Chapter Forty-Four: Blood Moon

In the pitch-black night sky, the full moon hung high, casting its cold, clear light upon the earth. Within the silent city, several shadows fled desperately through the darkness.

“Did you really think you could escape so easily?” A cold voice echoed around the fleeing figures.

At the sound, the shadows halted, pressing their backs together, eyes wide with tension as they scanned their surroundings.

“Hehe, finally stopped running, have you?” A crisp, delighted female voice laughed.

The four of us—Liriel, myself, and the others—emerged slowly from the gloom.

“Only now do you think of resisting? It’s useless. Your fate is already sealed.” My indifferent voice pronounced their doom.

“Damn it, let’s fight them!” came a voice from among the vampires.

“For our ideals!” the remaining vampires responded, voices burning with fervor. Then, with no fear of death, they charged at us.

“This is troublesome. Are these really vampires? They’re no different from the fanatics of the Church,” Liriel complained.

Surveying the aftermath of battle, I said evenly, “The vampires we’re killing are of higher and higher rank. We must be getting close to the mastermind. Once we clear out these lackeys, I refuse to believe we won’t catch his trail.”

With that, I lifted my gaze to the sky, suddenly noticing that the once-bright moonlight had taken on a faint, bloody hue. “A Blood Moon? How rare,” I murmured as the crimson glow bathed me, strength flooding back into my body, healing the injuries I’d sustained over the past days.

“It really is a Blood Moon. My power’s returning so quickly,” Liriel exclaimed in wonder, basking in the scarlet moonlight.

“It’s not just us—the vampires’ strength will also surge. Hunting will be a far more troublesome affair tonight,” I said, feeling the power within me, resigned.

“Hmph, trash remains trash, no matter how strong they become,” Liriel sneered with disdain.

“True enough.” I nodded. “Come, let’s seek out the other vampires. These wretches are getting ever more cautious, cowering in hiding. Still, that only makes the hunt all the more enjoyable.” With those words, I turned and melted into the darkness.

Meanwhile, the vampires—who by all rights should have been cowering and scattered under the relentless pursuit of the Blood Hunters—had instead gathered in force, congregating in a wholly unexpected location: not far from the headquarters of the Blood Hunter Guild.

Nearly every remaining vampire in the city had assembled there—over a hundred in all—launching a frenzied assault on the Guild. The blood-red full moon hanging in the night sky seemed to foretell the carnage the night would bring.

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Vampires!” A terrified cry went up from the Blood Hunters left to guard the Guild, as they discovered the oncoming horde. With nearly all their comrades out hunting vampires elsewhere, no one had imagined the vampires would dare assault the Guild directly, so few were left to defend it—leaving them utterly unprepared for the attack.

“Damn it!” Upon receiving word that the headquarters was under siege, Xingyu, who was searching for vampires outside, cursed furiously and rushed back at once.

“Hm?” I suddenly sensed a surge of vampire auras and the thick scent of blood, glancing toward that direction in confusion.

“Milady, it seems something has happened at the Blood Hunter Guild,” Ang observed, seeing my doubt.

“No wonder we couldn’t find any trace of them—they’ve all gone to attack the Guild. But what do they intend?” I narrowed my eyes toward the Guild. Despite knowing the vampires’ location, I had no desire to go to their rescue. Xingyu would surely be there, and I was not yet ready to face him again. I did not know how to approach him, did not know if he still harbored that same hatred towards me. I felt cowardly; my heart was running away.

“Lilith, should we help?” Liriel asked, her voice reluctant.

“Let’s just take a look,” I replied, my concern for Xingyu’s safety compelling me toward the Guild. “Just a glance from afar, nothing more,” I repeated to myself, silently.

By the time we arrived, the returning Blood Hunters had already clashed with the vampires assaulting the Guild. Under the Blood Moon, the vampires’ strength and regenerative powers had increased dramatically, and the Blood Hunters were quickly pushed onto the defensive.

I searched the crowd for Xingyu. At last, in the thickest of the fighting, I spotted him—but he was no longer the gentle figure of my memories. His blade flashed ceaselessly, his eyes alight with excitement and bloodlust.

Xingyu. The sight of him like this sent pangs through my heart. How I wished he could forever remain the gentle Xingyu I once knew, that I could always hear him call my name with a smile. But fate had placed a bottomless chasm between us.

“Tch, what worthless humans. They can’t even handle a pack of pathetic vampires,” Liriel scoffed as she watched the struggling Blood Hunters below.

“Milady, should we help?” Ang asked.

“No need. We’ll just observe; there’s no need for us to intervene yet,” I said coolly, though my gaze never wavered from Xingyu on the battlefield.

“Ang, something feels strange,” I said after a moment.

“What’s wrong, Lilith?” Liriel asked in puzzlement. “Even if those vampires are trash, they’re still superior to humans. It’s no surprise the Blood Hunters are being overpowered.”

“No, I’m not talking about the battle itself. Haven’t you noticed something odd about the vampires’ formation? In terms of numbers, nearly all the city’s vampires have gathered here. But there’s not a single high-ranking vampire present—the strongest is merely a duke. So where are the archdukes? The true mastermind? This attack feels like a diversion, a decoy to draw our attention,” I said gravely.

“Damn, have we been tricked? What is that bastard vampire really after?” Liriel fumed.

“Even so, this attack is more than the Blood Hunters can withstand—even if the optimists arrive, unless they have someone truly powerful, they’ll be overrun,” I said, watching the Blood Hunters struggle more and more.

“Let them be wiped out, then. It’s no concern of ours. Lilith, you’re only worried about that human boy,” Liriel protested, displeased.

I could not deny it. My presence here was solely out of concern for Xingyu’s safety.

As I fretted, an aged voice rang out from the rear of the Blood Hunters’ ranks: “Hmph, beasts, since you’ve come, none of you are leaving. Prepare to die.”

An elderly figure stepped forward from the back of their forces. Unlike the others’ black cloaks, his was pure white, immaculate and striking among the crowd.

“S-class Blood Hunter!” Ang gasped in astonishment upon seeing him.

“S-class? Who would have guessed such a small Guild hid such a figure. Only three S-class Blood Hunters exist in the entire world, and one appears here—how extraordinary,” I said, unable to hide my own surprise.

“Hmph, looks like the Blood Hunters won’t be wiped out tonight after all. How disappointing,” Liriel muttered sullenly.

“Liriel, let’s go. This no longer concerns us,” I said, turning to leave and vanish into the darkness. Now that an S-class Blood Hunter had appeared, the outcome was certain; even the strongest remaining vampires could not hope to overturn the tide. The difference in power was simply too vast—an S-class Blood Hunter was the equal of an archduke vampire, and with only a duke among their enemies, there was no contest.

The old man cast a glance in our direction as we departed, as if sensing something, but said nothing. Instead, he turned his wrathful gaze upon the vampires before him.

As the blood-red moon foretold, this was indeed a night of carnage—a night painted ever deeper crimson by the deaths of humans and vampires alike, their blood feeding the moon’s baleful glow.