Aaron and Isaac arrived at Ejiro Sani’s apartment. Much like they had heard, he resided atop one of the few towers, the white tower in the western part of Hellish City.

He wasn’t the only one living in the tower and only had his apartment until the end of his mission. He led Aaron and Isaac to the top of the building by using the elevator.

Even Aaron, who used to be a young master, was amazed by the luxury. The living room was near the glass doors leading to an expansive balcony peaking at the 500 metres fall. There was a primary bedroom, two smaller ones for visitors, and a large kitchen.

About half an hour after supper, Isaac looked at the time with his all-purpose watch. It had been 15 hours since the war broke out in the Tremblay Guild on the 11th of august, 2220.

“I’ll go to sleep, Aaron. Good night.”

“Good night, Isaac.” Aaron went through the sliding glass door, arriving at the balcony.

The air felt cold and the night sky was unusual. The sun had gone long ago, yet there were still trails of red similar to a sunset which seemed to encompass Hellish City.

Ejiro was relaxing on the balcony, drinking a cup of black coffee. He laid his mug on the table. “You can’t see such a night sky anywhere else in the world. It’s just like a sunset, but without the sun.”

“Yeah.”

Aaron stood in a gaze for several seconds, observing the sky and the city below. “By the way, Isaac’s gone to bed already.”

Ejiro spoke calmly, giving a vastly different impression than at the dungeon. “I’m sure he had a long day. I heard about his brother’s death.”

“These two are like brothers to you, right?” he asked Aaron, who was still looking out the balcony.

“Pretty much. I lived with Isaac’s family for more than half a year. I guess it was just the calm before the storm.”

Falling stars suddenly lit up in the sky before disappearing in a flash. Lively, Ejiro changed the subject. “Look, it's the Perseids. You should make a wish, Aaron.”

“A wish…”

After looking at the starry sky for a while, Aaron turned his head toward Ejiro.

“Mister Sani, I have a question. Can people who already possess elemental magic also obtain dark magic powers?”

After a bit of thinking, Ejiro Sani answered, “If you turn into a vampire, there is a chance to retain your other power while also having vampiric abilities. Although it's a type of cursed magic, people often consider cursed magic as a branch of dark magic. But I don’t know any other methods.”

Aaron was deep in thought. Magic was such a mysterious thing. ‘Isaac and Rico. They both obtained strange new powers. How did they do it?’ Although he didn’t want to admit it, he felt jealous.

“Ah, okay…. Good night.” Aaron went back inside.

“Good night.”

…

Everyone had gone to bed.

The full moon shined in Isaac’s bedroom through the window’s thin curtains.

A red mist suddenly appeared, flying inside his room.

Still asleep, Isaac’s eyes were closed tightly, and his body trembled, his bed dampened in sweat,

*Ksssh!*

The mist slowly transformed into distorted human figures. “We need your help… Save us…” a girlish voice whispered along a faint gust of wind.

Many arms stretched out towards Isaac, trying to grab hold of his body before dissipating through him instead.

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“Wake up!” The voice resonated into Isaac’s very soul.

“Ahhh! What? Ghosts?!” Isaac bolted awake, his mouth wide open, more terrified than ever.

Before he could do anything, the red mist entered his mouth.

“Argh!” His eyes glowed red as he struggled to keep his body up and remain conscious. A stinging sensation rushed throughout his body before concentrating around his heart.

“Absorb us… Free us…”

Isaac regained some of his senses, managing to blurt out a few words. “How… What are you?! Why are you in my head?!”

Every hole in his body glowed red. Isaac felt like he would implode.

“We are souls bound to this city… Humans who died long ago…”

Realizing the danger he was in, the voice became concerned. “There’s overflowing mana within you... Concentrate on it... Gather all of it to your core, around your heart...”

‘I can’t die here. I’ve got no choice but to listen to it!’ Isaac did as the voice said.

Inside his body, two powers opposed each other. A gush of red mana and a stream of electric mana clashed inside him. Ever since the mist had entered his body, his electric mana could no longer suppress his red mana, which had expanded tremendously.

Isaac meditated for a few minutes. By gathering all of his mana to his heart, the two different types had no choice but to adapt and accept each other.

The red and blue mana finally stopped fighting.

The pain had finally stopped.

However, Isaac kept concentrating on his core. The red mana started growing exponentially. He absorbed all of it.

After ten minutes, the phenomenon had ended.

His all-purpose watch lit up, giving him an alert.

“Strange mana growth detected,

[Unidentified mana] count: 451.”

451 mana points was a lot, more than most experienced mages could gather. Isaac was greatly shocked.

Relieved, he opened his eyes. “Ha~ I did it. It feels like I have full control over my mana now.”

The mist appeared again in his room. This time, only a single human face had formed. It was the face of a young girl.

“Why did you help me?” Isaac asked out loud.

The mist with a human face flew around the room. “A millennium ago, we were sacrificed by the aristocrats, made into an experiment… However, even after death, most of us resisted getting absorbed… Only a few of us remain now… Less than a fourth of what we were...”

“You were victims of the Life Force Absorption Failure?” Everything was piecing together. The reason for Hellish City’s red atmosphere was these souls. The theory he had heard about was correct.

The girl spoke inside his head. “We have chosen you… because your powers are… special. By absorbing souls… you gather more strength, yet we remain intact inside you. You have freed us from our curse… We want you to avenge us…defeat the Dark Faction.”

Isaac took a deep breath. “I… understand.”

*Woosh!* The mist disappeared again.

After reflecting on what happened, a sudden thought appeared in his mind. ‘Wait, the Dark Faction? Does it really still exists?!’

The rest of the night had gone by peacefully.

…

“Ejiro, how old are you?”

“I’m 34.”

It was now morning. Isaac Tremblay and Ejiro Sani were a few metres apart from each other on the couches in the living room.

Isaac hadn’t said anything about what happened in the night.

Ejiro looked at him. “I’ll help you get to the West DA. However, first I need to complete my mission once and for all.

“Stay here while I go to work. There's a TV, a VR headset and a bunch of other stuff. You can order whatever you need.”

Isaac quickly finished his glass of water. “Can’t I come along? I can fight, you know!”

Ejiro chuckled. “Don’t you remember when that vampire completely overwhelmed the two of you?”

Isaac wanted to test his red magic. He could control it at will now. “I need more experience. I want to- No, I have to get stronger!”

“True, if you had experience… you would realize that this kind of determination only leads to death.”

Isaac was speechless.

“Good morning.”

Aaron came out of his bedroom. “Mister Sani, you’re going out?”

“Yeah. Watch Isaac for me. He wants to go kill himself at the hands of the vampires.” Ejiro teased Isaac again.

Aaron looked Isaac in the eyes. Determined, he said, “Isaac, I think you should reconsider. The vampires, they are too strong for us right now.”

Isaac’s face was fuming red. Any more, and his eyes would have done the same.

“Alright, I get it! I’ll just be a burden to the ‘Vampire Hunter.’

“Leave already!”