It was night, yet it was day.
The attack Falvi used had forced the sun to rise up for a new day, which could be seen all across the world.
All areas surrounding Falvi and Cassiel had turned to a form of light. Visible, solid, yet gone.
There were no shadows, there was only light.
Falvi had erased the concept of darkness, and this would stay true till the second he'd die.
.....
.....
Inside the castle, the fight between Barakiel and Albus continued.
Evenly matched, they traded blows multiple times, yet Barakiel would come out unscathed each time due to his mana armor, which left him invulnerable to physical attacks.
This left Albus at a huge disadvantage, as he couldn't use magic.
As their fight went on, Albus began getting pushed back more, beaten until the point he had left his side wide open.
Barakiel, taking this chance, stabbed his cane forward, aiming to land a severe strike on Albus, only to be caught off balance as the entire castle foundation would shake, leaving him to only graze Albus.
Taking this chance, Albus strikes Barakiel across the face with the pommel of his sword, which would leave a mark on him for the first time since he had cast his Infernal Plating.
Now realizing he could only harm Barakiel by striking his head, Albus grew less worried, and began strategizing.
Rubbing his cheek, Barakiel glares at Albus, before the two of them are pushed off balance yet again by another shockwave.
'Damnit, was he really going easy on me during our spar?' Albus thinks to himself, disappointed in himself.
That's when he remembered, he hadn't taken control of his Sanguine Soul once during an actual battle, which is why he had forgotten up until this point.
Grinning, Albus' eyes darted to Barakiel.
"Don't think that a lucky strike is what will allow you to win, mutt." Barakiel sneers.
"Luck? That's where you're wrong." Albus bites back, before sheathing his sword to push both of his hands together at the center of his chest.
Not wanting to take a chance, Barakiel instantly begins chanting, charging up a spell he hadn't used against Cassiel nor Albus before.
"Fifth tier magic, Phoenix's Bane!" Barakiel yells out as a huge flaming bird soars above him, before launching it towards Albus.
Just as the bird was inches from hitting Albus, he'd disappear from sight.
Laughing in a mocking manner, believing Albus to have burned to ash upon contact, Barakiel turns to head outside, ready to help Falvi, only to take a step back as Albus was there waiting in anticipation.
"You wanna tell me what's so funny, Barakiel?" Albus grins, lunging forward to strike Barakiel on the face, sending him into the wall.
"Do you feel it, Barakiel? The difference between us?" Albus says, doing his best to demotivate Barakiel.
Slowly pushing himself off the ground, Barakiel glares at Albus, growling beneath his breath in rage as blood drips from his head.
"Shut your mouth, damnit." Barakiel lashes out, standing up completely as he faces Albus, panting.
"I'll show you true power, parasite." Barakiel continues, stabbing his cane into the ground to form a wall of flame to separate the two.
Quickly, Barakiel begins chanting as Albus walks forward slowly.
"Is this supposed to stop me?" Albus says, before sticking his hand through the flames, unharmed by them.
Reaching forward, Albus puts his other arm through, before he slowly starts to separate the wall of flames as if they were weeds in a field.
"Fire beneath us, eternally burning, aid me in my endeavors to cleanse the land of these unholy parasites, for it is your flame that I seek."
Barakiel chants desperately as he watches Albus' hands edge closer to him.
"Eternal, unbearable flame, grant me your wisdom, your strength, your power!" Barakiel continues, yelling out in a craze.
"E-"
Before he could continue further, Albus separates the wall of flames, causing Barakiel to hesitate.
"Enough." Albus says coldly, sending a shiver down Barakiel's body, dispelling his armor of flame.
Tossing him across the corridor, Barakiel rolls on the ground, realizing his arm is now broken as he winces in pain.
Looking up as Albus walks forward, he snickers.
"You fool."
Stunned, Albus darts forward, realizing what he had just done in his moment of anger.
"Eighth tier magic, Eternal Flame."
A flame bursts out from Barakiel, melting the stone walls of the castle into a dark obsidian glass in seconds.
Albus is forced to dash backwards, covering his face from the unfathomable heat.
Slowly, the clothes on Albus begin to burn away as Barakiel walks forward, grimacing as he sweats profusely.
