"What?" Valentina asked, her voice laced with shock, finally lifting her eyes off the ground to look at me.
"Two can play this game really," I coolly replied. Valentina's eyes widened with a mixture of impatience and growing frustration.
"While you were on your way here, I decided to flip the situation around. Since you wanted to play dirty, I got my hands a little dirty too. That's all."
"What did you do to Luna?" Valentina's voice trembled with a cocktail of emotions—anger, fear for her friend, and confusion as to how she got entangled in this mess.
I met her gaze evenly, noting the tumultuous storm brewing behind her eyes. Despite the gravity of the situation, a part of me couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction at having rattled her composure.
"Luna's safe, for now," I replied, my tone measured but tinged with a hint of defiance. "But she won't stay that way unless we resolve this."
Valentina's jaw clenched, her features contorted with a mixture of fury and desperation. It was clear that she was teetering on the edge, struggling to maintain control in the face of mounting pressure.
For a fleeting moment, I caught a glimpse of vulnerability in her facade—a crack in the armor that she had carefully constructed around herself.
Is that all it took really? I thought to myself, unable to shake the feeling that Valentina was despairing way too early.
But that did not matter to me, as I had already somewhat switched the situation around, and now I was in control.
"Now, it's my turn to ask the questions. Of course, you can refuse. I'll only feel bad for poor Luna if you do so," I told her calmly, relishing the newfound power dynamic.
Valentina, angry and visibly restraining herself, looked as if she'd kill me at any moment without hesitation.
However, she somehow managed to rein in her emotions and opened her mouth to try to say something, but nothing came out.
I couldn't help but notice something peculiar—a pair of fangs in place of her incisors. They confirmed my suspicions; she was indeed a flesh-eating humanoid creature, probably?
Unable to contain my curiosity, I blurted out, "What are you?"
Clenching her teeth, Valentina replied, "I am a noble Vampire. Is Luna safe? Where is she?" Her response was swift and tinged with urgency, punctuated by two questions.
'Noble, hmm, interesting,' I thought to myself, intrigued by the revelation. It seemed that beneath her menacing exterior lay a sense of duty or honor, characteristic of her kind.
No, maybe to distinguish hierarchy among their kind.
But 'Vampire' huh, where did I see or hear that before? Yes, in movies, but unlike movies, there's almost no similarities or weaknesses except maybe for the eyes and teeth.
But seeing as how Valentina was growing impatient, I threatened her further, "Calm down," I said as I pulled out my phone and continued, "if you don't start answering everything I ask, you can always pay respects to Luna at her grave site."
When I finished, she was completely still, her head turned to the ground, making it hard to see her expression. She, in a low, cold, and trembling voice, replied, "I-I understand."
Satisfied with her answer, I was about to ask her more questions, but I suddenly felt something was off. The moment she replied, I blinked once—an action that takes less than half of a second.
In that fraction of time, she covered 20 feet of distance in an instant and was about to deliver a roundhouse kick to my face.
Reacting quickly, I raised both my hands to block her assault. When her feet made contact with my hands, I felt it—a sensation like being struck by a metal baseball bat.
But what surprised me more was the lack of decrease in her momentum; instead, it increased, propelling me with incredible force.
Her kick swung me in the direction of her attack until I crashed so hard into a nearby tree that it snapped in half.
Despite the shock of the impact, I managed to push myself up and took a defensive stance, adrenaline coursing through my veins.
Valentina did not continue her assault while I was down. Instead, she seemed taken aback for a moment, her expression betraying a hint of surprise.
"You stopped that?" she blurted out, her voice tinged with disbelief. But her momentary lapse was quickly replaced by cold determination.
"It does not matter," she declared, cracking her knuckles as she squared her shoulders. "You left me with no choice."
Without another word, she dashed straight towards me at inhuman speeds, her movements fluid and graceful yet filled with lethal intent.
Despite the suddenness of her attack, I remained composed, analyzing her movements and preparing to counter.
As she closed the distance between us, I braced myself for the impact, thinking about my next move.
Despite the daunting prospect of facing off against an unknown creature, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was more than capable of handling whatever she threw at me.
After all, I had faced adversity before, and this was just another obstacle to overcome.
Or at least, that's what I kept telling myself as she hurtled towards me with alarming speed. But deep down, a nagging sense of uncertainty gnawed at the edges of my confidence.
Still, this shouldn't probably be a problem for me to deal with... Right?
I asked myself because, everything was a little too blurry for me see her movements clearly, as I dropped my glasses when I crashed into the tree.