Mario stepped forward to help search the cop, shoving the guy's weapon into his own jacket. Just because Blade didn't want it didn't mean he was going to let a perfectly good gun go to waste. Police issue or not, a gun was a gun.
Karen started to say something when she heard Blade's words, wanting to argue, but in the end she kept quiet. Even she had to admit what he was saying made sense.
Blade grabbed the corrupt cop by the collar and dragged him toward the elevator, with Karen following close behind.
When they got in the elevator, Mario reached out and pressed the button for the second floor. Blade looked at him suspiciously. "What are you up to?"
"There's a vampire on the second floor. I'm gonna take care of it."
Ding!
The elevator doors slowly opened. Mario stepped out, and thanks to his vampire hunter perception, he could sense through the walls exactly where the bloodsucker was hiding.
Hearing Mario's words, Blade dragged Krieger out of the elevator too, frowning. "How do you know there's a vampire here?"
Mario pulled out his newly forged iron axe. The damage was the same as his stone axe, 9 points, but the durability was much higher. To avoid his weapon breaking mid-fight, he'd switched to using iron tools.
Without even glancing back at Blade, his eyes locked onto the vampire hiding in one of the rooms. "The stench these things give off is like a fucking beacon to me."
He lifted his foot and kicked hard at the wooden door. This building was in much worse shape than Karen's place, the flimsy door couldn't withstand the blow. With a loud crash, it burst open.
A familiar scene unfolded before his eyes. Heavy curtains blocked out every trace of sunlight. The furniture had that old-fashioned feel that screamed "I've been around way too long." Who knew how many decades this vampire had been squatting here?
"Who the hell are you people?"
A guy in his forties, dressed in gray pajamas, rose angrily from the sofa when he heard his door get kicked in. He glared at Mario, the uninvited intruder.
Mario ignored his question and charged straight at him. The vampire reacted quickly, pulling a pistol from beneath the sofa cushion and firing at Mario.
Bang!
A bullet shot toward him. An invisible barrier appeared, reducing the impact before it struck his chest, forcing him back a step.
Out of his ten hearts, one instantly vanished. Even so, he didn't hesitate. He pulled out his own handgun and returned fire, squeezing off shot after shot at the vampire.
He'd never fired a gun before, but he knew the basics of pointing and shooting. A burst of gunfire echoed through the room, and outside Blade immediately threw down the cop, drew his pistol, and rushed inside.
Mario's bullets sprayed wildly, most missed, but one lucky shot caught the vampire in his gun arm. Seizing the chance, Mario rushed forward, jumped onto the sofa, and switched from his handgun to the iron axe, bringing it down hard on the vampire's head.
Right then, Blade burst into the room.
Bang!
A silver bullet laced with concentrated garlic juice went through the vampire's skull. As the creature began burning to ash, Mario turned to Blade.
"Should I be praising your aim, or complaining that you stole my kill?"
He walked to the window and pulled open the curtains, letting sunlight flood the room. Blade holstered his pistol, showing his smile. "Judging by your face, I'd say you're pissed I snatched your prey."
"I'm a hunter, of course I'm mad you stole my kill!"
Mario started looking around the room for anything valuable when Karen's voice suddenly called from outside, "He got away!"
Mario and Blade exchanged a quick glance, then bolted out. The police officer they'd left in the hallway was gone. Karen stood there looking anxious.
"After him!"
The three of them immediately gave chase. As soon as they stepped outside, they saw the police cruiser that had been parked at the curb speeding off. In the blink of an eye, it turned the corner and disappeared. Mario's expression darkened, finding the bar that led to the vampire archives was going to be much harder now.
The only thing he knew for sure was that the bar was somewhere in this district.
He turned to Karen, who was following behind them. "Do you know of any bars in the Bronx run by Japanese owners?"
Unfortunately, Karen shook her head, she was a doctor who didn't have time for places like that.
The three of them got back in the car. This time Mario sat in the passenger seat, while Karen took the back.
"You should leave this city," Blade said.
"No," Karen shook her head firmly. "I have to stay with you. It's the only way I'll live long enough to see a cure."
Blade turned toward her. "There is no cure."
He'd always wanted to rid himself of his vampire nature, but after all these years, there was still no solution.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Mario adjusted his seat, found a comfortable position, and said, "You're not really a vampire... you're something completely new. Even if there was a cure, it wouldn't work on you. I don't smell that foul vampire stench on you. But the lady in the back seat, she's starting to develop that odor."
In his perception, Blade wasn't truly a vampire. He had some of their abilities, but he wasn't afraid of sunlight, silver, or garlic. Other than a thirst for blood, he was completely different from the rest of his kind.
Hearing this, Blade said nothing. He started the car and drove toward the corner where the police officer had turned.
---
Things went much more smoothly than Mario had expected. It didn't take long before they found the vampire bar.
Blade raised his hand to signal Mario and Karen, pointing at the mark on the building's outer wall.
"Looks like we struck gold. That's a vampire symbol!"
Mario, who had been resting with his eyes closed, instantly perked up when he heard Blade's words. "Gold? Where's the gold?"
