"Firth, something's gone wrong—big time!"
Inside a speeding car, Quinn gripped the wheel with one hand, his phone clutched tightly in the other as he made a frantic call. The hotel may have been under his supervision, but it was ultimately Firth's domain—and now, after the carnage that unfolded, there was no time to waste.
"Calm down, Quinn. What happened? Did the Daywalker come knocking again?" Firth's voice over the phone was cool, almost indifferent. To him, one bloodbath was nothing new. What mattered was whether the Blade, the Daywalker who constantly threatened their kind, had resurfaced.
"It's not the Daywalker," Quinn stammered. "It's someone else—a man with an Eastern face. He slaughtered everyone. He used a scythe, and every vampire he cut down was drained dry. It was horrifying!"
"An Eastern man… with a scythe?" Firth's tone sharpened. "Since when did we have enemies like that? Return here immediately."
"Yes, right away." Quinn ended the call, exhaling shakily. But as he lifted his eyes toward the rearview mirror, his blood ran cold.
Sitting in the back seat, as if he'd been there all along, was the same man he'd just described—his mismatched eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.
"It seems you've already made your call," the stranger said with unsettling calm. "Good. Now it's time for business."
Kurogai—that was his name. Having warped into the vehicle through the Space Stone's power, he'd waited silently as Quinn babbled to his master, watching, listening, deciding.
"What do you want?" Quinn snarled, fear masking as anger. He still didn't understand why this stranger hunted vampires—what grudge he carried, or what purpose drove him.
"Relax. I've changed my mind," Kurogai replied evenly. "I won't kill you—yet. You're taking me to Firth, aren't you? Perfect. He's the one I want."
Kurogai leaned back, eyes glinting faintly blue with the Space Stone's light. "Lead the way."
Quinn gritted his teeth but started the car again. "You'll regret saying that later," he muttered. Firth was powerful—an elder among vampires. In Quinn's mind, Kurogai was walking into his own death.
But both men had their reasons, and their destination was the same.
Minutes later, they arrived at a darkened skyscraper. Its mirrored glass was tinted to block sunlight, and armed vampires patrolled the perimeter. Quinn's presence granted them entry without question, and the car rolled smoothly into the underground garage.
Kurogai stepped out, the faint hum of spatial energy around him. "Thanks for the ride," he said quietly. "But your journey ends here."
Before Quinn could react, the air twisted. Space itself distorted, snapping his body apart in an instant. His blood vanished—absorbed into the energy of Kurogai's Seventh Pupil Ring. When the light faded, Quinn was gone, leaving only silence and the faint metallic scent of death.
"Now then…" Kurogai murmured. "Let's make sure no one runs."
He pressed his hand against the wall. The Space Stone in him pulsed, and in an instant, the building's exits folded into nothingness. No door, no escape. A sealed hunting ground.
"The hunt begins."
Gunfire echoed as security guards rushed from the corridors. "What are you doing here?!" one shouted, aiming his weapon.
Kurogai didn't bother to answer. With a swing of his scythe, space rippled, and in one motion, the guards fell—lifeless, drained, their blood vanishing into nothing.
"The first ones," Kurogai said under his breath, stepping over their bodies as he moved deeper into the building. He swept through each floor with ruthless precision. Whether vampire or human thrall, none survived his path. Each step was a silent storm, each swing of his weapon a death sentence.
By the time he reached the upper floors, the halls below were quiet—eerily so.
On the top floor, panic spread.
"Lord Firth!" a trembling vampire burst into the room. "Something's wrong! Someone's cutting through our people below. No one can stop him!"
"Who dares?" Firth roared, slamming his hand against the desk. "This is my territory!"
His eyes glowed crimson with rage. The very idea that someone would invade his base was beyond insulting. But as the echo of his voice faded, so did the last heartbeat below.
And far beneath him, the hunter kept climbing.
__
I'll be dropping a 50% discount code for my Patreon membership on the 15th, in celebration of the upcoming Christmas season.
The code will be active from that day until the end of the month.
Stay tuned