Aaron and Isaac followed the man that said he’d bring them to the ‘Vampire Hunter.’ They entered a small sketchy old building.

“This is where we’ll find him?” Isaac doubted that he was in there.

The mysterious man didn’t respond and kept walking in the hallway. Not long after, they stumbled upon large stairs carved into the rock. The side walls were ten meters apart from each other.

“We’re going underground?” asked Aaron as he watched the man running down the staircase.

The stranger didn’t pay any attention to him. He kept going down the stone stairs. Curious about what was down there, Aaron and Isaac followed him.

Isaac thought the setting was funny. ‘It feels like we're entering a secret dungeon in some fantasy RPG. What will be down the stairs? Maybe there’ll be a cavern with an underground waterfall and a tiny village for castaways. Or maybe, it’ll be some black market with plenty of shops and expensive items.’

They arrived at the bottom of the stairs. Isaac’s eyes widened.

“What is this?!”

There were cages on both sides of the broad hall. Tens of people in ragged clothes were behind bars. Some seemed thirsty for blood, while some seemed like regular humans.

After seeing the man with pale skin dressed in black, they all bowed down to him. None of them dared to move, much less speak out loud. They were all submitting to his authority.

The guide suddenly stopped walking and looked at Aaron and Isaac with a subtle evil grin. “Unless you manage to survive the transformation, this is where you will live for the rest of your short meaningless life.”

The gentleman from before had taken a complete turn, revealing his true colours. Aaron and Isaac realized they had fallen into a trap.

“Don’t underestimate us!” Aaron grabbed his pistol while using wind magic to dash behind the arrogant man in a flash.

Isaac smashed his hand on the ground and charged it with electricity despite the rock being a good insulator.

The man seemed tied down. A surge of electricity and a bullet were coming right at him.

*Pow!*

*BZZT!*

The bullet, charged with electricity, passed by Isaac’s head. His jaw dropped.

Aaron and Isaac were in disbelief. “Wh-what….?”

They had seen what happened with their own eyes, or rather, they didn’t see anything. The man had disappeared before their attacks could reach him! He was faster than a bullet!

‘With such speed, that man must be a vampire!’ Aaron started to believe those rumours about vampires.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go.” The vampire had reappeared farther away in the hall and started walking.

‘This guy’s too strong.’ Aaron put his pistol back in its holster.

Isaac and Aaron followed him from a distance. They approached a small round wooden table in the middle of an empty room.

“Have a seat.” Aaron and Isaac sat beside each other while the vampire sat down on the other side.

The middle-aged man placed his shoulders on the table. “I believe you know of a certain Ejiro?”

Having anticipated this question, Isaac responded briefly, “No, we don’t actually. We have no idea who he is. We don’t even know if the Vampire Hunter is the one we are trying to find.”

Isaac and Aaron weren’t going to accept their fate easily. While they answered his questions, they were preparing for a surprise attack. Isaac was ready to use his watch and Aaron his pistol.

The vampire was disappointed. They really didn’t know anything useful. “Well, that was a waste of time then.”

“My favourite ghouls, please take them and get any valuable information you can get.” He stood up from his seat and signalled for his subordinates to stop hiding.

Aaron and Isaac were getting ready to act.

However, nothing happened. The room remained silent. The vampire frowned. “Um, hello? Aren’t you going to do what I told you?”

*Shing!*

The vampire froze up.

A sudden pain arose in the back of his neck: a pointy item was slightly poking him.

A soft manly voice brushed his ear without any pity. “Sorry, I killed them.”

The tensed vampire quickly turned around to look at who it was. A young man was carrying a greatsword with a single arm despite his light built.

‘There’s no doubt about it! That is the Dragonsword, ‘His’ sword. It’s said to have been forged from the bones of a true dragon!’

Dragons were ancient species that had all gone extinct during the Great Ice Age around 4000 years ago. Only a few dragon remains were since discovered to prove their existence.

The vampire shrieked. He revealed his vampiric form, showing his large canines and bath wings, as he fled faster than ever.

However, his opponent didn’t even bother chasing after him.

Instead, the young man pointed his greatsword toward the vampire and imbued it with light magic.

*KSSSH!* A ray of light made its way from the tip of the sword all the way to the cursed. It carved a hole in him, then his body vanished, leaving nothing but ashes on the floor.

“Hey!” Aaron and Isaac bolted from their seats. “Who… who are you?”

“Didn’t you guys call for me? I am Ejiro Sani, the Vampire Hunter. Sorry for using you as bait.”

Aaron and Isaac had just witnessed the power of one of the greatest magicians in the world for the first time, Ejiro Sani!

They stared at the man in front of them. He wore an unzipped black jacket, had golden hair, and held bright yellow eyes. Despite the weight of his sword, he maintained a body on the lighter side.

Another trait took Isaac and Aaron’s curiosity. He had dark skin, something not usually seen on the West Continent, mostly comprised of white and goldish skin tones. They wondered if he came from the South or Central Continent.