In the Castle of Foreverness, silence filled the ancient halls. The grand mirror at the center shimmered faintly with red and blue light, showing fragments of the battle happening far away. The air inside the chamber was heavy, laced with worry and curiosity. Around the mirror stood the vampire elders, their crimson eyes reflecting the chaos that unfolded in the mage city.
Aijack stood closest to the mirror, his arms crossed, expression carved with steel and pride. His gaze was fixed on the image — Oban and Yuji locked in a fierce duel amidst ruins of frozen towers and shattered walls. The flicker of fire and ice danced across his pale face.
One of the elders spoke quietly, his tone steady but strained. "They are pushing too far… Oban is fighting like a beast unleashed."
Aijack didn't answer. He watched as Oban's blade tore through layers of frost, as Yuji countered with precision and icy might. His lips curled slightly, not in amusement, but in something resembling respect.
The other vampires turned toward him. None spoke further. The image in the mirror rippled like water, and the scene began to change — showing the instant before another devastating clash.
The battlefield trembled.
Oban and Yuji stood face-to-face, surrounded by the aftermath of their destruction. The ground was cracked with veins of glowing frost, blood, and embers mixed into the mist around them. The wind was sharp, carrying the scent of ice and iron.
Yuji grinned, his voice echoing coldly. "You're stronger than I expected. Most vampires would've been shattered by now."
Oban wiped a trickle of blood from his lip and smirked faintly. "Guess I'm not most vampires."
Yuji's eyes narrowed. Without warning, he raised his arm and hurled his massive ice mace toward Oban. The weapon spun like a comet, cutting through the air with a roar of frozen energy. Oban bent backward, dodging just in time, feeling the rush of cold slice past his face. The mace slammed into the ground behind him, sending a spray of crystal shards into the air.
Oban's eyes glowed faintly red. He extended his hand toward the weapon — his fingers dripping with his own blood. The moment his blood touched the frozen surface, the entire weapon pulsed with a crimson hue.
A digital chime echoed inside his mind.
[System Notice: Foreign weapon essence detected.][Integrating blood resonance…][New Weapon Acquired: "Fang Mace"][Attack Power: 8000+][Durability: S-rank][Skill Sync: Active]
Yuji froze, disbelief spreading across his face. "What—? That's my weapon! How did you—"
Oban twirled the heavy mace once in his hand, testing its balance. The blood marks across the weapon shimmered like veins under glass. "Guess it's mine now," he said calmly. "Seems like my phase five does more than just play with blood."
He recalled what the system had told him before — that by fusing his own essence into matter, he could transform any weapon or surface bound by blood into his own. And this mace, once Yuji's, now obeyed him.
The system's voice returned, smoother and sharper this time, like an AI whispering directly into his thoughts.
[Weapon registered. Command link stable. Naming protocol open.]
Oban looked at the glowing weapon, smiled slightly, and said aloud, "Fang Mace."
The system replied instantly:
[Confirmed. Fang Mace initialized.][Bonus Skill: Crushing Veins — Each strike disrupts enemy mana flow for 3 seconds.]
The moment the message ended, Yuji's anger burst. "You dare take what's mine?" His voice carried frost, his tone shaking the ground itself.
Oban grinned. "You left it lying around."
Without hesitation, he slammed the Fang Mace down into the frozen earth. The impact shattered the surface like glass, and from beneath them, a spiral of blood-red energy erupted, enveloping both Yuji and Oban in a sudden vortex.
The entire scene blurred — colors twisted, ground melting into streaks of shadow and light.
And then, everything went still.
The frost-covered city vanished. The ruined towers disappeared. When the light faded, they stood on a strange terrain — dark red skies, floating rocks, and a ground that seemed half-solid, half-liquid, pulsing with faint energy.
Yuji looked around sharply, realizing where they were. "Nolex…" he muttered. "You brought us to Nolex Dimension?"
Oban held his mace across his shoulder, breathing evenly. "Yeah. Figured we could finish this where no one can interfere."
Yuji's eyes glinted, half impressed, half annoyed. "You fool. You think this helps you? This place has no mana — no flow, no energy. You've just cut off your own source of power."
Oban smirked. "Maybe for you. I don't need mana to win."
But Yuji's smirk deepened. "You really think I need mana?" He extended his arm. A faint green glow appeared at his fingertips — not from the environment, but from within his own body.
He conjured a small orb of light and swallowed it whole. His eyes flashed emerald for a second before turning an icy silver again.
Oban frowned. "What the hell was that?"
Yuji didn't answer. His grin widened. "A little trick. I call it the Core of Preservation. I store mana in my body, far beyond what this world allows. Even in dimensions like Nolex… I don't run dry."
The air began to vibrate. Frost spread from his feet outward, coating the red rocks in layers of gleaming crystal. The temperature dropped so quickly that Oban could see his breath turn solid.
The system's tone chimed again inside his mind.
[System Warning: Threat level — Extremely Dangerous.][Analysis: Target's physical form altering.][Success probability: 12%. Suggest defensive stance.]
Oban's eyes narrowed as the frost brightened. The light grew too strong to look at directly, until finally, from that glare, Yuji's silhouette shifted. His armor thickened — translucent plates forming over his limbs and torso, his skin turning pale blue, veins glowing with frozen light. His eyes shone like crystal shards, and his right arm now carried a blade forged from diamond ice itself.
The transformation was terrifying — silent, deliberate, perfect.
Yuji stood tall, his new form gleaming under the dim red sky. "Let's see," he said, voice colder than before, echoing through the realm. "Can you stop me now, vampire?"
Oban gripped the Fang Mace tighter. His blood aura flared around him like a burning fog.
He didn't back down. Not even a step.
Back at the Castle of Foreverness, the mirror flickered again, showing the transformed Yuji facing Oban in that strange dimension. The elders murmured amongst themselves — some in awe, others in fear.
Aijack didn't move. His crimson eyes watched with sharp focus, every breath slow and deliberate.
"He's entering the final stage," whispered one of the elders. "That mage—he's something beyond ordinary.""
The mirror pulsed, showing Oban tightening his stance, Yuji raising his blade of ice, the tension rising like a storm about to burst.
The dimension around them quivered — red against blue, blood against frost.
And as they prepared for the next clash, the mirror in the castle dimmed, leaving the vampires in silence, their faces reflecting the faint glow of the unseen war between power, will, and destiny.