"We are ready."

"At least, it will be our best chance," nodded Jinhyung.

We had a tremendous source of power; this heart would be our leverage against Lillian. I looked at the ominous tower, chills ran down my spine.

"Lillian, show yourself!" I screamed from the depths of my lungs.

A terrifying presence suddenly unveiled itself. As a powerful gaze pierced me, a cold voice resonating in my mind.

[Hmm, you grew well, indeed. Come.]

I startled as a carmine fog appeared and completely swallowed us, for moments I floated, free from bodily constraints. Shortly after, the fog dissipated, and I regained my body.

I appeared by Jinhyung's side in a large circular room. Unlike the rest of the castle, it was well lit. Blue flames rose from high metal holders raised along the unending walls.

[Welcome to my humble abode.]

I see, I heard her voice so clearly because it propagated through magic waves rather than sound waves. Was it to intimidate us?

She showed herself on the other side of the room, slowly approaching. This time around, wearing nothing but a long white, dirty nightgown.

Her messy platinum hair dragged on the flour; obviously, she wasn't bothered to self-care on her deathbed.

Jinhyung unsheathed his sword and stepped before me. I felt his energy filling the sword as small sparks flew from it.

[Oh, straight to that?]

In a blink of an eye, Lillian dashed toward Jinhyung; her claws clashed against his blade. I couldn't distinguish her movements at all; she appeared to me as a blurry, reddish figure fiercely assaulting Jinhyung.

His blade was as fast as the wind, but still not fast enough; he was pushed back. Small lacerations appeared on his body; blood started to taint his torn clothes.

[That’s all?]

“Shut up bitch!”

Lillian raised her hand and blood from his wounds flew toward it becoming carmine mist.

I had to act quickly. I sat down and took out the chimera's heart. I started charging it with magic in order to break the seal. 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds.

Jinhyung was running out of time, but the seal remained unbroken. I simply couldn't break it in time.

I took out the pendant, barely warm, and smashed it against the beast's core with all my might and intent. The little black stone broke into countless shards, but nothing more.

As despair germinated in my guts by the second, small cracks drew upon the surface of the rock, the seal weakening.

My palms started to hurt from increasing magic power; cracks continued to multiply until the outer shell completely shattered. A terrible magic power filled the tower as the seal broke. The blue flames of the torches flickered as whole structure trembled.

[What a pretty toy you found.]

She glanced at me once the seal broke. In this moment of distraction, Jinhyung struck her arm with the blazing edge of the horizon. Her upper arm flew away, severed by white flames; she immediately jumped back.

[Not bad, mortal!]

Jinhyung kneeled, barely being able holding the upper body with his blade, he had lost a lot of blood by now.

He glanced at me with eyes filled with lingering hope. His breathing was heavy and abrupt; blood dripped to the ground. The partial release required the last bit of power he had. It was all up to me now.

The core's magic quickly filled me; I felt all-mighty power. as if everything laid within my grasp.

My spirit's limit was reached, my mind sobered as I felt like a balloon being stretched from the inside. Smoke came from my palms; spirit paths were burning through my skin; I could barely manage to think.

Steady flow, steady flow, steady flow.

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Carmine fog came toward Lillian's lost arm; first her bones, then all of the muscle fibres quickly were reformed from the mist.

In mere seconds, her arm was completely regained. Her eyes shone red, and her fangs grew. The little makeup she had left was wiped away by tears. She rushed toward the staggered Jinhyung.

I closed my eyes and bestow all of my focus on my companion. A frail light burned in his core.

Even moving would be impossible for him, I had to save him. My body had already become a medium for the heart's energy, I somewhat could control it.

I pushed out a large amount of energy toward him. If enough power filled the space outside him, the dam that is his outer spirit membrane would be temporarily broken and let the energy flow freely inside.

"Go get her Jinhyung!" I pleaded through burning lips.

The moment Lillian's claw reached his neck, a radiant white light pushed her back. As he slowly stood up, his wounds closed, and his strength came back.

The overwhelming magic power that filled Jinhyung increased his regeneration as a byproduct.

