My Horny Stepmom Turns Me into Her Vampire Slave-Chapter 29: The will to die with honor

"So, Azuralis, what happened to all that swagger? Don’t tell me you’re already out of energy. What a disappointment..." Isabelle mocks.

The sword she created to replace the previous one is even bigger and heavier than the one Rudeor broke. And yet, her speed doesn’t suffer in the slightest.

"Me, out of energy? Don’t talk bullshit, damned vampire!"

Rudeor counters with a violent punch, knocking aside Isabelle’s slash. Sparks burst as his knuckles crash against the edge of her blade.

The situation has completely reversed — now he’s the one on the defensive.

Isabelle brings down another fast, powerful vertical slash, but Rudeor intercepts it, catching the blade between his hands.

He tightens his grip, trying to shatter it as well, but only manages to crack it slightly.

Isabelle pours even more strength into the strike. The blade slips from his grasp and continues downward, cutting into his chest and down to his abdomen.

The lead coating covering his body prevents him from being split open, but the force of the blow hurls him backward.

He bounces across the shattered asphalt, then crashes into a car, smashing through the doors and straight through it.

Rudeor forces himself back to his feet, wounded not in body, but in pride.

The lead coating did its job — he came out of that lethal blow unharmed. But now he doesn’t have a single drop of mana left to sustain it.

It begins to flake away piece by piece, leaving his skin completely exposed.

And for the first time in his life, Rudeor feels fear.

T-This woman... she can’t be an ordinary mortal. No god would ever allow something like this to exist! A vampire with two hearts? Who’s ever heard of something like that?! I’m giving it everything I’ve got, and yet she doesn’t seem affected at all. I must’ve injured her at least a dozen times, and her wounds just keep healing over and over! It’s like her energy is endless! This is absurd... this is fucking absurd!

The fears making Rudeor tremble are not far from reality.

Having two hearts that can regenerate each other when damaged isn’t the only advantage of Isabelle’s unique physiology.

The heart produces and stores Sanguis energy, and Isabelle uses the second as a reserve.

When the first heart runs dry, she lets it rest and draws from the second. In the meantime, the first recharges.

Her mana isn’t infinite, but thanks to this, she can fight at full strength far longer than almost anyone else.

Alternatively, she can draw from both hearts at once for even greater power.

But that’s something she only uses when necessary — and this isn’t one of those times.

Rudeor raises his fists, trembling from fatigue and despair.

M-My father was right... I should never have gone against her. D-Damn... I don’t have even a drop of mana left. This is the end...

But in a moment of clarity, the words he told Alexander that morning flash through his mind.

"When you face those creatures, you won’t be able to tell them, ’Sorry, I ran out of mana. Can we continue the fight in a few hours?’"

What the hell got into me? I’m not like the cowards in my house! There’s no way I’m trembling like some scared brat! If my time has truly come, then I’ll die fighting!

Rudeor suddenly stops trembling, and an expression of unshakable determination settles on his face.

He clenches his fists and drops to one knee, ready for one last, desperate assault.

"Enough."

Isabelle’s words freeze him in place.

"W-What the fuck do you mean ’enough’? I’m not defeated yet! Face me, Platinum Death!"

"Stop. You can barely stand. I don’t fight someone who can’t fight back."

"I won’t accept a vampire’s pity!"

"I’m not offering pity, but a dignified death. You can keep fighting and suffer for nothing, until your body is torn to pieces and devoured by stray dogs — though I doubt someone as proud as you would want such an end. Or you can let me grant you a quick, painless death — one that leaves your body mostly intact, so you can receive a burial worthy of the fighter you are. The choice is yours."

Rudeor stares at her in stunned silence for a few moments, incredulous at her words.

"Would you really do that for an enemy?"

"Enemy or not, it doesn’t matter to me when I face someone as strong as you. When I was a general of the Scarlet Army, I faced many incredibly skilled and powerful opponents. What I just offered you is the same thing I offered each of them before killing them. You could call it a kind of medal of valor — a sign of my respect. And if it makes you feel any better, you’re the first I’ve granted this to since I settled on Earth. Thanks to the information gathered by the succubus I sent to follow you, I know exactly where your base is. I’ll personally deliver your remains to your father and mother tonight."

"I suppose earning the respect of the Platinum Death is something to be proud of... even if it’s a poor consolation..."

Rudeor gives a faint, resigned smile, then spreads his arms and closes his eyes in surrender.

"...go on, do what you must."

The tip of Isabelle’s enormous blood sword sizzles against the asphalt as it slowly approaches him, as if giving him a few more seconds to think of his loved ones one last time.

At last, they stand face to face — their eyes locked on each other.

And yet, there is no fear or resentment in his eyes, only respect — almost admiration.

Emotions he never thought he could feel for a vampire — and they draw one last faint smile from him.

Isabelle raises the sword.

"It was an honor to fight you, Platinum Death. I hope to face you again when we meet in the Realm of the Dead. Though I imagine I’ll have to wait a long time for that moment."

She simply nods, then lets the heavy scarlet sword fall on him.