Chapter 243: B - The result of my training

"You two — stay right where you are! Don’t you dare move a muscle, or you’ll only make things worse for yourselves!"

Me and Melania both freeze the moment we hear that threatening voice coming from somewhere nearby.

It sounds like a man in his thirties or forties, and judging by his tone and what he just said...

"Shit, he must be a cop..." I hiss through gritted teeth. "Melania, if he asks you anything, tell him you left your ID at home, okay? If that asshole realizes you’re thirteen, I’m going to jail!"

"Oh, Axel, you’re so dramatic. Don’t worry, my incredible succubus powers will take care of this in no time — there’s not a man in the world who can’t be attracted to me. And if he happens to have different tastes... well, then you’ll have to seduce him."

"Forget it! I’d rather go to jail than flirt with some guy!"

"Oh, right. Sometimes I forget how old-fashioned you are..."

"I’m not old-fashioned! I just like pussy. There’s a difference!"

"Fine. Then we kill him."

"Stop babbling!" the stern voice booms. "You, vampire — show me your residence permit and identification code immediately. Same goes for the girl with you. I’m sure she isn’t human either."

Vampire...? Residence permit and identification code...? What the hell...?

I spin around and... oh, shit!

He’s not a cop.

He’s a masked man wearing a long white cloak over a blue uniform that, unfortunately, I recognize.

"A-Axel, don’t tell me that’s...?" Melania stammers, terrified.

"Yeah... he’s a Monster Slayer..."

"Don’t make me ask again, or I’ll be forced to take you both in!" the man warns, irritated as he cautiously approaches us.

"So what do we do now? I’m really scared, Axel... If he catches us, who the hell knows what they’ll do to us..."

"I don’t know, but... he asked to see our documents, so I guess if we show them to him, that’ll be the end of it — it can’t be that different from dealing with regular immigration."

Sure, going with him would be the smart choice, but I doubt we’d be out by midnight.

Melania has been marked with a tracking spell since birth so her father can find her wherever she is, and if that damn incubus showed up at Monster Slayer headquarters, I doubt those bastards would think twice about handing her over.

There’s no way in hell I’m letting Melania go back to Elyndra.

"It’s risky, but... Melania, use your charm magic on him."

"You think I haven’t already tried?! That was the first thing I did, but it didn’t work..."

"So we really got unlucky enough to be chased by a gay Monster Slayer?!"

Melania shakes her head.

"No, I can clearly feel his attraction, but I can’t touch it! I don’t know how to explain it... It’s like his feelings are protected by some kind of shell that keeps me from manipulating them."

I’m not surprised.

Resisting charm magic must be part of their training.

And now... what the hell do we do?!

I don’t even have time to think before the Monster Slayer’s body begins glowing with an intense white light.

"Since you have no intention of cooperating, you’ve left me no choice but to use force!"

Under Melania’s and my helpless, terrified gazes, a solid blade of light takes shape in the man’s fist, and he immediately charges straight at us.

In an instant, I summon my trusty solid-blood axe and shove Melania out of the way.

And then...

CLANG!

A violent shockwave erupts as I intercept the Monster Slayer’s slash and block it with my weapon.

His strength is insane.

I feel my legs buckling under the weight of that blade of light, and yet I don’t just withstand the blow — I actually manage to push him back, forcing him to retreat and raise his guard again.

"Why the fuck did you push me away, Axel?!" Melania snaps, moving right back to my side.

"You said it yourself, didn’t you? We’re a couple today, and I’d never let so much as a single hair on my girlfriend’s head get hurt."

"You’re damn sexy when you act like that, you know? But this isn’t the time to play the cool guy! There’s no way I’m sitting on the sidelines while you risk your life protecting me! Sure, he can resist my charm, but that’s not my only weapon! Or have you forgotten how easily I took you down that night at the docks?"

"You took me down because I charged straight at you without thinking, driven by nothing but rage and the urge to make you pay. Besides, I’ve gotten a lot stronger since then."

I shoot her a quick sideways glance, a mocking smirk tugging at my lips.

"Melania... you didn’t even see him move, did you?"

"W-What the fuck are you talking about?!"

"I noticed, you know? That Monster Slayer was on top of us in the blink of an eye, and you didn’t even have time to brace yourself. Your powers might be exceptional, but your reflexes aren’t. It doesn’t matter how powerful your demonic magic is if a Monster Slayer at his level can kill you before you even get the chance to cast it."

My muscles suddenly swell, doubling in size as they take on a reddish hue.

"Melania, right now you’d only get in my way. Stay behind me and don’t move — I can take care of that Monster Slayer on my own."

"Don’t you dare get yourself killed... I’d never forgive you!" she snaps back, her cheeks adorably puffed up in anger.

"Don’t worry. That’s not going to happen."

I bend my knees, and the ground cracks beneath my feet as I launch myself straight at the Monster Slayer.

CLANG!

This time, he’s the one blocking my strike... but nowhere near as easily as I stopped his a moment ago.

