Blood magic, the magic of sanguine vampiris, also known as "vampires".
The art of blood magic is one shrouded in mystery. It is a racially exclusive school of magic whose fundamentals vampires grasp subconsciously through an innate intuition, much like spirit magic is for fairies. As a vampire's understanding is based on feeling and instinct rather than concrete theory, trying to teach the art to a none-vampire would be like trying to describe colour to a blind man, making it very difficult for anyone who is not a vampire to utilize blood magic for themselves.
Of course, that is not to say one absolutely have to be a vampire to learn blood magic, after all, fairies may have a much greater control over the art, but cultivators of nascent soul and above still have access to spirit magic, so it stands to reason that it might be possible for others to emulate blood magic. In fact, there is actually an example of this embedded within the very biology of dragonewts as a means of familial recognition. However, unlike the widely accepted orthodox school of spirit magic, blood magic, due to its associations, both with vampires and the macabre utilization of blood, have mostly been outlawed and categorized as black magic.
Additionally, due to a number of factors, vampires have been, barring some recent exceptions such as the purple palace lord, practically extinct on the three martial continents for the last 1000 years, meaning the creatures closest to the art itself have been driven into long forgotten myth and legend, further slowing down research into the art. In the current age, the understanding of most none-vampire blood magicians is very shallow, usually limited to only some of the more convenient of the most basic vampire abilities, like DNA-tests or blood-based tracking methods.
However, there is one exception to this.
*Squelch*
Many years ago, on the magic continent, the chaotic, turbulent land on which the culture of ancient vampires have been able to persist if only barely.
*Splash*
One lone human girl, driven by desperation and desire, with nothing to go on but vague descriptions and a few practical examples.
*Boom**Sizzle*
Unravelled the school of blood magic, comprehending all its greatest secrets and profundities better than the vampires who pioneered it.
*Roar*
Regeneration, blood manipulation, body transformation, physical enhancements, blood rays, and so on. What many do not seem to realize is that the true potential of blood magic does not end with some paternity test, nor some simple tracking method or trivial blood curse, for the true power the heights of blood magic holds is no less than the immortals themselves.
"WHY WON'T YOU DIE ALREADY?!" Mei screamed, unleashing three darkness energy slash attacks towards the inverted blood dragon down below.
However, mirroring her move, her foe sent out a row of crimson red energy slashes, a practical application of what's known as a "Blood Ray", or in this case, a "Blood Ray Slash". Blood ray is a type of energy blast created when compressing large amounts of energy-rich blood in a very particular way, creating a chain reaction that results in a crimson red energy beam. The power of this attack and its output depending on the quality and quantity of the blood used, and as a certain masked blood-dealing magician can confirm, there is no blood richer in energy than the joke of god.
*Swish**SWISH*
*Boom**Boom**Swish**SWISH*
*Boom*
As the attacks of blood and darkness collided, the blood ray slashes cut straight through the darkness, hitting the dark earth immortal dragonewt straight on, however, weakened by the devouring darkness, two out of the three did not even leave a mark on the immortal's body, but, …
*Squelch*
When the slash attacks collided, one pair of darkness and blood slashes had missed each other, resulting in the inverted dragon being sliced in half, and a large wound, gushing with darkness, being left on the dragon form Yin Mei.
"Ugh!"
"…!"
Of course, if someone were to see this scene without context, most might assume that Mei got the better end of this stick, seeing as her opponent was split in two, but …
*Splash**Squelch*
In mere moments after being split apart, the blood from Nox's bisected body shot out, latching on to the remains of her body, pulling it back together before her enhanced regeneration quickly closed up the wound, meanwhile, Mei's injury was showing no signs of closing up. While Mei's attacks deal more damage, her opponent's recovery methods are so absurd that unless she can completely destroy her opponent's body in one go, any damage delt gets immediately cancelled out. Meanwhile, though Nox's attacks deal less damage due to Mei's sturdier body, Mei can't recover from them as easily.
"JUST DIE!!!" Mei shouted before unleashing her dragon's breath.
*Roar*
*Squelch*
*Swoosh*
Barely avoiding a direct hit, at the cost of her tail, Nox flapped her wings as she quickly closed the distance between them before saying.
