Baron Howard.

Who was he? A proud descendant of the legendary Nosferatu, a vampire who could create infinite thralls and control blood like an extension of his limbs. Humans were but mere prey and toys in front of him. Never once in his life did he feel that...strange, unnatural emotion he was currently victim to.

He had known love, passion, and desire once, but now lived with hatred and hunger, an unending hunger. Yet, he couldn't help it. He couldn't help these puny, laughable shakings in his hands. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't push himself to reach for that beautiful bitch's neck and drain her of her life force.

Something—no, someone was stopping him. Did someone dare to stop him? The vampire rose to his feet, ignoring his trembling legs, and looked at the person walking into the Teleportation Gate.

Baron Howard gulped and licked his lips as he watched the now famous "Devil's Hand" walk with measured steps toward him, his eyes hidden behind his long, black hair. That left, purple arm, which was the reason Glenn earned his nickname, was hanging loosely at his side.

"Haha," Howard laughed in disbelief, "Hahahaha! Even the famous Devil's Hand can't resist my Charm Curse, it seems. Hahaha, maybe I'll be able to become a Count with his blood!" He exclaimed excitedly. Callum clapped slowly, emotionless, "Congratulations, Master."

The Baron paused and looked at his thrall, "...What, don't tell me you thought they were going to save you?"

Callum didn't reply, his lips sealed and his gaze soulless. Howard shrugged dismissively and looked back at that woman who came with the Black Heir.

She had perfect white hair, and her skin was tanned slightly, barely reminiscent of the Black Heirs' tint of skin. She was a heaven-defying beauty, and he had her all for himself to enjoy.

"Her blood must be incredible..." He muttered while mentally controlling the Charm Curse to order the Devil's Hand to lie down next to his other victims. He approached Liara closer once more, unable to hold back his excitement, when a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

He frowned and looked back, moments away from beating the hell out of that insulting thrall that was Callum, only to receive the most painful punch in the nose of his long, long life.

Howard flew out and went through half a dozen walls before eventually stopping, his clothes mangled and his expression rageful.

"You...bastard!" He shouted, dashing in Glenn's direction, all of his claws out and his blood magic fired up. Glenn's cold eyes glanced at him, and a sudden, unbearable pressure crushed the vampire, pushing him to the ground.

Glenn crouched next to Liara and verified her vitals, sighing in relief when he found a pulse, "Thank Onnea."

'Hahahaha, look how flustered that bastard is!' Diamanes laughed mockingly, 'He never expected his mind magic to be broken, did he? Hahaha, excellent!'

Baron Howard's Mana flared up suddenly, pushing back against Glenn's Gravity Manipulation. Stakes of crystalized blood pushed him up, resisting the pressure until eventually broke the spell. Glenn watched without saying a word or doing a thing, his arms crossed. Baron Howard gritted his fangs and pointed a condemning finger at Glenn, "You bastard! Who do you think you are, attacking a Baron in his house? I'll teach you the meaning of nobility, peasant—"

"How did Jefferson become a Seeker with you as a father," Glenn suddenly asked, interrupting the raging vampire. The latter paused and blinked confusedly. Jefferson who? His son?

"That idiot?" Howard repeated in puzzlement, "He never accepted the Inheritance of Nosferatu, how could I still consider him my son?" He laughed mockingly as stakes of crystalized blood appeared all around him, "Do you know how hard did I laugh after you brought me his journal and ring, a year ago?" He shot the blood spikes in Glenn's direction, only for them to be swatted away with a swift use of Nelg's Cut & Pull.

"...Atrocious bastard. Not even your son is spared from your cruelty, huh?" Glenn raised his sword and pointed it at the Baron, "What's your relation to the Thorn's Church? Tell me, and I'll maybe not torture you too much."

Baron Howard scoffed and didn't bother replying, instead choosing to shoot countless blood spikes at his opponent. Glenn stopped bothering deflecting them, instead activating his Saturn Rings at maximum power. The vampire grinned and his eyes suddenly became bright red, entrancing Glenn.

"You're nothing but food to me," Howard clamored, his lips curving upward further as Glenn stopped in his tracks. The vampire almost rejoiced, but was instead catapulted away as a small Pebble met his chest with incredible kinetic force. The air was knocked out of his lungs as he rolled backward, coughing. Glenn called back Pebble, walking up to the vampire slowly.

