“What the hell is that?”

Duchess Hastel Gulmar squinted up at the sky. The sound was sharp, but the source was too distant to see clearly. Only Isaac, who knew exactly what it was, responded immediately.

He turned on his heel and started running. The human hunters who had been blocking his path simultaneously drew their stilettos and charged.

“Get out of my way!”

Isaac drew Kaldwin and swung it in one swift motion.

The thin stilettos shattered the moment they made contact with the hefty longsword, Kaldwin. But that was exactly what the attackers intended. The stilettos, made from the human hunters’ blood, twisted and melted upon breaking, wrapping around Kaldwin like restraints.

At the same time, other human hunters thrust their blades toward the gaps in Isaac’s armor, exploiting the openings. It was a method specifically designed for hunting knights well-versed in swordsmanship. However, Isaac was already familiar with this style of hunting.

Fortunately, Kaldwin now had a new function, perfect for this situation.

Crunch! Isaac exerted light pressure on his wrist, and the blood restraints gripping Kaldwin shattered and crumbled instantly.

The restraints broke and turned black from within, drying up and cracking.

The human hunters, caught off guard, hesitated. But they were too deep in to retreat.

Isaac immediately swung the now freed Kaldwin, slashing two human hunters in rapid succession. One received a long gash across the chest, while the other was cut from shoulder to waist. Though they staggered and fell, such wounds were not fatal to beings like them, as long as they had blood left in their bodies to regenerate.

“Guh, aaargh…!”

Contrary to expectations, their recovery wasn’t happening quickly. The wounds, blackened and shriveled, continued to bleed profusely instead of healing. For vampires, bleeding out was more dangerous than the injuries themselves, so the other human hunters paled at the sight.

This was the ability of the ‘Corrupted Kaldwin’ that Isaac had acquired after destroying the Reaper’s scythe at Kran Fortress. The weapon’s new power, ‘Life Drain for the Living, Spiritual Damage for the Dead,’ was devastatingly effective against the followers of the Red Chalice.

Isaac had hoped Kaldwin would instill enough fear to make them back off, but the human hunters were elite warriors.

“Fall back and fire the crossbows!”

Hastel shouted sharply from the sidelines. The human hunters quickly scaled the walls and distanced themselves from Isaac. But that was exactly what Isaac had hoped for.

He turned and ran without looking back.

***

“Cut off his limbs and impale him on a spear! He’s tough, so he probably won’t die!”

Watching Isaac flee, Hastel screamed hysterically.

But another annoying interruption intruded upon her focus.

“I told you, he’s mine, Duchess!”

“It’s ‘Duke’!”

Cedric swiftly struck down the human hunters with his rapier as they attempted to pursue Isaac. The human hunters tried to block him, but it was nearly impossible to counter an Elil swordmaster, especially one whose forte was speed.

Thwack, crunch, thud! The human hunters staggered and fell, each pierced by the rapier. A small wound from a rapier wasn’t normally enough to seriously harm them. However, Cedric’s attacks were surgically precise, targeting only the most critical areas.

“Heart, liver, lungs! These are your weak points, are they not?”

The followers of the Red Chalice, despite their pursuit of immortality, still relied on their organs. No matter how grotesquely they altered their bodies, they could not tamper with these vital parts.

Because of this, they had a few vulnerabilities even with their formidable regenerative abilities. Namely, the heart that circulated their blood, the liver that purified the miracles within their blood, and the lungs that supplied oxygen to it.

How they handled damage to these organs determined their rank and skill as human hunters. But when all of these organs were damaged at once, it was difficult for anyone to react.

The human hunters didn’t lack regeneration, but they collapsed on the spot, losing consciousness before they could heal. Watching this, Hastel gritted her teeth.

“You’ve been observing us!”

“Haha, did you think I was hanging around you vampires just to waste time?”

In truth, Hastel had underestimated Cedric.

Although he was called Elil’s swordmaster, he had seemed too easily tempted and full of openings.

She had even considered converting him into a follower of the Red Chalice, but now she realized that Cedric had been analyzing their weaknesses all along.

Hastel had no choice but to step in herself.

Cedric wasn’t the issue. Her target was Isaac. While some human hunters had already circumvented Cedric to chase after Isaac, it wouldn’t be enough to capture him.

As a duchess, she had to intervene personally. She couldn’t let herself be delayed by someone like Cedric.

Hastel moved her fingers as if conducting a symphony. The human hunters who had fallen to the ground suddenly rose, their joints twisting grotesquely as they charged at Cedric. Though he quickly aimed for their weak points again, it was useless.

Their organs were still as destroyed as before.

“Zombies? No, it can’t be…”

Hastel was manipulating the blood within the human hunters’ bodies, using them as puppets. They moved awkwardly, ignoring their twisted joints and muscles, but they were still able to walk, run, and attack in this monstrous state.

When one of the human hunters got close to Cedric, Hastel mimed twisting her hand. The hunter’s body exploded, transforming into hundreds of daggers that flew toward Cedric.

“You wicked creature!”

Cedric hurriedly deflected the blood daggers, but he couldn’t block them all. Some of the daggers, fused with the human hunter’s bones and muscles, twisted into grotesque shapes that pierced Cedric. Despite his best efforts, he was forced back, wounded in several places.

It had all happened in a split second, but Cedric’s body was now covered in injuries. The daggers had expanded upon impact, worsening the wounds.

“Do you think the Duchy of Wallachia is a joke, you dog of Elil? I have Elil’s blood flowing through my veins, purer than any of yours.”