CHAPTER 41: LOWER HUMAN

When the vampire raised his hands to the sky, the square rang like a death knell. The twin swords emerging from that cursed dark circle gleamed as if forged in another world; crimson blood flowed like veins across the black steel. As he gripped the blades, the heavens trembled, and cracks split the stone streets of Argenholt.

"No more games," he said, his voice an ominous echo reverberating across the city. "You were merely fireflies adding color to my night. But now the bugs must die"

In the next instant, the vampire vanished. No, he *pierced time itself*. My eyes couldn’t track him; instinctively, I activated *Slip Point*. When steel clashed against steel, sparks set the night ablaze. The vampire’s twin swords met my Asurdan blade, and the force of the blow tore the stone square apart, hurling my soldiers meters away.

Rebecca’s scream rose from behind me:

"Leo! Be careful. This phase is nothing like before!"

"I know!" I shouted, but I couldn’t stop my arms from trembling. Each strike was like a thunderbolt crashing from my shoulders to my bones.

The vampire swung his sword with frenzied speed, each blow both a physical strike and laced with magic. As steel collided, dark flames erupted, filling the air with poisonous mist. Our clash was a catastrophe buried in Argenholt’s heart; buildings crumbled, and the screams of people hiding in their homes echoed intermittently.

Seizing a fleeting moment, I shouted to Rebecca:

"Re! *Temporal Echo*! Read his moves!"

Rebecca slammed her staff into the ground, blood trickling from her forehead. "Leo! His right sword will come down from above, but the real strike is from the left, behind you!"

Heeding her warning, I triggered *Twin Slash*. My sword parried the overhead strike while an ethereal second slash materialized to my left, thwarting the vampire’s hidden attack. Steel rang with a sound that pierced the heavens. For the first time, the vampire was forced to retreat, his eyes blazing crimson.

"Interesting..." he said, his voice dripping with sinister delight. "You truly... entertain me, human."

With a single leap, the vampire sprang back, crossing his swords. A massive explosion of blood erupted in the square’s center, a crimson wave roaring as it engulfed my soldiers. One by one, they were torn apart, their screams piercing my ears. The sky was stained with blood. Even Argenholt’s stone walls cracked under the blow.

"LEO!" Rebecca’s voice echoed. Her magic summoned chains from the sky, binding the Blood Knights once more, but at the same moment, hundreds of civilians burned in another part of the city.

I couldn’t ignore it, but abandoning the fight was impossible.

"Dark Judgment..." a voice whispered within me. I locked eyes with the vampire, piercing into his deepest intentions, his hidden desires. Like a shadow, I slipped into his mind. That’s when I realized. This creature wasn’t fighting; it was playing. Our struggle was his theater, and the deaths of humans were merely a spice to sate his hunger.

"Rebecca!" I roared, drawing the vampire’s attention to me. "We have to push him harder. This bastard sees us as nothing but toys. We won’t end this unless we break his pride!"

Rebecca, hands trembling, prepared her spell. From the flames, a figure emerged, a colossal crimson spear. *Execution Spark* aimed at the vampire with flawless precision.

At the same moment, I unleashed *Intersection Edge*. My sword’s arc severed the vampire’s energy flow once more.

But the vampire... he spread his arms, raising his twin swords to the sky. In that instant, all of Argenholt shook.

Black blood began to rain from the heavens.

Rebecca staggered, fear in her eyes. "Leo... this isn’t a normal fight anymore. The city will be destroyed!"

I gripped my sword, my eyes locked on the vampire. "Then we’ll bury this bastard with the city."

At that moment, our techniques erupted in unison: my *Stellar Line Sword Technique* carved a celestial streak across him, while Rebecca’s spear aimed straight for his heart.

But the vampire... laughed.

His laughter was a curse hidden behind a tombstone’s lid.

"Lower Humans... you still cling to hope."

The vampire’s body seemed to reborn beneath the black blood. As he swung his twin swords, the rain transformed into black ribbons guided by his strikes. Each droplet exploded on impact, shattering the stone streets.

I parried the first blow. Using *Slip Point*, I dodged to the side, but the shockwave alone made my ribs ache.

Rebecca’s voice trembled as it rose:

"Leo! Those swords aren’t just steel... they’re fueled by magic! Every swing drains mana from the city!"

My eyes widened. This bastard wasn’t just using his own power; he was siphoning Argenholt’s life force.

Yes... human deaths were his fuel, his spice.

"Re! Break him!" I shouted.

Rebecca slammed her staff into the ground. *Chain of Fire* sliced through the sky, fiery bonds shattering castle towers as they wrapped around the vampire’s swords. But with a single motion, he shattered the chains with his blades. A dark explosion followed. One part of the city was consumed by fire, another plunged into eternal night.

At that moment, I let out a primal scream.

"HiyyaaaaHHH!"

As I swung my Asurdan sword, a constellation bloomed in the sky. Each movement of my blade traced lines of starlight, clashing with the vampire’s strikes. Every intersection of steel and celestial light shook the city with another tremor.

