Janus and Anastasia soon left the HMDD building and started heading towards Upper Thames Street, which was southwest of the station. And just as everyone was staring at Janus when he first entered the building, the same thing happened when he was leaving it.

And just like before, their stares were very intense.

“Why is everyone staring at us?” Anastasia asked, looking a little nervous.

“They’re looking at me, not us. And it’s because of what happened when I got suspended, and the reason why you’re my supervisor.”

“Ah, the terror of-“

“I recommend not finishing that sentence,” Janus interrupted her, his face turning stern. “I’m a bit touchy on the subject, understand?”

“U-understood…” Anastasia nods her head rapidly, showing her nervousness.

Good grief…this is what I’m going to be dealing with for a while? Janus mentally groaned as they continued their journey to Upper Thames Street.

Although not as crowded as it was this morning, the streets of London were still packed with people going from place to place. Janus and Anastasia were on the same boat, as the rest of them.

While they continued their walk, Janus spoke up.

“How about a little trivia, Anastasia?”

“Sure. And you can just call me Ana. Most people do since my name is rather long and all.”

“Okay, Ana, can you tell me the weaknesses of vampires?”

“That sounds simple enough…” Ana then started listing off their weaknesses. “They are weak to silver, wooden stakes, the cross, and the sun, among other things.”

“Excellent.”

Vampires were a well-known monster that the HMDD fought against countless times. They are immortal nocturnal creatures of the night that feast upon the blood of humans.

However, although they are powerful, that power comes with a cost. And the weaknesses that Ana mentioned were a few of them.

“Now, tell me about the usual procedure in dealing with vampires.”

“Due to the vampires' supernatural speed and strength, unless you have the skills and strength to back you up, it is highly recommended for HMDD members to take them down by surprise and in groups. Then, decapitation or stabbing them through the heart is the way to kill them.”

“Very good.” Janus nods, satisfied with her answer.

“This is very general and basic information regarding vampires, Janus. It’s not that hard if you study properly.”

Janus laughed. “Maybe so, but when it comes to fighting monsters, you can’t always rely on the information. Because the monsters can bypass certain rules and restrictions if they put their minds to it.”

“Like what?” Ana asked, looking curious.

“Okay then, please tell me why Vampires are nocturnal creatures?”

“It’s because of the sun. During the day, the sun is out and they would be at risk of burning alive.”

One of the most notorious weaknesses of the vampire species and their weakness to the sun. The reason the blood-suckers hunt at night is because of their vulnerability to sunlight. When in contact with the sun, their skin begins to burn, slowly killing the vampire until they turn into a dead charred bodies.

However, although they can’t roam around the day due to the sun, there are certain loopholes that allow them to anyway.

“Although they aren’t all that active during the day, there are several instances where that was proven wrong. And today is no different.”

“What do you me-” Before Ana could ask, Janus pointed his finger in the sky, showing her the cloud-covered sky.

It took her a moment, but when she noticed that a certain yellow light wasn’t present due to the clouds, she realized what he was talking about.

“The clouds…they’re blocking the light of the sun.”

“Correct,” Janus smiled, continuing his explanation. “In the beginning, vampires were restricted to going out at night, and the Helsing family and other monster hunters took advantage of that, using the daytime to find their hideout and killing them in their sleep.”

In order to adapt and survive, humanity needed to exploit the restrictions and weaknesses of monsters in order to eliminate them with haste. However, this also applies to the monsters as well.

The vampires were no different, using the clouds that cover the sun to roam during the day, instead of solely prowling in the night.

“One of the many loopholes that vampires found out about their weaknesses is that as long as the sun isn’t present, whether night or even day, they can roam around as they, please. And right now, those vampires are doing just that. Why else do you think we’re going vampire hunting when it’s still daytime?”

“I see…” Ana pondered. “Have you encountered such cases which is why you knew about this?”

