Luciel ran towards the forest, trying to flee from the remaining vampire hunters who could still fight.
Once he entered into the forest, he started to think about what to do next.
After all, even if he was now a vampire, he used to be a merciless vampire hunter who hunted countless of those bloodthirsty beasts.
He was fully aware of how a vampire would flee and the ways the hunter would track them down and kill it.
Making a simple escape plan in his head, he proceeded to execute it. First, he needs to get to a higher ground, among the trees.
Vampires would usually travel by jumping from tree to tree because they are harder to spot that way and it was easier to identify any possible threats or predators.
But before he could climb up, he needs to do something about the annoying buzzing of two drones that kept following him behind.
The drones had been tracking his movement with the help of thermal cameras.
Hunters had been using thermal cameras ever since it was discovered that vampires could make themselves invisible with a special mechanism, but not all of them seemed to use it.
Either they didn't know how or there was something stopping them.
The mechanism itself wasn't perfect. They couldn't conceal their whole presence, their body temperature, smell, the branches they would step on.
The only thing they could do was allow the light to go right through their cells and if there was no light to reflect on, nothing known to men could see them.
The light would just reflect on the next surface and bounce back to the mirror or the eye of the beholder.
That's why the vampire hunters replaced all the cameras they used with thermal ones.
Thanks to this change, many of the vampire hunters were saved by being able to see the ambush before its execution.
While running, Luciel picked up some rocks before making a stop.
Turning around, he aimed at the drones, managing to hit them on the first try, and not only that, the force was so strong that it went right through them, breaking them apart.
The newfound strength surprised Luciel as well.
He never expected to break them with only one rock for each, but he didn't have time to think about this right now since he could hear a group of humans approaching.
Luciel ran towards the tree, measuring their size and wondering how was he going to do this.
The vampires he saw climbing up in his vampire hunting career made it seem so easy.
He approached the tree he targeted and placed his hand on top of it, still trying to figure it out and that's when he noticed.
His black claws were still out on a full display, making him gulp.
He didn't want to rely on any of the vampire features. He wanted to get away from reality while thoughts about human blood kept going crazy inside of his head, trying to make him finally give in to his instinct.
Luciel turned his head towards the noise that was getting louder by the second. With the use of divine arts, he knew that it wouldn't be long enough for the hunters to finally reach him.
"For Helen…" He said to himself, letting out a small sigh before looking up.
The rain was still falling and he was soaked completely, from head to toe. It was even challenging to run through the forest since everything was muddy and slippery.
Letting out a sigh, he finally jumped up in the air and with the help of his claws, he managed to attach to the tree.
Looking down, he noticed that he already covered an admirable distance from the ground and there was one more thing, right now, as he was still attached to a tree, he noticed that his body felt weightless, like a feather.
This felt completely different than using divine arts since this was his own and not borrowed strength.
Hunters never had supernatural strength to begin with, they were just average humans like everyone else, but with the help of divine arts, they were able to match vampires in their strength, speed, reflexes, and such, but this power never felt like it was theirs.
When throwing a punch or swinging a sword, it always felt like using his own strength and when the art was active, all they had to do was believe in it and it would feel like someone was there right next to them, giving them a final push.
This was why the current situation felt so different than what Luciel was used to. This strength was now his, always at his disposal unlike the borrowed one that would expire unless cast again.
Launching himself up three more times, he already managed to reach the tree top. It was as easy as other vampires made it to be, but unlike them, he had to learn on the go, otherwise, there might be even bigger problems.
He locked his vision on the next stable branch that could hold his weight. A little bit more of mental preparation and he finally made the jump.
The first jump was the hardest, but as he carried on, with each branch he passed, he was getting faster.
As he was jumping around, he was trying to find a river, following it should lead him to a vampire nest, but he didn't plan on teaming up with the vampires.
It's enough for the hunters to stop chasing after him if they realize that he went towards the enemy territory.
Luciel knew this area very well since it wasn't too far from his colony and it was also a forest he used to hunt in.
Once he crossed the river, he was going to be safe, from humans at least. There was a reason why the forest after the river is off limits.
The river served as a border. A warning to humans that after this point, their authority ceases to exist and that they are at the mercy of not just vampires, but other beasts as well - werewolves, goblins, wendigos, ghouls, elves, pixies, you name it, but they all have one thing in common, they are out there to get you with vampires being worst of the bunch.
The rain had stopped a while ago and the sky started to clear up, revealing a full moon and somewhere in the distance, Luciel could hear a river.
"Perfect, it doesn't sound like it's too far away." He said to himself, slightly changing the direction, starting to follow the sound of the river until he finally reached it.
Luciel stopped for a moment, taking a few deep breaths, trying to stay calm. He had a feeling that if he crosses this border, there won't be going back.