“Guns don’t work on it…”
At that moment, what flashed through Yan’s mind was the water gun Procion had given him. He’d mentioned something about filling it with holy water. Though Yan had dismissed it as a joke at the time and didn’t particularly believe it now either, he wished he had it. He regretted leaving the water gun safely at home.
“Fine. If weapons won’t work, I’ll use my fists!”
Yan clenched his fists and rushed at the shadow. It moved with snake-like speed, but thanks to his determined pursuit, he managed to land at least one punch. The sensation was unpleasant, like reaching into fog. Yet there was some sense of impact, making him think he might have successfully struck it.
“…!”
The next moment, the shadow changed direction and attacked Yan. He raised his fists again, but luck wasn’t on his side. His arm was firmly seized by the shadow. As he used all his strength to try to break free—
‘Healthy and strong. You’ll make a good example.’
A voice emerged from what seemed to be the shadow’s mouth. Despite the bright, sunny day, it was such an eerie sound that it sent chills down Yan’s spine.
“What nonsense are you talking?”
‘Come to think of it, I’ve never killed a police officer before. What a shame.’
The shadow giggled. At a glance, it sounded like a snake hissing.
By now, someone was standing behind Yan. Though he couldn’t turn around, Yan instinctively realized it was the vampire controlling the shadow. The vampire’s cold hand gradually tightened around Yan’s neck.
“How should I kill you? Do you have a preferred method?”
“Kuh…ah…ugh.”
With his arm restrained, he barely managed to move his fingers to pull the trigger, but the shot only fired into the ground. The screams of people and other species could be heard in the distance. If he could hold out here, he might hear police cars arriving and the voices of his colleagues, but Yan wasn’t confident. He instinctively felt this was the end.
“…!”
Suddenly, his airway cleared. Yan gasped for air desperately, not understanding what had happened. Physiological tears formed as his lungs ached painfully. As he rolled on the ground coughing for a while—
“Huh…”
A shadow fell over him. It seemed someone had intervened between Yan and the vampire. While ultimately grateful, he couldn’t relax yet. It might be another dangerous individual.
In the brief moment, all possibilities crossed his mind. Judging by the swift yet quiet movement, it didn’t seem human—perhaps a fellow vampire? Or maybe another species out for a walk. Yan cautiously raised his head, maintaining a defensive posture.
“Ah…?”
But the next moment, Yan let out a surprised gasp. In contrast to his tension, the person was someone Yan knew well. More than just knowing him, this was the same person he had spent the previous night with, biting, sucking, and rolling around.
“Sirius?”
“It’s a bright afternoon, Yan. Quite hot, isn’t it?”
His casual greeting almost made Yan reply, “Then wouldn’t it be better to change into a sleeveless shirt?” As he said, the day was so bright—why wear long sleeves and long pants? And black ones, at that.
“No, why are you here…”
As Yan regained his senses, he asked the most important question. Just then, the shadow split into several parts and writhed, preventing Sirius from answering. He slashed at the shadow with the long sword he was holding. Black smoke poured out from the cut sections.
“Whoa…”
Yan backed away on his buttocks. After retreating some distance, he could see a blade flashing through the smoke. It wasn’t hard to guess why Sirius was here without having to ask. He had come to hunt vampires.
Sirius cut, slashed, and sliced the shadow repeatedly. Each time he swung his sword, smoke flowed out. It almost felt like blood flowing from wounds.
The vampire in question only emerged after most of the shadow had disappeared. It was the man who had been standing next to Pedro earlier. Yan shuddered when he saw his thin hands.
‘Were those the hands that choked my neck?’
Not content with that, the creature now lunged at Sirius.
The moment the vampire attacked Sirius, Yan got up without further thought. He intended to help him. But as he approached, Sirius shouted:
“Go, Yan!”
“But…!”
“One of me is enough here. Go to your colleagues.”
Yan bit his lip hard. He was worried about Sirius having to fight the vampire one-on-one, but thinking rationally, Sirius was right. Sirius was an excellent hunter, and there was more than one vampire in this location. It would be better to join his colleagues and capture the other vampires.
Even as he made these quick calculations, Sirius continued fighting. The fog had billowed up so much that Yan could barely see him now. Yan called out to the fog:
“Don’t get hurt!”
Then Yan turned and ran. He could see the strike team arriving from the other direction. His heart was still with Sirius, but Yan pulled himself together. Now was the time to join forces with the strike team.
***
The confrontation was both intense and tedious. The method of dealing with the man was fundamentally simple: just cut, slash, and cut the shadow again. It felt almost like manual labor. Sirius was slightly irritated.
