Approaching the First Battle

Meanwhile, Supido and Heat ran through the forest.

"Heat, I'm going to have to leave you behind from here on." Supido transported out of sight.

"What a guy. Monkey mode, activated."

Heat shut his eyes and focused. His arms transformed into snakes. He stretched them to a tree branch and pulled, launching himself into the air. Continuing with the same motion, he started to swing like a monkey in a jungle, as he sped across the forest.

After a while, his arms felt tired.

"Oh crap!"

Those were the words from Heat's mouth as he began his twenty-meter journey down to the forest floor. He rubbed his buttocks as he stood back up and saw an amen standing there—he had arrived.

That fall would've wounded him a few weeks ago; Heat could tell he was more durable.

"Heat, Supido asked me to direct you to Shishio's office," he said and placed his palm on Heat's forehead.

Heat reappeared in Shishio's office.

"You are on time," Shishio said.

He stood up and turned to face his window.

"So, what's up?"

"Have a seat. According to Supido, an amaroq is following you; you will have to find out what he wants. I believe he is a particular amen who used to work for us. If that is true, then his acquaintance, a vampire is also with him."

"I thought amaroqs and vampires were not supposed to uhm, click. At least according Supido's account of events."

"You are right, but these two are an exception, they grew up together. Listen carefully, Supido has told you a lot on amaroqs already so I would cover the vampire aspect of the story.

"Wow, that guy's fast," Heat said to himself.

"No one knows how the vampires came about, except the vampires themselves. Their society has existed since the times of the Garden. Some people claim it precedes that, but I doubt it."

"I'm sorry, the Garden?"

"Of Eden."

"Oh right, my bad."

"What I know for sure is that vampires dislike brightness and are rarely seen. They are extremely intelligent; one of the most advanced supernatural societies but not in science and technology—just supernatural arts."

"Why do they drink blood?"

"Does this look like a lecture on folklore?" Shishio asked rhetorically.

"Oh, okay, I see. Am I supposed to call more people here for it to officially become a lecture?" Heat asked. Shishio looked at him sternly for a few seconds. "Of course, you know I'm kidding right?" Heat said with a grin when he saw the look on Shishio's face.

"Heat Fury! Your mission is to find out what those two are up to and report here. Fight, only where there is dire necessity. And remember, just like amaroqs detest other amen, vampires do because they were called abominations of nature."

"Who's my partner for this mission?"

"Make use of your training for now—it's a solo."

A mixed expression of joy and worry planted on Heat's face.

"Solo eh? Against an amaroq and Vampire? I'd better hurry to get home on time."

Heat got out of Shishio's office. As he was walking, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Supido? I thought you were already gone."

"No, I had to finish some work. Come on, I need to tell you something." Supido walked with him into a room.

****

After his meeting with Supido, Heat appeared in front of a tree with his hand on its trunk.

"Wow, so Ur-tir'ak is connected to every part of the forest."

With that, he set off on his first mission.

As he was walking, he started to speak to himself, "Okay, a vampire shouldn't be able to stand in the sunlight and since it's not full moon yet, I believe I can engage the wolfy in a battle, finish him off and do something about vampy; most likely using the sun."

He walked for some time and when he arrived at a particular location, he stopped. He looked around and the whole place seemed normal, just like every other part of the forest.

"I'm pretty sure this is the location that Supido gave me. It looks like it's outside the town borders."

****

"Ooooh, what do we have over here? Smells like amen, snake amen. Hehehe," Heat heard a voice from among the trees.

Using ground reception, he detected the person from behind.

"Come out, I know you are there," he said, pointing in the direction.

"Just as expected, a snake amen can detect my presence through the ground. Let's try something else, am I a vampire or an amaroq?"

"Vampires don't like daytime; you are an amaroq."

The man appeared behind Heat and whispered to Heat, "Very wrong."

He swung his arm at Heat, who dodged and moved back.

"This doesn't add up, vampires shouldn't be in the sun and how are you able to use transportation?"

Heat got a closer look at his opponent. He was Japanese with short, messy red hair. A well-built youth dressed as a rascal, basically the kind of person a parent would not be happy to have, probably a high school dropout. Heat sized up his opponent features but could not tell exactly what to expect from him.

"Don't be stupid, transportation is a general technique used for speed. It seems like you were not well informed."

The man folded his sleeves and showed Heat a round tattoo on his right arm.

"I possess a daylight ring so I can remain active during daytime. The name is Akami."

Heat looked around, if he was to fight against an opponent he knew nothing about, he would need something that could definitely play to his advantage. He spotted an open, rocky space to his right. Without hesitation, he sprinted towards that place.

"Running away or looking for a place to fight? I hope it's the latter." Akami followed him closely behind.