Adam and Lyra, armed with the origin of the plague's location, teleported there. Zombies still roamed, but they posed no real threat. They landed at a lab building, where Lyra's scan detected a faint trace of mana. Adam saw it too. They floated down, breaking through the floor. Adam used a dimension rift to absorb incoming zombies.
There, sealed in a box, was a fragment of an artifact: a single finger from the Hands of Death. Lyra confirmed it was part of what they sought, but they needed the whole piece. Adam used his mana vision, tracing the residue back to its source.
As they walked, absorbing zombies, a towering figure, blocking the sun, grabbed Adam and Lyra, who were protected by their shield. Adam instantly severed its hand. Lyra analyzed the giant zombie: it had evolved from mana, its body emitting it, likely due to Adam's lingering mana residue.
Adam remembered Nirik's warning about mana causing unexpected problems and realized the danger this posed to the people he'd left behind. He absorbed the surrounding zombies, including the giant one, and teleported both of them back to the utopian civilization he'd created. Lyra scanned, confirming their current location was far from other cities or rural areas, making it safe for now.
An anomaly was detected, moving at top speed towards their location. Lyra and Adam teleported there, instantly striking the anomaly. However, it evaded Adam's attack. As the dust cleared, a man with pale skin, a unique gown, and red eyes stood before them. Lyra informed Adam that it wasn't a zombie but an intelligent, ancient lifeform.
"What is your purpose here?" Adam demanded.
The man smirked. "You should introduce yourself before speaking. I am Vlad, and I'm here to know what happened to my humans."
"I am Adam, and this is my partner Lyra," Adam replied. "We've saved the humans from the zombies and placed them in a safe area. You don't look human, so what is your purpose for coming here?"
Vlad openly declared, "They are my precious prey. For you to stand in my way and take them away from me, you're merely a nuisance meddling with this world's affairs."
Vlad suddenly conjured wolves from a red liquid. They attacked Adam's shield but couldn't penetrate it. Adam created a dimension rift, absorbed the wolves, and quickly teleported behind Vlad, attempting to absorb him. Vlad shattered into a swarm of bats, dispersing into the sky before bursting into blood rain, turning the entire surrounding area red, as if they were trapped in his dimension.
Adam and Lyra's vision blurred, the world distorting around them, eyes seemingly everywhere, watching. Lyra, scanning, believed his eyes were hypnotizing them. Adam unleashed a mana explosion, tearing the blood dimension apart. Vlad was nowhere to be seen.
Lyra scanned and spotted a blood patch below. Vlad attempted to pierce Adam from beneath with a sharp red object, pushing Adam and Lyra, still in their shield, upwards into the sky. Adam created a fire tornado, burning the entire field.
A giant wolf's head then engulfed both Adam and Lyra. Cutting open the head with wind slices, they found themselves inside Vlad's dimension. Their shields instantly melted, paralyzing them. Vlad's smile appeared in the sky as the area submerged in blood rain, wolves materializing everywhere to hunt them.
Adam told Lyra to transform. Both transformed: Adam into his black armor, Lyra into her angel armor. Adam instantly sliced through the wolves, while Lyra's lasers tore through the bats in the sky, causing the sky itself to melt into red liquid.
Lyra then created a sphere of light around herself, radiating divinity. As she stepped on the ground, the blood-covered area evaporated. Lyra realized Vlad's powers stemmed from demonic energy, which couldn't withstand divine power. Lyra created a light resembling the sun, burning through the dimension. Adam and Lyra were expelled from the dimension, finding Vlad standing before them, steaming holes riddled across his body.
Vlad's face contorted in frustration. "Pause the fight," he commanded. But Adam, still in his black armor, had already smashed through Vlad's face before he could finish.
Vlad's face regenerated instantly. "Stop," he repeated. Adam turned around. "It won't go anywhere," Vlad insisted. "I'm immortal; I can't die."
Adam removed his armor, switching to the mana suit. He opened a dimension rift beneath Vlad, absorbing him. However, Vlad suddenly appeared behind Adam, whispering, "Boo." Adam, startled, jumped back, ready for elemental attacks.
Lyra, busy analyzing Vlad, told Adam to stop attacking. "It's not his real body," Lyra informed Adam.
Vlad smirked. "You're clever to notice that. I'd like to have a conversation with both of you, since our battle won't go anywhere."
Adam and Lyra stopped their attacks, listening. Vlad explained he wasn't the "bad guy" who caused the catastrophic event. He merely sought food, just like anyone else, but he didn't harm humans, only taking their blood to satisfy his hunger.
Adam interjected, refusing to let Vlad near the humans he'd saved. Vlad proposed that he usually didn't kill humans, only taking some blood and letting them live. He did, however, kill humans he disliked, his tongue flicking as he contemplated his "food."
Lyra told Adam that Vlad might be telling the truth and might know something about the artifact. It might be best to talk things out.
Vlad interrupted their neuro-link, his voice echoing in both their minds. "Yes, Adam, listen to what Lyra is saying."
This sudden telepathic intrusion terrified Adam, revealing Vlad's true power. Vlad stated he was hungry and needed blood before he could give them information. Adam and Lyra countered, demanding the information first before they decided how to provide blood.
Vlad revealed that the finger they possessed came from ancient beings artifact residing underground. The finger wasn't meant to be on the surface, but humans had brought about the disaster by experimenting on it. He implied that the entire chain of events was planned by a demon who allowed humans to take the finger, and Adam would have to face this demon to find the rest of the artifact.
"So, give me my blood as you promised," Vlad demanded.
Lyra informed Adam that he could replicate human blood using magic, providing a sample of human DNA and ancient knowledge for replication. Adam used his magic, conjuring thousands of bottles of blood.
Vlad took one, tasted it. "It's from a virgin girl's DNA. It's tasty and satisfies my cravings." Vlad thanked them for the supply.
In a single motion, all the blood bottles were absorbed into vlad's red liquid. Lyra observed that the red liquid, which was Vlad's blood, functioned like a dimensional rift, absorbing and storing matter in another dimension.