“Number 51… here. Hibiki?”
“It’s a little hazy… but there’s definitely something in there.”

The girl’s eyes grew dim once more as she frowned slightly. She was still finding her powers difficult to control, and as they stemmed from her demonic side, it wasn’t spirit related, and there was nobody to turn to for instructions on how it all worked. Even so, her detection ability was a helpful backup, and the case file clearly highlighted the building before them as the vampire's hideout.

The house was perfectly unassuming. It was a little run-down, but no more so than any others around it, though looking at it with the knowledge they had from the report, it seemed quite well-shaded as it was surrounded by other buildings and trees that cast wide shadows along most of the street.

The curtains were all closed, as expected. Contact with sunlight would scald a vampire like boiling water, so leaving even a slight crack for light to pass through would be a rookie mistake - and this vampire was clearly experienced.

The information they had been provided had detailed notes of cases where the vampire showed a high level of caution, making sure to cover tracks and evade potential pursuers. It was rare behaviour for prideful demons like vampires, and would make this particular extermination more difficult. The recon team were professionals, so it was unlikely that the vampire was actually aware they were onto it, but they would need to keep their wits about them regardless.

Yuuji glanced further down the street, as the car that had been following them pulled over, and the group within exited. Fiorella and her entourage stood a safe distance away, but she was making sure to remain close enough to inspect their plan of attack, causing him to click his tongue.

It was difficult to ambush a cautious foe. This very rule was one of the things that kept him alive out in the field, as more often than not he was the one needing to avoid a surprise attack, but whenever his enemy would turn the tables on him, the more prepared he was, the better.

Sadly, in this case, there was very little they could do in advance. Though he had already developed a great distaste for her, he gave Fiorella the benefit of the doubt and assumed she didn’t saddle them with a problematic assignment under short notice simply to cause their failure, but perhaps he was too naïve. Demons weren’t the only enemy they had to look out for, but if he couldn’t trust those who were supposed to be fighting on his side, then the battle was already lost.

“...We’ll go with the same tactic as before. Hibiki, Claire, you stay at a safe distance. I’ll take the lead, but Leona please back me up whenever you feel you can attack without issue.”

If they managed to get the vampire outside, they had won. Of course, their opponent knew this all too well, so wasn’t exactly going to come out willingly, and that meant fighting against a creature that was faster and stronger than them, in a dark, cramped space. If that weren’t difficult enough, Leona’s fire ability was almost entirely restricted in residential areas, as they couldn’t run the risk of setting the building ablaze and risking the lives of any innocents who happened to be nearby.

On record, the buildings were uninhabited. Many ghost neighbourhoods such as this existed since the Cataclysm, but sadly they would often end up housing transient people, or those who didn’t wish to be found. If they conducted a full-scale evacuation to fight without concern, they would be announcing their presence and allowing the vampire to escape, so it was a catch-22.

Yuuji’s companions nodded at him, and he took a deep breath. Citing his mantra in his head, he stepped forward and rapped on the wooden door.

*knock* *knock*

Even with all the information they had, they simply couldn’t risk barging in swinging. It was unlikely to be the case, but the vampire could have hostages for the sake of food, or perhaps it had left, and some other residents had taken the house.

Silence.

Yuuji knocked again, fighting back his nerves as his heart pounded. Any second, a deadly attack could burst out towards him - and he was almost asking for them to do so. Some part of him still found it difficult to adjust to fighting demons within populated areas, as even when faced with near-certain death on isolated missions from his past, in those situations he was able to scrap and claw with every fibre of his being.

Despite his knocking, the house remained motionless.

“Yuuji… There’s something there. I don’t… I don’t know what it is.”

From behind him, he heard Hibiki whisper quietly. He turned his head slowly towards his companions, then once more towards Fiorella, who simply stared at him while keeping her distance. The fact that she had acknowledged their attempt was good enough, as now they had no other choice but to enter by force.

“Minamoto no Yorimitsu. Doujigiri.”
“Souls of hell, awaken.”
“Uriel, watch over me.”

