Focus

The centurial vampire, Akashi Asami, flew toward us, swaying in the sky like a wounded bird.

The closer he got, the more his wounds came into focus, becoming clear for all to see.

Rio let her chin fall to the floor, letting go of me as soon as she saw her maker in such deplorable condition.

The moment after, however, she came to her senses.

By using her blood and shadow magic, she grew wings, and her clothes turned various shades of black and red.

She leaped, flying after Akashi, and embraced him midair, assisting his descent to the ground.

They fell, and Rio got up quickly, but the hundred-year-old man remained on the ground.

All kinds of injuries were visible on his body. Cuts, tears, pieces of his body that had clearly been torn off. Akashi's control over his own blood was not enough to suppress the severity of the injuries that afflicted him. His face expressed a mixture of pain and frustration, slightly hidden by his beard. His hair, now messy, no longer tied in a neat samurai bun, covered part of his eyes.

However, the sparkle in his clear eyes had not yet faded.

“Akashi! What happened!?” I exclaimed, crouching down to try to move him into a more comfortable position.

However, as soon as I touched him, he roared in pain.

“Akashi...” Rio crouched down beside me and reached out her hand, trying to control our companion's bleeding and heal some of his wounds.

“Akito...” he whispered, grabbing me by the collar.

The blood on his hands stained my shirt, but he still didn't let go of me. He pulled me down, as if he wanted to say something only to me.

“My eyes... Look into my eyes!” Akashi exclaimed, with what seemed to be the last fragment of his strength.

I stared at the glass pearls that inhabited the vampire's eye sockets.

Then the world began to spin.

It was a familiar feeling.

I felt myself detach from reality, just like when I had woken up outside my house that morning.

However, this time it was different.

It wasn't as if my memories were being ripped from me.

It was as if memories were being implanted in me.

Was this part of the hypnotic power of vampires?

Suddenly, I found myself inhabiting the skin of Akashi Asami, in what seemed to be a few hours or minutes before the present time.

I saw the lighthouse, and I saw the vampire walking calmly toward it. I was unable, however, to discern what he was thinking as he walked.

I saw Akashi Asami crushing the iron door of the abandoned lighthouse with his bare hands and throwing it aside.

His breathing was heavy, and the air hissed as it passed between his teeth.

He looked only upward. Only at the spiral staircase that would lead to the top of the lighthouse.

Then he walked.

His footsteps seemed to want to bring the building down. To collapse everything, to destroy everything.

On rare occasions, I was able to see parts of his expression in the small round windows that illuminated certain sections of the spiral staircase.

The sound of Akashi's shoes hitting the metal steps, as if a hammer were repeatedly striking the head of a nail, rang like a bell in my ears.

Finally, the hatch leading to the top of the lighthouse came into view.

Akashi opened it silently.

Then he floated up through the opening that had been made.

The great light of the lighthouse spun, blinding whoever was there every second or two.

However, Akashi's eyes, covered by his sunglasses, were still able to see everything.

How convenient, I thought, that I had bought them for him earlier that same day.

“Are you alone?” a familiar deep voice said, coming from behind Akashi.

“Cubas!” Akashi shouted, turning around and scanning the area with his eyes.

The light from the lighthouse continued to blind him with each cycle. Cubas was still nowhere to be seen.

“Honestly... Couldn't you even bring the picture-boy with you, Akashi?” Cubas grumbled, calling him by name.

“So you remember, corpse!?” Akashi exclaimed, turning his head and body in every direction he could, trying to anticipate where Cubas would appear.

"Well, of course... How could I forget? The prodigious apprentice from the first photographed, and vampiric son of Basil Halberd himself... Akashi Asami. The one responsible for my last hundred years buried underground. For you, the world may have changed... You may have forgotten me as much as you want... However, for me, the earth seen from within has not changed. Not even a millimeter. I didn't even see the sunlight. I didn't feel the days go by. The temperature of the earth was always constant, cold. And the weight of the earth was always constant, indifferent to my suffering. Indifferent to my suffocation, for a hundred years!" Braz Cubas monologued.

