The Divine Hunter

Night had arrived once more. And it was a night of hunting. Lonely stars twinkled in the night, the brightest pointing at the full moon.

Silvery light rained down upon the river and meandered down the stream. A blanket of mist covered the oak forest and fields beside the stream.

Roy hid at the edge of the mist, behind a big, fallen log covered in moss and fungi. His silhouette was hidden in the darkness, and his eyes were set on the river not so far away. On the shore stood a lonely young man. Black hair, blue eyes. About mid-teen. He was in a cheap jacket, crouched on the ground. Deftly, he set up small fish traps, but Roy noticed the tremble in his shoulders.

He was terrified. Not even a veteran knight could stay calm if he was tasked to lure out a werewolf during the night of a full moon. Not even if he was covered in a protective magic circle.

But Roy's attention was not on the boy. His gaze was drawn to the patch of tall napier grass about twenty yards away from the bait. He put his detection sunglasses on and saw more than twenty red heat signatures. Some were strong, and some were weak.

"Twenty knights of the order and Triss the sorceress."

Not an inch of ribbon was seen on them. Roy posited that they must have cast some spell on themselves. This spell could fool a witcher's senses and werewolves, to an extent. If their enemy were a werewolf, that was.

But their enemy was no werewolf.

***

Triss was crawling on the cold, viscous soil, holding her breath. The soil dirtied her beautiful clothes, but she paid it no heed. She looked at the brave apprentice knight through the cracks between the blades of grass.

The scent of soil and grass lingered around her nose, and blades of grass scraped her cheek. Crickets would crawl past her arms, tickle her fingers, and dart across her legs. She wanted to scratch herself, but Triss held the urge down. She kept holding on despite the chilly night.

Now she finally realized what Keira was talking about. A mage had no need to get herself into this mess. I'm lying down in a field like some sort of beast waiting for someone to rail me. But I guess this is the price I should pay for excitement.

Her eyes shone, and her breathing became quieter. A team of knights in black armor and equipped with shields, swords, and crossbows lay beside her. The look on their faces was solemn, and they too were staring at the bait. An odd light shone in their eyes, perhaps because they had ingested a special potion beforehand.

They had taken a stance that would ease them into battle. Should the killer show himself, they could swoop in for the rescue right away.

***

The night grew darker. An hour had passed, but nothing happened. The silvery moon was slowly heading toward the end of the river. There were no signs of the werewolf yet, but the young apprentice was still tense.

He gnashed his teeth and went on with the second part of the plan. He unsheathed a short sword and put his hands into the cool river. A bass was pulled out shortly after, and the young man cut its belly open. But for some reason, he overexerted himself. The blade cut his finger, drawing a drop of blood. It fell to the ground, its scent wafting across the quiet air.

The young man sucked on his wound and kept on cutting the fish up, his gaze still alarmed. Even though Roy was on the other side of the river, he could hear the young apprentice's heartbeat.

The knights tensed up even further, not unlike a panther tensing up for a hunt. Sweat glistened within Triss' palms. Her eyes glinted, and she pinched a lock of her hair tightly.

Even the air seemed to have frozen up, and yet nothing happened. Silence still reigned, save for the gurgling of the stream.

"It didn't work, huh? Guess the guy saw through his acting." Roy heaved a sigh and shook his head. "That vamp is not going to fall for this trick. It's smarter than this."

Just when he was about to relive his memories of boat rowing with Coral, his medallion started to tremble. The quiet air was now filled with a weird scent that smelled like a combination of blood and butter.

Roy held his medallion, his body tensing up. His blood was starting to race through his vessels, and he looked around cautiously. He was the only one who knew about the arrival of an enemy.

Until a burst of laughter tore through the air. There was mockery in that laughter, and yet that was not the terrifying part. Aside from mockery, there was nothing but indifference. Indifference predators would show to prey.

It could have been a hallucination, but Roy thought he saw a pair of crimson, cunning eyes hanging in the air, but beyond that, he saw nothing.

Everyone felt the air around them freeze. Even their blood seemed to be curdling. A shiver ran down their spines as if someone had just breathed down their necks. Yet they did not move. They still tried their best to capture the killer with their eyes.

