BXBX NOVEL Chapter 75: If I'm Dying, You're Dying Too
Behind him, Stephanie followed, her laughter ringing out, cold and mocking. "Where do you think you're going, Ezra?" she crossed her arms. "You can't escape this."
Fuck. Ezra pushed forward, his mind racing for a way out. His vision blurred, and his steps faltered, but he kept moving. I have to survive this. There has to be a way to counter the poison in my body. There fucking has to.
As they reached a dark, secluded corner of the street, Stephanie's laughter grew louder. She lifted her arms, and a thick, black mist began to roll off her, spreading and solidifying into an impenetrable dark box that surrounded them both. A black zone.
Ezra looked around in panic, the walls of darkness closing in on him. The pain was becoming unbearable, each breath, a struggle. His vitality stormed inside him, a chaotic whirlpool of energy threatening to tear him apart from inside.
All of a sudden, the pain vanished. What? Ezra stumbled. For a brief, hopeful moment, he thought it was over. But then he felt it. His vitality began leaking rapidly into the air, dissipating like mist in the sunlight.
Stephanie stepped closer, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "You're finished, Ezra. In a few minutes, all your vitality will be gone. No more disrupting the balance of things. No more Black Spider leader. Just another corpse in the alley."
Ezra stood, the pain gone. He tried to summon Valaren, hoping the dragon could stabilize his vitality, but Valaren remained silent.Damn you, you useless lizard! Ezra cursed. His vitality continued to strain away. FUCK!
Stephanie watched him, her eyes hinting at her as she enjoyed the look of dismay on his face. "It's quite poetic, really," she mused. "You, the mighty vampire leader, brought down by a simple poison. You should have been more careful about who you trusted."
"Shut up." Ezra looked up at Stephanie, fury now burning in his eyes. "This isn't over yet." He spoke.
Stephanie chuckled, shaking her head. "Oh, but it is. You're done, Ezra. Accept it."
"Over my dead body." Ezra lunged at Stephanie with all the speed and strength he could muster. The element of surprise was on his side, and he intended to use it to inflict as much damage as possible before his vitality ran out.
Stephanie's eyes widened in shock as Ezra closed the distance between them. His first punch landed squarely on her jaw, sending her stumbling backward. She tried to leap away and create distance, but Ezra was relentless. He followed her, peppering her with a constant stream of blows, each one aimed with the intent to kill.
"If I'm dying, you're dying too." He growled.
Stephanie blocked and dodged as best she could, but Ezra wasn't worried about rationing his vitality. He fought, every attack attacks filled with as much vitality Ashe could squeeze into it. It'll all be gone anyways. I might as well use it for a worthy cause.
His fists connected with her ribs, her face, her abdomen, leaving a trail of injuries that her body struggled to heal. Blood splattered on the ground as she regenerated. "How? How are you so strong?" She choked as she skipped away.
Ezra could feel his vitality draining, the energy slipping away like water through a sieve. I have to finish this quickly. With a roar, he delivered a crushing blow to Stephanie's side, feeling the satisfying crack of ribs breaking under his fist. She gasped, doubling over in pain, but still managed to keep her feet.
Stephanie attempted to leap away but Ezra was on her in an instant, grabbing her by the throat and slamming her against the wall of the black zone. Her eyes were wide with fear now, the confidence she had displayed earlier completely shattered.
"You're not getting away," Ezra growled, his grip tightening. He drew back his fist for what he intended to be the finishing blow. One strike to the heart and it's all over.
"Fuck off!" Ezra leapt back as two fists passed through were his head had been, leaving Stephanie to sink to her knees. The two figures bent down and assisted Stephanie to her feet, keeping an eye on Ezra who was scrambling for a way out.
The newcomers were women, dressed similarly to Stephanie but with different colored scarves covering the lower halves of their faces. One had a blue scarf, the other green. The flower shop girls trio was complete.
"Enough," said the one with the blue scarf, her voice firm.
The woman with the green scarf added, "We won't let you harm her any further."
Ezra's mind raced. He was running out of time, his vitality leaking away at an alarming rate. Less than two minutes remained, and now he faced three opponents. His eyes flicked between the women, assessing their stances and preparing for what he knew was now an inevitable fight. He had nothing to use to cut a path out of the black zone.
Stephanie clutched her side where her injuries were still mending and looked up at Ezra with a mixture of fear and rage, blood trickling from her wounds. "You'll pay for that." She snarled.
The woman with the blue scarf stepped forward, her stance defensive but poised to strike. "You should surrender while you still can," she said. "You won't survive this."
Ezra clenched his fists, his body screaming in protest as his vitality continued to drain. "I'm not stopping without finishing what I started," he replied, his voice a growl.
The woman with the green scarf moved to stand beside her companion, both of them ready to defend Stephanie. "Then you'll die here," she said coldly.
Ezra's eyes narrowed, and he prepared himself for one final push. The odds were against him, but he had no other choice. Every second counted, and he knew that retreat was not an option any longer. He would fight until his last breath, even if it meant facing these three skilled vampires.
Ezra steeled himself for the battle. "So be it."