The three vampires slowly approached the cave that held the Basilisk. 

As they moved, they could see a number of bones in front of the cave. This explained why the descendants dragged the bodies of the slain humans all the way back here. The Basilisk itself was too big to go into the tunnels, so it had to rely on its children to feed.

As for how the Basilisk got down here in the first place...it was anyone’s guess.

Katie led the way, as fearless as always. As she walked, she slowly got herself ready for combat. Real combat. Red branches covered her body, forming an armor beneath what was left of her clothes. Now that the Mu branches were merged with the vampire essence, the branch armor growing out of Katie’s skin offered a lot more protection. Two Branch Blades, also stained red and reinforced by blood, formed in her hands. 

The Culls stood behind her. They slowly channeled the blood on the ground, both that of the slain War Wolves and that of the dead beasts. For vampires, blood was both refreshments and ammunition. In that sense, the massacre of all those Basilisk descendants gave them a huge advantage. 

“We should lure it out here, into the open.” Harrison turned to the most durable member of the trio. “This is our home field. Jake and I will prepare an ambush.”

Katie licked her lips at the request. “You should really triple my payment considering the contributions I’m making, but I suppose that’s for a later time.” With the snarky comment out of the way, she swung her Branch Blades in her hand and launched herself into the dark cave that held the terrifying, mysterious monster. She moved with little hesitance as the two real vampires got themselves ready.

Second later, followed by a loud, ear-piercing growl of a disturbing horror, Katie was tossed back out of the cave with a huge bloody hole in her chest. She hit the ground and got back on her feet after some tactical rolls. By the time she rose again, the hole was already no more. 

“Wow...it’s really fast.” She warned the others. “Especially its tail. I would keep the shields up all the time if I were you.”

Jake bit his lips. He remembered how fast Katie was when she ripped the detonator right out of his hand just minutes ago. This Basilisk was even faster than her...the younger vampire quickly steadied himself. He couldn’t afford to be scared. Not when there was so much on the line. 

Furious shrieks filled the underground space as the Basilisk charged out of the cave it was residing in. Unsurprisingly, the Basilisk looked a lot like its children. It had sharp, spine-like fur across its body, making any melee attack look like suicide attempts. Its greatest weapon, its tail, was raised into the air like a deadly lance. 

At the same time, what truly terrified the trio was its size. At first, the two vampires didn't quite realize how big it was. Only when the Basilisk got out of the cave did they come to the conclusion that the beast was nearly the size of a building. It was at least ten meters tall and several meters wide. It was so large that the vampires could barely see its entire form. When it moved, the ground shook. 

The Basilisk was a beast that would draw the attention of the world if it was above ground. It was simply impossible to hide in a city or some other decently populated location.

The trio looked like dwarves in front of the giant that was the Basilisk. 

Another difference between the Basilisk and its descendants was its eyes. The Basilisk had large, lively eyes that shone even in the darkness of the underground space, although neither of the three had trouble seeing in the dark. This was likely because the Basilisk spent a long time above ground before somehow finding itself trapped beneath countless tons of earth.

Both Jake and Harrison found themselves shaken merely at the sight of the beast, and the knowledge they had regarding the beast’s origin didn't help either. Still, it was too late to turn back now, and they proceeded with the plan.

Katie, the meat shield of the trio, acted first. Unfazed by the beast’s size, she let out a sharp war cry and did her best to attract the beast’s attention. She might as well carve a bull’s eye onto her chest, because the Basilisk immediately had all its attention trained on her again. Annoyed that the little pest wasn’t dead already, the beast struck again. Its long tail dashing across space and closing its distance with Katie. 

Back in the cave, when the tail came at her, Katie subconsciously tried to dash out of the way. That was when she remembered how Harrison’s brother discovered the beast in the first place, but by then it was already too late and she was skewered already. 

This time, Katie used her legs instead. She moved to the side with superhuman speed, avoiding the missile of a tail by half a meter. The strike sent the tail deep into the ground. Before it could pull out, Katie slashed her red Branch Blades into the tail. 

The tail, much like the rest of the Basilisk’s body, was covered in spine-like fur all brushed to one direction. Katie’s blades came down on the tail, hard, but all they did was snap a few pieces of the fur before being stopped in their tracks.

That was not good news at all. Katie’s Branch Blades were already fierce weapons all by themselves, and when combined with Katie’s unnatural strength, they could cut through almost anything, normal or supernatural. This was made even more true with the layer of red blood covering the blades, enhancing the weapons with blood magic. Yet, they couldn’t even graze the beast. 

