The wind howled through the trees, whispering through the blood-soaked ground.

Azrael stood motionless, his piercing blue eyes scanning the remaining vampires.

The edge of his massive greatsword still dripped with the remains of his latest kill.

Drops of rotten blood were falling from his weapon, a reminder of his dominance.

The fear in their undead hearts was unmistakable.

Azrael, on the other hand, had a completely neutral expression with a little smirk, like he did nothing special.

His blue eyes were still glowing along with the night.

Gudras, usually so composed, clenched his fists.

His body remained still, but his mind was racing with a million of different thoughts.

"He's faster than I expected… stronger than I imagined… and worse… he feels nothing."

Moreover, the sword he was using had no kind of magic in it.

For the vampires, it was nothing more than a piece of steel. Not even silver.

Behind him, the other vampires huddled together.

A few of them placed themselves in front of Gudras in order to protect him.

"We'll protect you, My lord." A female vampire said.

The woman who had just cried out for her lover had stepped back, her hands trembling.

She was the only one who had shown emotion.

Azrael tilted his head slightly, watching them in silence and spoke a few words.

"Love…? How can a disgusting monster like you have the guts of saying such a beautiful word…?" He said , with a cold and menacing whisper, before swinging his sword in the air to make it rest on his shoulder.

In doing so, drop of bloods reached the vampires' faces.

Then, he took a step forward.

The vampires flinched while the vampire who cried took other steps back.

Gudras gritted his teeth. "Pathetic."

Azrael's smirk widened, just slightly.

He didn't need to speak to make them understand.

He was coming for them next.

The only thing he did was taunting them by doing the classic "come here" gesture with his hand.

The vampire lord exhaled slowly, keeping his voice level.

"Enough."

He knew that he couldn't act harshly.

Azrael was prepared to everything, so he had to thing about a perfect strategy in a very short amount of time.

At first, the other vampires didn't move.

They were too stunned, too paralyzed by the presence before them.

Then, Gudras' aura shifted.

He had to do something to raise up their souls.

So… he decided to attack first by using a glimpse of his power.

The fear in his followers was suddenly drowned out by something else—a low hum that vibrated through the air, as if the very night itself was responding to him.

The blood on the ground stirred.

Azrael narrowed his eyes slightly.

"So… he was hiding something after all."

That's what Azrael thought, moving his gaze towards the man who was still on the ground, but somehow more distant from Gudras.

He had to save him, and to do so, he took advantage of the casting time of gudras.

He knew that the spell he was casting would've required an amount of time, and saving that man would've also meant that he could fight at full of his capacities.

While Gudras was channeling his magic, Azrael immediately dashed foward with an immense speed.

The vampires who were protecting their lord immediately raised up their guards to prevent Azrael's attack.

"HE's COMING! PROTECT LORD GUDRAS!" A female vampire shouted.

The others followed he orders and immediately formed a circle around Gudras.

But, instead , Azrael dashed straight next to the man and grabbed him.

"What?!?" One of the vampires shouted.

After that , Azrael returned to his starting place and launched the man towards a bush behind him.

Azrael did all that in the blink of an eyes.

Meanwhile, Gudras lifted one hand, and the blood pooling beneath their feet began to rise.

Thick tendrils of crimson snaked into the air, curling around the bodies of the fallen vampire, wrapping around his, pulling him up.

Moreover, some other bodies, almost 10, appeared from the ground.

They were… dead… but living.

Azrael watched as the corpses twitched.

The bones that had been shattered reset.

Then—they opened their eyes.

The vampire that he killed just before, returned to "life".

Not as he had been before.

But as something else.

Their crimson irises had turned black, as if all light had been drained from them.

Their mouths opened slightly, and Azrael could hear a low, inhuman growl emerge from their throats.

Then, he scratched his chin with his hand in an amused way.

His sword was resting on the ground, while in front of him a lot of monsters were standing up in a menacing way.

The blood Gudras had manipulated now pulsed through their veins, forcing them back to their feet.

Azrael exhaled, shaking some of the blood off his blade.

"Necromancy?" he muttered, unimpressed.

Gudras chuckled softly, though there was no amusement in his voice.

"A crude term. But yes, something like that."

The undead creatures lurched forward.

Azrael didn't move. Not yet.

Gudras smiled. "You may have been able to kill them once… but let's see how you fare against those who no longer fear death."

"Is that how you treat your fallen comrades…? No wonder they call you monsters…"

Azrael whispered while lowering his head.

Then, with inhuman speed, the reanimated vampires charged.

Azrael moved.

A single step.

The ground beneath him shattered.

Then, in a blur of motion, he vanished.

The first undead vampire swung its claws. It struck only air.

Before it could process what had happened, Azrael was already behind it.

His blade whistled through the air.

One clean cut.

The creature froze.

A second later, its head slid from its shoulders.

The others didn't stop.

Azrael's body twisted as he spun into the next strike, his greatsword carving through the chest of another enemy, severing it in half with effortless precision.

A third reanimated vampire lunged.

Azrael ducked low, sidestepping its attack before driving his elbow into its ribcage with bone-crushing force.

It collapsed inward, its body bending unnaturally as it flew back, hitting the ground with a wet thud.

Gudras did not flinch.

"Fascinating." He whispered , while "admiring" that human in action.

Azrael landed in a crouch, his fingers briefly brushing against the bloodied dirt before he straightened, completely unscathed.

He flicked his sword, sending bits of flesh and bone flying.

"Not enough?" he asked coldly.

Gudras finally smiled, but this time—it was not forced.

"Not at all."

The remaining undead vampires did not hesitate.

One after another, they fell upon Azrael.

He met them head-on.

Blades clashed. Fangs snapped. Blood sprayed into the night air.

Azrael was a storm of movement, his greatsword cleaving through bodies as though they were nothing but mist.

A vampire tried to flank him—he twisted and crushed its skull with a single punch.

Another went for his back—he reversed his grip and drove the sword through its throat.

Limbs flew. Bones shattered. The battlefield became a slaughterhouse.

Gudras watched the carnage unfold, expression unreadable but somehow "fascinated".

Then, he spoke.

"Step aside and leave this to me, my children." He said, while making his way trough.

The vampires hesitated before following his orders.

Then… Gudras finally moved.

Azrael had just driven his sword through the chest of another enemy when, out of the corner of his eye—

Gudras was already behind him.

A whisper.

"Found you."

Azrael's instincts screamed.

He twisted just in time.

A black dagger sliced through the air—aiming straight for his heart.

Azrael barely dodged, the blade grazing his side.

His blood hit the dirt.

For the first time since the battle started, he bled.

Gudras took a step back, flipping the dagger between his fingers.

"Interesting," he mused, watching the red stain spread across Azrael's side. "So you really can bleed."

Azrael touched the wound lightly, inspecting his blood on his fingertips.

His eyes flicked up to Gudras.

And then—he smiled.

"Was that your best shot?"

Gudras' smile faded.

Azrael charged.

The ground cracked beneath him as he lunged toward the vampire lord.

Gudras braced himself.

Then—

The battle truly began.