John stared at the face of Elena floating right in front of him. His world had become a nightmare brought to life, a reality too heavy to bear. "Hhhaaaaaaaa!" A choked, broken sound escaped his throat as his mind began to fracture.
Decker could not help himself; he threw his head back and laughed out loud. "Hahahahaha! This is what I wanted. Now, I can't wait to see Leonidas's face when he sees your head floating in front of him."
With a casual flick of his finger, the dark-skinned vampire released the Spirit Force holding the object. The head dropped, hitting the wet floor with a sickening thud before rolling a few feet to a stop. John remained frozen, his eyes locked on her lifeless features.
Decker stepped in closer, his right hand snaking out to grip John firmly around the throat. He lifted the boy off the ground with apparent ease, his fingers digging into John's bruised skin. "Look at her face," Decker hissed, his crimson eye gleaming. "It will be the last thing you ever see."
In that moment, it was as if time stood still. A flood of memories surged through John's mind, drowning out the roar of the rain and the pain in his leg. Through the blur of continuous tears, he reminisced about every good moment he had shared with Elena—from their very first meeting to the terrifying night they were hunted by the werewolf, Jones.
John's lips shivered, barely forming her name. "Elena..."
Don't leave me, please, he pleaded internally.
He remembered the nights they spent sitting together under the vast, starry sky. He could almost feel the cool night air as a conversation from a much happier time echoed in his mind.
"Elena, thank you for supporting me"
Elena had smiled, leaning her head toward him just slightly, her expression full of warmth. "This one will always be there to support the young master."
John had smiled back, trusting her completely. "You promise?"
The memory shattered against the cold reality of the present. No, this is not real. Elena is not dead, he told himself desperately. He looked down at her head resting on the wet floor, his heart refusing to accept what his eyes were seeing.
His eyes did not blink for a single second as he stared at her lifeless face.
Another memory flashed—the time she had surprised him with a kiss. He could still remember the soft, sweet taste of her lips. Then, the memory of their last hug surged forward. He felt the phantom weight of her necklace against his chest and heard her gentle voice whispering: "You are like my sunshine."
"Because you are my sunshine," he had replied.
Then, her voice faded. Everything became dark.
Tears continued to leak from John's eyes, but the grief was being overtaken by something rhythmic and heavy. He could hear his heart beginning to beat with a deafening, thunderous roar. Suddenly, the sclera of his right eye began to turn black, looking like a white marble being filled with dark ink. The iris slowly shifted from black to a piercing, brilliant blue—a color like the clear, vast sky.
"Grrrrrr..." John released a low, primal growl that sent a jolt of alarm through Decker. The dark-skinned vampire realized instantly that something was wrong, but before he could react, he felt John's hands clamp onto his arm like iron manacles. A split second later, a white-hot, sharp pain exploded through his limb.
"You fucking cunt! How dare you bite me!" Decker roared.
John's fangs had dug deep into Decker's forearm. The vampire general felt a stinging, corrosive pain unlike anything he had ever experienced. He tried to yank his arm free, but the boy wouldn't budge; he was latched onto the man's arm like a starving leech.
What the hell is going on? Is this boy drinking my blood? Decker wondered, a flicker of genuine panic crossing his mind.
Decker held out his left hand, the dark nails of his four fingers extending into jagged claws. "You little cunt!" He drove his claws into John's back. The strike was so forceful that the nails tore through the boy's body, exiting through his clothes at the front.
John didn't flinch. He kept his hold despite the agony. The boy he had been just moments ago was gone; to Decker, it felt like he was struggling against a mindless, wild animal.
The pain in Decker's arm intensified until it felt like his veins were being pumped full of molten lava. Gritting his teeth against the searing heat, he channeled Spirit Force directly into his embedded nails. "Now let go!" He detonated a shockwave that rippled violently through the young vampire's body.
The force finally tore John away. He was flung forward, blood spurting from his mouth and nose as he hit the wet floor. The impact seemed to snap him out of the trance-like state. Dazed, he turned his head and saw the dark-skinned vampire hunched over, clutching his forearm.
