-2365- A fitting end

At that moment, an endless, boundless agony was destined to fall upon Vatler.

Burned by the true flames of Acala—Vatler felt every single cell in his body screaming in pain. He let out continuous agonized screams, clutching his flaming form and frantically thrashing about.

"Boom!"

Vatler poured all his magic into extinguishing the blaze. He even channeled the dragon-vein's magical energy into himself using the power of Cleansing, but it had no effect whatsoever.

Not only did it fail completely—the magic he squandered seemed to be consumed instantly, seized and burned away in a flash by the golden flames.

"Ahhhhhhh...!"

Vatler could only scream in agony, struggling wildly, but to no avail.

"——!!!"

The colossal sky-reaching serpent tree, just like its master, let out harrowing shrieks, writhing violently.

Crimson light surged wildly across both of them. That world-altering power seemed utterly nullified, utterly powerless at this moment.

"——————"

Rozen remained still, eyes closed, palms joined together, fully focused on chanting the Fire Realm Incantation, letting golden flames spread outward, sweeping across the scene.

In that instant, the entire harbor transformed into a scorching sea of fire.

The flames reached the skies, engulfing all of Itogami Island and the sky above in a terrifying golden blaze.

Had Mash not used the power of the Holy Grail to fix the surrounding space—sealing the harbor off from the outside world and turning it into another realm—this inferno would surely have consumed not only the harbor and the man-made island, but also evaporated the surrounding sea.

This was Rozen's full power flames: compressing High-Grade Mana to its limit and harnessing Acala's mighty incantation to actualize the power of the Fudo Myoo.

Under these conditions, even the power of the Holy Grail was being consumed by the golden flames of the Fire Realm Incantation, and could not last long.

If Rozen had chosen to stand there chanting unmoved for ten days, he could have submerged the entire world in this sea of fire—burning every living thing and landscape into oblivion.

Of course, performing the Fire Realm Incantation continuously for ten days would require an incredible amount of High-Grade Mana. But the terrifying part was—Rozen could actually sustain it.

Now that Rozen had converted his planetary-level magical power into compressed High-Grade Mana, the quantity was enough to rival even the dragon-vein itself.

Such an astonishing reservoir of High-Grade Mana could indeed last for days.

Thus, under the blistering flames of Acala, the sky-blocking serpent tree finally collapsed—burned into nothingness in that towering inferno.

"Minamiya Nichiyo——!!!"

Scorched black from head to toe and bleeding profusely, the tragic figure of Vatler suddenly launched through the flames in a blinding flash—just like Itogami Meiga—its deep crimson aura trailing behind.

In his final moments, Vatler chose to make a last-ditch attack.

Not to cling to life—simply to fulfill his warrior instinct, to savor this extraordinary battle to the very end.

After all, this Snake Charmer was a battle addict—he would fight on even as the end drew near.

This ending…

"You look shabby, Vatler."

Rozen opened his eyes and ceased chanting.

Clad in the resplendent spiritual light, he slowly walked forward through the flames.

In his hand, a holy sword symbolizing the sun appeared in a burst of firelight—firmly grasped.

One second later…

"Splurt!"

The sun-blazing holy sword pierced through a body also engulfed in flames—from behind, it emerged.

"——"

Everything then fell into silence.

One figure walked forward through fire, sword in hand.

The other became a flash in the blaze.

Their final encounter ended in such simplicity.

The feral sneer on Vatler's face slowly faded. He stared blankly at Rozen standing before him.

The youth looked back at him impassively. Then, at some point, his sword had pierced through Vatler's burning heart—incinerating his heart and all his internal organs.

Undoubtedly fatal.

Even vampires—immune to death—die when their heart is shattered.

Combined with the burn of Acala's true flames, this wound was enough to nullify even a Primogenitor.

And that was the end.

Vatler could no longer feel pain—only the ebbing of his life force—as he smiled.

Not the wild madness of before, but a profoundly calm, serene smile.

"Ah…"

He murmured in reflection.

"You really are the best."

With that, the crimson light on Vatler vanished.

Using Cleansing, he had managed to sustain his body—resilience, regeneration, and immortality—long enough to endure until now.

But now, this vampire noble—said to be the closest to Primogenitor—could no longer hold on, nor could he invoke Cleansing again.

Thus, the vampire lord of the Ardeal principality, Lord Dimitrie Vatler, was reduced to ashes and erased from existence in the golden flames.

"Boom…"

The sun-blazing holy sword vanished amid the burning fire.

The world-illuminating inferno gradually dimmed, and the sea of flame faded.

Rozen retracted the brilliant aura swirling around him, letting his compressed High-Grade Mana dissipate and return to its vast, original magical form.

Standing alone amid the receding flames, Rozen silently gazed at the spot where Vatler had been incinerated.

At last, Rozen offered a parting comment.

"You weren't bad either. You made it worthwhile."

Having said that, Rozen turned and walked away—as though he'd completely forgotten the opponent he had just faced.