"Welcome to the Revolution. I'm Lucian; this is Lucas." Lucian extended a hand, no longer hiding the satisfied grin.
Charles took it. Their palms met, a pact sealed in blood. His wounded eye began to close, then knit; his pain was swallowed by a cold, bright clarity. Hate settled into the map of his face like a new scar—and, with it, purpose.
As Charles' hand closed over Lucian's, Akira's chest cramped. In this moment, someone should have stopped you and told you none of it wasn't your fault, he thought, watching Charles with pity. Then everything froze Charles, Lucian, Lucas, Rebecca, even the flames that consumed Morvain and the children hung motionless in the air like a paused nightmare.
What's going on? Akira wondered.
A voice beside him made him jump. He turned and saw present-day Charles materializing, staring at his younger self with a strange mixture of pity and contempt.
"Why did you bring me here?" Akira demanded.
"What? You're the one who brought us," Charles snapped, sharper than Akira expected.
"How do I get out?" Akira asked, panic creeping into his voice.
"How would I know?" Charles yelled back.
Silence stretched. Present Charles glanced at his younger self. "Was there a better option?" he asked quietly.
Akira looked at the boy on the ground. "I don't know. I think I'd have done the same," he admitted.
"So what I did was justified?" Charles pushed.
"Not at all," Akira shot back. "I'd want to kill the Elders too, but sacrificing innocents makes you no different from them."
A humorless laugh escaped Charles. "I'd forgotten why I wanted them dead. I can't even remember the old man's face. In the end I wasn't stronger than him. His hopes for me die unbloomed."
"Is there anything I can do?" Akira asked, softer now.
Charles merely chuckled. "Nothing at all."
Darkness began to crawl over present Charles' body, spreading like ink.
What's that kid doing to me? he muttered to himself.
"Kid," present Charles said suddenly, voice low and urgent. "I'm losing my free will here. One word of advice — when you get back to the real world, run. Don't stay. The only reason you killed me was because of that knight of yours. Do you think that'll work on Dracula?"
"I plan to run," Akira answered. "But I'll run with the others."
"They'll run without you," Charles snarled.
"They won't," Akira replied with a grin that surprised even him. "If they do, I'll feed them to sharks."
Charles' expression cracked into something like admiration. "Hopeful, even with that dark mana core," he said, and let himself be swallowed by the shadow.
Time yanked back hard. Events rewound — the fire, the screams, the crawl — until Akira was suddenly back in the real world, hands outstretched. Sigvard stood at his side.
"How long was I out?" Akira barked.
"What do you mean, my liege? It hasn't even been a second," Sigvard answered.
Akira's stomach flipped. What the hell was that? he thought. He glanced down. A shadowed figure knelt nearby — Charles, on his knees, eyes glazed, waiting.
"I await your order," the shadow said.
Akira stared at him. Then, almost without thinking, he spoke, voice steady and cold: "From today forward, your name isn't Charles anymore. You are Morvain." He extended his hand.
A distant tremor shook the ground — a boom reverberated as lightning and sonic blasts erupted where Mikage had been standing.
That's our new target, Akira thought, sweat beading at his temple.
From a distance, Kane watched with widening eyes.
It can't be… he thought. He turned that powerful vampire into his soldier? Now he commands both Sigvard and that monster as if they were nothing.
Akira took a step forward—but his vision blurred. Pain stabbed behind his eyes as he dropped to one knee, clutching his face.
"My liege, what's wrong?" Sigvard asked, concern lacing his voice.
"I'm fine," Akira said through shallow breaths. "Just… a little lightheaded."
"Rest, my liege. Your previous battle seems to have taken a toll," Sigvard replied, his tone soft yet firm.
Why do my eyes sting so badly? Akira thought, trying to steady his breathing.
Elsewhere, Lyon staggered back, blood running down his arms, his body marked with cuts and burns. He was barely standing, while before him, Dracula's wounds were knitting themselves together like nothing had happened.
Lyon gave a shaky laugh. "Is there no way to kill you?"
Dracula raised a finger; the blood around his body gathered into a dark, pulsing sphere. "Come and find out."
He launched it forward—
KABOOM.
The explosion ripped through the field, dust swallowing the world. But from the haze, blue lightning crackled—Lyon burst forth, fist blazing.
"Oh, I intend to," he snarled, his punch meeting Dracula's clawed hand.
The impact rang out like thunder. Sparks of light flashed as they traded blows faster than sight could follow, the clash of titan and storm.
