The Duke's Passion

"Ah, damn... I should kill her too."

Stefan took out the fragment of his sword that was stuck in his ankle without reaction. His eyes studied Fabian as the latter called for his broken sword. The broken part turned into black dust, but the handle returned into a shroud before it formed into a small butcher knife. 

"Your highness, thank you for showing me a memory I was curious to see at death's door." Fabian smiled until his eyes squinted, caressing the black butcher's knife delicately. "I had thought a lot of memories I would see. For example, meeting the current emperor for the first time, or the time when Rufus and I nearly killed each other. I even considered that it would be the memory when I extracted Klaus' fangs. Apparently, it was none of those."

"Oh? Pray tell, Fabian. Was there another memory that is even more memorable than those?"

"Memorable..." Fabian snickered in ridicule, letting out a deep breath as he locked eyes with Stefan. "More like it is the least memorable to remember. A memory that had no importance in my life. In front of death, the memory we will see is something simple, and it makes you think how shallow and petty one is."

"I'm intrigued." Stefan nodded with his lips closed. "Will you be able to show what petty memories I treasured at the back of my head, Fabian? I'm curious if it will show me my time with Lilou, or my fantasy of holding my son with her? I wondered, which would it be?"

Fabian's smile remained as he sized his opponent. "You will be surprised once you see it, Your Highness. I bet none of those will matter to you. Because the memory you will see at death's door... is an eye-opener. A realization of what matters and what you should've done."

"And what did you realize of what you should've done?"

"That is..." Fabian's eyelashes fluttered ever so slowly as he spun the butcher's knife in his hand. "... to kill someone."

PANG!

A tipless sword against a black butcher knife clashed in a heartbeat, causing ripples in the Devil's Palm around them. Fabian, who had inflicted multiple injuries, stood his ground. His eyes drooped until it was partially closed, studying Stefan while humming. 

"I guess that memory you saw is something precious," Stefan commented, sensing that Fabian hadn't even unleashed his all. "So, this is Fabian the Ripper, huh? Composed yet reeked of bloodlust. For a human to smell like death, you are surely amazing. You make me want to sink my fangs to taste what a person like you tastes like."

"My. You should've asked before, Your Highness. I wouldn't mind spending a night with you since men and women are the same to me." 

CLANG!

Fabian and Stefan exchanged blows, unfazed by their injuries, as they dueled fiercely. To wield Maleficent to its original form — the butcher knife — Stefan could feel the gravity of Fabian's every attack. But that didn't stop Stefan from fighting him.

"Haha! I don't feel disgusted by the suggestion." Stefan chuckled, as he knew Fabian truly meant it. He launched another attack, which Fabian blocked easily. "I should've thought about it for a change."

"Exploring is always a good idea, Your Highness."

The sound of metals clashing with such intensity resonated in the air. Until Stefan spread his other hand. The red mist paused in the air and instantly formed into sharp-like needles. In one wave, the blood needles pointed in Fabian's figure and flew towards him. 

"Kill." Came out a whisper from Stefan as he also bolted in Fabian's direction to attack him. 

But alas, Fabian just smirk wickedly as he didn't dodge the blood needles. Instead, he dashed towards Stefan and clashed with him. The red needles stuck into his body, but he still grinned as if they were nothing.

"Impressive, indeed." Stefan mused as red thread appeared from the end of each needle connecting to the blood surrounding them. "You fight recklessly... very unlike your usual fighting style, Fabian."

"I wouldn't have successfully slaughtered tons of vampires in the past if I was cautious." 

The side of Stefan's lips stretched broader. "Control." The red string pulled Fabian to control him like a puppet, but to his surprise, the red string slowly changed into black. 

"Haha. Your highness," Fabian chuckled as the red strings burned and everything that was pierced across his body turned into red mist once again. "Thing is, I used to spend so much time with the emperor back when he was a duke. There was a time in the past where it's killed or be killed between us. If my master killed me, I would've died more than a hundred times already."

He paused as he gazed up and smiled. "Those days... he never knows how to hold back." Fabian slowly set his eyes back to Stefan as his face turned expressionless. 

"And thus, this feels nothing. His Majesty... such a powerful man... reminds me of another Grimsbanne."

"Grimsbanne..." Stefan smirked, thinking that Samael has the blood of Grimsbanne from her birth mother. A blood that's far superior to Stefan's birth mother.

Unfair.

That word instantly crossed Stefan's head with the thought. The side of his lips curled up into a ridiculing smirk and chuckled. It reminded him that since birth, Samael was born to be above others. After all, he inherited the bloodline of the late queen, while Stefan was simply a son of a concubine.

"Fabian, do you want to see something amusing?" his smile persisted, but it didn't reach his eyes. He snapped his fingers, causing the thick blood mist surrounding them to disperse gradually. 

Fabian quirked a brow at what was Stefan trying to do this time. He had a feeling whatever it was, he wouldn't like it. This man was full of schemes and... he surely had something up on his sleeve that could justify this unsettling feeling. 

"Lancelot," Stefan whispered, holding Fabian's gaze as it glinted sharply. The side of his lips curled up before he hopped away in a blink of an eye. Fabian, who was fighting him, also jumped on instinct as soon as he realized who was Stefan aiming for. 

Law. 

"Stefan!" Fabian growled, seeing that Stefan's back was wide open. Before the latter could reach Law, Fabian appeared behind him and swung his butcher's knife without hesitation. What Fabian noticed a bit late was Stefan's smirk.

PANG!

Fabian's eyes dilated as his Maleficent clashed with Lakresha. His eyes fell on the person who suddenly appeared behind Stefan and blocked his attack. 

Lilou. 

"Fabian, get your hands off of him," came out a cold warning as Lilou swung Lakresha, which pushed him back.