“Yeah, when I was thirteen or so.” Janus thought back. “I was doing a monster hunting job, and came across some vampires prowling about, despite it still being day. Though, it’s pretty general information. You just need to think outside the box.”

“Understood.”

After a little bit of walking, the pair soon made it to Upper Thames street. The street was close to the River Walbrook and Thames river, where a bridge or two could be built to travel across it.

Looking around, the pair noticed a lot of sturdy-brick-built buildings. Most seemed to be factories and whatnot, while others were used for something else.

What caught Janus’s attention was that it was not as crowded in these streets. This place makes it the perfect area for vampires to roam about without the worries of any human witnesses.

“Keep your eyes peeled, Ana.”

“Right.”

Getting in their defensive formations, both Janus and Anastasia swiftly kept their hands close to their blades and other weapons, in case of an attack. They then proceeded to keep an eye out, and investigated the area, seeing if the vampire report was true.

They slowly walked through Upper Thames street, looking at every building, alleyway, and then some, making sure that no vampires would try to attack them while their guard was down.

While looking around, Janus smelled something in the air that caught his attention. It was a strong scent that was leading him to a nearby alleyway.

“Ana,” Janus called out to his partner. “Do you smell that?”

Ana took a moment to smell the air, to which she quickly covered her nose, her face clearly sickened.

“Ugh…the smell of metal.”

“Iron; a common smell you’ll get from blood,” Janus explained. “It’s a strong scent too. That means the vampires are currently feasting right now. Which means they’ll be vulnerable for a moment.”

Janus then signaled Ana to stay quiet as they slowly walked through the alleyway that held the smell of iron. As they walked further, the smell grew stronger, making the pair a little nauseous, but they continued to push through.

They continued their path until they saw streaks of a red substance, plastered over the ground and brick walls. It was obvious to the pair that this was spilled blood, and that the vampires were likely close.

It didn’t take long before they started to hear laughter from up ahead. The sound seemed to have come from a group, rather than a single individual, from the number of voices that can be heard.

Janus and Ana then slowly got closer, until they found themselves near a corner, leading them to an open area between the buildings. Leaning forward, Janus took a look around and soon spotted his targets.

Pale skin, long claw-like nails, crimson red eyes, and sharp canines. The common features of vampires. And the features that Janus noticed on his targets.

There were about five vampires grouped together. They were sitting on crates and chatting and laughing while…they were drinking from humans.

The humans were sprawled on the ground, their blood seeping from their bodies and flooding the ground with its crimson liquid. Janus could see their dead and vacant eyes even from a distance, causing him to slowly twitch in anger.

Then, one of the vampires spoke. “It looks like things are progressing smoothly for the boss, huh?”

“I’ll say,” Said another vampire. “He’s been growing his forces under the Helsings’ noses like they were nothing! Hahaha!”

“I know right?” Chuckled another vampire. “Those bastards normally hunt us during the night, so our activities during the day usually go unnoticed. Thanks to that, we’ve been slowly keeping our plans under wraps without the hunters from finding out about us.”

“That’s right, and it needs to stay that way.” The first vampire stated. “We need to keep doing our jobs and watching out for any hunters in the area.”

“Obviously! But after our lunch break, right?” A vampire asked, raising a human woman, and licking the girl’s neck where blood was trailing off it.

“Of course! Food first, then back to work! Hahahaha!” The first vampire howled with laughter as the other vampires kept feeding on the humans.

From what Janus and Ana could gather, whoever this vampire boss was, he was trying to build an army or something, right under the HMDD’s radar. This is likely due to them using cloudy days to do their activities.

If the vampires did this at night, they would’ve likely gotten caught a lot quicker. Still, this vampire boss must’ve been meticulous in keeping his plans a secret so he can grow his forces…too bad these idiots ruined it for him.

Janus turned to Ana and started motioning his hands, telling Ana what they’ll be doing.

Toss a smoke bomb in their area, and ambush them when they get caught in it. This is what Janus was telling Anastasia.

