Seeing the couple’s victory, Dominus quickly snipped his fingers. Back atop the World Tree, he sweated more. His breathing worsened.

“Keep it together, man,” he massaged his temples. “Imagination’s still king. Imagin—” Something from afar caught his eyes. His lair was no different from a multimedia collection; he had figurines of every character from the Bleach manga. It had now clicked in his mind.

“That’s it!” he looked at a figurine of a black-cloaked man. “Udemaeno can’t deal with him at all. But it’s still not enough.” He rummaged over his sets to find anything to defeat Hokori’s comrades. Fifteen minutes in, it clicked again. He held a manga and a PlayStation case. Poetic, he thought to himself.

He chuckled. “Let’s see how they deal with these two dark lords.” He sat and closed his eyes to concentrate. Then, the famed undead characters stood before him. He smiled and teleported them to the dungeon.

In the sibling trio’s designated room, boredom overfilled the air. It felt like they had waited for centuries for any enemy to show up.

Yukino killed time by playing Royal Flush Mania with her sister. Surprisingly, Kenkō won more bets than her. She wondered if she had let her win, but she turned to Kakunō. He sat by a wall and tweaked Haruto’s broken swords into one.

Her eyes squinted upon seeing its effects. “Why is it changing gold to silver when you move it? Is it for aesthetics?”

He shook his head. “I merged and gave the Cores more abilities. Gold forms a mana aura for better range and power. Silver releases said mana as a projectile slash.” He stored the sword via runes. “An earthly meme inspired me to have it change color anytime.”

Yukino gasped and smiled. “Big Bro, it’s starting! An enemy!” She pointed from afar. Her excitement spiked.

The three saw a flock of bats turning into a towering man draped in red and black. Despite the deathly pale skin, he had the qualities of a gentleman. Yet, evil oozed out of him. His white wavy hair flowed as he slowly descended.

Kenkō prepared her syringe darts, and Yukino cast arrays on her hands. Meanwhile, Kakunō snickered, “Hahahahahaha!” and sighed. “Why is this guy chosen? He’s not even not an anime character!”

The man’s red eyes glowed brighter. “Silence, human! Your kind shall pay for its crimes and miserable secrets. But enough talk, have at you!” He turned into bats again.

The pale man reappeared behind the three. Coincidentally, three fireballs came out of his cape. Yukino flash-stepped in front and cast a shield. Before long, she made the first move.

Lone punches had fissured concrete in the area. She jumped and roundhouse kicked the man into a wall. Then, her eyes widened upon realization. Not a scratch laid on him. Before she knew it, two flaming meteor-like spheres flew toward her.

Kakunō flash-stepped and carried her away. As for Kenkō, she could not stop the attack and dodged by a hair.

She stood beside them. “What the hell was that? Those two fireballs phased through my darts.”

“That’s the idea with most of Dracula’s moves.” Kakunō pulled out his halberd and leaped high. “And only headshots work on this guy!” The weapon extended as the ax blade grew the size of a lorry.

A right swing flung the dark lord into another wall; the vicinity got reduced to rubble. The other saw that it did not decapitate him. However, numbers became visible as he got hit.

Kakunō darted as the attacks got more numerous. He got up his feet and threw an upward slash. “The numbers are damage points! The stronger the attack, the quicker he’ll die!” At that point, he had burns from his legs and neck.

After hearing such words, the smiles of the two widened. Their hearts had beaten tenfold. “Let’s do it, Big Sis!” Yukino clenched her fists. “Let’s ‘kick ass with style’ like in movies!”

Kenkō chuckled with closed eyes. “Couldn’t agree more, Yukichi.” She decided to play Chinozo’s ‘Good-bye Declaration.’

The two underwent Zenith Corpus. As their magic increased to the max, two entities got summoned. A massive gold slot machine floated atop Yukino. For Kenkō, a blindfold, red-haired mannequin nurse stood in front. It ran toward the enemy at blinding speeds.

Kakunō turned and sweated bullets. “Oh, fuck. Why’re you using that thing!?” He flash-stepped into the far distance.

The vampiric lord threw more fireballs at point-blank range. None had hit the charging nurse, and it ensured a hit on his neck with a syringe. He now felt like the area burned from the inside. For a moment, he thought of holy water.

The two could see damage points constantly shown like a poison. Kenkō moved her hands about faster. The nurse’s speed and agility grew exponentially. It threw a side kick to the man’s face. He fell to his knees in agony.

He stood and grunted. “Enough of this nonsense! Give me power!!” Before their eyes, he turned into an enormous, demonic creature. As he jumped, streams of green energy rained down above. His fireballs now flew ten times faster.

Even then, the sisters did not lose their smiles or excitement. No matter how the monster attacked, none could hit them. All the while, Yukino’s slot machine showed a perfect seven every time Kenkō’s nurse countered. All the monster got was imperfect spins of fruit.

The mannequin stood far away while holding a Satterlee bone saw. In less than a second, it appeared above the creature. It twirled in midair greatly before it would hit its skull. Kakunō’s eyes widened over the 9999 damage it had dealt.

The dark lord staggered back. “No…! This cannot be! Aaaaaaaaaaagh!!!” Fire had raged on his body before turning into white dust in the end.

Kenkō and Yukino turned off their Zenith Corpus. They had laid on their backs and panted with smiles. “That was beautiful, Big Sis,” the latter turned.

