My Three Vampire Queens In The Apocalypse-Chapter 45: Emergence of Laughter [3]

Because now it was simple. Now it was real. And now... it could lose.

The thing in front of me steadied itself, but the shift was obvious. That relaxed posture from before was gone. It was replaced by something tighter and more focused, like it had finally realized this was no longer going its way.

Its smile returned, but it did not sit right anymore. Even without anything dramatic changing, I could tell that whatever control it had earlier was slipping little by little.

"You changed," it said. The amusement in its voice was thinner now.

"Yeah," I replied while rolling my shoulder like I was just getting warmed up instead of barely keeping myself together. "Turns out that happens when I am about to win... shocking, I know."

That was a lie. Not even a subtle one. Inside my head, things were still a mess. My thoughts were not fully steady. My reactions still felt just a bit off, like someone had slightly delayed everything I did. But confidence was free. I was operating on a limited budget, so I used what I had.

It moved again. Faster this time. No hesitation.

I reacted just in time by stepping forward instead of back. I had already learned the hard way that giving this thing space was basically asking to lose slowly and politely. Our movements collided again. Not clean or elegant, but direct enough to matter. I forced myself to stay present in that moment. I could feel it clearly now. The moment I slowed down even a little, that laughter would start creeping back in like an unpaid bill.

"See, this is already better," I said while slipping to the side and barely avoiding another touch. "You were getting boring earlier. I almost fell asleep mid-fight."

It did not reply. That alone made me grin a little. Silence here meant effort. Effort meant I was finally being taken seriously.

It adjusted again. It tried to pull things back into that strange rhythm where everything slowed down just enough for me to lose focus. I did not give it the chance. I kept moving. I kept pushing. I kept things messy enough that it could not settle into control again. At one point its hand came close to my shoulder. I felt that same pull at the edge of my thoughts. Something trying to drag me back into that soft, careless state where nothing really mattered.

"Yeah... no. We are not doing that again," I muttered while pulling away. I immediately stepped back in with a shove that was honestly not impressive. It still worked well enough to break the moment.

It staggered slightly. Not from strength, but from disruption. I took that as a win. At this point I was not aiming to look cool. I was aiming to stay alive.

"You know," I continued while circling just enough to keep pressure on it. My breathing was getting heavier now. "For something that messes with minds, you are surprisingly bad at dealing with someone who already has a few issues up there. Like, you picked the wrong target, man."

For a brief second, something like confusion showed on its face. I could not help the small grin that slipped out.

"Yeah, that was not a joke... I am serious," I added.

That seemed to annoy it. The next movement was sharper. More aggressive. A lot less controlled. Exactly what I had been waiting for.

I met it head-on again. I did not let it reset the pace. I pushed forward with everything I had left. I did not care if it looked clean or smart. Right now effectiveness was the only thing that mattered.

The laughter tried to return again. It kept breaking apart before it could fully form. It felt like a song that had lost its rhythm. Every time it faltered, I pressed harder. I did not give it even a second to recover. I was not in control. Not really. But I was also not losing anymore. Honestly, that was a huge improvement.

"You really should have finished me earlier," I said. My voice was rough but still steady enough to carry my usual nonsense. "This whole slow and dramatic approach thing... yeah, not your best decision."

This time it reacted immediately. Not calmly. Its movements lost that smooth, effortless feel. They became sharper, faster, and just a little reckless.

Perfect.

Because the moment it stopped controlling the fight... it started playing mine.

"Yeah... this is where you messed up," I said while stepping in again. I ignored how tired my body felt. I ignored how my head still was not fully clear. I could feel it now. That thin line where either I ended this right now... or I dropped before I got another chance.

So I did not hesitate.

I closed the distance completely. I put everything I had left into one final push. No holding back. No overthinking. Just moving with the simple goal of ending this before anything else could interfere.

The impact landed. Not perfectly. Not beautifully. But solid enough.

This time... there was no recovery.

The laughter did not just break. It collapsed completely. It felt like something had finally run out of strength to keep going. The pressure in my head disappeared all at once. What remained was silence. Heavy, strange, and almost unreal after everything.

The figure in front of me wavered. Its form was unstable now. Its expression was no longer calm or amused. It looked uncertain. Smaller.

I took a step back. I let out a long breath. My thoughts cleared fully. Sharp. Steady. Honestly, that alone felt like the biggest victory here.

"Yeah..." I said while running a hand through my hair. A tired laugh slipped out. "You really should not pick fights with someone who is already barely functioning... we do not have much to lose."

It tried to hold itself together. It failed. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Whatever was keeping it stable was already gone. Its form cracked. It flickered. Then it slowly fell apart. Piece by piece. Until there was nothing left standing in front of me.

I stayed there for a moment. Just to be sure. After everything that had happened, I was not trusting anything easily. When nothing came back and the silence stayed exactly as it was, I finally let my shoulders relax a little.

Then I glanced around. Clicked my tongue. Let out a quiet sigh.

"Alright... next time," I muttered to myself. "Can we just get something normal. Like a monster that tries to bite my head off or something. That would honestly be much easier to deal with."

I paused for a second. Then shook my head slightly.

"Yeah... definitely easier."