A few moments earlier.
Two men, one tall and one short, were prowling around the hospital, looking around. They wore black priests’ tunics, but unlike normal ones, these were designed for combat. Around their necks hung silver crucifixes.
One of them had Western features and dark brown eyes, with unkempt black hair; the other was blond with green eyes, so British that he looked like he had stepped out of a tea advertisement.
While they wore leather belts around their waists, they carried a perfectly maintained Bible.
"Richard, what the hell are we doing? We’ve been in this area for over five hours! For God’s sake, let’s get out of here, damn it!" said the black-haired man impatiently.
The blond man solemnly raised the Bible and recited in a deep voice:
"Santiago 3:10. Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be so."
His eyes shone with an almost sickening fanaticism.
"Don’t forget our mission. Headquarters sent us here because this is where the filth hides—cursed creatures. And I... I can already smell their stench."
When the black-haired man hears what Richard said, he becomes enraged, but takes a deep breath to avoid swearing: "Sh... For God’s sake! Why did I have to team up with a fanatic?" he sighed, shaking his head wearily.
"Aster, the detection equipment has started reacting locally," said Richard, raising the wooden cross, which began to glow like cheap Christmas LED lights.
"What? Vampires here?" Black-haired Aster opened his eyes wide, swallowing hard. "Shit... on my first day!"
"Ephesians 5:4..." Richard began.
"Shut up, damn it! We have to get ready," Aster interrupted him, pulling the Bible from his waist, his beautiful eyes shining with a golden glow. "Prepare the barrier. We don’t want the innocent to get caught up in this."
Returning to the present.
The prayer burst into the street like a gust of wind, rolling voices and collective fervor. Yellowed sheets of paper stuck to lampposts and walls.
Lucien looked at the two humans in front of him, and his eyes flashed intensely; his world turned blood red. He noticed that they were covered in a golden energy, which was where that horrible stench was coming from, as if they had uncovered a sewer.
"So these are the vampire hunters, chosen by God to destroy us." Despite standing in front of the hunters, he didn’t feel threatened... he thought he would be more tense when facing his enemies.
But reality was very different from fiction.
"Darling, what a perfect moment, isn’t it?" Selene looked him in the eyes, smiling happily. "Those worms might be perfect for you to test your powers, since we were interrupted earlier."
Lucien’s smile grew wider and more predatory; his teeth became like those of a shark. But before lunging at the hunters, his curiosity was caught by the leaves on the walls.
He approached and tried to pull one out and... felt a sharp burning sensation in his hands, like when you burn yourself with hot water, but it soon healed thanks to the abnormal vampire regeneration.
"Oh, what’s this?" His eyes sparkled with curiosity as he tapped the yellowed pages of the Bible several times.
"It’s a barrier," Selene said close to him. "It’s a barrier they use to keep the cattle from getting involved."
"Oh, it’s like an anime space that separates us from reality, right?"
"Yes and no. But now is not the time for explanations," Selene points out to the two Inquisition hunters.
Aster and his fanatical companion Richard, seeing the two vampires talking calmly, open the Bible, place their hands on a specific page, and begin to speak: "Oh, my Almighty Lord, lend us your strength to fight against these corrupt souls."
A golden light descends upon Aster and Richard. At that moment, Richard grabs the crucifix he wears around his neck and shouts, "I am the sword of the Angel Michael!" Suddenly, the crucifix turns into a Western sword.
Aster stood silently with his hand on the Bible, his eyes glowing golden.
Lucien appeared in front of Richard with a big smile and his eyes glowing blood red, and just as he was about to kick him, a golden barrier stopped him.
"!!" His eyes open slightly, and he pulls away, looking at his foot, which is broken and burned, but thanks to his abnormal regeneration, it heals quickly, and he looks at Richard with amusement.
When Richard smells the stench of blood, he shouts:
"They really are vampires... Oh, my God," Aster opens his eyes. His luck really was shit. "I should have listened to my mother about studying law... Richard, we have to run and call for backup!"
"Why? We have vampires right here! It is our duty to destroy them in the name of God!" Richard shouted with sickening devotion, his eyes shining bright gold and his sword covered in a golden light.
