'Yes, a demon,' the woman replied.
Dean slowly made space for her. But the woman teleported behind him.
'But what are you? You're not human, yet you don't give me the feeling of an immune one. Weird.'
Dean struggled to his feet. He shook out his hand and fingers, then rolled his shoulder.
'Come on,' he mumbled to himself.
The woman gave him a wide smile—then teleported again.
Dean was on guard. He didn't know where she would appear, but she had to show up. He spun quickly, peered over his shoulder, then to his right and left—but no woman.
Only when he looked up did he see it—a leg came flying toward him, smashing him to the ground.
The woman stepped back from his bleeding face.
'Yes, you're not human. I went for the kill with that attack—yet you're still alive. For now at least. Before I end you, tell me who you are.'
Dean chuckled as he stood up. He raised his arms.
'Well then—die!'
The woman summoned two grey daggers. She bounced in place and inhaled deeply. The moment she emptied her lungs completely—she vanished.
Dean braced himself to face her head-on.
But ten of her appeared at once, pouncing on him from all directions.
There was no way he could survive the assault.
The woman closed in, and Dean had no idea which one to focus on.
Then he felt it.
A raging storm inside him.
The storm surged into his fist, which began to glow golden.
Dean suddenly knew what to do.
The light slowed the woman for a moment—but she pressed on regardless.
All the afterimages went for a thrust.
Dean slammed his fist into the ground. Energy burst out of his hand and shot into the enemies.
All the clones vanished—leaving only the real woman before him.
She was stunned.
A blessing.
Dean wasted no time. He lunged forward, gathered all the energy into his fist, and struck her.
Light exploded from the impact—destroying the woman completely.
Nothing remained.
Dean collapsed, gasping hard.
Before he blacked out, he saw men in suits rushing toward him.
In the Forest
Fighting such a number of ghouls turned out to be harder than Nicole had expected.
Luckily, she'd already been possessed once—so when a ghoul bit her, it only wounded her. Still, better not to get bitten at all.
Meanwhile, the commander and Dracule had taken the fight to the skies.
The commander went for a slash—Dracule deflected.
Another slash—this time it grazed Dracule's arm.
And another.
The commander didn't stop. He became faster, each strike aimed closer to Dracule's heart.
Dracule chose to put more distance between them.
Immediately, the commander gave chase—unaware of the tiny blood droplets surrounding him.
They morphed into long spikes and pierced his body.
At the same time, the blood that had entered him coursed through his veins and paralyzed him.
'You lacked patience! Look where that got you,' Dracule taunted.
'You're a beast, no doubt. But I know there's more inside you!'
He gathered demonic energy in his palm and let the orb grow before firing it at the frozen commander—booooom.
When the smoke cleared, the commander was wounded but still standing.
Dracule fired again. And again.
His laughter echoed through the sky.
Nicole noticed. But her hands were full—ghouls surrounded her.
Tears formed in her eyes, but she couldn't run to help.
'Fuck!' she cursed, beheading a charging ghoul.
She formed a giant scythe and swung it in a wide arc, slicing the ghouls before her in half.
From behind, she shot blood blades at ghouls trying to flank her.
A powerful attack—but it came at a price.
Nicole collapsed for the first time.
She gasped for air.
When she raised her head to the heavens, it felt as though a force was pressing it down.
She needed a break.
But Dracule was toying with the commander.
Then the commander screamed.
It wasn't a war cry.
'He's in pain!' Nicole realized.
'You bastard!'
Forget the ghouls. She was going to tear that bastard apart—even if he was a Celestial.
Fueled by rage, she launched upward.
She didn't notice the giant ghoul that had emerged.
It leapt—landing above her—and slammed her back to the ground. Baaaamm.
It landed hard.
Nicole's head bled. She coughed up even more.
Her right arm was mangled—useless.
Another giant ghoul emerged behind her.
Still, when she heard the commander's tortured cry, she rose again.
She wasn't done.
But she was unlucky.
She was only facing ghouls—meaning she couldn't drink their blood.
It was rotten. Foul.
Vampires grow stronger by drinking blood. Depending on the quantity and compatibility, their power can double—or more.
The ghouls closed in.
Their grunts were drowned out by the commander's howls.
Peng, peng, peng…
One after another, ghouls dropped.
Soldiers had come to help.
One ran to Nicole and held her upright, reporting:
'Some of the soldiers—and Dean's group—they made it out. They're heading to the White House!
We need to finish up here and join them!'
'Yes… we should,' Nicole said, breathing heavily.
She hesitated, then added, painfully:
'I doubt we'll make it out alive.'