CHAPTER 73: CHAPTER 72 : BLOOD VAMPIRES PART TWO

The first vampire moved faster than any human could track, claws swiping toward Bak-U. I shoved him aside and caught the attack with my arm.

Then it lunged at me, claws aimed at my throat. I ducked low, swiping its legs out from under it, then drove my fist straight through its chest. Black ichor sprayed across the tiles.

"Ye-Jun!" Ye-Rin roared, swinging her axe in a wide arc. She split one vampire in half, its upper torso crashing into the shelves while the lower half twitched on the ground.

Hyun-tae fired point-blank at the fallen vampire, the shotgun blast echoing like thunder. The vampire’s chest exploded against the floor, blood dripping like ink down plaster.

Another one leapt onto the wall, crawling sideways like a grotesque insect, before pouncing at Hyun-tae.His shotgun slammed upward just in time, the impact sending a shockwave through the room. The vampire hissed

"Don’t use me like a bat." Boom boom shouted.

"Shotgun can talk". Bak-U Exclaimed in shock.

"Don’t let them surround us!" I barked, kicking one back.

"Stay behind us!" I barked at Bak-U. He stumbled back, nearly tripping over an overturned wheelchair. I didn’t risk him wandering into the fight.

My tail snapped out, webbing him against a medicine cabinet. His panicked eyes widened, but I didn’t have time to explain

The vampire shrieked and lunged again. Ye-Rin met it head on. Her axe lit with red fire, infernal Bite roaring to life as she swung. The burning blade tore across the vampire’s chest, searing flesh and exposing ribs.

For one glorious second, I thought that was it.

Then the wound bubbled shut, instant Regeneration.

Ye-Rin grimaced. "It heals too fast!"

"The heart!" I shouted. "Destroy the heart or it won’t die!"

Before she could aim again, a second vampire dropped from the ceiling tiles, limbs bending at impossible angles mid-leap. Its claws went for her face—

Boom!

Hyun-tae’s shotgun thundered, ripping the vampire’s arm clean off.

The severed limb hit the tiles, then twitched. Fingers crawled like spiders toward him.

"What the—!" Hyun-tae swore, stomping down. The hand latched onto his boot, claws piercing through leather.

He blasted it point-blank again, shattering bone, but even as it dissolved into ash, the vampire’s shoulder was bubbling, a fresh arm sprouting.

A third vampire slithered out from the shadows.

"Yejun, left!" Ye-Rin yelled.

I sprang, my four arms hammering the monster’s skull, tail lashing webs across its neck. I slammed it into the wall—once, twice—until plaster cracked. Still it hissed.

"Hold it steady!" Ye-Rin’s voice cut through.

I locked all six limbs around its torso, straining. She dashed forward, axe igniting, and swung with everything she had.

The blade cut straight into the chest—

The vampire’s shriek was inhuman, its body convulsing as flames chewed through flesh. The axe pierced the heart. The monster collapsed, body crumbling into ash.

"Two down!" I gasped. "Two more to go".

Both of the remaining vampires took their chances and bolted right towards Bak-U, who was still webbed against the cabin.

"No!" I launched forward.

One of the vampires suddenly turned back and tackled me down and bit hard on my shoulder.

Pain exploded through my veins. My body seized, muscles stiffening.

"Paralyzing... bite..." I hissed, trying to move. My limbs felt like lead, strength bleeding away.

The vampire’s teeth tore deeper.

The other one who was about to attack reach Bak-U, Hyun-tae tackled him through the same cabin, releasing Bak-U from my webs In the process.

Bak-U fell back against the shelves, panting. "I—I almost—"

"Yeah," Hyun-tae cut him off. "You almost became a juice box. Now shut up and move."

As the vampire on me was biting deeper into me, Ye-Rin’s axe slammed into its side, flames bursting as she ripped it free. The monster howled, letting me go.

She shoved me behind her, eyes blazing. "Stay up, Jun. I’ll handle them!"

Her gauntlets shimmered, boosting her attack speed. The Drake Cleaver blurred in her hands, each strike flaring with heat.

Sparks filled the corridor as she hacked at the advancing vampire, its regeneration barely keeping pace.

Hyun-tae roared, blasting the torso apart of the vampires he tackled with two quick shots. He kicked the writhing legs away, then spun his shotgun toward the torso of the vampire, where the heart lies.

"Come on, you bastards!"

The creature hissed and dislocated both its arms, launching them forward like spears. Hyun-tae ducked, one arm slamming into the wall, the other grazing his cheek.

"Ye-Rin!" I croaked, forcing my stiff limbs to move.

She ducked under another slash, her Lucky Roulette flashing—her body twisting just enough to dodge what should’ve been a killing blow. She planted her feet, axe blazing, and carved diagonally across a vampire’s chest.

Flames licked bone—then pierced the heart. The monster screamed before collapsing to dust.

"Three down!" she shouted.

The third vampire—the one that split—was regenerating, torso crawling toward me, claws dragging. Its lower half twitched violently as the muscle tried to reattach.

"Hyun-tae, finish it off quickly." Ye-Rin shouted as Hyun-tae pointed his shotgun at the blood vampire whole both arms and legs were Missing. It was a defenseless kill.

Both Hyun-tae got kicked by separated legs of the vampire. The vampire the. Instantly tries to regenerate its missing limbs.

The last vampire was the fastest. It blurred across the walls, zig-zagging, fangs snapping. My paralyzed limbs weren’t keeping up.

"Ye-Rin." I tried to warn her.

After regenerating its limbs, it seems it got some kind of evolution.

She already saw it. Her eyes narrowed, Lucky Evasion activating.

She sidestepped the lunge, dragging her axe in a flaming arc. The vampire twisted unnaturally, body folding around the swing.

It was behind her in a heartbeat.

"Rin!"

Hyun-tae fired, but it was too late. The vampire’s claws reached—

Ye-Rin grinned. "Got you."

Her gauntlet sparked as she twisted, dragging the flaming axe backward in a reverse swing. The blade carved straight through its chest.

The vampire screeched, blood spraying. She ripped the weapon free, turned, and brought it down again—this time splitting the ribcage wide open.

The heart was there, exposed, throbbing.

I didn’t think. My webs shot out, wrapping the exposed heart. I yanked it clean from the chest and crushed it in my palm.

The vampire’s scream echoed through the hospital—then its body withered, collapsing into ash.

Silence.

For a long moment, the only sound was our breathing. The corridor stank of blood and smoke, ash scattered across the tiles.

Bak-U finally tore free of the webbing, sliding to the floor, shaking like a leaf. "T-their hearts... you really did it..."

Hyun-tae spat on the ash. "Ugliest damn things I’ve ever seen."

Ye-Rin wiped her blade, her hands trembling just slightly before she steadied them. She glanced at me, her eyes softer. "You alright?"

My veins still burned from the venom, but I forced a grin. "Yeah. I’ll live. Hope I ain’t infected by it’s bite."

I looked down at the ash piles. Four vampires dead.

"We got what we came for," Hyun-tae said grimly, reloading his shotgun. "Let’s get the hell out before more show up."