“So that's it!? You want revenge, you wretched corpse!? You murderer!” Akashi shouted.

“Well, well. How on edge you are, Mr. Asami. Quite different from Mr. Halberd", Cubas commented.

“... What?” the vampire blurted out.

“He, yes, he was a true lover of science. An aristocrat, just like me. Not a bon-vivant like you. Unfortunately, he made sure you forgot the details...” the corpse replied.

“Damn you! Tell me what you know!”, Akashi shouted, running around the upper floor of the lighthouse.

"Now, that would violate Mr. Halberd's last wish. For us immortals to coexist, and for immortality to be the norm, not the exception. Even if you didn't know... I'd say you did a great job, Mr. Akashi. Letting me escape... Creating a new Photographed... And even creating a vampire descendant for yourself..." Cubas continued chanting, forcing Akashi to listen to him.

“Braz Cubas... This ends here! Tonight!” Akashi exclaimed.

"Well, I couldn't agree more... Tonight, I will achieve true immortality. By becoming the Photographed, and still holding on to the powers of the Dry Corpse, I will simply keep the photograph in my jacket's pocket... And no one will ever be able to get to it. The perfect Apparition. Untouchable, immortal, invincible. The form of the supreme being, having mastered both eternal life and eternal death. A god. It's a fantastic plan, don't you agree, Mr. Akashi?“, the corpse asked. “And by the way... I'm here, Akashi.”

Akashi Asami looked up and found, in the dazzling light of the lighthouse, Braz Cubas standing on top of the machinery that controlled the lighthouse's large lamp.

"Tonight... You will master only eternal death, Braz Cubas. I will make sure of that,” Akashi said, immediately leaping toward the corpse.

Braz Cubas, instead of dodging, as he had previously shown to be his habit, jumped from above, going straight down toward the vampire.

Both extended their hands in each other's direction.

The magic of the Dry Corpse's absolute rejection.

And the powerful, durable claws of the centenarian vampire.

As they met, magic prevailed, and Cubas knocked Akashi to the ground, remaining on top of his opponent, with feet to his chest.

Already expecting this, Akashi created wings made of blood and shadow on his back and moved them in such a way as to practically embrace the Dry-Corpse within them. Suddenly, Akashi turned the insides into sharp spears and tried to pierce Cubas with all his might.

The blood pushed against the corpse's barrier, making it seem as if it were possible to break through it. The shadows enveloped them, forming fingers and nails that seemed to tear through the fabric of Braz Cubas' rejection.

Then Akashi opened his mouth and tried to bite his opponent directly.

Cubas' eyes widened, and he quickly grabbed Akashi by the neck, throwing all his weight onto the vampire's windpipe.

Smiling, Akashi let his neck be completely crushed, being totally decapitated.

In the moment of distraction when Cubas looked at Akashi's head instead of his body, Akashi kneed Cubas in the stomach, sending him flying away.

It was clear, however, that he had not hit his body. Only the barrier had suffered the attack.

Cubas flew high, breaking the roof of the lighthouse that covered them.

With a cheerful cry of vanity, Cubas gently landed on a patch of the roof that hadn't broken. With one hand in his pocket, he descended through the opening that had formed, holding his hat with his other hand during the fall.

“There are so many believers in this town now, Akashi...” Cubas stated. “And the world has changed so much since I last set foot in it...” he continued. “So why are you still this weak!?” the corpse finally shouted, advancing toward Akashi with his hand open.

“Shut up!” Akashi retorted, defending the blow with one of his arms.

Cubas tugged at the vampire's arm until it was completely torn off of his torso, and Akashi retaliated by striking him in the chest with the edge of his other hand.

With the blood that spurted from his severed arm, Akashi transformed it into a kind of rocket, propelling the floating arm with his own blood to hit Braz Cubas.

A truly impeccable aim. Akashi's severed arm had grabbed Cubas by the neck. More specifically, it had grabbed the rejection barrier around his neck.

