Chapter 67: Chapter 65

“Looks like this is the place.”
“What a big building… Is it empty now?”

The four of them double-checked the location they had been provided on their phones while looking at the giant corrugated walls of the building in front of them. It was a far cry from the beautiful architecture of the French towns they’d travelled through on their way, but it was clearly built for function over form.

From the intel they had been provided, a vampire was sighted on the outskirts of Grenoble, a city to the southeast of where they had been staying. There had been some rumours going around about disappearances in the area, but after a CCTV recording was put forward showing what appeared to be someone dragging a body matching the description of one of the missing people, it had been roped into the vampire investigation case.

While murders and other human-perpetrated crimes were still a possibility, the video showed the figure hauling the body into the warehouse, and neither of them were seen again. Unless there was a serial killer camping out in the abandoned building without any food, water or power, demons were the clear answer.

“If we’re lucky it’ll be empty. Many of these abandoned buildings end up filled with all sorts of things - whether it’s junk that has been dumped there or the belongings of people who are no longer with us that were simply left behind.”
“That’s… a little sad.”

Hibiki’s eyebrows softened as she stared at the huge grey structure. Though it had been called abandoned, it was close enough to other operating buildings so that it wasn’t in total disrepair, but it had certainly seen better days. The protective paint that once served to stave off the rain and sun was chipped and peeling all over, and the few windows that the industrial warehouse once had were either smashed or tightly boarded over.

“...Yeah.”

Once, Yuuji may have said that the building’s contents were no good to dead men, but now he felt differently. There was a subtle melancholy in the thought of being surrounded by the possessions of those who had passed away before their time, and even though they couldn’t be sure whether or not that was the case here, he had been through this experience so many times before that he wondered how it had never bothered him.

“Can we p-please make this quick?”
“Humu. The denizen of the night will only grow stronger as we delay.”

Leona and Claire chimed in to interrupt their thoughts, as Hibiki and Yuuji stiffened their faces and nodded back.

Leona’s teeth chattered quietly as they stood together in the bitterly cold wind. The December air was already chilly, but the higher they ascended towards the Alps the colder it got, and though it wasn’t snowing at the time, frost lined the shady ground nearby.

While all three of the girls wore warm coats over their normal gear, Leona was the only one who wasn’t wearing thick tights to cover her legs. Being someone who heavily relied on precise, ferocious kicks for her fighting style, any kind of restrictive clothing was a detriment, and though she could quickly throw her coat to the ground in a pinch, a vampire wouldn’t exactly sit around as she took off a pair of cosy tights.

It was early afternoon, but the winter sun would only give them a few hours more to make their move. The sun was no absolute weapon by any means, but missing their chance to use it to their advantage was beyond foolish.

“The entrance should be around that corner… Look, there’s the camera the footage was pulled from.”

Yuuji directed them through the industrial lot towards their destination. The area was sparsely used, and the particular warehouse was positioned out of the way in the very corner; perfect for a hideout to commit unsavoury acts.

“...”
“Hibiki?”

The girl mumbled quietly to herself, and when he turned to face her, Yuuji saw that her eyes were glowing faintly. His brow furrowed, and he gave the others a glance, to which they all began taking off their jackets and putting them out of the way.

Rounding the corner, they came to the entrance, which to their surprise was already open. The giant bay door cast whatever remained of the sunlight into the entryway of the sprawling room, and even from where they were standing, they could see a seemingly endless mess of crates and barrels. Some were in relatively good condition, and others had been smashed and vandalised, but what drew their attention immediately was the figure that lounged on a cheap folding chair in the room’s centre.

She wore a dingy, grey jumpsuit covered in a medley of old, crusted stains, and a deep-set grimace twisted her face as she stared at the trespassers.

“...Th’ fuck you want?”

She tapped a lit cigarette on the rim of a rusty barrel she used as an ashtray, but otherwise remained seated. The faint glow of the cigarette gave her face a dim red colouring, but even in the darkness that concealed her, they could make out her greasy tousled hair that hung limply across her forehead.

“We’re here as part of an investigation. I’m sorry, but I’m going to need you to leave.”
“I’m on break. Nothin’ to investigate ‘ere, go someplace else.”
“We can’t do that.”
“Hah?”

The woman stood up with a grunt and violently kicked her chair backwards. It screeched along the floor before crashing into something metallic in the jumbled mess of objects in the dark, causing a loud rumble as the sound echoed through the room.

“I said, I’m on break. Fuck off.”

She stomped forward and puffed out her chest. While she was slumped in the darkness it was difficult to make out her figure, but now that she had approached closer they could see how big she truly was. Her build was stocky and she looked around seven feet tall, with thick muscular arms and legs bulging within her jumpsuit.

“No.”

Even so, the four of them stood firm as Leona barked out a response. The girl had already battled the cold long enough to get here; she wasn’t about to be intimidated out of doing her duty.

The worker sneered again and flicked her cigarette towards the group, which bounced off Yuuji’s overcoat harmlessly. Seeing that they didn’t even flinch at her coercion, she sized them up once again, and for a moment her eyes widened.

“You..? What’re you here for..?”
“...”

