The temple was a barren wasteland. And within this barren wasteland lay a starving, giant red lizard that writhed in pain.

Reason? It didn't have a single shred of that left. At this point, it only moved according to instinct; the instinct to feed itself.

It was a brutal carnivore that lacked any sort of reason or critical thinking. That was Vladi in a nutshell.

Until now, that is.

Vladi had completely changed.

First, his outer appearance had changed. A pinkish blood cape had appeared, which sloshed rather than fluttered.

His body, which had been as sleek as a loach's, had transformed into a fit man wearing a blood red tuxedo. Not only that, but his round, red face peeled away like an orange peel, revealing a human-like face underneath.

The man had pale skin, pointy ears, and red, flame-like hair that drooped like dry seaweed.

His eyes, which had been covered by a red membrane reminiscent of a fly's eyes, were now clear like a human being's eyes. He became lucid and focused entirely on Kang Oh. Then, his lips twitched.

"Haa, it's been a while since I last assumed this form," the demon said, his voice hoarse. As if noticing this, his long tongue began licking his lips.

Kang Oh, his hands tightly gripped around his twin demon swords, stared intensely at Vladi.

'He can talk? Has he regained his intellect?'

What he'd fought thus far was a starving beast. However, Vladi now appeared like a being that possessed intelligence.

'A Vampire.'

Kang Oh's mind immediately went to Vampires, a staple in works of fantasy. They were often called Bloodsuckers, and were considered creatures of the night.

They bit their victim's neck with their sharp fangs and drained their blood. Plus, they were weak to sunlight, slept in coffins, and were extremely long lived.

Well, that only applied to normal Vampires, that is.

"Hoo." Vladi swept back his messy hair, giving him slicked-back hair.

The pink cape, red tuxedo, pale complexion, sharp fangs and ears, and swept back hair made him reminiscent of Dracula.

"Who are you?" Vladi asked.

"Kang Oh," he replied curtly.

"You're a human."

"Are you a Vampire?"

"A Vampire? I am Red Moon Vladi."

Apparently, this game didn't use the term 'Vampire'.

"Red Moon, huh..."

"Red Moon is a great, noble race that rules a world far more beautiful and resplendent than this one," Vladi said, and a system message popped up.

[You have acquired information on Talastrum's Demon, Vladi.]

[Red Moon is a race that comes from the Illusionary World.]

'The Illusionary World.'

Kang Oh recalled what Champion Kuharap had said to him.

He had definitely told him that Vladi had come from another world. Apparently, this world was called the Illusionary World.

"I appreciate you waking me up from such a long slumber."

This was Vladi's normal appearance. But his starvation had caused him to assume the form of a feral beast.

Getting beaten by Kang Oh had restored his intellect.

"So? Are you going to pay me back?"

Kang Oh kept up his guard. After all, if negotiating with him were possible, then they wouldn't have locked him up for so long.

"Pay you back, huh... I will." Vladi smiled wickedly. He looked so full of himself.

"I'll give you the honor of becoming one with me, the great Vladi!"

In other words, 'I'll eat you!'. Though he'd regained his reason, his objective hadn't changed: feed himself and stave off his starvation!

Vladi stretched his right arm to the side.

Swoosh!

Eight red, octopus-like tentacles shot out of it.

Devouring Tentacles!

The tentacles almost simultaneously came flying at Kang Oh. But Kang Oh wouldn't just sit there and take it. He immediately swung his twin demon swords.

Swish, slash!

He cleaved through the incoming tentacles, but it didn't actually feel like he'd cut through anything.

'That damn transformative ability of his!'

Before he made contact, the tentacles had opened up, avoiding his attack.

Then, the tentacles' tips hardened, becoming akin to sharp drills.

Danger!

His body felt cold, so he twisted his body to the side. The first tentacle merely grazed him, but the rest of them kept coming.

Kang Oh had his hands full dodging them. Of course, his evasion was so high that he was able to dodge all eight of them.

"Hoh." Vladi suddenly looked interested. He pushed his cape aside, revealing his left hand.

Red Fruit!

Blood spheres, about the size of a fist, flew from his left hand. It was as if he'd just shot shotgun slugs at him.

He was already busy with the tentacles, but now he had to deal with the merciless barrage of blood spheres!

However, Kang Oh didn't just sit idly by.

'Now!' Kang Oh's eyes gleamed.

He pushed through an opening in between the tentacles and rushed forward. Then, he slid across the ground as if he were slide tackling.

The blood spheres harmlessly passed over his head as he slid across the floor.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

They struck the ground, bursting like bubbles.

Meanwhile, Kang Oh kicked off blood-soaked ground, stood up, and swung his jet-black greatsword.

Of course, an ordinary attack wouldn't work on Vladi. After all, he could just transform his body and evade his attack like normal.

So Kang Oh used an attack he wouldn't be able to dodge.

Transcendent Blade!

His jet-black blade flashed, cleaving right through Vladi.

"Ugh!" Vladi grimaced in pain. A fistful of red shards burst from his body.

As expected, Abyss Blade's power against the immaterial was absolute. It had allowed him to land a proper attack on Vladi's liquid body.

"You lowly prey!" Vladi's eyes widened with anger. It was as if he were saying, 'How dare you damage one such as me, a member of the Red Moon?'.

Red Blade!

Vladi's cape came flying at Kang Oh; the tips of the cape had turned sharp. Kang Oh quickly rolled to the side, and the cape struck nothing but air.

Now it was Kang Oh's turn again.

Transcendent Blade!

Ubist cut through him once more. As a result, shards of red light fell from Vladi's body.

