“I hope that tastes good, monster,” Gotthold asked, standing in front of his broken Cadet; “Because it’s the last meal you will ever sample on this world.”

Dragonick clutched his stump of a limb, sweat pouring from his brow. Sounds of pain were being distilled through sheer persistence. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to shiver and wince as Reginald continued to work on him.

The elder Dentist had removed his belt, slid it to his upper arm, and then had tightened it as much as possible- and then went one notch further to ensure the flow of blood could be stopped.

The Vampire grinned, tossing the limb backwards at his allies who suddenly fought over it like hungry dogs. The taller one got to it first and began to squeeze the flesh like a tube of toothpaste on the chance that more blood could by syphoned.

“It does,” the first Vampire replied; “I may be a new appreciator of such things, but I am a fast learner. The feel of somebody’s life rushing through my veins is truly astonishing. I can feel my senses reactivating, reminding me of what it was like to be alive.”

Ashyer remained standing behind Reginald unsure what he could do here. He didn’t know where to stand or what to do save for keeping eyes on the three- three­- Vampires that were standing opposite them.

His training had told him to attack, but also he wanted to preserve the life of his friend and-

“Ashyer.” Reginald snapped, his tone not the same jovial tone as he had been using for most of the night; “We have three Vampires and three functional Dentists. Our priority is to keep Dragonick alive. Can you be the last line of defence?”

“I- I could-.”

“I need you to.” Reginald insisted, turning to face him; “It’s the most important thing you can do for us right now. Stay with your friend. Let me and Gotthold fight. Help will be on its way.”

Perhaps Ashyer’s face betrayed him, the presence of the Undead was overwhelming. The pressure of the Evil felt more tangible now than before. This wasn’t the Scavenger; this wasn’t anything like the Scavenger.

It just felt like something was wrapped around his throat-

Reginald grabbed his arm, the pressure of the fingers pulling him back.

“Trust us.” He said, green eyes appearing to flare with something powerful beneath, and Ashyer nodded and crouched by his friend.

 “Yes. Yeah- Okay- Yes, I- I get you.”

“Good.” His tutor said, standing and moving opposite him; “Then, no matter what, remain exactly where you are. We will be considering your position as we do what we do.”

The Vampire holding Dragonick’s arm tossed it to the last one who grabbed it with his teeth. The leftover blood dripped down the side of his cheeks and across his clothing. He scooped it with his fingers, trying to capture the last morsels, and then he dropped the limb to the ground with satisfaction.

“Nice kill, Brian.”

The lead Vampire who had torn the limb, turned back with a chortle.

“Nice kill? He’s still alive though.”

“Yeah, Empt, you moron,” said the one with glasses, adding to the room; “I’m Kenan, by the way, since we’re conveniently announcing our names.”

“Nobody asked.” Reginald said, standing beside Gotthold; “But I’m Reginald, this is Gotthold.”

“How’s that pronounced?”

“Ah, good question, you see-.”

From Ashyer’s perspective he was unsure what had happened. He knew that his hand was resting on Dragonick to check the rise and fall of his chest and as his eyes had blinked there had been a sudden flash of pink.

The tall Vampire with glasses, Kenan, lurched backwards at the sudden action as Gotthold cleared the space. The cloaked Dentist had collided his knee against the Vampires chin, who responded by barring his teeth- but lost track of his opponent who disappeared in the swirling fabric of the cloaks fabric.

For a moment they turned to face each other and Ashyer held his breath to take the bout in. There was a notable height difference of nearly a foot, and yet the shorter Dentist more than held his own as the two traded hyper-fast blows.

The pair remained unmovable, and yet launched punches at each other with each one striking the air or being blocked and causing the air to explode with the impact.

The only difference between the living and the dead was that Gotthold would occasionally spark across his form sudden small explosions of pink fire. In those moments, he was amplified.

“He’s so fast,” Ashyer whispered to both himself and Dragonick; “I can barely see him moving…!”

Brian turned his head to the bout as Reginald raised a hand, driving the first Vampires attention towards him.

“Over here,” he said, remaining still; “The moment you glance away, you lose.”

“A bold claim,” Brian laughed, though notably didn’t avert his gaze.

It was a curious thing, Ashyer noticed in both Vampires. They didn’t blink. They had the capacity to continue glaring onwards, and somehow even Reginald in this moment resisted the urge.

A flash of silver in the battle in the centre of the room saw a silver scythe once more drawn from an inner cloak and Gotthold lunged it in a wide slashing motion. For the first time, the Vampire dodged as the blade caused his dead hair to ruffle with the force of the motion.

