Juxtaposition

The lighthouse. Now, looking at it with my own eyes, I could make out the details of its surroundings. The lighthouse itself had a white exterior, flanked by a small house of the same color. Akashi probably had memories of the lighthouse being lit decades ago, though it had long since been decommissioned, at least until recently.

It was precisely the return of its light that brought to surface the urban legend of it being cursed.

“It looks like a good place to camp...,” Rio commented, peering at our surroundings.

“It really is...,” I replied simply.

It was built on top of a large rock that separated the land and the sea, with small bridges and other forms of support around it to facilitate access.

Small metallic details, amidst the white paint, solemnly reflected the moonlight.

It almost reminded me of a castle's watchtower. Hopefully, however, our enemy wasn't keeping a good watch.

It was impossible to sense his presence, but I was certain that Braz Cubas was still inside.

I came across the door that Akashi had destroyed earlier to get in. I went through the opening, and Rio followed right behind me.

Through her eyes, the vampiress expressed concern, a little bit of fear, but she covered it all with composure and courage.

“What’s the plan?”, she asked as we wandered around the first floor of the lighthouse.

“There isn't one,” I replied.

“You're really angry, aren't you?” she stated the obvious.

"We both have a way to hurt him. That's enough. I can't ignore this anymore. Toshiki died because of Cubas. Akashi almost joined him. That bastard has to go back beneath the ground, or to the bottom of the sea, with no chance of ever returning to the surface," I said resolutely.

“... Okay,” Rio agreed. “However, I hope you do know that I'm not here because I agree with your thoughts and feelings about this,” Rio emphasized.

“I know. I'm far from being myself right now. However, if I don't distance myself from me, I won't be able to defeat Braz Cubas,” I concluded.

“I understand. Just look straight ahead, Akito. I've got your back,” she replied with equal determination.

“Thank you,” I replied simply.

Then we climbed the stairs to the lighthouse's control room. In my line of sight, there was only the hatch, which had been closed again. My ears were ringing. My eyes seemed unable to see anything but the hatch. I had no way of knowing if Rio was truly following me. However, I trusted her.

So I opened up the hatch.

A loud creak tried to snap me out of my trance, but failed.

Then, I emerged from the hole in the floor. I took a step forward, and Rio followed right behind me.

The light hit me in the eyes. Once, twice, then three times. What an extraordinarily uncomfortable place to be. A bright light like that, blinding you every two seconds...

Nevertheless, I already knew what to do.

I pulled my slingshot out of my pocket before Braz Cubas had a chance to appear.

I pulled the elastic band, one of the projectiles between my fingers.

And as soon as the light hit my eyes once more, I fired.

The sound of breaking glass... Then darkness.

Well, not exactly darkness.

There was still a bit of light from the lamp, but the magnifying lens had broken down completely.

My eyes were still recovering from the last blinding flash, and everything around me looked dark and blurry, with the silhouettes inside the lighthouse all mixed up.

However, a white spot appeared in my vision.

“... Did you really have to break it? Not even Akashi was such a rude guest during his last visit...,” Cubas' familiar voice grumbled.

The silhouettes inside the lighthouse made sense again, and I memorized the interior as best I could, looking for useful things.

“Allow me to introduce myself, dear dry-corpse...” I decided to introduce myself to the villain, thus giving him a taste of his own medicine.

I needed time to plan an attack. If my comic book readings had taught me anything, it's that the villain always likes to monologue before the supposed final battle.

“Oh?” He seemed impressed by my initiative to talk.

“Akito Itabashi. Student. The one and only photographed by Basil Halberd's camera. More recently, also a hunter of Apparitions. And, incidentally...” he said. “Immortal too,” I mimicked him.

“Ha-ha!” he chuckled loudly. “Welcome, my dear photogenic friend. I see you are much more refined than your vampire comrade, he remarked, leaning on his phosphorescent cane. “Are you of noble descent, by any chance?”

