Chapter 144: Father

Vlad stared at them without saying anything.

For the first time since the battle began, he did not look amused.

Emily tightened her grip on Aeon and moved first. She opened several tiny spatial tears around Vlad, and crimson spikes immediately shot through them from different directions.

Vlad destroyed the first two with his hands, but another appeared behind him, forcing him to twist aside before a fourth came from above. He blocked it, only for Emily to appear directly in front of him with Aeon already swinging.

Vlad caught the blade, but Reinhard’s Heavenpiercer came through another spatial corridor from behind. Vlad released Aeon and moved aside as the golden spear passed his head, only for the spectral spears surrounding Reinhard to begin firing one after another.

Each spear changed direction independently, forcing Vlad to defend against attacks coming from every angle while Emily continued pressing him from the front.

Emily felt something strange as she fought.

Aeon was not simply making her Space and Time stronger.

It was doing something else.

She had always treated her different powers as separate abilities. Space was one thing, Time another, Blood Mana another, and her Gnosis something she activated independently. Yet as she poured her Blood Mana into Aeon, the boundaries between those powers began disappearing. Instead of resisting one another, they were merging.

Emily understood.

Fusion.

Aeon’s true ability was not Space, Time, or even Blood.

It was the ability to fuse powers together and turn them into something new.

She opened her palm, allowing Blood Mana to flow through Aeon while Space and Time followed. The next attack was completely different. A crimson spatial tear appeared beside Vlad, and a Bloodkin spike emerged from it while another tear opened behind him. Vlad blocked both, but Emily twisted her wrist and the spatial tears moved with her, dragging the spikes through space until they attacked from multiple directions at once.

Vlad’s eyes narrowed.

Emily had found another level.

She gathered more Blood Mana and combined it with Space and Aeon, creating a massive crimson tornado around herself. Unlike the Blood Tornado Vlad had used earlier, this one twisted space itself. The edges of the storm warped the Garden, and anything caught inside it was pulled through distorted spatial paths before being struck by countless Blood Mana blades.

Vlad tore through the storm, but Reinhard was already waiting.

Heavenpiercer flew toward him.

Vlad dodged.

The spear changed direction.

Three spectral spears attacked from behind.

He blocked them.

Another spear exploded against his side.

The blast pushed him several meters across the ground before Reinhard appeared in front of him.

For the first time, Vlad was forced to fight Reinhard directly.

Reinhard smiled.

"That’s more like it."

His E.G.O. had transformed Heavenpiercer into something far more dangerous. Dozens of golden spectral spears floated around him, each capable of attacking independently, changing its trajectory, returning to him, and exploding upon contact. Reinhard could attack from every direction at once while still controlling the original Heavenpiercer.

Then he activated his newest ability.

God Speed.

Mana surged through his body.

His speed instantly reached the level of an S-Rank Awakener.

Vlad disappeared.

Reinhard disappeared with him.

The two figures collided across the Garden, moving so quickly that Emily could barely follow them. Vlad struck from the side, Reinhard blocked with Heavenpiercer, and the impact sent both of them backward. Vlad immediately attacked again, but Reinhard matched his movement and countered with a golden spear from behind.

For the first time, Reinhard could actually keep up with Vlad physically.

He was still not stronger but he was fast enough to fight him directly. Reinhard’s eyes narrowed as he activated Emperor’s Insight. He expected to see Vlad’s overwhelming Mana flowing through a powerful body.

Instead, what he saw made him pause.

What the hell...

Vlad’s body was destroyed.

Several organs were no longer functioning properly, and his internal Mana pathways were severely damaged. His body should not have been capable of moving, much less fighting at this level. The only thing maintaining his life was the Heart he had placed back inside his body.

Even his Mana was strange.

It was powerful, but disorganized, constantly fluctuating as though Vlad were forcing an already broken system to continue operating.

Reinhard narrowly avoided another attack and said, "Your Mana is disorganized."

Emily immediately looked toward her father.

Vlad stopped for half a second before chuckling. "So you noticed."

Emily’s expression changed.

That explained it.

Her father had seemed different from the man she remembered. His strength was terrifying, but it fluctuated. His attacks sometimes felt overwhelmingly powerful and then suddenly less stable. Even his movements had moments where his body seemed to struggle to keep up.

Vlad smiled sadly. "You were wondering why I seemed weaker than you remembered, weren’t you?"

Emily’s fingers tightened around Aeon. "Father..."