"You first!" as she pointed her glowing red talon towards Mei, attempting a point-blank blood ray.
However, before she could, Mei unleashed a mass of dark qi to create a barrier between the two, blocking the crimson laser shooting forth from Nox's palm.
*Bang*
*Sizzle*
*BOOM*
Once Nox's blood ray ended, having dug halfway through the wall of darkness, Mei converted the remaining qi of her barrier for an attack, creating a corrosive shockwave, pushing her foe back while damaging her body. Unfortunately, …
*Click**Snap*
The damage from her attack was healed in mere seconds. Bones were snapped back into place, spilled blood flowed back into their veins, and flesh regenerated at a visible speed. Even her destroyed tail has already been replaced with a new one.
"WHY WON'T YOU STAY DEAD!!!" Mei screamed, frustrated at the undying draconic monstrosity.
"Sorry for not dying at your convenience! It is just so hard to die when my murderer keeps running away like a coward!" Nox replied, becoming a bit more talkative.
"What did you say?!" Mei said rage filling her eyes.
"What? You deaf now too? I SAID YOU'RE ACTING LIKE A COWARD!" Nox said, raising her voice.
"How DARE YOU?!" Mei screamed in outrage.
On paper, the most advantageous way for Mei to have approached Nox would have been to face her at close range. Being an earth immortal, she is physically superior to Nox on most fronts, and the close proximity would make it easier to land a direct hit. Meanwhile, thanks to the extreme mana physique, Nox actually has the edge in energy reserves, her aura fire and blood rays can overpower or counter Mei's long ranged attacks, and the distance gives Nox enough leeway to avoid taking more damage than her body can recover from. However, paradoxically, Mei has frantically tried to keep her distance from her opponent, meanwhile, Nox have been fervently trying to close it, or at least that was the case up until now.
"What? You called me a coward when I ran, so why can't I when you do it?"
"I WILL END YOU!!!" Mei screamed as she nosedived towards Nox, black energy bursting from her body.
*Swoosh*
The reason Mei had kept her distance from Nox was not one based on logic. She had been shaken by her little brush with death that time Nox tried to restrain her and unleash a point-blank breath attack, furthermore, Nox's relentless attempts to close the distance only further intimidated her. However, in spite of her instincts signalling danger alarms, Mei's fury at Nox's taunting paired with the frustration from being unable to kill her foe pushed those concerns to the back of her mind, a decision she would regret almost immediately.
"Gotcha!" Nox said, unfurling the inside of her wings towards Mei, revealing the two big and complex spell circles carved on to the leather.
In any battle, the worst thing one can do is let oneself play into their opponent's hand, as Mei just did. Nox had clearly been plotting something by trying to draw her into close quarters, and, even if not consciously, on some level Mei had picked up on this, but for the sake of her own pride, she had charged headfirst in all the same, and now there is nothing she can do. With her current situation, she won't be able to dodge or block the attack in time. So far, Nox has mostly been limiting herself to firing blood rays from her talons and aura breaths from her mouth specifically for this moment. By limiting herself in such a specific way, she caused Mei to hyper fixate on her claws and mouth for any telltale signs of an incoming attack, so she could catch her off guard with the ace hidden in her wings. With her current momentum being too great for her to turn away, and the distance being too short for her to be able to deploy any adequate defence in time, there is no way for Mei to avoid a direct hit from this attack.
*BOOM**BOOM*
From Nox's wings two gigantic lasers of incredible might shot out in Mei's direction.
*Sizzle**Sizzle*
When the attack ended, Nox's wings had two gaping holes in them where the spell circles had been, and Mei was nowhere in sight.
"*Sigh* Fuck!" Nox muttered after realizing.
*BANG**Swoosh**BANG**Crash*
Out of nowhere, an elderly man suddenly appeared standing on her snout, Mei slumped over his shoulder, and in the next moment, Nox was hit by a violent force that sent her plummeting down towards the ground, only for the old man to beat her to it as he kicked her in the side before she could land, sending her flying through a row of trees.
*Cough**Cough**Splash*
"Hm? It is still alive?" The old man muttered as he saw Nox stand back up on all fours, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.
"That she is! Now, who the fuck are you?" Nox asked, glaring at this new variable.