The sky darkened as Izumi Morningstar, leader of the Vampire Association, descended like the shadow of death.
His crimson eyes flared with ancient fury, and in a blink, he was above Paulo, his claws poised to strike.
But Paulo was ready. He raised his staff, blocking the blow with a burst of radiant energy.
The impact cracked the earth beneath them, sending shockwaves through the field.
Paulo's voice rang out, calm and resolute. "Limitation Two… activated."
A surge of light exploded from his body, wrapping him in a glowing aura of celestial fire. His eyes gleamed with cosmic intensity, and his staff pulsed with raw power.
"I've been holding back," Paulo said, stepping forward. "I have five limitations. Until now, I only used the first."
He launched upward, his foot glowing with concentrated light, and struck Izumi mid-air with a devastating kick.
The vampire king was sent flying across the sky, crashing into the far edge of the field with a thunderous boom.
Izumi rose slowly, brushing dust from his cloak, a smirk on his lips. "That's what I'd expect from someone powerful."
Paulo landed gracefully, his aura still burning. "I've got more than power," he said. "I've got an army."
He raised his hand to the heavens. The sky shimmered, stars bending and swirling as ten radiant figures descended around him his cosmic soldiers.
***
Back at the Cosmic Base, nestled deep within the orbiting command station, Riku and Maki were lounging in the central communications chamber, casually chatting with Yuki through the holographic interface.
The soft hum of the base's systems filled the room as glowing data streams danced across the walls.
Yuki's voice crackled through the channel, thoughtful and slightly concerned. "I wonder how Paulo is doing," she mused, her image flickering slightly in the projection.
Riku's face lit up with a cheerful grin as he leaned forward. "Oh, he's at Rikako High," he replied with a hint of pride in his voice. But then, his expression shifted.
A shadow of worry crept across his features as he hesitated, his voice dropping. "Actually… Paulo is fighting vampires."
Maki, ever the confident one, scoffed and leaned back in his chair with a smirk. "Vampires? Please. That is nothing Paulo cannot manage. He is probably enjoying the challenge."
But Riku's eyes widened, and his voice trembled as he exclaimed, "You don't get it, it's a three-on-one fight!"
The room fell silent for a moment, the weight of the situation sinking in. Just then, a low hum began to resonate beneath their feet.
The floor beneath Riku and Maki started to glow with a radiant blue light, forming intricate summoning patterns that pulsed with energy.
The two exchanged a quick glance, knowing exactly what it meant.
"He's calling us," Maki said, his cocky demeanour fading into focused determination.
Riku nodded, already bracing himself. "Paulo needs backup." And with that, the summoning light intensified, preparing to transport them into the heart of the battle.
***
Back on the battlefield the cosmic soldiers were getting summoned one by one.
Each one was clad in Armor forged from stardust, their weapons glowing with celestial energy. They stood silently, their presence commanding, their loyalty absolute.
Izumi chuckled, nodding with amusement. "So, the vessel of Ash commands legions now." Vaelia and Micheal stepped back, unease growing in their eyes.
Even the third vampire, cloaked in shadow, hesitated. Paulo pointed his staff toward Izumi. "You wanted a war. Now you have got one."
The battlefield crackled with energy as Paulo's cosmic soldiers stood tall, their Armor shimmering like constellations.
Among them, two stepped forward, Riku, the tactician with lightning reflexes, and Maki, the powerhouse with gravity-defying strength.
Riku's eyes locked onto Izumi Morningstar, the vampire king. "Paulo," he said calmly, "me and Maki can manage this clown."
Izumi's gaze darkened, his crimson eyes narrowing. "Clown?" he echoed, voice low and venomous. "You dare mock me?"
Before the words had fully left his lips, Maki launched forward with a burst of speed, her foot glowing with cosmic force.
She struck Izumi square in the chest, sending him rocketing into the sky like a meteor.
Riku was already airborne. He twisted mid-flight, his fists crackling with starlight, and slammed Izumi downward with a thunderous blow.
The vampire king crashed into the earth, carving a crater into the field.