Vlad looked down at himself. "Before I reached this place, I fought another Calamity. I fought several S-Rank Awakeners and even multiple SS-Rank Awakeners. I escaped, but my body paid the price."

He touched his chest.

"The Singularity severed my connection to the Bloodkin, and the regeneration that kept me together is gone as well. I have been forcing this body to move long after it should have stopped."

Emily’s eyes trembled. "You should have stopped."

"I could have," Vlad admitted. "But I didn’t want to."

His eyes moved toward Reinhard. "I wanted to finish this myself, and I wanted to see the man who stole my daughter from me."

Reinhard smiled. "Technically, she came willingly."

Emily glanced at him with an irritated expression.

Reinhard shrugged. "I’m just clarifying the facts."

Vlad actually laughed and then his expression became calm. "Then let’s put an end to this."

The remaining Blood Mana covering the Garden suddenly began moving toward him.

Emily’s expression changed immediately.

The entire Blood Field collapsed inward as crimson rivers of Mana rushed through the ruins and gathered around Vlad. The blood spiraled around his body, forming enormous wings before spreading outward into a gigantic crimson creature.

A Blood Phoenix emerged above the Garden.

Its wings stretched across the sky, and countless feathers formed from densely compressed blood. The pressure radiating from its body cracked the ground beneath it, while the surrounding space trembled as though it could barely withstand the creature’s existence.

Reinhard looked up at the monstrous bird.

"That’s bad."

Emily’s expression grew serious. She recognized the scale of the attack immediately.

"We can’t block that separately," she said. "We have to break it together."

Reinhard turned toward her and gently took both of her hands.

"Together."

Emily looked into his eyes for a moment before returning his smile.

"Together."

They released their Mana at the same time.

Emily poured everything she had into Aeon, while Reinhard directed his power through Heavenpiercer. Their energies surged toward one another, and instead of colliding, they began to merge.

A notification appeared before their eyes.

[Mana Sovereign Awakaned.]

Their Mana no longer remained separate. Reinhard’s golden energy flowed into Emily’s crimson aura, while her Blood Mana entered his golden light. Each power strengthened the other, creating a force neither of them could have produced alone.

Another notification followed.

[Family Bond Activated.]

[Strength Increased by 25%.]

Reinhard felt Emily’s power flowing through his body, while Emily experienced the depth and stability of his Mana. Their limits suddenly seemed farther away, and the pressure they had struggled to withstand moments earlier became something they could finally challenge.

Above them, the Blood Phoenix spread its wings and descended.

Emily and Reinhard thrust their weapons forward.

Aeon and Heavenpiercer unleashed their combined power.

Right Hand of God manifested beside Reinhard, its invisible crimson claws striking toward the incoming Phoenix. At the same time, dozens of golden spectral spears shot forward, piercing the creature’s body before exploding. Each detonation tore through another section of its wings, scattering crimson feathers across the battlefield.

Emily wrapped her Spatial Blood Tornado around the golden assault, distorting the space surrounding their combined attack. Blood spikes appeared inside the Phoenix itself, stabbing through its body from countless directions while Aeon’s power prevented the creature from escaping through ordinary movement.

For a moment, their assault seemed to be working.

Then the Phoenix pushed forward.

One golden spear shattered against its wing, followed by another. Emily’s spatial tornado was torn apart by the creature’s overwhelming pressure, and the wounds Reinhard had inflicted began closing as the Phoenix regenerated.

Reinhard threw Heavenpiercer again. The spear pierced through one of the creature’s wings before exploding, but even that failed to stop its advance. The destroyed section reformed as fresh Blood Mana gathered around the Phoenix, allowing it to continue descending toward them.

Emily gritted her teeth.

"Reinhard!"

"I’m pushing!"

The Garden cracked beneath their feet as the opposing forces collided. Shockwaves tore through the remaining buildings, sending fragments of stone into the air while waves of Mana swept across the battlefield.

Reinhard launched another barrage of golden spears, and Emily drove Aeon through the countless blood feathers surrounding them. Every time the Phoenix recovered, they attacked again, refusing to give it enough time to overwhelm their defenses.

Emily pushed more of her Blood Mana into their combined assault.

Reinhard felt the difference immediately. Their powers were no longer merely supporting one another or increasing each other’s strength. The distinction between them was disappearing, allowing every movement and every attack to carry the force of both their abilities.

Mana Sovereign fully activated.

