Chapter 143: The Wrath of a Calamity

For several seconds, Vlad simply stared at his daughter before shifting his gaze toward Reinhard, his expression growing increasingly troubled by the sight of them standing together.

Reinhard adjusted his grip on Heavenpiercer and smiled at Emily. "Ready, honey?"

Emily tightened her fingers around Aeon and nodded. "Ready."

They attacked simultaneously.

Emily opened a spatial corridor beside Vlad while Reinhard hurled Heavenpiercer through another several meters away, sending the golden spear through the first opening and out of the second at an unexpected angle.

Vlad caught it with one hand, but that brief distraction gave Emily enough time to appear behind him and bring Aeon down toward his head. He released the spear and caught her blade between his palms, only for Reinhard to appear beside them through Spatial Step and pull him off balance with Spatial Pull.

Emily immediately twisted her weapon free and struck again, forcing Vlad to block with his forearm. Reinhard followed with All-Cutting Slash, the invisible blade cutting across Vlad’s shoulder as Emily formed a crimson weapon from the Blood Mana in her veins and attacked his exposed side.

For several exchanges, neither needed to speak.

Emily’s spatial techniques created openings for Reinhard, while his control abilities forced Vlad into positions she could exploit. Their movements complemented each other so naturally that even Vlad was forced to reconsider his approach.

Eventually, he stepped back, studying Emily with a strange expression.

"So this is what you have become," he murmured before looking at Reinhard. "And this is what he gave you."

"You’re welcome," Reinhard replied cheerfully.

Vlad’s expression hardened as Blood Mana erupted around him, sending a violent pressure wave through the ruined Garden. "Then I suppose I’ve been too gentle."

He vanished before either could respond, reappearing in front of Emily and striking her weapon hard enough to send her flying. Reinhard intercepted him with Heavenpiercer, but Vlad caught the spear and swung him through the remains of a stone building despite the protection of Tyrant Tower.

Emily recovered in midair and sent crimson blades toward Vlad from several directions, forcing him to destroy each one before she closed the distance again.

She barely managed to block his next strike with Aeon before Reinhard appeared overhead and drove him into the ground with Spatial Push. Vlad caught Reinhard by the ankle before he could capitalize, however, and hurled him into the earth.

Reinhard escaped with Spatial Step, only for Vlad to anticipate his reappearance and strike him across the chest. He tried Fooling next, filling the Garden with false images, but Vlad tore through every illusion and caught the real Reinhard by the throat.

Right Hand of God struck from an unseen angle, forcing Vlad to release him, although the Bloodkin immediately turned and smashed through the summoned construct’s defenses.

Reinhard landed several meters away, wiping blood from his mouth as Emily rushed forward again. Their opponent had already adapted to their opening combination, and now every attempt to overwhelm him was met with greater speed and strength.

Emily’s attacks became increasingly desperate, but Vlad caught her wrist and slammed her into the ground before Reinhard could reach them.

Seeing the opening, Reinhard activated Enhanced Link Chain, briefly connecting himself to Vlad and sensing the direction of his next attack.

When Vlad’s fist came toward him, Reinhard deliberately allowed it to connect. Pain tore through his side, but the distraction made Vlad shift his attention for a fraction of a second, giving Emily the opening she needed to appear behind him and bring Aeon down.

Vlad barely turned in time to block. "You used yourself as bait," he said, narrowing his eyes.

Reinhard wiped the blood from his mouth and smiled. "Worked, didn’t it?"

Emily landed beside him, her expression furious. "Don’t do that again."

"Can’t promise that."

She opened her mouth to argue, but Vlad attacked before she could. This time, Emily’s Blood Mana gathered around Aeon in interlocking hexagonal plates, forming a heavier crimson edge that fused with the sword rather than replacing it.

Vlad recognized the change a moment too late, and Emily’s next strike cut through his defense, leaving a thin wound across his chest.

Blood trickled down his armor.

For the first time, Vlad was bleeding.

Emily’s eyes widened slightly at the sight, but Vlad merely looked down at the wound before raising his gaze with a sad smile.

"You’ve grown."

His fist struck her a moment later, sending her crashing through several ruined buildings.

Reinhard rushed to intervene, but Vlad was already upon him, overwhelming his defenses and forcing him to retreat.

Emily regenerated whenever she was injured, yet each recovery consumed more Blood Mana, while Reinhard’s Heavenly Pillars weakened and his reserves dwindled with every exchange.

They continued covering each other, finding openings and attacking whenever Vlad’s attention shifted, but their opponent kept breaking through their defenses.

Emily finally released the Mana she had been holding inside her body, and the Garden changed as a vast field of energy spread outward, saturating the surrounding space.

Her senses expanded throughout the Domain, allowing her to feel every disturbance in the Mana around her, while her own energy began flowing more smoothly. Her wounds healed faster, her spatial abilities grew more precise, and a protective layer of Mana formed automatically around her body.

Reinhard immediately recognized the change. "So this is an A-Rank Domain."

Vlad studied the expanding field with genuine recognition. "A Mana Domain. You’ve finally reached that level."

