Blood began to flow from both, leaving slash marks all over their cheeks and arms. However, Kein remained calm in his graceful yet deadly position, his free left hand maintaining his body balance as he maneuvered through the rain of attacks.
Zevron changed his fighting style. He no longer moved linearly; his movement was now fragmented—appearing momentarily like a flash of light, then vanishing before Kein's eyes could lock onto his position. Each appearance was always at the wrong angle; too close to be slashed, too far to be stabbed. Kein was forced to defend while moving, until finally releasing one desperate counter slash, cutting the air with a high-pitched sound.
Zevron did not retreat; instead, he slipped into the range of that slash. The claws on his right hand struck first, baiting a parry, while Night Sovereign moved a fraction of a second later from the opposite direction. The double attack came stacked, almost without a pause, forcing Kein to sacrifice his position to stay alive. When Zevron moved to the back, attacking the blind spot with cruel precision, Kein reacted with pure instinct. He spun his body while striking out with his Psionic Blade, releasing a destructive energy slash that swept the space around him indiscriminately.
Zevron did not dodge. Through his Mist Form, his body broke apart like a shadow sliced by light—unraveling into thousands of silhouettes before solidifying back into two large forms. Two wolves fell to the grave soil with a heavy thud; one pitch black, one pale white. Both leaped at Kein from different directions; the black wolf lunged low, aiming for the legs, while the white wolf leaped high, snapping for the neck. Kein was forced to divide his focus. His right hand slashed the black shadow on the ground, but it opened a fatal gap above.
"Damn it!" Kein growled.
The fangs of the white wolf tore his left shoulder, and fresh blood splattered. Kein kicked the wolf away, but Zevron gave him no room to breathe. The two wolves merged back in the air right in front of Kein's face, turning back into human form with claws ready to pierce the heart. The claws were held back by a Psionic Shield that appeared instantly in front of Kein's face, though the heavy impact shook his already wounded arm. "Die!" Zevron shouted, pressing his claws deeper until the shield cracked.
Kein gritted his teeth. Instead of defending, he condensed his remaining energy into the shield and exploded it outward.
BOOM!
A shockwave exploded from the point of impact, throwing Zevron back until he was dragged across the grave soil. Kein gave no pause; even though his breath was ragged, he swung his Psionic Blade into the air with a slashing motion, releasing a thin but sharp energy that sped through the dust. A long crack split the grave soil, chasing Zevron.
However, behind the cloud of dust, Zevron's laugh sounded low as the vampire managed to dodge to the side at the last second, though the edge of his clothes was neatly cut by the energy.
"Is that all you can do, spawn?" Zevron's voice echoed. "You are but dust before my power!".
Zevron no longer gave any openings, moving at full speed and shifting forms without a fixed pattern—mist, wolf, human—each change occurring just before Kein could adjust his rhythm.
Kein was now truly shredded, with deep slashes crossing his back and chest. His breath was ragged, yet his eyes continued to follow the black and white movements circling him like a shark surrounding its prey. He held on with his remaining strength, parrying close-range attacks with his sword, although several claws still managed to penetrate his defense, leaving red marks that throbbed with heat.
Zevron attacked again, this time maintaining his human form. His Demon Wings flapped hard, launching his body forward with brutal speed as Night Sovereign was raised high, its shadow swallowing the moonlight, ready to deliver the deciding slash.
However, before the tip of the black blade could tell touch Kein, the air between them was split by a whip of transparent pink energy, speeding at the speed of sound.
SPLASH!
Diane's Psionic Whip struck Zevron's chest squarely, creating an energy explosion that sent the winged vampire flying until he sprawled out, crashing into an old headstone until it shattered into pieces.
"CHEATING! WHAT IS THIS, YOU BITCH?!" the shapeshifting wolf grumbled while trying to rise from the ruins of the headstone. His breath was racing, and his anger had reached its peak.
Kein fell to one knee, his right hand clutching his blood-soaked stomach. Sweat and blood mixed on his face, making one eye close tightly. He looked up slowly, staring at the graceful silhouette beside him. "Diane..." he whispered hoarsely.
Diane stepped closer, her black skirt sweeping the cemetery grass. She knelt down. With a movement that looked almost gentle, she softly patted Kein's wounded left shoulder.
"Are you okay, Kein?" Diane whispered softly. "Let's face that winged vampire together". The woman looked at the young man beside her—a deep, meaningful gaze—as if signaling, 'We can get through this'.
Kein smiled thinly, as if the pain throughout his body was nothing. That brief moment was diverted by the noise of the opponent in front of them—both immediately stood up.
