A strike with a blood sword on his arm drags Sylas back. Having managed to prevent it from piercing thanks to the magic placed on him, he steps on Vladimir's foot and kicks him away with the same leg, assuming a different stance this time—with his left hand down a little above his waist and the other higher, near his chin, fist closed.
'Come with me, Lunaris.'
Lunaris turns into blood around his fist where the item was and takes the form of a red glove with four spikes at the ends of his knuckles.
"Blood Impact."
Surprised, Vladimir raises his sword, managing to defend in time but being thrown back. Looking at his sword, he sees it starting to crack, so he pours more magic into it, making it regenerate.
"Aaaahhh!"
Hearing a scream, both turn their heads. It came from below and it was Nerezza's. Taking a few steps back, Vladimir assumes a defensive stance, unwilling to take his eyes off his opponent.
'I'd better kill him quickly before going down.'
'That was Nerezza's scream? Looks like those two didn't hold back.'
They were good, kind people—at least until someone they loved was hurt. The moment that happened, they would become your worst enemy.
'First I need to deal with this guy… he has the same problem as him.'
The reason he suspected Vladimir of being reincarnated was because, in the original story, he was never someone who had reached the circle, since he never trained. That made Sylas suspicious, because even if some things had changed, the changes shouldn't have been that big for this dimension.
Looking at his fingers, he saw his pinky trembling a little, which reminded him of someone from his world. That movement meant that person was nervous and trying to calm himself down.
Down below, Nyxaria was facing her master in a fierce battle, her master looking at her with contempt while she felt sad.
"I know I've become your enemy, but that look isn't new. Tell me, Master Zarovich, why did you save me if you hate me so much?"
"Aurora Crimson Magic: Cords of Death."
From Zarovich's body, blood rises above their heads, red auroras that try to cover Nyxaria's body. Jumping back, she dodges, knowing that if she were touched by that, she would begin to die over time.
"You won't answer me?"
"A dog like you doesn't deserve answers, so just die."
A red light appears above his head and several beams of hardened blood move toward her, grazing her shoulder. Her flesh was burned where that magic passed.
"Bloody Light, Second Phase."
With twice the red light appearing, she immediately summons her magic. For some reason, now that she was in Circle Six, she could turn her blood black, which made her attacks stronger.
"Crimson Rain."
Above the lights, a rain of blood poured, turning into small dark crimson stars falling and piercing through those red lights. Zarovich seemed hesitant upon seeing that, then furious.
"Why didn't you awaken this power earlier, you wretch? If you had, I would have already ascended!"
He lunges at her, covering himself with a red mantle that repels the stars. Reaching her, he transforms the mantle into a spear and throws it, piercing her shoulder.
"Ascend—what do you mean?"
"Just die!"
He seemed out of control, relentlessly attacking her. With a movement, he grabs her by the hand and brings down a blade on her arm while the aurora comes from behind. Desperate to dodge the several red auroras, she lets him cut her arm off, retreating quickly and regenerating it afterward.
"Crimson Constellation."
Creating several crimson lines in the air like constellations, she spreads them across the corridor. Seeing him rush at her, at the first touch with the first constellation, his shoulder explodes, making his arm fall.
"Aaaah… what's happening, why is it taking so long to regenerate?"
She was able to regenerate her arm, but it was very slow, leaving him at a disadvantage for a few seconds. Trying to kill her, he feigns weakness, "fainting" on the floor, because for some reason she had grown stronger than him, so he would have to exploit her feelings.
"Master…"
She takes a few steps forward, making him smile, but when he sees her stop approaching, he remains still, pretending.
"Why are you lying to me? Am I that much of an idiot to you?"
Seeing her with sad eyes, he rises angrily and creates a spear of auroras aimed at her throat. A tear falls from her eye, then she splits his spear in two.
Grabbing him by the collar, she throws him to the ground, immobilizing him with blood on his back that pressed him down as if trying to sink him into the floor. Closing her eyes, she remembers being attacked suddenly from behind and him coming to save her.
"Master, tell me the truth, then I'll save you."
She smiled at him, waiting for his choice. She was sure he would accept, since her master was a coward. And she was right, for he was about to surrender—until he suddenly stopped, his eyes turning black. Concerned, she approached.
"Mas—"
"I was the one who ordered the attack on you that night."
"What?"
The concern on Nyxaria's face shattered, making her step back. She thought he was lying or being controlled, so she looked down the corridors, searching for signs of someone.
"I saved you because you are special to my mistress."
"Master, why do you say—"
"You were supposed to be just a vessel for her, but your uselessness made her give up."
Nyxaria's body began to tremble at the words of her master—not the vampire in front of her, who had lied to her.
"Who is she?"
"My true lady, the one I truly serve: the evil goddess Nyx."
Nyxaria's mind began to break. This was the person she had chosen to follow because he saved her, but it was only so she could be a vessel? All her life she had followed someone, only to be abandoned by every one of her three masters. Was she really that useless to them? Was there anyone who wouldn't abandon her in this cursed world?
Maybe it was a lie, maybe he really was being controlled—but then she realized, looking in the mirror, that her own eyes were black. That power affecting this vampire was hers, triggered when she asked him to tell the truth.
"Hahahaha… so that's it…"
His eyes returned to normal and he began to beg her to let him live, to remember that he was the one who saved her.
"I'm sorry for the words I said, I really regret it, I simply was—"
"Zarovich."
"Yes—"
His head was swiftly cut off, his last vision being her dull eyes. With her mind completely shaken, she leaned against the wall. Who should she follow now? Without a master, she was nothing—at least that's what her mother had taught her before abandoning her.
"Is this my fate?"
Then she remembered something. Hadn't she already become the servant of the owner of that blood? Even if he hadn't appeared, if she thought carefully, it only took a little of his blood for her to evolve. She then began to smile in relief, because she still had a chance to be useful.
"Master… that's right, I still have my new master. Besides, he chose me, didn't he? He gave me that precious blood. Yes, maybe he's different."
Her eyes were dull, but shone faintly, trying to cling to any hope around her.