'Damnit, what have I done...' Albus thinks to himself as he too begins to sweat.
"LET'S FINISH THIS, BASTARD!" Barakiel yells out, walking towards Albus as he drops his withering cane.
"Of course, Barakiel. One final fight for the road." Albus agrees, dashing forward into Barakiel's flame.
.....
The inside of the castle shook ever more with each strike the two would exchange.
The eternal flame that Barakiel was exuding left Albus on the defensive for most of the fight, as he had to cover his face almost every other second so that it wouldn't burn off.
This, however, had drawbacks for both of them.
While Albus' arms were slowly burning away, his skin peeling and his blood hardening under the heat, Barakiel was losing mana at an extraordinary rate, which would leave him unable to do much of anything in just minutes time.
All Albus had to do was hold out, yet even then, he felt as though he couldn't win this battle.
.....
As the fight continued for another minute, the roof of the castle would collapse, and the two would fall to the ground off balance.
Suddenly, a blinding light would fill the sky, seeping into the castle to remove it of all it's dark features.
'What the hell is happening out there?' Both Albus and Barakiel think to themselves, before slowly standing up shakingly, reminding them their time was drawing near.
"P... Vampire, your name is Albus, correct?" Barakiel questions, walking forward while cracking his knuckles.
"It is, Barakiel." Albus answers, rolling his neck and popping his arms forward.
"Let's finish this, as warriors. Forgive me for my impudence before, it was not your fault my village was ravaged. You are a warrior of a new era, and I'm glad to have fought you." Barakiel suddenly spurts out, his voice sincere, which was unlike him.
Without a word, Albus smirks, before clashing fists with Barakiel.
A shockwave is sent throughout the castle as their fists would connect.
Both of them knew just how powerful the other could be, which gave them all the information they needed to realize that they were at each other's breaking points.
With another clash, another shockwave would travel through the castle, breaking it down further.
Despite their rhythmical moves, Albus knew he had a duty to fulfill.
"Thank you for this fight, Barakiel." Albus smiles, before dodging Barakiel's final strike as he stabs his hand forward, ripping through Barakiel's left shoulder, ripping it off of his body.
Screaming out in pain, Barakiel dashes backwards before tripping on the upheaved floor, now forced to stare at Albus like a helpless animal as he slowly walks forward through the heat.
"Let's finish this."
Standing just above Barakiel, Albus crosses his arm across his body, laying his hand flat out ready to swipe Barakiel's head off.
However, just moments before doing so, a spear drives straight through the middle of his chest.
Coughing out blood, Albus slowly turns his head to look behind him, only to a soldier of Falvi's who had burnt away moments before.
.....
The soldier faked his death after watching Albus mercilessly cleave through their army.
Knowing full well he couldn't beat Albus, he waited till he left before following him down the hallway, only to dart into a room after watching Barakiel fly into the wall at the end of the corridor.
There, he hid, biding his time for the perfect moment.
After waiting for over five minutes, he was forced to cover himself in everything he could find so to survive off the flame Barakiel had summoned.
It wasn't until he heard Albus' talk of victory that he decided to run out, fighting through the flame to drive his spear through Albus' chest, only hoping it'd be enough, dying before knowing if it was.
.....
Falling to the ground on his knees, Albus continues to cough up blood.
The spear had grazed his heart, leaving a huge cut on the side of it.
This was something he wouldn't be able to regenerate with Barakiel in front of him.
This was the end of his journey.
.....
Slowly standing up, Barakiel trembles as he walks forward to Albus.
"Forgive me, Albus." Barakiel pants.
"Rest knowing you've won this battle, I beg of thee."
Gripping onto the tip of the spear, Barakiel's blood runs down the edge of it as he pulls it out from Albus' body, before turning it around to lodge it straight through his heart.
'Forgive me... Cassiel, I've failed you. I can only pray you'll achieve victory... Please, find my brother for me. My dear best friend, I believe in you.' Albus' prays, before his head drops to face the ground as blood spills from his lips.
A tear of pain rolls down his face as memories of the past flood his mind.
Bagnion's castle is where he'd been laid down to rest for eternity.