Tessa's long black bluish-pink hair instantly changed, turning into white.

Claws and fangs formed, and her red eyes glowed even brighter than before.

Looking at Tessa now, Edith knew... Her appearance wasn't the only thing that changed.

Something else also changed... Her entire demeanor.

With that...

BOOM!

Tessa appeared in front of Edith.

"... Die..."

WHOOSH! SHING!

Tessa's sword rushed towards Edith's neck with speed, splitting the air.

Edith's eyes widened, but she was able to quickly react.

A gust of wind instantly formed in front of her, changing the trajectory of Tessa's sword.

Tessa's sword moved upwards, and Edith didn't waste this opportunity.

A Wind Spike formed on her right hand, and she swung it towards Tessa's chest.

Tessa's eyes shone with intensity.

BOOM!

The ground in front of them was instantly destroyed, causing debris to fly around and also creating a shockwave.

The force of the destroyed ground and the shockwave sent both of them flying.

Tessa swiftly landed and Edith slid backwards a bit before coming to a stop.

Tessa squinted her eyes as she scanned Edith, who had a serious expression on her face.

'I'm at the Grade 5 Grandmaster Mage Rank... I don't know what Rank she is...' Tessa thought. 'But I know for a fact that that dark smoke will make her strong...'

Tessa gripped her sword, her eyes never leaving Edith.

Meanwhile, Edith was yet to bring out any weapon, but Tessa was not surprised about this. She already knew that Edith was someone who didn't use any weapon.

Edith summoned two long spikes made of wind. She gripped them tightly.

"Hmm, you look really angry," she said. "Can't you at least go easy on a family member?"

Edith now had a sly look on her face.

Tessa's eyes narrowed. "I don't consider you a family member."

Edith smiled. "Oh, is that so?"

Suddenly, numerous Wind Spikes and Wind Slashes appeared above her.

With a single motion...

WHOOSH!

The Spikes and Slashes moved towards Tessa with speed.

Tessa remained calm.

The attacks were rushing towards her, but she showed no sign of panicking.

She gripped her sword in her right hand, and took a step forward.

Suddenly, she raised her left hand towards Edith, and then...

BOOM!

A loud explosion sound was heard.

Edith's eyes instantly widened as she sensed the incoming danger.

Quickly, she jumped to the left, and then...

BOOM!

A transparent orb hit the ground she was standing just a second ago, destroying it and sending debris flying.

But just as she was about to regain balance, something else followed.

SHINGGGG!

A high-pitched sound was suddenly heard.

Since Edith was close to where the orb destroyed, the sound entered directly into her ears.

"Ugh..." She grunted in pain as she quickly closed her ears, but even with that, blood trickled down her ears due to the high-pitched sound.

But another effect was that she was stunned.

And a certain someone had already taken that opportunity.

Tessa gathered Blood Energy in her legs, and then...

BOOM!

She moved with great speed to the point that it looked like she disappeared from where she was standing.

And when she appeared, she was already beside Edith, her sword ready.

Meanwhile...

BOOM! BOOM!

The Spikes and Slashes hit the ground where Tessa was standing before, raising a dust cloud.

Tessa was already beside Edith and she swung her sword with force, aiming for Edith's ribs.

Edith didn't have to turn to know that Tessa was already beside her.

WHOOSH!

Just as the sword was about to hit her ribs...

WHOOSH! CLANG!

The black smoke surrounding Edith's waist suddenly moved, turning into a sword and blocking Tessa's sword.

Sparks flew from the collision and Tessa's hand was pushed backwards a bit.

But she wasn't done.

A Blood Spike instantly formed behind her, and it rushed towards Edith's face.

The both of them were still very close to each other, so even though it wasn't at point-blank range, it was still close.

But well, once again, the smoke moved quickly towards Edith's face, formed a sword, and deflected the Blood Spike.

The sword was about to move towards Tessa, but she had already absorbed the clanging sounds, further boosting her speed, and she leaped back, avoiding the sword.

They both stared at each other, Tessa's expression serious while Edith had a small smile.

"You know, I'm surprised," Edith said as they both stared at each other, with none moving.

