other.

BOOOM!!

BOOOM!!

BOOOM!!

BOOOM!!

BOOOM!!

BOOOM!!...

The underground shook violently as fire swallowed Dracula whole.