The temple was pristine when the two men faced each other.
Golden light poured through colored glass, painting the marble floor with saints and angels. White pillars climbed skyward, their gilded edges gleaming. Incense drifted in lazy trails, filling the air with a sweetness that mocked the bitterness in Alucard's chest.
Alexie stood in the center of it all, handsome and untouchable, flames like pale serpents curling over his fists. His white robes glowed in the firelight, not a stain upon them. His smile was too calm, too gentle, for the madness in his eyes.
"Shall we begin?"
Alucard's hand trembled on the hilt of his blade. His eyes burned red, his vision clouded by grief. Yuki's face swam before him, her warmth slipping from his arms. Her laughter — gone. Her heartbeat — silenced. And Alexie had done it.
The thought came like a fracture: Kill him. No — break him. No — burn it all. Kill him. Kill him. KILL HIM.
"Gladly," Alucard growled. His voice was deeper now, fractured, almost two voices layered atop one another.
Then the world shattered
Alexie moved first, fists blazing. The air shrieked as he struck. Alucard's blade caught the blow, but the heat tore through steel, crawling up into his bones. His skin blistered. His eyes watered. Shadows hissed from his body, wrapping around the sword like a living thing, feeding on his rage.
He shoved Alexie back, teeth bared, and swung wide. The blade carved through a marble column. Stone exploded outward, showering the floor in white dust.
Alexie laughed, wild and delighted. "Yes! Break my temple, Sebastian! Make it bleed with me!"
Alucard lunged, shadows streaking forward in spears. Alexie weaved between them, his hands tracing arcs of fire that seared the marble black. A statue of a saint caught flame, its serene expression warping as the fire melted its face.
The clash came again, and again, and again. Steel sang, fire roared, stone cracked.
Alucard's strikes were merciless, fueled by madness. He hacked at Alexie's head, at his chest, at his throat — each swing meant to kill, to obliterate. His eyes were wide, bloodshot, lips pulled back in a snarl too savage to belong to a man.
But Alexie was fast, laughing all the while. He ducked under the blade, countered with a hook of white fire that smashed into Alucard's ribs. The vampire staggered, breath exploding from his lungs as skin and muscle seared away. The stench of burning flesh filled the chamber.
"More!" Alexie cried, his smile deranged. "Make me believe you're worthy of her corpse!"
"SHUT UP!" Alucard howled. His shadow lashed out in dozens of tendrils, spearing through pews, shattering stained glass, wrapping around Alexie's torso. The priest burned through them with a laugh, his flames cutting the darkness apart like paper.
The stained-glass windows burst one by one, colors spilling across the marble floor in shards. Smoke curled up to the ceiling, blackening the painted saints above.
Alucard rushed again, his blade a blur. He drove Alexie across the temple floor, blow after blow raining down. Sparks flew with each clash. Fire and shadow collided, warping the air itself.
Alexie caught the sword in his bare hands, white fire hissing up the steel. Pain tore through Alucard, burning into his marrow — but he didn't let go. He couldn't. His grin was wide, manic, his teeth bared in an animal's snarl.
"Die," Alucard whispered, voice breaking. "Die, die, DIE—!"
With a roar, he twisted. The blade carved into Alexie's thigh, ripping muscle from bone. Blood sprayed across the altar.
Alexie screamed for the first time, his laughter choking into a hiss. Alucard's shadows surged, slamming him against a pillar. The marble cracked, golden trim crumbling, dust raining from above.
Still, Alexie smiled through the pain, his face twisted with ecstasy. "Yes… cripple me… make me crawl… you're mine, Sebastian. Always mine."
Alucard smashed him into the pillar again. And again. And again. Each impact shook the temple, cracks running up the stone, until the column gave way and crashed to the floor, splitting the tiles.
The vampire was relentless. He pinned Alexie, drove a knee into his chest, and brought the sword down. Bone shattered as he hacked through Alexie's legs. The priest's screams echoed, high and ragged, bouncing off the broken walls.
But Alucard's laughter joined them. Harsh. Broken. Joyless. He laughed like a man already dead.
"Crawl now," he snarled, voice cracked. He seized Alexie's arm and twisted until the bone snapped. Then the other. He left him writhing, crippled, blood spreading across the once-pristine floor like ink.
The temple was in ruins. Statues lay broken, saints faceless. The altar burned. Smoke blackened the murals above. Every stained-glass window was shattered, holy light replaced with the choking red of fire and blood.
And Alexie, broken and mutilated, laughed through his own agony. "Yes… drag me through the ashes… burn it all… I'll savor every scream."
Alucard yanked him up by the hair, his eyes blazing. He tied the priest's shattered body to Hairless, Alexie dangled like a doll, bones broken, blood dripping onto the stones.
Alucard stood over him, chest heaving, Yuki's corpse cradled in his other arm. His smile was wrong — too wide, too sharp.
"You took her," he whispered, voice shaking. "So I'll take everything. Not just this temple. Not just your church. No…" His gaze snapped toward the city beyond the gates, towers gleaming in the night. His voice broke into a scream. "I'll take ALL of it!"
He leaned close, forcing Alexie to meet his burning eyes. "You'll watch every knight die. Every priest scream. Every child choke on smoke. And then — when there's nothing left — I'll end you."
The temple crackled, flames eating higher. Smoke poured into the night sky. The city slept, unaware.
Alucard laughed, the sound broken, half a sob, half a snarl. "You'll see it all. You'll see everything. Until there's nothing left to see but ashes."
The fire roared, swallowing the last of the saints. The night itself seemed to recoil as Alucard stepped into the open air, Yuki in his arms, Alexie broken and bound behind him.
The world would burn.