105: The shifting Flesh

(Jacob POV)

I looked around the lab I was standing in. 

(What the heck is all this.)

I was so engrossed in the battle that I had not paid any attention to the surroundings. It was a fatal mistake. It could as well have been my end. I specialized in assassinations. I was a good fighter but my expertise lay in assassinations, guerrilla tactics, and ambushes. I was an assassin and for an assassin, how he used his surroundings, often decided the outcome of the battle. So we were trained to immediately detect all the advantageous and disadvantageous positions in the surroundings. I had failed to do that because of my anger. I was so blinded by it that I did not pay attention to where I was fighting. 

(That was a fatal mistake. I have to make sure this never happens again.) 

I thought to myself. 

I raised my head to inspect my surroundings It was a circular room with lights on all sides. I looked and looked. As I inspected the room, my insides started to churn on what I was witnessing. I had never seen the tools that were laid there. In moments I could tell what kind of lab it was. It was something inhumane. There was a table at the side. Some kind of body was laid on the table. I could tell whatever it was, it was living at some point in time. But right now, it was nothing but a mingled-up mess. There was a pool of dried-up blood on the floor beneath the corpse. Blood? I did not know if one could call it that. It was not red anymore. It was black. Whatever experiments were done on the poor soul, it turned its blood from red to black. 

The body also was not in a great shape. From the angle I was standing at, I could not see exactly what had happened but I could tell that the torso was open and the innards were missing. There was also a pile of meat in the far corner of the lab showing the innards of not one but many victims. There was a pungent smell covering the entire area. I had not paid any mind to smell before because of the anger but now I was having a hard time breathing. 

The eyelids of the corpse were missing. Its eyes were kept open using a metallic tool that had five small arms and it was stuck inside the eye keeping it open. The other eyeball was missing completely. 

I turned my head and looked at the frozen blood on the floor. I was a vampire and dried or not, blood held attraction for us. But that blood felt something else entirely. Instead of feeling attracted, I was having a pungent feeling as I saw the blood. It had become something else entirely. It felt disgusting and the mere sight of it made me want to barf. I could tell if I ingested even a drop of that blood, it could be lethal.

I turned my head again and looked towards the girl who was now giggling like a little girl after some prank. 

"WHAT...…. Is this place?" I growled at her. Despite what I had learned moments ago, I was starting to lose all rationality due to anger once again. And there was no stopping me this time. I had some Idea where I was and asking was just a formality. 

"What is this place?" She tilted her head as she repeated the question posed by me. "it's my lab of course." She raised her hands to her shoulders and gave a spin. "It's the place where all the magic happens." She said while giggling. "It's where I ..." But she did not get to complete her sentence because I had lost myself and launched a punch at her. My fist landed straight in her face. 

*BANG*

She hit the back wall and the wall gave in to the pressure. The entire wall came crashing down and she flew into the next room. 

"Bitch." I spoke as I turned to leave the room. 

(I can't believe she was acting all high and mighty when this was all she amounted for.)

I thought as I walked towards the door to leave the room.

"hehehehehehehe." But the giggle stopped me in my tracks. 

"What?" I turned to look back. There was dust and smoke. I could not make up what was going on. But then I saw an image getting up from the rubble. I would not have been able to see anything if it were not for the Odin's eye. Even that was losing effect. I felt a sudden sharp pain in my head.

"UGH." I sat down.

(Shit! I have been using the eye too much. I am running low on magic. It's consuming way too much magic.)

With my other eye out of order I had no other choice but to use the Odin's eye continuously. 

(I wish there was an off switch.)

I stood up again, trying to manage the consumption of my mana. I looked again, the dust was starting to clear and I could see clearly. I saw as the girl stood up. There were various bruises on her body. She was bleeding from many places. And her right arm was bent at an odd angle.

Yet she giggled again. 

"hehehehehe." She laughed as she raised her hand in the air. "Oh my! What is this?" she asked as she took a look at her arm. "tch tch tch. This will not do." And then she grabbed her right arm with her left and.....

*CRUNCH*

The bones crunched as she pulled at her arm. 

"AAAAHHHH better. A lot better." She giggled again.

(IS she crazy?) 

I asked myself. No sane person could do what she had just done.

"That was not a very nice thing to do Mr.Jacob. That hurt a lot." She looked towards me.

I was not able to understand her at all. 

(I don't know what she wants or what she is but I do know one thing and that is the fact that she is weak. I can take her. I should do it with haste. Those kids must also be waiting for me.)

