NOVEL WEB Chapter 31: Walking dead 1
[QUEST UPDATE: SURVIVE THE ENCOUNTER]
[OBJECTIVE: Survive against 2nd Generation Vampire]
[REWARD: 500 ME, Skill Unlock]
[FAILURE: Death]
The system notification flickered across Kaine's vision just as the creature landed, its impact sending spider web cracks through the concrete rooftop. Up close, he could see the differences that separated this thing from the ordinary vampires he'd been hunting. The muscle definition was more pronounced, the bone structure subtly altered, and those silver eyes held an intelligence that felt predatory and calculating.
[THREAT ASSESSMENT: 2ND GENERATION VAMPIRE - EXTREME DANGER]
[ESTIMATED POWER LEVEL: SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE CURRENT CAPABILITIES]
[RECOMMENDATION: RETREAT IMMEDIATELY]
"They said I was weak," the vampire said, its voice carrying an odd sing-song quality that made Kaine's skin crawl. "They said I couldn't handle hunters anymore. Said they'd kill me if I didn't prove myself." Its head tilted at an unnatural angle, studying them with the focus of a child examining insects. "But I'm not weak. I'll show them I'm not weak."
Gwen stepped forward, Nightfall's blade catching the industrial lighting. "We don't have to do this."
"Yes, we do." The vampire's grin widened, revealing fangs that curved like saber teeth. "They'll kill me if I don't prove I'm not weak. Kill me, kill me, kill me."
It moved without warning, crossing the distance between them faster than Kaine's enhanced reflexes could track. He managed to get Soulrend halfway out of its sheath before the creature's fist caught him in the ribs, lifting him off his feet and sending him sliding across the concrete.
[HEALTH: 385/420]
The pain was immediate and sharp, ribs cracking under the impact. Kaine rolled to his feet, drawing Soulrend fully as the vampire turned its attention to Gwen. She'd managed to get Nightfall up in a defensive position, but the creature was already inside her guard, claws raking across her shoulder and drawing blood.
Gwen pivoted, bringing her blade around in a horizontal slash that should have taken the vampire's head off. Instead, the creature bent backward at an impossible angle, the sword passing inches from its throat, then snapped upright and backhanded her across the face.
She stumbled but didn't fall, blood trickling from her split lip. "Fast bastard."
Marcus had circled around behind the vampire, moving with the silent technique that made him perfect for ambush attacks. He leaped, pale hands reaching for the creature's throat, but the vampire spun and caught him mid-air. Its fingers closed around Marcus's neck, and it slammed the ghoul into the concrete hard enough to leave a crater.
"Not weak," the vampire muttered, raising its free hand. "I'll show them I'm not weak."
Blood began materializing in the air around the vampire's fingers, coalescing from nothing into red droplets that hung suspended like floating rubies. The droplets began to glow, taking on an orange-red hue that reminded Kaine of molten metal.
The vampire flicked its wrist, and the blood droplets shot toward them like bullets. Kaine activated Shadow Step, slipping between the emergency lights, but the projectiles tracked his movement, adjusting their trajectory mid-flight. One of them grazed his shoulder, and the pain was unlike anything he'd experienced—not just the impact, but a burning sensation that felt like acid eating through his jacket.
[HEALTH: 370/420]
Gwen threw herself to the side, but three of the projectiles caught her in the leg, burning through her tactical gear and leaving smoking holes in the fabric. She hit the ground hard, her breath coming in sharp gasps.
The vampire released Marcus, who rolled away clutching his throat, and advanced on Kaine with that same unnatural grin. "They said hunters were dangerous. They said I should be careful." It raised both hands, and more blood began forming in the air around it. "But you're just meat. Just weak little meat things."
This time the blood formed into larger constructs—not spikes or tentacles, but geometric shapes that hung in the air like burning shields. The vampire pushed them forward, and they began spinning, creating a wall of superheated blood that advanced across the rooftop.
Kaine dove behind a ventilation unit, feeling the heat wash over him as the constructs passed. The metal housing of the unit began to glow red where the blood touched it, and the smell of melting steel filled the air.
Marcus had recovered enough to rejoin the fight, but the vampire was ready for him. As the ghoul lunged forward, the creature gestured sharply, and a stream of molten blood erupted from its palm like a fire hose. The liquid fire caught Marcus center mass, spinning him around and sending him sprawling across the concrete.
"See?" the vampire said, its voice taking on a higher pitch. "Not weak. Strong. Very strong. They won't kill me now."
Gwen had managed to get back to her feet, favoring her injured leg. She limped toward the vampire's flank, Nightfall held in a two-handed grip, but the creature was tracking multiple targets with ease. It spun toward her, both hands extended, and twin streams of superheated blood arced through the air.
She got her sword up just in time, Nightfall's blessed steel disrupting the blood magic where it made contact. The construct splattered against the blade, sending droplets of molten blood in all directions. Several of them landed on her coat, burning through the fabric and raising blisters on her skin.
Kaine emerged from cover, Soulrend glowing with its own dark energy. He managed to close the distance while the vampire was focused on Gwen, bringing his blade around in a strike that should have opened the creature's throat.
The vampire moved at the last second, but not quite fast enough. Soulrend's edge caught it across the collarbone, parting supernatural flesh and drawing blood. The wound should have been crippling, but the vampire just laughed.
