The swords glowed in a faint light. The ground they're attached to cracked in pieces.

The swords glinted under the sun, reflecting the rays of the light perfectly. They're short but elegant as if they had come straight out of a fairy tale.

A red streak drops from the sky like a bullet and crashes to the ground in front, shattering the pavement with the impact, causing a large hole in its place. When the dust settled, the two swords gleamed brightly, and their owner stepped out.

He has stiff features, a sharp nose, and a hard expression.

His auburn-red hair with a small streak of white fluttered.

He wore body armor of a sleeveless black tight shirt with silver accents that seemed to outline muscles, black pants with two straps on his tights, and trouser-attached black metal-plated shoes. A two separate sleeved-red coat with yellow diagonal patterns connected by a metal plate at the back which covered his arms, and a separate red open skirt that ended above his shins with the top tied with an agenaki knot, covered by a silver metal plate. A large white blanket-like layer is draped over him.

A pair of golden-brown eyes glint dangerously.

Lucien and Jules watched as the newcomer strode towards them. His figure exuded an intimidating aura. He stood proudly before them, and they could feel a strong and confident power radiating from him. But there was one thing that stood out the most. His eyes.

They were golden. No. It was almost like two glowing embers were hidden inside his eyes. The flames reflected the setting sun behind him. A faint glow surrounded him, but it was nowhere near bright or powerful enough to compete against the light radiating off of his eyes. His eyes are as sharp as steel. It was unnerving and terrifying.

"What is this? Another one to dispute against me?" Lucien's eyes narrowed, however. This man is plain dangerous.

"I'm not here to dispute against you," He spoke, the white layer on him disappearing in motes of blue lights.

"I'm here to put an end to you."

Lucien raised his eyebrows at the bold declaration, "I'll gladly accept that challenge. But how do you expect to do that? I've got better tricks up my sleeve than someone like you can deal with—!"

Then, before either Lucien or Jules could react, he disappeared. Just like that. He reappeared in front of him with a single leap and came crashing down upon Lucien.

Lucien's widened and barely dodged the attack swiftly, jumping forward to deliver a kick to the man's face, but it only glanced him off of his shoulder. Without wasting any time, the man darted forward, landing a fist square in Lucien's gut.

A groan escaped from Lucien's lips and he witnessed himself being sent flying. Before he could even touch the ground, the man kicked Lucien across the head with enough force to send him flying backward again.

"Aargh! Halt!" Lucien's eyes glowed fiercely before a pair of bat-like wings sprouted from his back. His hands flared with malicious energy. Then, he shot straight up into the air, heading towards the mysterious man, who was now holding the two Yin-Yang blades and attacked him once again in a flurry of stashes.

The stranger's movements were rapid, like lightning, as he sliced every single time. However, he always managed to deflect and dodge every attack from him.

But it wasn't until he caught sight of Lucien's wings that he suddenly changed tactics. Instead of dodging the attacks, he jumps straight toward them.

Before Lucien could react to his actions, the stranger grabbed one of his wings with one hand, and pulled him closer to himself, pressing his other arm on his shoulders and using his weight to pin him to the ground. On the other hand, he punches him directly in the face.

Blood splattered all over the stranger, and he let go of his wing. But he suddenly turned his head and narrowly evaded a small beam of dark energy.

The stranger jumped backward, avoiding a few more, and threw one of his blades at him. But before it could make contact, a bright beam of red light engulfed it and him, knocking him back several steps. When he stopped and turned to see where the attack came from, he found magic circles on each hand of Lucien's army followers.

Lucien slowly climbed back to his feet and stood, staring at him intently, and sneering.

"You have guts... to actually bring me down to dirt. Unfortunately, I'm not about to lose to some lowly mortal like you. Very well, since you dared to provoke me, let us fight it out right here and now!"

Lucien stated, his voice filled with contempt. "You won't last long fighting me alone anyway. I'd say that this battle is already won." His thrown staff flew to his hand, and he harshly struck the ground with it.

Just then, a magic circle emerged from the ground beneath the vampire, glowing faintly, and rapidly gathering mana. Lucien barked an order to his men to deal with the red man, and chanted, "Let the fangs of the beast tear, and the roar of the storm shake!"

The circle started to spin and burn, and the area was filled with dark energy. His lesser vampires flew to his enemy, their claws poised to strike.

The red individual prepared his Yin-Yang blades, his grip tightened on each hilt. His eyes momentarily glance at them silently. There are about two hundred and above heading his way.

He sprinted forward, and before the first few vampires could act, Kanshou swept sideways, cutting their arteries. Bakuya veered around and stabbed one, just as he used his other blade to slice another vampire. He slashed three of them away from him before turning to swipe the next one in half, sending him crashing to the floor. He kicked off the ground, and flashed past a few more, eliminating them instantly.

As he moved, he swung his weapons like a blur, cutting through the air, piercing through flesh and skin alike, and leaving bloody trails wherever he cut down. That's forty or so.

Blood sprayed everywhere, coating his blades, and staining his clothes and his hair. Each slash he made was precise, calculated, and powerful. It seemed like his speed and strength were unparalleled, and he fought with unmatched grace. Even though the odds weren't stacked in his favor, Lucien knew he was going to win.

