They reappeared moments later inside the desecrated graveyard, moonlight struggling to pierce through thick fog. Towering gravestones surrounded a crumbling statue of Azazel, its face half-eroded, yet regal even in ruin.

Chains bound Shiera to the base of the statue. Magic sigils circled her as she lay motionless, barely able to turn her head.

Alice stood over her, voice still playful. "You see, I wondered all this time. I sacrificed thousands of souls, but still couldn't awaken him. Why? First, I thought numbers weren't enough. So, I killed all those guards sent by Everlight City Administration, but my brother still isn't satisfied with it."

Alice stepped closer, her shadow falling over Shiera's pale, pain-stricken face.

"I still don't know whether this will wake him or not, but my hopes rest on you, Princess. After all, you were of the royal bloodline. You carry divine relics, and your soul is quite powerful. Maybe, my brother will be satisfied with your soul."

She knelt again, face inches from Shiera's. She reached out to her cheek with a smile. "While I hate your mother and am envious of you that you could marry Kael, I truly had nothing against you. It is just that you have annoyed me too much earlier, and I revealed a lot of secrets to you. There's no way you can be left alive."

She stood and raised the staff. The orb on its head glowed once again, summoning another grandlich. Shiera's eyes widened at the scene, and her limbs shivered. Looking at her expression, Alice chuckled. "Surprised, aren't you?"

Alice didn't offer any explanation and turned to the new grandlich. "Begin." She ordered.

The Grandlich raised its staff, chanting in a forgotten tongue:

"Raxir volthar... en'sharath essoul... Qular domin marai—"

A column of black light shot up from the circle, engulfing Shiera. The air crackled as a tendril of bright and white-gold light pulled from her chest.

Shiera screamed. "Aaahhh…"

Her scream echoed across the graveyard, carried on winds that reeked of death and despair. Soul-light streamed in coils from her body, as if her soul was about to be pulled away at any moment.

But it was just then, a violent explosion of red energy ripped through the incantation circle.

Scarlet chains, blazing with bloodfire, tore through the air and pierced the Grandlich's body. The undead creature let out a shriek, taking Alice by surprise.

"What?"

Before Alice could react, the Grandlich's twitching form was yanked backward like a marionette pulled by someone. With a sickening snap, it slammed against the graveyard wall and was promptly decapitated.

The head flew across the air like a rotted melon.

From the shadows stepped a figure clad in blackened crimson. Her long white hair flowed behind her like a war banner, eyes glowing a deep, unnatural red.

Her clawed hand still dripped black blood from the strike.

Alice's expression turned to one of alarm. "Sith…"

"You are here, that means…" she hissed, eyes darting around. "Where's Kael?"

Sith said nothing. Her lips curled into a cold, fang-baring smile.

She stepped forward, raising her hand once again, this time to her side without looking. A blast of scarlet energy erupted from her palm, striking the Death Knight that had just revived and erasing it into nothingness.

"My master gave me a single command," she said. Her voice was low, layered with a vampiric growl that echoed like a second voice behind hers. "Protect Shiera. Eliminate anything that threatens her."

She raised her hand, and the crimson chains uncoiled like living serpents, licking the ground, still hungry for flesh.

"You," Sith said with a hiss of finality, "will die."

Alice let out a short, bitter laugh. "A vampire mongrel thinks she can threaten me? How amusing."

She stepped forward. Her wings spread wide, black with molten gold veins, radiating impossible pressure. Her staff spun and vanished, replaced by a flickering black flame in her palm.

The air warped. The fog retreated as her true realm was revealed. She is a peak Tier-9, a Supreme Being who is just a step away from becoming a demigod.

Sith's eyes narrowed, but she didn't flinch.

Alice's aura flared into the surroundings. The trees around them died instantly, crumbling to ash. The statue behind her pulsed with malevolent energy as if awakening to her presence.

But Sith, her fangs gleaming in the dim light, smiled wider. "You're not the only monster born of blood and wrath."

