Arnaud clenched his jaws in fury, every cell of his body burning with the urge to attack those two wretches who dared to profane his temporary refuge. It would take just one swift movement to tear out their throats and dismember them effortlessly.

They still did not perceive his hidden presence down there, which gave him the advantage of surprise. A sinister smile curved his lips at the thought. Yes, he could pounce on them and tear them apart mercilessly...

Suddenly, a different thought appeared, making him furrow his brow. It was the doubt of whether he could win in this small place against more than 20 enemies; he knew they were armed by the dense and unmistakable smell of gunfire. A new wave of caution invaded him, mitigating his murderous urge.

He listened intently as the two men above continued to converse loudly. They were just a small vanguard of the rest of the villains. From what he could make out, there were at least 2 armed men.

Arnaud frowned, reconsidering his position. One wrong move and he would be terribly exposed to a barrage of those deadly weapons. As long as they didn't hit him in the head, it was easy to counter the damage with his abnormal regeneration. If he consumed their blood it would be even easier, but the sun would be a problem and it was likely a bullet would hit his head in such a confined space.

He was disgusted at being cornered in his own lair. But the most prudent thing would be to remain hidden and silent until they left.

On the other hand, there was good news; a flash of relief crossed his features as he realized he had not detected any trace of Arturo or Juana's scent among those villains. At least that meant they had not been captured, but had surely fled in time. He clung to that idea forcefully, determined to resist there until everyone had left so he could then resume his search for his little friend.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when a violent thunderous boom shook the walls. Above, one of the guys had just unloaded a burst from his rifle directly at the wooden floor.

"Well, let's make sure."

A piercing scream was about to escape his throat when one of the bullets hit him in the side, burying itself deep in his flesh. He felt his guts burn and tear from the impact, but clenched his teeth until they ground together, holding back his scream.

From above, the two men stood motionless and silent after the burst, straining their ears for any sound. When they perceived nothing, one of them shrugged.

"See, you piece of shit. I told you there was nothing down there but rats," his companion mocked in a nasal voice.

The other grunted something threatening under his breath, but didn't argue further. They began to take a few steps closer, their boots creaking on the wood. Arnaud then heard the unmistakable squeak of rusty hinges opening, a sign they intended to go down into the basement to check.

However, just as they were about to descend...

"Did you find anything?!" One of their companions asked from the doorway.

"No, we were just..."

A booming voice stopped them.

"Hey, you pair of pendejos! What the hell are you shooting like morons for?"

Both men froze in their tracks and turned slowly. There, advancing with a menacing stride, was Zapata with the heavily armed group of thugs.

"Uh... Zapata, man," one of them stammered, swallowing hard. "It's just that we thought there was something down here and..."

"And you decided to empty your fucking rifle like a pussy instead of peeking first?" Zapata cut him off with a withering look. He stepped closer and snatched the gun from his hands with a rough jerk. "Do you want the target to know we're here, you animal?"

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

The guy shook his head frantically, terrified. Zapata glared at both of them for a few moments more before snorting and handing the rifle back to his underling.

"Alright, forget this idiocy and let's get moving," he recomposed himself and looked towards the open hatch that led to the basement. "Since we're here, go down and take a look. Don't shoot unless you see the target, understood?"

"Y-yes sir," the other man responded with a tense nod.

Zapata signaled his other men and several prepared to enter the basement to inspect. The two thugs went in first to the small storeroom, sweating nervously. One crouched down and peeked his head inside warily.

"Hey... I think your shot didn't hit anything. I don't see or hear a damn thing down there," he muttered after a brief inspection.

However, instead of relaxing, his companion shook his head and gripped the rifle tighter in his trembling hands. With a frantic look, he pointed to the floor where some thin threads of a thick, reddish liquid could be seen.

"N-no... I think I hit something after all," he swallowed hard. "We'd better go down and finish the job, in case it's that... monster Beto was talking about."

Breathing heavily, he prepared to descend the rusty steps that led into the darkness of the basement. His partner followed close behind, the smoking gun gripped tightly....

The thugs slowly descended the rusty steps into the small storeroom, weapons raised as they scanned the dimness. Behind them, three other men followed silently after receiving a signal from Zapata.

"See anything, you useless idiots?" their leader's mocking voice echoed from above.

One of the guys shook his head after inspecting with the flashlight. "Doesn't seem like there's anyone, maybe it's just rat blood? It's too small to..."

He cut himself off abruptly when a pair of viscous, crimson drops splashed onto his forehead. He swore and looked up with a frown... only to be left gaping when he met a pair of fierce eyes glowing in the shadows of the ceiling.

"Up there! It's that son of a..."

His shout was choked off when something knocked him down from the ceiling like lightning. A grotesque crunch was heard, then sudden silence. The other four stood paralyzed for a second before opening fire with curses.

Arnaud roared like an enraged beast, dodging most of the bullets and barely protecting his head as he pounced on them. Despite his bleeding wounds, his strength and speed were still superhuman.

He managed to knock down two more men, his claws sinking into their throats and easily crushing bones. The two remaining thugs screamed in panic and began retreating towards the exit.

"Zapata! Zapata, help us down here!" they managed to bellow before Arnaud leapt on them as well.

Above, Riquelme's experienced lieutenant reacted instantly to the shouts. He signaled several of his men and they all aimed their weapons at the basement, ready to fire.

The scene they found left them speechless with horror for an instant. Four of their comrades lay massacred, their mutilated bodies in grotesque poses. And atop it all, a tall muscular creature loomed with bloodied fangs and claw-like hands.

"Open fire, open fire!" Zapata shouted, snapping out of his stupor.

The assault rifle discharges thundered, the bullets turning the air into a deadly rain. However, Arnaud moved with superhuman speed, evading most of the impacts.

But Zapata reacted coldly and grabbed one of his underlings to use as a shield. Arnaud was forced to halt when his claws sank into the poor man's flesh.

"Now!" Zapata howled to his remaining men.

Cornering the vampire between the crossfire, they managed to seriously wound him in both legs. Arnaud collapsed with a rending roar, unable to remain standing.

Fortunately for the vampire, Zapata's shield was also a shield for him. Even better, it was a source of blood to recharge from. Arnaud bit into the lifeless body and his wounds began to heal faster. The regeneration became visible to the attackers' eyes.

Zapata watched him from where he was sheltered, a slight smile of triumph on his lips. He realized the monster covered his head with his arms most of the time.

"I don't know what kind of spawn you are, cabrón..." he said, fixing his cold gaze on Arnaud's eyes. "But your path ends here."

The vampire returned a defiant look, still growling with fangs bared. Zapata shook his head and raised his heavy rifle, aiming straight at his head.

"Pity... The boss would have paid well to take you alive and find out what you are." He gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger. "But you leave me no choice, we'll take you dead."

The sound of the gunshots thundered in the basement. The powerful bullets struck Arnaud, one of them directly in the forehead, exploding his skull in a cloud of bone and thick blood that splattered everywhere.

The vampire convulsed violently before collapsing. Zapata spat on the floor and recomposed himself, signaling his men.

"We're done here. Bring the bodies and let's get out before the cops show up because of this noisy mess..."

He strode away as his underlings began dragging the corpses up the stairs. Arnaud's lifeless remains lay in view in a pool of his own thick, black blood.