“What the hell is that?”
Duchess Hastel Gulmar squinted up at the sky. The sound was sharp, but the source was too distant to see clearly. Only Isaac, who knew exactly what it was, responded immediately.
He turned on his heel and started running. The human hunters who had been blocking his path simultaneously drew their stilettos and charged.
“Get out of my way!”
Isaac drew Kaldwin and swung it in one swift motion.
The thin stilettos shattered the moment they made contact with the hefty longsword, Kaldwin. But that was exactly what the attackers intended. The stilettos, made from the human hunters’ blood, twisted and melted upon breaking, wrapping around Kaldwin like restraints.
At the same time, other human hunters thrust their blades toward the gaps in Isaac’s armor, exploiting the openings. It was a method specifically designed for hunting knights well-versed in swordsmanship. However, Isaac was already familiar with this style of hunting.
Fortunately, Kaldwin now had a new function, perfect for this situation.
Crunch! Isaac exerted light pressure on his wrist, and the blood restraints gripping Kaldwin shattered and crumbled instantly.
The restraints broke and turned black from within, drying up and cracking.
The human hunters, caught off guard, hesitated. But they were too deep in to retreat.
Isaac immediately swung the now freed Kaldwin, slashing two human hunters in rapid succession. One received a long gash across the chest, while the other was cut from shoulder to waist. Though they staggered and fell, such wounds were not fatal to beings like them, as long as they had blood left in their bodies to regenerate.
“Guh, aaargh...!”
Contrary to expectations, their recovery wasn’t happening quickly. The wounds, blackened and shriveled, continued to bleed profusely instead of healing. For vampires, bleeding out was more dangerous than the injuries themselves, so the other human hunters paled at the sight.
This was the ability of the ‘Corrupted Kaldwin’ that Isaac had acquired after destroying the Reaper’s scythe at Kran Fortress. The weapon’s new power, ‘Life Drain for the Living, Spiritual Damage for the Dead,’ was devastatingly effective against the followers of the Red Chalice.
Isaac had hoped Kaldwin would instill enough fear to make them back off, but the human hunters were elite warriors.
“Fall back and fire the crossbows!”
“Haha, did you think I was hanging around you vampires just to waste time?”
In truth, Hastel had underestimated Cedric.
Although he was called Elil’s swordmaster, he had seemed too easily tempted and full of openings.
She had even considered converting him into a follower of the Red Chalice, but now she realized that Cedric had been analyzing their weaknesses all along.
Hastel had no choice but to step in herself.
Cedric wasn’t the issue. Her target was Isaac. While some human hunters had already circumvented Cedric to chase after Isaac, it wouldn’t be enough to capture him.
As a duchess, she had to intervene personally. She couldn’t let herself be delayed by someone like Cedric.
Hastel moved her fingers as if conducting a symphony. The human hunters who had fallen to the ground suddenly rose, their joints twisting grotesquely as they charged at Cedric. Though he quickly aimed for their weak points again, it was useless.
Their organs were still as destroyed as before.
“Zombies? No, it can’t be...”
Hastel was manipulating the blood within the human hunters’ bodies, using them as puppets. They moved awkwardly, ignoring their twisted joints and muscles, but they were still able to walk, run, and attack in this monstrous state.
When one of the human hunters got close to Cedric, Hastel mimed twisting her hand. The hunter’s body exploded, transforming into hundreds of daggers that flew toward Cedric.
“You wicked creature!”
Cedric hurriedly deflected the blood daggers, but he couldn’t block them all. Some of the daggers, fused with the human hunter’s bones and muscles, twisted into grotesque shapes that pierced Cedric. Despite his best efforts, he was forced back, wounded in several places.
It had all happened in a split second, but Cedric’s body was now covered in injuries. The daggers had expanded upon impact, worsening the wounds.
“Do you think the Duchy of Wallachia is a joke, you dog of Elil? I have Elil’s blood flowing through my veins, purer than any of yours.”