Lucien smirked. It looks like he underestimated this person after all.

One of the vampires charged at him, attempting to stab him. Suddenly, Kanshou intercepted it, twisting it around, rendering his arm useless. Bakuya followed suit, slicing it in half. He quickly approached him, slashing his left arm with the blade. He then used both blades to rip another vampire's throat clean off, killing him.

He didn't stop as he flipped to evade the ground beneath him converted to spikes from an earth-style spell, throwing his white blade at the caster, tearing his spine when it emerged from his back. Bakuya flew, and like a boomerang, it came back spinning lodging another victim in his back before Kanshou beheaded him. Red blood sprays like a fountain from the headless neck, staining the surroundings and adding to the sea of gore.

Lucien grimaces, watching the carnage in slow alarm.

"The will of the people shall be denied and the folly of the reason!"

Blood sprayed all around as the vampires he cut down fell lifelessly to the ground. One of the fallen vampires stood up again with a fierce snarl, swinging an energy-construct blade in his hand to hit him. However, Kanshou sliced through his arm and chest effortlessly and left him in disarray, stumbling back and clutching his bleeding wound. A wave of crimson blood spilled onto the ground. Bakuya appeared in front of him and thrust downward with a swing.

"Gloire, Honneur!"

As he finished cutting someone down, he felt a rising amount of mana from nearby. Not plenty enough to threaten him, but sufficiently to demolish the entire vicinity of the destroyed academy upon being released. There are still survivors.

A warp in energy came into sight, black-colored, and excluding severe malicious aura, from Lucien's magic circle. The power is not held back by Lucien at all, its forceful gravity circulation lured even the corpses of his army and was absorbed by the spell to gain size.

Lucien laughs with ease now that his spell is completed. Put an end to him? That's what the audacious fellows's fate will be!

"You should have stayed out our way and left! Now meet your demise!" A mad look came to his face as he grinned widely, expecting the vampiric warped energy to consume him. The distortion is vigorous enough so not even he can evade this.

The warping spell was sent onwards, the shockwave elicited repelled dirt and stone everywhere. It flew as fast as a jet plane and was anticipated to devour anything like a black hole.

Blue particles surrounded the yin sword just as it vanished. In its place, a Japanese nodachi, almost mundane, manifested. He simply held it in his hand.

The writhing ball of energy came closer, and just as it was to swallow, the long blade slashed downward.

A mere, light, soft cut.

Three lines of light were embedded in the vortex.

A set of small explosives followed soon after in the distance.

Lucien's eyes dilated, his mind in turmoil at what occurred. What was a simple, mundane, mere blade had done an impossibility. The strike was a blur in motion to the vampires' keen eyes, but the technique was quicker than they could perceive.

The long sword dissipated in blue lights and the other twin of the short sword appeared in its place again. He turned to the side and launched himself at still Lucien, throwing him off balance with a swift jab from the sword hilts. With a flick of his wrist, Bakuya swept horizontally, slicing his entire arm off. A few seconds passed by before silence fell on the area.

Lucien looked at it, his eyes wide and in pain. He clutched his bleeding arm tightly. A swift kick slammed into his ribs.

Lucien crashed into a nearby building, creating a large hole in the wall. He coughed up blood and tried to stand up, but the man was already on him. He grabbed Lucien by the collar and lifted him, slamming him into the ground repeatedly.

"W–who even a–are you?" Lucien spat out, feeling his bones breaking under the assault. "What do you want from me?"

The man did not answer. He just kept pounding Lucien, his eyes seemingly cold. Almost seemed to have a personal grudge against Lucien, but Lucien had no idea who he was or why he seemingly detested him so much.

Jules watched the scene in horror, unable to move or intervene. He felt a surge of apprehensiveness and vexation, but also a hint of curiosity. Who was this man who could outmatch Lucien, the leader of the vampires, in strength, speed, and power? He noticed that the man's swords were glowing with a strange light as if they were alive. He also caught a glimpse of the strange mark the man had on his left hand, an odd red symbol.

The man stopped his attack and threw the blooded Lucien to the side, like a ragdoll. He held his swords and pointed one of them at Lucien, who was lying on the ground, barely conscious.

"You've killed enough people. You've caused enough pain. It's time to pay for your sins." The man said, his voice cold and stern.

Lucien looked up at him, his eyes filled with defiance and malice. He laughed weakly, blood dripping from his mouth. The sharp pain from his lost limb made his mind in agitation.

"You–you t–think you can kill me? To judge my life? You don't know anything about me. They will come. The Zegrath's vengeance will be thorough. And they will slaughter you. You're nothing." The blood he coughed out expanded.

The man frowned and thought about his words, his eyebrows furrowing before his expression hardened.

"I know enough for a monster like you who used your power to oppress and exploit the weak and turned humans into your slaves and food. A typical trait for a vampire. Unsurprising. But I would've placed you on one of the ruthless of my list."

He raised his sword, ready to strike.

Lucien sneered, showing his fangs.

"Imbecile human! End me and you shall face the wrath of Zegrath! After all, they're on their way here in retribution for what your kind did to their prince—!"

SWISH

SPLAT

Blood sprayed like a fountain.