The flames of Barakiel's magic raged on outside, burning the ground to ash while sending clouds of smoke into the sky like a brazier.
Falvi was firing spheres of mana mercilessly in the circle of fire, hitting Cassiel constantly to keep him on the defensive.
This was enough to keep the both of them preoccupied enough to never realize Barakiel was gone.
.....
Inside the castle, a crack in the wall drops a couple shards of brick and stone onto Barakiel, who laid slouched down against it.
He was sent flying into said wall by Albus, who was covered in blood, panting from exhaustion after tearing the human soldiers to shreds.
"You bastard, how dare you lay your dirty, parasitic hands on me." Barakiel growls, glaring at Albus as he stands up.
"Enough." Albus responds, walking forward with his blade drawn. "Shut your trap, I'm tired of hearing you yap like a dog."
Barakiel moves forward as well, walking at a slow pace before speeding up at the last second, swinging his cane down with all his force, clashing with Albus' blade.
"You will suffer as I have." Barakiel seethes, blowing up a ball of flames in front of him, launching Albus back by a meter onto his back.
Leaping forward, Barakiel stabs the bottom of his cane towards Albus, only to hit the ground as Albus rolls away at the last second.
Quickly jumping up, Albus darts forward, kicking Barakiel in the side, launching him through a wall, and into a room.
As the dust settles, Albus is caught off guard as a spout of fire shoots up from under him, sending him into the ceiling.
'Forgive me Falvi, you'll have to beat Cassiel with your own power.' Barakiel sends a thought of prayer to Falvi, hoping he'll succeed in his battle between life in death, as with a snap of his fingers, the walls of fire outside are extinguished.
Landing on his feet, Albus breathes in a deep breath, before chucking a piece of debris at Barakiel.
Breaking the debris with his cane, a cloud of dust shoots out, leaving him caught off guard as Albus appears before him, punching him through yet again another wall.
Angrily in response, Barakiel shoots forward four firebolts, before charging in alongside with them to attack in close proximity.
Realizing he can't block all of the attacks, Albus dodges the first firebolt while blocking the second, only to be hit by the third and fourth on his left leg, leaving a small bruise as he's forced to parry Barakiel's cane off to the side.
Without hesitation, Albus yanks the back of Barakiel's overcoat, throwing him into the wall while following it up with a stab.
In a flash, Barakiel's body turns to a wisp of flame as he appears behind Albus, kicking him through the wall, back out into the corridor.
"You turned out a lot stronger than I expected, parasite." Barakiel sneers, walking through the broken wall as he glares at Albus.
"Perhaps you've just grown weaker." Albus mocks, standing up while wiping off his clothes.
Sighing, Barakiel shakes his head.
"You'll be the first vampire to see this, take heed, witness my flames." Barakiel grins, before sending multiple fire spheres towards Albus to preoccupy him as he begins to chant.
"Great god of flame, notice me, grant me the protection I seek." Barakiel begins as orange, fiery mana surrounds him.
"Sixth tier magic, Infernal plating." Barakiel finishes, his body floating a foot into the air as the mana swarms around his body, covering him from the bottom of his foot, to the top of his neck.
With a bright glow, Albus is forced to cover his eyes after swiping the last sphere of flames away, before opening them again to see Barakiel covered in a mass of flaming armor.
"Let's make this quick, shall we?"
.....
.....
"YOU'LL PAY FOR YOUR SINS AGAINST MY PEOPLE TONIGHT, CASSIEL AETERNUS!" Falvi screams out, still shooting spheres of mana at Cassiel's battered arms.
Only seconds after, however, the walls of fire separating the two go down.
Smirking, Cassiel takes this chance as Falvi is caught off guard, only now realizing Barakiel wasn't with him anymore.
With a loud thump, Falvi is sent into the sky after receiving an uppercut by Cassiel, which had upheaved the ground beneath them.
Jumping into the sky, Cassiel's sword forms as his slashes down, aiming to cleave Falvi in half, only to be blocked by him at the last moment, which instead launches Falvi into the broken grass.
