Civilization

"What?" - Ian

In the corner of my right eye, Travys's sword flies toward me, only to be blocked by my spider legs. Sparks spin off as the blade slices down cutting the air in front of me. Jumping in front of me as quickly as possible, Kingston punches Travys's sword down to the ground, making Travys release his grip. However, to Kingston's surprise, Travys spins horizontally in the air after releasing the sword, sending his foot right at Kingston's temple, knocking Kingston to the ground.

David comes next, attempting to tackle Travys, who hides behind his shield, picking up his sword. Failing his attack, David swings his fist at the shield pushing both the shield and Travys back a few steps. At the same time, Ken and Yor zoom close to Travys baring their claws at the traitor but meeting Song and Tsugi halfway.

"Travys, speak. I'll give you one chance before we retaliate with all we have against you." - Ian

"It's nothing personal Kingston, or should I say, Ian? I know that was Kingston on the ground since he was previously a Bones employee. I also know that he was working under you. This attack is just to secure the loot from the monster as well as make you surrender your Portal rights. Nothing more, nothing less." - Travys

"What makes you think you can stop us? There are only 3 of you here and 3 of you at the entrance." - Ian

"Rebecca and Kaede are my hostages if you didn't know. By now JenJen, Rosanna and Kumiho would have restrained them." - Travys

"How sure of you that will happen?" - Ian

"Because I also know about your hobgoblin assassin. She has been following us from the start and while I kept it quiet about it, it didn't mean I was letting her roam freely. See Ian, you weren't the only one who thought of using invisible troops." - Travys

Appearing behind Travys and around us, were a total of 20 black clad people, each holding onto two daggers. In the distance, I also see Gewari, Rebecca, and Kaede, tied up with some sort of rope. One can only assume that the rope is something special.

"Was this always the plan, Travys?" - Ian

"Yes. I didn't know when to do it though since you were quite skilled and the appearance of Kingston's group did throw off my plans. However, after using everyone here to kill the monster I decided to throw my plan into action." - Travys

"Alright, what are you going to do? Kill us?" - Ian

"That would be the best, but first I want you to unequipped everything. Killing Players only allow one of their items to drop, but I want everything on you. Make it easy, and I'll finish this fast."- Travys

"And if we refuse?" - Kingston

Standing up, Kingston looks at Travys with a disgusted look. Even though his mask was still covering his face, I could feel the murderous gaze as he stares at Travys.

"I will be killing everyone regardless so, it doesn't matter to me." - Travys

"Well then… Belial, you can have the feast, you have always wanted. SEAL OF BELIAL!" - Kingston

Opening his mouth and biting his left thumb, Kingston smears blood on the back of his right hand, creating a shower of sparks as a demonic figure looms out of Kingston's hand covered in smoke. Laughing menacingly, it towers in the middle of the rough circular surrounding made by Travys's people.

"Who would have thought, I would be able to taste flesh not once but twice so soon after taking my first breath." - Belial

"Kill them all, Belial." - Kingston

"With pleasure. Don't you believe me more now, Kingston?" - Belial

Clicking his fingers, Belial creates a wall of flames between Travys and the 'hostages' blocking both parties' vision of each other. At the same time, his seal appears on his forehead, shining scarlet as he clenches his fists. I notice that it wasn't just Belial that had the mark but also Gibing, Gopopo, David, Ken, and Yor.

Everyone that had been affected by Belial had the same mark and with it, a slight murderous aura emanated out from them. Bursting into action, everyone dashes toward an opponent, with Belial sending a flaming punch at Travys who blocks it with his shield. Turning to Kingston as he places his hand on my shoulder with Howard right next to him, he quickly tells me we need to move.

