Matthew stepped up with his arms up in the air, "we value safety for the whole above the individual. Hunter, the choice is still up to you, but I want you to remember that being chosen by the holy sword means risking your life for the sake of the villagers." On the surface, it does look like the most ideal choice to take. One life sacrificed for the good of many, wasn't that what the heroes valued?

The crowd instantly agreed with Matthew.

[Matthew's right! Don't be selfish.]

"No." Hunter's decision was also instantaneous. "Just me and Vivian would be enough to take you all down," the men in the crowd spat towards his direction. Some of which landed on his arm and clothes. 'How do you expect me to care for these brutes?'

"I don't understand how stupid all of you can be. Once they've taken Hunter, it would be much easier to overwhelm the tribe with numbers and capture everyone. Do you really think they would uphold their statement?" Vivian made sure to glare around the crowd, she won't be satisfied if she didn't, "since when did you have such high regards for vampires?" The crowd went silent.

"Here's the prototype for the potions we've been working on," Lee whispered to Vivian as he handed out three tiny cork bottles with labels on them. He patted Vivian's shoulder before apologizing for not being able to help fight the vampires.

"If you're that scared, go home and cower under your bed," as if on cue, the crowd scuttled away from the commotion. The vampire with the four colors on his face gestured to two other vampires with one blue face paint and a drawing of a spade on his right cheek and the other with white face paint and the shape of a club on his right cheek. They led their group to hunt down the humans running away.

"What happened to 'we're only interested in him'?" Vivian raised an eyebrow and held the metal balls inside her pocket even tighter. She had five with her at the moment.

"Well, that deal's off since Hunter over here won't cooperate," she glared at the leader of the Jade vampires. They seemed to have done their research thoroughly. They knew about Hunter's reputation and planned the best way they could have him without casualties.

The vampire walked up to Vivian. She caught her breath and gritted her teeth. When he touched her chin, her face twitched. "Your face is too perfect to be a human." Vivian indeed had a completely symmetrical face and milky-white skin. He lifted her upper lift with his thumb and Vivian slapped his hand away.

"Fuck. you."

"Haha!" the four colored vampire gestured to his group and six of them ran towards Hunter while the other five flashed in front of Vivian. "Don't kill the girl either, okay! She seems interesting." Vivian heard the vampire command. She already dropped one of the metal balls she was holding when they ran towards her. Two of them weren't able to dodge the smoke that came out of the device and flopped to the ground. She smirked.

Three of them came at her at once. One from each direction. From their positions earlier, she was able to predict how at least two of them will attack. Despite the speed reflex and reaction differences, she was able to dodge the two attacks, but she was hit by a kick from behind. She was forced to kneel on the ground. One of the three vampires saw her place down a ball of metal on the ground and he warned his comrades to stay away.

Ace grinned at Vivian's desperation. No matter how hard she struggles, she's still a human. One strike from a vampire and she's broken. Vivian got up from her position and he was surprised she did not bleed much from the kick on her back. It only seemed like a normal kick to her.

Hunter, on the other hand, was slashing vampires with his dagger left to right. He already hit two vampires within the minute they started fighting. When fighting against many opponents, one must pay more attention to his blind spots like the ones above or behind them. The opponents will likely take advantage of their numbers and catch him off guard. Whenever someone moved to his back, he would slip his dagger to his side and stab the vampire behind him. Even just a scratch from the holy sword- dagger for him at this moment- would absorb any vampire's prowess and they would become like measly humans.

Ace's eyebrows curved upwards when Vivian took down one more Jade Vampire. He was already laying down on the ground when Ace directed his attention towards their fight. Before he could react, even with his enhanced reaction speed, the metallic ball underneath him exploded into a cloud of smoke and he was struck with fatigue.

The two vampires attacked from both sides and attempted to pin her down. Vivian swirled and one of them hit Hunter's holy sword. They had been helping each other catch their enemies off-guard. Vivian rolled her last metallic ball towards Hunter's side and he was able to dodge the smoke right when it detonated, contrary to his opponents who did not know what the thing even was. With one opponent left, Vivian was able to predict his movements and she as able to quickly get behind the vampire and knock him out cold by hitting a specific area behind his neck.

Vivian always had strength that rivaled a vampire's. Part of the reason why people avoid her is because of her inhuman strength. They presumed she would be a vampire because of her pale skin and physical strength that could put any man in the tribe to shame. She also suspected it was because she was born a woman. Women were not seen as equals to men in the tribe. People could not take the idea of a mere woman, who was not even a chosen bearer of the holy sword, was stronger than the males in the tribe. Since she also possessed a beauty that no one else in the tribe can hope to rival, people automatically assumed she had vampire blood coursing through her veins.

Honestly, she wished that were the case. If she was born a vampire, even as a Jade Vampire, she would live decades longer than a human. If she was born a Citrine or an Amber vampire, she would be better equipped to seek her vengeance towards the group that killed her mother. Alas, she had to deal with the card she was given.

"I'm done tying them up!" Vivian gave Hunter a thumbs up. She picked up her metallic balls and bound the vampires she took down. The eight vampires who hunted down humans were still fighting with Matthew and Isabelle. At least they're somewhat reliable. Hunter gestured for Vivian to come closer to him and she obliged.

"Let's ask them why they want to take me," there were three conscious vampires among the twelve they fought against. Since Vivian didn't have a holy sword with her, her only option was to knock out her enemies. All six of them were still K'O-ed. She took out the three small cork bottles Lee handed to her and picked the container holding a yellowish liquid inside. Smirking, Vivian looked at the vampire in front of her with wickedness.

"Any last words?" as she uncorked the bottle, the Jade vampire- who looked quite boring and plain compared to their leader- shivered and began to whimper. His small and sharp eyes brimmed with tears. Hunter coughed in an attempt to disguise his laughter and Vivian continued to torture the poor soul with her glare. The vampire, still bounded by a silver-plated rope Hunter found in the Main Hall, became the guinea pig to one of the many potions Vivian formulated with Lee. He chugged about half of the liquid in the vial before a shock struck his body. His mind felt like it was riding a pegasus above the clouds.

"So," Vivian looked to her side and tapped Hunter's shoulder. He kissed her fingertips and Vivian slapped him lightly, "why exactly are you after him?"

The vampire, looking at no one in particular, said monotonously, "he will be useful to us as a vampire and bearer of the holy sword."

"Who is 'us'? Are you working with anyone?" Hunter followed up with his own question. There was a moment of silence. The two other conscious vampires stiffened.

"We work for Scar," [thump!] The vampire threw up a pool of blood after a scorching arrow pierced through his chest [boom!!]. As if it wasn't enough to silence the carcass, an explosion followed and shattered the vampire, along with his nearest comrade, into minced meats. Hunter reacted quickly and carried Vivian away from the explosion.

Vivian's heart stopped. The only thing she heard was the constant ringing in her ears that seemed to alarm her louder and louder. Her grip subconsciously tightened on Hunter's arm as she snapped her head towards the attacker.

'Orange colored eyes. Amber vampire.' His hand faced towards their direction and Hunter immediately dodged the fireballs he threw at them. A wolf tattoo with a shade that resembled Yin and Yang peeked through the Amber vampire's palm. Vivian quivered with anger.

"It's them," she jumped off from Hunter's grasp and bolted herself towards the Amber vampire.