A Mutant Collector Quest

"Hisss!! Just fucking DIE!!"

SWISH! CUT!

"Haah... Haah..." You take heavy breaths as you decapitate yet another vampire with your Silver Katana.

[Vampires: 200 | Humans: 42]

It has been nearly twenty minutes, and the ground around you is littered with the charred remains of vampires. You have stopped using your Holy Fire Magic, as it's draining your stamina far too quickly. Especially considering how you had to keep Radiant shield, Electric Aura, Clairvoyance and the Forcefield barrier active all the time.

BANG! BAM!

"Ha ha! This feels therapeutic! There's nothing better than crushing some vampire skulls!" Elsa exclaims, smirking as she blasts one vampire's head with her rifle before smashing another's skull in with the butt of her weapon.

Despite the intensity of the fight, she still seems full of energy. However, your keen eye catches the red gem on her choker shining brightly, and how her attacks are becoming increasingly reckless. Thankfully, your Forcefield bracelet appears to be holding up, protecting her from any serious injuries so far.

You are positioned on the left side of the entrance, and Elsa is on the right, while a massive crowd of vampires is gathered nearby. Behind you, the rescued humans huddle in the seating area, some in a daze, others watching in shock and fear. A few had attempted to escape towards the entrance, but their fates were grim.

CUT! SWISH!

On the other side, Blade is halfway up the stairs. His silver bullets seem to have run out, forcing him to rely on his silver sword. By taking the stairs, he has managed to limit the number of vampires he faces at once.

When a large group of them attempts to swarm you, you unleash the white Holy flames, making them retreat in fear. But you know you need to act quickly to eliminate them all; the longer this drags on, the more unpredictable the situation becomes.

Now that only vampires remain in the crowd, you can unleash a large-scale attack without hesitation. Stepping back from the horde, you hurl a wave of white holy flames onto the bloody ground, creating a small firewall that sends them retreating in fear.

Taking a deep breath, you concentrate, letting your Clairvoyance expand to encompass the entire room. You can 'see' each vampire as if they were right in front of you, even feel the floor beneath your shoes—beneath the blood and water, the tiles, the concrete; you can 'see' it all.

With unwavering focus, you activate your power, Data Warping. Starting with the tiles beneath you, they begin to shimmer with a silvery hue—you have transformed the tile into silver.

But this is just the beginning. The adjacent tiles follow suit, and then the next, as you keep pushing your powers to their limits. Yet, despite using Chi Manipulation to recover, such extensive transformation isn't easy, especially given your fatigue.

Closing your eyes, you dig deep and tap into a newfound power. Golden arcs of lightning erupt from your body, flooding you with an overwhelming surge of energy. All traces of exhaustion vanish as you open your eyes, as Golden Lightning seems to dance in them.

You raise your hands as instantly the entire floor turns to silver. In this moment, gazing at the blood-soaked vampires before you, you recall how every superhero in the comics has their named attacks.

"Get back, El!" you shout, invoking another power: Metal Manipulation.

"Impaling Spikes of Doom!" you declare, drawing forth more of the golden lightning within you as it swirls behind your back, gathering into illusory wings.

SWOOSH! SWOOOSH! SWOOOSH!

Under your control of Metal Manipulation, large spikes of silver erupt from the ground, transforming the entire floor into a deadly trap. The spikes impale each vampire, piercing through their feet and driving straight to their heads, not missing a single target as your attack decimates the crowd of Vampires.

[Vampires: 30 | Humans: 42]

"AAAAAAGHHHHH!!" Some vampires are fortunate enough to escape with only their hands or legs caught in the spikes, while the remaining ones on the stairs still cling to life.

The room falls eerily silent, save for the anguished screams of the impaled vampires, echoing throughout, as the bloodied floor turns into a graveyard of silver thorns. The vampires fighting Blade pause, their expressions shifting to fear as they look towards you.

"Wow, bloody hell mate! This is like a Vampire Sheesh Kabab!" Elsa exclaims, running her hand along the shimmering spikes before her.

BANG! BANG!

Suddenly, Blade pulls out his guns again, targeting the vampires frozen in shock. You realize he still has some bullets left.

As you maintain the energy from the Lightning Wings power and Metal Manipulation, you begin to feel a strain on your mind.

You retract the spikes back into the ground and use Data Warping to revert the floor to its original state, which surprisingly feels much easier to do than expected. Taking a deep breath, you let go of the golden lightning and nearly stumble to your knees as a wave of dizziness washes over you.

