"Bloodsucker! Come! Fight with me!" The guy was massive, even for a demon, his shoulders like slabs of stone and his fists wrapped in spiked iron bands. The crowd nearby erupted with cheers, a circle forming around Damon and Mark almost instantly.
Not so surprisingly, the surrounding demons howled in excitement. Bets were already being shouted, crude coins and trinkets being exchanged.
"Ten bone chips on the brute!"
"Twenty coppers on the bloodsucker!"
"Heh, heāll be meat before the next mugās emptied!"
The brute stomped the ground, dust flying up around his bare feet. "You walk our streets with your crimson eyes, looking down on us? Show me if vampire blood is worth anything, or crawl away like the leech you are!"
Damon only calmly smiled. "Remember, when in Rome..." He gave a small nod to Mark, who silently stepped back, mingling with the crowd.
The brute snarled, slamming his fists together with a sound like stone colliding. Sparks of demonic aura burst around him, wild and unrestrained. The crowd howled their approval, chanting for blood.
Damon still only smiled. "I am ready when you are." The bruteās aura surged hotter. The crowd roared again, chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!"
The brute lunged first, his massive fist swinging like a hammer meant to cave in Damonās skull. The ground cracked under the sheer force of the blow, dust exploding outward. The crowd roared, some already jeering, "Bloodsuckerās done for!"
But Damon wasnāt there. Heād slipped a step sideways, almost lazily. His crimson eyes flashed. In the same breath, his hand shot out, fingers curling like a blade. A sharp crack rang as his strike drove into the bruteās ribs, one precise hit, perfectly timed.
The demonās roar choked into a cough. He staggered, mouth open, but before he could recover, Damonās knee came up, slamming into his jaw with brutal speed. The giant brute toppled backward, crashing into the dirt with a thunderous thud that silenced the entire crowd for a beat.
Damon didnāt even glance down. He simply dusted his hands. "Thatās all?"
The crowd erupted into wild howls, half in outrage, half in awe. Bets flew through the air, curses mixed with cheers, and already more demons were shoving closer, eager for the next fight. Another demon stepped forward and this oneās aura was a lot stronger.
He cracked his neck, baring jagged teeth in a grin. Unlike the first one, his movements werenāt wild. "Impressive. But now try someone who actually knows how to fight."
"I have time for one more." Damon looked indifferent. Vampires had always been proud and aloof and he did not have any problems playing the part.
The demon snorted. He stepped forward, stomping the ground, but unlike the first one his energy didnāt burst outward wildly. Instead, it coiled around him tightly, a disciplined killing aura that made the nearby demons shiver.
"Youāre not dealing with a drunken idiot this time, bloodsucker. Iāve killed vampires before." His grin widened, exposing teeth filed into points. "Iāll enjoy adding you to the list."
The crowd roared again, the chant resuming, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" But it was as if everyone already knew the result of the fight.
"I am going to taste vampire meat today."
"Dibs on the fuckerās blood!"
"Break his bones!" someone bellowed.
"Rip his fangs out and wear āem on a necklace!" shouted another.
"Twenty more on the demon! The bloodsucker wonāt last a breath!"
The demon grinned and then made the first move. He exploded forward with a speed that didnāt match his size. His fists swung like warhammers, every strike heavy enough to shatter stone. The packed dirt floor cracked under the weight of his charge, dust spraying into the air as the crowd roared in approval.
"Crush him!"
"Turn that leech into paste!"
Damon still remained calm. The opponent was stronger this time, a level 120 demon and even an elite one at that, exhibiting power beyond his level but at the end of the day... he was simply not strong enough.
Damon tilted his head, letting the first blow rush past his cheek, close enough that he felt the wind. His crimson eyes gleamed, calm, calculating. The bruteās second punch came faster, sharper, but Damon twisted his body, stepping inside the strike. His palm met the demonās chest in a sharp, precise jab.
The air shuddered with the impact. The demonās grin faltered as the force drove into him. Damonās claws dug into his chest, bypassing the thick hide as if it were paper. The demonās disciplined aura snapped.
The brute staggered, eyes bulging in shock. Blood bubbled at his lips, his teeth still bared in that arrogant grin but trembling now with disbelief. He tried to swing again, his iron-wrapped fist cutting through the air in desperation, but Damon caught it effortlessly with his free hand.
His claws tightened around the demonās chest, a low cracking sound echoing across the circle. Gasps erupted from the crowd.
"Impossible! He broke through his aura!"
"No way! Gringa is level 120!!"
"Rip him apart, bloodsucker!" someone else shrieked, switching sides now that the fightās tide was clear.
Damon leaned in close, crimson eyes burning. "You said youāve killed vampires before," he murmured. "Then you shouldāve known, never let one touch your heart." With that, his claws pierced deeper, rending through flesh and bone.
The demon screamed once, a bloodcurdling, tearing sound, before Damon ripped his hand free. A gush of blood sprayed out as the brute collapsed to his knees, then face-first into the dirt, his aura snuffed out in an instant.
Blood energy seeped from the corpse, all shooting towards Damon who calmly smiled. "Whoās next?"
The crowd exploded.
"This bloodsucker is insanely powerful!"
"Shit! Is this guy a noble vampire?"
"Brongay, why donāt you fight him next?"
"Fuck you! Why donāt you fight him?"
Damon was just like that quickly forgotten as the demon named Brongay and another demon started brawling with each other.
***
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