"UTTERLY RIDICULOUS, WHAT A STRANGE MASTER AND SERVANT. BURN IN MY FLAMES!" Zevron insulted from high above.
His wings spread wide, creating a demon silhouette in front of the full moon. He reached his right hand up to the night sky of Erandel, and the air roared violently. Slowly, a giant fireball appeared above his hand, growing until its diameter surpassed the headstones below. The temperature increased drastically, burning the grass to black and making the air vibrate with extreme heat.
"FIREBALL!" Zevron shouted while slamming the giant fireball downward. Kein looked up, the orange light from the fire reflecting in his red eyes. He could feel his skin stinging from the heat, but the touch on his shoulder provided a strange calm—before finally letting go.
BOOOMMM!
A massive explosion shook the ground of Erandel. Fire blazed, blinding Kein's eyes and forcing him to blink because the temperature nearly roasted his skin.
When Kein opened his eyes, the giant fireball had vanished without a trace, as if swallowed by an invisible mouth of darkness. He saw Diane standing calmly two steps in front of him with her right hand extended forward. They were both surrounded by a misty black dome that looked like moving waves of shadow—Darkness Shield. Zevron's fire did not explode there, but was sucked into the silence of the dome.
"Impossible..." Zevron panted in the air, his face pale as he saw his ultimate move vanish. "My Fireball magic cannot be blocked!". "It was blocked, though," Diane mocked with a subtle, flat expression. Zevron did not stop and unleashed his remaining energy. "Then, this flash of light will erase your darkness!" he shouted with a crazed roar, raising his right hand again. "Sunlight!".
Instantly, an explosion of pure and blinding white light erupted from his palm. The light was a poison that damaged a vampire's body from within—including Zevron himself. Diane and Kein were forced to close their eyes tightly, as the Protection from Negative Aura magic only reduced the harmful effects of the rays. Diane's Darkness Shield also seemed to fade, distorted by the intensity of that artificial light. In that momentary blindness, Zevron instantly moved several steps behind Kein, firmly gripping Night Sovereign to strike.
He ignored Diane and focused all his bloodlust on the boy who had embarrassed him. "Die, brat!" Zevron exclaimed as he stood only centimeters in front of Kein, his black sword aimed straight for the heart. "KEIN!" Diane said in a higher tone than usual as she extended her hand, trying to pull Kein into her shadow's embrace, but the distance was too far.
BANG!!
A sound of dry, deafening gunpowder explosion split the silence of the cemetery, louder than any clashing sword. The smell of sulfur and gunpowder immediately wafted out, colliding with the scent of scorched grass.
Zevron froze in mid-air. His movement stopped right as the tip of his sword touched a thread of Kein's shirt. His eyes bulged, staring at a small smoking hole right in the center of his chest—the position where his heart was. Kein stood with steady breath, his head tilted slightly to the side. His right eye was still closed because of the glare, but his left eye opened slightly, glinting a cold red. In his left hand—which he had purposefully kept free—he gripped a revolver with white rose engravings decorating the gold-colored steel barrel.
"This weapon, a mass-killing tool of the future," Kein said flatly, his voice almost inaudible yet piercing. Zevron coughed, thick red blood spurting from his mouth. The black sword in his hand shattered into fragments of darkness that flew away in the wind. "How... you..." "I don't need eyes to hear your noisy screaming," Kein answered coldly as Zevron slumped to the dry, barren earth.
Kein took a long breath, a thin puff of smoke still coming out of the muzzle of his silver pistol. "I kept it on purpose, the last bullet, my ace," he said softly to himself. He lowered his hand which was shaking violently, then slowly tucked his backup weapon back behind his waist. Kein turned slightly toward Diane, trying to give a thin smile through his face full of wounds and blood. "I am okay, Diane...".
Along with that smile, the sharp red glint in his eyes slowly faded, returning the warm dark brown color to his irises. However, those words were the last remains of his consciousness. The Enhance Ability that had been forced until now finally demanded its payment. The world in Kein's eyes began to spin, and the sound of the night wind faded into a quiet silence. His legs felt like cotton, and gravity seemed to pull him down.
Before his body touched the dirty ground, Diane moved faster than any shadow and caught Kein's limp body in her embrace. The young man's head slumped unconscious onto Diane's white blouse, which was now stained with blood and battle dust. Diane smiled in relief, hugging Kein in the middle of the cemetery's silence. Her pale fingers slowly moved, combing Kein's messy hair with a very fine movement.
"Sleep, Kein," Diane whispered, her voice returning to a soft winter wind's whisper. "You are my only treasure".