While Leo was fighting, meanwhile Valra and Azrael were running down the road, their feet pounding against cracked stone as they pushed themselves faster, desperate to escape the chaos.

All around them, buildings collapsed in a chain reaction—stone towers swayed, groaned, and crashed down behind them one after another, as if the world itself was falling apart, chasing at their heels.

"Just what the hell is happening here?" Azrael shouted.

Valra kept pace beside her. She shrugged, half-breathless, "How should I know? None of this is natural! Just look at it... Everything's falling, but not even shattering, just… toppling, over and over." She ducked a jagged piece of falling wall and forced herself forward.

Azrael swallowed, staring back as stone dominos crashed in a relentless wave.

"We need to find the others, and fast!" Valra said urgently.

Azrael nodded, "Let's move—" Suddenly,

Thud!

They skidded to a halt. The ground ahead shimmered with oily darkness. Out of nowhere, black, sticky, humanoid creatures oozed into view... dozens of them. Their skin glistened, unnatural, bodies twisted, and from their misshapen mouths came low, guttural moans and wet, dragging groans.

They slithered forward like living shadows, limbs half-formed, melting and reforming as they blocked the way.

Azrael froze, staring wide-eyed. "What… the actual fuck?"

Behind them, buildings continued to collapse. Before them, the monsters advanced.

Valra bared her teeth. "What choice do we have? We break through! Stay close, and don't let them touch you." She spun, raising her arms with practised fluidity.

Flickers of fire danced at her fingertips.

A whip of pure, flashing flames coiled and snapped into existence in her hands, swirling brighter with every breath she took.

She cracked it overhead, painting burning lines in the air. The air itself shimmered, growing hotter as she drew a wide, glowing circle as she chanted the spell:

^Ignis Rotare!^

The circle ignited, flames twisting and spinning in a blinding wheel of fire. The magical energy thrummed as the inferno rotated, roaring. With a sharp motion, Valra yanked her arm, sending the burning wheel hurtling toward the monsters.

"Azrael, cover me—watch my back!" Valra called out, eyes blazing as she waded into the chaos.

Azrael gritted her teeth and pulled out her sidearm, "On it! I'll blast anything that gets past you—just keep burning!" She scanned the advancing horde.

Valra's flames tore through the closest creatures, incinerating their oily forms. The monsters shrieked, dissolving into black vapor and ash, but others surged forward, relentless.

Azrael moved in perfect sync. As any creature dodged the flames or tried to flank them, she fired precise shots, bullets slamming into deformed skulls. Black ooze exploded, splattering the stones as she ran.

"We can't let them close the gap!" Valra warned, voice hard. "Keep moving—don't let up!"

Just then, suddenly—

BOOM!

A shockwave rippled across the road, as if some colossal force had slammed the earth itself.

Valra stumbled, nearly losing her grip on the flaming whip. Azrael caught her, steadying both of them.

"What the hell was that?" Azrael gasped, "Something huge just landed nearby… maybe another of those things?"

Valra's face hardened, "We can't worry about that now."

Azrael nodded. She glanced at her wristwatch—11:50:02.

'Please be safe, Leo,' she prayed silently, raising her weapon as they pressed forward.

Meanwhile, a few moments ago, while the others were fighting,

Ophis and Raphael were walking on the empty street, shoulders slumped, faces marked by exhaustion and dread.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Raphael asked, her voice tinged with concern. She glanced at the twisting path ahead, uneasy.

It felt like they had been moving for ages, yet the bright blue light on the horizon never seemed any closer.

Ophis let out a huff. "If you doubt me so much, why don't you just go check for yourself?" she snapped, turning her head away with a small, stubborn pout.

Raphael managed a faint smile, reaching over to gently pat Ophis's head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just… don't want us to get lost."

If it had been anyone else, Ophis would have swatted their hand away. But since it was Raphael, she let it slide... just this once.

"Anyway, we need to hurry, I am pretty sure the light is moving or something" Ophis said, her tone shifting to something more serious.

"I think the others are fighting those Fallens."

Raphael's expression tightened with worry. "W-Why do you think so?"

Ophis inhaled slowly, focusing. "I can hear fighting—just a few sounds, but clear enough for me to notice."

"T-then shouldn't we go where the fighting is and help them?" Raphael's voice trembled with urgency.

Ophis shook her head, her eyes narrowing. "I can hear them, but I can't pinpoint exactly where they are. This whole place is… strange." She looked up. All around, the buildings twisted and threatened to collapse. "It's weird."

Raphael clenched her fists, "I hope Leo and the others are alright…" Her words faded as Ophis just hummed in response, leading them forward.

As they walked, Raphael broke the silence with a question. "You mentioned your sister was in the previous war, right?"

"Yes," Ophis replied, glancing sideways.

"So… what exactly happened? What caused the entire province to be destroyed?" Raphael tilted her head, still struggling to understand the full story. She realised, a bit embarrassed, that she had never thought to research this place or learn its real history.

