The silence of the moonlit night was broken by the frantic footfalls, crushing twigs and dried leaves into the dirt.

Panicked gasps for air echo in the forest, with cruel snickers following in tandem.

The moonlight piercing through the canopy revealed a young woman, running as if her life depends on it.

But a stone jutting out from the soil broke her momentum, causing her to tumble around in the dust.

The snickers caught up with the woman, her fierce glare and her gun were ready to face the things chasing her.

Out from the trees emerged cyanotic beings, smirking as the sight of their prey putting up one last futile struggle.

The woman kneeling on the ground, prepared to take a shot, finally understood the type of predators she was facing, on noticing the fangs baring at her, the red eyes mocking her and the bluish skin that refuses to see the Sun.

They are vampires… and they decided to finish the hunt.

“You should've obeyed us. At least, we could help you leave this world peacefully, just like your friends back there,” said a vampire.

“Now, look at you, stranded in the middle of nowhere after running and huffing, hahaha!” said another vampire.

“At least, you did a good job finding us a good spot for eating, on your own!” A third vampire remarked.

Fear choked the woman's words but her eyes and hands were steady, her spirit unyielding to surrender. Her pride as a Mundane and as a police officer roared. She's not going down without a fight.

This scene was observed by someone in the dark, whose red eyes gleaned the surroundings. Pressing the earpiece, they reported, “Target on sight. Permission to exorcise?”

“Permission granted.” A feminine voice crackled in the earpiece, making the person grin with excitement.

‘Let's get down to business.’ The observer jumped down from the tree and landed between two vampires with a loud thud.

The vampires and the policewoman were startled by the intruder, who turned out to be a young man, not older than 16.

“Who the hell are you?!” growled a vampire.

On looking at his eyes, they started giggling. “Seems like someone's hungry. You'll get your share, after we finished ours first.”

The Observer sniffed subtly. He noticed they let their guard down, thinking he's one of them, which gave him an advantage.

“Oh, I'm not here for her. I'm here for you guys.” His voice sounded cheerful.

“We stopping taking in new guys. Find some other gang, punk.” A rowdy vampire tried to shoo him away.

“I've never said anything about joining. I'm here to kill you all.” His smile and his declaration, when combined, made no sense, which made the vampires uncomfortable and hostile.

“Look at this brat. You here for a death wish? Do you know what happens to vampires who don't know their place?” The leader of the vampire group threatened the Observer.

“I don't know about that. But~, I do know what'll happen to y'all. Dead. Like minced meat.” This line pushed all the vampires' limits, especially the leader.

“What're you two drooling at?! Get him!” He barked at the vampires standing on both sides of the Observer.

“Oh, these guys? They're taking a long, nice nap. Permanently.” As soon as he finished his sentence, the top halves of their faces slid off. They were actually dead for quite some time. With the cat's out of the bag, the Observer brandished his pair of kunai at them, provoking for one last time.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

The rest of the vampires pounced at him, yelling like rabid animals, their claws brandishing and swiping, their fangs seeking to pierce the skin.

But all they've accomplished is nothing. The Observer escaped from their attacks a while ago.

The vampires were stunned and confused, wondering why the Observer is hunting them down, even though he's one of them, a vampire. But they knew one thing, if they don't give it their all, they'll end up dead.

Soon, the fight broke out between the Observer and the vampires, while the leader is chasing after the policewoman, who slipped away during the chaos.

As the vampire leader was running after her, something flew past him and landed on the ground a few feet apart.

It was a head, twisted in agony. One of his vampire henchmen fell prey to the vampire observer.

Soon, another head, the third and the fourth heads littered the leader's path. Fear stabbed his heart, as if a wooden stake was driven through him.

He was flustered, but boiling with fury, denying that a mere young vampire who didn't even cross 100 years of age, decimated his gang completely.

Soon, it became a three-way chase. A mouse chased by a cat, which in turn, was chased by a hound.

The vampire leader ran, ran and ran far ahead, hellbent on catching the policewoman.

‘Huff, that monster's gone. Now, I can take a breather.’ The policewoman sighed in relief once again, knowing that she's safe from the vampire leader, hiding away behind some tree and shrubs. Or rather she was made to hope like that.

Long claws with sharp nails grabbed her neck suddenly, flinging her away from her hiding place. She was thrown at a tree, back first and a cry of pain escaped from her throat.

The blood flowing from her scalp blurred her vision, making it hard for her to see the vampire leader prowling towards her with fury. Slowly, her consciousness faded, with the last image being the Hunter violently tearing his prey apart.

----------------------------------------

Purple eyes shone in the shadows, laying their gaze at the Hunter, his back turned back at them.

The policewoman slowly picked her gun, cocked it and aimed at him. She shot . The bullet, however, did not hit its target.

The target turned about, his face red with anger.

“Seriously?! After everything I've done for you?! I saved your hot-cross buns, dammit!”

“You don't have the right to utter that word! For all I know, you just killed your competition and now, you’re going to eat me.” The woman accused him loudly.

“Are you an idiot?! If I wanted, I'd have joined those roofing degenerates that time itself!”

The word 'roofing' surprised the policewoman. That word was associated in her investigation, regarding a string of missing cases centred from a bar, which she worked hard to expose the culprits, who turned out to be vampires. The same vampires who killed her colleagues and hunted her down. The same vampires the Hunter unleashed retribution upon them.

This revelation sparked curiosity within her.

“Tell me more.” The woman ordered. Seeing how she is willing to listen, the Hunter smirked with relief, sat beside her and told everything she wanted to know.

How the vampires were involved in illegal activities. How they kidnapped young women and drank their blood. How their crimes hurt and ruined families beyond repair.

“And thus, mission accomplished. The mongrels are dead, the activities will soon be cracked down and the community will gain relief.” The Hunter rested his case.

“I see. Anyway, thanks for the help. And for saving my life. Your secret's safe with me and let's not meet again.” After the assurance of secrecy, the policewoman stood up and started to walk away.

“Wait, wait! Hold on. I almost forgot to tell you.” The Hunter stopped her.

“My higher-up wants to meet you. So, if you don't mind-“

“No thanks. I told you I'll stay away from all of this. I saw nothing. Now, leave me alone.”

“You're so naïve… You're already involved. That too, very deeply. You, a Mundane, have crossed the point of no return the moment you got involved in this case. So, it's better if you follow me.” The atmosphere around them grew cold with that stern warning. The Hunter is not smiling anymore.

“What happens if I refuse?” The policewoman asked

“Then, I'm forced to tie up the loose ends. Got the green signal while you're knocked out too.” He showed her the kunai, implying that he'll cover the tracks, even at the cost of her life. Her intuition surmised that this isn't his first rodeo.

The Hunter and, as an extension, the organization behind him does not exactly soothe the policewoman's skepticism. But she's willing to put her trust in his care for her well-being. His words hold a faint promise of her safety.

“Alright… Lead the way.” She accepted the invitation.

The Hunter's face brightened with joy on hearing her answer. “Awesome! I knew you'd come around! Trust me, you won't regret this!” His grin shone as bright as the rising sun behind him.

The silence of the dawn was chopped by the rotor blades of a helicopter.

“Ah, just in time!” The Hunter was happy to see the helicopter, which landed slowly.

“Are you coming or what?” He invited the policewoman. She reluctantly boarded onto the helicopter and sat down.

Slowly, the Hunter and the policewoman were up in the air, as the sky around turns slowly into blue.

“What's your name by the way?” He asked.

“…Mia…”

“Beautiful! I'm Luca, nice to meet you!”

[To be continued]