The three spirit users readied themselves, as Yuuji brandished his trusty sword. It would be tight in such a small space, but their usual frontline attacker Leona was handicapped, he would have to take her role fully rather than acting as a defender. Claire’s spirit was exceptional at slowing and disrupting, but against strong demons such as vampires, its offensive abilities struggled, and Hibiki’s powers were still in their infancy and relied on sparingly.

He held his blade upwards, before stepping forward and swinging thrice. His well-practised blows sliced through the simple door with ease, and he took a quick step back as sunlight immediately blanketed the room.

“Gahh!”
“!?”

Shockingly, the figure that had been lying in wait hadn’t moved out of the way in time and shouted out in pain as the light bathed him. He was an average height, but he looked to be advanced in his age, and the torn, mottled clothes he wore had long overstayed their welcome.

“Damn you!”

The man writhed and scratched at his exposed skin with discomfort, but that was all. His eyes yellowed as he screamed out in rage, and he leapt forward towards them with both arms outstretched.

“It's a thrall!”

Yuuji yelled, gritting his teeth as he jumped further away from the house. A thrall may not be as strong as a vampire, but they were still stronger than normal humans, and the sun only irritated them - in a life-or-death battle, it was an inconvenience, not a threat.

The gaunt figure struck out with his filthy fingernails, swiping at Yuuji like an animal. Thankfully, he had taken just enough distance to barely dodge the attack, but the two of them tumbled into the street as they clattered to the ground.

The possessed man had no regard for the gleaming blade of light that seared through his flesh at the slightest touch as he sought to grapple and tear Yuuji to shreds, but the young demon hunter fought back. He quickly let go of his weapon as it fizzled away, and twisted around his opponent’s torso, using both his legs and arms to restrain him as best he could.

“Let! Me! GO!”

The man squirmed as he clawed savagely at Yuuji’s arms, but even with his superior strength, the ground pin he had been subjected to restricted him greatly.

“...Hit him!”

Straining against the pressure, Yuuji choked out the only words he could, but Leona was already acting, and her fist rocketed into the thrall’s solar plexus, causing him to cough violently as he gasped in pain. Her hand was not adorned with fire, so it was simply to incapacitate and not kill, but her strength alone was enough for Yuuji to groan from the second-hand impact.

Their brief tussle was not in vain, as within moments the vampire hunters who had accompanied Fiorella had yanked the debilitated thrall out into the open, and bound his legs and arms with what looked like thick cuffs.

“Yuuji! Are you alright!?”
“I’m… fine. Stay alert! Is there any movement in the building?”
“None. These eyes have remained vigilant.”

The scrap had only lasted a few seconds, and it was too fast for Hibiki to understand what had happened. She rushed over to check that Yuuji was unharmed as she feared for his safety, but he momentarily chastised her for turning her back on the still-dangerous house.

The appearance of a thrall had been a total surprise to them. The recon team had not mentioned one, or even the suspicion that there may be thralls waiting, and that wasn’t entirely unreasonable. Thralls were essentially humans that had been turned into mindless slaves, which made them very convenient tools for vampires that lived in more isolated areas but would be a massive liability to those that resided in cities.

A demon disguised as a human was one thing, but thralls could only follow very simple instructions, and if the vampire wasn’t guiding their every move, they would immediately be discovered and have their cover blown.

Yuuji touched the back of his neck with a grimace, as his fingertips were wet with blood. The man’s wild scratches had torn a cut under his collar, and while it wasn’t enough to limit his fighting ability, his bloody neck would paint a huge target on him when fighting a vampire.

Thankfully, Claire had kept watch of the house as they wrestled, and confirmed that there had been no more movement. They were still on a ticking clock, as it wasn’t the thrall they were after, but the demon that turned it.

“Careful! There’s another one of those things, upstairs!”

Hibiki sounded out a warning as her eyes shone once more. The girl struggled to describe exactly how she perceived demons when using her ability, but Yuuji silently chastised himself for not expecting a thrall upon hearing her confused observations. If she knew how an actual vampire appeared in her eyes and she couldn’t detect humans, then to her a thrall would surely be some strange being, and he couldn’t blame her inexperience for his lack of judgement.

