"Well, little elf, since you want to know so badly, I'll tell you." Mulligan said, sneering at her as he enjoyed every minute of this, the vamp being more sadistic than Jack had thought he was. Jack knew how fragile Elaine's heart was, and stepped forward, getting ready to kill the bastard before he could continue. He froze for a second as his instincts screamed danger, and something flew down and hit the ground in front of him. It looked like an arrow, but the instant it hit the dirt, the ground exploded upwards, pelting his armor with grass and chunks of earth.
He looked towards the direction the arrow came from, seeing a figure standing off in the distance. He could not make out any details, as they were crouching in the long grass, but he recognized the ability, and he felt his blood run cold. The vampire was Sarah of the elite forces, and she was the only vampire that could match Midnight with a bow. The only difference is that her ability makes her arrows twice as deadly; she can increase the momentum and force of her arrows, making them hit twice as hard and fast as a normal arrow. His armor may be able to take a few of her arrows, and Drake was durable enough to withstand a few, but the others had no protection and would be in grave danger if they were to be hit by one.
Mulligan wiggled his finger back and forth at Jack, his sneer never leaving his face. "Now now, behave and let me speak, former Night Stalker. Sarah has been feeling unwell for a while now, and she seems eager to release some pent up aggression."
Jack glared at the vamp, his mind racing a mile a minute to think of something to do while Mulligan turned back to Elaine, picking up where he left off.
"You see, little elf, following you was tedious, and we nearly lost you. But we happened across this little farm, and it was odd that a farm with only humans had traces of elven and vampiric scents. So we decided to pay a visit and ask them if they had seen anyone."
Elaine held his gaze, her eyes filling with panic as he continued, pacing back and forth as he spoke.
"I admit, they were brave for humans, and refused to talk after the old man quickly said he didn't see anyone like that. Of course, that made me suspicious, and I detest being lied to, so I killed him on the spot, granting him the mercy of a quick death due to his old age."
Elaine gasped, and Jack began to feel the air around them shimmer as her mana reacted to her pain and surprise. He kept his eye on Sarah, the only vampire there that gave him pause, as he slowly began creating his black liquid at his feet, using the grass and the fact that the sun had nearly set to hide it as Mulligan continued, unaware of the danger of upsetting Elaine.
"After that, the husband grabbed a pitchfork and rushed us. I admired his bravery, but was irked that he dared to raise a weapon to me. I quickly snatched the farming tool from him and threw him to my boys, letting them get a taste for human blood for the first time. He was lucky, and he didn't suffer for long."
The vampires surrounding them chuckled at this, some of them also having blood on their cloaks and light armor. Elaine began to glow, her eyes slowly filling with rage as the vampire cackled at them, so engrossed with messing with her that he still did not realize how foolish he was being.
"But that was boring, so I decided to spice things up a bit! With the men out the way, the boy suddenly grew a pair, screaming and running at us. I grabbed him myself, looking the mother in the eye as I ripped his throat open and drenched myself in his blood. After all of that, I told the woman I would not harm her if she told us what we wanted to know, and she finally obliged me."
Mulligan began laughing loudly, having to control himself again as Elaine's cloak and hair began to float, Jack amazed at how twisted the vamp could be.
"Of course, I lied, and since she was easy on the eyes, I snatched the baby away and-"
Those were the last words that Mulligan would get to speak, and Jack was surprised when it was Drake, not Elaine, who snapped first. The ground shook slightly as Drake roared, jumping from where he was and landing twenty feet away on top of mulligan, the vampire being cut off as he was hit and crushed to the ground. Drake was immensely strong, but most only saw his arms as a threat, and didn't realize that his legs were even stronger. Jack had seen the vamp jump well over a hundred feet, and he knew that Drake could jump farther if he really wanted to.
Drake grabbed Mulligan, his eyes filled with rage as he picked the vampire up over his head, as easily as someone would lift a stick. Mulligan's eyes grew wide with terror, then pain as Drake began to pull the vampire apart. Mulligan had time to let off one last scream of agony before Drake roared, tearing the vampire in two, blood and innards raining down on the Drake as he tossed the remains aside, panting and looking around for who would be his next victim.
Everything erupted into chaos, the vampires shock wearing off as they began to charge. Jack reacted first, willing his black liquid to lift up and grow solid just as one of Sarah's arrows flew at them. It hit his ability, his ability winning and blocking the arrow with ease, the force of the attack knocking one of the vampires off of their feet. Elaine made no sound as she used her magic, the ground surrounding them lighting up before erupting in mana, killing half of the vampires with ease as the mana ate at their clothes, armor, flesh, then bones, until there was nothing left, this happening so fast that they were unable to even scream.
Midnight kept shooting arrows at Sarah, keeping her in check as Noelle's spear flashed out, killing two vampires in quick succession. A vampire rushed Drake, swinging his sword and hitting Drake in the shoulder. His sword hit the vamp's flesh and stuck, the vampire's eyes growing wide as Drake slowly turned around and simply smashed his fist down on the vamp's head, crushing it with a sickening crunching sound as the vampire dropped to the ground with a quiet thump.
Jack blocked another of Sarah's arrows, this one aimed at Midnight, then rushed and attacked, his sword dancing to the tune of death as he killed five vampires in the blink of an eye, stabbing in the gaps of their armor with skill and experience. The remaining four vampires turned to flee, knowing that they could not win, but they would not get far, as Elaine killed two of them with her magic, the beams going through their chests and leaving gaping holes behind, while Drake charged them, grabbing one of them and swinging him at the other, beating the last vampire to death with his comrade.
Jack whipped around, searching for Sarah and not seeing her; she must have fled after that last arrow, seeing that she no longer had the advantage. He could chase her and most likely catch up to her, but he did not know which direction she fled in, and it was too dark for him to see well. Drake did not care about this, roaring in pain and rage as he jumped again, the ground shaking as he landed over a hundred feet away, hunting for the vampett.
Jack cleaned his sword and sheathed it, letting Drake work this out of his system as he turned to Elaine. As he thought, she was a mess, sobbing on her knees as she hit the ground weakly.
"They were innocent! T-they did nothing wrong! Is this my fault? Did they die because I helped them? I...I don't understand!"
She gave up hitting the defenseless ground, lowering her head and crying her eyes out. Noelle said nothing, cleaning her spear; she probably thought that this was a valuable lesson for the elf, and did not move to comfort her. Midnight went to follow Drake, knowing that he was not in his right mind at the moment and concerned that he would get hurt or lost.
Jack felt different; it was odd, as he did not feel much sadness when he heard about the humans, only rage at how sadistic Mulligan was. But seeing her break down again, being hurt and blaming herself for simply helping someone, broke his heart, and he walked over to her, taking his helmet off and getting on the ground with her. He did not know what to say, as he was not good at things like this, so he simply wrapped his arms around her and held her as she cried, hoping that this small gesture was to ease her pain and guilt, if only a little.