Chapter 197: Tears of Blood

"I will call you and you will answer. Come forth. Imago."There was a shimmer of light from Griffin which brightened and stepped away from him, materializing to form an image of him.

The image solidified, becoming a real human. There were now two Griffins ready for battle.

There was a chuckle beside him and Ezra turned to see X begin to laugh.

His laughter rang out as he bent over, holding his stomach. After a moment, he stopped, standing straight.

The wall of lightning finally fizzled out into nothingness as X stepped forward, snarling. "Whatever you do, Griffin, I'll still kill you."

Griffin and his doppelganger dashed forward, Griffin going after Ezra.

Ezra stepped forward, his darkness covering him like armor. He exhaled and sent forward a yell filled with vitality disrupting waves.

"Quiet." Griffin commanded and Ezra choked, almost taking a lightning bolt to the face.

Griffin's chains shot out, wrapping around his legs. Ezra began draining the vitality as he crouched, ready for Griffin.

Griffin leapt into the air, descending with a bolt of lightning.

Ezra stepped to the side, evading the attack and swinging a giant axe at the falling count.

Griffin's chains lashed out, wrapping around the axe and yanking it to the side. Ezra yanked back, loosening the chains from the axe.

By the time he swung his axe, Griffin had already landed.

The axe met the chains, sparks flying as the two weapons clashed.

Griffin's other hand surged with lightning, and he thrust it toward Ezra, who barely managed to raise a wall of solidified darkness in time to absorb the attack.

Ezra dropped the darkness, his sword already dropping towards Griffin.

"Fall!" Griffin's voice boomed, his voice filling the chamber.

In that split second, Ezra stumbled, eyes widening in horror.

Griffin's chains snapped out, sinking through his darkness and coiling around Ezra. The command had been meant for both him and his defense.

Electricity surged through the metal links of the chain and into Ezra's body. He gritted his teeth as the pain hit him, locking his muscles in place.

"Finally." Griffin grinned as he stepped closer.

Through the haze of pain, Ezra snarled, summoning a burst of darkness, breaking the chains. It shattered into nothingness, already weakened by his draining.

Gasping, Ezra unleashed a torrent of webs, covering Griffin and sticking him to the floor.

The webs began shimmering as it drained Griffin's vitality into Ezra.

Griffin roared, lightning pouring off him and slowly melting the web.

Ezra materialized an axe, bringing it down on his head.

Griffin leaned to the side, the axe sinking into his shoulder. He roared as he twisted, breaking free. Lightning immediately erupted from his body, spreading in every direction.

Ezra dashed forward, the lightning batting into the darkness coating him before fizzing out.

Griffin rushed to meet him with a yell of fury.

They closed the distance in an instant, one wreathed in lightning and the other in darkness.

Griffin jabbed at Ezra who ducked, coming up with an uppercut. Griffin leaned backward, Ezra's fist passing a hair's breadth from his face.

Griffin's chains lashed out and Ezra batted it away before it could wrap around him.

Griffin lunged forward, aiming a powerful kick at Ezra's stomach.

Ezra blocked with his forearm, the impact reverberating through his bones. He reached out, grabbed Griffin's leg and twisted it, forcing Griffin to spin awkwardly to avoid being thrown.

Griffin used the momentum to his advantage, turning the spin into a backhanded punch that Ezra barely managed to parry.

Ezra staggered backward from the force of the blow, letting out a loud yell.

Griffin stumbled as the wave of color hit him head on. Red chains lashed out from behind him and wrapped around his neck.

Seizing the moment, Ezra surged forward with a snarl, thrusting his hand into Griffin's chest.

"Griffiiiin!" Natalia's voice rang out.

Griffin stared down at the hand sticking out of his chest in confusion.

X stepped close behind him to whisper into his ear. "See you in hell my lord."

And with that, Ezra tore his heart out.

Griffin stumbled backward, his chains falling slack. His mouth opened and closed as he grasped at the chains around his neck.

A second later, he fell to the floor, dead.

"Kneel"

A cold voice rang out and the air thickened, becoming a physical weight.

