Ascendant Path of a Lustful Vampire

Chapter 405 405: Do your best to skewer me

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Caius took Alexia all around the Von Helsing Estate, and eventually they ended up at the large doors of the Arena. It didn't seem at all fitting to have a Von Helsing visiting and not show them the part of the Estate used for private training and sparring.

"Large," Alexia said as she stepped onto the concrete stage and turned around to take a gander at every part of the room.

"Larger than the ones you have back home?" Caius asked with a little smile but he already knew the answer.

"Definitely not," Alexia said, "But it will do."

With that, she grabbed the handle of her sword and pulled it out of its scabbard. Its curved blade gleaming.

"Draw your weapon, Cousin," Alexia said.

Caius's brows furrowed.

"You just got here."

"Think I'm tired?" Alexia asked with a smirk.

"Will be understandable," Caius said.

"And you're sweet to care," Alexia said, "But it's fine. I'd like to know just how capable you are. Draw your weapon."

"Alright," Caius said and stepped onto the stage, regarding her with studious eyes.

He had noticed the discipline in her walking stance and it was also clear to see in her battle stance. She appeared to have her sword held loosely as she waited for him to get ready but upon closer observation, he found no openings.

Caius withdrew a sword from his Storage Ring. The last one he had had been broken during the battle against Belron the Fiend and of course, it had been replaced with a Four-star weapon to match his Fourth Circle magical and physical strength.

And speaking of magical and physical strengths, Caius realized he didn't know what Alexia's was. She was giving off magical energy but it was difficult to place.

"I'm at the Sixth Circle, Caius," Alexia said like she could tell what he was thinking. She could feel his perception working itself all over her body because he wasn't being particularly subtle.

"Alright," Caius said, "I'm at the Fourth."

"I know," Alexia said, "Uncle told me. And very impressive by the way."

"Says the Sixth Circle Mage-Knight," Caius said with a smile.

"Hardly notable compared to your achievement," Alexia said.

She wasn't wrong. Caius, thanks to the Arcane Circle increasing how much Evolutionary charge he gained upon feeding, had gotten a very increased speed of advancement. But Alexia's growth was nothing to scoff at.

She was a genius in her own right and so far was the youngest to advance to the Sixth Circle in the Von Helsing family since their inception. The previous record had belonged to Caius's father, Lucian, before Alexia broke it.

"In any case, your Circle makes this very simple," Alexia said.

"It does?"

"Of course. Simply do your best to skewer me with your sword," Alexia said.

"That doesn't sound simple at all," Caius said, flexing his fingers around his sword handle.

"It's not. And you're not going to be able to do it. However, the goal here is to see what you're capable of. And since I can take it, I want you to go all out," Alexia said and then the deadliness of her smile became quite obvious as she added,

"Trust me, you'll want to be at your best."

That sent chills all over Caius's body. His heart beat in worry and then he gritted his teeth and grinned. His fingers tightened around his sword handle and he found himself very locked into the impending duel.

"And… begin!" Alexia announced.

~Hellsong Stomp!~

Caius stamped his foot against the ground and spell circles appeared around his ankles, before powerful beams of fire flared from his feet to send him charging toward Alexia.

Before he was even within two feet of her, he was already swinging his sword. It collided with Alexia's, causing a ringing sound of metal striking metal.

Alexia pushed him and Caius vanished from in front of her so he could go after her from behind. Her back was open. Just one perfectly placed thrust would send the tip of his sharp blade through her cape and into her back.

But of course, it could never be so simple.

There was a barely perceptible *swish* sound as Alexia's short cape moved and suddenly, her chest, covered and full as it was, replaced her exposed back as the target of Caius's attack.

Then she waved her hand and a spell circle flashed in the air. It was so quick that, even if Caius could pay attention to it, he wouldn't have caught it. But he definitely felt the vibrations as the wind was compressed many times and smacked him to the ground.

*Bam!*

"Ack!" Caius let out.

That attack was magic. It wasn't a martial move. It was a magical one and he could have sworn it was at the Fifth circle. His cousin wasn't lying when she said he was going to need to go all out.

What other choice did he have when he was facing someone who wasn't deliberately lowering their strength and magic to his level to make for a fair fight!

Alexia's sword moved. It was the barest of movement but it summoned a slashing attack so great that the hairs on Caius's body stood on end.

~Galleon's Gate!~

As he cast the defensive spell to absorb some of the power of the attack—because it couldn't possibly defend against all of it—Caius kickstarted the ~Hellsong Dash~ spell once again and to put as much distance between himself and the afterwave as he could.

Alas, it was far too fast and far too strong for him to completely outrun and it sent him off his feet and flying a good couple of feet away where he hit the ground and almost rolled completely off the concrete stage.

He got up to one knee quickly and saw as Alexia took two steps, causing her blue-black hair to sway gently before the very next second, slashes were descending. More than ten of them. Each was as powerful as the one Caius just barely managed block and still got blown away by.

He couldn't possibly face them head-on. So he ran. Only ever avoiding them by an inch and always getting struck by the forceful wave of air they generated upon striking the ground.

At some point, around the third-fourth slash, Caius decided it would serve him well to use the forceful waves to his advantage by letting them propel him so he had enough momentum to avoid the next.

And that worked quite well. Of course, it really only worked because Alexia was taking her time. She wasn't unleashing barrage after barrage. Instead, she seemed to be testing how much he could take and how much she could/should do without going too far.

Caius realized that once this barrage was over, Alexia would just unleash another. So he decided to use this moment to plan his counterattack which he would launch without giving her a chance to follow up on this series of attacks.

By the Eighth slash, he didn't just use the force to propel himself to safety from the next slash, he used it to propel himself toward Alexia. He did the same with the Ninth slash.

Alexia's eyes narrowed and she wore a curious smile as she watched Caius get closer.

And then, at the tenth slash, he didn't just get propelled forward, he directed the momentum upward, casting ~Hellsong Stomp~ to get a few more inches in the air where he made a wide swing with his sword, while forming seals with his free hand.

Conjuring two Massive spell circles.