The vampire's crimson gaze fixed upon the woman before him—hair blazing red as wildfire, her grip steady on a massive sword wreathed in flames.
"An artifact weapon…" Adrian's lips curled in amusement, scars still etched faintly where his arms had only moments ago regrown. "Now that is interesting."
The woman stabbed the burning blade into the ground, fire curling upward from the point of impact. Her eyes narrowed, voice sharp as steel.
"My name is Saria. And I'll be one of your opponents tonight."
Adrian shifted his stance, ready to dash forward and tear her apart—when a sudden gleam cut the air behind him. He spun, only to watch in mild surprise as both his arms were severed clean off.
"Well now…" he chuckled, watching them fall to ash. "Quite fascinating…elves."
His flesh bubbled and knit itself anew, arms regrowing with raw scars glowing across them. Adrian turned, facing Saria and the newcomers at her side. A white-haired elf wielding twin blades, and a brown-haired girl gripping a whip of gleaming thorns.
"Let's dance, shall we?" Adrian grinned, vanishing in a blur. His fist drove into Saria's stomach, the impact cracking the ground beneath her feet. "Humans, so fragile. Yet so delicious."
A silver arc split the air. His head toppled from his shoulders before he could finish his thought, rolling across the dirt. Adrian's voice continued, muffled, amused.
"Oh… upside down again. Is gravity broken?"
His body pulsed, knitting a new head as he rose once more. "That was rather rude… elf."
The group stared in disbelief. But Saria didn't falter. She surged forward again, her sword blazing like a piece of the sun itself. Persephone cracked her whip in tandem, its lash splitting the air.
"Ah, a double assault." Adrian spread his arms wide. "Then allow me to return the favor.Healing Factor Seven, Reverse Heal!"
Red mist surged outward, flooding the city. Its glow sank into skin and bone. Across the streets, people screamed as their bodies weakened, their very cells decaying, life dripping away like sand through an hourglass.
"This mist will slowly kill everything," Adrian declared with relish. "Every breath, every heartbeat, rotting."
He seized a boulder the size of a house and hurled it skyward before leaping onto it. With a savage stomp, he drove it down toward Nox, still lying wounded, broken on the ground.
But a flash of silver intervened. Tiabishi stepped between, slicing the rock clean in two. With a roar, she summoned a massive sphere of ice above Adrian and hurled it at him with crushing force.
"Interesting," Adrian murmured, eyes gleaming. The frozen mass descended like a comet.
"You're mine!" Saria's voice roared as she appeared behind him, her blade burning white.
"From both sides? Clever." Adrian's grin widened. He twisted, grabbed the ice sphere, and flung it toward Saria with godlike strength. It struck, toppling buildings and sending her sprawling beneath the wreckage.
"Vampiric bastard…" Saria hissed, rising from rubble, blood smearing her face. She dashed forward once more. "Smoke Screen!"
Her body erupted in clouds of thick smoke, engulfing Adrian in choking darkness.
But Adrian only smiled, standing tall within it. "Is this everything you have? Show me, wielder of the artifact. Show me its true power."
Through the haze, her voice trembled with fury. "Very well." The flames around her sword howled to life, the ground itself trembling beneath her steps.
"Dance of Eternal Hell!"
Heat swept through the city, so intense that the very mist dissolved. Adrian's regenerative aura flickered.
"Your last dance begins now, vampire!" Saria cried, launching herself like a shooting star. The blunt side of her sword smashed into him, sending his body flying across the skies toward the mountains. She pursued in a streak of scarlet fire, leaving the others behind.
.............................................................................
Nox staggered to his feet, blood dripping from his mouth. "Tiabishi… Persephone… save as many people as you can—cough—before this city burns."
Tiabishi caught his arm, steadying him. Persephone started to help as well, but Nox gently pushed her away. "Thank you, both of you."
Her eyes lowered, but she forced herself onward, sprinting into the ruins where screams still echoed through collapsing homes.
.............................................................................
Far from them, flames erupted in a pillar as Adrian's body struck the earth. The crater seared black beneath him.
"You're strong," he admitted as Saria descended in a blaze.
"Shut it!" she spat, striking again. Her sword flashed, each swing bursting into fire, sparks scattering like meteors. "What is your purpose here!?"
Adrian caught the blade mid-strike, his smile unnervingly calm. "I am here for one man. The one they call… the Order of Swords."
Saria's eyes widened—but she buried the reaction beneath a renewed onslaught. "We don't know anyone by that name!"
"Lies." His voice dropped cold. He seized her wrist, then drove his fist into her stomach with earth-shattering force. The ground cracked for miles around, shockwaves splitting the mountain face.
"Aaaargh!" Saria screamed as blood gushed, her knees buckling.
"Heal," Adrian murmured, mending her torn body with cruel tenderness. His grip tightened around her wrist like an iron shackle. "Where is he?"
"I… don't know!"
"Spit it out!" he thundered, punching again. A vast crater erupted behind her as blood poured freely, her body breaking once more. "Tell me, and perhaps I'll let you live."
She choked, shaking her head. His nails pierced into her hand, drawing more crimson.
"I refuse!" she roared.
In that moment, her body burst into flame, incinerating his grasp. The ground melted beneath them, rivers of molten rock carving scars across the battlefield.
Above, a sphere of fire formed, expanding to engulf them. Saria rose at its heart astride the artifact blade, flames wreathing her like a goddess descending.
"Dense Sphere… Last Dance of the Flame—Infinite Flame Works!"
The skies split open. Blue fire coalesced into dozens of swords, hundreds more kindling around her, each one a burning spell of pure destruction.
She extended her hand. A single flame flickered in her palm. "Your life… and existence… ends now."
Adrian tilted his head, curious. "Wait. You can create flame spheres?"
"Yes," she snapped. "Isn't it obvious?"
"Interesting," he chuckled softly. "Well then… I had fun, my lady."
Heat blazed across her face. A blush. Anger chased it away. She crushed the flame in her fist.
The sky rained fire. Swords and spells descended in an apocalyptic storm. Adrian leapt and twisted, his laughter echoing through the inferno even as burning blades carved deep scars across his immortal flesh.
Saria clenched her fist tight, then hurled a final flame toward him.
"Time Burn—Tower of Heat!"
The flame struck. The world froze. Then a pillar of fire erupted, tall enough to sear the heavens, burning space and time itself.
When the light faded, she collapsed, lying at the heart of a vast crater. Part of the city had crumbled entirely into ash. Her blade dimmed, its glow fading from orange to red.
"I had to use… one of my strongest attacks," she whispered, chest heaving.
Footsteps echoed through the molten silence. Heavy, deliberate. The ground shook with each.
"Quite a performance," Adrian said, stepping through fire, his body wreathed in distortion. His smile was broader than ever. "You even forced me to use Healing Factor Eleven. But you could never kill me."
His shadow fell over her, fist rising like a hammer. "This was fun… but goodbye, young lady."
The punch never landed. Steel intercepted it, sparking against his knuckles.
A new voice cut through the air.
"Not so fast… Adrian."