Mikage stretched his hand skyward.
"Wanyūidō!"
A blazing wheel of fire roared into existence, tearing through the blood serpents before hurtling toward Dracula. The vampire met it with his blade, the clash sending shockwaves as fire and blood battled for dominance.
On the ground, Lyon's body crackled with lightning. He crouched low, pupils narrowing.
"He's finally open…"
He vanished in a burst of speed, reappearing in front of Dracula.
"Tenshi Geki!"
His fist became a storm, raining blow after blow into Dracula's abdomen. Each strike detonated with lightning, sparks bursting from the points of impact.
Dracula coughed blood, his body hurled backwards into rubble.
"All that… with one hand," Lyon muttered, a smug grin tugging his lips.
"Don't slack now!" Mikage barked, blazing past him.
Lyon followed instantly, lightning streaking at his heels.
From the debris, Dracula chuckled darkly, wiping blood from his mouth. Planting his sword into the ground, he rose. "Impressive. But you should run."
He suspended the blade mid-air with a gesture. A single droplet of blood slid from its tip, sizzling a hole straight through stone.
Mikage's eyes widened. Acidic…?
Dracula smirked.
"Crux Tenebris."
Dark mana engulfed the blade. With a single slash, a black cross tore through the battlefield, screaming toward them.
"Don't you dare block that—DODGE!" Mikage roared.
The earth erupted—BOOM.
Meanwhile—
Akira was barely holding ground, blood tendrils snapping at his heels.
"What's wrong?" Charles sneered, each step deliberate, blade gleaming. "Don't you want to avenge your friend? Running won't save you."
I can't… I can't fall for his bait. If I fight recklessly, I'll end up like Sigvard…
But a tendril skewered his leg.
"AAAHH!" Akira collapsed, gasping.
Kane struggled to rise. "He's going to die out there! I can't just—"
A shadow soldier shoved him back. "My lord will call when he needs us. Until then, I protect you. Sit still!"
Charles loomed overhead, blood blade raised for the kill—
FWOOM.
Three shadow pillars exploded from the ground, smashing him back.
Akira exhaled hard, relief flashing in his eyes. "Phew… thank god it didn't go too deep." He raised three fingers.
"Finally!" a shadow soldier shouted. Three sprinted forward, armed with bow, spear, and sword, surrounding him.
Charles grinned, coughing blood as his ribs throbbed. His fingers traced the dent in his chest. That boy's strike… it hasn't healed? Why? No matter. I'll kill him from afar.
The soldiers lunged. The spear knight unleashed a flurry of thrusts, parried each time by Charles's shifting blade. The swordsman struck next, clashing steel against crimson. Meanwhile, arrows whistled from above.
And then—Akira blurred into view.
Shadow step?! Charles barely leapt back as Akira's fist grazed his jaw.
Snarling, he seized the spear, snapped it in two, and impaled the knights. The spear soldier vanished in smoke. "No more party tricks!"
But before he could breathe, the swordsman clung to him, stabbing deep into his side before dissipating.
Charles staggered. "AAARGH! I… can't… breathe…" He fell to his knees.
When he lifted his head—Akira stood before him, clutching Sigvard's blade.
"HHRRRAAHH!"
The steel came down—but halted with a metallic screech.
The blade hadn't pierced.
Charles's lips curled. "Is that all?"
Terror widened Akira's eyes as Charles's hand shot forward—
THUNK.
An arrow pierced through Charles's palm and skull.
"You think that can kill me?" he rasped, laughing.
Akira smirked faintly.
"Crawl forth."
The shadows surged, hands clawing from the abyss. And through them—Sigvard emerged, cold steel in his grasp.
Akira's voice cracked with emotion. "It's nice to have you back."
Sigvard nodded, eyes firm. "It's nice to be back."
"Sigvard?!" Charles rasped. Panic flashed across his face.
The knight commander seized the hilt beside Akira, and together they drove the blade into Charles's heart. Shadow soldiers pinned him, writhing as he screamed.
"NOOO! I won't die here! Not after everything—" His hand darted to his mouth.
CRACK.
He bit down on a black pearl.
The sword slid through. His body went limp.
"…Did we win?" Akira panted.
"It seems so," Sigvard answered.
Akira lifted his arms high, almost laughing with relief. "YES! I—I actually killed someone!"
"My liege," Sigvard said softly. "Wouldn't you rather make him one of us? He was… formidable."
"You're right."
But before Akira could act—
BUMB-BUMB-BUMB.
Crimson sparks pulsed from Charles's corpse. His body screamed, mana bursting in grotesque waves that flung them back.
Akira's eyes widened. "What the hell is happening?!"
"I don't know!" Sigvard yelled.
Far away, Dracula froze mid-clash. His gaze flicked toward the surge. For the first time, his expression shifted.
"…What a grotesque creature," he muttered, raising his hand.
"Corvus Noctis."
A swarm of bats rained from the sky, detonating on Charles's body until his screams were muffled and nothing remained.
Akira stared in shock. "What… was that?"
Sigvard's jaw clenched. "My lord… I have no idea."
Dracula's gaze turned back to Lyon and Mikage, both gasping for air inside the massive cross carved into the earth.
His voice was calm, merciless.
"Now that distraction is over… let's finish our fight."
Lyon let out a ragged chuckle, shoulders heaving.
