Alexander, Erika, and Elizabeth rushed out onto the streets of Pendragon City from the gatestone hidden in the sewers. They could already hear the frantic screaming of people, and saw dozens stampeding down the sidewalk, desperate to get away from something.

Alexander looked at the twins. “It must be nearby.”

He focused his magical energy at his legs, feeling them swell with power. He sent some additional power into his cloak, activating its levitation spell. With a mighty push, he jumped from the ground, casting a wind spell with his legs. It combined with the levitation enchantment in his cloak, sending him soaring high up into the sky. The wind rushed through his hair and robes as he soared through the air.

Down the street, he saw a swarm of vampires attacking people. They tackled them in the road, smashed vehicles, and broke into the nearby buildings. The sight filled him with rage. His body began to gather his magic involuntarily. He gritted his teeth and told himself that no one else would die to these creatures on his watch.

A bright yellow magical circle formed in front of his hands. He funneled magical energy through the circle, and a long war-hammer made of light took shape. He simultaneously cast another wind spell with his legs, propelling him towards a group of the vampires at tremendous speed. He swung the hammer down, striking just as he impacted the ground. The combined force smashed several of the vampires, killing them instantly.

At the same time, Elizabeth came running recklessly down the street, rushing through several more of the creatures. Her body crackled with lightning, sending deadly jolts through the ones nearest to her. More of them tried to attack from the sky, but Erika hurled multiple blades of wind at them, slicing through those unfortunate enough to be caught in their path.

Alexander helped up some nearby citizens. “Get away from the area!” he instructed them. They didn’t hesitate to heed his instructions.

Further down the street, he saw another group of vampires attacking a group of trapped civilians. He conjured his own lightning spell. The blue bolts arced all around him as he built its power up. The charge became so violent that it cracked at the concrete beneath his feet. He condensed it down into just one hand, the raw density of it making his hand tingle and start to go numb. Using the wind again, he jumped into the air and vaulted to the group of vampires. He landed on the back of one of the creatures and tightly grabbed its head. Before it could react, he loosed the lightning he had gathered, sending a vicious current through the gathered vampires, charring their skin and frying the life out of them.

As he jumped back to the ground, he told the scared and confused civilians, “Evacuate the area!”

It was then that he heard a scream. Amidst all the chaos, this scream rang out, reaching his ears. He turned and saw a young woman lying in the road, slowly trying to back away from a vampire looming over her. The woman had lilac-colored hair, and his eyes went wide in disbelief. “Lila!” he yelled.

He created a sword of light in his hand and rushed at the vampire as it started to lunge for her. He was too far away; he wasn’t going to make it in time. They were too close for him to use the wind spell again. The force might be too great, and she could be injured or killed if he tried. He gritted his teeth, and sweat poured down his face. Was he really going to have to watch her die right in front of him? He held his other hand out and screamed, “No!”

Suddenly, Elizabeth tackled the vampire, throwing it to the ground. It screeched up at her, and she thrust her sword into its mouth, ending its miserable life as its black blood sprayed onto her armor.

Alexander sighed in relief. “Thank you, Elizabeth….”

The remaining vampires started to fly further into the city. He helped Lila up to her feet. “Are you okay?” he asked.

She was still in shock and didn’t seem to recognize her at first. She stared at him blankly for a moment, and then noticed his purple eyes and familiar face. “A-Alexander?!” she stammered. “Is that really you?!”

He confirmed, “Yes, it’s me.” A calm smile came across his face. “You can hit me if you want. Megan already did.”

A nervous smile formed on her face. “I don’t want to hit you. I’m just glad you’re alive.” She took note of his robes and cloak and stuttered again, “W-what are you wearing?” The realization of everything then hit her all at once. She frantically barraged him with questions. “What’s happening? What are those things? Who are those two? Does that girl have a sword?”

He let out a nervous laugh. “It’s a long story, but I’d be happy to tell you if you want to hear it.”

She let out a nervous chuckle of her own before smiling at him again.

Erika ran up and pointed to the retreating vampires in the sky. “We need to pursue, my Lord! We can’t let another chance go to waste!”

She was right. He didn’t want to leave Lila, not after all this time. But letting the vampires slip through their fingers again wasn’t something he was willing to do. “I’m sorry, Lila. I have to go”, he said. He told her to stand back as he leaped into the air with another cast of his wind spell, followed closely by Erika and Elizabeth.

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They chased the vampires further into Pendragon City. The further into the city they went, the more destruction there was. Small buildings lay in ruins, and rubble littered the streets. Injured civilians struggled down the street. Some helped others from the debris. Alexander wanted to stop and help, but he knew they needed to deal with the vampires once and for all. It pained him, but he knew the right choice was to chase the monsters in front of him. Pieces of larger buildings were missing, and he wondered what was going on. So far, none of the vampire attacks had caused this much damage. Seeing all of the destruction caused a haunting memory to rush back into his mind. He remembered his vision from the cave—the one of this world in ruins, with all of his friends dead. His heart sank as the realization hit. Was all the effort he put in really not enough? Was that future really unavoidable?

