Vincent's evil smile sent a chill down the spine of everyone. "What do you want from us?" Sarah asked, her voice trembling.

Vincent's smile widened, revealing his sharp fangs. "I simply want to play a game. A game of survival. You see, I haven't fed in quite some time, and you all look so delicious."

Panic began to set in as the group realized the danger they were in. This wasn't a story or a movie - this was real life, and they were face to face with a vampire.

"Now, let the games begin," Vincent said, his eyes flashing with hunger. And with that, he lunged towards them, ready to play his deadly game.

The next minute, a gunshot went off with a hole blasted open in Vincent's head. Adrian didn't lag behind; with his smooth, athletically trained body and skill, he broke a wooden chair he had eyes on all along.

Stabbing Vincent's heart before he could recover from the sudden impact of the bullet that had cocked his head backward.

"This isn't a movie, people don't know how to slay a vampire, this is reality," he added, holding in the pierced piece of wood firmly against Vincent's heart.

Everyone had a grim expression when they heard Vincent's crazy laughter after he had been shot and stabbed.

His chest heaving up and down from the depth of laughter he was giving out.

Adrian, on the other hand, had distanced himself from him, returning to the side of the others when he noticed their attempt to slay this monster failed.

Vincent slowly cocked his head back, facing the now apprehensive group.

"Was that supposed to kill me? Am I supposed to drop dead, disintegrate, or burst into flame?" His mocking tune made it clear he wasn't hurt one bit, and their chance of survival had dropped down many levels with a touch of brute death, as the case may be.

The group stood frozen in terror as Vincent slowly pulled out the piece of wood. His eyes glowed even brighter, and his fangs were even longer than before. "I have to admit, I'm impressed," he said, his voice low and menacing. "You actually managed to hurt me, even if it was only a little bit. Most people aren't even able to do that."

Adrian clenched his jaw, trying to stay calm, but his shivering hands gave him away, and Vincent seemed to be enjoying the moment.

"I'm a vampire, obviously, not one of those abominations portrayed as vampires you all feed your brain with," Vincent said, his tone dripping with killing intent. "We're practically immortals that can't die." Saying that, his figure blurred out only to appear some distance behind the group with a figure lifted and pressed against the wall. The sound of something fracturing could be heard by the others as they all watched in horror Ben's body held firmly in Vincent's grip twitched and shook violently as life slowly escaped his body.

Blood gushed down from his fractured skull, his eyes going lifeless with each second until he became a still corpse.

"Oops, seems like I don't know the level of my own strength," Vincent said amidst an evil chuckle.

"Everyone run!" Adrian shouted as he made a break for the door that now opened due to Vincent moving away from it.

The others didn't need any more encouragement. They took off running, all of them desperate to get away from the vampire who had just killed Ben. Sarah felt like she was moving in slow motion, her legs heavy and unresponsive.

She could hear the others' footsteps pounding on the ground as they ran ahead of her. She could hear Vincent's laughter echoing through the hallways, taunting them with his presence.

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, her breath coming in short gasps. She had to keep running, had to escape from this nightmare.

But then, suddenly, a hand grabbed hold of her like a pincer grip, dragging her away as her scream and call for help now fading away in the hallway sent a wave of mixed emotions to the others.

A resolved determination to survive, to escape, to live embraced them amidst their fear as they put their all in to get away.

Gary, who had stopped for a few seconds due to the sudden disappearance of Sarah, was pushed to continue by Adrian.

"Keep moving man, she ain't worth holding up for, at least not now," slapping Gary back to his senses as they all continued.

"I got my eyes on you like an hulk," Vincent's taunting voice reverberated through the hallway, spooking the group even more.

"What do we do?" Matt asked, his voice trembling. "We can't keep running forever. He's just going to catch us eventually."

The other two ladies in the group had been taken by Vincent in such a heart-wrenching way.

They also happened to miss the correct path of exit due to the heat of the moment and Vincent's subtle interference.

"We need a plan," Adrian said, his mind racing. "There has to be a way to stop him. Maybe we can find something to use against him," he added as the group of three seems to have met a dead end.

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"But what can possibly work against a vampire? We've already seen that our knowledge we think we have of vampires prove useless against him," Gary said, his eyes wide with fear. "And even if we did find something, how would we know if it would work?"

"I told you, you got nowhere to run," Vincent's voice sounded from behind the group.

They startledly turned toward the direction of his voice and could see him leaning his back against the wall.

Blood stained on the side of his lips, clothes, and hands, "you just have to make it easy for me by saving me the stress of moving your body here afterward."

Now that he said that, the group analyzed where they are in, the foul stench and low buzzing of insects made one thing certain.

They were in a dead-end chamber, a burial chamber of some sort, with a foul stench that made them gag. The sound of insects was growing louder, and the walls seemed to be closing in on them. They were trapped, with a vampire intent on killing them.

"Maybe we can reason with him?" Matt suggested, his voice cracking. "Maybe if we can talk to him, explain ourselves, he'll let us go."

"Yeah, and maybe the moon is made of cheese," Gary snapped. "This is a vampire we're dealing with, not a person."

Adrian had his eyes peeled out searching for a miracle since they are now trapped in here.

"Both of you make a break for the exit while I hold him off," he whispered to the two beside him.

"You know I'm a vampire right," Vincent said touching his ear to indicate he could hear him.