A few meters away, Mikage hit the ground hard, coughing blood. His leg and abdomen burned with open wounds.
"Thank goodness I burned the other two serpents' fangs… or I'd be dead," he muttered, eyes flicking to the aerial battle. "Is the gap between C-tier and D-tier really this wide?"
He pressed his hand to his chest. "Sunstate 100%!"
Flames and markings surged across his body, but in a blink, they vanished. He fell to his knees, gasping. "Already… out of mana?" He tried again and again, but nothing came. Frustration boiled over he punched the ground, cracking the concrete. Then something caught his eye.
High above, Lyon ducked beneath Dracula's slash, the blade missing him by inches. "My chance," he breathed.
He countered, slamming a fist into Dracula's side, sending him hurtling upward. Lyon followed, each strike driving him higher into the sky. Lightning crackled along his arm, building into a storm.
Dracula smirked mid-fall. "Did you get faster?"
"Fast enough," Lyon spat—and drove his lightning-charged fist into Dracula's chest, sending him crashing down like a meteor.
PSSSH.
A burning rod of iron pierced through Dracula's chest and heart. Mikage stood beneath, chest heaving, hand still glowing faintly red.
Dracula coughed blood, his head falling limp.
Lyon landed beside Mikage, panting. "You did good," he said.
Mikage only managed a weak thumbs-up.
Then—laughter.
Their heads snapped up. Dracula's eyes glowed crimson again. "The jaws of death refuse to close on me!" he roared.
"His head—go for his head!" Lyon shouted. Lightning blazed along his arm as he charged. Mikage followed, flames roaring back to life.
BADUM. BADUM.
Suddenly, blood poured from their eyes, noses, and mouths. Their bodies trembled as their magic flickered out. The iron rod melted into liquid red.
"You see, children," Dracula said, voice calm and chilling. "Your mistake was thinking you were fighting me. My blood is toxic—and I decide when it kills." He tilted his head, smiling. "Though I'm curious… how it tastes inside your ever-changing blood."
A calm, menacing voice cut through the chaos from behind.
"Who would have thought the great Dracula would resort to poisoning?"
Dracula froze for a second, his eyes narrowing.
"In all these years, your voice hasn't changed… Varin," he said, glancing over his shoulder.
A man who looked to be in his sixties—though he carried himself with the poise of youth—stood there. His white hair and beard framed eyes of deep crimson. Beside him stood a woman in a black dress embroidered with red roses, her long dark hair cascading over her shoulders, her face expressionless.
"And he still pretends to dislike my voice," Varin replied with a faint smirk.
Dracula chuckled softly before his gaze shifted to the woman. He approached her slowly.
"Is that you, Lilith?" he asked, raising his hand as if to pat her head.
"Yes, master," she answered calmly.
Dracula's hand hesitated midair.
"It's fine… I'm better now," Lilith said softly.
Dracula finally rested his hand on her head, his expression softening. "You've grown so much, my dear Lilith."
Varin cleared his throat. "Ahem. I'm also here, you know."
Dracula gave him a sidelong glance. "How did you two find me?"
"If you put two and two together, it wasn't that hard," Varin replied casually. "Besides, it's not like we could intervene the curse still binds us."
A faint growl interrupted their exchange.
"Grrr… grrr…" Mikage struggled to lift his head, his body trembling as he resisted the poison coursing through him.
"Master, have you grown so weak that even this boy can fight off your poison?" Varin teased with a smug grin.
"That's not the case…" Lilith interjected. "Look closer at his face."
Golden lines began tracing across Mikage's skin, glowing faintly as they drew the poison out of his body.
"Oh my, he even reeks of divinity," Varin muttered, amused. "You think he's one of Val Helsing's apprentices?"
"It seems so," Lilith said quietly.
Dracula sighed, stepping forward. "They never learn. Always hunting me… until one of them must be made an example."
He advanced toward Mikage, but in an instant, a surge of freezing air swept through the room. Ice erupted around them, sealing Dracula and Mikage in a crystalline wall.
Lilith and Varin caught Dracula by the shoulders before he could push forward.
"You truly have lost a good portion of your power," Varin remarked, eyes glinting.
Behind the frozen barrier, Yukiko knelt beside Mikage, gently patting his cheek.
"Stop fighting… you can rest now," she whispered as his eyes fluttered shut.
Trixie appeared beside her in a blur, lifting both Lyon and Mikage onto her shoulders before vanishing into the shadows.
Edward and Akira stepped up beside Yukiko, joined by Sigvard and Morvain, their eyes locked on Dracula through the ice.