“Fuck!” Katie swore before the tail pulled out of the ground and smashed right into her, slapping her into a wall a distance away like she was a fly. 

Most of Katie’s body shattered upon contact. One moment she was hit, and the next thing she knew, she was on the wall already. The layer of armor that covered her body was almost completely ruined. Her Branch Blades fell on the ground next to her, now devoid of all the magic they once held.

Feeling the reassuring pain across her body, Katie slowly got back up. The Basilisk was tough. In fact, it might have been the toughest enemy she had ever faced. Katie suspected Mr. Isaac wouldn’t last a minute in front of the Basilisk. Even the Owner would be no match for the beast. His army of collections would be crushed like bugs in front of the gigantic animal. 

Yet, Katie was anything but afraid. No. She was excited. For a moment, as the pain in her body slowly disappeared due to her wound healing, the brunette felt more excited than ever before. It was as if this was the sole purpose she was created. The only reason she was alive. To fight. To kill. Anything that couldn’t kill her would only make her stronger, and the Basilisk sure couldn’t kill her!

A layer of red armor covered her body once again. New Branch Blades extended out of her palms. Now completely healed, Katie let out another shriek and launched herself at the Basilisk.

On the other side of the field, Harrison and Jake watched in horror when the Basilisk first swatted away Katie Lockwood like she was nothing. Even the old vampire had to acknowledge that the beast was beyond anything he had imagined. Bigger. Faster. Meaner. Yes. He knew the beast was a powerful entity from a terrifying era, but drawing some blood shouldn’t be too hard, right? After all, the three of them here might be some of the most powerful beings in Los Angeles. Surely, they stood a chance, right?

Reality slapped him in the face. Hard. The ally he placed so much hope in didn't stand a chance against the beast! And to think he wanted to use the War Wolves to take the monster down…

The entire time, all the blood across the field was condensing above the Culls. They were converging. Twisting. Moving. Slowly, the blood grew denser and denser and turned into the shape of a lance. Using the time Katie bought, the Culls were preparing for an attack. 

As the Basilisk dealt with Katie quicker than expected and turned its attention over to them, the Culls felt themselves shaking in fear. Vampires weren’t the most durable beings as far as supernatural entities went. 

“Get ready!” Harrison pushed the words through his gripped teeth. His face was pale, and it had nothing to do with the lack of sunlight. “3...2..“

The blood lance in the air started turning. Some of the blood at the end of the lance started to evaporate. The Basilisk, sensing some danger, raised its tail in the air for another strike. 

That was when Katie reappeared again. The Culls were the first to see her. They watched in awe as she jumped into the air from behind the beast. Her raw strength alone was able to bring her into the air for a brief moment, and that was enough to send Katie smashing into the Basilisk’s raised tail. The beast growled in a mixture of confusion and anger, but it was too late. 

Once Katie grabbed onto the tail, she didn't hesitate to attach herself to the appendage. Her weight started pulling the tail down, but it wasn’t enough. Sensing that, Katie raised her fist and started punching the Basilisk’s tail with everything he had got. Some of her punches landed on the sharp ends of the fur, not that she minded at all. 

For some unknown reason, Katie’s punches did a lot more damage than her Branch Blades. Whereas her blades didn't even hurt the Basilisk, her punches made the beast growl in agony. It wasn’t much, but it was still enough to let Katie know she was on the right track. Punch landed after punch as she unleashed her passion for battle on the animal. 

The Basilisk wasn’t defenseless either. With a single command, certain muscles on its tail contracted before suddenly expanding, sending several spine furs right into Katie’s body like arrow bolts.

That attempt to fight back only earned Katie a snicker. This was but a flesh wound! A mere inconvenience!

Using the opportunity that the Basilisk was distracted, the Culls unleashed their strike. 

“Now!” Harrison shouted before unleashing all the power the old vampire had at his disposal. 

The blood lance in the air was suddenly propelled into action. A large portion of its rear end suddenly evaporated into thin air. The vampires exhausted the energy in the blood and gave the rest of the lance a significant level of push. It was enough to send the giant lance flying across the air and smashing right into the Basilisk’s exposed and less armored neck. 

This hit was carefully calculated and brilliantly executed. Katie distracted the Basilisk and held it in place. Harrison reinforced the lance while Jake sent the weapon into movement. The lance packed the armor-piercing power of a bunker-busting round, and Harrison aimed it at the Basilisk’s thick neck, so it had no way of missing and the beast would have to take the full brunt of the blast. 

