The air inside the broken dimension shimmered like cracked glass. Every inch of it pulsed with frost and blood energy, colliding, repelling, and merging in violent bursts. Yuji's breath was sharp, white steam pouring from his mouth with each exhale. Across from him stood Oban, his body wrapped in faint red aura, the marks of the Blood Manipulation Phase 6 glowing like crimson runes across his arms.
Both warriors were silent for a moment. The ground beneath them creaked and moaned under the pressure of their power. The temperature kept shifting—freezing one second, boiling the next—each trying to overwrite the other's domain.
Yuji's eyes narrowed. "You think that new phase can save you, vampire?" His tone was almost calm, but fury lingered behind his words.
Oban didn't answer. The system's voice echoed in his mind—cold, steady, mechanical.
[System: Blood Manipulation—Phase 6, Absolute Biological Disaster. Fully activated.]
Oban's eyes flared with deep red light. His veins glowed faintly as if the blood inside him had turned into molten fire.
Yuji raised his hand, frost gathering instantly at his fingertips. The cold was so thick that the air began to crackle. He swung his arm down. A wave of ice spikes erupted from the ground, sharp enough to pierce steel.
But Oban disappeared. He had teleported before the spikes could touch him. In that instant, a low, echoing pulse filled the space.
[System: Biological Impact—Activated.]
Yuji's right arm exploded. Shards of ice and flesh scattered across the ground. Yuji's scream tore through the dimension, raw and ragged.
He fell to one knee, eyes wide in disbelief. "You—what did you—?"
Oban's voice was cold. "Give up, Yuji. You can't win. My blood already flows inside this battlefield. Everything you touch becomes mine."
Yuji's face twisted with both pain and defiance. He clenched his remaining fist, frost crawling across his body once more. "Do you think I'll lose to a mere vampire?" he spat.
In a blur, ice grew from his shoulder, forming a crystalline arm. Another burst of power shaped it into a weapon—a spear of frozen light. His other side followed, forming a second arm of jagged blue frost.
Yuji smirked, breath fogging the air. "Even if you destroy my body, I'll keep fighting until nothing remains."
Oban just stood still, silent, his eyes locked onto Yuji. Then, calmly, he raised his hand. The Fang Mace and Vampiric Blade floated beside him, surrounded by swirling blood energy. "Then I'll end it without mercy."
He vanished. The air broke where he once stood.
In the next instant, Yuji's chest flared with pain. Blood poured down his armor, staining the ice white. He gasped, his spear falling apart in his hand.
Oban's voice echoed behind him. "My attack can't be stopped, blocked, or negated. The moment I target your blood, it's over."
Yuji stumbled forward, hand pressed to his chest. The wound burned, glowing faintly red. "You…" He coughed, blood freezing before it could hit the ground. "You're not human… You're a monster…"
Oban said nothing. He stood, breathing slowly, his aura pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.
Yuji fell to one knee, his ice armor cracking apart piece by piece. But even then, his expression hardened. "I'll die… but I'll never surrender…"
For the first time, Oban's gaze softened. "Before I end this… I want to know something."
Yuji looked up, eyes faintly glowing blue. "What?"
"Why do you hate vampires so much? What did we take from you?"
Yuji didn't answer at first. His lips tightened, his silence heavy. The air between them trembled with leftover energy.
"I don't owe you an explanation," Yuji said bitterly. "You wouldn't understand."
Oban tilted his head slightly. "Then I'll understand it myself."
The system flared again, its voice calm yet commanding.
[System: Nearby opponent detected. Accessing biological memory sequence…]
A flash of red light connected them. Yuji's eyes widened as fragments of his past replayed—uncontrolled, vivid, raw. Oban saw everything.
A burning village. Screams. A woman clutching a small boy, running through the snow. The shadows of vampires descending from above, their eyes glowing red. Yuji's mother stood in front of him, trying to shield him, but one vampire—his fangs dripping with blood—struck her down before the child's eyes. Her last words were drowned in the snow and fire.
The memory faded.
Oban's eyes dimmed. He stepped back, lowering his weapon. "So that's it…"
Yuji's body trembled, fury rising again. "Don't you dare pity me!"
"I'm not," Oban said quietly. "I'm choosing not to repeat the same mistake."
Yuji froze, confused.
"I could kill you," Oban continued. "But I won't. You've already suffered enough. Killing you won't heal anything."
For a moment, the air was still. Even the frost seemed to stop moving.
Then—the dimension cracked.
A deep rumble echoed from above. The sky split open like shattered glass, a beam of light tearing through. From that light, a dark silhouette descended—tall, cloaked, carrying an aura so sharp it cut through the very air.
Yuji barely had time to look up before the figure struck.
A slash of energy cut through both warriors. Oban barely managed to block the attack with his mace, but Yuji wasn't so lucky. Blood sprayed from his shoulder as he fell to the ground, gasping.
The figure landed silently. His boots touched the fractured floor, and the light faded, revealing his face.
Oban's eyes widened. "You…"
The man looked calm, almost regal. His presence was overwhelming. The crimson glow in his eyes matched Oban's—but colder, older, and infinitely more dangerous.
Without hesitation, Oban turned toward Yuji, kneeling beside him. His blood began to glow again as he pressed his hand to Yuji's wound.
[System: Opponent's life force critically low—13% remaining.]
Blood threads extended from Oban's hand, wrapping around Yuji's chest, sealing the wound. The healing was slow but steady.
Yuji weakly opened his eyes, confused. "Why… why save me…?"
Oban didn't answer. His focus stayed on the wound, his expression unreadable.
Behind them, the man finally spoke. His voice was deep, resonant, and carried centuries of authority. "You want to know the truth, boy?"
Yuji looked up, barely able to move. The man smiled faintly.
"I'm the one who killed your mother."
The words struck like thunder.
Oban froze. Yuji's eyes widened in shock, disbelief mixing with pain.
The man—Aijack—slowly lowered his hood, revealing the sharp, pale features of a vampire elder. His crimson eyes glowed with cruel amusement.
"Yes," he continued, voice smooth as venom. "I killed her. And I did it to test the limits of my kind. She screamed beautifully, if that comforts you."
Yuji tried to rise, but his body wouldn't move. The pain was too much.
Oban stood, his aura flaring violently. Blood energy rippled around him like a storm. "You…"
Aijack's smile didn't waver. "You've grown, Oban. Stronger than I expected. But saving a broken mage?" He scoffed. "You're wasting your potential."
Oban clenched his fists, trembling—not with fear, but rage.
Yuji's breathing grew weak, his voice barely a whisper. "Oban… don't let him live…"
Oban's eyes flickered, torn between anger and restraint. The system's voice echoed softly in his mind.
[System: Warning—User's emotional state unstable. Power output exceeding safe limits.]
Oban ignored it. His gaze locked onto Aijack. "You'll regret ever stepping into this fight."
Aijack chuckled, unfazed. "Then come, little vampire. Show me if you're worthy of your bloodline."
The air tensed, their auras clashing even before the battle began. Yuji's body lay still behind Oban, half-conscious, while the dimension trembled under the pressure of two ancient powers about to collide.
And just as the first crack of energy lit the air—