His own Mana surged outward in response, colliding with Emily’s and contaminating the space she had worked so hard to stabilize. Her Domain continued to support both her and Reinhard, but Vlad’s overwhelming pressure steadily forced its boundaries backward.

Emily had reached A-Rank, yet the gap between them remained enormous.

Vlad fell quiet as he regarded his daughter. "You could have lived peacefully," he said. "And then you appeared."

His gaze shifted toward Reinhard.

"You’re welcome," Reinhard replied.

Vlad stared at him. "What?"

"You don’t need to thank me, father-in-law. Being your daughter’s husband is more than enough."

"You corrupted my daughter."

"That’s a strong word. I’d say I improved her."

"You are insufferable."

"I’ve heard that before."

Emily finally turned toward them, her patience exhausted. "Can both of you shut up?!"

Reinhard laughed, and for the briefest moment, even Vlad’s expression softened. Then his eyes turned crimson, and the Blood Mana surrounding him began spreading across the Garden until the sky, ground, and ruined buildings were submerged in a deep red glow.

"This isn’t a normal Domain," Reinhard muttered.

Vlad raised one hand, and the entire Blood Field erupted into motion. Cyclones tore through the ruins, reducing stone buildings to dust as Emily desperately reinforced her own Domain.

Reinhard carved a massive spatial seam through the crimson storm, but the opening closed almost immediately, and even Heavenpiercer disappeared beneath the relentless currents of blood. Emily amplified her next strike through Aeon, only for another cyclone to swallow it before it could reach Vlad.

Then the crimson energy began turning white.

Heat spread throughout the Garden, melting the ground beneath their feet as a brilliant sphere formed above Vlad, resembling a miniature sun.

Concentrated projectiles of light rained down, forcing Emily to open a spatial corridor while Reinhard pulled them through with Spatial Step. They emerged beyond the barrage, but the earth beneath them erupted as Vlad triggered a violent nuclear reaction underground.

Emily expanded her Domain around Reinhard to protect him from the heat, yet another explosion caught her before she could escape, hurling her into the ground.

Vlad gathered the remaining energy between his hands, compressing the Blood Field into a massive beam that tore through their combined defenses and sent them crashing across the ruined Garden.

Emily struggled to move as her Domain flickered around her, while Reinhard tried to stand and found his body refusing to cooperate.

Vlad approached them slowly, his expression almost gentle. "I’m sorry, Emily. I wanted you to remember the family you once had." He looked toward Reinhard. "But you chose him."

He raised his hand, and the Blood Field began spinning into an enormous tornado that threatened to swallow the entire Garden.

Emily immediately understood that neither of them could survive the attack if it reached them. Rather than retreat, she stepped in front of Reinhard and raised Aeon as Blood Mana erupted around her, forming a second tornado that collided with Vlad’s.

The two cyclones tore against each other, shaking the Garden as Emily forced herself forward. Her Domain expanded desperately, attempting to stabilize the space around her.

But the pressure was so immense that blood ran from her nose and cracks spread across her arms. Her Mana pathways burned, her bones creaked under the strain, and still she refused to yield.

"Emily!" Reinhard struggled to rise.

"Focus on healing yourself!" she shouted without looking back. "Believe in me!"

He froze, every instinct urging him to get up and protect her but he remembered the choice she had made to stand beside him rather than sacrifice herself for everyone else.

He listened.

Reinhard leaned back and concentrated on recovery, drawing Mana stored within his cells toward his core while Enlightened Heart helped restore the energy he had exhausted. His breathing gradually steadied, his wounds began closing, and strength slowly returned to his limbs.

Through the storm, he watched Emily continue holding the line despite her failing Domain, and a small smile crossed his face. She was still standing between him and the attack, refusing to abandon either herself or him.

Her tornado was being crushed, however, and the Domain around her was beginning to collapse. She trembled beneath the pressure but raised Aeon once more, her voice cutting through the roaring storm.

"I will protect my husband!"

Vlad’s eyes widened as Emily’s crimson gaze burned through the chaos.

"Even against you, Father!"

Something answered her declaration.

The crimson energy surrounding Emily changed, and Aeon trembled in her hand before awakening. Crimson light erupted from her body as black stars appeared around her, each surrounded by faint crimson crosses. Two streaks of blood ran down her face, crimson lines spread through her golden hair, and living markings crawled across both arms.

Crimson stars appeared within her eyes.

The Bloodkin power inside her no longer fought against her identity. She had stopped treating the different parts of herself as things that needed to be separated, accepting all of them as her own.

Human. Awakener. Bloodkin. Daughter. Wife.

Every part of her belonged to her.

A tremendous surge of Mana exploded outward, sending a shockwave through the Garden and making Reinhard’s Heavenpiercer tremble. He turned toward the weapon in surprise as golden light began pouring from its surface, followed by a pillar of radiance that swept across the Blood Field.

Spectral armor formed around Reinhard in layers of brilliant golden energy, covering his body as multiple spectral spears appeared behind him. Heavenpiercer floated at his side, shining with a power he had never felt from it before.

Vlad stared at the transformation, and for the first time since the battle began, the Calamity looked genuinely shocked.

Emily turned toward Reinhard.

He met her gaze and smiled.

Then a notification appeared before him.

[E.G.O. — Second Awakening]