Beyond Realities

As Seraphina, Clied, and Kira made their way toward the west—toward the overwhelming burst of mana she had sensed earlier—their path was suddenly blocked. Ten cloaked figures stood in their way, faces hidden beneath heavy hoods, each wearing the same dark brown cloak. The air around them shifted.

Seraphina immediately stepped in front of the two children, arms spread protectively.

One of the cloaked hunters pointed directly at Kira. "Hand the girl over. Do that, and we won't make this messy."

Clied flinched. Kira tensed.

Seraphina narrowed her eyes. "You will not touch them."

Another hunter stepped forward and lowered his hood, revealing a strong-jawed man with brown hair and familiar eyes. "Big Sis, don't get in our way."

Seraphina's eyes widened. "Alex?"

It was her cousin—Alex Emberlyn. thirty-six years old, built like a warrior, and standing among the enemy.

"Don't make this difficult," Alex said. "Just give us the girl. We're following orders."

Seraphina stepped back slightly, pushing Clied and Kira behind her. "What do you want with her? What has she done?"

"We don't ask questions. Orders are orders," Alex said coldly.

Then, with a quick gesture—two fingers slicing through the air—Alex gave the signal. Three of the hunters rushed forward toward Kira.

Seraphina's eyes flicked with fury. Without lifting a finger, the three hunters were suddenly caught midair, gasping and choking as if invisible hands gripped their throats. They floated upward, legs kicking uselessly.

Alex cursed. "She's using her psychic arts! Go!"

Two more hunters charged, but Seraphina simply waved her hand. A pulse of energy exploded from her, sending them flying into a nearby wall.

"She's too strong!" one of them cried.

Alex gritted his teeth. "All of you, move!"

Now, five more—including Alex—rushed in together.

Seraphina closed her eyes. Her hair lifted in the windless air. Her feet rose from the ground.

She brought both hands to her chest, fingers curled gently, and whispered:

"Astral Sanctum."

A surge of divine energy radiated from her. The ground glowed with runes. The surrounding area shifted into her Domain—a space of brilliant white light and intense gravity.

All ten hunters were lifted from the ground, their bodies floating helplessly in the heavy spiritual pressure.

Alex struggled, sweat pouring down his face. "You've grown strong, cousin."

But he wasn't finished yet.

Mist swirled from his body. His form dissolved into vapor. He darted forward in a blur, reforming right in front of Seraphina and lunging with a blade formed from solidified mist.

Seraphina raised one hand, catching the blade mid-air with her fingers, her Domain reinforcing her strength. The blade hissed and evaporated in her grip.

Alex tried again, striking faster, his form blinking between mist and man—but Seraphina was in control. With a sweeping gesture, she sent psychic force through the air like a tidal wave, slamming Alex to the ground.

His cloak burned away. His body trembled, pinned beneath her pressure.

She floated above him, eyes glowing with ethereal power.

"Tell whoever sent you," she said coldly, "that if they want these children, they'll have to take them from my dead hands."

Alex coughed and groaned. The rest of the hunters lay unconscious or broken around them.

After Seraphina had overpowered the ten hunters with the weight of her domain, silence returned to the streets. The trembling ground and suspended cries vanished like dust. Clied clung quietly to her cloak, and Kira followed close, her hand tightly gripping his.

They moved forward, back on the path to the overwhelming mana Seraphina had sensed in the west.

Unbeknownst to them, a figure crouched lazily on the rooftop of one of the houses they passed. Leaning against a broken chimney, Alcred Grantz grinned to himself, his silver greatsword resting against his shoulder.

"Hey," he called out in his usual relaxed tone, "you're pretty strong… for an old witch."

Seraphina looked up, eyes narrowing. "You've been up there the whole time?"

Alcred stretched, yawning. "Yeah. I was thinking about helping, but to be honest… you handled it better than I expected."

He leapt from the roof with the ease of someone who'd done it a hundred times. His boots landed softly beside them.

Seraphina crossed her arms. "Of course. I didn't need your help anyway."

Alcred smirked. "Good. I wasn't going to help you, nyehh." He stuck his tongue out teasingly.

Seraphina rolled her eyes and turned away. "Let's go. Time is running—"

"Wait," Alcred suddenly said, the grin fading from his face.

Seraphina paused, noticing the shift in his tone.

Alcred's eyes were serious now, staring westward.

"Dark was here," he said grimly. "I saw traces. His energy. That chilling aura—it lingers like smoke."

Her heart skipped.

Alcred continued, "I think… he's fighting Vael. Right now. That overwhelming mana you felt—it wasn't just Vael. It was both of them."

A sudden chill gripped Seraphina's chest.

Her vision from earlier returned in a flash—Vael's lifeless body in Clied's arms, bathed in sorrow and blood. No. Not again. That future cannot happen.

Without another word, she broke into a sprint.

Clied and Kira ran after her, and Alcred followed, serious now, no longer playful.

---

Meanwhile…

Back at the ruined warehouse, Cedric Vaelen had finally arrived. His steps slowed as the carnage before him came into view.

Jack was back in human form, crawling on the blood-soaked ground, begging for mercy. Just meters from him stood Vael, bloodied, breathing heavily, yet still a towering figure of death.

But what froze Cedric's heart was the other man.

Dark.

The Dracula.

He had appeared like a shadow from the void, silent and swift. Cedric watched in horror as Dark raised two blood-glowing fingers. With a clean, swift gesture—just two fingers—he sliced Jack's neck with a supernatural blade of blood. A crimson arc splattered across the wall.

Jack's body crumpled, lifeless.

Cedric stepped back, horrified. Dark… is here? Why?

Then Dark turned his head slightly, sensing him.

Their eyes met.

Cedric's body tensed—his feet refusing to move, his lungs too tight to breathe. He watched as the atmosphere around Vael and Dark became thick, like the sky before a storm. Mana swirled around them like clashing tides, too dense for ordinary men to comprehend.

They didn't speak.

They simply stared at each other.

The calm before the storm.

No… no… This can't be happening… Cedric's thoughts raced. This… this battle—it's something far beyond me.

And then…

Vael and Dark moved at once, rushing toward each other with deadly purpose, blades and blood ready to collide.

Cedric didn't dare interfere.

All he could do was watch… as legends began their dance of death.