Tshh! The blade cut open the vampire's throat. The blood scattered on the walls with an impact. Gladius cleaned his Sword of Humility with the dead’s rags. The whole staircase was stained crimson, steaming in the darkness. The hall was covered with countless ice summonings, ranging in size and shape. Some were rough, created to stop the target. Others were sharp, similar to stalagmites, mostly stained with deep red ooze. The mixture swam down the stairs, soaking the carpet. The building was filled with many corpses, seventy to be precise. Gladius and Udania had killed seventy Mirage Wings. There was no casualty besides the paladin. The Light sorcerer was covered in blood, with many cuts around his body, and a rather exhausted look. His breathing sounded more like a broken steam engine than a human one. However, Udania was completely fine. She suffered no injuries other than a stained dress and a few bruises caused by rapid blocks by the captain. On the way down, she started healing his injuries, carrying his sword. Gladius was hesitant about it, but he gave her the steel. They came out of the hotel, looking around.

  “You don’t have to always protect me. I can take some hits, you know?” the woman muttered, healing his most severe wounds.

  “Then, what man would marry you?” he replied, bandaging himself. The knight always carried bandages with him in case of such scenarios.

  “Honestly, I couldn’t care less, but others will,” he continued, waving his right hand.

  “Then, it doesn’t matter,” she whispered, smiling very subtly.

  “What did you say?” the paladin responded, glancing at her.

  “Nothing.”

  The knight heard the whole sentence, but he didn’t understand it. Lucius was uninterested and unaware of romance because of his military service. The Realm of Luxaris valued self-control and stoicism; thus, they were executed while training their soldiers. Therefore, Gladius didn’t think much about her words.

  “Where are the others?” wondered Udania, glancing at him.

  “Hell if I know. It’s hard for me to tell; I don’t possess localising sorcery. Now, if I were an Upper Hand, I’d go for the big fish. That is the presidential palace. That’s something to be concerned about. Let’s go,” the knight replied, throwing strange signs with his hands.

  The woman frowned a little because of his sharp tongue, but she followed him soon after. Suddenly, a fireball flew past his head, grazing his left cheek. The man turned back, and a dozen vampires were behind them. Soon after, more emerged from the shadows. In total, a troop of around one hundred vampires was surrounding them. The man stood in front of her, raising his left hand, aiming his sword at them.

  “Are you ready to get killed?!” a vampire shouted.

  “Give us a minute, please!” replied Gladius, looking at him.

  The troop burst out in laughter. It wasn’t a fair battle after all. Why would they let him prepare for the attack?

  “I allow it. When I say ‘you’re done’, you’re done!” the undead stated.

  “Huh?!” the rest snarled in surprise.

  The man bowed subtly.

  “Why did he allow you to talk with me?” she asked, intrigued.

  “I could tell he’s at least two hundred years old. Older vampires take honour very seriously. Nevertheless, Udania, tell me, please, how much mana do you have left? he whispered, slightly annoyed by the situation.

  “Around twenty percent of my total mana.”

  “I see. I have to use it. Follow my orders, protect yourself with ice. After I say ‘burst’, destroy the summoning and help me.”

  “Why can’t I help you from the start?”

  “The technique I’m about to use is greatly unstable. I can’t guarantee that I won’t kill you by mistake. If I do it right, I’ll be able to defeat a third of them in a minute.”

  “Then, are you sure about it?”

  “If I don’t do it, you might get injured. Just wait,” the knight said, patting her head.

  Laqua covered herself with ice walls. They were at least ten centimetres thick. The ice slowly melted in the heat of the night. After all, only the ice constantly supported with mana wouldn’t melt down due to temperature.

  “So you’ve chosen to sacrifice yourself!” the vampire yelled, jumping down.

  “That’s wrong, I’ll kill you all.”

  Once again, the laughter spread across the area. However, the man stood unfazed.

  ‘I practised the techniques for five years straight. Yet, I’m capable of using the first one out of three. I’ve used it over 300 times, and only 21 times I pulled it off with varying results. That’s pathetic, but it’s better than none.’