"Good!" it said, spinning to face him. "Fight back! Show them you're not completely weak!"
It grabbed Kaine's wrist, its grip strong enough to crack bone, and drove its knee up into his stomach. The impact doubled him over, and the vampire brought both fists down on his back, sending him to his knees.
[HEALTH: 340/420]
The vampire stepped back, raising its hands again. This time the blood that formed in the air was different—not projectiles or constructs, but a shifting, flowing mass that seemed to have a life of its own. It hung above them like a storm cloud, pulsing with that same orange-red glow.
"They said I was weak," the vampire repeated, its voice echoing strangely as if it were speaking from the bottom of a well. "Said I couldn't handle real hunters. But look at you. Look how weak you are."
The blood cloud began to rain down, not in droplets but in thick streams that sizzled against the concrete. Kaine rolled to the side, feeling the heat wash over him as the molten blood splashed where he'd been kneeling. One stream caught his left arm, burning through his jacket sleeve and raising blisters on his skin.
[HEALTH: 315/420]
Marcus tried to flank the vampire again, but the creature was ready. Without even looking, it gestured behind itself, and a wall of burning blood erupted from the rooftop, catching the ghoul full in the chest and sending him tumbling backward.
Gwen pressed her attack, ignoring the pain in her leg as she drove forward with Nightfall extended. The vampire caught her blade between its palms, the blessed steel burning its flesh, but it didn't let go. Instead, it twisted, trying to wrench the sword from her grip.
"Weak," it hissed, its face inches from hers. "All of you, so weak."
Kaine came up behind it, Soulrend aimed at the base of its skull, but the vampire released Gwen's sword and spun, catching his blade on its forearm. The cursed steel bit deep, but the vampire used the momentum to drive its elbow into Kaine's ribs, right where it had hit him before.
The pain was blinding, and Kaine felt something give way inside his chest. He stumbled backward, blood filling his mouth.
"Fuck!!"
[HEALTH: 285/420]
The vampire advanced on him, both hands trailing streams of molten blood that left glowing tracks on the concrete. "They won't kill me now," it said, its voice taking on that sing-song quality again. "I'll bring them your heads. Show them I'm not weak."
It reached for him, claws extended, but Marcus appeared between them. The ghoul had gotten to his feet despite the damage he'd taken, and he grabbed the vampire's wrist with both hands, trying to hold it back.
The vampire looked down at Marcus with something like amusement. "Still fighting? Good. I like that."
It raised its free hand, and blood began forming above Marcus's head—not a construct this time, but a blade. A sword made of superheated blood that glowed white-hot in the darkness.
"No," Kaine said, struggling to his feet.
The vampire brought the blood sword down. Marcus tried to dodge, but he was too slow, too damaged from the previous attacks. The blade caught him at the neck, passing through flesh and bone with a hiss of steam.
Marcus's head fell to the concrete and rolled away from his body. His form went completely still.
"See?" the vampire said, turning back to Kaine and Gwen. "Not weak. Strong. Very—"
"Shut the fuck up already!!!"
Kaine's lunged forward, Soulrend blazing with malevolent energy, and drove the blade toward the vampire's heart. The creature tried to dodge, but this time Kaine was faster, fueled by rage and desperation.
Soulrend punched through the vampire's chest, the cursed steel finding its mark. The creature's eyes went wide, black blood spilling from its mouth.
"Impossible," it whispered.
Kaine twisted the blade, feeling the vampire's supernatural vitality drain away through Soulrend's curse. But at the last second, the creature smiled.
"Not... weak..." it gasped, and raised both hands.
The blood shield that formed around it was different from anything it had created before—not just a barrier, but a perfect sphere of molten blood that encased the vampire completely. Kaine felt Soulrend's blade pass through empty air as the creature seemed to melt away inside its own creation.
The sphere collapsed in on itself, then exploded outward, sending waves of superheated blood across the rooftop. Kaine threw himself backward, but the edge of the blast caught him, burning through his clothes and searing his skin.
[HEALTH: 240/420]
When the light faded, the vampire was gone. Only a pool of smoking blood remained where it had been standing.
Kaine knelt beside Marcus's still form, his hands shaking as he reached for the ghoul's severed head. Gwen approached slowly, her face pale with shock.
"Is he...?" she started to ask.
"Dead," Kaine said, his voice hollow. "He's dead."
Gwen looked down at Marcus's body, then at the pool of blood where the vampire had been. "That thing... it was stronger than anything I've ever seen. How did it just disappear like that?"
Kaine was about to answer when Marcus's fingers twitched.
Gwen jumped backward, her hand flying to Nightfall's hilt. "What the hell—"
"It's okay," Kaine said quickly, though his own heart was racing. "He's... it's complicated."
"Complicated?" Gwen's voice cracked slightly. "His head is gone, Kaine. People don't just twitch when their heads are gone."
Kaine looked up from Marcus's body, meeting her eyes. In the distance, silhouetted against the city lights, he could see two figures standing on a neighboring rooftop. They were too far away to make out details, but something about their posture suggested they'd been watching the entire fight.
The vampire had fled toward them.
"Those secrets you wanted to know about," Kaine said, his voice tired. "Maybe we should start with those now."
Gwen followed his gaze to the distant figures, then looked back at Marcus's twitching form.
"Yeah," she said softly. "I think we should."