Signum Malum

[Alain the Carnedge]

This was a lot longer than I originally thought it would be, but whatever. Alain is out of the Nexus.

Glad I decided to drive, walking would've driven me insane. Alain welcomed the change of standing to riding a bike. It was something to keep his attention on, and his travel distance was already significantly further than he would've been walking. His only problem was that his bike seemed to be locked at 80MPH and never went over, though it was only a minor complaint, he'd take riding a Go-Kart over walking. While abandoning the first group, or mocking them as he left, might not have been the best idea, he wasn't too concerned about it, they were way behind him at this point, and besides... .Having people around me would be helpful or possibly lead to my doom, someone might antagonize the wrong person, or get themselves into a difficult situation which would bring everyone around them down, most notably, me. I'll get some more information at my arrival spot, assuming the residents aren't hostile-Oh, speak of the devil.

He slowed down for a split second before recognizing the fresh blood on the approaching figure's tattered clothes, and while he couldn't see fangs, he already assumed they were a Vampire. Alain went back to max speed immediately, Sresveltr appearing in his right hand in a brief flash of red, the bloodsucker having very little time to contemplate his un-life choices before the bike and it's red rider drove right past, edge of the blade going straight for his throat. The vampire's scream of terror was the only sound before the connection, cut short by the blade severing the head from the body, the disembodied head spinning in the air a few times before hitting the ground. Alain drove on with the blade still in hand now that he was aware of the hostile presence. The group had mentioned that there were vampires in the Sale Doors or whatever it was called, so they weren't totally useless after all. Other bloodseekers were standing near what appeared to be the gate, and he considered for a mere second, should he just drive in and leave them be? Nah, that's no fun.

He grinned psychotically as he jumped off the Suzuki, which hit one of the vampires and stopped just outside the gate. He lunged at the nearest bloodsucker, who froze in fear as it pierced their heart. Oh, they're just novices who think they're tough. Disappointing. Novices are easily panicked, so this shouldn't take long. Alain kicked the vampire off Sresveltr, which appeared as a scythe in another red flash. The vampires overcame their fears and ran at him all at once in an attempt to overcome his power with numbers. His left arm turned completely black, as did part of the Nexus's "ground". A blue shield appeared around him as the humanoid leeches attacked, their weak strikes barely doing a thing against the barrier, the pool of darkness now igniting in dark flame. They scattered, some catching fire and running away trying to put the flames out, the others quickly burning to death, turning to dust in their desperation attack. Alain dispelled the barrier and attacked those who remained, their fear making them pathetic in close-quarters. All that remained was a lot of vampiric dust and one who didn't charge him at all. Shield, chestplate, pale skin, red eyes, all that nice stuff. Probably their leading leech. Alain approached the lone bloodsucker, dragging the scythe's blade across the ground as he walked, though no sound was made. "So, having fun there?" The vampire hissed at him and drew their blade. "You have merely fought the lowest type of vampires, mortal. Those who have just turned are fools and cowards. Those inside the Pale Moors shall soon know our Lord's, Dracula's wrath. However.." The vampire held out his hand and Alain didn't care enough to stop him. He can pull whatever tricks he likes. He won't win regardless.

A small flash of light and what looked vaguely like a walkie-talkie and a really small phone appeared in his hand. "I'm not really a social guy." Hell's he trying to pull? The Vampire shot him a withering glance. "Quiet. Anyway, you have defeated the ones who were just turned, and I wish to have a fair fight with you, so let's make a bet. This is a Communicator and a Dataverse Device..." The two devices levitated in his hand. "Defeat me, and you get these for your own use. Do we have a deal?" Alain grinned, and the vampire knew his answer before his mouth has opened. "Alright, deal." The vampire carefully put the devices near the gate to the Moors before turning around and lunging in a vain attempt to draw first blood. Sresveltr appeared as a sword again, and Alain sidestepped, hacking at the Bloodsucker's head. They barely blocked using their blade, making an attempt at a shield bash, but Alain backstepped, ran forward in a low position, using the length of his blade to his advantage, and, while it didn't hit skin, it almost pierced their armor and went straight through their abdomen. The Vampire ditched his blade and attacked using his claws and shield, relying on pure savagery. Alain didn't have much time to weigh his options, the bloodsucker's relentless assault kept him on the defensive until the leech got an opening and tore apart the left arm of his cloak, stabbing into the "flesh" under. What was underneath barely resembled flesh, as it was almost completely black, save for the glowing purple scars. The Vampire's sudden realisation that his opponent wasn't just some "mere" human had made them panic for a split second, and Alain took the opening, adrenaline overriding the pain. He attacked in a frenzy, the sudden onslaught throwing the vampire off enough that he could only defend, the blade leaving gigantic gashes in his shield. He stabbed through the leech's only safeguard and the arm behind it, the vampire's screech of agony letting him know he struck true. The vampire charged with what was left of his shield in a desperate last stand. Alain tore Sresveltr out of the vampire's devastated guard as he was knocked through the air, doing a handspring to land on his feet. The Vampire picked up his sword, one more flash and Alain was holding the scythe. The two combatants sprinted at each other with intent to kill, the vampire stabbing as Alain used his scythe to pole-vault over them, flipping and slashing downwards so the blade went into the back of the leech's neck, and tearing through his throat. Alain landed behind them, running up to the dying undead and pulling out the blade in his throat without remorse, beginning to walk toward his prizes without another word.

"You..." Alain turned around as his weapon disappeared, to the sight of the vampire coughing blood and laughing. "Maybe you should consider joining us, all those in the Pale Moors not under my lord's control shall be exterminated soon enough..." Alain ignored him and kept walking to the unwelcome sound of the vampire choking on his own blood until he expired, the vampiric dust flying back into the gate where it came from. Alain picked up the devices and put them in his pocket, wincing at the pain now that his adrenaline rush faded. He straightened his bike up before using some of his Omnilium to create bandages, which he wrapped around his arm so that any normal human being wasn't immediately hostile to him. Until his life-force had settled enough that his cloak could repair itself, he wasn't going to look all that stylish. He also created some headphones and, with some creativity, managed to make them in such a way that he could "install" the communicator and Dataverse Device into it so that if he touched the left headphone, it gave him a microphone to speak into, if he touched the right, it created a holographic screen to do stuff on. Messageboards, emails, bounties? I'm gonna have fun with this. Alain grinned as he got back on the bike and rode into the gate to the Pale Moors, exhilarated at the idea of something different from the blank slate he was on before. Don't think I'm gonna miss it for a while...