Choking even harder, Brogan instantly pushed away from the dust. Alexia pressed him and Brogan warded off her attacks well enough. Even with the discomfort he was in, he was still very capable of doing battle.

Alexia wasn't surprised. Vampyr-Bane isn't a very debilitating tool. It can provide an edge but doesn't have the neutralizing ability of the Hellsong Boxes for instance. Usually, Alexia wouldn't have even bothered with it.

This time though, she found it particularly useful because after another couple of hard chokes, the protection keeping Brogan safe from the effects of the Hellsong Boxes began to falter. Thirty seconds before the songs finally ended, Brogan's chokes and his internal discomfort from Vampyr-Bane, exposed him to enough of the frequencies that his equilibrium stuttered.

Alexia swung a powerful attack. Brogan raised a shield, blocked most of the attack only for the rest to send him smashing into a wall of the Hall so hard that the entire underground hideout trembled and seemed close to collapse.

But even in that pain, the cry Brogan let out was due to even more frequencies finding their way into his body. His eyesight blurred and he had difficulty spotting Alexia. He sent an attack in her direction, a malevolent bullet of water that passed clean through her right before she vanished like an afterimage. The very next second, her sword came for his neck. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"NGHHH!!!" With a groan of effort as he fought hard against the frequencies of the Hellsong and tried to reinstate his protection, Brogan wrapped his hand in a gauntlet of water and grabbed Alexia's sword, pulling her closer.

With a frown, Alexia twisted her body and struck her knee against the side of Brogan's head so hard that she drew blood. The attack pushed Brogan away but he kept his grip on her sword, pulling her with him.

And then, Alexia noticed the water of his gauntlet was creeping across her sword, and with a frown, she let her Mana out in a roaring and violent wave concentrated on the part of her sword Brogan was grabbing. At the same time, she retrieved a vial with a peculiar-looking liquid inside of it; The serum that she and Arlette had created from Brogan's arm.

The violence of Alexia's Mana clashed with Brogan's and the reaction created an explosion.

*BANG!*

*BOOM!!!*

There was an explosive cloud right after and opposing magical forces sent Brogan and Alexia in opposite directions. Brogan slammed a palm into the ground, digging his claws into the concrete to stop his backwards slide. Alexia hit her head on the wall, dazing her and deactivating her Von Helsing Arts.

"Alexia!" Arlette cried out then and floated over to the Von Helsing Lady who was trying to gather herself.

And then there was silence. The silence was so sudden that it took a while for everyone to realize what had caused it;

The infernal frequencies had ended. The Hellsong Boxes became inactive and fell to the ground with thuds.

"Ngh," Brogan groaned in exertion, shaking his head like he was trying to loosen whatever hold those frequencies still had on him.

Wincing at a stinging pain, Brogan looked down at his chest. There was a cut there, just an inch below his heart. It was Alexia's one last attempt to kill him right when the explosion violently separated them.

"A good attempt," Brogan scoffed, "You won't get another."

Even as he spoke, a spell circle appeared above Brogan's open palm and when he thrust his hand forward, the spell moved so quickly that Alexia didn't even see what form it took. Only that its malevolent force could be the death of her in her current state. Without the Von Helsing arts to bolster her physical body and her magic, and with her in a dazed state, any attempt at defense might be pointless.

However, right before the spell hit, complex Arcane formations glowed beneath Alexia and Arlette who was by her side. The formations bloomed, becoming a dome that sealed them safe from the attack. Brogan's spell struck the dome, caused a tremor in the hall but ultimately dissipated into nothing.

Brogan turned his head to where Caius stood. Roxanne by his side still had her hand held out and the ashes of the Formation scroll she had destroyed to protect Alexia and Arlette were still floating to the ground.

"I think you forget, Brogan," Caius said, "This battle is between us."

"That bitch took my arm," Brogan said with a sneer, "Only right that I take her life."

"So long as I still breathe, you won't," Caius said.

"I don't need your help, Bloodsucker!" Alexia cried and slammed against the formation Dome, "Unhand me right now."

"You'll remain in there until the Formation runs out of power. Or until you break it. Whichever happens first," Caius said calmly,

"But I suggest you just relax in there. Let us 'Bloodsuckers' settle this between ourselves."

"Oh, to hell with you!" Alexia yelled.

By her side, Arlette frowned. There was no help she could provide from in here and that annoyed her. Sure, she had killed a bunch of Brogan's vampires but couldn't help wishing she had done more. Or at least hadn't gotten sealed away in the Dome.

Caius was of a different mind. While the infernal frequencies left him in pain within the Formation Dome, he had watched Arlette and had been so grateful for her involvement. The Hellsong boxes were very effective crowd control but neither vampiric side could take advantage of it. Brogan was so locked into battling Alexia that he didn't even think to use it to kill a few of Caius's vampires.

But Arlette had broken the stalemate between the two forces in favor of Caius and the Leopold Vampires.

Speaking of which, Kerwin Leopold stood to his feet. Of the Lieutenants he had been battling before Alexia's arrival with the Hellsong Boxes, Kerwin had killed a few and Arlette had killed the others while they were rendered inactive by the infernal frequencies.

So now, once again, Kerwin turned his sights on Brogan who laughed.

"My, my," Brogan said, "I do not anticipate doing battle with you again. And I don't think I need to."

Kerwin raised a brow behind his mask and even though Brogan couldn't see, the look in his eyes revealed that he had sensed something from Kerwin that let him continue.

Brogan took a deep sniff and then shook his head as he mumbled.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"What are you mumbling about?" Kerwin asked.

"Nothing is tying you all together," Brogan said slowly and there was a scheming look in his eyes now,

"I sensed something amiss from the moment you lot arrived. But now I know for certain. I can smell it in you all. You have no blood ties.

No, no, that's not it. You (points at Kerwin) have blood ties with all of them (points at the other Gold-Black Vampires). All of them, except him (points at Caius)."

"What are you getting at?" Kerwin asked slowly.

"Oh, nothing at all. I simply wonder why he (points at Caius) gets to give the orders. A Vampire Noble must have his own Coven. He must have those tied to him by Blood who will die for him. He must have… a family.

Without that, where is the incentive to obey?

Why do you all listen to him if he's not even your creator? If he's not… family."

Caius said nothing and Brogan took that as evidence that he had hit a sore topic.

Then he faced Kerwin.

"You have talent. You have power. I can sense great wisdom in you. And I think it's so disappointing that a Noble who has no ties to your existence can command you to go to such great lengths to protect his Nobility.

Why does he get to be a Noble and you have to obey him? Why ally with one whose ability to command you will ultimately wane?"

"You'll have me turn on my Lord?" Kerwin asked slowly.

"I'll have you turn on a false leader whom you have no obligation to serve," Brogan said lightly,

"I'll have you take your fate into your own hands."