If it had been night, dealing with a vampire of this level would have been easy. But the opponent was a vampire with a bond, and Sirius was not. In other words, Sirius was constrained in daylight activities. The creature was taking full advantage of having a bond as it attacked. But the innate difference in strength was undeniable, and the gap widened as time passed.
“You… you’re not human, are you? Right?”
“You figure that out rather quickly.”
Sirius muttered this as he cut through the shadow. True to his nickname of “Shadow Snake Sorcerer,” the vampire controlled shadows endlessly. It was an annoying ability, but this would soon be over.
“Why? Why would a vampire stop another vampire? If you’re a vampire too, you must have many grievances?”
Perhaps deciding there was no chance of winning, the vampire seemed to have decided to try persuading Sirius instead of fighting. But Sirius silently continued to cut the remaining shadows.
“The strong ruling the weak is the law of this world. Even beasts survive by the strong prevailing. But how about these days? Coexistence between vampires and humans—do you really think that makes any sense?”
“If the strong surviving is the law of this world, then you’re going to die today.”
The sword pierced the neck of the last shadow snake. The shadow writhed like a living creature, emitting black fog. Through the fog, the frightened face of the vampire could be seen. For all his tough talk, it was just bluster. Well, everyone tends to be scared right before death.
“Wait, wait, wait… I think I know you. You, perhaps.”
He couldn’t continue. A sharp sword had pierced his throat. Sirius didn’t miss the opportunity to twist his blade as the vampire’s body began to crumble. Given the strong regenerative abilities of vampires, it was necessary to tear the wound as much as possible.
“Guh, guh… kuuuh.”
The vampire stared wide-eyed at the blood spurting from his neck. For vampires, blood is life force; at this rate, he would die soon. His fingers twitched as if attempting one last resistance, but Sirius didn’t give him the chance. The long blade was slowly withdrawn, then slashed across the neck with lightning speed. As the head fell off, blood gushed upward.
“Kuaah…”
Even in that state, the vampire let out a hoarse scream. The impressive yet somewhat disgusting aspect of vampires was that they could survive even with their head and body separated if treated in time. Of course, Sirius had no intention of saving him. But it wouldn’t hurt to exchange a few words before death.
“Not everyone agrees with the new Lord’s intentions.”
“…”
“Alesha has been a bit… crazy since she was young. There might be fools attracted to that aspect, but there must be at least a few sane vampires out there.”
“Y-you…”
The vampire once known as the Shadow Snake Sorcerer opened his eyes wide. The phrase “since she was young” seemed to trigger something for him. But it was already too late.
“The former Lord…”
The words “I heard the former Lord had a son” never made it past his lips. Sirius looked down at the stiffened tongue with disgust. He nudged the severed head with his toe. The complete lack of movement suggested it was finally dead.
At that moment, screams erupted in the distance.
Followed by gunfire, and cries… Sirius gazed into the distance. Since there was more than one vampire, battles must be occurring elsewhere as well. Nevertheless, it was strange for such commotion to suddenly arise, causing him to furrow his brow.
“Ah.”
A realization suddenly struck him. Sirius quickly ran toward the center of the commotion.
***
“That woman is completely insane! Damn it, what is that!”
Someone’s scream was accurate. The vampire that had been standing perfectly normal on two legs moments ago suddenly twisted its joints, and something red bubbled up under its skin. Then it abruptly began rampaging with tremendous strength.
“J-just a moment ago, it seemed like we could capture it alive…”
“Wrong. Probably that thing… has gone mad.”
“Anyone with eyes can see it’s gone mad!”
“No, not that kind of ‘mad.’ I mean truly mad. Because it must have lost its bondholder.”
Oliver, who had extensive experience with vampires, explained briefly. Pure vampires and those who become bonded through a bonding ritual go mad when they lose their bondholder. Though this was his first time seeing it directly, Yan had heard about it. The bonding ritual could make one stronger, but losing each other would cause tremendous damage to both parties. That’s why vampires, despite the many advantages of bonding, were said to create bonds cautiously.
“But why did the bondholder die at this particular timing?”
“Perhaps the bondholder was one of the group they were with. Someone must have succeeded in killing them.”
There was no luxury to continue the conversation. Following the captain’s command, the strike team fired their rifles in unison. The vampire writhed its limbs even as it was showered with bullets. Even Yan, who had a strong stomach, felt queasy at the sight. It felt like looking at a life form that was neither vampire nor human—a monster cursed with something truly terrible.
“It seems to have stopped rampaging now.”
