Author notes: Apologies, I was too busy yesterday and didn’t have time to post this chapter.
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“Secure the captain! Request reinforcements, this is a Code Orange!”
The night duty police officers were on high tensions as they fortified themselves outside of the police station under the immediate evacuation order they received. The captain had charged in and after what was clearly a high level battle inside the police station, he was blown out of the station and into the road.
The officers hurriedly tried to rescue him, report and call for reinforcements according to protocol, but everyone was extremely nervous. They all know their captain’s strength, so anything capable of defeating him was beyond their pay grade.
Anthony Reeves lay in a small pit in the road with an extremely pale and pained face. There was a deep hand print clearly visible on his shirt which had torn apart from the strike. His entire chest had turned purple around the hand print, indicating how serious his internal injuries were..
Even with his qi enhanced body, the strike had broken multiple ribs and caused serious damage to his internal organs as well.
“H… Halt… rescind… that order,” Captain Reeves coughed up a large amount of blood as he shakily rose his hand and stopped the officers.
He managed to send his qi into the storage ring on his finger and extracted several healing pills before swallowing them. Once the healing effect started to ease the pain his internal organs were experiencing, he climbed to his feet while supporting himself with his sword.
He then retreated to the defensive line the officers under his jurisdiction had formed and glanced over them briefly before nodding his head.
“Everyone is here, good. You can return to the office now and start cleaning up what you can. There should be no further disruptions tonight.”
“C-captain, are you alright?” One officer asked as he looked at the dark purple hand imprint showing on Captain Reeves’ chest.
“I will be fine, you all head back first. I will be there after picking up a couple of people.”
“Y-yes, Captain.”
Agent Mason hid from the street lamps whilst supporting on of Agent Patterson’s arms over his shoulder. The stealth talisman he had used earlier was still in effect but his body had become a bit more corporal, showing it’s effect was weakening.
“Tch, cheap goods starting to fail before the time is even up.”
Agent Patterson clicked his tongue and commented on the talisman as he looked down at his body.
“We just have to get back to the car where we have the emergency healing ki- urgh, I think several ribs are fractured. What the hell was that monster?”
“Alias: Senna Smith.”
A deep voice that was like the calm before the storm suddenly sounded from behind the two, followed by a humongous gravitational force seemed to press down on their bodies and caused their knees to buckle.
“Age: Unknown. Species: Nature Fae – semi degenerated into a fallen fae. Origin: Captured in the forests of Germany before being sold to a witch. Later escaped after the death of said witch. Hazard Class: Hazard V… Did you think some measly camouflage talisman would be enough to hide from me? Turn around.”
Agent Mason and Agent Patterson turned to see an extremely serious looking Captain Reeves, his sword held casually by his side. Despite his laid back posture, there were no gaps in his form and he could strike out at any moment with his weapon.
He had changed his shirt for a new one from his storage ring on his finger along the way, so the two didn’t know that he was deeply injured at the moment.
Even if they did, one man with a heightened sixth sense for danger and another with a sliver of inner force could not go up against any Foundation Establishment cultivator, no matter how injured they were.
“Eh…” Agent Mason’s danger senses were ringing again as he frantically calculated the scenarios in his head and tried to formulate an escape method. “Captain-”
“Don’t try to bullshit me with your lies. I already knew two hunters had posed as agents of the DHS in the station, I simply had more important matters to focus on. You picked the wrong night to break in, now follow me back to the station, or I will cut you down where you stand.”
Both the hunter’s fell under the illusion of the sword in the police captain’s hand slicing them in two and broke out in a cold sweat as their legs threatened to give out underneath them. They hastily nodded their heads before that illusion transitioned into a reality.
Captain Reeves had subdued the two solely with his intent before guiding them back to the station.
Both “Agent” Mason and “Agent” Patterson thought to themselves, ‘What the hell is someone of this man’s strength doing at some random suburban police station!?’
When Captain Reeves had reached his office with the two hunters to personally interrogate them and saw his desk had been shattered, his mood immediately took a turn for the worse.
He covered his mouth with his hand as he coughed in pain.
A faint trickle of blood could be seen escaping from between his fingers.
“So, you are saying that you will not arrest us and simply let us go?”
“Do I need to repeat myself?”
Captain Reeves scrunched his brow in annoyance. Once he had found out the reason Thomas and Senna Smith had broken into the police station, he felt like the entire night had simply been a farce.
“No, it’s just,” Agent Mason was exercising his caution as much as he could, considering this was a situation potentially extremely dangerous for his partner and himself. “Why?”
“Because the country doesn’t give a shit if two unlawful hunters die in some alley. If you don’t like it, you can serve 25 to life behind bars. You not only broke into a police station, you were also carrying illegal weapons and I’m sure I can easily find multiple accounts of you breaking the law in the past.”