But, they could discuss more later. For now, there was at least another thrall to take care of, not to mention a missing vampire.

“Perseus, Aegis!”

In place of his gleaming tachi, he called forth a golden shield with a mirror-like surface. On paper, a thrall was far easier to deal with than the stronger, faster, bloodthirsty vampire, but in practice, there was a humongous obstacle when facing them: they were human.

Brainwashed, mindless humans, but humans nonetheless. They were not in control of their actions, nor would they have become thralls willingly. Killing a vampire would release the control they had over their thralls, and by doing so they could be saved.

Just the possibility made it so that killing a thrall was a serious act. It was expected that they may sustain serious injuries when being subdued, but ending their life should only be done if there is no other way without risk of death. Many times, a choice would not be given, but here, they had to try.

Yuuji crept into the room and eyed up the stairway. It was visible from the entrance, but they only had a vague idea of where the remaining thrall was based on Hibiki’s instructions, so he would still need to play it safe.

Based on how they had been positioned, it was highly likely that the thralls were intentionally set up as guards for the house, being given some form of instruction such as ‘Attack any intruders’ or ‘Don’t allow anyone through this door’. As the first enemy was safely in the hands of the church, the four of them all proceeded together. Yuuji held the lead with his shield, followed by Leona, Hibiki and Claire as they slowly approached the upstairs landing.

Thankfully, the location of the thrall was clear to see. Out of the two rooms upstairs, the door to one was wide open and visibly empty, while the other remained closed. They would still be in for a fight, but at least they would know where the attack was coming from.

On Yuuji’s signal, he and Leona stormed the room to find a heavyset man in a black hoodie, who whipped his head around with a shout as he sensed them. The room was dimly lit by faint lights, but it was enough for them to see their opponent, and Yuuji charged towards him to intercept as their backup moved to assist.

“Leave!”

This time, their coordination was on full display. As Yuuji batted away a swiping blow from the man, skeletal hands rose from a black, misty tear in the floor to tug at his legs, restraining him further so that Leona’s heavy kick could land square on his jaw.

The thrall reeled back and toppled over with a hefty thud as his face made uncomfortable clicking noises. Thralls possessed some of the rapid healing ability of their masters, so the man’s broken jaw was healing right before their eyes - but they had him exactly where they needed him.

Yuuji burst forward with fearsome speed, slamming his shield into the man’s chest as he used all his momentum to shove onward. Still dazed from the previous attack, the thrall took the full brunt of the hit, stumbling backwards once again with extreme impact.

*SMASH*

The glass window he had been positioned in front of shattered easily, and the man tumbled out into the open air, falling onto the sloped doorway and rolling onto the floor outside with a thunderous crash. After a moment of bewilderment, he groaned as more hair-raising clicks sounded from his mangled limbs, but the team from the church wouldn’t give him the chance to recover.

“Uuughh…”

He too was bound in thick cuffs, and multiple men worked to drag him away while making sure to keep out of reach of any sudden attempts at a bite.

The cuffs were not ordinary metal, and had been imbued by a member of the church to subdue demonic energy. Sadly, it wasn’t enough to return a thrall to their former state without killing their vampiric master, but it sapped away their superhuman strength, and left them dazed and easier to restrain while they were captive.

“Haa… Hibiki, anything else?”
“...No. I feel like there was another before… but they aren’t here now.”

As her lilac eyes glowed, she looked around the decrepit room curiously, before settling on a large wooden bookshelf - or at least, what remained of it. The shelves had been torn out, and a huge chunk had been splintered away, but as the group followed her gaze and looked closer, they could see that it appeared to be somewhat out of place.

Dragging it to one side revealed a large hole in the wall, leading directly into one of the adjoining buildings. They didn’t need to look far to see another similar hole from the next room, and something became abundantly clear to them.

“...Fuck.”

The vampire wasn’t simply missing - it had escaped.