Lying is not a Good Move

Alisa moved with even greater speed, leaping backwards out of the way of the attack and landing in a patch of grass by the roadside. The man continued his assault, repeatedly swinging at her as she gracefully hopped out of the way.

“Ray! Get back!” She yelled, planting a kick onto the man’s stomach and sending him flying into the water.

“Dammit!” I cursed, rushing toward her and drawing the brass knuckle I kept in my school jacket.

The man emerged from the water. His body had changed, barely keeping human shape, his lower body elongated into a serpent’s tail, while his head morphed into an insect's. His two arms transformed into razor sharp blades, like a praying mantis’s claws.

“A Roa demon?! On Ender?” I question as the creature flew towards us.

Alisa reacted, kicking me hard in the ribs and sending me flying backwards right as the creature smashed between us. She danced away, narrowly escaping a slash as it cut into the fabric of her blouse, drawing a thin layer of blood. She winced in pain, clutching the crimson wound with her hand.

“She devil…Abomination…. Kill… Must KILL!!” The Roa demon roared as it attacked once more.

Royal vampires were the most powerful breed of vampires. They were unimaginably fast, unbearably strong, and unbelievably resilient. Even as a half-vampire, Alisa carried these traits. Dodging the demon’s attacks was relatively easy for her. However, she lacked one thing. Combat training. Alisa was essentially raised as a normal human girl. She had never picked up a weapon, let alone practiced with one. In fact, she’d never gotten into a fight over anything. She was woefully inexperienced, and it showed. Her eyes were filled with panic. One wrong move, and she’d get skewered.

“Alisa!” I yelled, recovering, readying my brass knuckle.

“Ray! Run! You can’t fight this thing! You’re only human!” She screamed, trying to hide her own distress as she leapt over a road barrier, dodging another attack.

Alisa suddenly tripped over a rock, falling backwards onto a pile of gravel.

“She devil…” The Demon laughed, its insect head looming over her.

Tears welled up in the girl’s eyes as she let out a terrified scream.

“Hey.” I flash stepped, appearing between the two of them in a second.

I punched, sending the Roa demon into the nearby mountain wall, a shower of purple blood squirting from its body as it crashed into with a thud. The demon fell forward, coughing purple blood as it fell to the ground below. I strolled up to it, readying my brass knuckle. The creature leapt at me, only to meet my follow up uppercut. This sent the demon flying upwards. Another flash step and a downward punch sent it flying into the gravel with a shower of dust and rock.

“She…Devil….Hunter…” The broken figure of the demon rasped as I stood over it.

One punch was all it took, its head exploding in a viscera of flesh and purple blood.

“Alisa, you alright?” I asked, offering her a hand.

“Eh?” She whimpered, tears streaming down her face.

The Ender Island Security Force showed up about fifteen minutes later. The sun had already set, and the street lights had kicked on. Alisa sat by the roadside. I draped her in my blazer jacket, which hung lazily across her shoulders. A medic who specialized in demi-human medicine was treating the cut on her side.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, approaching Alisa after her cut was treated.

“What was that?” She stared at me with astonishment, her red eyes wide.

“Uh… that was…” I scratched my head in embarrassment.

“You were sloppy, Vanderstark.” A woman approached us.

She was dressed in a business suit, accompanied with a pair of tall black heels. Already I could tell she was a vampire. Her red eyes practically glowed in the darkness, and her fangs, much longer than Alisa’s, peeked through her crimson lipstick as she spoke.

“Emma…” Alisa muttered. “Wait.," she turned to me. “Vanderstark? I thought your last name was Kovac?”

“It’s my dad’s last name. My mom is Vanderstark.” I admitted.

“You’re a vampire hunter!” She leapt to her feet as she yelled, my blazer jacket slipping off her and onto the ground.

“Our princess almost died because of you. I expected more from the legendary Vanderstark clan.” The vampire woman, Emma, clicked her tongue.

“So all that stuff about wanting to be my servant was just so that you could be my bodyguard?” Alisa shivered, her eyes filling with anger and tears. “You lied to me?”

“I didn’t lie.” I muttered. “I just didn’t tell you the truth.”

I saw the slap coming. It would have been easy for me to dodge. I let it hit anyway.

“Let’s go home, Emma.” She turned away from me. I could tell she was crying.

“Very well, my lady.” Emma glared at me as she pushed past, grabbing Alisa by the shoulders and leading her to a waiting car.

That did not go very well for me. I stood there, dumb founded, caressing my swollen cheek.