Point-of-View: Fuo Wesroh

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"We really should hurry along, at this rate we will not make it to the rendezvous point within thirty hours, we are not even halfway there yet," Nagged Atticus from inside my head.

Tch, shut up! I'll do what I want, I'm not going to listen to you!

"How long are you going to sulk over losing to Eighty-Seven? And might I add that I was the one in control during that fight, therefore it was my loss, not yours. So if anything, I should be the one who is upset, not you."

You lost with my body, so it's all the same! Now, just shut up and tell me where the nearest Vampire is, it's been fifteen hours and all you've done is lie to me!

"Yes, perhaps I should not have tricked you into heading for the rendezvous point instead of helping you find a Vampire to fight, but...our priority is not hunting down Vampires, it is to get to that church! My ability to sense Vampires will be crucial for the next stage, can you not understand that!?"

I said, shut up! Fine, how about this...either you tell me where the nearest Vampire is, or I'll deactivate this barrier and start yelling to draw them out, how about that, huh!?

"Must you be so difficult? Very well, I shall direct you to the nearest Vampire...but after you finish fighting it, use Skate to rush along forward, more than half the time we had has been used up, and we have covered less than half the distance. Is your lust for power so great that you cannot think rationally, Fuo?"

How many times must I say it...shut...up!

I did understand that I was probably being a bit unreasonable, but I couldn't help it...I just felt so frustrated. Even with the Vampire powers I received, I'm still too weak...

I understand the facts of the matter, that Vampire Eighty-Seven was incredibly powerful, and I would likely have fared well against the Vampire Minions and Vampire Generals, I might have been able to hold my own against a Vampire Knight as well...but I didn't fight any of them, so I didn't know that for sure...I only experienced defeat during that battle, so just once, for the sake of my own confidence...I wanted to feel victory.

It's been so long since I won a real fight, not counting mindless monsters. Actually, have I ever really won a fight that was actually worth winning? I don't count one-sided victories, since in those cases, my opponents were too weak for it to be called a 'fight'. When I was still a student and referred to collectively with those others as the 'Big Five', I defeated Siert in the Brawl of Glory, that was the most notable victory I could think of...and beyond that, nothing came to mind at all.

I know how serious the current situation is, I really do...but I can't help being selfish, I want to taste victory, at least a couple of times before I reach the rendezvous point, then maybe I can quell this frustration, even if just a little bit-.

"I see, so that is how you felt all this time. You have never expressed it in your thoughts so clearly before, usually your mind is just an incoherent babble of phrases like 'need to get stronger', 'damn it, why am I so weak', and-."

H-huh? Wait, hold on...you can hear all my thoughts? Not just the ones I direct at you when I want to address you?

"Oh, I assumed you already knew...I did say that I could feel everything that you feel, did I not? Feelings and thoughts are two sides of the same coin, so naturally-."

There's a-absolutely nothing natural about this! You've been listening to my thoughts all this time!? Like, that time when I...

"Yes, I remember that."

And that other time I was thinking about...

"Ah, that one was quite amusing, I recall it quite well."

Wh-what about the time when...

"...that one made me feel a little...awkward, but I am sure all humans have similar thoughts, so it is nothing to be ashamed of-."

AHHHHHHHH!!!! Atticus, y-you...you pervert, peeping-tom, sick freak, eavesdropping piece of sh-!

"Hey, I do not deserve such harsh words! I cannot control it, you know...when you have thoughts, I inadvertently hear them with no option to avoid it. Even when you are asleep, I hear your fleeting incoherent thoughts. If anything, I am the victim here, I can almost never have silence!"

Wait, if you can hear my thoughts, why can't I hear your thoughts?

"You cannot? Oh...I just assumed that you could. Hm, good question...and to answer your question...I have no idea why."

What do you mean, you have no idea-!?

"Stop, what are we doing!? We have wasted enough time as it is, this is no time to argue over such trivial matters!"

Grr, so you're saying my thoughts are just trivial!?

"...please stop trying to prolong the argument just because you do not want to admit that I made a good point...I can hear your thoughts, remember? Can we get back on track? I will direct you to two Vampires if and when I sense any in relatively close proximity, but I will not direct you to any that will take us far off course, agreed?"

Fine, I guess that's reasonable enough. Alright, then take over and head towards the nearest Vampire, I'll take back control once we reach it.

"Very well."

Damn it, now I can't stop thinking about the fact that he can hear all my thoughts...he's hearing these thoughts right now, he's literally hearing my thoughts about him hearing my thoughts, I don't like this!

"I apologize, but the situation is out of my control, I do not know what you expect me to do here..."

Time for a different approach...I'll stop thinking, no one can read my thoughts if there's nothing there to read! Clear my thoughts...my mind is empty...just a blank slate...that's it-...okay, this isn't working. Grr, this is harder than I thought. Forget this, I'll try something else...oh, what if I think of a completely boring topic that I won't mind anyone reading my thoughts about?

How about, uh...let's see...cheese? Yeah, sure, whatever, that works. Okay, cheese is yellow, sometimes orange, and uh...I like cheese, I guess. Especially when it's warm and melty, on a fresh slice of bread...oh, and it goes well with spicy food too.