Decker stared at the ragged wound on his arm for several seconds, his eyes wide. The flesh remained raw and open. "Why is the wound not healing?" he whispered, his voice trembling for the first time. "Is it almost time for me to die? What is going on?"
Decker stared at the boy, his mind racing as he tried to decipher exactly what John had just done to him. Deep within Decker's subconscious, the Dark Demon—the source of his shadow power—also turned its attention toward the child. The demon's eyes, as dark and cold as coal, pierced through John's physical form, searching for the source of this anomaly.
The demon looked deeper, plunging into the depths of the boy's subconscious. Suddenly, it recoiled. There, amidst the fractured memories and grief, a creature was gazing back.
The Demon of Darkness was startled; even with its ancient, primordial sight, it could not make out the form of the entity lurking within John. A rare tinge of genuine fear seeped through the demon's shadowy essence.
"Decker... quickly. Kill the boy!" the demon hissed.
"What? Why would you suddenly say that?" Decker questioned internally, shocked by the sudden urgency.
"There is something strange about this boy—he is not normal. Kill him now!" the demon commanded, its voice trembling with a hint of terror it had never shown before.
The dark-skinned vampire looked down at his arm again. The ragged bite marks remained raw, the flesh refusing to knit back together. His expression hardened into a mask of lethal intent. "Time to die, boy."
With a shattered femur making any attempt to stand impossible, John was forced to drag himself backward across the wet floor of the castle roof. He used his arms to pull himself away, his movements desperate and clumsy as he maintained a fearful gaze on the monster closing in on him.
"Please... don't do this," John pleaded, his voice small against the roar of the wind.
Decker ignored the plea, walking with slow, heavy steps toward the boy who was now paralyzed by a fear that had completely replaced his primal rage.
John's eyes darted toward the hole in the roof, his voice a broken whisper. "Grandpa..."
Decker loomed over John like a living shadow, eclipsing the dim light of the storm. He lifted his right hand, his talons gleaming with lethal intent. "I'm going to cut your head clean off your shoulders. Stay still."
With tears streaming from his eyes and the shadow of death closing in, John gave one last, desperate shout.
"Help me… Grandpa!!"
Far below, buried in the dark wreckage at the base of the Crimson castle, Leonidas lay mangled. Yet, by some impossible miracle, he heard John's cry. A small spark ignited within the void of his spirit—a spark that grew until the shackles of pain and paralysis holding him down were instantly incinerated.
Decker, still standing over John, sensed a surge of power so massive it felt like a raging storm of pure heat. His eyes stretched wide, but they remained fixed on the boy, filled with a mixture of confusion and murderous urgency. Behind him, the roof shuddered as a massive pillar of fire erupted from the hole, a vertical torrent of flame that shot straight into the heavens.
BOOM!
John watched, awestruck, as the night sky was bleached white by the brilliance. Everyone inside and outside the castle could feel the thick, suffocating energy radiating from the pillar. The Storm Hornet mercenaries unlucky enough to be near the column were instantly consumed, reduced to ash in a heartbeat.
Decker felt the intense heat searing his back, but he didn't turn away from John yet. "No... this is not possible!" he hissed, his grip tightening as the pillar of fire roared behind him.
Through the roaring column of flame, a figure began to slowly ascend into the night sky.
Leonidas rose, his crimson hair whipping wildly in the updraft of his own power. The Fire Lord wore an evil, predatory grin—the look of a vengeful beast finally unleashed after a thousand years of imprisonment. His arms were outstretched to his sides, palms open, radiating an absolute sense of god-like confidence. Vast amounts of red fire energy and a dense, suffocating aura swirled around him, bathing the Crimson vampire in the very element he commanded.
"Grandpaaa!" John screamed, his voice cracking with a joy that momentarily drowned out his agony.
=====
On the battlefield outside the castle, Caden and his party were still locked in a desperate struggle against the towering dark giant. Caden, having regrouped with his mother on the flank, moved with a new, lethal grace. With Blazescale gripped firmly in his hands, his damage output had increased dramatically, the legendary blade thirsting for combat.