From the strained look on his face, it’s obvious he’s putting everything he has into keeping me from overpowering him — all thanks to Blood Rage, which has made me far stronger and faster than I normally am.

Unfortunately, even though I’ve trained almost every day to endure the strain of Blood Rage, in my current state I still can’t keep it active for much longer than thirty seconds or so.

Doesn’t matter. That’s more than enough.

The Monster Slayer twists his body in a half-turn, redirecting the crushing force of my axe and sending the blade straight into the ground.

Then, with his back now facing me, he snaps his right leg backward, driving his foot straight toward my stomach.

Or at least, that’s what he intended to do.

A fraction of a second before his powerful kick can connect, I stop it by grabbing him by the ankle — and then...

An agonized scream bursts from his mouth as my fingers tighten.

I can feel his bones creaking beneath my iron grip.

Normally, a human ankle would’ve already been completely crushed under this kind of pressure, but I guess the light still radiating from his body makes him tougher as well as stronger and faster.

That’s it...?

Is this really all the strength those Monster Slayers I’ve been so afraid of have?

Or maybe....am I actually strong?

Could that really be it?

Fighting Kimberly first and then Joe made me think I was weak, but maybe I was wrong — maybe those two are just ridiculously strong.

"You goddamn vampire bastard! I’ll kill you!"

The Monster Slayer swings his blade of light in a wide arc at head level, but with my enhanced reflexes, I jerk my head back and narrowly dodge it — the tip of his weapon passes within a hair’s breadth of my eyes.

Even with his right ankle out of commission, the Monster Slayer manages to break free from my grip, hopping back on his left leg and retreating to a safe distance once again.

I’m not surprised that instead of pressing the attack, he’s simply staying on the defensive and buying time.

It’s obvious that a skilled fighter like him knows Blood Rage even better than I do, and he’s definitely waiting for its effects to wear off before counterattacking.

I charge at the Monster Slayer again, ready to end the fight with my next strike, but...

What the hell is he doing?

Instead of taking a defensive stance, he slips one hand inside his cloak.

He’s about to pull something out, and that smirk on his face doesn’t promise anything good!

I instinctively stop and take a step back — I have no idea what kind of equipment a Monster Slayer carries.

Maybe it’s a weapon specifically designed to neutralize vampires?

Or something even worse?

I can’t risk charging in head-on when I don’t even know what I’m walking into.

But what he pulls out isn’t some mysterious weapon, and it isn’t some kind of magical vampire-killing artifact either.

No...

It’s a fucking walkie-talkie!

That bastard tricked me into thinking he was about to pull out something dangerous... shit!

"Agent US-617 reporting. Requesting backup at Hallett Nature Sanctuary. Subjects are a young vampire and a suspicious female! Judging by her hair, she’s most likely a succubus from House Narkhalis."

Fuck, things are going from bad to worse.

He’s identified Melania, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, that sneaky trick just burned through the last few seconds of my Blood Rage!

Gripping my axe tightly with both hands, I charge at him again.

Strangely, I expected him to keep buying time — especially now that time is on his side and backup could come crashing down on us at any moment.

Instead, he meets my charge head-on, rushing straight toward me.

But just as our blades are about to clash again... the Monster Slayer suddenly changes direction at the last possible second.

What the hell is he doing now...?

I don’t even have time to wonder, because Melania’s scream answers that question for me.

Even with one bad leg, he’s still way too fast for Melania’s reflexes, allowing him to take her hostage with ridiculous ease.

He’s restraining her from behind, his blade of light hovering a hair’s breadth from her throat.

"Girl, move so much as a single muscle and your head comes off. Am I clear?! And the same goes for you, vampire. If you care about your little friend’s life, don’t you dare take a single step from where you are!"

Shit... if I attacked him, I’d definitely kill him, but Melania would die too.

What am I supposed to do? Sacrifice Melania’s life to save my own?

Not too long ago, I wouldn’t have hesitated. But now... no.

I promised nothing would happen to her, and I’m going to keep that promise.

"Drop your weapon immediately and get down on your knees, face to the ground, with your hands visible behind your back!" he orders, waving the blade dangerously close to Melania’s throat.

"Okay, okay — just don’t hurt her!"

As ordered, I raise both arms into the air, then let go, and the axe hits the ground with a heavy thud.

For the briefest fraction of a second, his eyes follow the falling axe, probably worried that I’m trying to pull some kind of trick with it.

But the only trick was hoping he’d do exactly that.

One moment of distraction And for him, it’ll be fatal.

In a flash, I form a second axe, much smaller than the first, and hurl it at the Monster Slayer.

The small blood axe buries itself in his skull, right between the eyes, with enviable precision — the result of countless hours of training.

I immediately rush over to Melania, who’s still trembling from the shock.

"We need to get the hell out of here before more of them show up," I say, grabbing her hand and pulling her along with me.

"W-Where...?"

"Somewhere we’ll be safe from any Monster Slayer. The place where I arranged your surprise birthday party."