Ana nods her head, swiftly reaching into her pouch strapped to her side. She soon pulled out a round light gray ball with a string fuse attached to it. It had intricate engravings on it, making it look stylish.

Janus reached into his pocket and pulled out a similar ball. In order to trigger the bomb, they needed to light a match and light up the fuse. However, that would inform the vampires of their location, so they needed to light the match while also the fuse as well.

Pulling out a match, both Janus and Ana placed the match next to the tip of the fuse. They then placed the two objects, the match facing the brick wall, and then quickly slid the fuse and match across the brick.

The match soon ignited while also lighting up the fuse at the same time. Once the fuse was lit, the pair tossed the bombs over at the vampire group.

It didn’t take long before the vampires heard the sound of the matches getting lit along with the fuse. As soon as the smoke bombs landed near them and smoke started to pour out, the blood-suckers were on full alert.

“Shit! Hunters!” One of the vampires snarled as he stood up and looked around.

“Tch! Find the bastards! Now!” The first vampire ordered.

“There should only be two or three of them, so they should-kugh?!” Before another vampire could finish his sentence, he started coughing violently.

The cough got so bad that he started coughing up blood. Noticing this, the first vampire grew enraged.

“The smoke bombs are laced with silver! Keep your mouths cov-hugh?!” The first vampire started coughing violently along with the rest of the blood-sucking group following suit.

Another known weakness of vampires aside from sunlight is silver. Silver has been forged into various weapons used to kill the vampires. From small daggers to swords coated in silver, humanity has utilized this metal to fight the vampire race.

And the latest use of silver was the Silver-laced smoke bomb. Instead of just concealing the monster’s field of view, how about having them breathe in some deadly silver as well?

With the vampires currently suffering from the silver-laced smoke bomb, Janus and Ana stepped in to take them out. They were wearing masks to keep from breathing in the toxic gas due to the silver. Using the smoke from the bombs to mask their presence, the pair swooped in and swiftly took care of the vampires.

Ana pulled out a silver-coated knife and stabbed one vampire in his chest. Due to the silver in his lungs and chest, the vampire slowly died and shriveled up, turning into a husk.

One vampire soon noticed Ana, even in all the smoke, and charged at her, but Janus appeared behind him and sliced his head off with one swift motion, separating his head from his shoulders. The head and rest of the body slowly shriveled up while Janus rushed over to another vampire.

Kicking the back of his knee, the vampire kneeled as he howled in pain. The amount of force Janus used to kick the vampire was enough to dislocate his knee. Janus then grabbed the back of the vampire’s head and brutally slammed it against the ground.

After a few slams, he then pulled out a silver knife and stabbed the vampire in the neck. The monster slowly mummified as he glared at Janus in his dying moments.

Just then, a vampire was about to attack Janus from behind, but Ana intercepted and stabbed the vampire in the chest, directly through his heart. The monster fell to his knees, choking up blood as he slowly withered up like the rest of his brethren.

Four down, one more to go.

Searching around, Janus soon found the final vampire through the smoke. It looked like he was about to flee, probably to inform this boss of his about what happened.

“Not on my watch,” Janus muttered as he rushed over to the last vampire.

Emerging from the smoke, he intercepted the monster who was about to leave through one of the alleyway paths. Grabbing the vampire’s arm, Janus pulled him away from his escape route and then kicked him square in his chest to a wall.

“Kuagh!”

The vampire crashed into the brick wall, making a decent dent in it. A Pierce of bricks fell from where the vampire crashed, turning completely brittle.

Janus then soon appeared before the vampire and grabbed his throat, gripping tightly, and making no attempt to loosen it.

“B-bastard…!” The vampire glared at Janus, blood coming out of his mouth.

“Save it, blood-sucker,” Janus snarled. “Now, tell me where your boss is. Where are he and his forces hiding?”

“Ptu!” The vampire then spits blood in Janus’s face.

As the paled monster smiled with glee, Janus then delivered a few punches into his stomach, causing him to cough up more blood.

