After her battle with Marianne, Endyr had been quite exhausted, mainly from using her Denizen Skills. Yet as she was conversing with Kulkiri and the brothers in the hallway, she had discovered a method to rapidly increase her Mana regeneration and reserves: stop holding back.
While it may seem odd, the short time she had spent as Altair had warped her sense of identity to some extent. She clearly remembered who she was, and why she was here, but she had unknowingly placed "mortal" restrictions upon herself. She, or rather the laws of Orvonia, had shut off her own Mana supply and reduced it to what a a standard Ascender of her Rank would possess. She had circumvented this somewhat by relying on her EX Rank Core and Mana Manipulation Skill, but it was only after draining herself against Marianne did she notice a second, untapped well of Mana insider her.
Accessing it was easier than she thought it would be, since Endyr was the one that subconsciously sealed it away to begin with. Endyr was actually quite familiar with this phenomenon: it was a common trait amongst Denizen's of Infinity. Being the collective consciousness of an entire Universe made them incredibly unstable and loose as individuals. Splitting themselves into millions of vessels scattered across the Multiverse didn't help either. Denizens existed under the maxim of "I think therefore I am", meaning that if a Denizen believes something about themselves to be true, it will.
This method was sued by Denizens to commit suicide once they got too bored of existence. Of course, death truly eluded them, and it was more like permanently splitting themselves into fragments and never to gather again. You could even say Endyr's situation had a precedent, since most Denizens ended up forming a Universe upon calling it quits. The difference was, Endyr was forcefully pulled apart rather than separating willingly.
Of course, showcasing this deeper reserve of Mana was also troublesome since Kulkiri and the brothers definitely knew the amount a Grandmaster should possess. But after thinking about it, Endyr ultimately decided she didn't care. If push came to shove, she would just ditch her current identity and begin somewhere else. She only stuck around Sky Cross in case she needed to aid Altair or vice versa, but it wasn't a necessity. Besides, Kulkiri and the brothers would report her to the Guild higher-ups or their own superiors at worst. It was highly unlikely for word to reach the Churches, and even if it did, having an abnormal Mana supply didn't prove anything.
In the fight against that Flame Vampire, she had used her Mana freely and powered through an unfavourable situation. Neutralising the natural advantage the Vampire held with pure force and quantity, she finished off her opponent rather quickly and gained a Level. After glancing over her wounds, she turned her attention to the others still fighting.
Kulkiri was a storm of blades, glowing silver flashing at a speed barely discernible to the naked eye. While his Mana quantity obviously wasn't as obscene as her own, but his control was the finest she had seen so far. His Mana efficiency was as fluid as water and he employed just the right amount in his strikes, every single time. He struck probingly at Moriah, always pushing and discerning the next move to make. And should the Vampire ever let his guard down, the probing attack would become a vicious strike aiming to kill.
Aware that he was being forced back, Moriah furrowed his brows and began to employ more of his own Mana. Inky blackness, a shade darker than Marianne's had been, covered his skin and blade. Deflecting another blow, Moriah's eyes sharpened into slits as he suddenly pushed forward, his blades forming a storm of their own.
Despite Kulkiri being more mist than man, Endyr heard the sound of tearing flesh and a spurt of blood appeared in the mist cloud. Moriah's eyes somehow always stayed fixed on what Endyr identified as the most solid part of the mist cloud, his blades slowly working their way through Kulkiri's defences. With the shoe on the other foot, Endyr contemplated aiding her companion but ultimately held off. Her instincts told her Kulkiri still had a few tricks up his sleeve.
On the other side of the room, Johan and Erich were in a worse position. The two brothers were entirely on the defence and while they lacked any proper wounds yet, Endyr pegged it as only a matter on time. The three Master Vampires were circling them like a pack of wolves, jumping in to strike and then leaping back. Every now and again, one of them would lob a ball of Nether or spikes of darkness. Sadistic pleasure and glee was plainly visible on their faces as they carried out the "hunt", drawing out the act for as long as possible.
They would regret that decision.
As a female Vampire with chestnut hair prepared to lunge in for another drive-by attack, her hair suddenly stood on end as her body instantly tried to backpaddle and dodge But it was already too late for her.
A beam of water travelled halfway across the room and struck the Vampire square in the back, sending her flying into the wall and holding her there. Endyr twisted her hand, increasing the pressure to an almost-laser degree. The Vampire tried to scream for help, but only managed to let out a pained groan before she was torn in half, the compressed water beam bisecting her.
This sudden and brutal death caused the other two Vampires to stare at Endyr in blank shock. Such a display of firepower did not belong in the arsenal of a Grandmaster, causing them to freeze on the spot at the thought of Endyr being an Epic Tier instead.
Seizing this chance and not willing to let it go, Johan and Erich stabilised themselves and then pounced forward. In a fluidly synchronised move, the two brothers plunged their daggers in the necks of the two Vampires. Erich's target apparently had better senses since he managed to dodge slightly, the dagger sinking between his shoulder blades instead. Johan hit the mark just fine however, as his target let out a strangled scream before his killer twisted the blade, nearly severing his head from behind.
Erich's target tried to jump backwards but only managed to stumble away, blood flowing like a river from his wound. His eyes darted between the three Humans before he decisively tried to run away. With a casual flick of her wrist, Endyr summoned a water bullet and sent it through the Vampire's skull. The water bullet flew into the back of his head and out the front.
The Vampire took a few steps forward before coming to a halt, wobbling dangerously on his feet. Endyr raised an eyebrow at this: the Vampire was somehow still alive despite having a portion of his brain blown out. Erich put a proper end to him however, by driving his knife through the rest of the Vampire's skull.
Seeing his subordinates fall, rage flashed in Moriah's eyes and he doubled his efforts on killing Kulkiri. Despite getting so close to his centre, Moriah had failed to kill the Human and it weighed on him. Deciding he was close enough already, Moriah cancelled his Darkness Mana and summoned his Nether instead. But before he could dispel the mist cloud entirely, a figure outlined itself behind him.
Before Moriah could react, silver light flashed in his eyes as a long needle pierced right through his heart. A second later, seven more silver needles penetrated his body, turning the Vampire Grandmaster into a pincushion.
His flesh writhed and sizzled where the silver impaled him, but Moriah was frozen in shock and pain. As he saw his skin turn black and begin to flake away, along with he slight golden glow that covered the silver needles, he opened his mouth.
"S..Sera..phic?" he forced out before the light faded from his eyes, collapsing to his knees. His body rapidly turned black and then collapsed into a pile of ash.
Kulkiri materialised behind him, calmly wiping the eight silver needles with a napkin he procured from who-knows-where. He looked down at Moriah's remains with sinister apathy as he chuckled. "There's nothing better than using the tools of evil to kill evil."