My DragonicVampiric System

The arena became noticeably louder the moment the board displayed Drako vs. Mira. Drako stared at the matchup while Mira stood beside him with one hand resting on her blade. For weeks they had trained together, fought beside each other, and saved each other during dangerous situations, but they had never fought seriously. Worse, Drako had always suspected Mira was hiding something. Dragon Blood Vision had finally confirmed it. Strange dark energy surrounded her body, completely different from the power she normally showed. Drako looked at her. “So, are you finally going to tell me what that creepy darkness is?” Mira smiled. “Maybe after I beat you.” Drako placed a hand over his chest. “Beat me? I thought we were friends.” “We are.” “Then as my friend, you should surrender.” Mira stared at him. “Walk into that arena before I eliminate you out here.” Draxen laughed. Kaien crossed his arms. “I’m betting on Mira.” Drako looked offended. “You’re supposed to be my rival.” “Exactly. Watching you lose would make my day.” Teck raised a holographic screen. “Statistically—” Drako pointed at him. “Don’t you start.” Even Raizen smiled. Adrian stepped beside Drako. “I’ll support you.” Drako nodded appreciatively. “Finally.” Adrian continued, “Mostly because Mira scares me.” Mira slowly turned toward him. Adrian immediately walked away. “Good luck, Drako.”

Drako and Mira entered the arena from opposite sides. The joking stopped slightly as the defensive barriers activated. They were friends, but neither wanted the other to hold back. Mira drew two short blades. Drako stretched his arms. “No stabbing anything important.” “Then stop putting important things in the way.” “That’s not how bodies work.” The referee raised his hand. “Begin!” Mira disappeared. Drako immediately activated Blood Sense. Her heartbeat moved behind him. He turned and raised Dragon Scales. CLANG! Mira’s blade struck his forearm. Drako countered with Dragon Strength, but she ducked and swept his leg. He jumped, activated Blood Step, and appeared several meters away. “Okay, you’ve been practicing.” Mira smiled. “Unlike you, I don’t announce every new technique before using it.” Drako frowned. “Dragon Blood Strike is a good name.” “You literally yell it.” “People need to know what hit them.” Mira rushed him again.

Her speed was greater than Drako remembered. He activated Dragon Blood Vision. Gold filled one eye and crimson the other. Immediately, the strange darkness appeared around Mira again. It wasn’t simply surrounding her. It was connected to every shadow she passed. Mira entered the shadow of a broken arena pillar and vanished completely. Drako’s Blood Sense still detected her heartbeat, but Dragon Blood Vision couldn’t see her physical movement. “That’s cheating.” Her voice came from behind him. “It’s an ability.” Drako turned too late. A blade touched his defensive shield before he used Blood Step to escape. Mira appeared from another shadow. Then another. Each time she entered darkness, she could emerge somewhere else nearby. Adrian stared from the stands. “She could do that the whole time?” Raizen calmly answered, “Yes.” Everyone turned toward him. Draxen raised an eyebrow. “You knew?” “I pay attention.” Kaien shook his head. “This group has too many secrets.” Teck looked at him. “Including yours.” Kaien’s Phoenix flames briefly appeared. “Keep talking, computer boy.” Teck smiled. “Excellent response. Very convincing.”

Inside the arena, Drako stopped chasing Mira. She disappeared into another shadow. Blood Sense followed her heartbeat, but the sound seemed to move through several locations at once. Drako closed his eyes. “Come on.” Mira appeared above him. He sensed the attack and rolled aside. Her blades struck the floor. Drako activated Dragon Density in his right foot and kicked toward her, but Mira entered his own shadow. Drako froze. “Oh, that’s disrespectful.” Mira emerged behind him and kicked him forward. The crowd laughed. Drako turned. “Get out of my shadow!” “Make me.” “I need that!” “For what?” “Standing dramatically.” Mira laughed and vanished again.

