"What's that?" Lucian sarcastically asked while leaning close to Dmitri with his hand cupping around his ear. "Your big brother, huh," Lucian mocked before flashing his pearly whites. "Oh, there's no need to worry about that; I'll be waiting for him. I'll be sure to tell him you said hello."

Soon, an ample amount of divine white light swirled along the steel blade, causing it to radiate a force that Dmitri found to be chilling. Dmitri's eyes widened when the last thing he saw was the quick flash of silver before he found himself looking up at the sky when his head was sliced clean off his shoulders.

Lucian glanced over at Dmitri's body, which gradually turned to stone, materializing into nothing more than a harmless statue. Lucian looked over at Dmitri's head, who wore an expression of fury and shock.

"I can't be too careful; I'd better make sure that he can't come back from the dead," Lucian declared before snapping his fingers. A white glow emitted from his hand as he directed a powerful beam of light at what remained of Dmitri, sending bits of stone flying in every direction.

"Looks like my work here is done. Time to head back," Lucian quietly mumbled to himself before releasing a relieved sigh, knowing he had vanquished a serious vampire threat. He turned his sword back into a dagger and tucked it back inside his cloak.

Lucian briefly glanced up at the starry sky above. Why can't all you bad bloodsuckers just die off already? It isn't like you care about the innocent lives you take, Lucian thought to himself. "Emry, you can rest easy now; I made sure that Dmitri can never harm anyone again," Lucian mumbled.

Lucian inhaled deeply when a cold breeze passed him. The wind helped clear away the scent of iron, but he could still faintly smell it. The blood of innocent humans mixed in with a dead vampire. It was revolting, to say the least, but vampires couldn't get enough of human blood. Their thirst was unquenchable.

Lucian put his hoodie back on to reduce the amount of cold air brushing against his skin. He put his hands into his pockets as he walked alone back toward the organization he called home.

Lucian tilted his head back, his light blue eyes gazing up at the enormous cross plastered onto the front roof of the nearly all-white building. The moment he walked inside, his eyes were drawn to the colorful stained glass at the back of the building he always adored looking at.

The unit that Lucian was affiliated with was called the Holy Order Elimination Squad, which was part of the Order Of The Cross organization he worked for as a priest. The Order Of The Cross was dedicated to eradicating all dangerous vampires from the city of Rossen to ensure that those vampires could no longer harm any innocent humans again.

"Lucian, you're back already?" Elias exclaimed from the side of the room, causing Lucian to turn his head to where the voice called out to him. Elias's expression soon turned into one filled with concern when he realized Lucian had returned home, but Emry was still unaccounted for.

Lucian gave Elias a look of defeat. He reached up to take off his hoodie and ran his fingers through his silver hair, causing the strands to neatly fall back into place.

"Hey Lucian, did you happen to run into or hear anything back from Emry by chance? I'm really starting to worry since he should've been here by now after his first mission, and no one has seen him or heard from him since," Elias asked with his head held within his hand, clinging on to a faint glimmer of hope in his heart that Lucian would have good news to tell him.

Lucian only validated Elias's worst fears when he winced while clenching his fists. "Elias Emry's..." Lucian's voice trailed off, unable to get the rest of the words out of his throat.

"Don't tell me..." Elias cut off before covering his mouth with his hand since he knew by the way Lucian was acting that things didn't end well.

Lucian paused for a brief moment before he continued speaking with downcast eyes. "Emry and his wife and son are all dead. Emry was talented, but he was nowhere near the level of a high-ranking priest. He was just starting out; there's no way he could've taken down a gang boss like Dmitri all by himself."

Elias grimaced while squeezing his eyes shut upon learning of Emry and his family's fate. "Goodness, that's such a terrible tragedy; his family must have been at the site at the time the vampire struck. Emry was only supposed to complete the first mission that he was assigned and then come straight here once he was finished.

"It's all my fault. I failed them all because I didn't make it in time; if I had gotten there sooner, Emry and his family and who knows how many people would probably still be alive right now," Lucian blamed himself while hanging his head low with his eyes plastered to the floor.

"No, Lucian, don't talk like that; that's not true at all; it's not your fault. Don't beat yourself up about it; you had no control over what happened," Elias comforted him before giving him a tight bear hug. "I'm sorry, Lucian, you had to go through all that. It must have been hard; you've been through so much as it is."

Lucian's eyes grew watery since Elias knew him all too well; he honestly needed a hug since, deep down, he was hurting inside.

"I had no idea Emry went there and would cross paths with such a dangerous foe like that." Elias sighed before explaining, "Looks like Emry went on his own free will, most likely because he knew his family was in trouble and wanted to try his best to protect them the best way he could. If I had known, I would have stopped him and gone over there right after the mission I was on and taken care of it. You know I do my very best to minimize the chances of priests getting killed."

"Thanks, hearing you say that actually made me feel a little bit better," Lucian mumbled while hugging Elias back.

"Did it really?" Elias asked with a small smile as they both pulled away from the hug, and he held Lucian by the shoulders. "Do me a favor and promise me you'll stop carrying all these burdens on your shoulders, alright? It's a heavy load for one person to carry, and when it becomes too much, it'll make walking difficult, alright?"

"Yeah, it did, and you're right; I'll try not to be so hard on myself all the time," Lucian admitted.

"Good to hear that, now, are you hurt anywhere? Did that mean vampire do anything to harm a hair on the head of my poor sweet boy?" Elias asked in a worried tone as he began inspecting Lucian for any injuries, causing Lucian to let out a soft chuckle.

"No, I'm fine, really. You have nothing to worry about," Lucian reassured Elias while letting lighthearted laughter escape his lips before his expression shifted to a more solemn one.

"As to why I'm here early, it's because I saw something that needed urgent attention. I would've been here sooner, but I had Dmitri to deal with," Lucian said seriously.

"Something serious, huh? What did you end up finding out about?" Elias asked calmly, his sky-blue eyes filled with curiosity.

"There's a cafe at the end of the city serving blood, which can only mean one thing. It's a nesting ground for vampires," Lucian explained, seeming bothered by the fact that so many vampires could be in a single location.

"The news is worse than I expected," Elias said with a soft exhale. "I suppose we can think about how we can deal with it tomorrow," he mentioned before noticing the frown start to form on Lucian's face.

"There isn't a need to wait until tomorrow. I know I can handle them right now," Lucian confidently declared.

"Careful now. I know you're always the logical type, but one of these days, if you aren't careful, it'll end up killing you," Elias mentioned, worried about Lucian's safety. But he knew he could put his trust in Lucian. The man was skilled with being a priest, but being too trusting in one's skills could also come to bite someone back if they are too overly confident.

"I didn't hear you say no, so I'll be on my way then," Lucian said as he turned sharply on his heels before taking a few steps toward the door.

"Also, is there anyone available to go on this mission with me since I know you have a problem with me going alone even though I prefer to do things my way? It prevents any screw-ups from happening," Lucian pointed out as he looked over his shoulder.

"Only one, and he's your favorite," Elias said sarcastically, knowing Lucian didn't care for him much. "I would've sent someone else with you, but everyone is out on missions, and the priests currently available aren't skilled enough and would only end up getting killed," Elias explained.