My OP Minion System in the Apocalypse

Suddenly, Lest was interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind him.

***

"Do you hear the sound of fighting in the distance?"

"I think so."

Alicar and I began making our way to the source of the noise. Along with the sound of blades smashing each other, I could also hear the distinct sound of vines being cut.

"I think that's Robbie."

"You think he's alright?"

"I think I can hear the sound of his vines being cut through, that's not a good sign."

[Vampire Detected]

[Rank]: Duke; [Remaining Blood]: 86%

Crap, it's a Duke.

After a little while, the two of us turned the corner. We were met by the sight of Robbie's injured body being held up by the neck. The white-haired vampire turned and looked at us.

"Looks like you've got backup..."

He dropped Robbie onto the ground.

Alicar and I raised our weapons in preparation for the upcoming fight. This was not going to be an easy one, this was the first ever time I'd be fighting face-to-face with a Duke-ranked vampire.

Suddenly, the vampire quickly turned and dashed towards us. Alicar stood in front to block the attacks, however, he was quickly overwhelmed. I stepped in and swung [Mayuri-Luc-Ei], trying to land a hit on the vampire. His movements were incredibly swift and efficient, it felt as if we'd never be able to break through.

Both of us were forced to quickly jump back as he launched a shockwave of air towards us.

"Ah~ what a hassle, I wanted to go check on Fuola as well."

All of a sudden, he was forced to swing his sword, knocking down a wave of arrows that came from the sky.

As I turned to look, I noticed that Elanor was holding a larger bow than normal, grabbing five arrows at a time.

"Eh... not more humans."

Alicar rushed in and attacked the vampire with a barrage of swings. The Duke managed to easily block them, however, he was forced to take a few steps back in order to avoid another wave of arrows.

Both Alicar and I began engaging him head on. The vampire managed to block both of our attacks, but it was obvious that even the Duke was starting to struggle. After swings upon swings, we were forcing him further and further back. As we constantly swung our blades at him, he was unable to effectively retaliate.

Every few moments, he would be forced to retreat further as a wave of arrows rained upon his head. Still, we were unable to deal any damage to him.

[Rank]: Duke; [Remaining Blood]: 86%

Cut him down, Mayuri.

I launched a shockwave of air towards him as he was busy avoiding the arrows from above. It seemed that he didn't think much of my attack, opting to take it in order to give himself some breathing room. However, what he didn't realise was that he wouldn't be able to regenerate the wounds I gave him.

As the attack crashed into his body, several cuts formed around his clothing and in his skin.

Alicar was still frantically fighting him, which caused him to not realise what had just happened. After retreating back a little further, it seemed he finally noticed the blood that was dripping down his body.

"Hold on... why am I not regenerating?"

Using a wide swing to force Alicar back, he created some space between us. He wiped some of the blood off of his clothes as he tried to comprehend what was happening. Suddenly, it seemed that he managed to figure it out.

He looked directly into my eyes.

"I see, you've got some sort of ability that makes it so I can't regenerate. Well, that's a little bit of a pain~"

Realising that I was the threat, he charged straight at me. Elanor sent another barrage of arrows down at him but it seemed that he didn't care. The arrows stabbed straight into his body but he was still dashing towards me.

Oh no.

I raised my sword in an attempt to block some of his attacks, however, he was determined to cut me down. I felt a sharp pain in my chest as I saw a red blur fly across my body. Alicar managed to get back and put some pressure on the vampire as I wrapped my healing bandage around the wound. Even against Alicar's swordsmanship, the vampire was still distinctly interested in me.

My wound was quickly healing up, however, I didn't have time to dwell on it. Alicar was knocked out of the way once again and the vampire was making a break straight towards me. Considering that he'd be trying really hard to avoid my strikes, my best tactic would be to attack him as much as possible.

Instead of assuming a defensive posture, I leaned forwards slightly and prepared to strike him. The moment he was in reach of my blade, I swung. He suddenly ducked his head, completely evading my attack. My blade hit nothing but air.

Crap. He must have seen that coming.

I was too exposed to try to defend myself now. Instead, I tried to raise my knee and smack him in the chest, however, it seemed that he was already prepared. I ended up smashing my knee into the hilt of his sword.

As fast as I could, I brought my sword closer to myself and swung downwards, trying to catch any part of his body in the swing. But he easily sidestepped and avoided the swing. He was much too close for me to try anything more.

The vampire raised his sword.

Suddenly, I felt an impact on my shoulder. Before I knew it, I was falling to the ground.

However, there was no blood.

I looked up and saw that Robbie had pushed me out of the way.

Alicar quickly rushed in and engaged the vampire, causing him to have to divert his attention once again.

I escaped by the skin of my teeth.