The giant roared, releasing a straight, devastating punch toward the vampire. Normally, the dark figure's strikes were so powerful that no one would dare meet them directly, but things were different now. With the weight of Blazescale in his hands, Caden had the confidence to meet the monster head-on.
"Blood Breathing," Caden whispered. He felt his blood flow smoothly and rapidly through his veins, oxygenating his muscles and sharpening his senses to a razor's edge.
The vampire, poised and determined, gripped the hilt of his greatsword with both hands.
"Blood Strike!"
With a swift, powerful movement, he raised the sword above his head, his muscles tensing as he channeled every ounce of his strength into the steel. As he brought the sword down in a vertical arc, the blade whistled, slicing through the air with a terrifying hum.
Simultaneously, the giant's massive fist loomed larger, a mountain of shadow and muscle hurtling toward him. The moment of impact arrived with a thunderous clash. In a stunning display of precision and raw power, Blazescale sliced cleanly through the middle of the giant's fist. The blade rent the skin between the middle and ring knuckles, creating a deep, jagged gash.
Dark blood sprayed from the wound as the giant howled in agony, momentarily stunned by the defiant strike. The force of the impact reverberated through the air like a clap of thunder, and the massive figure was blown back several steps, staggering from the unexpected resistance.
"Yes!" Helen and Emma cried out in unison, their voices filled with renewed hope.
"It's not over!" Cassandra shouted, her voice cutting through the din as she rushed toward the staggering giant. Helen and Emma shared a determined look and joined her in the desperate assault.
Unfortunately for them, the giant regained its footing with unnatural speed. It threw its head back and unleashed a powerful screeching attack directed squarely at the three women. They had no time to dodge, and the price was heavy. The sheer volume of the screech sent vibrating ripples through the air that blew their eardrums to smithereens. A split second later, blood spewed from their mouths and leaked from their eyes. The sheer physical force of the sound waves sent their bodies flying backward, crashing into the dirt.
The three female vampires were left staggered, their nervous systems scrambled; they couldn't move their bodies freely. Cassandra coughed up a mouthful of blood, her vision blurring as she looked up to see the dark figure grinning down at them.
The giant dropped onto all fours, its jaw unhinging as a mass of dark, volatile energy began to coalesce in its throat.
"Run! Everybody, run!" Reina screamed from the distance, not realizing the three women were paralyzed.
The giant fired a massive dark energy ball. The force emanating from the projectile was so immense that the ground beneath its path parted away, soil and stone being tossed aside as the attack streaked through the air.
"Shit!" Caden hissed, gritting his teeth. His heart sank as he realized they weren't moving out of the way. An expression of pure terror crossed his face; he knew that energy attack carried enough power to kill any one of them instantly upon contact.
Suddenly, one of the vampire knights who had accompanied Cassandra stepped forward. He stood directly in the path of the incoming blast, his posture steady despite the certainty of his death. The knight channeled every ounce of Spirit Force he could muster into his hands.
As the sphere neared, the air crackled with dark energy, pressing against him like a physical mountain. The pressure began to crush his armor; fissures spider-webbed across his gauntlets. When the dark energy ball finally made contact, a blinding flash erupted. Scorching marks burned into his flesh, and his bracers exploded outward in a spray of jagged metal shards. He roared in agony, his feet digging deep into the earth as he held firm, buying three crucial seconds of life for the women behind him.
The three seconds bought by the knight's sacrifice were enough. The other three vampire knights swooped in with blurring speed, hauling Cassandra, Helen, and Emma to safety just as the defensive line collapsed. The knight who had blocked the attack offered a faint, final smile before his body was utterly obliterated by the dark energy ball's force.
A massive explosion rocked the earth. The surviving knights threw themselves over the women, shielding them from the searing heat and the rain of debris. As the smoke began to clear, the giant monster loomed through the haze, seething with primal rage. A ferocious roar erupted from its throat, and thick smoke billowed from its maw as it scanned the battlefield for its next target.