Golden and crimson energy merged into a single mass, expanding as it gathered the power of their weapons and abilities. The fused energy surged forward, wrapping golden light around crimson flames until a gigantic creature emerged from the collision.

A Golden-Crimson Hawk spread its wings across the battlefield.

Vlad’s eyes widened.

The Hawk crashed into the Blood Phoenix, and the two enormous creatures began tearing into one another. Crimson blood collided with golden light, sending waves of energy across the Garden as Emily and Reinhard continued pouring everything they had into their weapons.

The Blood Phoenix pushed forward, forcing Emily’s feet to slide backward across the fractured ground. Reinhard’s arms trembled as he struggled to maintain the attack, and the strain of controlling so many weapons threatened to overwhelm him.

Neither of them relented.

Emily drew upon her Bloodkin power and poured it into Aeon, while Reinhard directed the remaining strength of his arsenal into Heavenpiercer. Their combined energy surged through the Golden-Crimson Hawk, strengthening its wings until the creature spread them wide and unleashed its full power.

The Hawk tore through the Blood Phoenix.

The crimson creature shattered, its enormous body breaking apart into a storm of blood and dissipating Mana. The golden-crimson assault continued forward, crashing directly into Vlad before he could recover. It pierced through his chest and struck the Heart within his body.

For an instant, the Heart remained intact.

Then it shattered.

The Blood Field disappeared.

Silence descended over the Garden.

Emily and Reinhard stumbled forward, both barely able to remain standing. Emily’s E.G.O. gradually faded, leaving her Bloodkin transformation active, while Reinhard’s golden armor flickered around his exhausted body.

Across the ruined battlefield, Vlad crashed into the ground.

Emily stared at him, her hands trembling around Aeon.

Then, from inside the crater, her father spoke.

"You win, daughter."

Her breath caught. He remained in the crater, his voice weak but peaceful. "It’s the end for me now."

Emily’s Aeon slowly deactivated. The battle was over.

Reinhard looked at her and gave a small smile. He opened a Space Tear beside them, then created another opening next to Vlad, and without saying anything, gently pulled Emily into his arms and stepped through. They emerged beside her father.

Reinhard lowered her carefully and looked down at his father-in-law.

"Damn, father-in-law. You really know how to push us."

Vlad laughed weakly, then looked toward Emily.

"Father."

The single word carried none of the anger or authority he’d used during the battle. It was simply the voice of a tired father speaking to his daughter, and Emily froze.

He closed his eyes for a moment. "After Maria and Selene died, I destroyed the towns around us. I killed the people I believed had allowed it to happen, and for a while, I thought hatred was the only thing keeping me alive."

Emily listened quietly.

"But afterward, I saw what the other Bloodkin were becoming. They were losing themselves. They were becoming the very monsters I had spent so long trying to prevent you from becoming." His voice grew quieter. "So I sealed them inside the Garden."

Her eyes widened.

"I sealed myself away as well. Before I did, I erased my own memories, because I didn’t want you to see me like this. I didn’t want my daughter to remember her father as a monster." He gave a tired smile. "I thought that if I slept for a century, perhaps the anger would disappear. Perhaps the grief would finally become something I could live with." He paused. "But that did not happen."

The people disturbing the Garden had woken him far earlier than he intended, and when he opened his eyes again, the grief was still there. Emily’s eyes filled with tears.

He looked away. "I thought I could handle it alone."

"You idiot."

Vlad looked back at her. She was crying now, but there was anger in her expression as well.

"Why did you take all of that alone?" she asked. "You should have come to find me. You should have told me. We’re family, Father. You shouldn’t have let yourself suffer by yourself."

His expression trembled. "Would you have forgiven me for what I did?"

"Of course." She wiped the tears from her face. "We’ve all done terrible things. That doesn’t mean you had to suffer alone."

"She’s right," Reinhard nodded seriously. "I’ve committed a much bigger sin than you."

Vlad blinked.

"I neglected my beautiful wife for two years and treated her horribly," Reinhard sighed, as though confessing something truly horrifying.

Emily’s face turned red. "Reinhard..."

"But fortunately, she forgave me," he continued, leaning his cheek gently against hers.

She blushed even harder but didn’t push him away.

"Don’t underestimate Emily’s caring and loving side," he smiled.

Vlad stared at them, his body trembling, and then he laughed, tears flowing down his face as he looked at his daughter standing beside the man she had chosen.

"I see..." His voice shook. "Maybe I should have..."

He couldn’t finish.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at Emily again.

"Thank you, my dear daughter."