The next second he was in front of Adrian, stabbing his hands into his chest as he caught hold of his heart, ready to rip it off.

Blood pouring out of Adrian's mouth from the sudden stab and grab of his heart.

Struggling to hold up while trying to say something to the other stunned duo.

"You sure like heart stabbing, let me show you how it feels."

"Run," he finally got it out amidst the excessive outpour of blood in his mouth.

Hearing Adrian's final words, Matt and Gary ran for the exit, not daring to look back. They could hear the sounds of a struggle behind them, and then a blood-curdling scream. They ran as fast as they could, not knowing what they would find when they reached the end of the tunnel.

Finally, they emerged into the forest, gasping for breath. They stopped to catch their breath, looking around to make sure they were safe. As they regained their composure, they noticed something odd. The forest was completely silent. The birds had stopped singing, and the wind had stopped rustling the leaves.

While back inside the ruins, Vincent was still taunting Adrian, making him go through hell as he slowly tugged on his heart. Adrian's face now pale due to much blood loss and exhaustion from the torture and screaming.

"You are just foolish, playing hero even at your death when you know it's not use. You can die in peace now while I bring back those two running meals," Vincent said, licking his lips as he prepared to drain Adrian of any blood he had left.

Inch away from sinking his sharp fangs into Adrian's neck, his eyes widened from shock as he pulled away with lightning speed.

A young man walked out of the shadows, a stern gaze expression on his face. His appearance isn't much different from the now weakening and coughing Adrian struggling for life on the cold floor. The young man scanned around, the awful stench and buzzing insects irritating him so much a deep frown etched on his face when his gaze fell on Vincent, who had his back against the wall with a conflicting expression.

"You missed," another voice calm from behind the young man as a female about the same age walked out of the shadows too. Just like the young man who had a katana sword in his hands, this lady had one strapped on her back

Her expression was ugly when she saw the pile of dead bodies heaped at one end of the room.

"Look closely, Ella, I don't miss," came his reply as both Ella and Vincent looked in the direction his gaze was pointing.

When they looked, Vincent felt a searing pain go through his right arm just above his elbow.

A thin line immediately appeared on it, at which his arm fell off, burst into flames, and turned to ash, while the other part looked like magma had been smeared on it.

Vincent's brain was screaming in pain as his voice couldn't fully express the pain he was going through.

"Damn you," Vincent managed to choke out, his eyes filled with rage and pain, glowing bright crimson like an ember.

Unfortunately for him, both newcomers ignored his roar and ranting, treating him like he was already dead as they argued amongst themselves.

"Don't tell me that, he is the reason we arrived late; just see the mess this bastard has made. If we had gotten here any earlier, we could have saved those lives."

"I'm not arguing that fact, Josh, but he is still a member of our team," Ella retorted.

"A weak one. I feel like killing him a few times. He isn't just weak but lazy."

"Be my guest, I want that too. Just tell me what we are going to tell Uncle when you're done killing him," Ella replied half-heartedly, shifting her gaze to the dazed Vincent who couldn't believe what these two were doing before him.

Aren't they supposed to be cautious and wary before him? Wait a minute. They are slayers, of course, and at the same level with him. Why wouldn't they take him seriously?

He was cursing his luck deeply for encountering these monsters.

Josh sighed, not having any words to refute Ella, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Vincent. "I think we should kill him. He's a danger to the public, and he's clearly not going to reform. It's the only way to make sure that he doesn't hurt anyone else. Plus, it would save us the stress of dragging his sorry ass back with us to get a trial."

"I don't know," Ella said, her voice filled with doubt. "I'm not sure that's the right thing to do. He isn't trying to attack us even though we gave him the chance to. I don't think we can just kill him without giving him a trial."

Vincent breathed out in relief. This is the reason he didn't want to make a move even though he was pissed. It seems like he didn't fall for the trap they set for him either. Hearing Ella's words was like a ray of sunshine to him.

"Unfortunately, there is no one around to tell if he didn't make a move at us when we came to apprehend him."

That hope died in an instant as Vincent screamed, "I accept the right of arrest. By the law of the council, I must be given..."

He didn't finish his words when he suddenly stopped and frowned.

It wasn't just him, but everyone in the room seemed to be rapidly increasing in temperature.

They all turned to the direction they heard grunt sounds from, and their eyes shot wide open in shock.

Standing at the spot Adrian's figure used to be was a hulking figure, its skin radiating with heat. Its eyes glowed like molten lava.

It let out a roar that shook the entire room, causing dust and debris to rain down from the ceiling.

This massive humanoid figure stood nearly 10 feet tall with a broad, muscular build, its skin dark red and glowing with a golden light, veins pulsating with fiery energy, giving it an otherworldly, fiery appearance.

Its head was elongated, with glowing red eyes and fangs that protruded from its mouth.

Its arms were long and powerful, ending in clawed hands that gripped a divine bow and arrow which disintegrated into fiery particles, while its legs were thick and powerful, allowing it to move with great speed and agility.

It was a terrifying sight to behold, radiating immense power and energy that was difficult to look away from.

"What the hell! is that..." Josh asked, his voice quivering. He had never seen anything like this before, and he was terrified.

"I'm not sure either," Ella cut in, her eyes wide with fear. "But we have to get out of here now!"