"How...cough...how did you resist my Charm? I'm a vampire, a descendant of Nosferatu—!" Glenn's fist buried into Howard's chest, before ripping his heart out. The Baron looked down at the hole in his chest in disbelief, unable to utter another word. He fell face first, a puddle of blood forming around him. Glenn stared down for an instant, before stabbing down with his sword in his enemy's head.

"Have you ever heard of our lord and savior?" Glenn jeered coldly as he wiped the blood off his blade.

'Nelg, did you get his soul?' He asked his weapon coldly. Nelg took some time to reply, "Nope. I'm still waiting."

Glenn paused and sighed loudly, turning back to Howard's "lifeless" body, "Stand back up, you fuck. I already know you're not dead."

The vampire flinched and slowly stood back up, his wounds regenerating in an instant. Even his shattered skull healed back as if nothing happened.

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"...Who are you?" Howard asked suspiciously, "To even see through my fake death...You're truly an abnormal one. Stormblade was right, I should have hanged you along with these three peasants back then," He declared as blood flowed freely around him, moving with its own will. Glenn took a step back while using Mana Sight to analyze his opponent. A Fifth-Circle Expert Magi somehow, yet weaker than he, a Fourth-Circle.

"Why do you fake your strength?" Glenn asked, not expecting a reply. Howard paused and realized as he looked at Glenn's eyes, "You...you developed Mana Sight? Aren't you twenty or so years old?"

The vampire stumbled back, before laughing maniacally, "Hahaha, yes, of course, that stupid kid I left behind was a genius!" He gritted his teeth as his expression contorted with hatred, "That! That damned...damned talent!" He spat hatefully, "I've done everything in my life to try and surpass geniuses like you, but look at me!" Howard roared, sending a wave of bloody Mana that pushed Glenn back.

"A fake Fifth Circle! If I wasn't a vampire, I wouldn't even have reached this level in my life!" He clenched his fists tightly, "Strength is everything in this world! Everything..." A thick layer of blood began to cover him from head to toe, "...In a year, you achieved a strength beyond what I've worked so hard using my whole life. How is that fair?"

Glenn spat to the side as his Mana flared up, preparing a Nitrogen Lance in one hand and an Infernal Blackhole in the other, "Life is unfair. Get on with it and grow up, you fuck. Ah, no, my bad..." He corrected himself, "Just die. That'll be quicker this way."

Howard laughed madly, "Hahaha, maybe you're right! But before that..." He pursed his fangs predatorily, "I'll at least taste your blood, genius!" He lunged forward, riding on a wave of blood. Glenn cursed and jumped back while dragging his comrades to safety with Gravity Manipulation. He threw his spells at Howard while using an Earthquake on his path, hoping to slow him. Something with that wave of blood made him strangely wary.

The vampire continued to laugh crazily, ignoring the spells and letting them hit him. The Nitrogen Wave froze the blood wave while the Infernal Blackhole swallowed and burnt him down to ashes, only for said ashes to come together and grow back into a new, pristine body. Howard dashed in Glenn's direction, his clawed hands stabbing him in the stomach. Glenn coughed a mouthful of blood, before changing Nelg into his double-blade axe shape and using Cleave & Double It to push Howard back.

Baron Howard transformed into blood, swiftly avoiding the attacks and continuing to inflict damage on Glenn. The latter defended the best he could, but his Saturn Rings weren't enough to stop the vampire's claws, nor was his weapon mastery. The vampire's movements were beastly, and unpredictable. Howard didn't seem to have a single regard for his own life as he traded wounds with Glenn, spending Mana freely.

"Fuck!" Glenn coughed and flew back, avoiding another clawed attack. He slid on the floor and conjured a Hellzone around the vampire, burning him down once more. He didn't waste a second and scattered the ashes with a swift use of Gravity Manipulation, hoping it'd be enough, but sadly... it wasn't.

Howard came whole once more, unaffected by Nelg's touch or Glenn's spells, "Hahaha, finally I am free from these puny genetic shackles! I have finally, finally been accepted by Nosferatu!" The vampire grinned widely, his body exploding in a flight of bats that all conjured blood projectiles. Glenn drew a short breath and conjured a Nitrogen Wave, freezing the entirety of the Teleportation Gate while avoiding his companions. The bats fell to the floor, breaking into tiny ice pieces.