“Don’t flatter me, Cubas,” I replied curtly.

“I almost regret trying to kill you when we first met, Akito... Almost,” he remarked.

“Don't make me laugh. Every time I see you, you're trying to kill someone. First, me. Then, my companion, Rio. And, a few minutes ago, you almost killed Akashi...” I clenched my teeth, still looking for an opening to attack him.

He turned his gaze to Rio, staring her up and down. His eyes then turned back to me. Then they returned to her. In fact, his eyes danced between us for a few seconds.

“Well, it's been a while since I've seen a couple made up of a vampire and a photographed one... What a sight! Ha-ha!” he laughed. “How nostalgic...” he whispered.

“Nostalgic...?” Rio whispered.

“Well, well! If it isn't the girl from the temple... What a surprise! How amazing! And here I was thinking that Akashi would never have any descendants...” Still full of himself, he continued talking.

“You'll pay for this!” Rio replied coldly.

“Oh, don't be a killjoy! I've been alone for so long... And I'm so happy! You two are civilized, unlike Akashi... You arrived here hostile, yet you didn't deny me the pleasure of a good chat, he observed.

“Tsk,” I clicked my tongue in frustration.

“People have forgotten the proper etiquette one should have when fighting to the death…” the corpse pondered nostalgically.

“So you do recognize the purpose of our visit?” Rio asked, trying to imitate Cubas’ tone.

“But of course… You see, it’s really a shame. I would very much like to offer you some tea and a few biscuits. I have so many stories to tell, hundreds and hundreds of years of stories..." he reflected.

“So... Why?” Rio asked, while I gritted my teeth. “Why do you want the powers of the photographed so badly, if you seem to be so content with life?” she questioned him.

“Ah...” he leaned on his cane, head down and hunched over. “Have you ever felt it, Miss Vampire?” he asked in return. “Death,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Rio seemed to want to know more.

“You, my fellow immortals... Have you ever wondered if there is an Apparition that personifies death?” he proposed. "The answer is... There is. In almost all cases, it is a concept. A feeling. A presence. However, I have encountered it personally. I have met Charon, I have known Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory..." he declared, dramatically.

Rio and I watched him, ready to attack at any sign of hostility.

"And yet, my power is limited. My rejection is almost absolute, but it is not absolute. You yourself managed to overcome it briefly, Akito, albeit at great personal cost. Vampires can extract vital energy from blood, and you have an infinite supply thanks to the Camera. Among all of us immortals... Why am I the only one who is dead!? Why am I the only one who is finite!? Why am I the only one who has to wait a hundred years to regenerate!? I, and only I, have retained my human frailty! I, a god, greater than all of you! I who ascended to the heavens and descended to hell! I, who was resurrected! I, who heard everything they said about me at my own funeral! Why!? Why me!?", the corpse shouted.

“That's bad...” I commented, feeling the pressure of the barrier of rejection that Cubas emanated uncontrollably. “I think you've struck a nerve...”

“Oops...” Rio replied.

“... All right. Enough talk,” Cubas clasped his hands on his cane, staring at us.

His gaze was piercing, intimidating. The moonlight glistened on his white robes.

“Finally...” I replied. “Our goal was never to talk to you, Braz Cubas.”

“And mine is not to talk to you either, Akito Itabashi,” the corpse replied. “So... Shall we begin?” he then proposed.

Our fight broke out.

Cubas advanced toward me, his arm extended behind his body, proclaiming the arrival of a cross-punch.

With both arms, I blocked the blow. Quickly, he changed his plan of action and hit me with a kick to the stomach.

I flew away.

However, the next moment, I was in Rio's arms.

“Gotcha!” she exclaimed, throwing me toward Cubas.

Taking advantage of the momentum from the throw, I ran toward the corpse, who was not intimidated and came toward me.

I aimed a punch at his face.

He smiled.

My hand burned as if it were on fire.

My skin was destroyed and rebuilt in that split second as I crossed Cubas' barrier of rejection.