Had she really been that unreliable?

Ophis took a deep breath before answering, her eyes reflecting memories far older than she looked.

"Just like me, my sister was once chosen as a Master. She was proud—proud of her champion and how close they got to reaching the relic on their very first try."

"Oh? That's impressive…"

Ophis's voice darkened. "But everything changed the moment someone else appeared. Someone more powerful than anyone in the war. I never learned their name, but before she left for the final battle, my sister told me she met someone who was stronger than she'd ever imagined—even stronger than my father."

Raphael's eyes widened. "Stronger than Dracula? Is that even possible? Who is it?" A chill ran down her spine; for as long as she could remember, Dracula was the peak of fear and dangerous strength.

The idea of someone even worse sent goosebumps through her.

Ophis shook her head with sadness. "I don't know who it was. She just said the fight would be brutal… but she promised she'd win." Ophis's voice faltered.

She'd believed her sister would survive—escape the hell their father created. But in the end, her sister had returned broken, clinging to life by the barest thread.

"I… I was devastated to see my elder sister broken and utterly destroyed…" Ophis gulped, her throat dry. She added, "Before she was taken away by my father, she told everyone what happened… Strong one won, but it cost everything. The entire province was flooded in fire—annihilated... Not even a cockroach made it out alive."

Hearing that, Raphael flinched, her whole body recoiling. "Why? Why would someone do that?" Her face twisted in disgust and revulsion. "To think they killed everyone in the province…"

Ophis nodded grimly. "We asked the same question too…" She turned, meeting Raphael's eyes, her own gaze heavy with memory. "She told me… that's what they wished for."

Raphael gasped, her heart hammering in her chest.

Ophis took another slow breath, as if dragging the words up from the depths. "I don't know all the details, but I heard from my father that Eden was involved in the tragedy. They made sure everyone believed it was just a meteorite... lied to the world, even to their own people. Even the Mages!"

Raphael's shock deepened, eyes wide and hands trembling. "So they covered it up… and no one ever knew the truth?"

"What do we have here~"

Suddenly, a chilling voice echoed through the ruined street, making both of them flinch. Especially Ophis, who started sweating bullets, her eyes going wide with a terror she couldn't hide.

She knew that voice—too well. She turned slowly and saw… her father, stepping out of the shadows,

"F-Father?" Ophis managed, voice barely above a whisper.

Dracula smiled, a twisted, mocking curve to his lips. "Oh? You still call me father? How amusing to hear. Looks like my blood still runs strong in you—"

BANG!

BANG!

Before he could finish, two gunshots rang out, echoing off the broken stone. Bullets slammed through his head and chest, ripping through shadow and flesh.

Ophis blinked in shock, turning to see Raphael standing there, arms shaking, the gun still raised. Raphael's eyes darted to Ophis,

"W-We're supposed to fire the moment we see an enemy, right?"

Ophis nodded, awkward but approving. "Yeah… That's right."

"That's so discourteous of you," Dracula said, his tone almost bored as his wounds healed instantly, shadows knitting flesh and bone back together. He licked his lips, his eyes gleaming red.

"Even though we haven't—"

BANG!

Another headshot, blood and darkness spraying. Dracula's lips curled in fury as he staggered.

Without warning, he lunged at them, "YOU BITCH!!"

Suddenly—

Thud!

Trrrr!

A figure slid across the cracked pavement.... Essa, bursting into view as if she'd been hurled by some invisible force, scraping along the ground, cloak billowing. She crashed to a stop in front of Ophis and Raphael.

"LEO!!—" Essa screamed, twisting around in confusion as she realised she'd landed somewhere unexpected.

"Essa, look out!!" Ophis shouted.

Essa flinched, instinctively twisting to the side. Her eyes widened as she saw Dracula already there, his smirk vicious. "Because of you, I lost my relic!" he roared. In a flash, his razor-sharp nails thrust toward her heart, blurring through the air like black daggers.

Essa moved instantly. She caught his wrist in mid-strike, spinning upside down, her boots scraping the debris. With a powerful shove, she vaulted away into the air. Two curved flickers into her hands, their edges crackling with an inner golden light that seeped through the rusted cracks.

"This time, you're dead, you fucking asshole!" Essa spat as she fell towards him with full force.

But then—

BOOM!

A sudden shockwave ripped through the ground. The earth trembled violently beneath their feet. In an instant, entire buildings started to tip.

"Raphael, hold on!" Ophis yelled, reaching out just as the ground split and buildings rained from above. She caught Raphael in her arms, small wings sprouting from her back with a burst of shimmering energy.

Without hesitation, Ophis launched herself into the air, wings beating hard as she soared upward, dodging between falling buildings.

"ESSA!!" Raphael screamed as she looked down.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine… I think," Ophis muttered, more to reassure herself as she flew faster, weaving through the maze of collapsing buildings.

Back to Leo—

'I shouldn't have mentioned his wife…' Leo thought, looking at Nergal, who was giving him a death glare.

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