Perhaps Captain Reeves was overdecorating the punishment the two hunters would face as it would come down to circumstances, but their hands were stained in the blood of supernatural creatures. As with most hunters, they likely have had multiple warrants for their arrest based on murder, regardless as to whether they were in the right or wrong.
In the end however, they were merely small time criminals in his eyes and his main priority was Thomas and Senna, and the issues the two of them caused him.
Thomas pored two cups of tea for Senna and himself whilst the two of them leafed through the documents of the investigation file. Even though it was past midnight and Senna had school tomorrow, she could easily stay awake for an entire month without it affecting her body.
Thomas was a different story, without his soul force running through it, it was simply a highly trained mortal body which could not escape the need for rest.
“So, he was seen late at night on a couple of surveillance cameras near his house heading in the direction of the school, but none of the cameras in the school or vicinity thereof saw him actually arriving nor entering.”
Thomas released an exasperated sigh and looked up at the ceiling while Senna continued looking through the documents and answered matter-of-factually.
“It is likely he was kidnapped or otherwise had an accident in between the two locations. Perhaps some creature feeding?”
The two sat side by side behind his desk with a lamp on to illuminate the area, their shoulders almost touching. One of the lights in the entry room was also on, enough to light up the room, but not enough for Thomas to comfortably read.
“Not impossible. I had Aveline do a ritual to locate him and whilst there was no life response, his body and soul also didn’t respond. If some supernatural creature dragged him back to a nest that was in a supernatural hotspot, it could result in this.”
“Snort, what would that hag know.”
“Say what you will, she can use these kinds of useful spiritual arts.
Senna twisted her mouth in displeasure, but didn’t say anything further on the topic.
Whilst the two were at a standstill on progress, a faint scream was heard outside in the dimly lit alley below the shop. It was a very distinct voice in this night that had previously been almost eerily quiet.
“Ah, speak of a devil and one shows up~” Thomas chuckled with a playful smile.
In the alley below, was a woman in an exquisite red dress and high heel shoes. She also wore ruby jewelry that complimented the dress, whilst her blonde hair had come undone and was currently a mess over her shoulders.
She ran away from a man that wore the surrounding shadows like a cloak, masking his appearance except for the two glowing red pupils full of blood lust that were like burning hot coals.
“P-please help! Someone, p-p-please!”
She tried to run from and cried out for help, but her voice was lost in the frosty air of the night.
The man didn’t speak but simply emitted a guttural growl that vibrated the air. He then moved at superhuman speed and caught the woman before pinning her against the wall, coincidentally right below where the window beside Thomas’ desk.
The woman’s voice became meek in fear and her entire body shook. She tried to escape the man’s grasp, but could barely put up any resistance.
The captor wasn’t in fact human, but a vampire. He opened his mouth and exposed razor sharp fangs, forcibly tilting the woman’s head to the side and exposing her neck and shoulder for feasting on.
Now that he was out from the shadows, his appearance was also fully revealed.
The vampire had blond hair and high cheekbones. His skin was very fair yet contained a tantalizing beauty, the typical bloodless look that vampires all had. He wore a short black tophat, his blood red eyes just visible below the brim, and his ears slightly pointed at the tip if one looked close enough.
Watching from above, Thomas’ expression didn’t change in the slightest. If anything, the mischievous grin on his face only widened.
He pulled inside away from the window, glancing over at Senna who was ignoring him, before pulling out a small paper talisman used to banish evil and attached it to a paperweight on his desk. Poking his head back outside, he blatantly threw the evil banishing paper weight at the vampire with a boisterous laugh.
“Hahaha, daring to prey on the weak outside of my window? Eat dust, bloodsucker!”
The vampire had been so engrossed in his hunt that he didn’t notice the attack until it was too late, a reaction that was also hindered by the fact that Thomas had thrown the paperweight without the slightest killing intent or maliciousness.
A perfect surprise attack.
Rapidly facing upwards, the evil banishing paperweight struck the vampire square in the nose.
“Fuck! It hurts!”
The vampire hissed and recoiled whilst holding his face. The woman stood in spot stunned and watched as the vampire glared up at Thomas.
“Thomas, you asshole, the fuck was that?!”
This vampire’s name was Gϋnther, and him and Thomas had gotten to know each other almost six months ago.
He looked at the paperweight with an evil banishing charm attached to it and wore a dark expression.
Thomas simply looked at him and commented, “What do you mean? It is obviously Aurora’s major skill, Smite Evil. What do you think?”
“Bullshit! Smite Evil calls down a pillar of light that not only dispels enemy buffs, but deals light damage. It also deals double damage, on top of any existing buffs, to any creature marked as evil!
Aurora was a character in Age of Heroes, a goddess of dawn who banished the night, wielding the light element to smite or burn.
Characters in this game all held two minor skills, two major skills, and one ultimate skill. Minor skills generally had 1 or 2 turn cooldowns, shorter than the 3 to 5, or more, turn cooldowns than major skills, while an ultimate skill could only be used once the character’s charge bar had filled up.