Tessa didn't reply, but Edith continued talking.

"You are fast... Too fast. You've always been fast due to the sound element, but now, there's something else, and I think I know what it is."

As Edith spoke, she looked at Tessa straight in the eyes.

Edith continued,

"Your appearance changed... Your demeanor changed... But apart from that..."

She paused, her smile widened.

"... Your race changed..."

"That Energy you used... It's the Energy of those Vampires."

Edith's eyes widened as she continued. "You're a Vampire, Tessa."

Tessa knew the point Edith was trying to make.

"So I'm not the only one who took a different means to get power, huh? And here you are, trying to act all good and righteous! Haha, you're just like me! You forsook your humanity to acquire power!"

"I know, Edith," Tessa said. "I needed power, and I got power. But you're using your power to do the bidding of a wretched killer, and I'm cultivating my power in order to defeat a wretched killer... We are not the same."

Tessa stared at Edith straight in the eyes as she added, "If you cared about me from the start, you would have come that day..."

And before Edith could reply...

"Come, Varyn..."

Suddenly...

WHOOSH!

Blood Energy seeped out of Tessa's hands, forming a bright red light.

"Ugh..." Edith instantly looked away, shielding her eyes from the blinding light.

As soon as the light died down, a certain red-haired Vampire was revealed.

Varyn instantly lowered his head. "Master..."

Tessa nodded as she stared at Edith, who was now looking at Varyn with a curious gaze.

Tessa didn't need to say anything, Varyn could already sense the intention of his master.

"Understood," he said as he looked at Edith.

His red hair fluttered wildly as his claws suddenly began elongating, becoming like daggers.

He crouched beside Tessa, ready to attack.

"I won't go down so easily, Tessa," Edith said. "I came here for a reason, and I'll achieve what I came here for."

As soon as Edith said that, her black smoke suddenly began extending, moving upwards towards her stomach, chest, and finally, it covered her neck, leaving only her head.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The black smoke formed long tentacles with sharp tips.

"Get ready, Varyn," Tessa muttered.

"Yes, Master," Varyn replied.

In that same moment...

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The tentacles moved with fierce speed and intensity, rushing towards Tessa and Varyn.

Tessa absorbed the sound from the tentacles, and together with her enhanced Vampiric Speed, she moved.

BOOM!

The force from her initial motion alone destroyed the ground beneath her.

She shot forward, rushing towards Edith with great speed.

The tentacles instantly began moving towards her, aiming to stop her advance and impale her.

Her eyes moved from left to right, observing the movement of the advancing tentacles.

The first one reached her but she quickly darted to the right, avoiding it.

BOOM!

The ground was destroyed from the force at which the tentacle hit it.

Tessa quickly absorbed the sound, and continued her advance, now even faster than before.

WHOOSH!

Three tentacles rushed towards her at once. One was descending from the air, while the other two were coming from the left and right.

She didn't stop for even a second.

Her eyes remained focused as she continued advancing.

Just before the tentacle coming from above could hit her, she quickly formed a Sound Barrier around her.

The tentacle hit the top of the barrier, and because of the amount of Mana she put into the Spell, the barrier was strong.

The tentacle was instantly deflected.

The two coming from the left and right, continued advancing.

Instantly, Tessa increased speed and as soon as she reached in front of them...

WHOOSH!

She leaped up, moving above the tentacles.

BAM!

She landed swiftly and continued her advance. Her eyes locked with Edith's eyes, and she could see it.

The look in Edith's eyes...

It was fear.

As for Varyn...

WHOOSH!

He was slower than Tessa, but he was still fast.

He rushed forward, and as soon as the first tentacle reached him...

SLASH!

He swung his dagger-like claws, instantly cutting the tentacle.

He continued running, weaving through the tentacles and cutting the ones that got to him.

He added Blood Energy to his legs, boosting his speed immensely.

BOOM!

He kicked off the ground, cutting the tentacles one by one with his claws.

"Shit..." Edith muttered as she gritted her teeth.

Varyn slid to the right, avoiding one of the tentacles, and now, he was just beside Edith.

"Time to die... For my Master."