"Damn it! Why did I have to team up with this fanatic?" Aster didn’t think twice and escaped, leaving his partner behind; he wasn’t going to die because of his partner’s stupidity.
Suddenly, Lucien appeared behind him, determined not to let him escape, and attacked him with the intention of ripping out his heart.
"Try to kill me, you damn vampire!" Aster jumped to one side and pulled a bottle of holy water from his belt, and smashed it on the ground.
Lucien instinctively leans back, dodging the holy water, only to see that the blond man’s companion has disappeared.
"...Eh?" He couldn’t believe what was happening. Weren’t all Inquisition hunters crazy fanatics? "Pff..." He couldn’t help himself and... "HAHAHAHA~!"
His laughter echoed throughout the place... before slowly fading away, and he looked at the blond hunter who was just as bewildered.
"You look like you’ve been abandoned..." Lucien watched him, amused, a somewhat sadistic smile spreading across his face. "Now... beg for your life, hunter! You’ve been abandoned... and God isn’t here to save you!"
"Beg for my life... beg a horrible creature like you." Richard’s face contorted, as if he had heard the greatest blasphemy, opened his Bible, and shouted, "Oh, most glorious Angel Michael, we humbly beg you to lend us your divine power!"
Suddenly, a shield falls from the sky in front of Richard, followed by a golden pillar. His body is covered in silver armor—it was the authentic armor of the Knights Templar!
Selene, who was watching everything from an ice throne. "Heh, that hunter has talent." She flashed a small predatory smile, revealing her sharp fangs.
Lucien, who took a few steps back, smiled broadly, showing all his sharp teeth... He didn’t know why, but he was very excited. It was a strange feeling, but it didn’t bother him in the least.
"You’re an incredible hunter of the church!" he said sincerely, his eyes shining brightly.
"I don’t want compliments from a disgusting creature!" Richard shouted and disappeared in a golden light.
"Hmm?" Lucien looked to the side and saw Richard approaching at high speed. He took a step back to dodge the attack, which was imbued with a golden light.
"Die, you cursed creature!!!!" Suddenly, Richard’s speed increased dramatically, and he swung his sword at Lucien!
Lucien, who didn’t expect the sudden increase in speed, was hit squarely by Richard’s powerful attack, which split him in half.
"...Ah?" Lucien didn’t even understand what had happened until an impossible burning sensation tore him apart from within. It was as if a red-hot knife had split him in two.
His two body parts fell heavily to the ground, spreading a pool of blood that spread like a dark river at the hunter’s feet.
"This is divine punishment!" Richard looked at Lucien’s shocked expression and the blood staining his boots. "Oh, Most High, behold my deeds. I have purged the unholy beast, I have made my flesh the sword of Michael... and my faith, the fire that scorches the damned!" Read complete versıon only at nοvelfire.net
Suddenly, a bloody pressure exploded all around them. Richard looked at Selene in shock, his expression distorted with pure hatred.
The entire ground froze completely, and even the barrier turned to ice. It was as if the ice age had arrived, but unconsciously, it did not freeze the part where Lucien’s body was.
She approached with calm steps, while she seemed to mutter something that gradually increased in volume.
"HOW DARE YOU? HOW DARE YOU KILL MY DARLING? You damn worm! Shit! How could I have let this happen? Why did I allow this? Why didn’t you kill them from the start? Why? Why?"
"This..." Richard’s expression darkened with fear. He was terrified. He had provoked a monster he shouldn’t have provoked!
"You’re nothing but a damn animal, good for nothing but to be our food! You just killed my darling. I’ll make you suffer for all eternity!"
Seeing everything frozen as a result of Selene’s actions, all of Richard’s instincts screamed at him to run away... but he bit his lips hard and, feeling the blood and pain, recovered a little.
How could he, a chosen one of God, flee from a vampire? It was unacceptable! If he was going to die, he would do so as a Vandero, a follower of the Inquisition charged with eradicating all evil from the world.
And just then, Lucien’s laughter shook the air: