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The Reapers came.
The Reapers died.
Golden light blazed through Blade's warehouse hideout. Every Reaper touched by its radiance dissolved like snow under a scorching sun—vaporized in an instant, leaving nothing behind.
Nomak—the Reaper King, also known as the Vampire Prince—had been telekinetically yanked across the room by Hawk. His expression shifted from shock to something approaching catatonia.
Impossible.
These were his creations. After arriving in New York City, he'd painstakingly abducted countless homeless people to produce these mutant Reapers—monsters capable of killing both humans and vampires.
Nomak had a plan for New York.
He wanted to conquer the world.
Of course.
Every villain had that dream. Nomak was no exception. He'd already drafted a three-step strategy for global domination.
Step one: kill Blade.
He knew the Daywalker had single-handedly dismantled New York's vampire council. Twelve pureblood elders and Deacon Frost—all dead by Blade's hand.
To the vampires of New York City, Blade was a figure of terror.
So...
Nomak planned to establish his authority by killing the Daywalker. That would earn him respect among the city's vampires.
Then he'd kill the vampires. After that, the humans.
His plan was solid. The timing was perfect. He'd received intelligence that not only would Blade be here tonight, but the Blood Pack squad from Corvinus Castle would be present as well.
A golden opportunity to eliminate everyone at once.
So he'd come.
And before he could even make a move, some guy named Hawk had appeared out of nowhere and snatched him up.
Without the slightest resistance.
Not just him—his entire Reaper army suffered the same fate.
As one Reaper after another vaporized, Nomak's expression deteriorated into utter defeat.
When the last Reaper dissolved into nothing, so did any hope in Nomak's heart.
From the Reapers' entrance to their complete annihilation.
The whole thing had taken less than ten seconds. Blade hadn't even finished drawing his sword before the battle was over.
Blade stood in silence for a moment, then turned to look at Nyssa—the female vampire from the Blood Pack who'd come to him earlier, describing the Reapers as if the world would end without his help.
Nyssa, with her long dark hair and tattooed arms, met Blade's gaze. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.
The other two Blood Pack vampires wore identical expressions.
How to put it?
The boss they'd thought required a combined effort to defeat? In someone else's eyes, it was just a trash mob.
The kind that didn't even give decent experience points when killed.
That was exactly how Hawk felt looking at the defeated Nomak right now.
But...
This creature carried a scent Hawk found both familiar and deeply revolting.
The stench of Heaven's winged bastards.
And it wasn't the residual kind left from casual contact. This thing had angel essence embedded in its very being.
"Who are you?"
"..."
Nomak regarded Hawk with hollow eyes. A cold sneer crossed his pale, cruel features before he closed his eyes in silence.
Hawk smiled.
The next second.
Telekinesis struck like a blade.
SQUELCH!
SQUELCH!
Two flashes of cold light gleamed under the warehouse lamps. Nomak froze, then stared at his now-empty arm sockets and unleashed a furious shriek at Hawk.
The moment he opened his mouth to scream, his face split apart like a blooming flower, revealing the same horrifying circular maw as the Reapers.
That tongue-like appendage—straight out of a xenomorph nightmare—shot forward.
A cold gleam flashed in Hawk's eyes.
SQUELCH!
"HSSSSS—"
The feeding appendage severed instantly. Nomak's face remained split open, hissing sounds escaping his throat.
Hawk turned to the frozen Blood Pack members, his gaze settling on Nyssa.
"Who is he?"
"Nomak."
"He's the sole survivor of the Kuss pureblood family."
"Twenty years ago, the Kuss family attempted to overthrow the world order. Corvinus allied with other families to exterminate them."
"Nomak was spared because he was still an infant. Mr. Corvinus took pity and adopted him."
"A year ago, we discovered Nomak had been breeding Reapers in the Paris sewers."
"He fled to New York City during our siege."
"We came here to capture him."
Nyssa met Hawk's gaze and felt a chill run down her spine. She blurted out everything she knew without hesitation.
The Blood Pack had come to New York for one reason: Nomak.
But not to kill him.
To capture him.
Corvinus wanted to know how Nomak had mutated—and how his terrifying new abilities could convert other vampires.
If they could harness that power...
Then...
That's why Corvinus had ordered the Blood Pack to take Nomak alive at all costs.
Hawk listened to Nyssa's explanation and nodded. Then he turned to Nomak, who had stopped screaming after his feeding appendage was severed.