"Gods, I'm not getting paid enough for this…"
Mikage blinked, eyes widening. "Wait—you guys actually get paid? No wonder you're so motivated!"
Dracula's lips curled faintly as he strode forward, calm, mocking.
"It seems you two still have spirit. Good."
The levity evaporated as Lyon and Mikage fixed their stances, every nerve bracing.
Dracula whispered like a prayer—
"Umbra Dansului."
His body dissolved into blackness, vanishing in a ripple of shadow.
Mikage stiffened. "Where—? Where did he—?" His gaze darted wildly.
Lyon's instincts screamed. His pupils shrank as a section of his staff snapped free, flying back toward him unnaturally fast—carried by a sinister pull.
Behind him, the shadows bloomed. Dracula reformed, blade arcing downward with lethal precision.
CLANNNGG!
Dracula's blade crashed against Lyon's staff, the clash shrieking like tearing metal. The shockwave hurled Lyon across the battlefield, his back slamming against stone hard enough to crack it.
"Shit!" Mikage hissed, lunging forward.
"Atsu—!" His incantation died in his throat. From the ground, a serpent of blood erupted, its fangs burying deep into his ribs. Hot venom seared under his skin. Three more serpents burst up around him, jaws snapping, hissing.
Dracula didn't even look at him. His crimson eyes stayed locked on Lyon.
The sorcerer supreme staggered upright, swaying, blood dripping from his brow into his eyes. His staff hung in two broken halves. His left hand trembled, skin split to the bone, blood running freely. Each breath scraped his lungs like fire.
Dracula's voice cut through the air, calm, mocking, almost amused.
"You're still standing. Impressive. You sensed me and reacted in time… and even crippled yourself to hold back your full strength. Clever."
Lyon's shoulders shook. His lips twisted not in pain, but in laughter.
Dracula's brow arched, irritated. "What's so amusing?"
"It's just funny…" Lyon coughed blood and smirked, lightning twitching across his good arm. "You really think I need two arms to beat you?"
Silence.
Then Dracula laughed. A dark, hysterical sound that echoed across the rubble, fangs gleaming under the blood-red moon.
"I love your confidence."
He stretched his arm outward.
Lightning erupted across Lyon's body, searing his nerves, snapping violently in the air. His body convulsed as arcs of power crackled over his skin, the smell of burning flesh rising.
Akira let out a long sigh as he slumped to the ground.
"Thank goodness… I'm in no shape to keep fighting."
"I understand," Sigvard said, kneeling beside him. "But Mikage and the other one are still battling. We may have to step in soon."
"Waaah, why'd you remind me?" Akira whined.
"My apologies if I offended you, my lord." Sigvard bowed his head slightly.
Akira covered his face with his arm. "It's fine…"
Kane, watching their banter, muttered weakly, "They won." He struggled to sit up.
"Sir Kane, you're in no condition to stand!" a soldier tried to push him back down.
Kane gritted his teeth but waved him off. "It's fine…"
The soldier reluctantly stepped back.
"They really won…?" Kane whispered again, a small smile tugging at his lips despite his pain.
For a moment, silence stretched. Only the wind howled through the battlefield. But then—
"…ugh." Akira sat bolt upright, covering his nose. "What the hell is that smell?"
"The smell of burnt flesh grows stronger," Sigvard noted calmly.
"You can't smell that?!" Akira snapped, glaring at him.
Sigvard gave a small shrug. "I'm dead. But if I had to guess…" He pointed toward Charles's charred body.
Akira winced. "Back to him, huh? …Think I could still bring him back?"
"I cannot say. But you won't know unless you try," Sigvard replied.
"Fair point." Akira dragged himself up, arm shielding his nose, and stretched his left hand over Charles's smoldering corpse.
"Crawl forth."
His voice overlapped with an older, deeper one as shadows seeped from Charles's body. The air grew colder—unnaturally so.
"It's… getting cold," Kane muttered, shivering.
In the next instant, darkness erupted from Charles's body, swallowing Akira whole.
When his eyes opened, he was standing in a vast, empty void.
"…Where am I?" he whispered.
A child's sobs echoed faintly, carrying through the void.
"Who's crying?" Akira asked, turning.
There, in the corner, sat a boy—skinny, wretched, curled into himself with his head buried in his knees.
"What the hell's going on?" Akira muttered.
The void trembled. Slowly, it reshaped itself.
The sky burned crimson. A stone floor stretched beneath his feet. Behind him—footsteps, whispers.
Akira turned. Vampires in medieval robes and armor passed by, their movements elegant yet cold. Every face twisted with disdain as they glanced at the boy, some even sneering. Most ignored him entirely, treating him as though he didn't exist.
"…This is his past?" Akira thought, eyes narrowing. "Am I inside his memories?"
The whispers grew sharper, words slipping through: failure… unworthy… cursed blood…
Akira's jaw clenched. "They hated him… his own people?"
Then, a new voice cut through, firm and deliberate.
"Our government… is truly failing us."
Akira turned.
A tall man stood behind him, dressed not in medieval garb, but in a dark suit and broad hat—strikingly out of place. His presence radiated authority, like a figure stepping across time itself.
The man extended his hand toward the boy.
The boy slowly raised his tear-streaked face. His eyes were hollow.
Akira froze, a chill crawling down his spine. "…That's Charles."