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A Hero Tale {Complete}

Dacer stopped short of Jeff's attack, and watched as the sniper-shot curved around and collided with Jenso's omega saw. Upon contact, the spinning disk fluttered to a stop, and spread outwards harmlessly in a display of white flames that singed Jenso's hands. Two thick cuts were now lining the center of the hero's palms, but Dacer had something else to deal with himself. As the ground burst up, he jumped upwards, and away from the eruption as quickly he could. Dacer landed nearby, forced to hop from right to left, landing on his feet each and every time as he flipped through the air. It became clear to him that the bottoms of his paw-like feet were burned, as each bounding leap sent a small shock through his soles.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Jeff's spheres were absolutely decimated by the waved of Ki, having no impact on their velocity or composition. Liekwise, the flame saw that fell from the skies was far too fast to notice and react to in time. Jeff's sniper shot missed, but Jenso's Ki coated hands were just barely able to catch it successfully. The saw ground against his hands, piercing through his layer of Ki slightly, and cutting his palms. Of course, the sheer force of the attack prevent Jenso from moving, keeping him pinning down, lest he wanted it to strike him directly. Fortunately, Jeff was able to evade Dacer's attack with ease, but the cat-like Gaian was now on the move towards the pinned-down golden hero, reeling his claws back as he bounded forwards, in an attempt to slice him apart.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Dacer grunted at Jenso's comments and slapped his tail against the ground. "You don't know anything about what happened in Thoris. And, despite whatever the hell you want to believe about my old man, you don't know a thing about him," He hissed, "He's a coward. He didn't even try to fight. All he did was argue and bicker with Master seiner about Ada, all he did was disregard grandfather's warnings. He saw it coming long before anyone else did, before the murders. I saw it too. I saw it, and I knew she was trouble. But he sat there and let her mingle with our people so innocently, chyea! Look what fucking happens when a dumbass old man lets his guard down." Dacer eyed the sky again for the briefest of moments, and flicked his tail downwards sharply. "He could have fought, even in the end when grandfather Seiner was forced to kill everyone- My friends, my teacher, and even my apprentice. All Lark did was cower in his own guilt. He let her live, too. He stepped away from her, after smashing that stupid little display of hers with his own one with Gaia abilities. That's why Ada won, even when surrounded by hundreds of people with access to our sacred blessings. That's why my old man was cut off from Gaia. You're just the same, too much of a goddamn pussy to follow through with anything. All you'll do, even if you get up to big red and scary, even if you do manage to defeat him, is cower. You'll cower, and cower, standing over his defeated body, too terrified to turn him into a bloody fucking corpse, at the expense of the entire universe." Dacer spit on the ground and lashed his tail downwards yet again. "So, no, you can take all of your bullshit and shove it right back up your ass. You don't know a fucking thing about my old man. It's ironic, really, because you're just fucking like him. Just the same, a stain on my people's dying will, and I intend to thoroughly erase you from Gaia's record, you little cocksucker." Dacer's tail slammed against the ground again, and from above, a disk of flaming Ki began to plummet. It had left the planet's atmosphere, now falling towards Jenso at terminal velocity from above like a spinning disk-like comet. A sneak attack of epic proportions, using Jenso's own ability against him. Was Dacer Just stalling? It didn't matter anymore. The fully powered Gaian warrior turned to Jeff and launched a series of Ki-slashes towards him with his claws, one after the other, while jumping in between each with carefully placed bounding hops, so that he could flank the wind-sage.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

~ Chapter 178 ~

_{Ki Overhaul, Dacer's Secret Technique}

Dacer glared at Jeff and Jenso, whipping his tail. His eyes peered up for a moment, before coming back down to watch the two heroes carefully. "Where's Pij, Jenso?" Dacer mocked, "Why not bring her out? I know she's in there. I know that my stupid old man performed Gaia's rites on you." Dacer lashed his tail back and forth, flexing both claws inwards, and then outwards. "Bring her out!"

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Vale continued forwards, trembling as he reached the archway of the tower's main entrance. With both hands, he grabbed the side of the rocky doorway and pulled himself past it, into the inner sanctum of the tower's ground floor. As soon as he could, he settled himself down next to the only other door in the room, sitting with his legs splayed outwards. His injuries had clotted by now, but he felt weak. Reaching into his cloak, he pulled one last vial out, and held it carelessly between his legs, eyeing the red ooze inside.