Landing just a meter away, Cassiel slashes his blade twice to warm up his wrist, before taking a stabbing stance as Falvi stands back up.
'That treacherous bastard, did Barakiel plan to betray me after all this time?' Falvi thinks to himself, now growing anxious as he stares at Cassiel.
'It matters not, I must defeat the vampire king here even if it costs me my life.' Falvi continues, solidifying his mind as a faint golden hue surrounds him.
"I must say, Falvi, you're surprising me more and more with every encounter, I hope you won't disappoint me." Cassiel mocks, grinning as he dashes forward.
Desperately, Falvi slams his sword toward Cassiel, only to be dodged as Cassiel appears at the side, slashing at Falvi's side, only to bounce off of his mana enhanced armor.
Caught off guard, Cassiel is forced to block Falvi's counter attack, which causes him to be sent backwards, rolling on the ground, stopping himself with his blade.
"You won't enjoy this, you demon." Falvi states, his eyes full of determination as he glares at Cassiel.
Without a response, Cassiel sends forward two sanguine spears, dashing forward soon after.
In confidence, Falvi surrounds himself with his third tier magic, shield of light, which soon withers away after blocking the two spears.
A shockwave breaks the glass of the castle as Cassiel and Falvi cross blades once more.
As if on the same wavelength, the both of them stomp into the ground, causing the ground beneath them to spurt up under them, launching them both backwards a couple feet.
"Falvi, shall we speed this up?" Cassiel questions, only to be responded with a nod by Falvi.
Putting his hands up into the sky, Falvi begins to chant as the same sixth tier magic, Spear of Calamity, which he used on Cassiel many months ago, begins to take form.
Following this, Cassiel grins sinisterly as he does the same.
"King of light, beholder of the sun, shine down on me so that I may wash over this shadow.
"Sixth tier magic, Spear of Calamity."
A rumbling shakes the ground over a stretch of five miles, however, that would soon be a shiver beneath the fear trembling magic that Cassiel had prepared.
"Oh great blood that flows amongst life, give me the power to soak all with your presence."
"Seventh tier magic, Despair."
Soon, the very ends of the continent Rampiel are shaking under Cassiel's magic.
Falvi's Spear of Calamity, which was once a threat to Cassiel's life, was now being overshadowed by a blood red sword which was appearing through the clouds.
"You were never anything more than a spark, nothing like the beam of light your father is." Cassiel says coldly as Falvi was trembling, staring at Cassiel's magic.
"Enjoy."
The skies trembled as Cassiel's casted spell slowly drifted towards Falvi.
Refusing to give up so easily, however, Falvi points his spear up towards the sky, sending it to clash with Cassiel's sword.
Despite it crackling and fragmenting away, Falvi continued as his nose dripped with flood.
Before long, with a final push, a huge explosion of light fills the sky, causing the surrounding area to seem as if it had turned midday for just a second, before Cassiel's sword continued crashing down with only the tip of the blade being chipped.
"Damnit."
With an explosion of gushing red waves, Cassiel's sword soon disperses after a huge hole going through Falvi's body is formed.
"You were no hero, Falvi." Cassiel mocks, getting the last word in as the light slowly drained from Falvi's eyes.
However, with a turn of events, Falvi spoke.
"I know... that I was never strong enough." He'd mumble, panting.
"I know I betrayed my people... my soldiers, my men..."
"But I am a hero. I-I will not... allow you to torment Seraphim..."
"I told you, I will kill you even if it costs me my life." Falvi finishes, before being engulfed by a ball of light, exploding the surrounding vicinity, launching Cassiel into the sole tree that lingered outside.
Dazed, Cassiel looks up, watching as the light slowly burns away.
"That was supposed to k-"
Shuddering, Cassiel stops speaking.
Watching as Falvi's body withered away, Cassiel's body began to shake as he lay paralyzed against the tree, staring at Falvi's new form.
A body of mana, glowing brighter than any light could.