Then my fist broke through, and I felt the cold skin of my opponent's face.

This time, it was he who flew away, having failed to return an intended punch to my abdomen.

I heard a sound like a fracture, and my hope grew that I had caused real damage to Braz Cubas.

He collided with the lighthouse control panel.

With the same momentum that he moved away from me, he approached, as if he had bounced off the wall.

We exchanged blows. He punched, and I blocked. Then the reverse.

My low kicks didn't knock him down, and I jumped over his.

His fists flew toward my face, and I closed my eyes, knowing I would have time to dodge.

So, I opted for a feint. I swung my fist toward Cubas' face, and he stared intently at the impending blow.

Then, I snapped my fingers.

A flash of light illuminated the entire lighthouse, as if it had been turned on again.

Opening my eyes as soon as the light faded, confident that Cubas would be blinded, I landed a left cross to his face.

Cubas rolled on the floor, as if his body had shut down for a moment. His cane rolled across the floor.

Without wasting any time, I grabbed one of the chairs that was loose in the room and lunged at him, hitting him over the head with it.

The chair broke in half, and he got up as I let go of one of the chair legs.

Cubas picked up his cane from the floor and tried to hit me with it. I defended myself with the chair leg, which bent slightly after each blow.

Frankly, it was starting to look like a fencing match.

Cubas struck me from above, from the sides, and then diagonally, from the left and right. I parried all the blows, blinking at opportune moments to assess his rapid movements.

He was strong. Tremendously strong. And fast, more than I could ever dream of being.

However, he was not perfect.

I let one of his blows slide across the chair's leg, and used my free hand to grab his cane.

I tried to jam the chair leg into him, but his barrier of rejection bent it until it was useless. I threw it aside, and both he and I grabbed the cane with both hands.

Our four hands fought for space and control as we pushed our bodies to the limit.

I landed a kick, but Cubas was barely pushed back by it. I had to use all my strength in one blow against him, otherwise I wouldn't break through the barrier.

Rio was waiting for the right moment to attack, and this was it.

Cubas tripped me, knocking me down and taking my hands off the cane.

Then, as he was about to deliver the final blow, preparing to stab the cane into my chest, Rio attacked from above.

She grabbed him from behind, and the cane stabbed into the ground beside me.

I quickly slapped her, causing her to slide across the floor and removing the support that kept Cubas standing.

He fell to the floor, and Rio brought her fangs close to his neck.

A glow began to emanate from the encounter between the fangs and the barrier.

“No!” Cubas shouted, rolling on the floor to escape.

Then he put one hand on his own neck.

“That's it!” I exclaimed. “Let's keep it up, Rio!” I looked at her, and she smiled back confidently.

“As if I'd let you!” Cubas yelled, expanding his barrier of rejection.

All of the windows on the upper floor of the lighthouse burst from the inside out, and much of the furniture was promptly thrown through the holes that opened up.

Along with the furniture, Rio and I were thrown into the air, in free fall.

Lost, unable to discern up from down, I felt a familiar hand grab mine.

“Samu!” Rio shouted, as she was the one holding my hand. “I've got you.”

Her wings were spread, and she was floating in the air.

“Rio!” I sighed with relief.

Suddenly, however, I saw a shadow obscuring part of the moonlight.

“Above!” I shouted, knowing what was coming.

Cubas, mounted on his phosphorous cane, came like a meteor toward us, intending to impale us both with the tip of his cane.

Rio looked up, but she wasn't quick enough to get out of the way. Instead, she pushed me down.

The cane pierced her chest, and her blood splattered toward me.

I couldn't let that happen again.

Cubas laughed, his feet on Rio, both of them falling rapidly toward me.

I collided first with the rocks on the hillside, and my gaze was unable to look away from Cubas.

As fast as I could, I got up, and I did so before they reached me on the ground.

I realized that Cubas was staring at me, as if I were the next target.

Suddenly, Rio's hands moved. She grabbed the cane with both hands.

