Draven staggered back a step, muttering under his breath.
"...Fuck."
His eyes darted through the air.
Fragments of his arm were still spinning through the dust—bone shards, torn muscle, scraps of flesh, and the severed palm tumbling across the ruined room.
*To think I'd actually lose an arm…*
Without hesitation, Draven moved.
His remaining arm snapped forward, catching the falling palm out of the air. The gloved hand slapped into his grip as he immediately leapt backward, putting distance between himself and Seraphine.
He landed lightly several meters away.
Dust drifted through the broken building.
Draven stared down at the palm in his hand.
Blood dripped between his fingers.
*How the hell am I supposed to reattach something like this…?*
The bone was gone.
The forearm had been obliterated.
Only the hand remained.
"Damn it… this is—"
He stopped.
Something felt wrong.
Or rather—
**Different.**
Draven slowly turned his head.
His gaze dropped to the stump where his arm had been blown apart.
For a brief moment earlier, blood had poured freely.
Now—
It wasn't bleeding anymore.
Flesh was moving.
Muscle twisted.
Bone pushed outward.
Skin formed over it.
Within seconds—
A **new arm** finished growing from the elbow down.
Perfect.
Whole.
Draven stared at it.
Then slowly flexed his fingers.
"…Huh."
A flicker of surprise crossed his face.
He turned the regenerated hand over once.
Then again.
No weakness.
No stiffness.
Nothing missing.
Across the room, Seraphine watched silently.
Her eyes narrowed.
"That…"
She spoke quietly.
"…is new."
Draven glanced at the severed palm still resting in his other hand.
He lifted it slightly, inspecting it.
Then looked back at his regenerated arm.
"…Looks like it."
For a moment he simply stood there.
Thinking.
Seraphine's gaze hardened.
"A hybrid vampire regenerating entire limbs that quickly…"
Wind began gathering around her again.
"That wasn't happening earlier."
Draven rolled his shoulder once.
Testing the arm.
Perfect response.
"Yeah," he admitted.
"That surprised me too."
But his eyes sharpened slightly.
Because something had clicked in his mind.
The ghoul earlier.
The torn arm.
The test he ran.
*Healing… but not regeneration.*
Yet his body had just **regrown** an entire limb.
Draven briefly glanced at the blood scattered across the room.
"…Interesting."
Seraphine stepped forward.
The wind around her intensified.
Draven lifted his gaze to meet hers again.
His red eyes were steady.
The ringing in his ears still screamed relentlessly.
But now—
His focus had shifted.
Because if his body could regenerate like that…
Then this fight had just changed.
Seraphine lowered her stance slightly.
Wind and sound compressed tightly around her fists.
Then she came again.
Faster.
Relentless.
The air screamed as wind and sound compressed around every movement. Each step cracked the ground. Every strike carried the explosive pressure of a sonic boom.
**BOOM!**
Her fist tore through the air where Draven's head had been a fraction of a second earlier.
Draven slipped to the side.
Another strike came.
He ducked.
A kick followed immediately, twisting with wind as the force blasted the stone street apart.
Draven slid back across the broken ground, cloak whipping behind him.
His ears still rang violently.
The piercing vibration drilled into his skull every time her rune released another pulse. Even as his body healed the damage, the sound itself refused to fade.
Still—
His mind remained clear.
*So I can regrow limbs…*
Seraphine's next strike ripped past his face, splitting the air with a thunderous crack.
Draven twisted under it.
*It seems the seal the old man and mom placed on me sealed more than just my bloodline…*
Her elbow came next.
Draven caught it with his forearm—
**BOOM!**
The sonic pressure detonated outward, forcing him to slide back several meters.
For a moment both of them stood still.
Draven's eyes sharpened.
Then suddenly—
He moved.
His body blurred forward.
Seraphine's eyes flickered as he closed the distance instantly.
Draven's fist snapped out.
**CRACK!**
The blow slammed into her guard, the impact forcing her backward several steps. Her boots ground across the broken ground before she stopped.
A brief silence followed.
Draven straightened.
Slowly—
He reached down and pulled the glove off the severed palm he had caught earlier.
The blood-stained glove slid free.
He dropped it.
Then removed the glove from his other hand as well.
Both gloves disappeared into his coat pocket.
At the same time—
A faint glow flickered from the earring in his ear.
The communication artifact activated.
A soft voice answered instantly.
"My lord."
Vaelith.
Draven spoke calmly while keeping his eyes on Seraphine.
"Get moving."
There was no hesitation.
"Yes, my lord."
The connection cut immediately.
The glow faded.
Draven lowered his hand.
Then he looked back at Seraphine.
"You know," he said casually,
"I can't let you send me flying again."
His red eyes gleamed faintly beneath the hood.
"And I should probably thank you."
Seraphine tilted her head slightly.
"Oh?"
Wind began gathering around her again.
Draven rolled his shoulders once more.
Testing the new arm.
Perfect.
"You helped me realize something new about myself."
The air around him shifted as his mana slowly stirred.
"So I'll make sure to thank you properly."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Not mocking.
Not playful.
Cold.
Predatory.
Then his stance lowered slightly.
Ready.
"Come on."