The vampires landed in the ruined streets of the city, amongst a larger group of their kind. It was the largest gathering of vampires Alexander had seen thus far. He, Erika, and Elizabeth landed across from them. A large device sat on the ground in front of the vampires. It looked strange, like it was made of modern machinery mixed with some sort of organic matter. It had two parabolic dishes on either side and seemed to writhe and hum with an unknown source of power. Alexander couldn’t begin to imagine what the purpose of such a device was.

Sweat began to run down his forehead. He looked back to the large group of vampires and estimated there had to be at least 250 of them, maybe more. He clenched his fists and began to channel magic, ready for a fight, thinking that this could be where he finally ends this vampire threat.

Suddenly, the sound of someone clapping could be heard from the group of vampires. The group parted, and from within them came a vampire much more distinct in appearance than the others. He had long black hair that draped over the right side of his face. As opposed to the smoldering red eyes of the other vampires, he had sickening yellow eyes with vertical slits for pupils, just like a snake. His attire differed as well. He wore short robes armored with golden-plated shoulder guards and golden bracers on each of his arms. Alexander could feel great power radiating from him. The magical flow that passed through him was oppressive, overwhelming, and full of malice.

The vampire stopped clapping and smiled. “Bravo, young Bellmont. Or should I say, World Guardian…” His words oozed with hatred and contempt as he said the title.

Alexander felt uneasy. The aura of this vampire was drastically different from the others. He spoke much more intelligently, and he knew who Alexander was. He swallowed hard as his heart rate rose and his stomach burned. “Who are you? Why are you doing all this?” he asked.

The vampire laughed. “I am Ivanovich, King of the Vampires”, he answered. “And as for why I’m going this…well a few reasons. Because I can, because I want to, and because you humans disgust me…” He glared at Alexander, his malevolent gaze sent shivers down his spine.

Alexander gritted his teeth and dug his feet into the ruined ground, ready for a fight.

Ivanovich smiled, revealing his sharp fangs. “Yes! This is what I’ve been waiting for!”

“W-what are you talking about?”, Alexander stuttered in response.

Ivanovich laughed again. “Believe it or not, I have a lot of respect for you World Guardians. You have a hard job.” He pointed to nearby injured civilians. “Protecting the ungrateful vermin. Fighting World Guardians and watching them suffer has always been one of my favorite hobbies. You know, when my subjects were hunting you before, I was secretly rooting for you! I wanted you to escape and grow stronger! And you did not disappoint! But I just got so tired and bored of waiting around! I knew that if I just caused a little death and destruction that you’d come running back!” He looked Alexander up and down, a sadistic pleasure in his expression. It was as if he was a predator with its prey freshly trapped and wounded. Savoring the thrill of the moment before the kill and feast.

Alexander stumbled back, speechless. The realization that Ivanovich had been playing an elaborate game with him this entire time was overwhelming. “Y-you’re insane!”, he stammered. “Willingly sacrificing the lives of your vampires just for this?!”

“Don’t misunderstand me, World Guardian”, he said. Regardless of whether you lived or died, my plans would remain unaffected. All your survival means is that I get to have a little fun first!”

A sinister smile formed on his face, his hideous jagged fangs becoming visible once again. “So now, you and I are going to fight. I will break you physically and mentally. Then, I will force you to watch as I wipe humanity out and take over this world. After all of that, I will kill you myself. And World Guardian, know that I will take great pleasure in watching the life drain from your eyes before I feast on your flesh and blood!”

Alexander was appalled. He nervously clenched his fists and finally realized the true depths of evil of the monster before him. There was nothing to reason with, no conversation to be had. This was a fight for survival.

Erika and Elizabeth rushed to his side. Elizabeth told him, “Don’t let this guy intimidate you, my Lord!”

Erika agreed. “We’ve got your back! We’re in this together!”

Ivanovich looked at them, unamused. “I think not.” A crimson-colored magical circle formed in front of his hand as he waved it through the air. He spoke an incantation, “Sanguine Shackles!”

A viscous red liquid sprang forth and hurtled at blinding speed toward Alexander. Just before it reached him, the liquid split and passed to his flanks, striking Erika and Elizabeth. It knocked them both to the ground as they struggled against it. The liquid writhed and squirmed, eventually grabbing hold of their necks and stretching itself to their wrists and ankles. It formed shackled collars on them, preventing them from moving.

Alexander went to try and help them, but Ivanovich yelled, stopping him in his stracks. “The fight is between you and me, World Guardian! No one will interfere!”

He signaled to his vampires. A group of them grabbed the device and flew away with it to the top of one of the large skyscrapers. Alexander still didn’t know the purpose of the device, but he knew it couldn’t be good. His hands grew jittery, and his knees began to shake. It was down to this. He would have to fight the King of the Vampires in a battle to determine the fate of his world. The sweat that formed on his forehead earlier began pouring down his face as he readied himself. Ivanovich seemed calm and collected by comparison.

Ivanovich called out again, “Prepare yourself, World Guardian!”

Alexander took a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest. “I won’t let you win!” he declared, his voice steady despite the fear gnawing at him.

Ivanovich smirked. “We will see…”