BANG.
The gunshot echoed through the workshop, followed immediately by screams of pain. Frost, who'd been directing the vampire assault from the middle of the pack, jumped and spun around to see Mario somehow behind them, pumping silver rounds into his followers.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A rapid succession of shots rang out as several vampires collapsed, their bodies bursting into ash before they even hit the ground. The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
The vampires, caught completely off guard by the surprise attack, finally snapped out of their shock and returned fire. He caught Frost's eye across the chaos and flashed him a cold smile before vanishing again right in front of them.
Frost couldn't help but shout, "Find him! Kill that bastard!"
At that moment, it all clicked for him, this was the same man who'd disappeared from the archive room. There was no doubt about it. For the first time tonight, Frost felt real fear creeping up his spine.
What he didn't know was that Mario's Disguise skill had serious limitations. He couldn't attack with anything other than crossbows while invisible, the effect automatically failed within ten meters of enemies, and even basic electronic sensors could detect him.
But for Frost, an enemy who could vanish at will was far more dangerous than Blade himself. How do you fight someone who could slit your throat while you sleep?
Fighting down his rage, he fired toward where Mario had vanished, even though he knew the sneaky bastard wouldn't still be there.
Mario watched Frost cower behind cover and grinned. This vampire was different from the street-level bloodsuckers he'd been hunting. Above Frost's head, barely visible to Mario's enhanced vision, floated the title he'd been hoping to see:
[Vampire Baron]
This guy might actually qualify as a Level 1 Baron. I have to finish him off with a stake!
Vampire Barons were remnants of ancient bloodlines, filled with hatred for everything that lived. In the Vampirism mod, they spawned in Vampire Forests and dropped Pure Blood when killed.
The purity level depended on the Baron's rank. A Level 1 Baron would drop Level 1 Pure Blood, and so on. He wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away. Who knew when he'd encounter another high-level vampire?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He opened fire again, reappearing in front of the group. This time the vampires reacted much faster, a hail of bullets striking his body and forcing him to dive for cover behind some machinery.
Disguise couldn't be activated while taking damage. He rolled behind a pile of scrap metal, bullets whining off the steel around him.
"Get him! Rush his position!"
Following Frost's command, the vampires charged toward Mario's last known location like rabid animals.
That's when another burst of gunfire erupted from a different direction, reminding Frost and his followers that Blade was still very much in the fight.
Blade moved through the workshop, pistols bucking in his hands.
The gunfire drew every vampire's attention, giving Mario the opening he needed. He burst from cover wielding a silver longsword he'd borrowed from Blade's arsenal. With a single slash, he severed a vampire's arm and leg. Before the creature could even scream, Mario's other hand drove a wooden stake through its throat.
Silver weapons could rapidly reduce a vampire's health below the crucial threshold. After that, just a light thrust with a stake would let its power claim the creature's life instantly.
Mario fought like a man possessed, pushing through enemy fire and slaughtering seven or eight vampires in quick succession.
But then a lucky shot caught him, and his vision went black.
"He vanished! What the fuck?"
"Where'd he go? He was right there!"
This time the vampires finally panicked. Unlike before, when Mario had simply gone invisible, this time he'd disappeared while taking direct hits. That wasn't something stealth could explain.
Frost's light pupils dilated sharply. An enemy who could both turn invisible and teleport was a nightmare he couldn't wake up from.
"Forget everything else!" he screamed. "Capture the Daywalker at all costs! We need him alive!"
Right now, his only chance of surviving against Mario was to complete the ritual and become La Magra. But that required Blade's blood, and he wasn't exactly cooperating.
---
Where… Oh. This is the third time. Is there a limit? What happens if my bed gets destroyed?
Mario opened his eyes to find himself staring into darkness, though this darkness had a distinctly curved shape.
He reached out and gave it a gentle pat. "Sorry, could you move over a bit?"
Karen let out a startled yelp, springing up from the bed like she had springs in her legs, clutching her ass. She spun around to stare at Mario lying on the cot.
"You... weren't you outside just now fighting?"
Whistler, who'd been keeping watch through the iron door's viewport, heard Karen's scream and whipped around with his shotgun raised. Seeing Mario's figure, he quickly lowered the weapon.
"How the hell did you get back in here?"
Mario sat up on the bed and stretched, working the kinks out of his body. "Just a few little tricks I picked up."
He pointed to a stone button he'd placed on the wall and gave both of them a serious look. "Whatever you do, don't press this button. It opens the door from the inside."
As he headed for the exit, he flashed Karen a grin. "By the way, nice cushions."
With a bang, the iron door opened as he pressed the button. he strode out, leaving behind a furious and flustered Karen and a thoughtful Whistler.
Outside, when the vampires saw Mario again, they no longer rushed at him recklessly. Instead, they raised their weapons but held their fire.
Frost stepped forward.
"This is between us and Blade. We have no quarrel with you. As long as you stay out of it, I can give you whatever you want, money, power, even eternal life."
Mario gazed calmly at Frost, considering the offer. Honestly, vampires weren't such a bad species, aside from their weakness to sunlight. Bloodsucking wasn't really different from humans needing food. The most tempting aspect was their extended lifespan.
If they used that longevity to study and fix their genetic flaws, to become a truly immortal race, that wasn't impossible.
But what they should never have done was treat him like food.
The silver longsword traced a light line across the concrete floor.