The sparks of pink were amplified in that moment as the scythe was swung and the ground shuddered with the pressure. Occasionally through wide attacks he would leap forward and strike at the Vampire with a kick or wide punch, and likewise his enemy would reposition with each lucky blow.

The presence of the silvery weapon and the intense speed had, momentarily, thrown him as he attempted to regain ground against the shorter Dentist. It was troubling though, for he would disappear into his cloak for a flash of a second and reappear in a new position with the scythe now coming from a different angle entirely.

He snarled, teeth snapping together, and Gotthold spun in a wild and frenzied series of attacks-

“His Magic… I can see what he’s doing…” Ashyer said to Dragonick; “It’s an act of… of evening the playing field…”

-the Vampire snarled at the pressure of silver cutting through his right shoulder and the respective limb, now disconnected, fell limply at his side. The pain was absent, but the lack of feeling was a notable problem.

Kenan jumped back to avoid a follow-up, but with no control the right arm flopped forward and was severed at the wrist.

“I get it. The magic… the Nova Pulse… it’s amazing!”

“You son of a-.” Snarled Kenan as Reginald reacted with a sudden tense of his jaw and Gotthold shifted his position, turning away from the fleeing Vampire.

Empt had appeared out of nowhere. The younger Undead, having resided on the side lines enough for one evening, jumped at Gotthold with his fangs extended and his arms and legs prepared to come down against him in a series of bestial attacks.

Ashyer moved to draw his sword, realising he could momentarily stall the Kenan Vampire, but a gesture from Reginald froze him in his tracks.

Protect your friend, he reminded himself, tensing.

A flash of pink fire and Gotthold danced through attacks with only his fabric receiving damage in the form of slashing, blade-like, fingers and snapping teeth. He flung himself backwards, using his scythe to separate himself between the two Vampires with a spin, and skidded to a halt beside Reginald.

Despite the magical amplification, he was breathing slightly heavier and yet kept his gaze focused on his enemy.

“You okay?” Reginald asked.

“I’m fine.”

 “You Dentists move well.” Brian said, flexing his fingers; “At your level of peak performance I bet you taste way better than your protégé…”

He was finally ready to move as the other two Vampires stood at his side. They, even with small injuries, seemed unconcerned about the combat that had just taken place even at its highest level. The confidence of the Undead was in the ability to keep advancing, and they certainly would have done so- if not for Gotthold stopping them in their tracks with a raise of his right hand.

“Wait, before you do anything, tell me… how long does it take for liquids to be absorbed into the body?”

“About five minutes,” Reginald answered, raising his voice; “Of which I believe it’s been about since your poor student received his injury.”

Gotthold expanded his fingers of his raised hand and pink flames erupted on the edges of his fingers, only to diminish slightly so that the heat was connected only between the thumb and middle finger. They pressed together, pressure growing, as the Vampires braced themselves with what was to come.

“Perfect,” he said.

And then he snapped his fingers.

Beside Ashyer, the body of Dragonick erupted into a flash of pink fire along with the disused arm that had was lying on the nearby ground. The heat was intense, powerful, and all encompassing as he quickly moved to the side in absolute terror that his friend had just been immolated.

Over and across the room the space where the separated arm had been torn also erupted into a powerful torrent of pink fire, with the three Vampires watching with confused expressions across their faces.

“Wait-.” Brian said, confused, as beside him Empt- who had been the last one to consume the blood of the arm- suddenly felt the edges of his mouth begin to burn.

Patting down the edges of his jaw the sizzling grew more intense and then, the remnants of now dried blood, surged and burst into a fiery explosion. The same continued through his body, with the droplets of blood he had absorbed likewise erupting and burning through the inside of his flesh.

There was no pain, but there was concern as the younger Vampire continued to pat at his face, arms, chest and wherever else he could see before his face became fully absorbed in the fire and with the other two Vampires staring, dumbfounded, as their own skin began to burn they heard Empt suddenly state with what of his mouth remained;

“Y-you would murder your own ally-?”

“You talk too much.”

The great sword swung through the Vampires skull, cleaving at the angle of the eyes and separating the top part of the skull from the rest of the body. With the oxygen, the pink fire launched upwards like an erupting volcano only to be parted in half as the great sword then swung downwards, through the brain and through the rest of the Vampires body.

Empt, the Vampire, separated in half with the flames desperately trying to keep together as the body bounced off the ground with two individual thuds.

Standing in the dead Vampires place, in possession of two arms and resting his sword over his shoulders, was Dragonick.

And his grin suggested he was about to become insufferable.

“You’re right, Ashyer. Magic is amazing!”