Suddenly, Caden, fueled by a cold, sharp anger, descended from the sky. Gripping the massive Blazescale with both hands, he brought the legendary blade down with a bone-shattering force, pummeling the giant squarely on its forehead. A sickening crack echoed across the field as the sword connected, splintering a section of the giant's massive skull.
The dark figure retaliated instantly, its massive fist whistling through the air to strike Caden while he was still in mid-descent. Caden managed to bring his sword up to block, but the sheer force sent him hurtling backward through the air. He slammed into the earth, thrusting the tip of Blazescale deep into the ground to act as an anchor, stopping his slide just before he hit the castle walls.
He gripped the hilt, ready to launch himself back into the fray, but he suddenly froze. A strange sensation washed over him.
Behind them, the massive fire pillar erupted from the castle roof, tearing into the stormy sky. Even the dark giant stopped its assault, casting a wary glance toward the towering column of flame.
Everyone on the battlefield felt the shift. The immense, suffocating energy radiating from the pillar was unmistakable—it belonged to their Lord. This display of raw power acted as a beacon of hope, instantly igniting the morale of the Crimson forces. The vampire knights began to rejoice, their voices chanting Leonidas's name until it rippled across the mountain peaks like thunder.
Conversely, the enemy forces were gripped by a sudden, chilling terror. All the major players in the war could feel the heat spreading, not just through the castle, but across the entire mountain range.
Caden grinned, the flickering orange light of the pillar reflecting in his eyes. "Looks like Grandfather is going to let loose," he muttered. "I guess I should follow suit."
Caden channeled his Spirit Force, his aura bursting outward in a violent flare as he rested the greatsword on his shoulder. Nearby, the three female vampires used the surge of hope to force themselves back to their feet, their eyes fixed on the distant flame.
Reina and the others sensed Caden powering up and followed his lead, their own auras flaring to life as they prepared for a final, coordinated strike. The dark giant stood its ground, glancing at the circle of warriors who were no longer afraid, but ready for war.
====
Far from the Crimson Castle, out in the distance, a woman lay on her side in the center of a jagged crater. Unconscious at first, she began to sense the cool rain droplets softly falling on her cheeks. Her black hair was wet and matted, clinging to her skin. As her eyes flickered open, her surroundings slowly started to come into focus. The rain washed over her, and she felt the mud between her fingers, grounding her in her reality.
While her mind was still hazy, the memory of the attack suddenly returned. The castle, she thought.
She scrambled up the steep slope, her leather boots slick and covered with mud. She tripped as she climbed, her feet sliding on the treacherous ground until she fell to her knees, struggling to reach the top. Disoriented but driven, she finally managed to pull herself out of the crater.
She looked around, realizing she was in an unfamiliar place. "Where the hell did that overgrown monster throw me?"
Her body was still in the process of repairing itself when she suddenly sensed a torrent of energy that made her blood run cold. Her eyes stretched wide. She turned instantly to see a massive pillar of fire far in the distance, piercing the dark horizon. This energy could belong to only one person.
"My love... Is that you?" She felt ecstatic at the thought of her lover being alive, but the feeling was quickly replaced by the cold realization that her family was in danger, fighting for their lives.
"They will all pay for this." Her words carried a fury that could make a person's skin crawl.
A lightning bolt flickered in her eyes before her feet began to levitate from the ground. Strings of lightning crawled from the soles of her leather boots, and ropes of electricity danced out of her body as she ascended higher into the sky. Her eyes were fixed on the fiery pillar, using it as a beacon to find her home.
She closed her eyes as her body rose higher into the dark air, a serene expression settling on her face. She carefully controlled her breathing, each inhale and exhale steadying her as she ascended. With every movement, she felt the energy around her—a crackling tension in the air that matched her heartbeat. The world below faded away, blurring into a tapestry of shadows, and then, in a blink, she vanished—disappearing into the heavens like a bolt of lightning.
As she soared toward the Crimson Castle, the dark clouds parted briefly, framing her silhouette against the dark, turbulent sky.