Requiem Of A Failed Hero



The gym hall was silent. Only the sound of Absalom and Curtis's blows could be heard. Sometimes as Jr whistled through the air, many times as it battered his face and stomach. 

Absalom was far leading in hit points but Curtis refused to give up. Every time he got up, a wide smile spread across Absalom's face. All he just wanted to do was break him. 

It reminded him of when they were training with Raith under Volmak, he would beat the shit out of Raith all in the name of training. 

Only to come to earth and discover that the bastard was a stronger hunter. 

After the fight in Therut, Absalom saw a lot of changes to his abilities. Although his skills were sealed back the moment he came to earth and he had to spend close to a month in the hospital, healing. The fight with the damned angel gave him a scope of experience that he never would have gotten somewhere. 

And his body had gotten better, his feet felt lighter and his speed had increased. For a vampire his size, his speed had always been what he was proud of. 

Each vampire when born is always blessed with a gift. Almost equal to origin skill of the demons. Both origin skill or gift, Absalom had known, all he knew was his cursed blood. It was one of the reasons why he was unaccepted by his brothers. 

His vampire brothers saw him as a failure, his Demon brothers saw him as a stain. He spent all of his life alone, at least until he met the stupid human and came to earth and also met several people. 

Absalom was particularly grateful to Kortopi for his growth. He would repeatedly ask Raith to summon the damn death soldier and fight over and over again. He would be defeated over and over again because Kortopi's resilience was nothing like he had ever seen. 

His speed was crazy. 

He had seen other Raith's soldiers fight (Although not the new ones such as Crimson, Antares, and Rogue). And he always says Kortopi has the best potential out of all of them. 

His mind trailed back to the present as Curtis lunged forward. Despite being distracted for a second or two, Absalom calmly stepped aside, letting Curtis sail past him. It was as if he had anticipated. 

"You move quite well for a human..." Absalom commented, his voice dripping with mockery. A nasty smirk besmirched his face, "But you are still a novice compared to me." 

It was evident he just come here to bully them. 

Frustration and excitement coursed through Curtis's veins at the same time. He wanted to win at all costs. Not because of his dignity or anything, for the past twenty-six years of his life, he had spent it hating on his brother because of his father's wishes. 

Now that his father wasn't here, he wanted to be a big brother to Raith. But how can he be a big brother to someone so strong, which is why he desired growth more than anything? 

His awakening two days ago was the greatest thing that could have ever happened to him but he couldn't bring out the power after that. This was what this training was supposed to help him do. 

But the red-haired guy was enjoying this way too much to care about anything. 

With a swift turn, he faced Absalom. 

Absalom darted forward, Curtis countered with a feigned jab, hoping to deceive Absalom, but it was his greatest mistake in this battle. 

Absalom's hand slipped right through his feign and grabbed his face, smashing it to the ground and dragging it forward on the floor. He picked him back up and raised him. 

Pow 

Pow 

Pow 

After three punches to the belly, Curtis was still trying to get away from Absalom's grip but it was too hard. 

"Will you give up now, or we can keep going all day." 

Curtis did not say anything but held Absalom's hand tightly and tried to break free from his grip on his face. 

His mind screamed with frustration, pain, and annoyance. He just wanted to beat the shit out of Absalom and prove to himself that he can become stronger than he ever was. 

But Absalom giggled at his effortless struggle. 

"You will not give up, then this will become even more enjoyable" 

Curtis landed a glancing blow on Absalom's face but it had no effect, the power mustered in the punch was nothing. 

Grinning at the irritating effort, Absalom abandoned Curtis's face before he fell on the ground, Absalom arced a ferocious kick to his midsection, sending him reeling backward over his head. 

The impact was brutal, Curtis gasped for breath while writhing in pain on the floor and vomiting blood. 

At this point Absalom should have known to stop but no. He closed the distance with a whirlwind of strikes and Curtis barely had time to parry the attacks. The sheer force of Absalom's strike made chills run through his spine, it was as though he was brawling with the cold hands of death. 

Curtis's mind raced, seeking an opening, a weakness to exploit. But Absalom's movements were too fluid, too unpredictable. It was like trying to catch the wind. 

Absalom was fast, too fast, and his movement was hard to follow. Oftentimes he would just disappear from Curtis's view and the next he would be seen was with a mad blow to his side or his face or gut. His punches also carried power, it was as if his organs were being pulverized from the inside but by a force from the outside. 

Curtis staggered back, there was nothing more he could do. He gritted his teeth in frustration, even if it was just one single blow. One blow that would change the whole game. He desperately desired it. 

Absalom breezed over to his front as usual and aimed a punch at his face. Desperation surged through Curtis as he scrunched his eyes and mustered himself for a last effort. 

He sidestepped to allow Absalom's punch to sail past him but belatedly realized that Absalom had always found a way to predict him. 

And even now he was grinning as Curtis was sidestepping. Curtis suddenly shifted back to his initial portion, it was a fast movement that caught Absalom by surprise. 

Absalom tried to stop himself who had already executed his next launch at Curtis towards the left where he had sidestepped but now he was back to the right which meant that Absalom was headed for space with Curtis in front of him. 

For a single moment, he was completely fooled by Curtis. But that wasn't just the end. 

Bowwwww!! 

Even Curtis wasn't expecting to see it again like this.

As he pivoted his hand to corner a punch into Absalom's side, a burst of blue flames lunged his hand forward turning it to a blur as he delivered a devastating blow to Absalom's flank. 

For a fleeting moment, time seemed to stand still. The impact of Curtis's blow reverberated through Absalom's body, and a flicker of surprise crossed his face. 

Absalom staggering a few steps backward could still not wash away the surprise on his face. While Curtis looked at his burning hand with eyes of hope. Blue flames danced on them effortlessly. 

It was beautiful and did not hurt. It exploded with even more force when he awakened, burning the tent he was in. Compared to that time this time was little but he was happy. Now, he just had to figure out how–

Wham!! 

Absalom's blow pierced through the wind, and in an instant, they threatened to shatter Curtis's head, his red eyes burned with a ferocious red flame. 

A hair's breadth away from destroying Curtis's head, a hand caught Absalom's punch.