  Gladius tightened his grip around his sword, taking a deep breath. He heard the countless fireballs targeting him. The Water sorceress grabbed her staff, trying to stay calm. The man closed his eyes, bending his knees. Then, he suddenly opened them. He waited for his heartbeat to skip a beat. Thump-bump, thump-bump, thump...

  “Light Stance No.1: Sunshine Beam!” he shouted, flexing all of his tired muscles and taking a swing at them.

  They were startled. Why did he aim at someone located ten metres in front of him, they wondered? The group knew he was a Light sorcerer; thus, he couldn’t cast long-ranged spells. Or so they thought. Like a lightning bolt, the paladin came in. The first opponent only saw a blurry image of the man. Before he could even blink, the foe was decapitated with one clean cut. A yellow string of light followed his inhuman run. Many followed the first death. Some were decapitated, others had their arms chopped off, or even got pierced through the heart. Gladius stopped his vicious attack after twenty seconds, distancing himself. Thirty-five vampires had been killed in such a short amount of time. A strong smell of ozone filled the area after the knight slaughtered the devils. A grin drew on his face, following his kills.

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  “How about that, bastards?” the man mocked.

  The yellow trail of light finally caught up to him. The power he had used was too great for his body to handle. An agonising pain entered his body. Despite hiding it, his legs bent on their own, and his hands were shivering. Suddenly, a cracking sound came from his left arm. He glanced at it, and the ulna and radius bones snapped in half. His eyes started glazing on their own.

  ‘Dammit! I’ve used it for less than a minute, and it gave me such injuries. Dammit!!!’

  “Burst!” he shouted, looking at Udania.

  The ice structure was destroyed in countless shards, damaging a dozen vampires. The woman summoned Ice Spikes, targeting foes closest to Gladius. The projectiles went through their chest, killing them almost instantaneously. Nine undead dropped dead, scaring the rest. The Light sorcerer pushed against the pain, standing up with a smirk. The real showdown just started…

  “The Lightest Cloak invocare,” said Denir, looking at Solisia.

  He flicked his index, summoning a white bullet. Everyone stopped for a second and watched as the projectile pierced through the air with ease. The tiny, white sphere hit her in the span of five seconds. The area of one metre evaporated into thin air. There was nothing there, not even a drop of blood. Moodeen stood proudly, raising the stolen sword.

  “Who the hell are you?!” shouted Laudis, looking at him. His hands trembled in rage and bloodthirst.

  “I am a devil!” he yelled, opening his arms and bowing mockingly.

  Suddenly, a strange vision pierced through two men on the battlefield. A man in a stained, grey tunic was holding a scythe. The blade collided with his neck, breaking into many pieces, reflecting the moonlight. The figure, crossing his hands, pointed at Sloth with his left hand and at Laudis with his right hand. His eyes glowed in deep red, giving both of them shivers. For a mere flick, a crown dripping with blood was summoned above his head. The sight cut off in an instant, almost like it was on purpose. They glanced at each other, agreeing with each other without words.

  ‘He was the first vampire king!’ they thought the same thing.

  “The Lightest Cloak invocare,” the confectioner muttered, aiming at the Upper Hand.

  The bullet came at him way faster than the one before. The vampire jumped sideways for seven metres. Now, the sphere vaporised a radius of two metres.

  “The Lightest Cloak invocare.”

  Now, the bullet came after Laudis. Surprisingly enough, its speed was slower than the first one. The youth watched as the projectile got closer and closer, illuminating in the darkness.

  ‘Is it the end? Dammit! To hell with all of that! I’m not scared to die,’ the boy thought, raising his sword.

  “Come at me, filthy bastard!” he shouted, taking a swing at the summoning.

  As soon as the blade collided with it, Laudis and the surrounding disappeared into thin air. Sloth couldn’t believe his eyes. He sacrificed his life, only to get mocked.

  “Are you a vampire?!” the general shouted, coming at him.

  “I am a human, and I’ll execute you like I’ve executed Hadar!”

