Bloodsteel Hunter
Episode 2 – Dance with the Vampire Lord
The cathedral was rubble.
Smoke curled through the crimson night, shattered stones bleeding dust into the scarlet moonlight. Corpses of hunters littered the ruins, their levels blinking out as they waited to resurrect.
Only two remained standing.
The Vampire Lord of Hollow Eclipse—a tower of blood and wrath, Level 78 glowing under his feet. His crimson aura cracked the ground, shadows twisting like serpents around him. His eyes burned with hunger, his claws slick with gore.
And him.
The Level 1 god, silver-eyed and calm, his body dripping streams of liquid steel that hissed against the blood-soaked stones. He looked at the devastation around him, lit a cigarette from the sparks dancing off his own blade, and exhaled smoke like he had all the time in the world.
"You know what's funny?" he said, his voice low, disrespectful. "They all screamed like sluts in heat before you tore them open. At least die with some goddamn style."
The vampire snarled, fangs flashing. "You mock your betters, spawn? I have existed since the first eclipse burned this galaxy."
He grinned, silver blade melting into claws that stretched down his arms. "Congratulations. You're still a walking blood condom."
The Vampire Lord roared, his aura exploding outward.
⸻
Clash of Speed
The vampire blurred forward, claws like black lightning. He moved so fast the air itself cracked—but the god didn't dodge. His torso opened like liquid, the claws slicing through an empty hollow as his steel flesh parted and reformed behind the strike.
His counter was immediate. Blades extended from his back, scorpion-like tails of steel snapping forward. One pierced the vampire's shoulder, black blood splattering the ground.
The Vampire Lord hissed, eyes wide. "Impossible. A Level 1—"
The god smirked. "Guess I'm built different, bitch."
The vampire spun, tearing free, his aura flaring brighter. The ground buckled, stones exploding under his feet. He lunged again, this time grabbing the god's head and slamming him through three broken walls.
His body splattered, liquid steel scattering across the ground like spilled mercury.
The Vampire Lord sneered, raising a clawed foot to crush the puddles. "Pathetic."
But the puddles twitched. They didn't retreat. They surged.
The steel wrapped around the vampire's leg, crawling upward, hardening into jagged spikes.
The god's voice echoed from every shard. "You think killing me is that easy? I'm not flesh. I'm not bone. I'm steel, baby."
The spikes detonated, launching the Vampire Lord backward in a spray of blood.
Blood and Iron
The god reformed slowly, his body knitting back together from scattered liquid. When he stood, cigarette somehow still between his lips, he looked more amused than injured.
"You hit harder than a drunk bitch, I'll give you that," he muttered, exhaling smoke. "But you bleed just the same."
The Vampire Lord growled, his jaw dripping crimson where the blade had cut earlier. His aura swelled, shaking the world itself.
"You are nothing! A spawn at Level 1 dares insult me?"
The god tilted his head. "Insult? Nah. This is foreplay."
His claws stretched longer, his body rippling into a leaner, sharper form. He dashed forward—not fast enough to match a Level 78, but fluid enough to dodge the vampire's killing blows. Each movement was liquid, unnatural, his body flowing like water around strikes that should've crushed him.
When he struck, it was surgical. A slash across the ribs. A spike through the thigh. Never enough to kill—but enough to hurt.
And the Vampire Lord hated pain.
⸻
Mind Games
The vampire howled, his claws carving through ruined stone. "You cannot kill me!"
"Who said I need to kill you?" the god replied, smiling. "I just need to piss you off until you're sloppy."
The vampire lunged, blinded by rage. The god ducked, letting his torso liquefy as claws passed through. His blade reformed behind the vampire's spine, stabbing deep. Black blood sprayed.
The Vampire Lord staggered, turning with fury. "You—"
The god leaned close, whispering into his ear as steel drilled deeper.
"Guess immortality doesn't stop you from screaming like a whore when I cut too deep."
The Vampire Lord bellowed, unleashing a shockwave of blood magic that sent the god flying.
He slammed into a ruined tower, his body splattering once more before reforming in midair. He landed, laughing, cigarette still burning.
"God, I fucking love my job."
The Breaking Point
The Vampire Lord's power peaked. His aura became a storm, black and crimson energy tearing the world apart. Moons cracked. Castles fell. Shadows howled like beasts.
His level glowed brighter—78 pulsing like a brand of authority.
He vanished and reappeared behind the god, claws piercing his chest. Liquid steel exploded outward, splattering across the battlefield.
For the first time, the god winced. His cigarette dropped, burning out in the blood-soaked dirt.
The Vampire Lord grinned, twisting his claws deeper. "You bleed like the rest."
The god chuckled, silver eyes glowing through the pain. "Yeah, but I don't stay broken."
The steel around the vampire's arms liquefied, wrapping around him like chains. They hardened instantly, dragging him down. The god leaned in close, their faces inches apart.
"You just chained yourself to me, corpse."
⸻
Cliffhanger
The battlefield shook as liquid steel spread like wildfire, climbing the vampire's body, locking around his chest, his throat, his fangs.
The Vampire Lord thrashed, his aura tearing against the restraints.
The god grinned, blood dripping from his mouth, his silver eyes dead and cruel.
"Let's see how a Level 78 tastes when he's screaming under a Level 1."
The HUD flared.
[Mission Contract Ongoing: Target Health 62%]
The fight was only getting started.