Towers fell. Blood flowed like a flood through the streets. My soldiers screamed as they perished, but I didn’t retreat. The force of my blow sent the vampire staggering back, but only for a second. When he reappeared, one of his swords was aimed straight at Rebecca.

"REB!"

But in Rebecca’s eyes, there was no fear, only resolve.

"We will never lose to you!"

The vampire’s sword vanished, replaced by Rebecca’s magic splitting the sky. A colossal pillar of fire crashed into the vampire’s position. The square blazed as if it had become the sun.

But when I saw the silhouette emerging from the smoke, my heart nearly stopped. The vampire was still alive, no longer just fighting. His muscles bulged, his eyes burned with crimson madness. When he gripped his swords, he wasn’t playing anymore. Each step he took toward us unleashed a tempest.

Darkness and fire...

Starlight and blood...

The city had become a slaughterhouse at the crossroads of these forces.

As Rebecca passed me, she whispered:

"Leo... we need stop him"

"Now..." she said, her voice ringing like a verdict, "I’ll remind you what it means to be powerful, Lower human."

In an instant, he lunged at me with a speed even *Slip Point* couldn’t match. His twin swords descended like a cross-shaped storm. I felt the first blow in my chest; though I raised my sword, my breastplate shattered. The shockwave broke my ribs. My breath caught, and blood sprayed from my mouth.

Rebecca screamed, using *Temporal Echo* to detect the attack’s second layer, but it was too late. The vampire’s left sword grazed my shoulder, searing my flesh and rattling my bones. I collapsed to my knees.

Rebecca surged forward, raising her staff to the sky: *Execution Spark*.

Flames descended from the heavens, wrapping around the vampire like chains. The *Flame Chain* writhed, imprisoning him.

"LEO! Get up!" she shouted.

Spitting blood, I staggered to my feet. I activated *Twin Slash*. One line appeared before my chest, another behind me. As the vampire broke the ground and charged, the ethereal slash absorbed his blow. My sword strike left a deep gash in the vampire’s chest, and for the first time, the vampire’s blood truly flowed..

The vampire roared in fury, his scream shaking the city’s walls. He plunged his twin swords into the ground, and Argenholt’s stone pavement erupted with boiling blood from below.

Rebecca raised her staff to the sky.

*Breaking Point.*

Time cracked for a moment; echoes rippled through the air. From them, *Execution Spark* was reborn, a flawless spear piercing the heart of the darkness.

But this time, the vampire didn’t retreat. When the flaming spear struck his chest, he flinched for a moment. His body burned, crimson sparks coursing through his veins.

I struggled to stand, my legs trembling. The vampire raised his sword to the sky. All the mana, blood, and life force around him gathered in a vortex. The sky darkened. Droplets of blood rose from rooftops, ruins, and streets, forming a deep crimson whirlpool around his blades.

Rebecca’s voice quivered. "No... this isn’t an ordinary spell. It’ll erase us along with the city."

The vampire opened his arms, then aimed his sword at Rebecca. "Your time is up, fire witch."

The sky tore apart with blood. A dark, sun-like spell exploded, a deep crimson light surging toward Rebecca. The air ripped, and stone melted. No human could survive that power.

Rebecca froze. Even her *Temporal Echo* unraveled; this spell was burning away the possibilities of the future.

I didn’t think.

Ignoring the pain in my arms and broken ribs, I lunged forward. I activated *Slip Point* and slid along the spatial line to get in front of Rebecca, who was the target of the vampire’s deadly arrow.

Rebecca’s eyes widened. "LEO! NO!"

I aimed my sword at the crimson bolt hurtling toward me. As the spell arrow approached, time seemed to slow. The force of the bolt was so terrifying that the stones beneath it shattered as it passed.

"Why?" I asked myself. This was the second time I’d made this mistake. In my previous life, I’d thrown myself into death to save a friend, and now, here I was again. Am I a masochist? At least this time, someone truly worth saving would survive... Wait, the vampire won’t disappear after I die, will he?

"Fuck...!"

My death would be meaningless. There was still a chance for Rebecca. If she left me behind and escaped...

And at that moment, the magical arrow shattered my sword and pierced my stomach.

What was this? How could a magical arrow this powerful hurt less than the stab of a thug’s knife in my previous life?

As I fell, I realized I was still in slow motion. Strangely, my head landed on something softer than any pillow I’d ever known. Oh... it was Rebecca’s chest. Too bad. I’d never get to touch them. Damn it, what kind of idiot thinks about breasts while dying? Probably every virgin guy... Wait, I’m not even a virgin.

As these foolish thoughts raced through my mind, my eyes slowly closed. The last thing I saw was Rebecca’s shocked expression, as if she couldn’t fathom why I’d done this. Her eyes were wide open. This moment would likely be one of the most traumatic of her life. Poor girl. I hope she finds happiness...