“Do. Not. Test me,” The Helsing warned. “Now, one last time. Tell me where your boss’s hideout is.”

“…Piss off.”

Annoyed by the vampire’s persistence, Janus tightly gripped the vampire’s neck. The vampire grabbed onto his arm and tried to pull Janus off him, but it didn’t work.

A normal HMDD member wouldn’t have been able to pull this kind of feat. Hell, not even Anastasia could do something like this.

But for Janus, this was a piece of cake. And it was thanks to his rapid healing abilities that allowed him to exert a lot more strength than the average human.

It is said that the Helsing Family were beyond ordinary, being given a gift from God that allows them to keep their humanity and then some. So, if the Helsing family were beyond ordinary, then Janus was beyond the Helsings.

With Janus’s healing powers, he can use more of his muscular strength than anyone else. If a normal human tried to go over the limit, their muscles and bones were broken and shred under the pressure, but Janus was different.

Thanks to his rapid healing, any wounds he receives from overusing his muscles and going over the limit are healed practically instantly. It was thanks to this ability that Janus was able to hold his own against the vampires and practically outmatch them as well.

Janus, growing annoyed, started to pull the vampire from the wall and then slammed him back into it. And he repeated this process over and over, telling the vampire to tell him what he wants to know.

However, despite such measures Janus took to get this vampire to confess, the blood-sucker wasn’t budging. Getting sick of it, Janus was about to bash the vampire’s head out of rage, but something caught his attention.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a bright light gleam at him. Turning to the source, he saw that a bit of sunlight was beaming on the ground next to him.

Janus soon came up with an idea to get the vampire to talk, a sadistic smile appearing on his face.

Pulling the monster out of the wall, he soon brought the vampire over to the sunlit area. Janus then proceeds to bring the vampire’s head toward the light.

Just when the top of the vampire’s head was touching the light, a light sizzle can be heard and smoke started to pour out of his head.

“Tell me what I want to know, or…” Janus looked at the sunlit area. “You’ll be having a long overdue tan.”

The vampire remained silent, clearly unfazed by this. Though Janus knew better. He could tell that the monster was nervous. From his quivering lips to his rapidly moving eyes, the vampire was scared.

Knowing that he was close to getting answers, Janus then pushed the vampire's head into the light.

“Aaghh!” The vampire howled in pain as his face burned up from the sun.

Pulling him away, the vampire gasped for breath as his face sizzled and burned.

“A-alright, I’ll tell you!” The vampire conceded. “T-there is an abandoned factory near the docks! I-it’s right by Lower Thames street! I-it’s completely isolated from humans, making it suitable for vampires to stay and hide there till nighttime!”

“An abandoned factory, huh?” Janus pondered. “A bit generic, but I guess I can’t judge where you pale bastards hide now, can I?”

Since Janus got what he needed…it was time to take care of some loose ends.

“A-alright, so y-you’ll let me go now…right?” The vampire asked, looking hopeful.

But, that hope died when he saw Janus give an innocent yet menacing smile.

“You should probably do some rethinking about your life choices…in hell, anyway.”

“W-wait no-aaaggahhh!” The vampire’s head was then put back in front of the sunlight, his body slowly burning up from the sun's rays.

He continued to scream in agony for a few moments before his screams faded, and his body went limp. Letting the vampire go, Janus watched as the vampire’s body started to wither away like a flower.

Turning away, he saw Ana who witnessed the scene in its entirety. There was a hint of fear in her eyes after she witnessed what Janus did.

“D-did you have to go that far?” Ana asked, feeling slight pity for the vampire that suffered a gruesome death at the hands of Janus.

Janus simply looks at Ana with a tired expression and sighs. “Showing pity for these bastards will only get you killed. Besides, think of all the people this bastard along with his friends have tortured and killed for their own enjoyment. They don’t deserve mercy. Not with what they’ve done.”

Each word Janus spoke was filled with resentment and hate. It was clear to Ana that Janus despised monsters. It might’ve been because he’s witnessed what cruelty these creatures have done to humans.