Apparently, if the blow was precise enough, it was possible to hold Cubas by the barrier, even if it severely injured the attacker's hand.

The propelled arm carried Cubas' body in a straight line, while the villain tried to destroy it to break free. The corpse's back slammed into the wall.

Thus, Braz Cubas was trapped in the center of the lighthouse, directly above one of the spotlights. Akashi walked toward him, his eyes filled with vengeance.

“So much power... And yet... Unable to touch me,” Cubas boasted.

Attaching a newly regenerated part of his severed arm to what remained of the old one, still firmly attached to Cubas' neck, Akashi now stood before his opponent. The vampire refused to fall for Cubas' taunts, fighting in complete silence, except for the roars and grunts he let out when he struck his blows.

“After a hundred years of rejection...” Cubas muttered.

The vampire smiled, confident in his apparent victory.

The Dry Corpse, for his part, seemed practically surrendered.

Then Akashi opened his mouth and tried once more to bite his opponent.

“Behold...” the corpse whispered. “My new power!” he then exclaimed.

Braz Cubas stretched out his right arm, as if to punch Akashi. However, instead of directing his fist at his opponent, he did something that resembled slapping across the air.

Suddenly, Cubas’ barrier extended beyond his body, following the trajectory of the slapping motion.

Akashi was pushed by this strange appendage of the rejection barrier and sent flying.

Cubas was free again.

The villain just stood still, allowing the light to illuminate him, as if he knew that Akashi would remain unable to touch him.

“Your powers must run out at some point… Or have some condition that shuts them down… Every apparition has a weakness, because every story ends with humanity’s victory…” Akashi whispered, as if to remind himself.

Summoning his courage, Akashi got up from the floor.

"You seem to forget you're not human yourself, Akashi Asami", Cubas replied.

In a flash of inspiration, the vampire began to run around the upper floor of the lighthouse.

After two laps, his speed was such that he began to generate enough centrifugal force to run on the walls.

In this case, on the windows.

The glass shook beneath his feet, and he continued to accelerate more and more, blood splattering from his feet with each step, propelling him forward, and evaporating immediately afterwards.

Cubas' expression was one of doubt. It bordered on despair. The corpse was losing sight of Akashi amid the flashes of light from the lighthouse's reflectors and the vampire's dizzying speed. Not knowing where his opponent was was a dangerous disadvantage.

It was a mesmerizing sight. Akashi was literally running in circles, accelerating faster and faster. For a moment, I thought the entire lighthouse would spin like a UFO and take off with them inside.

When he was satisfied with his speed, Akashi jumped, his body colliding with Cubas'.

Perfectly calculated.

The vampire grabbed at him, and the rumble of their collision could be heard all the way from the sea. The impact was so great that it ejected them both from the lighthouse, shattering one of the windows completely.

The two fell downwards, Akashi wrapping Cubas in a kind of bear hug, toward the ocean.

However, the Dry Corpse was prepared.

“Hyah!” Cubas roared, seeming to be putting real effort into it for the first time in the entire fight.

His rejection barrier expanded, expelling everything around him.

Akashi’s back collided with the lighthouse, and Cubas flew forward, punching through the thick wall.

Akashi flew to the other side of the lighthouse, nearly destroying the spiral staircase in the process. His back hit the wall again.

He grunted, panting.

Cubas, however, did not stop. Another punch, and again Akashi crashed through the wall with his own body, against his will.

“Damn it,” he exclaimed, sent flying again.

Flying through the air, Akashi sighed. I could sense, in his skin, that he had already admitted defeat. It had been a stupid idea to try to fight alone.

“You know, Mr. Akashi…” Cubas was flying beside Akashi in a similar pace, almost as if to mock him. “Next time... Bring the photographed and the photograph itself, okay? So that we may end our century-old feud...,” the corpse taunted.

Finally, with both feet on Akashi's chest, Cubas pushed him down toward the ground. He was too strong. The vampire fell, fast as a missile, directly onto the sands of the beach. The grains cut his skin, and his attempt to brace the impact with his wings was in vain.

His wings broke, alongside many of his bones.

