Time seemed to slow as the makeshift projectile whistled through the air, trailing blood and chunks of something Kaine didn't want to identify. He threw himself sideways, hitting the alley's brick wall hard enough to knock the wind out of his lungs.
The head exploded against the wall inches from where he'd been standing, leaving a splatter of gore and bone fragments.
When Kaine looked up, gasping for breath, the bloodsucker was gone.
The alley fell silent except for the buzz of the dying streetlight and his own ragged breathing. Two bodies lay crumpled by the dumpster like discarded dolls. The third kid was nowhere to be seen—either escaped or dragged off for a snack.
Kaine pushed himself off the brick wall, wiping blood from a scrape on his cheek. Now that the trail was hot, he couldn't lose it. The bloodsucker hadn't gone far—he could smell it, that sickly sweet stench they all carried. It was a strange ability he had. Once he was within range of one, he could lock onto their smell and he wasn't going to let this one go.
Following the scent led him deeper into a warehouse district, past abandoned loading docks and rusted chain-link fences. The trail ended at a converted shipping warehouse, its windows boarded up but light bleeding through the cracks.
Kaine pressed his ear to a side door. Voices inside, multiple speakers talking in low tones. One voice stood out—the bastard from the food truck, complaining about "some hunter showing up and ruining the feeding."
'Should call for backup,' he thought, then remembered he didn't have backup anymore. He no longer worked for the shadow guard anymore and that was a story for another day.
He tested the door handle. Unlocked. Either they were sloppy or confident. Probably both.
The warehouse floor opened into a nightmare assembly line. Dozens of people hung from meat hooks along the far wall, some conscious and whimpering, others unconscious or worse. Industrial-sized refrigeration units hummed along the opposite wall, probably full of harvested blood.
Eight bloodsuckers moved between the "inventory," checking vitals and making notes on clipboards like they were running an actual farm.
The one from the food truck stood near a makeshift office area, still wearing his expensive jacket but no longer bothering to hide his true nature. Red eyes glowed in the warehouse lighting, and his fingers had extended into razor-sharp claws.
"Told you we should have moved operations," he was saying to another bloodsucker. "Too many hunters sniffing around."
"Relax, Marcus. One hunter isn't going to—"
Kaine kicked the door open hard enough to rip it off its hinges.
"Evening, ladies."
The bloodsuckers spun toward him with inhuman speed, fangs extending and eyes flaring bright red. But they moved like eighth or ninth generation—fast for humans, but Kaine had been killing their kind for over a decade.
The first one reached him in a blur, claws aimed at his throat. Kaine ducked low and drove his elbow up into its ribs, feeling bones crack under the impact. Before it could recover, he grabbed its head and twisted sharply. The neck snapped with a wet pop.
Two more came at him from opposite sides. Kaine dropped to one knee as their claws whistled over his head, then swept the legs of the one on his right. As it fell, he caught it by the throat and used its momentum to slam it into a concrete support pillar. The skull split like a melon.
The third bloodsucker landed on his back, claws digging into his jacket. Kaine reached over his shoulder, grabbed a handful of hair, and threw the creature over his head. It hit the warehouse floor hard enough to leave cracks in the concrete.
'Still got it,' he thought, breathing hard but feeling the familiar rush of combat.
The remaining bloodsuckers circled him like wolves, no longer underestimating their prey. Marcus hung back, watching with calculating eyes.
"Kill the hunter," Marcus ordered. "Save some pieces for the collection."
They attacked in coordinated waves. Kaine managed to catch the first attacker's wrist, redirecting its claws into the second bloodsucker's chest. Both went down in a tangle of limbs and spraying blood.
The third one got through his guard, raking claws across his ribs and opening up his jacket. Kaine hissed in pain but managed to grab the creature's extended arm and break it at the elbow. The joint bent backward with a sound like snapping wood.
"How is a normal human this strong?!!" Marcus, the bloodsucker was beyond confused.
Kaine has overhead this mid fighting.
'First mistake you lot made was assuming I was normal!'
Another bloodsucker leaped from behind, landing on his shoulders and wrapping its arms around his throat. Kaine stumbled forward, spots dancing in his vision as the chokehold tightened. He reached back desperately, found the creature's ear, and tore it off with a sharp yank.
The bloodsucker screamed and loosened its grip. Kaine threw it forward over his head, sending it crashing into a stack of empty crates.
But more were coming. Too many.
Two bloodsuckers grabbed his arms while a third drove its fist into his stomach. Kaine doubled over, gasping, then used their grip against them by jumping up and driving both feet into the third attacker's chest. The impact sent it flying backward into a refrigeration unit with a crash of metal and sparking wires.
The ones holding his arms tried to pull him apart like a wishbone. Kaine roared and flexed, his muscles straining against their supernatural strength. For a moment, it was a standstill—then he managed to slam their heads together with a meaty crack.
But the effort left him open. Another bloodsucker's claws raked across his back, shredding fabric and skin. Then another hit him from the side, claws digging deep into his shoulder.
'Time to even the odds.'
Kaine reached back and wrapped his fingers around Soulrend's handle. The weapon came free with a metallic whisper, and immediately its edges began to glow with deep red light. The bloodsuckers hissed and backed away as the cursed blade's energy filled the air.
"Oh, you fuckers want to dance now?"
The first swing took a bloodsucker's head clean off, the blade passing through bone and sinew like they were made of paper. The creature's body stood for a moment before toppling backward, black blood fountaining from the stump of its neck.