Everyone in the room sank to their knees immediately, unable to stay standing.

An Aura of rage descended upon them and Ezra found himself trembling unconsciously. The pressure was so intense that Ezra couldn't even lift his head to see what was happening.

"You dare?" The voice rang out again.

Ezra's vision blurred, the strength disappearing from his limbs. His lungs clenched, screaming at him to breathe even as his brain kept reminding him that he didn't need to.

The world echoed with the sound of footsteps as the vampire walked closer. He stopped in front of Ezra, standing there.

"You dare open the Well without my approval?" The voice whispered.

The vampire crouched, bringing his face to the edge of Ezra's vision.

Ezra stared into glowing eyes that burned with icy fury. Itachi Yaiba tilted his head, staring down at Ezra.

"What do you think will be a fitting punishment for you?"

"Spare him, my lord." A voice spoke from the side. This time, Ezra recognized it as the Arbiter.

She stepped closer to the City Lord. "He was acting on my orders."

Itachi frowned, turning slowly to look at the Arbiter. He studied her for a moment before standing.

The pressure and Aura disappeared abruptly, the occupants of the room hacking and gasping for breath.

Itachi clasped his arms behind his back, radiating an aura of authority. "Very well. His punishment is on you, Yuri."

He turned to the vampires in the chamber. "Here me, citizens."

Everyone's attention had already been on him. They watched as he slowly walked to Griffin's dead body.

"Count Griffin is dead and Griffin County is no more. A new count will be decided by me at a later date."

He gazed down at Griffin's body, his eyes cold.

"For today, I have a different announcement."

He tsked, turning to face the Arbiter.

"In light of the recent events in Southside, I will no longer leave it without a count. From today, Southside will be under the rule of its chosen count. Step forward."

The Arbiter stepped forward.

"Kneel."

She knelt.

"I strip you of your rank of Arbiter and place you over all of Southside, naming you Countess Yuri of Yuri County."

Ezra watched in shock as the City Lord nodded at her and turned back to survey the vampires.

"This is your county now, Yuri. Take care of it."

Itachi disappeared, leaving as if he had never been there.

Ezra blinked, turning to look for Olivia and Gen. He knew they were still alive as he could feel their souls through his soul bond.

"Natalia." Countess Yuri stepped forward just as the heartbroken woman rose to her feet with a snarl. "Stand down. This is not a battle you can win."

Natalia stood there, watching them with fury.

"Take the body of your beloved and leave." Yuri said. "This is my final act of mercy to you."

Natalia stepped forward, tears of blood streaming down her face.

She walked slowly until she got to Griffin. She sank to her knees, cradling his body to herself.

Her head snapped up, eyes roaming until they found Ezra.

"This is not the end." She snarled and disappeared in a flash of light.

Yuri sighed, before turning to face Ezra.

"We have a lot to discuss, don't we?"

**********

Black blood flowed on the floor, streaming out of the woman as she crawled.

She whimpered, choking on her own blood. Dragging herself away with the single limb still attached to her. Her previously pristine white uniform was now stained with grime and blood.

She began sobbing as the sound of footsteps reached her.

The figure walked closer, each step feeling like a nail in the coffin.

The peacekeeper dragged herself to the wall, sitting up and leaning tiredly against it.

The figure stopped in front of her and crouched, giggling madly.

"Please spare me! Spare me!"

"Ahhhhh." The figure sniffed in pleasure. "How I love the smell of vampire blood."

The peacekeeper kept begging until he thrusted a hand into her chest and ripped out her heart.

The figure stood, stretching for a moment before he turned and walked out of the alley.

He stopped on the dark sidewalk, turning to stare at the T-Max building in the distance.

The sound of the television from one of the apartments in the building he was standing next to.

"Up next in entertainment news, the popular girl group known as A X E have tweeted a picture that hinted at a possible move to First City. Fans have shown varying reactions, some…"

The figure chuckled, looking up at the moon, his fangs glinting in the night.

"Ezra Matten, huh?" He chuckled. "Things are definitely going to be fun."

END OF VOLUME 2: DEBTS OF BLOOD

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