Braz Cubas' eyes widened, and she smiled.

“Let go!” the corpse shouted.

“Akito! Go!” she shouted louder.

Then, confidently, I blinked.

Just as I did so, I snapped the fingers of my right hand.

A flash of light emanated from me, and Cubas closed his eyes at the exact moment the two hit the ground.

Dust flew up, as did splinters from the rock where they landed.

When Cubas reopened his eyes, Rio was still under him, holding his cane.

However, behind him was me, and his neck was locked in a rear naked choke.

“It's over!” I shouted in Braz Cubas' ear.

Rio, her chest still pierced by the cane, let her body be torn apart so she could lift her head and bite Cubas' wrist.

Startled, he let go of the cane for good and tried to grab my arms that were holding him, but Rio's bite had already managed to hold one of his arms.

So, with one hand he tried to resist her, and with the other he tried to pull me off his back.

“Your problem, Cubas... was exposing your own weakness,” I said.

“What!?” he shouted.

“After all... Your life energy, which feeds your magical barrier... It's not infinite. In fact, what cowardly magic, isn't it?” I commented, smiling confidently.

Rio removed the cane from his chest, throwing it into the ocean, and began to get up, still biting Cubas' wrist and draining his energy.

“After expanding the barrier like that, to throw us from up there... There has to be some collateral damage, right?” I shouted.

“... Damn you!” he shouted back. “I refuse to be defeated like this!,” the corpse kicked and screamed.

I could feel it: Cubas’ barrier wasn’t as strong as before. My clothes were still being torn apart upon contact with it, but my skin regenerated faster than before. He probably needed some time for it to recover after using that expansion technique.

It was also clear that the fight against Akashi had worn him out.

However, suddenly, I felt Cubas' body calm down.

He grabbed Rio's face with the hand that had been trying to push me away until then.

Due to the pain, she was forced to let go of his wrist. At that moment, Cubas found an opening and grabbed her by the neck.

Then, there was no longer any reason for me to hold him from behind. I needed to make him let go of Rio.

However, the instant I let go of him, he expanded his rejection barrier around his hand.

I was thrown backward, falling flat on my back.

Due to the force of rejection, Rio's body, in addition to being brutally destroyed, was propelled away.

Suspended in the air, the infamous photograph floated in the wind.

It was a miracle that it had not been destroyed immediately by Braz Cubas' blow.

The photo danced with the breeze and the remnants of Cubas' rejection, and his eyes followed it intently, shining brighter than the moonlight.

“What?” Cubas whispered, incredulous. “You were really stupid enough to bring the photograph here? For what purpose? To hand me victory on a silver platter?” he asked himself, and laughed.

My logic was simple, but it had its flaws. If we lost the confrontation, he would go after the photograph. If we had left it with Vitória, he would probably kill her to get it. That, and only that, I could not allow.

However, I confess, I had not considered the possibility that the photograph would be destroyed during the fight.

Anger and revenge had blinded me. I told Rio not to let her powers go to her head, but I had done the same.

Rio's vampiric body was slowly regenerating a few meters ahead of where Cubas and I were.

The tide continued its rhythmic and incessant struggle against the rocks on the hillside.

And Cubas, with just two fingers, captured the photograph in midair.

“I won,” he whispered through clenched teeth.

Then the photographic paper crumbled into a thousand pieces in his hands.

Immediately, I felt something being torn from me. A light. A fundamental property of my being.

My heart seemed to stop, even if only for an instant.

Then I began to feel certain things again. The moisture in the air. The smell of the sea breeze. The cold, damp ground.

I had returned to the human world, so to speak.

My eyes drifted to Rio, who was staring at the scene, but she wouldn't have the time to react either.

“Now... it's my turn,” Cubas whispered, taking the camera out of his jacket's inside pocket and pointing it at himself. “Goodbye, Death.”

Expecting the camera’s flash, I blinked my eyes, completely devoid of any kind of power.