When Max approached Astor, he swiped with his claws, but completely missed. Astor’s physical capabilities were exceptional. He moved about with speed the eye could not detect in short bursts. It was as if he was disappearing and reappearing at will. Max was left in the dust, and Astor slashed the werewolf with his nails more times than one could count in the blink of an eye. The werewolf roared in great pain, and started running after Astor at full speed. When he caught up to him, he was not able to inflict too much damage. Max had strategically forced Astor into a corner, but as soon as he grabbed my friend, Astor dissolved into a cloud of mist! He then whisked around Max, rematerializing behind him. The Lusonians jumped out of their seats and rushed to the front of the stands to get a closer look at the magic that was taking place, and so did I.

As I slowly rose to my feet, I moved in closer to watch the battle. Max could not believe what was happening, either, and he looked lost and enraged at the same time. He continued to fight with great violence and aggression, but Astor was simply too much. Then, when Max realized he could not try to fight Astor in close, he decided to use leaping attacks, like Victoria Raven did. However, Astor was able to jump through the air faster. He caught Max mid-flight, spun him around, and sent him crashing into the dirt. The impact was massive and caused a loud boom, lifting dirt throughout the space. Alas, Max could not rule the air, either. This was when we all noticed another thing which dropped our jaws. Astor had not descended back to the ground yet. He was flying!

The vampire prince was floating above Max, and the sight of what appeared to be a demigod caused Max to grow desperate. He jumped back up into the air at Astor, but my friend flew in towards Max with lightning speed and intercepted him, ramming him into the ground one more time. Then, Astor fired rapid punches down on Max, beating his werewolf body into submission. The noise of the impacts rang throughout the night sky, and it was evident Max’s superior werewolf frame was not holding up well. Nevertheless, Astor continued to punch his enemy. He also mixed in claw attacks with his nails, slicing open the alpha wolf. Blood shot into the air, and dampened the arena floor all around them. Max’s end was finally at hand. Yet, Astor did not kill him.

Just when everyone believed Astor was going to rip Max to pieces, the vampire prince stopped. The look on his face was vengeful, but he was reigning himself back in. He showed mercy. It was another act of nobility and honor from the vampire prince, when the same had not been given to him since we were discovered in the woods.

I began walking out to the center of the arena, and as I did, Astor turned to me and approached. I greeted him with a wincing smile as my pain was still great, and I asked what the hell happened to him. I expected him to recover, but I did not expect for Astor to become an entirely different vampire. He began explaining that he was not entirely sure, as he had never taken that form in his life. Even before being exiled and when he was regularly consuming aima, he never looked or felt that way, and he certainly never had the new capabilities he did. It appeared we were both amazed, but as he was about to delve into his theory on what happened, another werewolf from Max’s crew leapt into the arena to ambush Astor!

The werewolf transformed in mid-air, and when his paws hit the ground, he immediately launched himself at us. I reached forward and grabbed Astor to pull him out of the way, as his back was turned, and he could not see the enemy coming. However, before I could move my friend, the werewolf was knocked from the air, and thrown powerfully into the ground. I looked all around to see what it was that caused our assailant to fall, but saw nothing and no one. Astor then turned and looked at the ground. He was staring at his shadow that was cast from the torch lights, and then he turned back to me. He said his shadow must have attacked the wolf, as soon as he felt it approaching from behind. The look on my face had to be priceless, for I did not believe a thing he said. That is when Astor muttered three words: Rathegalia blood power.

I asked him what that was, and he informed me there was a legend that a few of his ancestors had special abilities, vampire powers if you will, that only a very select few were blessed with. They were said to be able to fly, temporarily transform into mist or other creatures, move at blinding speeds in very short bursts, or use their shadow to do things such as attack, defend themselves, or blend into darkness. Astor’s shadow had defended him as a subconscious reaction to sensing danger.

However, Astor was puzzled as to how he was able to unlock the Rathegalia blood power, when neither his father, nor any of his known family had done so when they were alive. I was at a loss and told him I could offer no help, as all of it was brand new to me. Yet, after a moment, I thought about it, and an idea entered my mind. Most of Astor’s ancestors and family did not drink blood. They only drank aima, whereas his most distant ancestors did drink blood. I theorized that it was a combination of the fact he drank my blood, which was infused with hyper-serums, and that unlocked the Rathegalia blood power within him, along with Astor being unique, and having the power within him to unlock in the first place. He nodded his head in agreement, as the theory made sense to him as well.

Amidst our discussion, we remembered we were still standing in the middle of the arena, next to a battered and crushed Max, and a fallen member of his crew. We also realized the entire arena of Lusonians was staring at us. They were not hostile, though, and they were not seeking revenge. They simply stood and sat in the stands with their jaws dropped, blank stares on their faces. The roller coaster of emotions they went through had to have been a great one. At first they were bloodthirsty, and filled with hate for Astor. Then they witnessed some of  their best werewolf warriors fall to us in combat. After which they came to respect Astor for his valor and honor in the arena. Next, we all thought we saw him die, twice, which was just before I was on the brink of being killed by Max. Culminating all of this, too, was an inexplicable metamorphosis by Astor into a being unlike anything any of us had ever seen before, including the vampire prince himself. And the expressions on their faces said it all. Nevertheless, I told Astor it was probably a good idea if we left, and Astor agreed. So, with that, we gathered our things, exited the arena, and headed back into the woods towards Castle Rathegalia…

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