Beru was the first to arrive; he screeched in glee, his blue eye shining with madness as, the moment he reached his opponent, his claws elongated even further, and with a vicious shredding might, he swung down with nothing but pure, overwhelming physical strength that distorted the surrounding vacuum.

The Vampire stared at the incoming attack with eerie calmness, his own hand blurring upwards at a speed that fractured perception as he caught Beru’s attack head-on, gripping Beru firmly by the wrist, immediately halting his attack in place as the cosmic wind exploded outwards with violent, bursting force that rippled across space like a shockwave of destruction.

The Vampire didn’t slow in the slightest; the moment he caught Beru’s attack, his other hand tore forward with brutal intent, his fist slamming towards Beru’s chest with enough force to shatter celestial bodies. But Beru was no amateur, his wings beat through space as he sidestepped, his eyes glowing intensely as he relished the opportunity to finally fight after ages of remaining within the suffocating stillness of the shadow realm.

As he dodged, his hand that was still being held twisted sharply at the wrist, contorting at an unnatural angle as he slashed out with his elongated claws, the attack catching the Vampire off guard as Beru tore apart his arm from the elbow downwards with savage brutality. The Vampire blurred backwards instantly, another arm regenerating within a split second with grotesque and almost instantaneous efficiency, as though such damage meant nothing to him.

Beru didn’t pause; he closed the distance again, his wings propelling him faster and faster as though he were a predator perfectly adapted to the vacuum of space. The moment he got close, his claws snapped forward once more with murderous intent, but the Vampire responded with something entirely expected, a Light affinity-based attack.

[Light Magic: Burning Chains]

The Vampire’s mana boomed outward violently as chains made of condensed light erupted into existence, their radiance blinding as they snapped towards Beru to bind him in place within space itself. Beru immediately abandoned his attack mid-motion as he flickered backwards, narrowly avoiding the binding chains with precise and calculated movements.

But the Vampire was far from satisfied; he immediately transitioned into another attack without hesitation, once again utilizing Light-based magic, as though he had already concluded that Beru, being a creature of shadow, would naturally be vulnerable to such an element.

[Light Magic: Mana Zone: Purification Barrier] 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

His mana roared outward like a collapsing star as he invoked Mana Zone, amplifying both the lethality and range of his spell to terrifying levels. In the next instant, a massive golden construct formed, a radiant box spanning up to a kilometre across space, completely encasing Beru within it. The light within the barrier began to flicker and intensify erratically, as though it sought to erase, purify, and annihilate Beru from existence itself.

But Beru was not so limited. Just because he preferred close-quarters combat did not mean he lacked access to powerful magic. Beru possessed a devouring ability, one that allowed him to acquire the abilities, talents, and even instincts of those he consumed while they were still alive. And among those Beru had devoured were not only magicians... but also Demons.

[Chaos Magic: Dark Corrosion]

In the very next moment, an immense torrent of chaos energy erupted violently from his body, swirling and expanding outward, the energy was dense, corruptive, and suffocating. But unlike the inhabitants of the Acarnis Galaxy, who relied on cores to house and regulate mana, Beru was not constrained by such limitations. He wasn’t even a native being of this Universe, its rules, laws, and restrictions held no authority over his existence or his devouring power.

A corrosive force surged outward and slammed directly into the light barrier that imprisoned him, and almost instantly, it began to rot, decay, and corrupt under the influence of his chaos energy. Although Light could purify darkness and chaos, that purification was not absolute, the Light needed to surpass its opposing force in strength, and in this case, it did not.

Cracks rapidly spread across the golden barrier like fractures in glass as the Vampire poured even more mana into maintaining the spell, his expression tightening slightly. But it was futile. Beru did not possess a finite reserve of chaos energy like Demons; he could unleash it endlessly, an inexhaustible force that defied conventional limits.

And with a thunderous, shattering blast, the barrier collapsed completely.

In that same instant, Beru surged forward, his body becoming a streak of black as a wide, ant-like grin spread across his face, his excitement barely contained. His knee drove forward with planet-crushing force, slamming violently into the Vampire’s side. The impact was catastrophic, the Vampire’s body twisted violently as his ribcage exploded outward, and he was sent hurtling into a nearby sun with devastating momentum.

Beru screeched in exhilaration and gave chase, his form cutting through space as he approached the blazing star. Without hesitation, his claw descended once more, aiming to tear apart both the Vampire and the sun itself in a single, lethal strike.

But the Vampire reacted instantly, dispersing into a cloud of blood mist to evade the attack entirely. Beru’s strike collided directly with the sun, destabilizing it immediately as its internal structure began to collapse violently, but neither combatant paid it any attention.

Beru didn’t slow down. The moment the Vampire transformed into blood mist, Beru raised his hand, seamlessly shifting his energy source from chaos energy to mana. With a single motion, a torrent of space-time freezing ice erupted outward, expanding rapidly to freeze the Vampire even in his dispersed state.

But the Vampire had anticipated such a move. He immediately reverted back to his physical form just as the ice approached. The instant he reappeared, he launched a devastating punch forward, cosmic wind compressing violently around his fist before detonating outward, surging to meet the incoming ice attack.

With a thunderous force, the cosmic wind obliterated the ice, shattering it into countless fragments that scattered across space. But Beru remained unfazed. He moved again instantly, his form blurring as he appeared beside the Vampire and launched another attack, his movements fluid and continuous.

The Vampire’s eyes snapped sharply towards Beru. Despite his innate vampiric strength, he knew, without doubt, that his physical power was inferior to this monstrous ant creature. It was humiliating, deeply insulting, but undeniable. The Galaxy had always been a place of absurdities.

His blood-red energy surged outward explosively as a wall of solidified blood formed beside him, acting as an immediate defensive barrier. The moment it formed, Beru’s claws tore into it with savage delight, shredding it apart effortlessly with a single strike.

But the Vampire had already moved on.

[Blood Magic: Red World]

Mana erupted outward once more as an immense quantity of blood flooded into existence, forming a massive cocoon that rapidly enclosed Beru completely. The moment the enclosure was complete, the Vampire clenched his fist tightly, and instantly, the enormous cocoon compressed violently down to the size of a basketball.

The Vampire frowned, he hadn’t felt Beru’s body being crushed.

Before he could react, space itself distorted as a portal tore open beside him, and from within it, Beru’s clawed hands lashed out simultaneously, slicing across the Vampire’s neck and waist in one fluid, merciless motion, tearing him into three separate pieces instantly.

The Vampire’s regeneration activated immediately, his body reassembling itself in less than a fraction of a second.

But Beru didn’t care.

To him, this endlessly regenerating Vampire was nothing more than an infinite, self-repairing target, a living outlet upon which he could unleash the fury, and battle-lust he had suppressed for far too long within the silent depths of the shadow realm.