A strong white aura embraced Jinhyung, and his blade bathed in pure white blaze. He exerted a tremendous presence, equal to Lillian's.

The Dawnbringer’s stance created an aura blocking every outside magic, ally or foe.

By giving a rotary movement to the flow, its concentration would increase making the pressure climb proportionally.

That way, by aiming directly at his core, where the aura was weaker, I could breach it and give him my energy.

"Sure thing," reassured Jinhyung before jumping back into combat.

He didn't merely defend himself anymore; they fought on equal ground. His white aura clashed with Lillian's bloody fog as they fought.

They stopped talking as if their clashes became their new tongues. Mighty blows landed upon Lillian, but they all seemed fruitless.

Even though the flames somewhat inhibited her healing, she nonetheless regenerated faster than he could cleave through her flesh.

Cracks ran throughout my body; I couldn't hold the power of the chimera's king heart for long. Even maintaining consciousness was a tremendous task right now.

On top of that, I had to channel a steady flow, which required high concentration.

Lillian jumped onto a wall high up. Countless carmine spears rained upon Jinhyung, but it was all futile; they all shattered into red mist upon contact with the Dawnbringer's aura.

In riposte, he slashed seemingly nothing but soon after, white flames engulfed the whole tower and the walls started to crumble.

Lillian appeared from the red fog left by the red spears and tore apart the vortex of power, severing our connection. His aura started to falter and his flames to thin. Before the stance completely wore off, he pierced her chest unleashing his last blaze.

[Kuaaakkkkkk]

Jinhyung fell right away, Lillian, although staggered, remained standing, blindly walked forward.

Blood flowed rivers from her split, open chest. These kinds of wounds would be lethal to anyone, but her. Red fog started to gather, slowly rebuilding her body.

I quickly threw away the core, the pain quickly subsided. I had some time to act before the heart's energy completely vanished from my body.

Why did light and flames reduce the vampire's ability to regenerate? Unlike a blade, flames and light could strike every cell. How could I strike with such precision? By striking with my own cells!

I tore a bit of rope, then I took a sharp rock and hit my arm in order to cause bleeding. I drenched the rope in my blood and then stopped the bleeding by freezing the open wound. It hurt like hell.

With my valid hand, I struck Lillian with the rope as a whip. My blood had so much imbued magic energy right now that if it mixed with her blood, it would burn from within.

[What?]

Due to the massive damage, she stood still almost mindlessly mending her body little by little, until now.

I whipped her again and again.

[Kuak]

[Stop!]

The red fog dissipated, and her wounds started to steam. I relentlessly attacked until she fell into a pool of dark blood.

I let out my makeshift whip and grabbed Jinhyung's sword. I quickly gazed at him; he was unconscious but still breathing. I was deeply relieved. I approached Lillian and stabbed her right into the heart.

"Kuakkk!" she yelled, now in a normal voice. Was her magic pool empty?

I looked at her face; she no longer had doll-like beauty. It was the face of a fierce beast. She had long fangs, grey skin, and torn hair. However, her eyes remained the same, full of sorrow.

"Finish me!" she exclaimed through cries of pain and tears.

Even by vampire standards, she had extraordinary vitality.

"Do you wish to live?"

Simply killing her would be a waste.

"Even if you let me heal, when you'll exit this world, it will vanish. Stop this nonsense and end me."

I slowly let go of the sword and grabbed the empty grimoire.

"I will bring you with me; well, this is, if you agree to help me."

I needed a Lillian that I could use in order to clear the real 'Castle of Nightmares'.

"What do you want from me?" she said, anger completely gave up to despair in her tone.

"Help me kill your father. And I will make sure that the 'you' of this world become the real Lillian."

Her eyes widened.

"I can't, it's my father," she mumbled before I interrupted her.

"He is not, his daughter is the real Lillian not you. You are alone in this world; nobody needs you but me."

I then gathered every bit of magic left in me and struck precisely her spirit core. Then I took the grimoire and put it against her wounded soul. Not even she could recuperate from this.

"If you accept, imbue this book with your soul; if you refuse, simply perish," I said before crumbling. The power of the chimera completely left me; my strained body couldn't keep up any more.