Naro made sure it was daytime. He adjusted his black coat, his single arm at his side, and stepped out from the shadows to reveal himself.
It was an insane act—no one in their right mind would reveal themselves to that creature. But Naro was not an ordinary man. Every breath he took, every step he made, was already part of a carefully crafted plan.
The Abandoned Knight halted. Slowly, his head turned towards Naro, and the air grew heavy. From the cracks in his armor, a suffocating aura poured out, thick and crushing like a waterfall of raw bloodlust. The earth trembled beneath him.
For a moment, there was silence. Then—A violent roar tore through the land.
The knight lunged forward with blinding speed, the ground erupting beneath his feet. The sheer force of his movement left a crater where he stood.
But Naro didn't flinch. His eyes were cold, calculating—his heartbeat steady as the wind.
The knight's blade slashed through the air, but in that very instant—
Swoosh.
Naro vanished.
Using blood dash, Naro reappeared behind the knight, his hand gripping the knight's shoulder. And before the creature could react—
The world folded into brilliance.
A torrent of blinding light consumed them both. Naro's vision blurred, his veins burned, his soul screamed. The Light Travel Nyx—one of the most dangerous immortal Nyx—devoured half his soul in an instant. But because the knight was dragged into the teleportation, the backlash was shared.
breathing heavily, Naro gritted his teeth and endured.
When the light faded…
They were no longer in the wastelands.
They stood in the heart of a grand, towering castle, its banners dripping with the insignia of fangs and blood. Dozens of armored soldiers surrounded them in seconds, each radiating a powerful aura—Rank 4 High-Blood Vampires.
It was Dracula's castle.
Swords were drawn, hisses filled the air. The scent of blood thickened.
Within moments, the news reached the throne room.
Dracula froze.
For a long heartbeat, he couldn't process what he had just heard. His glowing red eyes widened, ancient instincts roaring awake. The Abandoned Knight? Inside his castle? Appearing out of nowhere with another beside him!?
Time itself seemed to slow. Centuries of power surged through Dracula's mind as he pieced together the impossible.
This wasn't random.
This was planned.
…
Meanwhile, the Abandoned Knight, blinded by fury, lunged at Naro again. The blow split the marble floor apart as Naro barely evaded it—his movement smooth and precise.
The vampires charged at the intruders in a blur.
Naro grinned sharply. "Perfect."
He dashed behind the knight with his Blood Dash, vanishing in a streak of red. The knight, mindless and enraged, mistook the high-blood vampires for his enemies and unleashed hell upon them. Screams and shattering stone filled the halls as Naro slipped away through the chaos, his eyes fixed on one place—
The throne room.
…
When he entered, Dracula was already standing at the top of the stairs, his regal black armor glinting in the light of his palace. His presence alone distorted the air, his aura dense with centuries of pure dominance.
"You are truly a fool, child…" Dracula's voice was smooth, mocking, ancient. "To walk through my gates so boldly—knowing my army, knowing me—you are courting death!"
He laughed softly, his fangs flashing as his aura exploded outward. The room darkened under its weight. Bloodlust radiated like a living storm, thick enough to suffocate lesser beings.
Even Naro felt his chest tighten. A human—no, even a vampire of his level—should have been crushed instantly. Yet Naro stood still, his expression unchanging.
Dracula tilted his head slightly. "Impressive. Still standing under my pressure? Then allow me to end you myself."
In a blur, Dracula vanished.
Blood Dash.
But his was far beyond Naro's—it was faster, sharper, and much more lethal. He appeared before Naro in less than a blink, claws extended like blades.
Naro twisted away, his movements instinctive; he had expected this exact moment.
"Blood Dash?" Dracula smirked, intrigued. "So, you've slain one of my kind before. You carry our path in your veins…" He narrowed his glowing eyes. "Tell me, intruder—who are you really?"
Naro's single arm trembled faintly, not from fear but from the energy building beneath his skin. His face still expressionless.
He didn't answer.
He was only waiting.
Waiting for the one moment—the single chance to simply just touch Dracula.
Dracula's eyes gleamed with malice. His lips curled into a savage grin as his aura spiked, shaking the air. The blood in the room itself began to move—threads of scarlet energy rising and swirling toward his arm.
"Let me show you the difference between us." he hissed.
The blood condensed, solidified, and then formed a weapon. A blade sprouted directly from Dracula's forearm, curving backward along the shape of his arm like a scythe made of living blood. It pulsed faintly—seemingly alive, hungry.
Naro didn't move. His eyes followed every motion, calculating the next attack.