"Take a breather, mate. I will finish off the stragglers," Elsa grins, beginning to stomp on the heads of the few remaining vampires.

"Haa … thanks" you reply, sitting on the blood-soaked floor as you focus on regulating your breathing. You activate Chi Manipulation, circulating chi throughout your body to recover your lost stamina.

In just a few minutes, both Elsa and Blade have eliminated all the vampires. After regaining your breath, you stand up and approach the 'Daywalker', who is still wearing his sunglasses and checking the necks of the frightened survivors.

"I am Apex. Thanks for your help with this vampire problem earlier," you say as you near him. The name "Apex" had come to you just moments ago, and it fits this anti-hero persona you have embraced.

"I'm Blade," he replies in a gruff voice, glancing at you.

"Are you checking for vampire bites?" you ask curiously.

"They have all been bitten, and many won't survive the night. I need to handle the ones on the brink of death; otherwise, they will turn into monsters," Blade states seriously as he draws his silver sword, focusing on a man lying unconscious on the floor.

"N-no! Please spare us!" a voice trembles from the crowd, and many back away in fear.

"Wait! I have some healing supplies. I might be able to save them," you say hurriedly, retrieving your small First Aid kit from your Utility Belt. You examine the man's condition and realize he is suffering from severe blood loss. In fact, most of the crowd seems to share similar afflictions, with only some individuals missing arms or suffering grave injuries.

As you work, you notice the survivors whispering among themselves, their fear palpable. None of them have cell phones; you suspect the vampires ensured that they were stripped of any means to discover the abnormality of this club.

Using a combination of Phoenix Magic, Chi Healing, and your supplies, you begin to heal them, hoping to bring some measure of relief to their dire situation.

Blade, observing your skillful handling of the survivors' wounds, keeps a watchful eye on the crowd to ensure no one causes trouble. Just then, Elsa approaches, carrying her guitar case, likely having stowed her guns inside.

"Let me introduce you; she is El—" you begin, but are interrupted.

"I know. She's a Bloodstone," Blade replies, his voice low and guarded as he narrows his eyes at Elsa, tensing as if bracing for a fight.

"See? I told you I'm famous around here," Elsa says with a grin. Her nonchalant demeanour seems to ease Blade's tension a little, though he still keeps his hand near his weapons.

"Infamous, more like," you chuckle.

"It's all the same. By the way, I know that vampires are like weeds—if you take your eyes off them for even a second, they will multiply in mass. But I have never seen so many gathered in one place before. Don't you think so, 'Blade'?" Elsa asks, curiosity lighting her eyes.

"This is definitely not normal," Blade replies, furrowing his brow as he strides toward the entrance.

"Maybe we should work together to figure out wh—" you start, but he cuts you off.

"I work alone," Blade says, stopping at the entrance. "Don't worry; even if there are thousands more, I'll pull out every single one of these weeds." He turns to you, flashing a wide smile, showing off his white teeth.

"Take care of yourself, 'Apex!'" he says, waving as he heads out.

"Don't take him too seriously; he's just a vampire-hunting fanatic," Elsa remarks with a wry smile.

"Yeah, I figured that out," you reply, returning to treat the injured while opening a compartment in your Utility Belt to release a Bio-probe.

Under your guidance, Elsa begins stacking piles of vampire bodies. Once you finish healing the survivors, you allow them to leave. Despite being covered in blood from the earlier bloodbath, they hurriedly escape, carrying those who can't move.

You feel a twinge of uncertainty about letting them go in such a state, but Elsa reassures you that they will be fine. Then, using your Holy Fire Magic, you incinerate the vampire corpses. While you had considered taking a couple of the bodies for research, you decide that taking back a functioning one would be a better choice.

Even a small flame proves sufficient to consume the piles of vampire remains. The Holy Fire burns brighter and more fiercely, leaping from one corpse to the next.

As Elsa watches the spectacle with fascination, you head toward the restroom. Opening the door, you are surprised to find it empty!

Racquel is nowhere in sight, and even her fitted black dress lies discarded on the floor. Besides this door, the only other exit is a small ventilator shaft on the ceiling.

You begin to piece together how she might have escaped and you return to Elsa, feeling a bit disappointed at having lost the chance to 'interrogate' her further.

As the last of the vampire corpses turns to ash, you and Elsa head upstairs into the club, which is eerily abandoned—no one remains in sight. Either Blade scared everyone away, or they fled in response to the chaos.

You retrieve your sports car from the garage, and as you and Elsa pull away from the club, the sharp wail of police sirens suddenly pierces the air, echoing from the very place you just left.

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