“Of course, Yukichi. I couldn’t have finished him without your luck. Thank you….” She got up and helped her stand.

Kakunō ran toward them. “Why’d you do that, dude! You stole my thunder!” He pointed at Kenkō.

Her eyes narrowed a little. “Shut up and accept it, country boy.”

He grunted with clenched teeth. “You really think I wouldn’t just curb-stomp even the likes of Dracula!? In all of Coelestis, I’m the third strongest. Second only to his majesty! You—” Before he knew it, he felt an intense warmth from her. The embrace got tighter, and he complained.

Her eyes closed. “I said shut up and accept it. The stakes got to my soul, that’s all.” She let go and cupped his cheeks. “You’re my dear brother, not a sacrifice. And you know what? I miss calling you Lil Bro.”

Kakunō’s cheeks reddened over her soft words and calm smile. However, he shook his head about. “I-It’s best if you don’t call me that at all. I’m nearing 17, for the Gods’ sake.”

Unexpectedly, Kenkō’s eyes did not glare. She blinked and giggled. “Anything you say… country boy.”

His red glowed further. “D-Don’t call me that, either!”

From afar, Yukino held her chest with a smile. Tears almost welled up. Inside, she had nothing but eternal gratitude for them.

In the other room, Feuer’s team fell to one. His comrades had innumerable stab wounds as red gushed out. He himself did not fare better with his missing eye.

Before him, a yellow-suited man shrugged with closed eyes. “Excellent showings for an inferior species. Did you really think I’d never come out on top? Like how you thought approaching me with your fists was a good idea instead of running?”

He panted heavily. “How else could I’ve reacted? I shan’t be able to punch you harder while keeping your distance.”

“Oh-hoh… Then come closer again all you like. Monkeys always entertain me.” He slowly walked with a smirk.

Feuer flash-stepped before him with magma fists formed around the air. However, it occurred again. The vampiric man summoned his yellow spirit and shouted in Japanese.

The entire world Dominus created had halted altogether. It disoriented both the faux and the real fay back in Swilvane’s battlefield. In the dungeon, the man’s spirit threw endless blows onto Feuer; it shouted in Japanese again—equivalent to “useless.”

Feuer found himself flying in midair onto a wall. It fissured into boulders raining down, and the magma he created now stuck to the ceiling. Even with such injuries, he slowly got up and threw fists back. They equaled in speed. Even when the man could feel his hands burning, he smirked.

Moments later, it happened again. This time, a hundred knives riddled his upper half. Magma droplets flew everywhere as he rolled on the ground.

The yellow-suited man de-summoned his spirit and chuckled with closed eyes and mouth. “Hahahahahahahaha! This is what it means to be the superior species! You’ll grovel before me, lest I have your skulls as goblets. Every human is only worth food when I need it! Otherwise, they’re just playthings! Hahahaha— Ugh!”

A paper thin magma spike pierced through his head above. Fifteen more went through different body parts. His agony echoed louder, but his mouth could not move. “Z-Za Waru…” he said with difficulty. More spikes attacked his spirit than he. They were now like puppets with tangled strings.

“How…!” he complained with his mouth open. “How c-uld t-is happ-n!” He tried freeing himself but to no avail. The searing pain only got worse as he could not usher a move. Before him was the one he thought he killed.

Feuer healed himself with runes. He regained an eye and walked closer. “Do you wish to know why?” He pointed at the magma-filled ceiling and then at him. “Ever wondered how I knew you had an invisible Stand? Perhaps you also wonder why I even know such a term.

He walked even closer. “I befriended a beast-like man long ago. But we became brothers past our squabbles. Whenever I had time, Hokori would send me earthly shows. And I fell in love with one. I’ve no ounce of shame admitting it.

He pulled his suit’s collar on the side. Behind him, a muscular magma golem emerged. “I despise being the bearer of ill news. But frankly, your son would be disappointed seeing you fall.” He pointed again with stern eyes. “Farewell, D** B*an*o.”

The man screamed in place as the golem flew toward him. It threw punches 150/s, and it shouted a shortened Italian word. His body shook like a battered ragdoll as it went on for a minute. With the final punch, it formed a crater above the ceiling.

“Arrivederci….” He walked to his beaten comrades. “Frankly, D**, you’ve pissed me off more than my brother ever could.”

Back on top, Dominus breathed heavily as he sweated a river. He quickly summoned a grey tank with a tube and mask. Said tank had “copium” written on it. Despite being a fictional substance from Earth’s web, his pulse had slowed.

He clammored his way back to his chair to look at the surveillance. He took deep breaths. “Easy, man. You gotta keep calm like earthly folk say.” He turned to a screen that showed Hokori’s room.

Unlike others, his battle was like a “boss rush” as he had put it. He defeated a red-eyed man who used crows for illusions and misdirection. Gouging was never his style, but he grinned anyway.

Next, he defeated an elderly man who dispelled vibrations that would have destroyed the World Tree entirely. After his victory, he reminisced about a former archmage in Vetus.

He yawned and stretched. “Bruh… This is the worst fanfic fuel ever, Dominus. You couldn’t even be assed to have them in their prime—instead of nearing the ER.”

Moments later, a portal of shadows formed before him by a wall. A black-cloaked man came out; he had three red pupils on each eye. His white attire and black boots were similar to a German field-grey uniform.

Hokori grinned and chuckled. “Finally, you’ve answered my prayers.”