“I don’t suppose you could call off the Nephilims. I’d rather them not destroy this kingdom.”

“Surely, you must have the ability to control them yourself. Wait… Is your power really that weakened? Oh my-oh my.” Dracula teased, fully aware of her limitations. “You know, if you were to absorb that girl’s soul, you could reclaim your true form. Is there a particular reason you won’t?”

Nana smirked, settling into her combat stance as she replied:

“A reason, huh? I guess I’ve grown quite fond of her!”

Although her speed had diminished to half of what it once was in heaven, she wielded a remarkable ability that allowed her to transcend the limitations of speed. Her fighting technique was a mesmerizing dance of rapid teleportation, designed to distort her opponent while unleashing a relentless barrage of strikes. This extraordinary style of combat had earned her a coveted spot among the top three one-on-one fighters in Heaven.

With a swift teleport to Dracula’s right, she feigned an attack to the left, momentarily distracting him. Yet, he managed to catch her fist, but she was quick to react, twisting her arm and delivering a fierce kick that sent him reeling several feet back. Seizing the opportunity, she materialized above him, launching a punch that sent him crashing into the ground, creating a spectacular crater. Just as she prepared to follow up with an axe kick, her foot was caught, and she was flung several feet away.

“Oh my…” Dracula remarked, slowly rising from the rubble and brushing off his cloak. “…To think you’d break that human’s arm. I can only imagine the pain she’s in.”

“You have two things wrong.”

“Hm?”

“First of all, as long as I’m in control, she won’t feel a thing. And secondly, you keep calling her human. But she’s not.”

A curious tension filled the air as the revelation washed over Dracula, causing a sheen of sweat to form on his brow. “You can’t be serious…”

“Dead serious. This girl is a Spirit. And we both know what that means.”

“Y-You’re bluffing. I can smell the blood of human flowing through her veins.”

“Testing me, are you? Very well… I’ll prove it.” With that, Nana dropped into a low stance and drew her fist back as if preparing to unleash a devastating blow.

(Could she really be?) Dracula thought, his confidence wavering for the first time. (No. Even if, and I mean the slightest possibility, that she could do it, she’s too far away. And if she truly is a spirit, then her Celestial essence should be too thin to use both her Empower and Kata simultaneously-!)

“Burst Kata!” Nana’s voice rang out, echoing through the clearing. In a heartbeat, she vanished, leaving behind only a shimmering afterimage. Time seemed to stretch as she reappeared before Dracula, her fist aglow with a brilliant light.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Then…

“Divine Fist.”

…She fired.

*Boom!

The impact was explosive, a shockwave that hurled Dracula into a distant building. Dust and debris erupted around him, and for a fleeting moment, he lay dazed, the bitter taste of defeat flooding his senses. While the visible damage was limited to the collision with the structure and the force of her strike, he felt a deeper, more profound injury. It was a wound to his very soul, specifically the “Yin” part. The sensation was akin to a brutal uppercut, but instead of his mind reeling, it was his essence that staggered. In this state, harnessing his Empower -the deities' primary weapon- became an arduous task.

“What did I tell ya?” Nana taunted, her voice dripping with mockery. “This girl is both human and spirit. And since I’m inside her to stabilize her essence, she still has a pretty thick Celestial Essence.”

Dracula pushed himself up, wiping the dust from his face with a grimace. “I see. Yes, I see indeed. Such a blow has rendered me unable to use Royal Flush.”

“Hm? Finally giving up?”

“Oh no. Quite the contrary.”

Nana’s expression shifted, a flicker of concern crossing her features. “What’s that supposed to mean.”

The battered deity couldn’t suppress a grin as he replied:

“You made a critical error, my sissy. Just now, when you used kata, you actually made contact. I bet you did it to get as much damage as possible. Unfortunately, your body is frail -a mere child. But the most significant flaw is that your body has blood.”

“And? What about it-?”

“Finally realized, have you?” he inquired, Nana turning her gaze to her ruptured knuckles. “…Your blood. Your body has blood… And you left some on my shirt.” He dipped his finger into the crimson stain on his chest as he chanted:

“Empower: Insolvent.”

*Lick

With a single taste of her blood, her vision was snatched away.

Standing with an imposing presence, his crimson eyes glinted with intensity as he proclaimed:

“You owe me a debt of blood that you cannot hope to repay. Therefore, I will take your eyesight as collateral.”

In a panic, Nana turned to her other senses, trying to muster the strength to kick at Dracula once more. "Not so quickly," he interrupted. "You've attacked me twice; therefore, I will also be taking away your ability to move."

*Lick

Though she wasn't entirely immobilized, she found herself caught in a struggle, akin to someone who insists they don’t need their glasses, only to miss every detail from the back of the classroom.

"So, you can still fight back, can you? I suppose I’ll need more than this. Personally, I’d prefer not to drink from the source, so I think I’ll just blast a hole through your chest, yes?" As Nana stood there, her vision gradually returning, she watched as Dracula prepared to unleash a beam of light. Despite her efforts, her body remained unresponsive.

"Goodbye, sissy."

The sound that followed was reminiscent of the eerie silence before a catastrophic explosion -neither complete silence nor full sound. Or maybe the silence itself was what felt loud. I’m not sure really, but what I can say is that a heavy tension filled the air, blurring the world around them as they fixated on the boy's still figure. Both were stunned, their eyes wide in disbelief as they saw the human boy crumple to the ground, a ocean of blood pooling from his burrowed chest.

Just moments before, he had been fleeing, his tail gripped tightly in fear, darting through the air with a desperate urgency that spoke of survival. Now, he lay there, seemingly lifeless, having pushed and taken a blow for a girl he had only just met that day.

One thought crossed the boy’s mind, as he slowly lost his consciousness.

(Such misfortune.)

I can't quite explain it, but the sight ignited a fierce fire within Nana, propelling her beyond her usual limits. It felt as if a long-dormant part of her had awakened, a powerful determination coursing through her like an unstoppable river.

Did this emotion stem from a sense of pride, as she allowed a mere human to save her life? Or perhaps it was an odd connection to the human she hardly met today? …Either way, the phrase hung in the air like a dark omen, sending a chill down the spines of those who heard it. It was a declaration, a signal that the game had changed, and the stakes had never been higher. The very fabric of reality seemed to shift.

As for the phrase in question? Well. It went a little something like this:

“Royal Flush.”