“Well, special effects aside, it dealt double damage, didn’t it?”
“I’ll report you for littering!” Gϋnther bared his fangs and snarled at the unperturbed Thomas. “Look at this, it’s not even your first offense.”
The vampire pointed his long hooked finger at the remains of a shattered ashtray and some ash and cigarette butts which had yet to be cleaned or dispersed in the wind.
“That’s not litter, it’s the remains of the last vampire who made a ruckus below my window. I haven’t had time to pack him in an urn to send to his next of kin.”
“You expect me to believe that?!” Gϋnther explicitly pointed at the loose cigarette butts rolling around, to which Thomas merely shrugged.
“He was a heavy smoker~”
The woman in the red dress no longer had a weak and pitiful aura emitting from her body, instead appearing quite annoyed.
“Hey, if you don’t want to do this, I don’t care, but I’m getting paid either way, ya understand?”
“Sigh, I told you this area was a bad location.”
“There is no other shopping districts as quiet nor as poorly lit as this one late at night. It is eerie, the perfect atmosphere for a girl being targeted by a rogue vampire, right? It is also close to my home.”
Thomas laughed aloud before commenting, “Hey, you really bring a whole new meaning to the phrase, ‘lady of the night’.”
“Fuck off.”
The woman curled her lip and and eyed Thomas out of the corner of her eye with irritation.
The latter simply ignored her before addressing Gϋnther again.
“Hey, Gϋnther, have you been hungry for little boys over the past two weeks?”
“Huh, what?”
“Answer me, or I will send Senna out to beat it out of you.”
“…”
“Twelve days ago, a young boy went missing around 11:30pm in between his home and his school over in Metzger.”
Thomas was not smiling or being jovial. His expression and tone were flat and even, yet gave off a sense of danger. Upon seeing him like this, Gϋnther swallowed his grievances and answered in a serious tone, albeit with a hint of typical vampiric arrogance that ran in their blood.
“That has nothing to do with me. I follow all the meager human laws.”
Thomas’ glanced towards the woman who was watching from the sidelines with a hint of confusion in her light green eyes. She was currently exchanging her body, in this case her blood, for financial gain. This was more common than one would think, as vampires lived extremely long lives and tended to build up a large amount of wealth in that time, making them prime ‘patrons’.
The common slur for women who took part in this exchange was ‘blood whore’, and was just as illegal as prostitution, if not more so.
Ignoring this fact, Thomas asked, “Have any other vampires or creatures that feed on humans moved into the area or passed through?”
“I have not caught the scent of nor heard any rumors about such a creature for at least a month, and none that have lingered or made a nest. It may be something that has remained in hiding, but why would I care about that?”
“Hmm? Well, let me know if you do hear anything, okay?”
“Very well, now, I will be leaving. Dinner awaits.”
Thomas and the woman in a red dress silently left the alley whilst mumbling to each other.
“Who the hell is that guy?” The woman looked at Gϋnther from the corner of her eye.
“Sigh, he is a pain, but it is his daughter that is the frightening one. Don’t anger them… Ah, my mood is ruined! And I was getting the rare delicacy of a cultivator’s blood!”
“If I wasn’t too poor to afford spiritual herbs, you still wouldn’t be getting this chance. I’m getting hungry so get me something to eat too.”
Thomas heard their voices as the echo pierced the absolute silence of the night and let out a defeated sigh.
“A cultivator selling her blood to a vampire in exchange for credits and food, I feel like I’ve seen it all now.”
Senna looked at him with a deadpan expression and retorted, “It is less ridiculous than a fae and returned-from-the-dead human dressing up like cartoon burglars and raiding a police station.”
Thomas slouched in his seat and looked at the young woman appearing nature fae beside him, her green eyes that had been infiltrated with dyes of red around the outside of the iris, and joked with her.
“I can mimic the cultivation pathways of a cultivator in order to release my soul power whilst in a mortal body, but that doesn’t strengthen the body itself. I have read that the blood of fae is useful for a lot of things such as restoring youth and enhancing the body. Perhaps I need to drink some of your blood this time~”
“Here.”
Senna unhesitatingly sliced the skin on her forearm with a fingernail, causing crimson red blood to emerge and stain her arm. She extended her arm directly in front of Thomas for him to drink the blood just like he has always done for her.
Lost for words, Thomas met the gaze of the beautiful fae, who was looking intently at him without the slightest ripple in her eyes.
Looking down at the slender forearm which was like a tarnished work of art with a trail of blood running from the wound, or perhaps it was the greatest masterpiece to exist, he closed his eyes and exhaled.
“Don’t let your blood spill. It’s too precious.”
Grabbing a tissue, he carefully held her arm and wipe away the blood before applying pressure to the wound. Surely enough, it stopped bleeding in a brief moment and seemed to start stitching itself together as well.
“…Ungrateful idiot.”
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