The Himura family moved swiftly through the outer forests of Hanford. The purpose, to track down the potential supernatural threat ahead. Their pace was remarkably fast, as vampires, when amplifying their bodies, were ten times swifter than humans and generally three times stronger. Their stamina was also tenfold, though these traits could vary depending on their unique abilities. For example, Husa’s analysis of Tek’s movements indicated that their current pace was quite slow for him. With these factors in mind, it wouldn’t be long before they found their prey.

The family utilised the cover of darkness, hiding among the trees within the blackness. Thorian, who led the brotherhood, sensed a threat and believed that the enemies were gathering in response to his family’s approach. As his trusted guard, Husa could already anticipate Thorian’s thoughts.

“They’re just ahead,” Husa whispered, ready to give the signal to strike.

“Hold it,” Thorian replied calmly.

The others immediately stopped, vanishing into the shadows cast by the trees.

“What is it?” Vellesca asked, her voice tinged with irritation as she prepared to unleash her heavy blade.

“There’s something not right,” Thorian said, narrowing his eyes. “I believe they’ve noticed us because their reaction to our presence is unnatural.”

Thorian focused intently, trying to gauge their potential enemies. The others mimicked his predatory stance, their senses sharpening. Husa, however, was the most adept at detecting subtle shifts in the environment. When his ears vibrated, he could feel the natural surroundings at a distance, without needing to enter the trance that made vampire eyes glow a faint red. Interestingly, he was the only member of the brotherhood who did not require this trance to sense danger.

Thorian’s instincts proved correct: there were powerful entities gathering nearby, but not in a hostile manner.

“I see it now,” Thorian murmured, understanding dawning on him.

He quickly gathered the intelligence necessary for an attack, though he did not intend to deliver a killing blow. Instead, he sought to discover why these beings had entered the territory, suspecting they might not be who he initially thought. An inexplicable sense of unease and curiosity stirred within him, influencing his judgment.

He made a quick hand signal to the rest of the brotherhood. Vellesca, puzzled by his cautious approach, wondered why they weren’t simply attacking outright. Her desire was to spill blood, but Thorian’s command steered them toward an entrapping formation, and they charged from a distance.

From Vellesca’s perspective, there were five figures they needed to eliminate. The group appeared noble and bold. As the threat interacted among themselves, Husa noticed one of them was a young woman, speaking among the others. She was the only woman in the group, and her beauty struck him immediately. Her presence unsettled him, and he wondered whether appearances could be deceiving. “Is this all just trickery?” he asked himself silently.

What they didn’t realise, aside from Thorian’s speculative guess, was that these five individuals carried a rare blood gene, having existed for centuries yet rarely clashing with vampires. The leader of their family, standing centrally among them, was a man of average height with black hair: Marimbo Lovecraft. His stature was well-built, and he appeared no older than his mid-twenties, though he radiated the wisdom of ages. Vampires and those with rare blood types often remained in youth forever unless slain.

“This place is marvellous,” the young woman, Moriaty, exclaimed, flustered with excitement. “I can’t wait to see our new home.”

Her demeanour was joyful, almost too peaceful. That was why Husa found it difficult to stay focused. She was precisely the target he wanted to eliminate.

“Agon and Salerius said they would meet us back home,” a large male named Brock said, standing tall beside them. His sturdy frame and calm demeanour suggested he was the guardian of their leader, reaffirming Husa’s thoughts about the hierarchy within their group.

As the Himura family charged forward, it suddenly dawned on them that more enemies might lurk behind the scenes.

“How many of them are there?” Tek whispered to himself, his cautious nature kicking in.

It was too late to retreat or pause. They had already crossed into territory that would alert their enemies to their presence.

Slumping lazily, another member of the Lovecraft family felt an odd sensation in the wind. His name was Basil; he was a strange fellow, with both hands tucked into his pockets. He looked rather unusual standing beside the others, as he was of mixed race descent. The Lovecrafts all dressed and presented themselves as nobles, but Basil broke such norms with his peculiar personality. Though it appeared he was staring into space, he was actually highly alert to his surroundings. His hair was messy, unlike the rest, which made him easily identifiable as the odd one out of the group.

Feeling that his senses were more important than his leader’s trivial bantering, which bored him, Basil moved to nudge another member of the Lovecraft family to get his attention. The man’s name was Sigmund. Standing tall with his hands pointing straight down at his sides, Sigmund was built like a soldier. When Basil nudged him, Sigmund instantly understood why such gestures had become habitual in past life-threatening situations Basil had gotten them into.

Recognising the urgency, Sigmund cast a tense glance toward Brock, the Lovecraft family’s ironclad guardian. His formal, composed stance shifted into one of readiness for combat. His fists clenched tightly, muscles tensing as he prepared for what was coming. The Lovecraft family was now fully aware that an attack was imminent.

“Get down!” Brock yelled, shoving his leader far away from the confrontation, ensuring he was out of harm’s way.

With Marimbo now a safe distance away, the moment had arrived. The Himura family struck suddenly, ferociously.

Thorian launched himself at Brock with his bare hands, aiming a lethal strike at the guardian’s neck. Brock blocked the attack with crossed forearms, deflecting it just in time. Vellesca roared as she swung her heavy blade, calling out, “companion!” the name of her trusted weapon as she attempted to slash Brock’s defences. But she underestimated him. Brock held firm, resisting her assault with a bash to the flat surface of her sword.

As Thorian prepared a second, more deadly strike targeting Brock’s heart, Brock countered by kicking Vellesca aside with ease, sending her flying into a nearby tree trunk, which indented painfully under her impact. Thorian realized then that this fight would be much tougher than he had anticipated.

Meanwhile, Moriaty, the only female among the Lovecraft family, was in shock. She turned sharply to her left and saw Husa rushing toward her. Like an afterimage, Husa appeared directly in front of her, but her reactions confused him. He intended to knock her out instantly, but something deep within him prevented him from doing so. For just a moment, Moriaty, now in a more defensive stance, stared into Husa’s calm, unwavering eyes, hesitating as an unspoken tension grew between them.

Unbeknownst to the Himura family, so far, it was only Brock and Sigmund who possessed true physical force within the Lovecraft group. Their ability in combat was their hallmark.

Moriaty quickly jumped back, creating space between herself and Husa. She shifted into an aggressive stance, feeling intimidated by his composed demeanour. Husa, however, was not used to striking enemies unless he felt genuinely threatened. His instincts told him that beneath her serene exterior was innocence and that was enough for him. He peered across the battlefield and saw Thorian continuing his relentless assault on Brock. The two fighters appeared nearly evenly matched, Brock better in brute strength and technique, but Thorian’s cunning and combat wisdom allowed him to match the guardian’s ferocity with complex, strategic attacks.

Moriaty turned her attention to the surrounding chaos, realising this other supernatural group was here to kill her and her kin. Panic set in.

Hemphia almost succeeded in stabbing Marimbo in the back, as he had fallen to the ground from Brock’s push. But the Lovecraft leader swiftly regained his footing, evading her deadly strike narrowly.

“What is this?” Marimbo whispered, struggling to understand the rapidly evolving situation.

At that moment, Tek arrived with his blinding speed, daggers flying forward as they punctured Marimbo’s left shoulder severely.

“Bull’s eye,” Tek declared, landing beside him from the tree above, positioning himself roughly ninety degrees from Hemphia to surround their target. Basil, rushing to his leader, the oddest member of the Lovecraft family, stepped forward to challenge the encroaching enemies.