In a blink, she vanished.

Alice's eyes widened. "What!"

A claw streaked across her cheek.

Blood splashed.

Alice recoiled in disbelief.

Sith stood behind her, one hand still raised from the strike.

"You're fast," Alice admitted. "But it won't save you."

The ground exploded as both unleashed their power at once.

Sith appeared above Alice mid-air, flipping in a spiral, unleashing a barrage of blood spikes from her fingertips. Each spike moved like it had a will, adjusting its arc mid-flight to follow Alice.

Alice countered by sweeping her hand in a crescent, a black crescent of necrotic fire erupted from her palm and incinerated the incoming spikes with a roar.

Sith was already behind her.

"Crimson Maw!" she snarled.

Her claws grew, elongated like swords, glowing red-hot. She slashed, aiming for Alice's back. But this time, Alice was ready.

A shield of writhing shadows erupted in defense. Sith's claws scraped against it, causing a terrible screech like metal grating on bone.

"Impressive," Alice said calmly, turning her head slightly. "But predictable."

The shadows of the graveyard twisted, suddenly rising up like a forest of black tendrils. They lashed out, grabbing Sith's limbs mid-air, locking her mid-motion.

Alice raised her hand, and the air cracked.

A massive, jagged scythe made of obsidian and crimson flame appeared. With one sweep, she cleaved through the air and sent a shockwave straight into Sith's chest.

Boom!

Sith's body was thrown into the earth like a comet, creating a crater as dust and stone erupted.

Alice descended slowly, landing on a blackened tombstone, her gaze smug. "A Tier-9 pretending to be in the same leagues as a Supreme Being. Sit still and die, vampire."

From the crater, smoke billowed.

Then… it was shredded apart from the inside.

A hand emerged, Sith's, soaked in her own blood, but her eyes now glowed a deeper crimson. Her fangs extended. The sigil of her clan, an ancient vampire crest, began to burn on her neck.

She stepped forward slowly.

"You talk too much."

Boom!

She vanished again, moving at blurring speeds even to Alice's eyes.

But Alice still blocked the attack just in time, their weapons clashing, claws versus scythe, and a sonic boom cracked outward from the impact.

But Sith didn't stop.

She spun, letting her left leg whip into Alice's ribs. The impact sent Alice flying into a mausoleum wall, dust and shattered stone filling the air.

Before Alice could recover, Sith leapt again. She landed on her opponent and slammed her claws down, but Alice caught her wrists. "You're annoying," She hissed.

"Then shut me up," Sith grinned, fangs dripping with blood.

Alice snarled and her wings exploded outward, knocking Sith off her. She then chanted another mystical spell and summoned a Void Sphere, one that looks like a miniature black hole that sucks everything around.

Sith's eyes widened. She hadn't expected that kind of spellcasting speed.

The gravitational pull yanked her forward, but instead of resisting, she charged straight into it, flaring up her aura.

"Fool," Alice muttered. "Was she trying to commit suicide attack or something?"

However, at the last moment when she was about to sucked in, Sith unleashed Blood Reversal, a forbidden vampire art, she converted her own blood into a reactive shield that repelled even void energy. It exploded outward in a shockwave, canceling the sphere and hurling both combatants backward.

Both of them crashed to the ground.

Alice's lip was split, her upper body had severe burns, and her ribs were shattered inside. Coughing out a mouthful of blood, she slowly tried to get up.

While Alice barely managed to stand tall, Sith lay motionless, blood trailing from her lips, her body bruised and scorched instead.

She couldn't help but smile. "Good. Now with you and the princess, I would have a greater chance. Two precious souls with powerful bloodlines. I hope my brother will finally be awakened."

Right then, a voice cut through the night. "How about you add a demon too. Surely that would satisfy his thirst."

Alice froze at once. Her breath hitched. She recognized the voice.

From the edges of the darkness, Kael stepped forward, his boots crunching softly on gravel.

"You…" Alice's lips quivered in shock, watching his form.