"Grr!"

Vladi was pissed. To think he had been hit not once, but twice by a human being. It wasn't even at the hands of an elf or a Tuslam, but the most lowly race in this world!

This he could not allow as a member of the Red Moon race.

"Kyaha!" Vladi opened his mouth wide enough to fit two fists inside.

Blood Revenge!

He let out an animalistic cry and unleashed a mighty blast of energy. It was a red mist.

Kang Oh's Hyper Intuition was warning him of great danger. However, Kang Oh didn't dodge it. Instead, his purple longsword glowed with golden energy.

Tempest Tiger!

A golden tiger struck the energy head-on.

Boom!

This resulted in a massive explosion.

Both Kang Oh and Vladi were pushed back, spilling shards of light from their bodies.

Kang Oh had stabbed his twin swords into the ground, keeping himself from flying away, and had maintained his balance. Vladi had also stabbed his cape into the ground and kept himself upright.

Whoosh!

The explosion resulted in a shockwave that rocked both Kang Oh and Vladi's bodies.

Kang Oh righted himself first. He pulled out his twin demon swords and attacked once more.

Transcendent Blade!

As soon as he swung Sarahoff, the world began to slow.

'Over here!' Kang Oh let go of Sarahoff.

Demon Sword Throw!

Swoosh!

Demon Sword Sarahoff exceeded Vladi's transformation speed, hitting him dead on.

Bam!

"Kuhahk!" Vladi's body shook.

The chilly energy that permeated Sarahoff made it feel as though Vladi's blood body was freezing.

Then, Kang Oh opened his hand, replacing the thrown Sarahoff with Blood.

Switch Blood!

He tightly gripped Blood.

As a price for transcending his limits, Transcendent Blade consumed a large amount of HP, MP, and Stamina. Not to mention that he'd used such a costly skill three times in succession.

He'd also accumulated some damage when fighting the feral Vladi, so he didn't have much HP left. Thus, he'd thrown Sarahoff away and drawn Blood instead.

Kang Oh would use Blood's Life Steal ability to replenish his HP, and keep Red Butterfly's Dance at the ready just in case.

Then, he used Devil Trigger. Devil Trigger would further enhance Blood's Life Steal ability.

A black, horned beast mask covered his face, and dark red bat wings protruded from his back. Blood soaked bone armor guarded his chest, and a jet-black tail swished around from behind.

This was his Dual Demon form!

Unexpectedly, Blood's snow-white blade began to shake.

"I have something to say." Tasha's voice echoed inside his head. Her tone was completely different from usual. It was as if her voice was trembling.

"What is it?" Kang Oh asked.

"You have to kill that demon no matter what!" Tasha said viciously.

Then, Kang Oh recalled Tasha, or Blood's past.

A Black Mage had summoned a demon, that demon was offered virgins as tribute, and Tasha was born from this union. Tasha was definitely related to a demon that wielded blood.

'Could it be?'

"Is that guy your father?"

"No! But he has a connection to him."

"A connection?"

At that moment...

"What do you think you're doing!?" Vladi stood up and barraged Kang Oh with attacks.

Red Moonlight!

Powerful lasers shot out of his eyes. They flew at him with blistering speed.

Swish!

Bam!

The place he'd just been was scorched. If Kang Oh hadn't jumped out of the way, then the Cassio Ring would've had to bring him back to life.

"We'll talk later. I need to finish him off first," Kang Oh said.

"Alright!"

Kang Oh soared into the air with mighty flaps of his wings.

Red Fruit!

Devouring Tentacles!

Vladi's arms shot tentacles and blood spheres into the air.

"Tasha!"

"Leave it to me!"

This was Tasha we were talking about. Her flying skill was unmatched. Kang Oh began plummeting to the ground.

A vertical descent!

Kang Oh left the flying to Tasha and focused entirely on swinging his twin demon swords.

Mad Wind's Sword!

He swung his blades with increasing speed! It was as if his blades were dancing through the air.

Soon enough, Vladi's present came flying at him: the blood spheres and the tentacles!

"Let's go!"

"You got it!"

Kang Oh and Tasha decided on a frontal breakthrough. Tasha controlled his wings while Kang Oh swung his swords.

Bam, bam, bam!

Kang Oh immediately burst through the obstacle of tentacles and blood spheres. Of course, he didn't come out of this unscathed.

A few of the blood spheres exploded, causing shards of light to spill from his body. Some of the tentacles had pierced him too.

Still, they couldn't stop Kang Oh's descent.

Plus, Mad Wind's Sword had sped up his attacks enough that Vladi wouldn't be able to dodge them. That was why Kang Oh had chosen to fly at him, rather than instantly close the distance using Abyss Transfer.

Vladi sensed danger. He felt a tingle go down his spine. It was as if someone was whispering to him 'Don't contest it. Avoid it.'.

But that was soon replaced by a feeling of rage.

'I'm feeling danger from a human? He's just a lowly human!'

Vladi opened his eyes wide and planted his feet firmly onto the ground. He clearly had no intention of backing off.

"C'mon!"

His cape completely spread out.

Executing Harpoon!

Dozens, no, hundreds of red harpoons shot out of Vladi's cape simultaneously. They came straight for Kang Oh, who was within striking distance.

Bam, bam, bam!

Imagine 100 soldiers thrusting their spears at you all at once. That was exactly what Kang Oh was experiencing right now.

However...!

Kang Oh swung his twin demon speeds with such speed that he cut through every single one of them. The blood that made up these harpoons fell like rain.

In the midst of that...!

Kang Oh, who'd become a streak of lightning, descended upon Vladi.