His hatred might even stem all the way back to when he lost his parents to monsters, specifically vampires. Ana wasn’t sure, but she knew that his hate for monsters was genuine.

“Right…I forgot that this was part of your profile,” Ana muttered.

“What do you mean?” Janus asked.

“Your profile said that when hunting down monsters, you would show no mercy to them as you would kill any monster in your sight without a shred of sympathy or remorse. That’s why you were given the nickname, The Merciless Helsing.”

The Merciless Helsing. A name given to Janus for his indiscriminate and merciless killing of monsters, whether vampires, werewolves, ghouls, witches, etc. If it was a monster that needed to be killed, Janus would do so without hesitation.

“Hmph,” Janus scoffed. “Merciless, huh? I feel like that title belongs to Rebecca. Now that woman is merciless. Then again, her The Mad Helsing title honestly fits her more, considering how psychotic she is.”

Every time Janus thought about the eldest child, Rebecca, he couldn’t help but shiver with fear. He’s still mentally scarred from enduring a childhood’s worth of trauma at the hands of Rebecca Van Helsing.

What’s worse…her psychotic personality was all his fault, among other things.

“Anyway, we should get moving,” Janus states as he walks out of the alleyway. “We’ll need to inform some nearby guards to take care of the deceased while we deal with the boss.”

“W-wait, we’re going to the vampire boss right away?” Ana asked, clearly alarmed. “S-shouldn’t we call for backup and get a squadron ready to raid them?”

It was standard procedure for HMDD members to call forth a squad of hunters to prepare for a monster nest raid. This is because a single member going up against a nest was no different than suicide.

However…

“No, that’ll take too long, and a waste of manpower. Especially when we’ll just be fueling the vampires by giving them extra blood to drink.”

“S-still, going up against an entire hoard of vampires is too dangerous! It’s suicidal! No normal HMDD member could pull it off!”

“Maybe not an HMDD member, but a Helsing sure as hell can. And you’re looking at one.” Janus continued to walk away as he pointed at himself, trying to make a point.

But Anastasia wasn’t buying it. She soon rushed in front of Janus and continued her protest.

“With all due respect, even with your healing abilities and abnormal skills and strength, you won’t be a match for them.”

“Hate to break it to you, Ana, but this isn’t my first time soloing a raid. I did it all the time before my suspension.”

This much was true. Before Janus got suspended, he would frequently solo raids and deal with the horde of monsters with ease. Ana knew this from the profile sheet explaining this.

Unfortunately…

“I still think it’s too dangerous. Especially since I’ll be with you. I am certainly confident in my skills, but against a horde is too much even for me. And I can’t just leave you to do something like this alone when I’m supposed to be monitoring you.”

Although Ana is a skilled fighter, even she’s helpless against a horde of monsters. And since she’s in charge of monitoring Janus’s activities when he’s on the job, she needs to be there to watch over him. But if she does, she’ll simply be slowing him down and most likely get both of them killed.

That’s why Ana was so persistent in gathering a squad to fight against the vampires. With a squad, she can at least keep doing her monitoring duties without taking uncertain risks.

However, for Janus…

“I told you, bringing in more people will only make things worse. End of discussion.”

“I am your supervisor, Janus. And this behavior of yours is unacceptable, and you know it.”

Using her authority as his supervisor, Anastasia decides to put her foot down. This causes Janus to stop in his tracks.

Turning his head, Janus glances at Ana, knowing full well she has the upper hand here. As Ana slowly smiled at Janus, he starts turning back, and then took a deep breath before continuing his walk.

“W-where are you going?” Ana asked, dumbfounded by Janus’s behavior.

“Dealing with the horde, whether you like it or not. Feel free to tell the Chief about this. Not like he’s not going to be all that surprised.”

“H-hold ooon!” Ana called out to Janus as he kept moving without turning back, alarming her severely as she rushed after him.