"What am I doing..."

---

~ End Of Chapter 177 ~

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Vale didn't falter, and followed through, grasping as Alvios' face and holding it steady, lining up his eyes so that they were looking directly into his. Vale's smile widened, even as shards of Ki tore through his body and embedded themself in his chest. One shard caught his eye, but the other continued to glow brilliantly.

"He assured me of his gaze," Vale gasped as blood began to leave his body once again, "He promised me, glaring at me with those beady red eyes of his, he promised! 'Visual abilities like mine', that's what he said!" Vale focused intently on Alvios, glaring deeper and deeper as if his one remaining eye peered into the man's soul. Vale's smile drooped, and his grasp slowly weakened. Nothing happened. His head spun towards the other side of the battlefield, and he tightened his grip around Alvios' maw once again, as blood poured from every hole that Alvios' shards had made. Nothing happened. His grasp fell loose as he caught something in the distance, and Vale dropped his blade, stumbling back away from Alvios. Nothing happened. "Bah.. Ha..." Vale's body trembled, as he stepped backwards. His head perked up as if he'd just remembered something, and he reached into his coat. But his hand shook. It wouldn't stay steady. He pulled another vile from his cloak, accidentally dropping five or six more onto the ground. They shattered, spilling the blood onto the ground as he popped the cap off the last vile. But his grip loosened too much. It slipped from his hand, and he took another step back. His eyes darted towards Alvios, and in one sudden movement, he tore off his mask, revealing a white tattoo beneath his left eye, before darting off towards the tower's entrance in a full retreat, stumbling and tripping over his own feet while barely managing to keep his body upright.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

The blood trickled down his throat quickly, and in only a few moments, his flesh bubbled and popped, sealing itself quickly, and repairing any damage that had been done. His natural reflex's took control, despite the shards of energy piercing the outer layers of his back, digging at least an inch into his flesh. He shrugged it off, leaning forward only slightly. The vampire looked down, smiled, and sprouted forward, bounding into a leap with his black blade held overhead, and extended to its usual length. He slammed down hard against Alvios' blade, attempting to swat it away with as much power as he could muster, before thrusting his free hand towards the light bringer's face in an attempt to grab it from beneath the nose. By then, his tongue had fully repaired itself, long before the bubbling flesh at the center of his abdomen had settled.

"Enlighten me!" He shouted, his voice raspy and withered.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Vale reeled back as the length of his tongue was shredded, blood beginning to run down the back of his throat, his own blood. He staggered, loosely gripping his sword with one hand. A gurgled chorus of laughter began to bubble past his injuries as he regained his balance, staring intently into Alvios' eyes as best he could manage. One hand reached shakily into the inner pocket of his cloak, and he pulled out a vile of red liquid, struggling to keep from dropping it. With the tip of his thumb, the cork lid that sealed it was popped out, and in a frantic motion, the vampire poured its contents into his mouth, sucking on it desperately, all while keeping his flickering eyes locked with Alvios'.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Vale's smile deflated. He pulled himself away from the Ki, tearing his dagger with him as he pushed up with his feet. A hop and a flip later, he stood crouched over with a hole in his lower abdomen, big enough to shove two arms through without much resistance. Vale glanced down at his blood drenched Dagger, following the streams of yellow liquid that mixed with the crimson hue of the light-fuelled life source. The injury around his stomach had already sealed itself, scabs clinging to the bone and edges of his flesh. Vale looked back at Alvios and carefully licked between the streams of poison, taking in spoonfuls of the blood that clung to his poisonous dagger.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Vale's smile narrowed and his eyelid fell into an expression flooded with sinister overtones. Vale took Alvios' blade, embedding his own dagger into its target relentlessly. Both fighters stood still for a moment, but Alvios could hear a faint whisper leave the lips of his opponent as he pulled away slowly.

"I Win"

Blood seeped out of Vale's torso and down his inner thigh at an alarming rate. The bleeding slowed to a halt rather quickly, and the tip of Vale's dagger began to erupt with yellow paralytic poison, moments after impact. The vampire clasped his black blade, shrinking it down to the size of a short-sword. With a bloody retch, he swung it towards Alvios from his side, while fully impaled on the scion's Ki blade himself.