Cid watched Razel disappear from his sight.
It was caused by a mysterious man dressed in black.
The man introduced himself as Quinque; Cid was truly angry.
"You miserable wretch!"
He drew his sword and approached Quinque. He made no move, just watched him approach.
The sharp sword neared Quinque's neck.
It stopped.
"...!"
Cid didn't understand what happened; Quinque was the one who explained it to him.
"What you are seeing is part of our abilities as the chosen supreme beings."
His hand moved to the collar of his uniform and lowered it a little so Cid could see.
His veins were glowing while simultaneously being hardened.
"This is known as Blut. Thanks to the power of our blood, the magical power we use increases in potency."
"What you see is defensive Blut; it allows us to defend against normal attacks and magical attacks."
"This is offensive Blut."
Quinque had red bracelets with wings on his wrists.
The hand holding his sword moved as if something forced it to.
Cid covered himself, but it was useless because the sword protecting him shattered into pieces.
"This is the power of offensive Blut. Thanks to our blood heritage as superior vampires, our blood can move at will."
"Isn't it amazing? I don't have to move a single finger to kill you; my blood will move my body to do it. It's known as involuntary movement, as you call it."
On Quinque's ankles, the same thing appeared as on his wrists.
As if he were a motorcycle, he accelerated.
Cid looked around, searching for a way to avoid the damage, but he had nothing to do it with.
So he decided to use his own power.
"Alchemical water magic..."
He raised his hand, and a blue magic circle manifested.
"Stinger Rain!"
A large jet of water came out of that magic circle, forming a sphere in the sky.
As seconds passed, it launched a large number of liquid needles.
Quinque paid no attention and continued straight for Cid as the needles struck him.
Cid shouted again.
"Transmutation!"
Thanks to Cid's alchemical magic, the needles embedded in Quinque's body turned to vapor.
"Burn!"
Quinque reacted due to the burning sensation his skin felt.
His clothes were intact, but his body manifested second-degree burns.
That annoyed him.
"Miserable timer-equipped insect."
He said as his body regenerated the burned parts.
"It seems you're an insect that puts up resistance. Fine, I'll play on your terms."
Quinque retreated and positioned himself several meters in front of Cid.
"Cursed Blood Magic: Angel Ascension."
He raised his hands, and strange tumors grew from his back.
The tumors tore part of his clothing, but he didn't care.
With a slight jump, Quinque rose into the sky and revealed beautiful red wings.
He looked at Cid mockingly.
"I stopped being a fallen angel and have now ascended to heaven. You can no longer touch me, insect."
"Flügelschnitt!"
Shouting his attack, the red wings launched blades straight at Cid.
He activated a water shield.
But it was useless.
The blades pierced the shield, and some cut his skin and flesh.
Blood gushed out in torrents.
"Gyah!"
Cid's cry of pain was very explicit.
His flesh was torn without mercy.
After a while, the attack ended.
Quinque remained in the sky and saw that Cid was still alive.
"Tch. You're a truly unpleasant insect."
"Let's end this face-to-face."
Quinque descended to end Cid's suffering. But he was interrupted by some golden threads.
"...!"
His body was caught in them, and the net grew smaller.
Using a bit of strength, he broke them.
But that wasn't all that happened. A whirlwind-shaped object approached him.
Quinque barely dodged it.
But what he couldn't dodge was that Manfred was behind him.
"But what?"
"Silent Assassination."
With those words,
His back was cut, and his wings as well.
His Blut was activated, so damaging or cracking those wings should be impossible.
But it happened.
Manfred cut Quinque's wings, and he fell to the ground.
Then Cid, a bit unsteady, realized that three figures were in front of him.
"What are you doing here, Bryes?!"
John shouted at him while Clement approached to heal him.
"Thread magic: Regroup."
Clement's magic couldn't heal. What it could do was replace dead cells with new cells.
New tissues and organs appeared where they had been cut.
Cid spat out a little blood while asking.
"... What are the professors doing here?"
"That's our question, idiot. What the hell are you doing here? This is no place for brats!"
John shouted at Cid out of concern.
After a while, Quinque stood up.
His face showed that he was very annoyed.
"You insects have dared to bother me more than I already am."
"And that is unforgivable for my complexion!"
Quinque rose once more; the same attack happened.
A large number of wind blades fell directly on them.
But this time, it wouldn't be the same.
Manfred and John jumped and repelled several of those blades.
Manfred's sword repelled the blades at the same speed they fell.
While John used his tonfas and nunchucks to knock down several blades.
Clement in the background created a net that caught several blades that weren't cut.
Because his threads were at the same level as a defensive Blut, he could destroy them.
That annoyed Quinque.
"They're bothering me to the point that stress will give me green gray hair!"
"I'll make sure to end this as soon as possible!"
Once again, he rose into the sky and transformed again.
"Cursed Blood Magic: Archangel Executor!"
The wings on his back became larger.
On his head, a halo of blood formed.
His hands shone an intense red.
He was no longer in the air; he was now on the ground.
He looked at them all and said.
"You won't leave here alive."
"Stop your nonsense; you're no match for us!"
Shouted Manfred as he quickly approached.