  ‘Huh? He killed Hadar? How is it possible? He had a troop of seventy vampires, and he had lost to him? His technique evaporates everything it touches. I must watch out for it. He probably sneaked up on him and killed them at one go. Damn… I’ll die in thirteen minutes as a coward, because he was faster! I refuse it! I refuse it!’

  “I fucking refuse it!” the upper hand yelled, frowning and clenching his teeth.

  His fangs pierced through his lips, causing them to bleed. The red ooze dripped down his chest, freezing in an instant.

  ‘He’s the strongest ice sorcerer I know. I have to play it safe, at least I secured these two,’ Vampire Butcher thought, preparing himself.

  “Where the hell am I?” wondered Laudis, looking around.

  The boy was in a sphere filled with sand and a part of the ice summoning. The sky was also cut off, as if he were in a glass structure. As soon as he touched the ice, it broke into pieces. Then, he touched the border of the strange area. He felt the mana pulsing through its border.

  “He saved me? I thought he was another general. It’s hard to tell what I should do; there’s no clear exit. Dammit…”

  “Laudis…” a silent voice echoed through the other layer of the place.

  “Solisia?!”

  The youth reached out his hand out of the odd bubble, and he was sucked out. He was transported to her in a blink. The girl smirked at him, ignoring the pain.

  “Don’t move too much, your leg is broken. Now, do you have any other injuries?”

  “No, but you seem to be—”

  “It doesn’t matter. Do you have any mana left?”

  “Not really, I’ve got like five or six percent of it at max.”

  “I see… Do you know how to get out of it?”

  “Maybe by walking out of that door?”

  “What door?”

  The youth turned back to see a transparent door, leading to the battlefield.

  “Okay, stay right here. I think it’s quite safe there. I’ll go out and finish Sloth.”

  “No, I can still fight—”

  “You’ll be an obstacle. I can’t guarantee that I can protect you. He had used some weird technique, causing the ice to be way stronger. Please, stay here.”

  “Okay…”

  Crimson Eye walked out of the sphere, closing it as fast as he could.

  “Good luck,” the girl muttered, lying down.

  Laudis saw something very odd. Two vampires were fighting each other, and one of them had snake arms. As soon as Denir saw Laudis, he shouted.

  “Help me, kid! It’s not an easy fight, you know?!”

  “R—Right!” he replied, somewhat hesitant about it.

  Laudis rushed to Denir, taking out his sword. Sloth quickly noticed it, narrowing his options to one.

  “Attack them!” the Upper Hand shouted.

  The first troop started their offence at Laudis, but soon they rapidly stopped. Moodeen

  jumped in front of them, defending the youth.

  “I’ll take care of them, go after Sloth,” the butcher whispered.

  “You’re the confectioner, aren’t you?” the boy replied, nodding.

  “Indeed.”

  “I see…”

  “Excuse me.”

  “Huh—”

  Denir kicked Laudis, sending him flying ten metres from him. The youth landed in a pile of sand, giving him a smooth landing. Moodeen jumped high in the sky with his reptile limbs. He hung in there for a brief moment. The sight was so fascinating for Sloth that he couldn’t take his eyes off him. Solisia appeared next to Laudis, giving him a bad feeling. The Shadow sorcerer turned back his arms into their normal state. He raised both of his arms, summoning a huge white sphere of light. The people hiding in the houses mistook it for the moon; thus, they started praying to the gods. Even though they didn't follow a religion, about forty percent of residents prayed occasionally. They prayed to Uranus, the God of Sky; Aether, his fragmented self; Nyx, the Goddess of Night; and even to the Demigod of Gravity, Gravitius.

  “Quasi-White Hole invocare!” he shouted in the darkness.

  The summoning enlarged in seconds, emitting massive amounts of mana and heat. The vampires stood still, underwhelmed by its immense pressure. Not even two seconds later, the undead were fried in a blink and then evaporated to dust. The right hand and the left leg of Denir snapped in half. The confectioner smiled in pain, accepting his fate. The man was falling straight into the debris.

  ‘It was good while it lasted. I’ve done everything I could. I’m leaving the rest to you, Laudis,’ he thought, closing his eyes.