"Tell me who turned you into this, and I'll give you a quick death."
"Fuck you!"
Nomak's defiance held strong. His eyes blazed crimson. "Go ahead and kill me if you've got the balls."
Hawk laughed.
"As you wish."
Telekinetic force wrapped around Nomak's skull.
SPLAT!
Nomak's head burst like an overripe melon. His soul emerged instantly from the shattered remains.
The next second.
Hawk closed his eyes. His consciousness descended, plunging into his Underworld. He seized Nomak's disoriented soul before it could react and dragged it to the Second Prison—where acid rain fell endlessly, concentrated enough to dissolve souls.
The moment Hawk tossed Nomak into the downpour, the acid touched his spectral form. A blood-curdling shriek of agony tore through the air.
Hawk stood nearby, watching Nomak writhe in the deluge, white smoke rising from every inch of his soul.
Just then.
An umbrella appeared above his head.
Hawk glanced at the newcomer and smiled faintly.
"Good evening."
"There's no time zone here, so—good evening to you too."
Anna, who happened to be wandering through this section of the Underworld, smiled as she held the umbrella over him. She followed his gaze to Nomak, who was howling in the endless acid rain.
Her eyes settled on his grotesque maw.
"What is that thing?"
"A vampire..."
"No, wait."
"A vampire-angel hybrid mutation. A Reaper."
Hawk sensed the faint flickers of holy light emanating from Nomak's form as the acid stripped him down. He raised an eyebrow.
Just as he'd suspected.
Nomak hadn't just encountered the winged bastards—his very mutation was tied to them.
After being burned alive and resurrected three agonizing times in the acid rain, Nomak's bravado finally crumbled. He screamed: "Stop! Please stop! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
Hawk chuckled softly, unmoved.
Not until—
Nomak had died and revived ten times in the rain did Hawk finally grant him a temporary reprieve.
Upon his latest resurrection, Nomak instinctively flinched as he realized the acid was no longer touching him. He collapsed to the ground with a wet thud, wrapped his arms around his knees, and curled into a ball. His eyes, filled with absolute terror, fixed on Hawk—who stood nearby with an expression of casual indifference—as he began to speak.
"It was the Blood God's messengers."
"The Blood God's messengers found me."
"I was raised by Corvinus. He called it adoption, but I was nothing more than his slave."
"I'm a pureblood, but in that place, I ranked below even the mixed-bloods."
"The Blood God's messengers saved me."
"They told me the Blood God had returned to Yahweh's embrace—forgiven by the Lord, just as the Lord had forgiven Cain."
"Our blood race is no longer unclean."
"This world has become corrupted. Hell is empty, and demons walk the earth."
"The Lord will descend."
"But before His coming, this world's filth must be cleansed."
"We will serve as the Lord's advance force, baptizing the entire world."
"...The Blood God's messengers told me to come to New York City. To cleanse it."
"Soon, they would come find me."
"And when they do—"
"The world will return to the Lord's embrace!"
Nomak's expression turned fanatical. Then something seemed to occur to him. He shot to his feet and glared at Hawk, roaring: "I am the vanguard! You killed me, but the Blood God won't let you go! The Lord won't let you—AAAHHH!"
Whatever arrogance Nomak had mustered vanished the instant the acid rain resumed.
Blood God?
I already relocated that thing's pool to my own realm as a decorative feature.
As for Yahweh?
Hawk recalled the godly projection that had appeared at his godson's baptism—the one that had locked eyes with him briefly.
The image of Yahweh's withered, ancient visage surfaced in his mind.
Hawk had only one comment.
Skulking coward.
Vermin.
Nothing to fear.
He stopped paying attention to Nomak's wails in the acid rain, left the Second Prison with Anna, and let his consciousness rise back to his body. His eyes opened.
Time in the warehouse had frozen at the exact instant Nomak's head had exploded.
The moment Hawk's eyes opened—
SPLAT.
Nomak's skull burst apart. His headless corpse toppled to the warehouse floor with a heavy thud.
Dark crimson blood began pooling on the concrete.
The next second.
Hawk recalled something Nomak had said.
"...The Blood God's messengers told me to come to New York City. To cleanse it."
"Soon, they would come find me."
"..."
Fine.
I'll be right here in New York City. Waiting for you.
Or maybe...
Let's see who's faster.
Let's find out.
Who finds whom first.
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