"Truly... insects never learn."
The right hand holding his sword moved as if it were a snake.
It moved in different ways, and Manfred couldn't dodge a cut that came from behind.
It pierced him near the lung area.
"Puah!"
He spat blood.
Then he was thrown to one side.
Clement wanted to run to heal him, but he couldn't leave his student unprotected.
John understood that and went for Manfred.
He almost reached him, but Quinque was much faster.
John covered himself and jumped back.
Quinque left his sword and stretched out his hand.
He smiled while John didn't understand his actions.
His right hand seemed to twist until it became tentacles with blades that pierced almost all of John's body; he was also thrown to one side.
In a short span of time,
Two of them were defeated without issue.
Clement was thinking about what to do.
But Cid touched his shoulder and said.
"Professor, take the other professors and escape."
Clement shouted at Cid.
"What the hell are you talking about, Bryes-kun?!"
"This enemy is too strong for us!"
Quinque wasn't moving because he wanted them to act first.
Cid looked at him as his determination grew more.
"I know, but you got hurt protecting me. It's my turn to defend you a little while you escape."
"And what will you do then?!"
"Run away, of course."
With those words, Clement hesitated for a moment.
But he bit his lips and said.
"Alright."
Clement went out to use a net of threads that caught John and Manfred while he took them and ran.
Quinque saw it and did nothing.
Moments later, the door closed.
Clement shouted for Cid to run, but there was no response.
"I was thinking about the possibility that you would run like an insect after seeing your friend die and those two half-dead."
"I said that so he would leave. This is my battle. I came here with a purpose."
"To eliminate this place once and for all."
Cid's eyes focused on the sword-cane that Manfred used.
Quinque seemed to indicate with his nose, "Pick it up," so Cid did.
He took his sword, and magical power gushed from his body.
"I want to end this as quickly as possible and go finish off the other plagues. Then I'll report everything to His Excellency."
A large blood spiral manifested.
"Diiieee!"
Quinque approached Cid.
He put the sword in front, pointing at Quinque, then recited a spell.
"Water magic..."
Thanks to the moonlight increasing magical power, along with Cid's own magical power, he used his best attack.
He hadn't used it before because it required that his opponent couldn't dodge it.
And that was...
"Sea Dragon Roar!"
A magic circle formed around the sword, and from it, a blue water dragon emerged.
Quinque couldn't understand what happened.
He couldn't try to escape because it was too late.
"Defensive Blut!"
He hardened his veins, arteries, and blood vessels just before the water dragon engulfed him.
It struck him in various places and then rose straight into the sky.
The floors prevented it from rising much, but Cid didn't notice that Quinque was actually having a hard time.
Almost reaching the penultimate floor, the water dragon stopped.
Cid sighed and then walked.
It took almost ten minutes to climb while watching the bloody water fall like rain.
As he walked, he thought of Razel.
(That guy can't be dead.)
(If he didn't die against Regulux or that creature, I don't think he could have actually died.)
He reached the penultimate floor.
A few more stairs up were his target.
Cid planned to recharge his strength in the meantime.
Only a few seconds passed when he felt a presence behind him.
"Now you've really done it, you piece of shit."
About to turn around, something hit him hard.
He rolled several times and crashed into the door, falling down the stairs a few floors.
He let out a cry of pain; it seemed he had broken his leg.
Cid watched in pain as a strange being descended.
His clothes were torn and covered in red.
His body had mutated.
This was the ultimate awakening.
It's what happens when Blut is unstable and power goes out of control, causing the awakening of their vampire powers to go berserk.
"Cursed Blood Magic..."
Said a distorted and horrendous voice.
Descending like an angel. Quinque was transformed into a monster.
His left arm was white, and its size was the same as a whale's fin.
His right arm was smaller. His sword and hand merged to become a huge white stinger.
His cap disappeared, and his hair was exposed.
His face was also horrendous.
One of his eyes was larger than the other, and his teeth grew to look like a shark's.
Quinque said to Cid as he stepped onto the floor.
"You have forced me to show this grotesque form. I congratulate you; it's been years since I last used it. But in this case, it's not to protect Gerhardt-sama, but to eliminate a pest like you."
The giant hand rose.
"I would use my stinger to kill you, but I want you to suffer for mocking me."
"Take thiiiiis!"
The hand struck Cid.
He got up again, and he struck him again.
And again.
Once more.
Cid's body was crushed, and blood came from his mouth.
As he was being beaten,
A certain memory came to his mind.
When Cid was a child living in the palace,
He was always compared to Regulux.
Despite being the same age, he was more talented than Cid.
That caused Cid to grow up with many complexes towards Regulux.
Cid forgot them, but they remained in his head.
When they entered the academy, he heard voices from professors and students saying.
"Isn't that the fourth prince? What is he doing in the class with the worst grades?"
"I heard his score was very bad; it was a shame that a prince entered that class, but the palace said not to waste influence on him. That Prince Regulux was better despite not being the heir."
All those comments made Cid (in the game) generate a dark desire towards his half-brother.
That desire grew every time Regulux did something and Cid was compared to him.
No one was on the side of a powerless prince.
