Chapter 76 - 75 : Blood in the Streets (1)

Do-hwan or rather The Vampire Baron, brought a few vampires along his side. The survivors have also turned into vampires one by one. Six Blood Vampires, five hulking Behemoths, one grotesque Hybrid with wings who used to be Kim song-woo and him. Do-hwan. Or rather, the parasite wearing his face. A Vampire Aristocrat, lips smirking with someone else’s skin. He strolled forward, arms folded like this was his street and we were just stray cats meowing too loud. "Cute," he muttered. "Ah," he purred, his voice silk dipped in venom. His gaze swept over us one by one. "The harpy guardian, the gambler’s child, the bleeding priestess, the scavenger rat, the fragile psychic..." His eyes lingered on Hyun-Tae. "...and an old man clutching a toy." Hyun-Tae racked the shotgun with a *clack*. "Toy? Here’s Boom Boom. He bites harder than you, pretty boy." The Aristocrat’s smile widened. His jaw shifted—skin rippled. In a blink, his face melted into Mi-Sun’s. Then Seo-Yeon’s. Then mine. "You all bleed the same," he said, speaking with my voice this time. I flexed my talons, feathers rattling against each other like blades itching for blood. "Cute trick. Let’s see if you’re still smiling after I’ve hollowed out your chest." The air changed. One heartbeat. Two. And the street exploded. The Behemoths charged first. Each step shattered the broken glass out of the houses. Their wings snapped open, throwing up whirlwinds of dust and gravel. Blood Vampires scattered across the walls, crawling, leaping, sprinting like a swarm of pale spiders. Volt moved before I did. The dragon’s three throats lit up in unison, sparks building into blinding light. Then— KRAK-THOOM! Three lances of electric beams carved through the night. Two Blood Vampires leapt at me mid-air, only to be roasted mid-flight, bodies sizzling, dropping like burnt paper. They hit the ground twitching. Snapped bones clicked back into place. Their flesh bubbled, smoked, and stitched itself together. And then they stood again. Persistent little freaks. I launched myself skyward, talons stretched, wings beating hard enough to rattle loose tiles from rooftops. Three feathers flew off my wingtip, sharp as spears. They embedded into a vampire’s chest—he barely flinched, screeching as he lunged at me anyway. Talons through the skull. His body went limp. For exactly two seconds. The bastard twitched, his jaw snapping toward me, neck bent at a sick angle. "Yeah, no thanks." I wrenched harder, claws digging into his chest until I found it. His heart pulsed once. Then my talons shredded it. The body dropped limp and didn’t move again. "One down!" I yelled. "Make that two!" Mother’s voice rang out. She stood rooted in the middle of the street, beads swinging from one wrist, her scythe whistling through the air. A Curse of Slowness shimmered over another vampire, dragging his movements down like he was drowning in tar. Her blade ripped through his chest, black energy flaring. The monster gurgled before collapsing, his heart cleaved clean in two. Her beads flared red. "Stay sharp! Their bites will paralyze you!" I barked from the sky so that everyone could hear me. Another vampire snapped at Volt’s tail, sinking its teeth deep. Sparks shot across the street—but Volt roared, spinning, smashing the parasite against a wall with bone-shattering force. The vampire’s body cracked, ribs jutting out. And still, it twitched, crawling again. "Volt, keep your damn tail up!" I shouted. On Volt’s back, Ye-Rin was in her element. The Drake Cleaver Axe roared with heat, its edges glowing red as it split through a Behemoth’s wrist in a burst of flame. The creature shrieked, blood boiling as it staggered back. Another Behemoth’s claw swung down at her like a guillotine—her Lucky Evasion triggered. She moved a fraction before the impact, the attack missing her by breath. She smirked, flames reflecting in her eyes. "Too slow, ugly!" The Behemoth’s claw hit the ground instead, shaking the street. She buried her axe into its hand, flames detonating up its arm. Somewhere to my left, gunfire cracked. Bang. Bang. Bang. In-Ji blurred across the battlefield, boots flashing with each dash. He called out without pausing. "Shoulder joint—Volt, now!" Volt’s tail whipped exactly where In-Ji pointed, smashing another Behemoth’s wing clean off. The giant screamed, crashing sideways into a house that collapsed under its weight. "Nice!" I yelled. In-Ji didn’t even look at me. "Stop talking and keep killing!" Seo-Yeon’s voice cracked behind me, trembling but defiant. "Force Spike!" The air detonated with a pressure burst. Two vampires were blown off their climb, tumbling across the street. Seo-Yeon’s eyes glowed faintly, her fingers trembling as chunks of asphalt lifted around her, orbiting like bullets waiting for command. Her ring pulsed, amplifying the strain. Blood trickled from her nose. "Seo-Yeon, focus!" I barked. "I am focusing!" she snapped, voice breaking, but she held her ground. A Behemoth lunged for her. Hyun-Tae’s shotgun barked thunder. Half the monster’s jaw exploded into gore. "Boom Boom says shut your ugly mouth!" the old man roared, pumping the weapon again. The Behemoth howled, its jaw knitting back together. Volt slammed into it, electricity crackling as the two giants grappled. And we were still outnumbered. Six Blood Vampires left. Five Behemoths raging. And then... the air turned colder. A shadow swallowed the moon. The Hybrid landed. Ten feet of muscle and nightmare wings. A body that merged Behemoth bulk with Vampire speed. Its roar split the air, so loud the houses rattled in their foundations. Its eyes gleamed with hunger and arrogance. Volt turned, all three heads sparking. And for the first time tonight—Volt looked small. I hovered above it all,blood dripping from my claws. Around me, the street was a battlefield of broken houses, burning blood, and writhing monsters. The Aristocrat still hadn’t moved, arms folded, watching us like a theater audience waiting for the final act. And me? I had a single thought clawing its way through my skull: "This street’s about to become a graveyard." And I wasn’t sure yet— If it would be theirs. Or ours.