Hugo opened his palm, glancing at it briefly before setting his eyes back at the person several meters away from him. The wounds on his cheek, neck, shoulders, and everywhere across his body slowly closed up.
"How infuriating," he muttered as he closed his hands into a fist, unfazed by the shower of red. "And evil."
The dark barrier that ascended earlier already felt alarming. However, when it softened and suddenly became liquid, Hugo knew he made a correct judgment. Not that he accurately predicted this from happening, but deep down, he knew Azazel wouldn't infiltrate Ronmin Empire if he didn't have a card up his sleeve to bring his allies without the werewolves noticing.
There was no way the werewolves wouldn't smell a vampire from a mile. So, Hugo could only think one way, the underground. How they would do it? He was unclear, but that was the only way the vampire could infiltrate their territory.
He was correct.
Vampires were now crawling out to the surface of the imperial palace. But instead of mindless ones, the ones coming out were powerful and intelligent ones, capable of fighting a werewolf head-on.
"How hypocritical for you to say that after using your family as bait." Azazel laughed, running his hand through his long silver hair. "Your people blocked all exits, isolating the royal palace from the outside world. I don't know if you're heroically stupid or foolishly confident. Either way, that is fine with me."
Azazel flashed a smile that reached his eyes, studying Hugo's mien. He wasn't surprised that a slash wasn't enough to faze Hugo with his quick regeneration ability. Even a few broken bones didn't hinder Hugo from attacking him.
He must admit, though, that Hugo's style in battle was troublesome. The latter's movements were always resolute. If Hugo would land a punch, even if his flesh was clawed, his fist would still land on his target. Reckless, but that was the scariest of all.
HOWL...
Hugo arched a brow as a loud howl that was enough to shake the ground even from this distance reached his ear.
"Your Grace, it was a fun exchange of blows." His brows furrowed when Azazel suddenly spoke, narrowing his eyes when the latter raise a finger. "However, I will deal with you later..."
Red mist slowly surrounded them while Hugo cautiously looked around. It was different from the dark barrier earlier, and this one... felt more aggressive.
"... or maybe not."
Hugo's eyes slowly dilated when Azazel vanished right before his eyes, only to feel his breathing on the back of his neck. Thanks to his fast reflex and keen instincts, Hugo was able to grab his arm even before Azazel could rip his head with his bare hand.
His eyes glinted, casting Azazel a menacing side-eye. "You... will regret getting ahead of yourself." The side of his lips stretched as his grip around Azazel's arm tightened.
This time, Azazel's pupils constricted as they widened, and before he knew it, Hugo's fist already met his face.
One.. two... three... Hugo's fist pounded against Azazel's face countless times, gritting his teeth as each punch was stronger than the last. He never let the latter's arm go, keeping him close while attacking him.
Blood splattered across his cheek, but Hugo didn't stop. The only time he did was when his grip around Azazel's arm tightened until it broke and eventually severed it.
THUD!
Hugo blinked, gazing down at the mangled face blankly. He held a severed limb on his left hand while his right fist dripped with blood. It took him several seconds to realize it seemed Azazel was dead. The latter was even unrecognizable now because his face cracked from all that unrestrained punch.
'That's... easy...' he narrowed his eyes, staring cautiously at the unmoving body. His opponent wouldn't die so easily, but he didn't have a pulse. Although the vampire's pulses were faint, Hugo would still hear it.
His eyes glinted as he thoroughly observed the blood moving in one direction. He followed the distinct red mist before he abruptly let the severed arm go after it nearly clawed him. As soon as the decapitated arm was free, it moved back to Azazel's body.
"Hah... bastard." Hugo laughed dryly, watching Azazel regenerate at a crazy speed whilst standing up. When Azazel was back on his two feet, his face twitched, fixing his broken cheekbone until he looked fresh, as if nothing happened.
"I didn't know you'll be that angry about Alice... that bitch's death." Azazel wiped the side of his lips with his thumb, the wound around his arm slowly closed up. "You didn't even realize how happy you were while beating me to death. Well, you're an animal. I shouldn't be surprised."
Unfazed by the obvious taunting, Hugo studied Azazel from head to toe. While doing so, a question suddenly hovered over his head.
How would he kill him? If he minced Azazel, would he still regenerate? Hugo didn't have any idea. It was crystal clear that Azazel's ability was a pain in the neck. This was what a true immortal was.
"Did it hurt?" Hugo inquired casually, ignoring all the taunting at him. "I mean, it seemed I can't kill you, so I'm curious if it hurt even just a tiny bit."
Azazel blinked twice before bursting out in laughter, shaking his head, running his pale hands through his hair.
"You want to know?"
Hugo could only widen his eyes when Azazel appeared to his side, open palms right in front of his face.
***
Silas, who was initially on his way to Hugo and Azazel, was held back at the vampires crawling from the surface after the pour. To stop the enemies from roaming the imperial palace, Silas had to take down as many vampires as possible.
Meanwhile, standing over the wall of the inner palace, Daniel was fighting everyone from approaching Hugo. As he took down another vampire, Daniel huffed before setting his eyes back in Hugo's direction. However, his eyes instantly dilated as his breath hitched the second he saw Azazel grab Hugo's face while the latter stood still.