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Ephraim's face was extremely grim as he approached Abraham, holding his son tightly.
"I want to come too!"
Earlier that day, at dawn, he had gone out to search for his son, Zach. Fortunately, he arrived just in time to see his vampire-turned rival attacking Zach. Driven by both old and new grievances, Ephraim killed the vampire without hesitation.
Seeing his frightened son and the panic in Red Hook, he knew he couldn't just sit back.
Abraham didn't reply, merely patted Zach on the head and continued to silently clean his silver sword, glancing at the clock. It was about two hours until noon.
Bang! "Fuck!"
The basement door was suddenly flung open as Dutch stormed in, followed by Vasiliy.
It was evident they had been out early that morning, and Dutch looked furious, her gaze sweeping over the others.
"I'm sorry! The chaos in this city is partly my fault!"
She confessed about being hired by the Stoneheart Group to hack the government network and shut down communications in Red Hook. Early that morning, she returned home with Vasiliy, only to find her payment had been stolen by her partners. Now penniless, she realized it might be divine punishment, filled with regret.
On the way, she saw abandoned stores, dead children, and numerous missing person posters. She hadn't anticipated that her actions would bring such disaster to people. Without the network and communication systems, many were unaware and fell prey to the vampires...
"If we kill the Master, everything will return to normal!" Abraham said, his gaze sweeping over the group.
...
At the subway entrance in the center of Red Hook, Abraham led the group, looking at the usually bustling tunnel now deserted, the group exchanged glances.
This was the closest entrance they had identified using Vasiliy's map of the sewer system. Without hesitation, Abraham went in first. Meanwhile, security personnel from the Stoneheart Group began reinforcing various parts of the sewer system above.
At the top floor of the Stoneheart building, Eldritch gazed out at the streets. His face was now flushed, and he looked vigorous.
John had given Eldritch a drop of his white blood, and the effect was unexpectedly good. Though it wasn't as potent as the Master's, combined with the earlier bottle of white blood, the effect was significant.
"Mr. John, it's up to you now!"
Eldritch's gaze was deep as he looked at the security personnel working on the sewer entrances.
In the dark underground passage, Red Hook's subway system connected to the city's sewers, both serving as wartime bunkers, interconnected.
Abraham's eyes were deep as he looked at the hunched figure in the darkness ahead. Behind him, Ephraim and the others, holding spears or shields, followed nervously.
Roar! The beast-like roar echoed through the silent tunnel. A vampire suddenly scaled the wall, rapidly approaching the group from the side.
Since it wasn't a frontal attack, Abraham's silver sword missed it. The vampire's grotesque flesh tendrils aimed for Ephraim and the others.
Vasiliy, mingling in the crowd, reacted the fastest. He pushed Ephraim aside and speared the vampire through the chest.
Tilting his head to avoid the tendrils, Vasiliy kicked the vampire off his spear.
The next moment, Abraham's sword flashed, decapitating the vampire instantly.
Ephraim struggled to calm his racing heart as he looked at the lifeless vampire.
But before they could relax, more growls echoed from the depths of the tunnel, and more grotesque figures appeared in the dim light.
Abraham's aged face showed determination as he held his silver sword before him, momentarily transforming back into the young man who fought vampires.
The hunched figures finally clashed with the group. Spears and shields worked together, blocking the first wave of four vampires.
A purple beam of light suddenly illuminated the dark cave as Vasiliy aimed the UV lamp, causing the vampires to burn and retreat. The group took advantage of this, quickly killing the four vampires.
Roar! A deep growl came from the tunnel's depths, different from the others. Abraham, familiar with the Master, even detected a hint of weakness in the growl.
Without hesitation, he rushed toward the dark tunnel.
"What is he doing?"
Ephraim shouted instinctively at Abraham's actions.
Vasiliy said nothing, following Abraham. The group, ignoring potential dangers, followed Abraham's lead.
As they entered the dark tunnel, more vampires appeared. However, this time they were prepared, using the UV lamp to keep the vampires at bay.
Reaching a narrow cave, Abraham crawled through without hesitation. The cave was too tight for Vasiliy, who stayed behind.
As he entered last, the vampires, no longer deterred by the UV light, swarmed.
Feeling anxious, Vasiliy glanced at the rapidly approaching pale figures.
He grabbed the UV lamp, only to find it malfunctioning.
"Fuck!"
Struggling to crawl forward, his bulky frame made it impossible to turn in the narrow cave. He couldn't fend off the attacking vampires.
Glancing back occasionally while climbing, he quickly caught up to Dutch, who was moving slowly, hindering his progress.
"Hurry up, Dutch!"
Vasiliy shouted urgently, seeing the vampire just half a meter behind him, smiling grotesquely and extending its tendril.
At the moment of despair, the vampire suddenly screamed and was yanked away as if pulled by an invisible force.
Vasiliy crawled out of the cave, glancing back into the darkness, his eyes flashing with uncertainty.
(End of Chapter)