The air split like glass as the Architect's presence pressed down on the city. Akira's Rank 10 aura flared hotter than ever, her blood swirling in deadly spirals, slicing through concrete and steel like paper.
But even Rank 10 wasn't enough. The new wave of enemies wasn't just Sentinels—they were elite vampire hunters, rogue immortals, and Takumi, still reeling from his hesitation but determined to bring her down.
"Time to see what you're really made of," Akira growled, fangs flashing.
She clenched her fists, feeling the Blood Bloom Bean surge inside her, unlocking the latent next stage.
Level Up: Rank 11 – Crimson Tempest
The world seemed to slow around her. Every motion, every heartbeat, every whisper of blood was clear. With a gesture, she sent tendrils of crimson lightning snapping through the air, electrocuting and ensnaring enemies simultaneously.
Rin gasped. "Rank 11? You're—"
"Not done yet," Akira said, leaping into the fray.
She blurred past multiple Sentinels in a single bound, twisting her body midair, leaving afterimages that confused her enemies. One rogue immortal lunged from behind, only to be caught midstrike as Akira's blood tendrils twisted around him like living chains. She pulled him up, letting the crimson energy tease, tighten, and immobilize—enough to drain a surge of power, boosting her abilities further.
But chaos wasn't over. From above, the Architect's voice boomed:
"You dare ascend without permission?"
A rift opened above, raining shards of blackened crystal that slammed into the battlefield. Each shard carried an oppressive energy, freezing anything it touched.
Akira smiled through the pain, twisting her blood into a shield, absorbing the shards midair, spinning them into a storm of spinning blades. Each fragment cut enemies, feeding her aura in a hurricane of destruction.
And then—the trap snapped shut.
The rogue immortal she'd thought neutralized reappeared behind her, wielding two cursed blades, flanking Takumi who had recovered. "You're too reckless," he hissed.
Akira's crimson aura flared, licking the sky. She felt something new awakening, something beyond her current power: the ability to temporarily possess and animate blood constructs, bending her fallen enemies' bodies into extensions of her own will.
She laughed, low and dangerous. "You really think you can contain me?"
The battlefield erupted into chaos. Blood, steel, and magic collided as Akira danced through the storm of enemies, wielding her own life force as a weapon, while the Architect's oppressive presence loomed ever closer.
🔥 Cliffhanger: Akira reaches Rank 11 – Crimson Tempest, unlocking a new blood-manipulation ability, but she's now caught in a multi-layered trap with Takumi and rogue immortals ready to overwhelm her. The Architect is watching, and the next move could change everything.