Red smoke exploded in the underground space, caused by nearly all the blood in the lance evaporating in seconds. The vampires gave all they had in one single hit. It was win now or die. 

They didn't win. Not yet.

As the smoke disappeared, Harrison found himself shaking when he saw the results. That was impossible! The Basilisk...it didn't even incur a wound! At all! Not even a tiny fracture! Even worse, it didn't even shed a drop of blood! Some of its furs was gone and its armor underneath was grazed, but...but that was all the lance did!

Minutes of spell-casting, only to achieve a grand total of nothing substantial. 

The Basilisk glanced down on the two puny insects that tried to wound it before letting out a snarl that echoed through the entire underground field. Perhaps it was mocking the vampires. Perhaps it was just a natural thing for the beast to do. Harrison didn't know and he didn't care. His mind was still engulfed with what just happened. 

Harrison knew he wasn’t the most powerful being out there in the world. He wasn’t even the most powerful vampire in recent decades. There were many that were a lot mightier than him. Some of them disappeared ten years ago. Others were slain by the new factions. That being said, while Harrison knew he was no match for any of them, he didn't think he was that far behind. 

The Vampire Counts that disappeared...for whatever reason they were gone, it must be that they were somehow involved in the fight. The same fight that involved the Basilisk. The power level should be similar. In other words, the Basilisk shouldn’t be overpowered enough to shrug off what he and his son spent full minutes and a swimming pool of blood preparing!

No...he was missing something! 

The Basilisk growled once again as Harrison was deep in his thoughts, this time from pain. Apparently, whatever Katie was doing to his tail wasn’t pleasant for it. It suddenly charged at the wall and slammed its tail against it, crushing Katie between the tail and the wall. 

“Father!” Jake grabbed onto Harrison’s arm and started pulling him toward the tunnels. “Father! This battle is lost! That thing is too powerful! We have to fall back now! Regroup and come up with another plan!” 

Harrison didn't share his idea. Instead, he simply stood there, his eyes trained on the towering Basilisk and his lips moved. “That’s impossible. That’s impossible! What...what am I missing?”

He couldn’t leave. Not without the information he came here for. 

The Basilisk’s tail swung in the air, and the two vampires were concerned as they saw Katie’s battered body landing on the ground right next to them and going all ‘splat’ from the impact. Of course, she sat right back up. Flesh and skin twitched around her wounds in a horrifying image as they tried to heal themselves. 

The Basilisk had no intention of giving her the opportunity. Ignoring the two vampires who have been almost useless in this entire battle, the beast sent its favorite weapon flying forward, impaling Katie. The tail, with Katie still on it, kept on moving forward until it pinned Katie to the wall by her stomach. 

Two Branch Blades took form in Katie’s hand and the brunette clashed them against the tail. Once again, no matter how much force she gave the blades, they had little effect on the furs and the armor of the Basilisk.

Jake eyed the tunnels again. If they fled, they might get away in time to fight another day. As for Katie...she wasn’t his concern. At all. Yet his father refused to leave, and it was his duty as the son to stay behind and shield him from danger.

Harrison’s eyes were trained on the Basilisk. His brain was going into overtime. In the back of his head, he knew something quite clearly. He couldn’t afford to retreat. Not today. Not anymore. 

As Katie’s screams came from above, Harrison’s mind turned. 

Katie’s Branch Blades were ineffective. 

The blood lance was almost useless.

Yet...Katie’s fists were enough to make the Basilisk feel pain and actually damage and threaten the beast. 

Why? Harrison got some info on Katie's capabilities before the fight to better coordinate their skills. Katie’s Branch Blades should be more effective than her fists. For one thing, they were sharp...and they were enhanced by blood magic! The blood lance should be even more effective! It was entirely formed by magic. 

Oh shit…

That was when Harrison realized something. He snapped to the spots where Katie was futilely slashing her magic-reinforced weapons into the tail. There, with every clash, lines of markings engraved on the tail were glowing brighter and brighter. 

How did his brother find the Basilisk in the first place? He noticed the beast was emitting a zone that prevented teleportation. More specifically, it prohibited the use of magic to tear through space. 

“The markings!” Harrison snapped to the impaled Katie and started shouting. He no longer had the time to maintain the calm and collected persona. Too much was at stake here. “They’re runes. Anti-magic runes! That’s why our spells failed! That’s why! Katie! Use your fist! Use your fist! Drop those damn knives and start punching!”

The Basilisk was built as an anti-magic weapon, and they just tried to kill it with magic.