The pain must have been immeasurable.

The blood magic no longer sustained his form, nor did it heal his wounds.

If I had been there, I could at least have offered Akashi some fresh blood.

He tried to get up, but failed.

Suddenly, a shadow covered the moonlight that illuminated Akashi's eyes.

“Boo,” Cubas whispered.

In absolute terror, Akashi got up and did everything he could to fly away.

For some reason, Cubas did not engage in pursuit. That said, the reason was obvious. To lure me in. To let Akashi arrive at my doorstep almost dead, as he was. And lure me to him, in revenge.

Damn him, but I recognized his cleverness. And I wasn't going to run away from such a direct affront.

Suddenly, I was thrown out of the trance that had submerged me in the memories of Akashi Asami.

I found myself face to face with him again, lying in front of me.

“Akashi!” I exclaimed, holding him with both arms and bringing his face to my neck. “Blood! You need it!”

With his hand and jaw trembling, he tried to feed. However, he couldn’t even muster the strength to hold his own head straight on top of his neck.

“Damn it...” he muttered, spitting out some of his own blood.

“Here, I'll help!” Rio offered, and bit my neck to open the holes with her teeth.

Then she used her ability to manipulate blood to draw a thin thread to each of Akashi's fangs. This allowed him to absorb some vitality, enabling him to support himself and come to my neck under his own power.

“Akashi, you bastard... Why!?” I yelled at him. “Why did you fight him alone!?”

“What!?” Rio exclaimed, equally indignant. “Akito, what did you see?” she turned to me and asked.

“He showed me memories of the fight... And the full extent of Braz Cubas' new powers...” I explained.

“It can't be...” Rio continued, disbelieving. “Why didn't you take us, Akashi!? You knew all along, didn't you!?” she reacted exaggeratedly.

“... I think I understand,” I suddenly knew. As if the feeling had also been shared, along with the memories of the confrontation.

“What do you mean, Samu?” Rio asked me.

“Look...” Akashi let go of my neck and interrupted us. “Children...” he said, still panting and full of pauses.

However, we had the decency not to interrupt him. He had just tried to sacrifice himself for us, after all.

“Sometimes, a man must take responsibility for his wrongdoings… That is my job, and mine alone, after all,” he argued. “This is my city. It was the city of those who raised me… Basílio Alabarda came to Japan and met my master here. Taking care of this place has been my duty since the beginning of the Showa Era, and that's not about to change now," I stated.

"Frankly, Akashi... You're a fool. Do you want me to spell it out for you? Then I will. You saved me from Cubas. You saved Rio. You taught us about the Apparitions, so cut the crap! You guided us, but we got involved of our own free will. We want to defeat Cubas as much as you do, so stop thinking this job is yours alone!" I yelled at him, and left his body on the floor, seeing that he was back to a reasonable degree of health.

“Akito...” Rio whispered my name.

“Come on, Dee. It's our turn,” I said confidently. "And bring the photograph. I'm going to finish off the damn Corpo-Seco, even if it's the last thing I do in this life.

“Akito, this is crazy!” Rio exclaimed, but she got up and came over to me.

Akashi, still lying on the floor, managed to get up and sit down, his legs still stretched out.

"Rio... Go with him. You can do it, I'm sure. The two ways to hurt Cubas are through Akito's regeneration... and our fangs. If you can get your teeth close to his rejection barrier, try to suck the energy out of it. That way, it will weaken, and he will become fragile. That's how I defeated him last time... And, this time, he kept dodging my teeth," Akashi explained. “Which means it still works”.

“Right...” Rio listened intently, still feeling sorry for her vampire predecessor.

“I'll join you as soon as I... Well, as soon as I get up. We can't let Cubas go free for another night. Good luck,” the vampire blessed our dangerous endeavor, still weakened.

“Take care, Akashi...” Rio murmured, and ran to me to accompany me.

With both hands in my pockets, and motivated by the wounded figure of Akashi stamped in my mind... I walked briskly to the abandoned lighthouse, fully focused on what was ahead of me.