Kaine spun, bringing Soulrend around in a horizontal arc. The blade bit deep into a concrete pillar as the second bloodsucker barely ducked under the strike. Chunks of concrete and rebar exploded outward, leaving a gouge three inches deep in the structural support.
The bloodsucker tried to capitalize on his momentary overextension, lunging forward with claws extended. Kaine reversed his grip and drove the pommel into its face, crushing its nose and sending it reeling backward.
A quick upward slash opened the creature from groin to sternum, spilling its guts across the warehouse floor.
'That's four down. Four to go.'
But his count was wrong. More bloodsuckers were emerging from the shadows—at least ten more, maybe fifteen. They'd been hiding, waiting to see how the fight played out.
"Shit," Kaine breathed.
They came at him in a coordinated rush, no longer the sloppy individual attacks from before. Kaine spun Soulrend in a wide circle, the glowing blade leaving red trails in the air. Two bloodsuckers ran straight into the arc and were bisected at the waist, their torsos sliding apart in sprays of black blood.
But three more got through his guard. Claws raked across his chest, opening deep furrows that burned like fire. Another set of claws found his back, adding fresh wounds to the existing ones.
Kaine stumbled but kept fighting, driving Soulrend's point through a bloodsucker's chest and out its back. The blade punched through a metal support beam behind the creature, anchoring it in place as it died.
He yanked the weapon free and immediately had to duck as another bloodsucker leaped over his head, claws aimed at his skull. The creature landed behind him and spun for another attack, but Kaine was already moving. Soulrend's blade took its legs off at the knees.
The bloodsucker hit the ground hard, trying to crawl away on its stumps. Kaine ended its suffering with a downward thrust through the back of its skull.
For a moment, he thought he was winning. Bodies littered the warehouse floor, black blood pooling around his boots. His breath came in ragged gasps, and pain radiated from dozens of claw marks, but he was still standing.
Then Marcus finally joined the fight.
The leader moved with a speed that made the others look like they were standing still. One moment he was across the warehouse, the next he was in front of Kaine, moving faster than human eyes could track.
His fist connected with Kaine's ribs like a sledgehammer. The impact lifted him off his feet and sent him flying backward into a stack of shipping containers. Metal buckled and dented as his body hit with bone-jarring force.
'Third generation,' Kaine realized as he struggled to stand. 'Maybe second.'
Marcus didn't give him time to recover. The vampire leader crossed the distance in a blur, grabbing Kaine by the throat and lifting him off the ground with one hand.
"You should have minded your own business, hunter."
Kaine swung Soulrend desperately, but Marcus caught his wrist with his free hand and squeezed. Bones ground together as the vampire's grip tightened, and the cursed blade clattered to the concrete floor.
The remaining bloodsuckers closed in, forming a circle around their leader and his prey.
Marcus smiled, revealing fangs like ivory daggers. "We're going to take our time with you. Maybe keep you fresh for a few days while we work."
But Kaine wasn't done yet. He drove his knee up into Marcus's stomach, then followed with a headbutt that crunched the vampire's nose. Marcus snarled and threw him aside like a rag doll.
Kaine hit the ground rolling and came up with Soulrend back in his hands. The blade's red glow flared brighter, responding to his desperation.
He managed to take down three more bloodsuckers in the next few seconds, moving with the fluid grace of a man who'd been killing monsters since before some of them were turned. Soulrend carved through supernatural flesh like it was made for the job—which it was.
But there were too many, and Marcus was too fast.
The vampire leader appeared behind him like a shadow, claws raking across Kaine's back and sending him stumbling forward. Before he could recover, another bloodsucker hit him from the side, claws digging deep into his ribs.
Then another from the front, opening up his chest in parallel lines that went to the bone.
Kaine swung Soulrend in wild arcs, trying to keep them back, but his movements were getting sluggish. Blood loss was taking its toll, and the warehouse floor was slick with his own gore.
Marcus appeared in front of him again, moving with that impossible speed. This time, Kaine was ready. He brought Soulrend up in a perfect arc, the glowing blade aimed at the vampire's heart.
Marcus caught the blade in his bare hand.
The cursed weapon, sharp enough to cut through concrete, stopped dead against the vampire's palm. Marcus smiled as black blood dripped from between his fingers.
"Second generation," he said casually. "Your little toy can't hurt me."
He ripped Soulrend from Kaine's grasp and threw it aside. Then his other hand shot forward, claws punching through Kaine's chest like he was made of paper.
Kaine looked down at the five holes in his torso, black spots dancing in his vision. He could feel his heart struggling to beat around the damage, could taste blood in his mouth.
"Any last words, hunter?"
Kaine spat blood on Marcus's expensive shoes. "Go... fuck ...yourself."
Marcus's claws twisted inside his chest, shredding what was left of his heart. The pain was indescribable, like being struck by lightning from the inside.
Kaine's legs gave out, and he collapsed to the warehouse floor in a spreading pool of his own blood. The world was going gray around the edges, sounds becoming distant and muffled.
The last thing he saw was Marcus standing over him, wiping bloody claws on a handkerchief.
Then darkness took him.
---
Kaine's eyes snapped open.
He was lying on cold stone, not concrete. The warehouse was gone, replaced by what looked like ancient crypts stretching away into shadow. Candles flickered in wall sconces, casting dancing shadows on carved stone walls.
And floating in the air in front of him, glowing with soft blue light, was something impossible.
[WELCOME BACK, KAINE Cross]
[NECRO-SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
[STATUS: REBORN]
[MORTAL ESSENCE: 0/100]
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO BEGIN TUTORIAL? Y/N]
Kaine stared at the floating text, his mind struggling to process what he was seeing.
"What the hell?"