Chapter 497: Vampiric Strength

Charlie and the oni samurai clashed blade against blade, her armor wreathed in fire and ash. Every movement was focused, disciplined, her sword colliding with the katana in a blur of sparks. When a heavy strike forced her to brace and hold her ground, Luke swept in from the side, his daggers coated in corrosive acid as he carved across the oni’s armor.

The creature roared.

Three spear-wielding onis rushed in to assist. Luke spun, activating Demonic Blade Dance, his movements sharp and relentless.

“You’re not helping him,” he said, finishing the spin as all three heads flew free. He followed through, hurling a kukri into an archer.

Another throwing knife left his hand, launched by [Telekinetic Impulse], striking an oni who had been lining up a strike on Charlie.

The samurai charged at Luke, katana burning, each breath leaving a wave of heat in the air. Luke caught a returning kukri mid-motion and drove it into the oni’s back as they traded blows.

“You’ll need more than that, human!” the samurai bellowed.

Charlie leapt in front of Luke, her sword shifting into a shield as she blocked the next strike, stopping the oni cold. Luke darted to the side, his kukris carving into the armor before he slammed one blade up beneath the jaw. Acid splashed across one of the tusks, hissing as it burned.

“How about now?”

The samurai roared and lunged again.

“Now, Master Luke!” Charlie called.

A spectral chain lashed out, dragging another oni toward her. She touched it.

[Mark of Doom activated]

She spun, hurling the marked oni straight into the charging samurai. Luke’s knife flew.

[You have slain Oni Soldier – Lvl 48]

Charlie triggered the mark.

[Doom Explosion activated]

The corpse detonated on impact. She grabbed more foes with the chain, tossing bodies like weapons while Luke bombarded them with cursed, telekinetically-driven knives. One after another, they exploded into bursts of gore and smoke.

**Your second class [Witch] has reached Level 25!**

[You have unlocked a Class Skill]

The samurai pressed forward through the flames, his entire body burning crimson.

Luke and Charlie vaulted onto a nearby rooftop just as a wave of fire burst outward beneath them. More onis leapt toward the roof, and Charlie cleaved through anything that came within reach.

The samurai jumped up after them, his katana meeting Charlie’s blade again and again while arrows whistled through the air.

“Outer beings…” one of the onis muttered as a pair moved in on Luke.

“Yes. Outsiders. They know nothing,” another replied.

Luke watched through Angie’s eyes, then hurled a cluster of knives. They arced out of sight and came down across the street, skewering archers hiding behind rubble.

“Oh yes. Creatures trapped in a cage,” an oni went on. “So small. They don’t understand where they are.”

“I agree. They know nothing. They don’t know what this place is… or what happens here.”

“Shut up,” Luke snapped, dropping down between them and driving both kukris through their skulls.

**[You have reached Level 62! Half-Demon (Rank E)] (+2 bonus point to all attributes, +5 free point)**

They collapsed, lifeless. Luke turned just in time to see Charlie still locked in a furious sword exchange with the samurai. He sent more knives flying, [Telekinetic Impulse] igniting each cast, but the weaker blades shattered against the oni’s armor.

“It’s useless, human filth!” the samurai roared.

Luke seized the kukris still hovering around him and sent them flying, flooding them with acid power. The blades struck the oni’s back, one of them sinking in deep. He closed the distance in a heartbeat and kicked the handle, driving the weapon even further into flesh.

The oni roared.

“Not enough?” Luke smirked and slipped past the next strike.

The creature leapt into the air and spun, a flaming whirlwind ready to tear him apart.

[Spectral Chain activated]

Charlie’s chain snapped around him and, with a hard swing, flung Luke out of the oni’s path just as the samurai crashed down. The monster landed atop a rooftop. Luke hurled throwing knives mid-air.

[Telekinetic Impulse activated]

The blades smashed into the tiles around the oni, shattering the roof and sending the creature crashing through.

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[Twin Meteor Fists activated]

Charlie unleashed two blazing fists of fire that slammed into the building and exploded. Luke followed up with shadow orbs, blasting into the wreckage.

He landed on another rooftop and sprinted, weaving past arrows and spears streaking toward him. With [Demonic Predator Hands], he gripped the side of a tower and climbed in a blur. At the top, he grabbed an oni by the face. Acid burned through flesh as the creature screamed, and Luke crushed its skull.

[You have slain an Oni Archer – Lvl 35]

The house where the samurai oni had fallen collapsed entirely. The creature emerged from the smoke, armor shattered in places but still very far from beaten. Its red, tusked grin looked downright demonic.

In a blur of motion, it dashed straight for Charlie. Her spectral barrier flared, then shattered instantly.

Luke grabbed the fallen archer’s bow, slipped it into the dimensional space inside his haori, and vaulted to another tower, decapitating the next archer in one swift motion. He kept moving across rooftops, cutting down every oni in his path.

Two sword-wielding oni leapt at him. Luke spun, his blades tracing a tight arc across their necks.

“Don’t get in my way.” He flicked a kukri straight into the face of another oni mid-jump, dropping it out of the air.

[You have slain an Oni Guard – Lvl 78]

**Your class [Demonic Predator] has reached Level 65!**

[You have unlocked a Class Skill]

Too bad I can’t check that right now.

He reached for his holster, conjuring fresh throwing knives, then let loose in a rapid-fire rhythm, drawing and casting and boosting each shot telekinetically.

The oni took hit after hit while Charlie pressed the assault. Luke targeted the face, the chest, every weak point in the armor already cracked open by their earlier blows. With a shout, Charlie charged, sword raised and one fist glowing with [Steel Fist]. The oni’s blade crashed against hers, and in the same instant she drove her punch into its helmet with such force that the creature reeled.