And with that thought, I jumped towards her again. In moments I was in front of her. She never got the chance to move as my kick made contact with her stomach. Once again she was sent back but before she could leave the premises, I grabbed her by the collar and threw her on the ground over my shoulders.

"GAH." I small scream emitted from her mouth. As I saw blood coming out of it. But I was long from being done. With a barrage of punches, I tried to end It. No sound emitted from her mouth as several punches landed on her body.

"Die already you damn..." I gritted my teeth as I continued the barrage for another minute or so. 

As I got up from her body there was no sign of movement in her. 

"Haaaaaah." I looked at my bloody fists. Her blood was spattered across the floor and all over my clothes. My vampiric side immediately urged me to lick my fists but I did not want to. I was never letting this bad blood in my system. So, I simply wiped my fists using my own shirt. 

I turned around and once again started to walk away.

"you know this is not how to treat a lady. You are not a nice guy Mr. Jaccob." 

(WHAT?)

I turned immediately and I could not believe my eyes as I saw the blood around her body was rising up. I watched in horror as I saw the blood lift her body up in the air and then the blood entered her body again. All the bones reconnected, and all the joints came back to their places. All the cuts and bruises healed in no time. 

I could not believe what I was seeing. It was not possible. We as vampires were supposed to have the highest and the strongest healing factor in the world. But what I was seeing right now, I bet even Dracula could not do it. It was almost resurrection. I had left her half dead and all her wounds just healed as if it was nothing.

"Please don't look at me like that. I am a little shy." She hid her face behind her hands as the last of her wounds healed. 

"What are you?" I asked ignoring her acting.

"What am I?" She repeated the same question. "Unfortunately, unlike you, I am but a humble human." She said after thing a bit. 

"Well no matter what you are, I am killing you right here right now," I said as I pulled back my hands and lowered my stance. I had lost quite some blood and I had come unfed here. Slowly my vampiric side was taking over my sanity. I was barely holding on. 

I jumped towards her with my daggers drawn and slashed her neck. 

*CLANG* 

"HUH?" My dagger made contact with her neck but instead of cutting, I heard a sound as if I had hit metal. 

(What?)

I was extremely confused and that was a fault that was fatal in my situation. 

In that moment of hesitation, I saw a palm in front of me. There was something written on it. And then it exploded in my face. 

"UGH." I was sent back crashing into the wall.

"tch tch tch. Don't you know it's bad manners to grab a lady's neck without permission?" I heard her say as her footsteps drew closer. I struggled to get up. Now I was the one with bruises all over my body. 

"Like hell it is. And you are no lady. What even are you? Are you even human? How did you do that." I asked her.

"Do what Mr. Jaccob" She smiled and raised her hand again. There was nothing on her hand and then right in front of my eyes, I saw a rune appear on her hand. 

(WHAT THE!!!!!!)

I immediately dove to the side. I had no knowledge of runes whatsoever, but my instincts were telling me it was not safe. And they were spot on. 

The rune shone and a bolt of light emitted from it. The wall behind me could not take the hit and a giant hole formed where I was standing.

(I would have been turned to Swiss cheese. Was that the 'Reducto' spell?)

I thought I knew what that was but how was that possible?

"Oh, you dodged that? That is sad." She spoke as she raised her hand towards me again. The same rune appeared on her hand again. I jumped to the side barely dodging the beam of light. But that was not the end of it. 

The beams followed one after the other. 

"Portigo" I shouted and I was protected by a shield. 

"OOOOOO. Nice nice." She spoke as the rune on her hand changed. "You better dodge this one." She shouted.

(Dodge it? WHY?) 

But the answer came to me itself. Every single hair on my body stood up. And I knew for whatever reason it was, I could not block the incoming attack. I released the spell and dived to the side once again. A green lightning emitted from her hand and broke the wall behind me.

(WHAT THE HELL? WAS THAT THE KILLING CURSE?)

Nothing was making sense. How was she using spells without chanting? She had no wand. And each time she did some magic, she did it using a rune.

(How I wish I had paid attention in the runes class.)

I got up and sprinted towards her. I needed to close the distance quickly. 

"Trying to come into close quarters are we?" She said as she raised her other hand as well and two new runes appeared. One on each of her hands. Both runes emitted different spells. I dodged them both and raised my daggers as I shouted. "Reducto" My blades emitted lights and two beams traveled toward her at high speed. Another rune appeared on her hand and a shield formed around her.