All the color had drained from Triss' face. "No, this is no werewolf." She held her breath and clenched her protective talisman tightly with one hand while caressing her ring with the other. She was ready to rain down destruction on the monster the moment it showed up and tear it apart.

And then… silence. Deathly silence, but this time, it was the calm before the storm. Tension hung in the air. The knights hoped they were just hearing things, but that was no hallucination. Their hearts raced, and their stomachs churned.

That vamp is trying to play with them? Roy thought.

The patch of grass was starting to rustle. One of the knights stood up, but his eyes were dead. Like a puppet, he stiffly unsheathed his blade and thrust it into his comrade.

Roy saw blood spurting across the air in an arc. And then another knight stood up. Without hesitation, he stabbed the knight beside him. Roy heard the dull stab, followed by a scream and a grunt.

And the silence was broken.

"Enemy attack! To formation! For the order!" a stern voice shouted.

The knights split into three factions. One went ahead and pinned the out-of-control knights, one went to the rescue of the injured, while the remaining ten unsheathed their blades and held up their shields with one hand. They formed a circle around their comrades, keeping them safe.

The apprentice had returned to the fold as well.

Triss was chanting as quickly as she could. Her hands were doing complex gestures, and her talisman shone. The light of magic soared into the air and flooded the knights. The hypnotized knights trembled, and their eyes regained clarity.

Roy was still watching the events unfold. To his surprise, he saw a silhouette moving within the patch of grass behind the knights. A black silhouette of a gigantic bat. Its wings were featherless and made of membrane as thin as cicada wings. It had a naked body, its skin covered in slime. The monster had the head of an oversized mouse, but its ears were as big as fans, and the sight of its nose almost made Roy hurl.

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Its maw was filled with sharp, canine teeth, with a few that were long enough to be fangs. And they glimmered under the moon.

'Mocha aep Gruffyd

Age: Two hundred and ten years old

Status: Higher vampire (Apex predator of the vampires. Unlike their lesser counterparts, they possess humanlike behavior.)

HP: ? (Requires higher Perception)

Mana: ?

Strength: 30

Dexterity: ?

Constitution: ?

Perception: 13

Will: 9

Charisma: 10

Spirit: ?

Skills:

Crimson Hunger Level 5: Higher vampires do not need to drink blood, but they can develop an addiction to it. They can heal regular injuries quickly through the consumption of blood.

Hyper Regeneration Level 7: Higher vampires are immune to garlic, fire, and wooden stakes. Their lifespan extends to centuries, and they possess incredible regenerative abilities. They can survive losing their heart and even decapitation. And they can slowly heal over time. Some of the more powerful higher vampires can resurrect themselves even after they're burned to ash.

Hypnosis Level 6: Whispers beguiling promises into their victim and turns them into puppets that will do their bidding.

Invisibility Level 6: Higher vampires can change their skin color and camouflage with their environment. Most people cannot see them in this state.

Spread Level 6: Turns into a group of bats. Allows for fast movement and evasion.

Scarlet Summoning Level 4: Allows a higher vampire to command nearby lower bloodsuckers like bats and bruxa to fight for them.

Crimson Vessel Level 6: Unleashes all energy within a higher vampire's body. Shapeshifts into a gigantic bat. Gains an increase in all stats in this state. Gains the ability to fly. Fangs and claws grow exponentially. Filled with the desire to kill in this state.

Blood Magic Level ?: A kind of complex magic created by fusing blood and mana.

(Requires higher Perception to view more.)'

***

Roy watched as Mocha landed in silence and approached one of the knights. All the knight felt was the wind brushing his face, and he lost balance.

What happened next was shocking to the knights. One of them was pulled off the ground by an invisible force and hung upside down sixteen feet in the air, but nobody saw what caused this.

Nobody but the witcher. The humanoid bat was covered in smoke and blood. Over the knights' head it circled, appearing and disappearing as if it were teleporting. A weird sound resembling an owl's hoot escaped its lips.

The monster was playing with its prey, but it got tired of them in mere moments. And the monster hurled the knight down like a cannonball. His comrades shouted, but alas, they could do nothing as their friend fell into their formation.

The formation broke. Knight rolled into knight, howling and shivering in pain. Their limbs were bent at unnatural angles, and a hole was formed in the defense line.

"Hold the line! Cast the nets!" Cleveland's shout tore through the air. "For the order!"