But he was not down for long. Izumi rose slowly, his cloak torn, his expression unreadable.
But before he could retaliate, Maki and Riku were on him again, moving in perfect sync, a blur of coordinated strikes.
Punch after punch landed, each one infused with cosmic energy.
The air shook with every impact, the ground trembling beneath their fury. Izumi staggered, his body absorbing the blows, his aura flickering.
From the sidelines, Paulo watched intently, his staff glowing. "Don't hold back," he muttered. "He's not just strong, he's ancient."
Vaelia and Micheal looked on, stunned. Even they had not seen Izumi pushed this far.
But the vampire king was not finished. As the barrage continued, Izumi's eyes flared with a deeper red, darker, colder.
Suddenly, Vaelia Glamori stepped forward again, her crimson eyes blazing with rage.
She could not stand by any longer, not while her brother was being pummelled and her leader was being challenged.
"I'm not done," she hissed, launching herself toward Paulo with supernatural speed.
But Paulo was ready. He turned mid-spin, his cosmic staff glowing with a fierce light. "You again?" he said coldly. "Didn't learn the first time?"
Vaelia summoned a blood spear and hurled it at him, but Paulo deflected it with a flick of his staff, the spear dissolving into mist. He dashed forward, his movements fluid and brutal.
With a flurry of strikes, he landed a crushing blow to Vaelia's ribs, sending her skidding across the field. She tried to recover, but Paulo was already above her, slamming her into the ground with a light-infused punch that cratered the earth.
"You're fast," Paulo growled, "but not fast enough." Vaelia coughed, blood trailing from her lips. She tried to rise, but Paulo did not let up.
He spun his staff and struck again, once to the shoulder, once to the leg, and finally a sweeping kick that sent her crashing into a broken tree.
The students watching gasped. Even Micheal flinched. Paulo stood over her, his aura burning like a star. "Stay down. I have got bigger monsters to deal with."
Vaelia groaned, her body healing slowly, but her pride was shattered. She had underestimated him and paid the price.
***
The battlefield was chaos, cosmic soldiers clashing with vampires, energy tearing through the air like lightning.
Paulo stood locked in combat with Izumi Morningstar, the vampire king, their powers colliding in bursts of light and shadow.
Then, in a flash of crimson, Izumi launched a fatal strike, aimed directly at Paulo's heart. Time seemed to slow. Lily, watching from the sidelines, saw the attack coming.
Without hesitation, she sprinted forward, her eyes filled with love and desperation.
"No!" she screamed. She threw herself between Paulo and the incoming blow.
The impact was devastating. Izumi's claws pierced through her chest, and she collapsed in Paulo's arms, blood staining her uniform, her breath shallow.
Paulo froze. "Lily…" he whispered, voice cracking. Her hand trembled as it reached for his face. "I… I could not let you die…" Her eyes dimmed. Her body went limp.
Paulo's heart shattered. In that moment, memories surged, Alexis's lifeless body, the pain of loss, the weight of vengeance. And now Lily… gone. Something inside Paulo snapped.
His aura exploded outward, shaking the earth. His eyes turned white-hot, his body trembling with rage. A single black wing burst from his back, followed by a jagged horn curling from his temple.
The ground cracked beneath him. "Playtime's over," he growled, his voice layered with cosmic fury and something darker, something ancient. Izumi stepped back, eyes narrowing. "So… the vessel awakens."
Paulo rose slowly, his staff now glowing with unstable energy, his presence warping the air around him. "I gave you a chance," he said, his voice echoing like thunder. "Now I'll show you what happens when you take everything from me."
Vaelia and Micheal, desperate and enraged, charged at him together, blood magic swirling around them, their fangs bared, their speed unmatched. But Paulo did not move.
One of his eyes shifted, glowing a piercing emerald green, radiating pure cosmic intent. He raised his arms slowly, his voice a whisper that echoed like thunder across the field.
"Cosmic Death Beam." The sky darkened. The air froze. A beam of concentrated cosmic energy erupted from Paulo's body, blindingly bright and impossibly fast.
