Darkness enveloped the cave, save for a dim light in the corner of their segment. The almost unbearable smell of blood and death lingered in the air.

The light from the arrow that had fallen one of the vampires was the only thing keeping Cole from despair, along with his need to calm the boy beside him.

“Shhhhh…” Cole murmured to the boy, but the child was inconsolable, and the archer understood. He'd been so close to gaining his freedom, only to be thwarted by Cole’s incompetence. I failed again, thought Cole, shoving the thought away with tremendous effort.

He couldn’t allow himself the luxury of showing pain in front of the boy, who had endured so much more than him. Cole could still feel the pain in his neck. It was different from the previous bat’s bite - blissful, yet tinged with a painful sort of anguish, as if he was doing something wrong. The monster’s bite seemed to last an eternity.

For a moment, Cole thought he would die from the bite, but the system revived him as the monsters tied him up close to the weeping child and removed his cloak. And they were on the corner, waiting for the monsters to do something. Cole had no idea what they would do, but he knew it was no good.

“It will be okay,” Cole whispered to the kid, “Breathe…”

The child replied, taking a deep breath interrupted by a sudden sob.

“Breathe…” Cole said again, and the child complied. “Good. Relax, I’ll think of something.”

“There’s no need to lie, mister. They’ll kill us,” the child said, locking eyes with him, and Cole saw conformity in them.

“No, they will not. What’s your name?” Cole murmured, maintaining eye contact with the child, who shook his head in response. Cole’s heart sank in his chest with the realization that the kid didn’t have a name.

“Shut up!” The female vampire shouted from the darkness at the other end of the cave. “Stop your despicable human mumbling!” She took a few steps forward, and Cole saw her features bathed in shadows.

She had an impeccable human face, nothing like the monstrous form he had fought before. She possessed milky skin, red hair, and vivid red lips. The vampire's skin boasted freckles, and she dressed herself in a light leather vest with red ornaments.

She appeared to be a mix of a medieval warrior and a worker in her outfit. Her exquisite looks contrasted starkly with the evil within her. Before she could reach Cole and the child, the other vampire pulled her to the side.

“Let’s get out of here,” This one was a man with blonde hair and skin paler than the woman’s. He bore a resemblance to the Vikings Cole had seen in TV shows, a severe grimace stamped on his face, beneath which were small lips and sharp eyes. His clothes very similar to the ones of the woman.

“Not until we decide what we’re going to do with this animal,” the woman said, spitting on the ground. Their accent sounded close to a Scandinavian one. Cole wondered if the system translated his voice into their ears with a different accent from his own.

“Let’s kill the adult male and get out of here,” the man replied.

“No, Valthor. It can’t be that quick. He killed a superior being; he needs to suffer,” she said, hate dripping from her words. “This will be for Malrec, just as it will be for you and me.”

“We don’t have time, Lady Syl,” Valthor responded.

“We’ll make time,” she replied.

“And if others are waiting outside the caves?”

“We’ll throw his head out first as a warning, then we’ll kill every single one of them. If there are females or whelps, we will feast upon their blood instead, as the law commands.”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“And if He is waiting outside?” The man asked in a hurried tone.

“He is not around here. The lord is strong, but he has the same weaknesses as us,” The female vampire began, and as the male vampire was about to interrupt her, she continued, “Not all, of course. But he’s not outside waiting for us.”

Valthor shifted his weight from one leg to the other as if weighing her words. Cole caught something in the distance, a faint noise coming from the entrance, like the drooling of water falling in inconsistent patterns. He hoped it was not Sofia coming to try to rescue him. The noise stopped, and he assumed it was merely drops of water falling from the cave's ceiling.

“What if we take him with us? Maybe he can serve as bait.”

“No!” She exclaimed, pointing a hand at his face. Her scream made the child cry louder. “I’m your commander, and you will obey.”

“We’re not under the master’s tutelage anymore, Syl! Your esteemed lineage may be unmatched, but your arrogance blinds you!”

The noise in the corridor resumed, this time more hurried, but the monsters were engrossed in their argument. Cole started moving his hands, trying to free himself. It would be difficult, but if they continued arguing, he might manage it.

His bow was just at the other corner, slightly closer to him than to the enemies. If he freed himself and got close enough, maybe he could take down at least one of them and create a way out for the child.

Before continuing, Cole needed to be sure Sofia was not walking into a trap, so he used [Focus] and [Eagle's Eye] but saw nothing coming from the corridor he had initially entered. The noise was, apparently, just water. The archer didn’t know whether to feel relieved or not.

“You’ll always be beneath me. The sacred blood runs through my veins!” Syl was almost screaming.

The man smirked and moved as if about to turn towards Cole, stopping at the last second. The archer's heart stopped.

“You are just a pawn, like me.”

“Shut up!” She screamed, a childish tone to her voice. She was dangerous and unpredictable. She would be the first Cole would kill. Realizing he hadn’t used his [Identify] skill on them, Cole decided to do it and see if he could gain some advantage.

[Vampire - Life-eater lvl ???]

[Vampire - Life-eater lvl ???]

Very little help there.

Hands and rope rubbing against the wall, Cole tried to find a place to cut the cord. He would not die bound at the hands of these devils.

Moving slightly, the archer found a place he thought could cut the rope. He used [Focus] again and rubbed the rope against the wall.

“Look! The slippery animal is already trying to escape. Humans from this damn place aren’t domesticated yet.” The woman said, spitting again and walking towards Cole. “I want to see how you'll try to escape when you don't have your head anymore.”

Cole kept rubbing the rope and smiled at her.

“You disgust me,” Cole replied, and the woman's face twisted into a grimace as if the mere fact of words leaving Cole’s mouth was offensive enough.

“Drinking your filthy blood has been enough, but now you've crossed all the lines. If I had the time, I would wait to get into my eating form just to ensure you would suffer the most," The female vampire said, crouching and sliding one fingernail across Cole’s neck. A shiver ran through his body as he saw something behind her shoulders. "But I'll settle for slowly removing your head with one of your little daggers, cattle."

Cole felt the female vampire searching for his eyes, but the man was looking in another direction. From the place Cole had come, he saw a figure standing against the dim light of his fallen [Incandescent Arrow].

Suddenly, a fire burned in the dark, forming the silhouette of a blade similar to an old Japanese katana but smaller. The sword displayed a brownish hue, almost completely rusted, while the flames mingled orange and blue.

The beautiful scene amazed Cole, and the figure standing behind the sword caused Cole’s heart to nearly leap from his mouth.

A blue light encapsulated Sun Tie’s body as if he was expelling mana from his skin, culminating in his ablaze sword.

"I came to save your life again, old man."