Glenn allowed himself a short rest and used C.P.R. to seal the wound on his stomach, grimacing from the pain, "How the fuck is this legal for him to keep regenerating this way? What am I supposed to do if even Nelg isn't working?"

Diamanes groaned before suddenly exclaiming, "The Divine Blessing! You need to use Divine power!"

Glenn grunted and did as the entity suggested, using Divine Blessing on both Nelg and Pebble.

"I, Nelg, shall slay all evil in my path!" The sword suddenly roared righteously in Glenn's mind, while Pebble glowed with golden light, as silent and supposedly inert as always. The bat pieces suddenly broke free from the ice and fused back into Baron Howard. The vampire raised a sword of blood in Glenn's direction, his eyes bloodshot and his lips curved upward.

"Come at me, genius! I'll show you the determination of a talentless man!" Howard roared as two large black wings appeared on his back, supporting his lunge. Glenn gritted his teeth and barely parried Howard's attack. He kicked the vampire away and used Cut & Pull to drag him closer. The vampire's eyebrows rose as he was brutally pulled into Glenn's attack range, a thick blood shield appearing to parry his greatsword.

Glenn grinned widely and shoved his fist in Howard's chest, "What can't regenerate anymore?"

Howard winced and pulled back, the wound on his chest healing as if nothing happened, "Don't fool with me! This isn't enough to—what?" He looked down at his chest pulsing with warm, golden light. Glenn's grin only grew wider as he used the opportunity to close the distance and hack at the enemy. The vampire blocked the attack with a scowl while clawing at his chest.

"What did you do to me?!? WHAT IS THIS?!?" He screamed in pain as black smoke suddenly began to come from his body. Glenn didn't waste time and continued his onslaught, cutting more and more wounds that simply refused to heal.

"Diamanes, you're a fucking genius!" Glenn laughed wickedly as he cleanly lopped off the Baron's right arm. The vampire looked at the bubbling stump with awe.

"How...How, how, how?" He repeated maniacally, his eyes darting around in a search for a solution. Glenn kicked him down while sending more Mana to the Divine Blessing on Pebble. Howard's chest exploded with light, burning him alive with a fire he wouldn't be coming back from anytime soon.

"NO, NO, WHY, WHY??? I WAS FINALLY—" The illusion imprisoning the others suddenly broke, and they all stood back up one by one, except for Nohre whose legs were too damaged to do so. Sahro held his head painfully while leaning on his sword, exhausted, "Why did the fight suddenly stop? Fuck..."

Liara slowly stood up too, looking at her empty arms confusedly. She glanced at Callum standing still nearby and scratched her head, puzzled. Glenn coldly stabbed the vampire in the heart, pinning him to the floor, "That fucker had you all in an illusion. Almost fell in it too." He twisted the blade, savoring the Baron's screams of pain.

"No..." Baron Howard cried tearfully, "...I was almost...there..."

Glenn couldn't listen to any more of his nonsense and beheaded him cleanly. The golden, divine flames burnt down the vampire's corpse. Not even ashes were left behind this time.

"...I got it," Nelg said without being asked to. Glenn stumbled back and leaned on his sword, exhaling a deep, exhausted breath.

Baron Howard was finally, truly dead.

It was finally over. One year of growing stronger, bleeding, and sweating all for this one moment.

Or that's what he thought. Callum fell to his knees while clenching his chest, blood pouring out of his every pore and opening. The thrall Black Heir collapsed while foaming at the mouth, trembling uncontrollably. Glenn jolted back awake and hurriedly threw Callum on his shoulders, his heart racing once more with adrenaline. He aimed his hand at the ceiling and shouted, "BRACE YOURSELVES!"

A powerful Earthquake ruptured the ceiling open, revealing the night sky above. Glenn and the others jumped out of the crumbling underground, Nohre and his companion carried away by Sahro and Liara. Glenn accelerated his movements with Gravity Manipulation and dashed away in urgency, not paying attention to the Cleaners running around, nor Veil who was busy finishing off the last inhuman thralls making a mess.

There was only one hope to save Callum, and it was lying in that suitcase Liam should have brought with him.

If they failed, Callum, Giselle's grandson, would die.

And this whole thing would have been for nothing.