"This mark means there are safe houses nearby, places they can hide when dawn comes."
Mario looked at the blue building in the distance, and scenes from the movie flashed through his mind. Since it was still daytime, there were no vampires standing guard outside the bar.
He glanced around at the environment. The dirty, cluttered alley walls were covered with old newspapers that swayed in the wind before fluttering to the ground. Good thing it was daylight, if it had been night, he would've half-expected a naked terminator to suddenly appear. The setting looked way too much like that movie scene.
From the back seat, Karen asked, "These vampires are just openly running a bar on the street? This is insane!"
The police cruiser from earlier was parked right outside the bar. Hearing her words, Blade stepped out of the car. "Today, you'll see something scarier than vampires."
Karen asked instinctively: "What's that?"
"Me."
Mario also opened the car door and got out. This was exactly why he'd always liked Blade, the guy could deliver cool lines with perfect timing and zero embarrassment.
Seeing the police car parked at the entrance, he said, "Let's go. I can't hold back anymore."
Ignoring the suspicious looks from passersby, Blade pulled a pistol from his black trench coat and handed it to Karen.
"Remember this, showing mercy to a vampire is cruelty to yourself. Aim for their head and pull the trigger. That's it."
Karen hesitated as she took the gun. He continued, "And don't believe all that movie bullshit. Holy water and crosses are completely useless."
Mario immediately objected, "I can't agree with that. I actually have holy water that can damage vampires, just can't access it right now. As for crosses, if they're made of pure silver, they work too."
Blade turned to look at Mario. Even though the dark sunglasses hid his eyes, his expression was obvious.
You've got to be the biggest smartass alive.
The meaning was clear, even if the wording might be different.
The three of them reached the bar's entrance. The heavy doors were tightly shut, it wasn't open for business yet. That was normal. Even if this place weren't a vampire safe house, no bar would be open in the morning.
Through the thick walls, Mario could clearly see what was happening inside. A large number of vampires were gathered within, but they weren't moving, they seemed to be resting.
He felt his adrenaline surge. So many vampires... even if only thirty percent drop loot, that's enough to get me to Level 2. That would give me two new skills!
With that thought, he turned to Blade. "How about leaving this place to me? I'll clean it up nice and slow."
Blade removed his sunglasses and tucked them into his coat pocket, speaking seriously, "There are definitely a lot of vampires in there. You won't be able to handle them alone."
In his eyes, even though Mario had some special abilities, his close-combat skills were average at best. Against a couple of low-level vampires, he could manage, but a dozen or more would overwhelm him.
Mario sighed. "In that case, just try to leave as many vampires for me as possible. If I don't kill some bloodsuckers every day, I get antsy."
Blade didn't respond, he just nodded, then reached out and pushed against the bar's front door. The door was extremely thick and heavy. Without a car or explosives, there was no way to break through.
"Don't worry, we'll go in from the side. I've got this covered."
Mario grinned. With his Minecraft abilities, walls, doors, and gates were no different from decorations.
After checking the vampire positions inside, he led the other two to a spot where no bloodsuckers were nearby. He pulled out his pickaxe and swung it against the bar's blue exterior wall.
The pickaxe appearing out of thin air in Mario's hand startled Karen at first, but she quickly adapted. Vampires straight out of legend were already here, what was a conjured pickaxe compared to that?
Thunk... thunk... crack.
Cracks spread across the wall, and before Blade and Karen's eyes, a section of wall simply disappeared.
"Can you do something like that too?" Karen asked Blade curiously.
Blade, examining the newly opened gap, drew his custom longsword from his back, giving it a quick swing.
"My ability is sending vampires to hell."
With that, he strode into the bar first.
Mario followed right behind, pulling out his iron axe and calling out, "Don't kill these vampires outright! Just chop off their arms and legs, leave the finishing moves to me!"
Inside the dark bar's main hall, only a handful of vampires were lounging on sofas, resting. None of them noticed the three intruders. Thanks to his enhanced vision, Blade wasn't bothered by the darkness. Longsword in hand, he advanced without hesitation.
But Mario wasn't so lucky. In the dim light, he couldn't make out the details of the bar's interior. He could see the vampires' positions through his special sight, but not everything else, including any human thralls who, despite everything, were still technically people.
So he pulled out a torch, jammed it into the wall, and lit up a section of the surroundings.
"The Daywalker?!"
One vampire who hadn't been sleeping heard footsteps, opened his eyes, and saw Blade standing there. Worse yet, Blade had already spotted him.
"Ahhh—"
Blade's sword flashed. The vampire's arm and thigh were severed in an instant, and his scream echoed through the room, waking up the rest of the bar.
Mario, watching the vampire writhing on the floor, finally felt relieved. He'd been worried Blade might finish them all off instantly, since the legendary hunter was used to killing ordinary vampires in one strike.
Mario stepped forward, driving his wooden stake into the fallen vampire's chest. With an arm and leg already severed, its health had dropped below 35%, triggering his [How to use a stake], the vampire was instantly executed.