Mm, there was that meat and cheese bun from that bakery near my house...it's so good, the savory and spicy flavor of the meat that's enhanced by the warm, half-melted cheese-...okay, I think this is working, but...I feel really hungry all of a sudden.

"Look, I found a Vampire, over there!" Atticus informed me, his tone sounding relieved.

...hey, why do you sound so happy?

"Because your random and erratic thoughts are driving me crazy."

Oh. Well, it's your fault for not telling me that you could read my thoughts sooner!

"Yes, I regret that now, even though it is not my fault since I thought you already knew."

Whatever, I'm going to fight that Vampire now, so it doesn't matter anymore.

I walked up to the Vampire, who was looking around at the houses in the area with a gleam in her eye. Whatever she's planning, it doesn't matter, because I'm about to fight her now. I swiftly entered Vampire Mode while simultaneously deactivating my Stealth barrier and activating the other one.

"Huh, what the-!? Who are you!? Where did you come from!?" Exclaimed the Vampire in alarm, springing away and firing a Blood Magic blast at me, which I easily evaded.

I must defeat her before my current time limit of thirty-five seconds is used up. I unfolded the bow attached to my right arm and formed a red ice arrow, firing it at her. She narrowly dodged it before zipping towards me, firing a barrage of red blasts at me.

I avoided them with relative ease, before forming a sword of red ice and swinging it across as she slashed her claws at me, deflecting her strike but my blade cracking a bit. I swung it down at her as hard as I could, she sprang back but let out a cry of pain as I cut off her right arm at around the shoulder, my blade shattering as I did.

I then fired another couple of arrows at her, she dodged one but the other went through her midsection, as she coughed out blood. She let out a fierce growl of anger, before suddenly, her arm that I cut off floated up and shot towards me, the claws pointed at me. I formed another red ice blade and swung it straight up at her arm, slicing it in half along the length of the arm.

"Her Cross appears to be the ability to control her severed limbs, but in the meantime, she cannot regenerate that limb-."

No, stop! Don't help me, I want to win this on my own!

"Are you seriou-...okay, fine."

As the two halves of her arm fell onto the ground, she clicked her tongue in disdain and began regenerating her arm...looks like she won't be controlling that severed arm anymore. She then shot towards me with a fierce roar, swinging her claws and the edge of her tail at me as she closed it.

She's so...her speed is...her speed is not a problem at all. She's so slow. I can see her movements, and I feel like I have more than enough time to react to them. She's nothing to me. I stretched out the fingers on my right hand out straight, before coating them in red ice with a jagged tip, driving it straight towards her as I evaded her slashes effortlessly, using my tail to deeply slash her wrists without cutting them off completely.

My ice-coated hand plunged into her chest with ease, she let out a gasp of pain as blood poured down her mouth. Time to end this. Before she could do anything, I stretched out my fingers inside her chest and began extending out large shards of ice, the first one going straight up and through her head...significant damage to the brain can immobilize a Vampire. Better hurry, I've used up about twenty seconds in this form already.

Fortunately, I struck her core before long, with ten seconds to spare in this form. The instant she went up in red flames, I clenched my fist as a feeling of triumph enveloped me...I did it. It was only a Vampire Minion, but I didn't even break a sweat, it wasn't even a contest...I won with ease.

I beat a Vampire, and it was completely one-sided. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders...I still wanted to get stronger, but I think I can be more rational about it now...I finally had real proof that I had gotten stronger...

"Hm, I am happy for you, Fuo. Your mind is a lot less erratic now, and the tension in your muscles and joints have also eased significantly. Consequently, it is a lot more peaceful for me now, as well."

Wha-!? Hey, you scared me, I forgot you were there for a second.

"Huh? I am always here, so I do not understand how you could simply forget. Now, then, as we discussed..."

Yeah, I know, head for the rendezvous point, right? You know what, you take over and get us there. I'll sit back, relax and savor this feeling for now.

"I suppose I do not mind, but when you put it that way, I feel somewhat reluctant. Very well, then, give me control."

Sure, it's all yours.

Great, I'll bask in this current feeling and let him do all the work, it'll feel like I'm relaxing. In situations like this, it certainly was convenient to have someone to switch out with.

"...you do realize I can still hear you, right?"

Whatever, I don't care anymore. Now, come on, get going...we don't have much time left, and there's still a fair bit of ground to cover.

"And whose fault is th-!? Hm, now I am the one getting worked up...perhaps some of your negative influences are starting to rub off on me."

Like I said...I don't care anymore...

...

...

About fourteen hours later, we were finally in sight of the church. We had checked the time in one of the mansions we passed by, that was about five minutes ago, I'd say. At that point, the time had been a bit past 11:30 PM, and since this started yesterday at around 6 PM, we had just barely made it with maybe about twenty minutes to spare.

"And whose fault is that?"

Okay, new rule...don't respond to my thoughts unless I'm directly addressing you through them. Seriously, just...don't say anything when I'm just thinking to myself, I don't think that's something I can ever get used to.

"If you say so...now, then, let us go in."

He walked towards the entrance of the church, before going in through it. Alright, great job, I'll take over from here. I took back control of my body and looked around...most of the others were already here. I had made it with barely any time to spare...my body felt a bit tired...I suppose that means that I won't have much of any time to rest before the next phase begins...

"Again...whose fault is that?"

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