It struck Micheal directly, and in an instant, his body began to disintegrate, atoms unravelling, blood boiling away, his scream swallowed by the light.
There was no time to react. No time to escape. Micheal Glamori, vampire warrior and brother to Vaelia, was gone. Vaelia skidded to a halt, her eyes wide with horror. "No… Micheal!"
Paulo lowered his arms, his expression unreadable. "One down." The students watching from the windows were silent, stunned. Even Izumi Morningstar, still recovering from the earlier assault, narrowed his eyes.
"That power…" he murmured. "It is not just cosmic. It is divine." Vaelia trembled, her rage boiling into grief. But Paulo's aura only grew darker, heavier.
Vaelia Glamori, still reeling from the loss of her brother Micheal, screamed in fury and charged at Paulo with everything she had.
Her blood magic surged, forming spears, blades, and serpents of crimson energy. She struck from every angle, slashes, stabs, bursts of vampiric force.
But Paulo did not move. He raised his staff with one hand, effortlessly deflecting each attack. Sparks flew. The ground cracked. But none of her strikes landed.
He blocked a blood whip with his forearm, shattered a spear with a flick of his staff, and sidestepped a barrage of claws with inhuman grace. Vaelia growled, her frustration boiling over. "Why won't you fight me?!"
Paulo's voice was low, cold, and final. "Because you're not worth it." He caught her wrist mid-strike and twisted, sending her spinning backward across the field. She landed hard, coughing, her pride bruised more than her body.
"You lost your chance when you let Micheal die," Paulo said, stepping forward, his aura flaring. "Now you're just noise."
***
The students watching from the windows were silent, awestruck. Even Izumi Morningstar, still recovering from the cosmic assault, narrowed his eyes.
Vaelia struggled to rise, her body trembling. But Paulo had already turned away, his focus shifting back to the true threat. Izumi.
Riku stood at the centre, his cosmic Armor cracked and glowing, his hand still raised from the devastating light beam he had unleashed.
The blast had torn through the sky, slicing toward Izumi Morningstar with lethal precision.
Izumi had barely escaped. The vampire king vanished in a swirl of black mist, his cloak trailing behind him like smoke.
The last thing anyone saw was his crimson eyes narrowing, not in fear, but in calculation. "He'll be back," Riku muttered, lowering his arm. "Next time, he won't get away."
The field was littered with debris, shattered trees, and scorched earth. But the most haunting sight was the stillness of two bodies: Micheal Glamori, disintegrated by Paulo's Cosmic Death Beam. Vaelia Glamori, broken and defeated, her blood staining the grass.
Paulo stood over them, his wing folded, his horn dimming, his aura slowly receding. His eyes were hollow, his heart heavy.
Lily's lifeless body lay nearby; the cost of victory etched into every breath he took.
Saya approached quietly, her tengu mask removed, her expression solemn. "It's over… for now." Riku nodded. "But the war has only begun."
The students who had watched from the windows were silent, forever changed by what they had witnessed. Rikako High would never be the same.
And somewhere in the shadows, Izumi Morningstar was already planning his return.
***
Back at Rikako High School, the intense clash between Izumi and Paulo had finally come to an end for now.
The battlefield lay quiet, scarred by the aftermath of their confrontation.
Paulo, his expression grim and resolute, gently lifted the lifeless body of Lily into his arms. The weight of loss hung heavy in the air.
Standing nearby, Vaelia and Michael watched in silence, their faces etched with sorrow and determination.
After a moment, Michael broke the silence, his voice steady but filled with emotion. "Once Riku, Maki, and I locate Izumi and bring him back safely," he said, "Lily's sacrifice will not have been in vain. Her death will serve as the turning point in this war."
He turned to face the horizon, eyes burning with purpose. "We will hunt down the Vampire King, the elusive and ruthless leader of the vampire association.
No matter how far he runs or how deep he hides, we will find him. And when we do, we will end this nightmare once and for all."
Their mission was no longer just about survival, it had become a vow to honour the fallen, to restore balance, and to bring justice to a world teetering on the edge of darkness.