The woman locked eyes with Hibiki and tilted her head in confusion. For only a moment, Hibiki’s eyes lit up once more, and she quickly grabbed Yuuji’s shoulder.

“It's just her..!”
“...Understood.”

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He pulled his hand to his mouth, and with a slight grimace, pinched the skin on his hand tightly between his teeth. Once his preparation was done, he held his hand up high, and the woman before them gasped.

Blood.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough to trickle slowly down the back of his wrist as it begged her attention. Her eyes bulged and her breathing became heavy as she couldn’t tear away her gaze from the luscious red ambrosia, unconsciously licking her lips.

From the moment they saw her, they had their suspicions. Simply being alone in such a place was questionable enough, but the way she had deliberately avoided the direct sunlight from the doorway while threatening them seemed to confirm it. The group had trust in Hibiki’s ability, but even to the last moment they had to be sure that this was indeed the vampire they were looking for, and there was no better way to draw them out than with blood.

“No! You’re no demon!”
“Uriel!”
“Minamoto no Yorimitsu. Doujigiri!”
“Restless souls, your mistress beckons!”

The vampire’s eyes turned a hazy yellow as her fangs began to elongate, and her visage twisted into a bestial monstrosity. Her filthy, blotted skin stretched as her face became pointed and angular, and she snarled towards them. As the students called forth their spirits, the vampire grabbed the rusty barrel beside her with a single hand and tossed it as if it were as light as a feather.

*BANG*

Leona leapt forward with a twirl and landed a spinning kick on the makeshift projectile before it could reach the others, launching it right back towards the sender. The demon stepped aside to dodge, but following in tandem right behind the barrel was a gleaming blade of light, masterfully concealed beneath the impromptu attack.

“KA-SHAA!”

The monster screeched as Yuuji’s tachi ripped through its arm, effortlessly rending it from its host. He rotated away out of reach from its frantic retaliatory swipe, back into the safety of the sunlight in the doorway.

As the severed limb rolled into the light, it burned away to ash in mere moments, and the vampire quickly realised it stood no chance in this fight - at least, not if it fought fairly. The dark was its domain; so long as it could draw them into the shadows, it could pick them off without needing to combat them head-on.

*BOOM*

With a tremendous bound, it soared into the air, heading further into the depths of the warehouse. The maze of crates had been its recent home, so it knew where the perfect places to prepare an ambush would be, so long as it could get to them.

Unfortunately for the vampire, the students of Phoenix Academy had more than their share of experience in fighting demons.

*SNAP*

“K-RAAAH!!”

From between the rafters of the darkened roof, a void blacker than the deepest night tore open, and two huge snapping jaws burst forth. The beast gripped the demon with both of its heads and bit down hard as they tumbled violently back towards the ground.

*CRASH*

The dust from the ground kicked up into a frenzy from the impact, but as the air cleared, the result was a sorry state. The two-headed hound had torn deep wounds into the shoulder and waist of the demon, but in return, the vampire’s remaining hand had ripped through one of the beast’s necks, and it began to fade into a sinister black fog.

Regardless, it had done its job.

Before the vampire could return to its feet, a blazing heel rocketed down towards its unguarded face, aiming to finish it off. The creature twisted wildly at the very last second causing the blow to merely glance it, but the scorching heat still seared half of its face beyond recognition.

Writhing in pain, it made one last effort to scramble away to some dark corner of the room, but it was no use. The timing at which the demon slayers had arrived at the warehouse was no coincidence - though the window was only an hour or so, the sunlight currently shone directly down onto the building, leaving no shadows in the adjoining area for the creature to slink away into. One of the most difficult parts of fighting a vampire was preventing it from leaving once cornered, as their incredible speed and strength made them difficult to restrain, and they were able to blend in with humans to a shockingly convincing degree - provided they had enough blood to sate their base urges.

Overpowered and outmanoeuvred, it saw the approaching blade with the eye it still had left, and with its back up against the wall, sought to cause as much damage to its attacker as it could before it died. Thrusting its dagger-like claws towards the middle of Yuuji’s chest, it gave up all hope on dodging the decapitating slice, only hoping it could kill one of the hateful humans on the way out.

“Halt.”

With a single word, time stopped for the creature. The strike in which it placed its remaining life paused as if frozen in the air, and the glimmering sword cut clean through its neck, toppling the vampire’s head from its body before both parts fizzled away into dust.

“...Haa…”

Yuuji breathed a sigh of relief as his heart still remained intact from the unexpected suicide strike. Though he knew he needed to finish the fight then and there, the speed at which the demon was able to recover from consecutive blows still caught him by surprise, and he was almost gravely wounded.

He turned his head towards his companion, who panted softly in the gentle sunlight outside. Her lilac eyes still shone with power, and she looked at him with concern for a moment, before her expression turned to joy upon seeing he was unharmed.

It had been much more of a close call than they had liked, but in return, Hibiki had been able to call forth her power and control it once again. It seemed to have drawn a lot out of her, but the girl’s strength was enough to stop the vampire in its tracks, and in a fight to the death that would make all the difference.

With their mission complete, the vampire hunters collected themselves and prepared to head back to their temporary base.

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