Despite the jokes, Drako was studying her. Every time Mira entered a shadow, her heartbeat changed slightly. Her blood circulation slowed while the dark energy increased. She wasn’t teleporting. She was temporarily merging with darkness and traveling through connected shadows. That meant light could restrict her movement. Unfortunately, Drako didn’t have a light ability. Then he looked toward the arena ceiling. Several powerful lights illuminated the battlefield. “Sorry, Mira.” He increased Dragon Density in his leg and stomped the floor. BOOM! Broken pieces of stone flew upward. Mira emerged from a shadow, confused. Drako punched the debris with controlled Dragon Strength, sending pieces toward several overhead lights. CRASH! Two shattered. Mira stared at him. “You realize making it darker helps me?” Drako froze. “Wait.” More shadows spread across the arena. Mira smiled. Drako slowly looked toward the audience. Kaien was laughing so hard Phoenix flames were escaping his shoulders. “Nobody saw that.” Draxen shouted, “Everyone saw it!” Drako sighed. “I had a plan.” Mira disappeared. “It was a terrible plan.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Darkness surrounded Drako from multiple directions now. Mira attacked from one shadow, disappeared, then emerged from another. Drako blocked with Dragon Scales, but she immediately changed angles. A blade scraped his shoulder. Another nearly touched his shield. Drako activated Blood Flow Control, accelerating circulation through his legs. Blood Step flashed. Mira followed through the shadows. Crimson flashes and dark movements crossed the arena faster and faster. Drako suddenly smiled. Destroying the lights had been stupid, but it revealed something useful. The more shadows Mira used simultaneously, the more her dark energy divided between them. Dragon Blood Vision could see faint pathways connecting each shadow. Drako stopped. “Found you.” Mira’s voice came from everywhere. “Did you?” Drako watched the pathways. Five shadows contained energy, but only one had a heartbeat. He turned toward his left.

Mira emerged. Drako was already moving. Blood Flow Control surged through his legs. Blood Step activated at the same moment. He appeared directly beside her. Mira tried returning to the shadow, but Drako increased Dragon Density in his foot and slammed it against the floor. The impact shattered the stone and disrupted the shadow’s shape for a fraction of a second. Mira’s ability failed. “That’s definitely cheating,” she said. Drako smiled. “It’s an ability.” “I hate you.” “Friendship.” Mira attacked with both blades. Drako blocked one using Dragon Scales and avoided the second. He refused to use Dragon Blood Strike at close range. Mira was his friend, and that technique still wasn’t completely stable. Instead, he used ordinary combat reinforced by Blood Flow Control. Mira was technically better. Her blades moved with precision, forcing Drako backward. One touched his ribs. His shield flickered. “Almost,” Mira said. Drako smiled. “Almost doesn’t count.” From the stands Kaien shouted, “That’s my line!” Drako yelled back while dodging another blade, “I improved it!”

Mira suddenly changed. Dark energy exploded around her body. The audience quieted. Her eyes became completely black for an instant, and shadows climbed her arms like living smoke. Drako’s smile faded. Dragon Blood Vision immediately warned him. [Unknown bloodline energy detected.] [Analysis incomplete.] Drako stared. This wasn’t merely an ability. Something deeper existed inside Mira. She moved. Drako barely saw her. A dark blur crossed the arena and struck his chest. His shield nearly activated. He flew backward, increased Dragon Density in his legs, and stopped himself. “You’ve really been hiding that?” Mira breathed heavily. “There’s a reason.” Drako could see fear underneath her determination—not fear of him, but fear of people seeing what she was.

Several observers in the upper levels were suddenly paying much closer attention.

Drako understood. He could push Mira and possibly force more of her secret into the open, but winning wasn’t worth exposing something she wasn’t ready to reveal. Mira attacked again. Drako met her halfway. Dragon Scales blocked one blade. Blood Flow Control accelerated his other arm. Dragon Density increased through his palm. Instead of striking her, he grabbed her wrist and redirected her momentum. Mira spun, recovered instantly, and placed her second blade against Drako’s neck.

Drako’s scaled hand stopped against her defensive shield at exactly the same moment.

Neither moved.

The referee examined the replay. The arena became silent.

Then the result appeared.

DRAKO’S CONTACT: 0.03 SECONDS EARLIER.

“Winner: Drako!”

The crowd exploded. Mira lowered her blade. Drako released her wrist. “Three hundredths of a second.” Mira stared at him. “Don’t brag.” “I’m absolutely bragging.” “I could stab you.” “See? Bad loser.” Mira punched his shoulder, and Drako laughed before pulling her into a quick hug. “Good fight.” Mira smiled. “Next time you’re losing.”

As they left the arena, the others surrounded them. Kaien pointed at Drako. “Breaking the lights was the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.” Drako defended himself. “It provided valuable tactical information.” Teck nodded seriously. “It provided Mira approximately forty-two percent more usable shadow coverage.” Everyone laughed except Drako. “Why are you like this?”

But behind them, high above the arena, an older woman had watched Mira’s transformation. A black symbol appeared briefly on her wrist.

“That girl,” she whispered. “So the bloodline survived.”

And just like that, winning the tournament had become the least dangerous thing Mira had done that day.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!