And with a sneering sound. Multiple eyes looked at them from within the buildings.
"Master, don't you feel something is constantly watching us?" Lilith asked, her crimson eyes sweeping the darkness, though she found nothing.
"Hmm… you're right," Sunny replied calmly, his gaze fixed ahead. "We're being stalked by countless eyes. But strangely… they're just watching."
The three of them stepped into the yawning mouth of an abandoned train tunnel, where the darkness thickened unnaturally. The walls were damp, streaked with rust, and broken tracks sank into mud and rotting ties. Water dripped steadily from above, echoing like a slow heartbeat. Moss and pale fungi clung to the cracks, graffiti near the entrance had faded to ghosts, and silence pressed heavily—broken only by the scurrying of unseen creatures.
The tunnel felt less like a passage and more like a grave for trains long forgotten. The oppressive blackness forced their senses to stay sharp, every step a reminder that they did not belong here.
Then Sunny froze. A muffled tap… tap… tap drifted toward them—like the sound of a cane striking loose stones.
Instinctively, all three halted. They moved back-to-back, weapons raised, hearts beating steadily in anticipation of the unknown.
A low, distorted humming suddenly reverberated through the tunnel, vibrating like a damaged ship's horn echoing inside a rusted iron pipe. The sound was not human. Not machine. Something else entirely.
From the void ahead, a figure emerged.
A pale gray-white humanoid, towering at three meters. Its body was emaciated yet impossibly strong-looking, arms so long they nearly scraped the ground. Its head was wrongly —hideously wrong—crowned by a jagged, blood-red maw. Bloodshot, circular eyes stared unblinking at them, a wide, twisted smile stretching its face in mockery.
And then they saw them—more of the same creatures, crawling out of the shadows. Dozens. Hanging from the ceiling. Clinging to the walls. Silent. Watching. Smiling.
"Uh… question." Dracula's voice cracked as he raised his sword toward one. "When the hell did we get surrounded?"
Sunny said nothing. His eyes narrowed as a red light flashed before him—his system interface.
[ Name : Creepers, Children of the Night ]
[ Status : Uncontracted (cannot be bound without master's permission) ]
[ Grade : Epic ★★★★★ Uncommon ]
[ Level : 3 ]
[ Skills : Body Hardening, Cries of Confusion, Smile of Fear, Agile Movements ]
[ Description : Creepers leave a spiritual mark on their prey, allowing them to stalk from walls, ceilings,shadows and upside down until they find the perfect environment to kill. ]
[ Special State : Their "Cry of Confusion" can immobilize prey temporarily, or summon reinforcements across a wide range. Eliminate quickly. ]
[ Weakness : Joints and ribcage. ]
A confident grin spread across Sunny's face. He spun both daggers fluidly in his hands.
"Everyone—aim for the joints and ribcages. Finish them fast."
Without hesitation, Sunny lunged.
"How the hell does he know that?!" Dracula hissed.
"Master never said it was their weakness," Lilith replied, already dashing forward with her wings twitching to unfold. "He said it would be… advantageous."
In that instant, a ball of blazing light burst to life in Lilith's hands, the size of a basketball. The sudden radiance blinded the creepers, their bloodshot eyes streaming with dark tears as they screeched in agony. With a fierce flap, Lilith's wings flared wide, shrouded in radiant energy. She vanished in a blur, tearing through the enemy ranks like a storm of blades. Limbs flew. Screams echoed.
"Guess we're doing this!" Dracula roared, charging at the nearest creeper. His blade carved effortlessly through its neck, surprising even him.
The tunnel became a battlefield of chaos. Screeches, light, steel, and the smell of blood filled the suffocating dark. The creepers, once hunters, found themselves prey.
When silence finally returned, the ground was littered with corpses.
Dracula collapsed onto the blood-soaked floor, panting heavily, his sword planted like a crutch. His clothes were drenched. "Huff… damn… how long of a break do we get?"
"None." Sunny strode past him, daggers dripping. "The noise and light already drew others. If we don't move, we die."
Lilith canceled her light, her forehead damp with sweat but otherwise composed. Dracula groaned, dragging himself upright to chase after them. "Hey, wait up! At least give me a moment!"
"Catch up," Sunny said coldly.
Dracula grumbled but quickened his steps, moving beside him. "Fine, fine. But I've got questions—lots of them."
"If I said don't ask, would you still ask?" Sunny replied flatly.
"…Yes."
"Then ask."
As they slipped out of the tunnel into the cold night air, the stench of blood clinging to them, Dracula asked quietly, "How did you know their weaknesses? And how did you stay so calm in there?"
Sunny smirked without looking at him. "I have… a feeling for these things. Like instinct. Does that answer your questions?"
"What? That makes no sense!" Dracula snapped.
"Life doesn't make sense." Sunny's smirk widened as he walked ahead.
Lilith's soft giggle broke the tension as the two continued bickering, their footsteps echoing through the empty streets. But all three kept their senses sharp—because in the darkness, danger was never far away.