Bronx, 9:20 a.m.
BAM! BAM!
Violent blows slam against the apartnt door where Chris and Mia are taking refuge.
As soon as they realized the vampires had broken into the building, they grabbed everything they could and piled it in front of the door to block it.
Wardrobes, couches, even chairs.
The improvised barricade held for almost twenty minutes, but now it’s on the verge of collapsing.
The door is shattered in several places, and clawed hands pushing through are tearing the furniture apart one by one.
It’s only a matter of ti before they reach them.
From ti to ti, they glance out the window, hoping for Zaira’s return or so miracle.
But there’s no sign of the succubus, and outside nothing has changed — primordial vampires still infest the streets and buildings.
"Chris, we have to jump!" Mia exclaims.
"Are you crazy?! Have you seen how many of those monsters are out there?! And it’s at least a twenty-ter drop!"
"In a second they’ll all be in here with us! If we fight in such a tight space, we’ll be overwheld! And I can’t use the Tear of Azkarith here — we’d get trapped in the flas! You’re a vampire — twenty ters is nothing for you!"
Chris is still hesitant, and Mia takes the initiative.
She grabs him by the arm and pulls him toward the window.
"On three, we jump! One, two—"
"M-Mia, wait! Give ti to get ready!"
"...three!"
Mia leaps out, smashing through the glass and dragging Chris with her.
The sound of the shattering glass draws the attention of the primordial vampires in the street, who imdiately gather beneath them.
"Chris, get ready to fight!" Mia shouts, forming her blood scythe.
"I knew it! We should’ve stayed inside!" he complains, forming his katana.
Just before hitting the ground, Mia taps into the power of the Tear of Azkarith again.
But she doesn’t use any specific ability — she only taps into it to boost her strength.
The power of the divine artifact surges through her body for an instant — just enough to unleash a scythe strike so fast and violent that the shockwave tears open a massive crater in the asphalt and sweeps away all the nearby primordial vampires.
Chris is about to et the sa fate, but Mia grabs him by the ankle and holds him back.
Then she deactivates it again.
Before, it took her several seconds to tap into that power, and she couldn’t use it often. But now, thanks to Isabelle’s intense training, she can turn it on and off as easily as flipping a switch.
The two stand at the center of the enormous crater, with primordial vampires surrounding them along the edge.
They bare their fangs, raise their claws, and lunge at them.
But before they can reach them, Chris and Mia leap upward, rising dozens of ters into the air while the vampires crash into each other below.
With that jump, they put enough distance between themselves and the crowd below to land safely on the asphalt.
But they barely touch the ground before the horde is already upon them.
◇◇◇
"Philip, stop!" Frank orders.
He slams the brakes in the middle of an intersection.
To their right, Mia and Chris clash with the horde of primordial vampires.
From ti to ti, when the horde is about to overwhelm them, bright pink flas burst out and push it back.
"B-Boss... those two are really who I think they are...?" Philip asks.
"Indeed. That’s Princess Mia Valakis and her stepbrother. What did I tell you? The ss in Manhattan is just to keep the Monster Slayers away from the real target. I’m sure that pink-haired bitch will show up any mont now. She’s nearby — I’m certain of it. She’s probably wary of the Tear of Azkarith and just waiting for Mia to be too exhausted to use it anymore."
"What should we do, boss? Should we go help them?" Joe asks.
"Oh, my dear Green... why don’t you drop that awful habit of talking? You’d save yourself from looking like an idiot. No, we’re not going to help them — why should we? If Princess Mia dies, the Platinum Death will have nothing left holding her back from joining my organization. And at that point I’ll have the strength needed to—"
But he suddenly stops mid-sentence when he notices sothing streaking across the sky like a purple cot, racing straight toward the battle.
◇◇◇
Mia uses the Destruction Dragon Eyes again.
She glances around, and the primordial vampires ignite, forming a ring of tall flas that gives her and Chris a mont to catch their breath.
But those devastating flas are proving counterproductive in this situation, because they reduce their victims to ashes far too quickly.
The bodies she incinerates are consud in seconds, and once the flas have nothing left to burn, the blazing wall fades and the horde resus its relentless assault.
Chris and Mia keep retreating until they end up back to back.
Fatigue begins to take over. They sever heads and pierce skulls and hearts, but their pace is no longer enough to hold them back.
Chris is struck across the arm, then the chest. Then again in the thigh, then the shoulder.
He grits his teeth, holding back cries of pain, and forces himself not to give in. Monts later, his deep wounds regenerate completely, and Chris resus striking with the ferocity of soone who knows that stopping even for an instant would an death.
Mia’s defenses begin to falter. The primordial vampires’ powerful tearing strikes hit her across her body, ripping her skin and clothes.
She releases a wave of Sanguis energy, but only manages to push them back a few steps.
Shit... I promised myself I’d use the Tear of Azkarith sparingly, but I have no choice!
It’s already the sixth ti in just two hours she’s used her divine artifact.
Her body is enveloped in a dense aura of pink flas — the Incandescent Mantle, the ability she unlocked during training on the island.
She hasn’t used it since, as it’s far more draining than the Destruction Dragon Eyes. But as a defensive ability, it’s much more useful in this situation.
Mia moves away from Chris to keep him out of the mantle’s effects, then throws herself headfirst into the horde.
All the primordial vampires near her are instantly reduced to ashes, and the sa fate befalls those who try to attack her.
The temperature of her body is such that it lts the asphalt beneath her feet.
Chris also tries to defend himself as best he can, but without similar abilities it’s much harder.
He’s struck again and falls onto his back on the asphalt.
He’s about to be overwheld... when a large sphere of purple energy crashes into the group of primordial vampires about to pounce on him.
Chris looks up at the sky and lets out a hopeful smile as he sees Zaira streaking toward them at full speed, wrapped in an aura of energy that makes her look like a purple cot.
"Chriiiiiis, Miaaaaa — your beloved Zaira is hereeeeeee!"
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