A dark shadow appeared in Cid's eyes (not in the game), so his fate was going to be the same as in the game.
The sin of envy was running through his veins.
Until one day, a person interrupted his life.
That person was Razel.
He was the first to speak to him as an equal.
He was the first to never compare him or criticize him.
Furthermore, he was the first to become his friend.
Razel's existence made the darkness in Cid's heart just a bitter memory.
When that day came when Elize was heading towards her end, Cid wanted to defend her, but seeing who her opponent was, he could do nothing.
But the one who motivated him to defend her was Razel, who stood before a member of the imperial family and other young men from important houses.
Cid watched Razel's duel against four young men.
In three, he won without issue. When his duel against Regulux came, he lost, but it was the referee's fault.
Then they were attacked by a monster.
Cid wanted to flee, but his hands wouldn't move to make his Pegasus obey.
In the distance, he observed an intense white light and a blue light.
When he went in that direction,
Various explosions happened, and upon arriving, he found Razel injured, carrying an injured Lambert.
Although Razel denied it, Cid knew what had happened.
Quinque got tired of beating Cid.
"It was a good way to relieve stress. Now for the others."
He walked away from there very relaxed until he stopped because of a voice.
"Stop."
The voice was harsh, and panting could be heard.
Quinque turned to look and saw Cid pointing his sword at him.
He made a terrifying grimace of disgust with his mouth.
"You're so annoying; why don't you just die already?"
The great fist approached Cid, and after hitting him, he flew against the wall.
A crack began to form.
Quinque was tired of hitting Cid; he was leaving when he was stopped by several rocks.
Once again, Cid stood up, and this time, Quinque used his stinger.
It pierced Cid's stomach.
"Aaaaaah!"
He let out a cry of agonizing pain while Quinque laughed.
"You see? You are nothing more than insignificant life forms compared to us vampires."
"You should be grateful that we allow you to be our food."
He lifted Cid and threw him against the wall, which cracked.
The light of the red moon in the sky and flames on the ground of the gray district showed an infernal scene.
"Witness how tonight we will regain what was lost!"
"When our queen revives! You will be nothing but cattle!"
With all his strength, Cid stood up again.
His stomach had a hole.
Quinque got annoyed and lunged at Cid.
"Die, trash!"
When the stinger approached, a blue glow appeared on it.
Quinque immediately stopped and observed something strange.
"But what?"
Not only the stinger; the surroundings also began to show a blue tone.
The atmosphere was warm, but it started to get cold.
Quinque's breath was visible.
"Why is the atmosphere freezing?"
Quinque didn't understand why the environment was crystallizing for no reason; it was then that Cid spoke.
"In my training with Razel in the Rosenberg duchy, I discovered that my magical attribute was more of a state of transmutation than a liquid one."
His hair and eyes began to turn into an ice blue.
His right shoulder and some parts of his body also crystallized.
Cid took the sword, and it also began to crystallize.
"I can only achieve this when two conditions are met."
"The first is the amount of magical power in the environment, and the second is that the amount of humidity must be sufficient to affect it."
With each step Cid took, the ground crystallized more; the atmosphere became colder.
"Huh? And that—"
Quinque was stunned because his Blut wasn't responding.
"How? It's impossible; my arteries are freezing."
Quinque felt his legs freeze as the ice was swallowing him.
"My magical power is superior to yours! So why can't I use my Blut?"
Quinque began to despair as Cid stood before him.
He spoke the words that would mark his end.
"Ice Creation..."
The ice condensed on the sword's edge.
Quinque couldn't utter his last words because his vocal cords froze.
"Absolute Zero!"
A large amount of ice approached Quinque, who thought.
(I-It's so beautiful.)
Those were his final thoughts as a large part of the tower was engulfed in icebergs growing from it.
◇◇◇
At the highest part of the tower, the final floor, Gerhardt was drinking wine.
Although it wasn't wine but blood.
He felt a slight tremor and then something approaching his door.
The door was destroyed by a block of ice, and an object flew out near him.
Without interest, he looked at what it was.
His eyes didn't move despite seeing that it was his right hand's head, frozen.
Part of the spinal column was visible, also frozen.
As it cracked like glass, Quinque said to him.
"Ger... hardt...-sama."
"Ru... n—"
Quinque's head shattered into pieces.
Gerhardt's cold and uninterested eyes turned upward.
He heard footsteps approaching.
It was Cid, who stepped firmly and pointed his sword at him.
Gerhardt never asked who he was, but Cid introduced himself.
"I am the third prince in the line of succession of the Arklight Empire. Cidfert von Bryes. Due to your crimes and monstrosities, I will end you here and put an—"
"It's too late."
Gerhardt cut off Cid's heroic introduction.
His pale hand moved, and his black nails pointed to a place.
It was a coffin.
"Thanks to your increase in magical power, Mother absorbed more blood to avoid feeling cold. It's thanks to your idiocy that she resurrected faster."
The coffin moved slowly.
Gerhardt looked at Cid like a lion looking at a wounded enemy about to die.
"It's all over from the moment you set foot in this place."
The resurrection of the vampire queen had begun.