The first one rushed .
Pure vampire speed. Blur of motion.
I sidestepped. Barely.
His fist cratered the wall where my head had been.
The second one ca from my left.
I ducked under his swing.
Drove my silver blade up through his ribs.
He scread. Stumbled back.
The first vampire grabbed from behind. Arms like steel bands.
Lifted off the ground.
Slamd into the wall.
Pain exploded through my back.
I headbutted backward. Felt his nose crunch.
He dropped .
I spun. Kicked his knee.
Bone cracked.
He went down.
The second vampire pulled my blade from his chest. Healing already starting.
"What are you?" he hissed.
I didn't answer.
Rushed him instead.
He swung the blade at .
I caught his wrist. Twisted.
The blade clattered to the floor.
We grappled. His fangs snapped at my throat.
I channeled divine energy into my hand.
Pressed it against his chest.
Holy fire burned through vampire flesh.
He shrieked and threw himself backward, smoke rising from the wound.
The first vampire was getting up. Knee healing. Murder in his eyes.
"Cain, the guards from the hallway are trying to breach the door," Tommy said urgently. "You've got maybe sixty seconds before they get through."
I grabbed my blade. Faced both vampires.
They circled. Cautious now. They'd felt my power.
"You're dead," one said.
"Probably. But not tonight."
They attacked together. Coordinated. Professional.
I t them head-on.
The first vampire's fist.
I slipped it. Countered with an elbow to his jaw.
The second vampire's claws.
I blocked with my forearm. Silver blade flashing up.
Caught him across the throat.
Not deep enough to kill. But enough to hurt.
He reeled back.
The first vampire tackled . We crashed into the safe.
His fangs sank into my shoulder.
Pain. White-hot. Searing.
But also opportunity.
I grabbed his head with both hands.
Channeled everything I had.
Divine energy. Pure. Unfiltered.
It burned through him like acid through flesh.
He released . Screaming. Clawing at his face.
His skin blistered. Blackened. Cracked.
He fell. Writhing.
The second vampire stared. Horrified.
"What the fuck are you?"
"Just die quietly."
I moved. Fast as I'd ever moved.
Blade up.
Through his heart.
He gasped. Looked down at the silver protruding from his chest.
"Fuck..."
He crumbled to ash.
The first vampire was still alive. Barely. His face a ruin of burned flesh.
"Please..." he rasped.
I drove the blade through his skull.
He stopped moving.
[Combat Complete]
[Two Vampires Eliminated]
[Energy Gained: Minimal - Not corruption targets]
[Ti Remaining: 8 minutes]
"Vault guards are dead," I said into the comms. "Opening the safe now."
"Cain, the door's about to – "
It exploded inward.
Four vampires poured through. The hallway guards plus two more.
All of them saw their dead companions.
All of them looked at .
"Kill him," one snarled.
They rushed as one.
Four on one. In an enclosed space. With limited options for escape.
The first vampire reached . I grabbed his arm. Used his montum. Threw him into the wall.
The second vampire's claws raked my chest. Fabric tore. Skin split.
I headbutted him. Felt his cheekbone shatter.
The third and fourth attacked together. Coordinated strikes.
I blocked the first. The second caught in the ribs.
Bone cracked.
I grunted. Rolled with the impact.
Ca up with the blade.
Slashed across one vampire's eyes. He scread. Blinded.
The other grabbed my wrist. Twisted. The blade fell.
His partner hit from behind. Kidney shot. Precise. Professional.
I dropped to one knee.
They thought they had .
Mistake.
I let the divine energy flood out. No control. No restraint.
Pure celestial power.
It exploded from my body in a wave of golden light.
The vampires shrieked. Their skin smoked. Blistered. Burned.
They stumbled back. Weakened. Vulnerable.
I grabbed the nearest one by the throat. Lifted him off the ground.
Channeled power directly into him.
He combusted from the inside out. Ash in seconds.
The others stared. Terrified now.
"Shit, he's dangerous" one whispered.
I turned to face them. Golden energy still crackling around my hands.
"I'm done playing nice."
I moved.
Faster than they could track.
Grabbed the second vampire's head. Twisted.
Spine shattered. He fell.
The third vampire ran. Actually turned and ran for the door.
I caught him three steps later.
Drove him face-first into the wall. Once. Twice.
He slumped. Unconscious or dead. Didn't matter.
The fourth vampire stood alone. Young. Terrified.
"Please," he said. "I'll leave. I won't tell anyone what I saw."
"Too late for that."
I grabbed the silver blade from the floor.
Threw it.
Perfect aim. Right through his heart.
He looked down at the blade. Surprised.
Turned to ash.
[Combat Complete]
[Six Vampires Eliminated]
[Warning: Significant divine energy expenditure]
[Warning: Power signature now detectable to anyone nearby]
[Warning: Covenant may have sensed this]
I didn't care. The threat was eliminated.
I turned to the safe.
"Cain, what the hell was that?" Sarah's voice in my ear. "I felt that from two blocks away."
"Later. I'm opening the safe now."
I used rcier's blood on the lock. The chanism recognized it. Clicked.
The safe swung open.
Inside: jewelry, cash, docunts, artifacts. All of rcier's most valuable possessions.
And there, in a small velvet box, was Selene's ring.
Simple silver band. Black stone. Just like the photo.
I grabbed it.
"Got it. Heading to extraction."
"You've got company," Tommy said. "At least ten vampires converging on the building. rcier's entire security force."
"Can you give a path out?"
"East window, third floor. Fire escape leads to an alley. Viktor's bringing the van around."
I ran. Out of the vault room. Down the hallway.
Vampires poured up the stairs. I could hear them. Sll them.
Too many to fight.
I reached the window. Opened it.
Three-story drop to the fire escape below.
I jumped.
Landed hard. tal groaned under the impact.
Scrambled down. One floor. Two.
Hit the alley at a dead run.
Viktor's van screeched around the corner.
Sarah threw open the side door. "Move!"
I dove inside. Viktor gunned it before the door even closed.
Behind us, vampires poured into the alley. Too slow. Too late.
We were already gone.
Inside the van, I collapsed against the wall, breathing hard. Blood from various wounds soaked my tactical gear.
Sarah stared at . "What the hell happened in there? I felt power like – "
"Got the ring," I said, holding up the velvet box. "Mission accomplished."
Marco took the box, examining the ring. "Holy shit. You actually did it."
"Six dead vampires," Tommy said, reviewing the security footage. "You killed six vampires in under four minutes."
"Had to."
"How did you..." Elena said quietly.
Everyone looked at .
"I got the ring," I said. "That's all that matters."
The van fell silent as Viktor drove us back to the safehouse.
I'd completed Selene's job. Stolen from a vampire cri lord. Killed six of his guards. And revealed my true nature to any thing strong who'd been paying attention.
The complications were piling up faster than I could manage them.
But I'd worry about that tomorrow.
Tonight, I'd done the impossible.
Again.
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