A team of knights quickly tossed a metallic net imbibed with silver into the air. It glimmered under the moonlight, and then another net flew as well, but none caught their quarry.

The monster let out a derisive laugh as it circled the knights.

Triss shouted and shot a bolt of purple light into the night sky. And it broke through the vampire's invisibility. Though when it was revealed who their enemy was, the knights were horrified. They felt goosebumps all over their skin, and by instinct, they raised their shields.

"A higher vampire?" Horror filled Triss' eyes, but she quickly shot a purple lightning bolt at the vampire.

"For the order! Kill the bat bastard!"

Bolts flew into the air and fell like rain. Roy took the chance to take his shot as well, though his bolt was made of dimeritium and greased with vampire oil. One clean shot would be enough to take the monster down.

And yet none of the attacks landed. The bat turned itself into a crimson cloud, where countless microscopic bats flapped their wings and screeched like the world would end in mere moments.

The bolts flew through the cloud like it was air. Even Triss' magic was nullified the moment it hit the cloud. Unharmed, the vampire roared furiously, and the cloud changed once more. A rain of blood fell upon the knights like a torrent. The force created a crater in the ground, and the knights flew backward.

The formation was fully and totally broken.

The knight who received the hit head-on was turned into mincemeat. A puddle of blood and flesh formed on the ground, crimson liquid wriggling and growing within it. In mere moments, the mincemeat was turned into a screeching humanoid bat.

Triss sped up her incantation and hurled a fireball at it, but the smoke and blood around the vampire deflected it. Triss' magic was ineffective against it.

A roar came rushing out of the vampire's throat as it swung its sharp claws at one of the knights. The vampire's claws were sharp enough to cut through steel, and the knight did not manage to hold his shield up in time. His armor was destroyed, and blood gushed out of him like he was a fountain, especially from his sliced belly.

The vampire had wings as hard as any shield. They blocked all attacks and sent the knights flying. It leapt into the air and evaded Roy's guided bolt. Then it turned around and shot Roy a look of mockery and warning.

And then it pounced at Triss.

"For the order!" Fritz roared and stood before Triss. His face was red with fury, and he valiantly held his shield up in an attempt to fend off the monster. But he was sent flying away with a single smack.

Once again, the vampire covered itself with its wings and deflected a fireball. It took the lightning bolt head on and didn't even slow down. The only mark the bolt left was a charred patch on the monster's skin. Already the monster was inches away from Triss. The sorceress could see its maw and taste the bloody scent coming from it.

Its breath billowed her hair, and she let out a scream. A shockwave emanated from her and undulated across the battlefield, destroying the landscape around her.

Despite that attack, the bat only swayed for a moment. It easily cut through Triss' magic shield and, with one wing, picked her up. It spread its other wing and lifted into the air. The vampire stood up straight, but it stared down at the humans with its ruby-red eyes.

A dark smile curled its grotesque maw.

"Morvud va faill!"

The announcement of victory roared across the air, and the bat took off with its prey.

***

"Sir, we lost a few men, and Triss has been captured." Fritz, with difficulty, stood back up. And he stared at his captain with worry in his eyes.

"You, Jesse, and Chris are coming with me. Everyone else, stay here and tend to the wounded!" A bloodied Cleveland looked at his comrades. There was sadness in his eyes. And also fury.

Five knights lost their lives in the battle, and the boy who was supposed to lure it out died from a gash in his throat. His eyes were wide open, but there was no life behind them. And seven of the survivors suffered grievous injuries.

"Damn that bat! I'll make it pay!"

But humans could never catch up to a vampire, not when it had wings. The knights lost their target just a few hundred yards later, and they gave up on the chase.

***

But one man was keeping up. The witcher tore through the expanse of land, blinking in and out of existence from time to time. Miraculously, he managed to keep up with the higher vampire, trailing behind by only a little.

He summoned a yellow winged beast the size of a buffalo from the void. Once again, Gryphon made its appearance, and it tilted its head.

"No time to explain! I'm counting on you!" Roy took off his cape and hopped onto the griffin's back. He sat astride and tugged on its mane. The higher vampire was fast disappearing into the night. There was fear and fury in Roy's eyes, but he told Gryphon to go after the monster nonetheless.

And Gryphon roared.

***

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