The sky bled red. A crimson moon hovered, its light splattering the clouds as though the heavens themselves mourned the carnage to come.
A tremor shook the ground as Ingress stepped forward—his form reborn. Once dark-skinned, his body was now pale and ghostly, marked by pulsating crimson veins. His molten orange-red eyes shimmered like magma, his white hair whipped in the wind, fanged lips parted in a jagged grin. No other vampire flanked him. It was just him.
The civilians—huddled on rooftops and behind shattered barricades—quaked with fear.
Tyrone, voice urgent, yelled, "Evacuate now! If you want to live, get out!"
Raijin added, "This is your last warning!"
Kamaki, blades drawn, commanded, "Move! You're blocking!"
Many ran. But many more stayed, glued to their phones, whispering Ingress's name like a hymn.
Lihanna, disbelief in her voice, asked, "Why are they… still here?"
Neve, her tone cold as frost, answered, "They know. They know Ingress has the advantage when civilians are near. Kazimir won't unleash his full power with them around."
Jessie scowled. "Exactly. If I'm risking my life for these people, I'd vanish when it matters—let them fend for themselves."
Riah, arms crossed, eyes glowing embers, muttered, "They sided with Ingress. They see Kazimir as a weapon to be destroyed. If I must burn this planet to protect him… I will."
A crack splintered the atmosphere.
Kazimir and Ingress locked eyes. In an instant, both vanished.
The sky erupted.
Blue lightning and red shadows tore across the heavens—like warring gods. Blades clashed at superhuman speeds. Ingress's strikes came tainted with sadistic joy; Kazimir stood resolute, calm as the eye of a hurricane.
Suddenly—Ingress's blade gleamed-red. He roared, swung—
CRACK!
Kazimir's katana shattered. A brutal kick sent him tumbling from the sky like a fallen star.
Tyrone leapt and caught him mid-fall. "Kazimir—! You okay?"
Kazimir winced, voice strained. "I'm… not trying to kill anyone."
Tyrone steadied him. "Then let us fight with you. You don't carry this alone."
Kazimir's gaze hardened. "If this ends with a stain… it ends on me. Let me shoulder it."
Tyrone clenched his jaw. "Then at least give me a weapon."
Kazimir cracked a small smile. "Watch me."
The wind stilled. Ingress's landing echoed through broken buildings; his grin stretched unnaturally wide.
Lightning coiled around Kazimir like living armor. He inhaled, and the shattered katana rematerialized—crackling with raw will.
Flash—he vanished.
BOOM—he reappeared behind Ingress, delivering a thunderous kick that smashed his foe into a bank. Rubble rained from the sky.
Ingress howled and countered, launching waves of red-black energy spiking through the air. Buildings split in their wake. Kazimir deflected each strike, dancing through devastation with elegant precision—until one thread caught him off guard. He leapt to sever it; it crumbled to ash mid-air.
Ingress's roar deepened. Shadow clones materialized, dozens of them, volleying razor blades. Kazimir weaved through them, parrying with graceful lethalism.
On the ground, Riah watched, voice trembling: "He's… pulling himself together."
Gendai, heart pounding: "Come on, Kaz. Finish him."
The world held its breath.
A collapsed building sat smoking between them. The crowd watched via live broadcast. Two Vandors—demigods—waged war in Earth's skies.
Ingress bared his teeth. He raised his hand—BOOM: a shockwave collapsed a tower—but Kazimir stood unwavering, sword rested lightly on his shoulder.
He swung: "You're done."
Lightning burst from the blade, illuminating the world. Ingress screamed—not from pain but exhilaration. He reached through the flash and seized Kazimir's arm. Kaz pushed free—but froze.
There was a slash on his arm. He hadn't felt it.
Ingress laughed. "Oh, did I mention… I brought friends?"
Two figures emerged from the fractured earth. The air froze. Tojo. Xavier. Bodies animated, eyes empty, expressionless.
Kazimir staggered. His world spun. "No…" His mind blanked.
Tojo and Xavier charged, blades slicing through air. Kazimir parried one, ducked under the next—but his form faltered.
Ingress lunged alongside them, gleeful brutality in his strike.
A bolt of black lightning snapped from Xavier—
CRACK!
It hit Kazimir in the back. He didn't fall. Instead, he called lightning from above—into himself—triggering a blinding burst that launched attackers away.
Neve, horrified: "They're… using Tojo and Xavier as weapons."
Jessie, snarling: "Unforgivable monsters."
Riah, eyes alight with rage: "I—I'll kill him. Burn him to ashes."
Gendai, silent, fists clenched, heart breaking.
Raijin, low voice: "Ingress deserves death."
Kazimir rose, battered but unbowed. Ingress hit him again, sending him through collapsing buildings. The dust fell heavy upon his battered form.
"KAZIMIR!" Riah screamed.
From the wreckage, he emerged, bloodied and breathing hard. He shed his coat, revealing the sleeveless suit underneath. He sheathed the broken katana—it vanished in a wrack of lightning. He clenched his fists. Ingress smirked.
Ingress: "I've waited for this—crushing your face was long overdue."
Kazimir: "Then let's end it."
They launched at each other—fists unleashed. Kazimir kicked; Ingress caught it. Kazimir ducked under a punch that shattered concrete; he replied with a series of punishing strikes—two jabs, a lightning-charged right hook—sending Ingress skidding across cracked pavement.
Kamaki, amazed: "I didn't know Kazimir could punch like that."
Raijin, laughing: "Don't be fooled. He's more than a blade wielder."
Tojo and Xavier re-entered the fray. Kazimir leaped, spun, delivering a sweeping kick that crushed Tojo's neck, throwing him into unsuspecting civilians. Xavier followed, scythe swinging—a whirlwind dance Kazimir evaded with practiced grace.
He spoke words, his voice carried on low electricity: "Tojo. Xavier. Your souls—finally, rest. The Astral Legion used you as weapons. But I will not allow your memory to be dishonored. You deserve peace. Maybe in another life, we will stand together."
Kazimir raised his left palm. "Leave now. You have two minutes."
Riah's voice rang out: "You heard him—get out, now!"
Tyrone asked, confused: "What's he planning?"
Riah, uncertain: "I don't know… but prepare yourselves."
On the rooftops, evacuees streamed down stairwells and into alleys. Some clutched phones, chanting Ingress's name.
Kazimir lifted his wounded arm. Cyclones spun in the clouds. Lightning arced across the sky. Rain began to fall.
He faced Tojo, Xavier, Ingress, tears shining in his abyssal-blue eyes.
He summoned a great sword of Imaginary Essence: luminous, otherworldly. In a single slash, it tore through the three foes, disintegrating them. The rift in the city and sky remained—a divine judgment.
Those who fled watched, awestruck.
Neve, voice soft: "I… have never seen that move before."
Gendai, hushed: "Now they can rest."
Jessie, cautious: "He's not invincible. This won't end him."
Lihanna, anxious: "Really?"
The sky darkened further, scarlet lightning crackling.
Raijin, bleak: "No, he's not dead yet."
Across the field, dark red bolts struck. Ingress, eyes aflame with the blood moon's power, regenerated. Kazimir's right arm hung useless. A new battle rose in that red sky—a world on the blade's edge.