(TCH portigo! How is she doing that? Is that possible just by using runes? And how are those runes appearing on her body like that.)

As both my spells crashed on her shield, for a moment she was blinded due to the light. That was enough for me to escape into the shadows. If I could not beat her from the front I was going to fight from my domain. 

(Let's see If you can detect me here.)

I ran into the shadows with my eyes on her. She was confused. Searching for me but there was no possible way for her to find me. 

"Oh, Mr. Jaccob. Come out come out wherever you are." She spoke as she searched for me.

(You will never see me coming.)

I came to her backside and with a swift jump I was on top of her.

(That is the end for you)

"Mr. Jaccob where are you?" She was still saying the same thing. My blade reached her head. 

Right as I was going to pierce her, I saw something unimaginable. Her hair moved to the side and on the back of her head, out of nowhere, an eye popped out.

"WHAT THE HECK?" I was startled. 

And then something hit me straight in the chest. I was flung back once again.

"UGH," I fell on my back. But there was no time. I flipped towards the back and I was back on my feet. I raised my blades again but.

"Wait." I only had one of my blades. The other was gone. 

"Are you looking for this?" I heard her say. I looked in her direction and surely she was holding the other blade. 

"Expelliarmus... That was the Expelliarmus spell, right?" I asked her.

"Yes, you are spot on." She replied with a giggle. 

"How are you doing it?" I could not help my curiosity.

"Doing what? The runes, I am using the runes to..." she tried to explain but that was not what I was asking her.

"Not that. How are you making runes appear on your body like that? And what was that eye in the back of your head." That was a really creepy thing. I could not get it out of my head. 

"Oh, that. Hehehehe." And she giggled again. I seriously wanted to pinch her but I could not. Not right now. "It's my magic." She replied.

"WHAT? That's bull shit. There is no magic convenient enough that it would allow you to make runes appear on your body without doing anything." I snarled.

"HEHEHEHEHE. You are cute." She was so getting on my nerves. "Yes, you are right. That is not my strength. My magic simply allows me to control my tissues freely." She explained. 

"That's it?" I was flabbergasted.

"Pretty lame right." She wore a serious expression for the first time since the start of the fight. "But I had to make it useful somehow." She raised her hand In the air and I saw as her fingers transformed from being fingers to flaps then claws and then back to being fingers. "Because there is no room for losers in this world." She looked different as she talked about that. Not the deranged lady I had been fighting but..... someone sad. "So I had to figure out how I was going to be useful." She smiled again. "Hey hey hey, Mr. Jaccob.... Wanna see what I look like in reality?" She said

"What do you mean by that?" I was confused.

"This is not my real body. Let me show you." And then she started to do something. I had to take a stance in case she attacked, I had to be ready. But she did not. Instead, I saw as her flesh shifted inside out. It was a gruesome process. One that she seemed to enjoy and then after some time, I saw her standing in front of me. But her skin was completely black. 

"TADAAAA." She spoke with a ballerina pose. 

"And what is this?" I asked annoyingly. 

"Oooooo nothing much." She fidgeted with the blade she had in her hand. And then I saw as the flesh on her hand did the same thing again. It churned and turned back and forth until it was a normal color again. But not completely. Some of the black was left behind. And then the blade left her hand and in the blink of an eye, it was in front of my face.

(OH SHIT)

Reflexively I blocked the blade using my other dagger. And I was successful. The blade was deflected and it started to spin in mid-air. I reached my hand and grabbed it.

"Oh my God" What she had done had explained everything to me.

Her flesh was churning again, taking itself back to the original or unoriginal form.

"This is absurd." It was unbelievable. She was absurd. 

(I can't believe it. She colored her body black. Tattooed. And she hides that part of her flesh inside while exposing the tattooed part. Revealing a little part of the tattoo in whatever shape she wants allowed her to instantly write whatever rune she desires)

The explanation made sense but at the same time, it did not. What she was doing was almost impossible. I did not want to believe this. It required an extremely extensive knowledge of runes and an inhumane control.

"So, shall we continue Mr. Jaccob?" She giggled again.

I looked toward her and then without a moment's hesitation, I let my mana flow freely. The Odin's eye activated to its fullest again. Blood rose and swirled around me as I lowered my body and took my stance. I could not afford to hold back in this fight. I was not fighting a nobody. I had just realized that the girl I was fighting was a monstrously genius wizard.