"Eternal life?"
He chuckled. "Better enjoy the last moments of your miserable existence, Frost."
Ignoring Frost's expression, his figure vanished once more.
The breakdown of negotiations was clear. As for Frost's offered conditions, Mario found them laughable.
The Marvel universe was about to enter a magnificent age of heroes and villains. Mere vampires thinking they could offer him "power" was absurd. Even setting aside the coming superheroes and cosmic threats, just the Inhumans living on the moon were far beyond what the current vampire population could contend with.
"Retreat! Everyone fall back!"
Frost now deeply regretted coming here. He'd thought he was dealing with just Blade, but encountering an enemy like Mario was completely outside his calculations.
The vampires surrounding him, hearing the order, turned to flee. But then a horrifying sight unfolded before their eyes.
Mario appeared beside their vehicles, holding a pickaxe. He tapped the cars a few times, and just like that, the vehicles vanished into his inventory.
Seeing them raise their weapons, he activated Disguise again, disappearing from their sight.
The moment Mario vanished, Frost shouted, "Don't waste time on him! Just get out of here on foot!"
His words snapped the panicked vampires back to their senses. If they kept fighting, they'd all die in this place.
But Mario wasn't about to let his prey escape so easily. The vampires were fast, but once they scattered outside the factory, he'd never catch them all. He had to thin their numbers now.
Deactivating Disguise, he charged into the group with his sword flashing. He aimed for non-vital areas, silver was so effective against vampires that a careless strike could kill them instantly, and he needed them alive long enough to finish with a stake.
Meanwhile, the vampires who'd been chasing Blade noticed the commotion. Seeing Frost fleeing, they were completely baffled.
Spotting Mario in hot pursuit, they immediately shifted targets and charged at him instead. He frowned and sidestepped a hail of bullets, watching Frost's figure disappear into the distance.
Damn it. Ordinary vampires were just a matter of time, but Frost was different. That Baron title made him extremely valuable.
Bang! Bang! Clang!
Bullets struck the debris around him. By sheer bad luck, a ricochet caught him in the head, shaving off a few hit points.
"Fucking hell. What kind of luck is that?"
Just as Mario was about to risk everything taking out some of the vampires, Blade came charging over with a submachine gun, laying down covering fire.
"Mamma mia. Two against many is way better odds!"
Mario pulled bread from his inventory, chewing as he leaped from cover and charged the vampires with a stake in hand. The moment he spotted a vampire below 35% health, he'd rush in for the execution.
In just seconds, he took four or five more hits. Fortunately, he was wearing iron armor; each bullet only dealt 2 points of damage, even from submachine guns.
He grabbed a nearby vampire and yanked it in front of him as a human shield. The creature's HP bar dropped, 70 points fell to just 20 in the blink of an eye. At least the vampires weren't using silver bullets.
Dragging his shield along, he rushed the next target. Ignoring the terror on his shield's face, he finished off the one in his hands and grabbed a fresh replacement.
"He's taken multiple hits and it's not even slowing him down!"
"Frost already left! We need to retreat!"
Panic spread through the remaining vampires as they finally understood why Frost had suddenly abandoned them.
Mario wasn't about to let this feast of experience points escape. Using his shield for cover, he charged into their ranks.
Blade caught up and fought alongside Mario, helping him clear out the remaining vampires.
"You alright? You took some hits back there."
Mario glanced at the completely unharmed Blade.
I died once tonight, and just because they wanted to capture you alive, they didn't fire a single shot your way.
"Get the car, we're chasing Frost!"
Hearing this, Blade looked toward the fleeing vampires, thought for a moment, then nodded. He turned and sprinted toward his vehicle.
Mario pulled more bread from his inventory, stuffing it in his mouth with a sour expression. Because his HP wasn't at full, his hunger bar was also depleted.
After finishing off the last vampire trapped in the workshop, he collected the dropped loot. The harvest was excellent, he now had enough Vampire Blood to upgrade to Level 3. Once he found another vampire hunter NPC, he could level up, gain skill points, and unlock the Hunter's Weapon Table to craft crossbows.
With the right bolts, he wouldn't have to fight so desperately at close range. From a distance, he could easily pick off vampires whose health barely reached 100 points.
Vroom...
The roar of an engine announced Blade's return. He pulled up in his car. Mario didn't hesitate, he yanked open the door and jumped in.
Blade was clearly just as fired up. Fighting alongside Mario had made this the most satisfying hunt he'd had in years.
With a screech of tires and a powerful acceleration that pressed them back into their seats, the car shot forward.
Vampires were fast, but compared to a V8 engine, they were pedestrians. Soon, Mario spotted the fleeing group ahead.
"Forget these guys, just find Frost. We can clean them up later."
"Got it, no problem!"
The car didn't slow down, tearing through the industrial district's winding roads. It wasn't long before Mario spotted the glowing text floating above one figure among the scattered vampires:
[Vampire Baron]
"That's him up ahead. Floor it, ram straight through!"
The roar of the engine drew Frost's attention. At first, he thought it was his own reinforcements, but before he could celebrate, the car surged into his vision, growing larger by the second.
BANG!
The impact proved that no matter how supernaturally tough Frost's body was, it was still no match for two tons of Detroit steel traveling at highway speeds. The collision launched him through the air like a broken doll.
"Fucking beautiful hit!"