"Ian, we need to save Rebecca, Gewari, and Kaede right now! Don't worry, I have Frank on the case already." - Kingston

"Frank? Oh my god! I forgot about him." - Ian

"Don't worry, he has a pretty forgetful presence and I think it plays to his strengths even more now." - Kingston

"Why is that? What did he become after accepting Belial's conditions?" - Ian

"A vampire. More specifically, a vampire that is more suited to spells than physical attacks. I would assume that he is currently in a shadow form and has dealt with the people near Rebecca since I told him to watch guard over the entrance instead of fighting." - Kingston

"So he should be over there right now, what you are saying?" - Howard

"Yeah, but just in case we should regroup with Rebecca and make sure they are safe first before cleaning up this mess. Although, I doubt Travys can defeat Belial, especially with Belial already teasing him with light jabs instead of straight up killing him." - Kingston

"Then, let's move. My debuff will wear off soon so I will be able to properly fight soon." - Ian

"Are you sure we don't need to be here?" - Howard

"Yeah, don't worry Howard. They are the same people when you last saw them a week or so ago. Honestly, they are probably stronger than you are right now, so you need to catch up soon or else you will be left in the dust." - Kingston

Running from the encirclement, Kingston leads the way as he dives head first through a small gap in the firewall, created once we got close to it. It seems that Belial is watching us even though he is busy toying with Travys. I look onward to see Kaede and Gewari fighting their captors with a tall male while Rebecca has the Aqua Ring activated.

Rushing in front, Kingston and Howard engage in combat, helping them out and killing the captors without any mercy. Turning to face me, I see Rebecca waving at me as I approach with Gewari and the others smiling at my presence. Since things were finally somewhat calm, I take a look at Frank's status. I could have looked at the others but it would have been a brief look and I wouldn't be able to properly look through the upgrades.

Name: Frank

Race: Vampire Variant (Psychic)

Health Points (HP): 82/82

Mana Points (MP):  5/25

Demonic Energy (DE): 5/10

Strength: 32

Vitality: 41

Intelligence: 50

Dexterity: 25

Agility: 36

Luck: 10

Skill: Mind Blast, Soul Leech, Walk of Shadows, Bat Transformation, Bronze Skin (Passive), Vampiric Offspring (Passive), Taste of Blood (Passve), Belial's Gift (Passive)

Mind Blast (Active) 5MP - Send a wave of mental energy to a target, dealing damage to the mind instead of the body (20 + 100% Intelligence). Cooldown 10 seconds.

Soul Leech (Active) 10DE - Latch onto the soul of a target with your spirit, draining of them their life and adding it to yours, healing for 50% of the damage (50 + 80% Intelligence). Cooldown 5 mins

Walk of Shadows (Active) 10MP - Step into the shadows and become one with them, being invisible to most. It is possible that someone or something will detect the user even if they are in the shadows. Duration 1 hour. Cooldown 6 hours.

Bat Transformation (Active) 1MP - Transform into a small bat. Duration 1 hour, but can last longer at the expense of more MP, with each subsequent hour needing 5MP. Cooldown 5 mins

Vampiric Offspring (Passive) - If the user were to drink the blood of a being of any race or monster, there is a 1% chance they will become a vampiric being under the user's control. A vampiric being must follow the commands of the user and will be gifted additional stats (random 1-5 of all stats) according to the strength of its master on transformation.

Taste of Blood (Passive) - Any time the user drinks blood, they will be able to recover HP up to 10% maximum HP per feed.

Belial's Gift (Passive) - After undergoing a transformation with the help of the demon Belial, the user has been given additional stats. + 50% to all stats, whilst Belial is summoned.

"Ian? You alright? Did you hear what I was saying?" - Kingston

Snapping out of Frank's status screen, I look at Kingston who was waving his hand in front of me.

"Sorry, was a little distracted by how amazing Frank has become. While your appearance has barely changed, your stats and ability have received a complete makeover." - Ian

"Thank you, my lord but there hasn't been that much of an increase. Just a bit here and there. The most important thing is that I have received the strength to help you in and out of battle. Something I have been worrying about since I wasn't nearly as strong as the others." - Frank

"Don't worry too much about that Frank. You are doing great as you are." - Ian

"Right, as I was saying. Belial has pretty much-finished everything over there behind the wall. It's just Travys left but with Belial's personality, I'm sure he has destroyed everything but Travys's body." - Kingston

"So, the fight was won before it even began." - Rebecca

"Belial is a demon that is stronger than all of us combined and maybe even rivaling the dragon and ogre we saw that works for the Horde." - Kingston

"Is Ken alright, Kingston?" - Kaede

"Oh, yeah. He is fine. He… might look a little different." - Kingston

"So, long he is fine. I don't mind. I want to see him as soon as possible." - Kaede

"Don't worry. Kingston, lead the way. Let's go see Travys and get some answers." - Ian