Then Dracula lunged.
The force of the strike split the floor open like glass shattering under thunder. Naro dropped low, narrowly avoiding the killing blow, the air beside his face slicing open from the sword's passing.
In that instant—his opening—Naro placed his palm firmly on Dracula's chest.
Dracula's eyes widened. A pulse. A heartbeat of recognition.
"…You—" he growled, realization dawning. "You're a vampire too."
Before Dracula could react, Naro's veins lit up with radiant gold. The Light Travel Nyx ignited, swallowing them both in blinding light.
"Impossible—!"
But Dracula wasn't done yet. Instinctively, his blade-arm expanded outward, stabbing straight through Naro's side. Blood burst from Naro's mouth, and the light around them rippled violently, disturbed.
The world vanished.
A scream tore through the brightness.
The teleportation erupted out of control. The backlash crushed through Naro's soul—he could feel it tearing apart, shredding in agony.
When the light faded, they were no longer in the castle.
They were in the sky.
Miles above the earth, both bodies were plummeting through the clouds. Wind howled like a thousand screams. The horizon spun endlessly, and above them—blinding and merciless—shone the sun.
Dracula's voice roared through the air:
"YOU FOOL! YOU'RE A VAMPIRE TOO! WE'LL BOTH DIE UNDER THE SUN!"
His fury burned as his body already began to sizzle, smoke rising from his pale skin. His confusion only deepened as he tried to understand this madman—this child—who dared bring him into daylight.
"Who are you!?" Dracula bellowed as fire licked his armor. "How can you wield an immortal movement path Nyx and still live!? How can you—"
He stopped. His eyes widened again.
Naro wasn't burning.
Not a single mark. Not a wisp of smoke.
The sunlight gleamed off his coat harmlessly as he fell, his expression calm, his laughter dark and echoing through the open sky.
Dracula's disbelief twisted into horror.
"No… no, you didn't—You can't possibly have the Conqueror's Sun Nyx…"
Naro's grin widened. "You finally understand…" His voice was cold, almost triumphant.
"You've fallen right into my trap."
For the first time in centuries, Dracula's arrogance cracked. He let out a hoarse laugh that grew louder and crazier. His eyes gleamed with deranged amusement as flames consumed him.
"Your trap?" he sneered between fits of laughter. "Oh, poor boy… you think you've won?"
Naro's smile faltered. Something wasn't right.
Then—
He felt it.
A sudden weight in his chest, like invisible chains wrapping around his very soul. A dreadful energy crawled up his spine, cold and ancient.
Before Naro could react, Dracula's burning body below let out one final snarl:
"Soul Possession Nyx!"
His body disintegrated into ash—
And his soul surged upward, a mist piercing through the air, shooting straight into Naro's body.
Naro's eyes shrunk to pin size.
"W-what—no—!"
The impact was unbearable. His mind exploded with pain as Dracula's essence tore into him. He screamed, clutching his head as both souls clashed violently within one vessel. Their memories intertwined like colliding storms—past and present blurring into chaos.
For Dracula, it was supposed to be a swift takeover. A simple act of domination. But then…
He saw.
He saw everything.
Flashes—worlds unfamiliar, cities of light and machines, then endless blood, endless war. He saw Naro's transmigration, his centuries of agony, betrayal, and despair— His rank 6 cultivation, and the Ivory Moon Time Path Nyx—its divine power, its cruel curse that tormented Naro for endless years. He saw Naro standing alone at the edge of eternity, beyond comprehension.
And Dracula's ancient soul—once fearless, once proud—broke.
"W-what… what are you?" Dracula's voice trembled inside Naro's mind. His consciousness quivered in terror. Fully regretting ever possessing Naro's soul.
He tried to retreat, but it was too late. The weight of Naro's existence crushed him. The torment, the years, and the despair—it all poured into Dracula like molten iron.
He screamed, trying to claw his way out, desperate to escape the endless suffering he now tasted. He no longer wanted the body. He no longer wanted victory.
But that moment of weakness… that single, terrified hesitation—was all Naro needed.
With a roar that split the air, Naro's soul surged back. His eyes blazed open with fury and light.
"GET. OUT!"
A shockwave of spiritual energy erupted outward, yet the link stood strong.
When the dust settled, the world was silent again.
Two bodies lay in a massive crater—the charred remains of Dracula's corpse beside Naro's bloodied, trembling form.
Dracula was gone.
But his soul remained within Naro.
And though Naro's body was broken and his soul nearly torn apart, he was still alive. Victorious once more—But at a cost of Dracula's will within him.