"May I ask what brings the esteemed members of the Church here?"
A seemingly elegant vampire slowly emerged from the shadows deep within the bar. His complexion was pale, and his movements carried this inhuman coordination, clearly showing he was a pure-blooded vampire, with an eerie gleam in his eyes.
"Hand over the culprit responsible for the church massacre." Adrian, not bothering with pleasantries, cut straight to the chase.
"Oh?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
The man's lips curved into a strange smile.
Before he finished speaking, the surrounding air suddenly solidified, and an invisible pressure spread out from Adrian, like even time had gotten heavy.
The vampire's face changed instantly, finding himself unable to move.
"You're asking for death!" Clarisse, already short-tempered, saw the guy playing dumb and immediately activated her ability.
Space seemed to turn into solid shackles, firmly binding that vampire in place, completely turning him into a human-shaped punching bag.
Adrian didn't stop her—instead, he felt slightly satisfied. Clarisse had good judgment, acting decisively and ruthlessly.
The next moment, countless fist shadows rained down like a storm, all striking the vampire's body.
In just a dozen seconds, all his bones were shattered, but under the forced fixation of the spatial ability, he couldn't even fall to the ground, only letting out agonizing screams.
"Ah!!! How dare you! The declining Church... without the protection of a true god, you dare to be enemies with vampires?!" In intense pain, he still didn't forget to hiss threats, clearly not expecting them to act so decisively.
"I don't want to repeat myself a third time. Hand over the culprit."
"Otherwise, I'll destroy every one of your strongholds I come across."
Adrian's tone was cold as ice.
Killing intent filled the air tangibly, and all living beings in the entire bar, whether vampires or humans who'd stumbled in, were awed by this terrifying pressure, their breathing involuntarily softening.
A huge sense of crisis swept through the entire venue.
The vampires present could no longer keep up their disguise, revealing their true forms: pale skin, crimson eyes, and sharp fangs, which scared the surrounding humans out of their minds, finally realizing they'd become prey to be slaughtered.
But under Adrian's suppression, no vampire dared to act rashly.
"My Lord... we truly don't know who did it..." The man, barely hanging on after Clarisse's beating, managed to force out a fawning smile.
"Three days."
"Can you find him?"
Adrian walked up to him, his gaze calm yet terrifying.
There was no emotion in his eyes, only pure indifference, but it was scarier than any threat.
The vampire instantly understood: the guy didn't care about their lives or deaths at all. If they couldn't find him, he'd just move on to the next stronghold and keep killing.
"Yes! I'll use all my connections!" To survive, he could only grit his teeth and agree.
"Very good, I'll wait for your news." Adrian nodded slightly, and Clarisse then released the spatial lock.
The man collapsed to the ground like a pile of mud. If not for vampires' tough vitality, he would've died ages ago.
"Remember, only three days. If you can't hand over the person, you'll all die."
"Of course, you can also try calling for backup and see if they can protect you from me."
Adrian turned around, his white robe sweeping the ground, his voice clear and cold.
Even in such a gloomy environment, he remained holy and pure.
With that, he and Clarisse left without a care. The still-shocked humans also scrambled to escape the bar, following them.
After this incident, the so-called hunting party naturally couldn't continue.
"Bastard! Go! Find that scumbag! And report to the Elder Council immediately!" Once he was sure Adrian and Clarisse were far away, the vampire finally burst into a hysterical roar...
"Your Eminence, why go to such lengths?" Clarisse couldn't help but ask in the car ride back.
"The Star Saint Legion was just established, and the Church hasn't shown divine miracles in years—the eyes in the dark dimension have been stirring for a while."
"This vampire crime is an opportunity to establish our authority. If we don't rebuild the Church's reputation, similar tragedies will only keep happening."
Adrian looked at the flowing night outside the window, his tone calm.
He paused, then said lightly: "Besides, a mere vampire stronghold isn't worth me personally hunting them down to the end."
He was waiting for a direct conflict with the vampires. Sure, the vampires' power wasn't what it used to be, but they still held a place in the dark dimension. As long as the progenitor Dracula was still alive, the vampires would never be completely wiped out. Human higher-ups and other alien race leaders also knew this, so they'd only suppress, not exterminate.
Once the sleeping Dracula was awakened, the entire world would face chaos.
That undead creature, transformed by the power of the Darkhold, was definitely not an easy opponent.
Though the vampires themselves were equally unwilling to wake this old ancestor, so they wouldn't have another boss over their heads.
The matter of Adrian and Clarisse strong-arming the vampires soon reached the ears of the vampire higher-ups.
"They're asking for death! A mere Church!" In the Elder Council, roars echoed endlessly.
They couldn't believe that even the Church, having lost its supernatural protection, dared to challenge the vampires' authority!
"Kill them!" Angry shouts prevailed.
"Adrian, leader of the Church's Star Saint Legion, a Mutant... The bounty in the underground world hasn't been pulled yet, but his abilities are unknown." Soon, information about Adrian and Clarisse was presented to the conference table.
"A Mutant?... How arrogant!"
"Send out a hunting party to deal with them."
The Elder's voice was cold.
The resolution passed unanimously. This battle was unavoidable—if they got suppressed by the Church, the vampires' status in the dark dimension would decline further, which they absolutely didn't want to see...
"People from the Church?" At the same time, Blade also learned of the vampires' unusual activity.
Looking at the intel in his hand, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. He'd dealt with many clerics before and knew that most of them were mortals. But since these guys were enemies of the vampires, they were worth paying attention to.
After a quick prep, Blade also set off on the road to that city...
Three days passed in a flash.
Adrian received no news.
At midnight, the moonlight was cold, and the hotel room was silent.
Adrian suddenly opened his eyes, his meditation interrupted by numerous unfamiliar supernatural auras.
"A nauseating smell of blood..." He frowned slightly, his mental fluctuations subtly spreading.
Clarisse immediately appeared at the door, silently waiting for orders.
"Let's go."
"Time to see what other trump cards the vampires have."
Adrian stood up, his white robe moving without a breeze.
His gaze turned toward the hotel entrance, where it was already surrounded by shadows, radiating killing intent.
"Go."
"Let me see your progress."
Adrian lightly patted Clarisse's shoulder, and a wisp of scorching fire element blessing flowed into her body.
"Buzz~"
Space rippled silently, and an excited, fierce gleam flashed in Clarisse's eyes.
"Kill!"
Her emerald pupils glowed, and with a raised hand, she tore open space, and a portal suddenly opened before her!
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