Chapter 32: Shadow Manipulation.

A large group of people were seen being held hostage inside London's underground metro system.

They were surrounded by four vampires, two on the platform in front of them and two behind them. They all wore navy-blue uniforms indicating that they were apart of a Vampire squad.

The tall, muscular, bald vampire with a craggy face was a manipulator of the earth. The other was an averagely built pastel turquoise haired Vampire who could manipulate water, the third was a quiet dark brown-haired Vampire whose ability was unknown.

As for the last...

A pearl opal green haired Vampire with pointy ears and crimson red eyes, he was known as a Vampire pureblood. On his side at the end of the platform where he was at, was a dark-haired human girl.

Her face was filled with fear as he whispered words into her ears and licked at her neck.

Families were forced to keep their hands down and wait while vampires watched over them. No one knew what was going to happen to them.

"If we're going to be waiting for all this time, why not have a little bit of fun? For all you know, you won't have access to all this food once it's inside the camp so why not enjoy it now?" Muttered the pearl opal green haired Vampire.

Other Vampires on sight drooled as the pearl opal green haired Vampire leaned his mouth towards the black-haired girl's neck.

Her shivering, throbbing heartbeat, and sweet scent all attracted his attention.

He was attracting all the attention of the Vampires as he prepared to penetrate her with his fangs.

And right as they were about to, his eyes widened. For a fraction of a second, he glimpsed a thin trace of a wire.

'What-'

Suddenly, before he could react, the wires tightened around his face and neck, piercing parts of his skin as they dragged him off the platform and into the tunnel.

Suddenly, the Vampires all felt their hearts sink; they were under attack. As the pureblood's figure faded into the tunnel, they drew their weapons.

"HEY!! GET THIS OFF-"

In the tunnel's darkness, the Vampire's voice was suddenly cut off.

In spite of seeing that, none of the Vampires moved, for it was strange. Even though it was dark, they should have been able to see through the tunnel with their night vision.

But they couldn't. It was as if a dark shadow was covering the tunnel.

[Shadow Manipulation: Hidden Shadow.]

For how long had that shadow been there? Was it the reason why they hadn't sensed nor smelt anyone coming?

[You killed a Vampire Pureblood!]

[+200 XP!]

[XP: 840/800]

[LEVEL UP!]

[XP: 40/1000]

"Don't drop your guard... Let's stick toge-"

The pale turquoise haired Vampire was stunned as in a blink, Xavier was launched out of the tunnel towards him.

An instant later, a single blade appeared before him, swinging horizontally towards his neck from the front.

*CLANG!*

As a result of a stroke of luck, the pastel blue haired Vampire parried the sword with a swing of his own and even managed to cancel out Xavier's momentum. His eyes lit up as the sword was knocked off of Xavier's arm and up into the ceiling.

'Now I'll counter-'

In the corner of his eye, he saw yet another blade inches away from his neck and the thought vanished from his mind.

'He had another sword!?'

Xavier had hidden it behind his back, it was the sword he had taken it from the pureblood.

*SLASH!*

Without fully comprehending what had happened, the Vampire's head slid off his body as Xavier's figure went sliding down the platform. Xavier had cut through cleanly.

[You have killed a Vampire!]

[+120 XP!]

Xavier began walking towards the two remaining vampires whose eyes had been glued to him. They felt their life flash before their eyes as he approached them. As his emotionless expression expressed his bloodlust, fear grew in their hearts.

"Devour." He muttered as he turned to his next target.

The tall bald muscular Vampire wielding two Blood Axes.

Watching spheres of blood appear above the pastel turquoise haired Vampire's corpse and above the pearl opal green haired Vampire's corpse that was thrown out of the tunnel and onto the platform, his feet trembled.

[Blood Orbs Extracted.]

*SWOOSH!*

Slowly, Xavier picked up his sword from his hand that had been knocked off. The Vampires noticed pieces of string and cuts on his arm as soon as he did so.

The string was covered in blood, the pureblood's blood. Having seen Xavier kill him so easily, they knew they couldn't take on this man.

"Devour." Xavier repeated.

This time blood streamed out of the blood spheres over to his mouth, they watched as he gulped the blood down bit by bit as the blood orbs decreased in size.

[You are consuming the blood of a Vampire!]

[You are consuming the blood of a Vampire Pureblood!]

[+1 Stat added to Agility.]

[+1 Stat added to Strength.]

[…]

'H-He's a monster! W-We need to report this at once!' The bald Vampire thought to himself as he turned to the quiet dark brown haired Vampire.

The dark brown haired Vampire nodded as the two made eye contact before raising his arm up to the air.

[Steam Manipulation: Lost Steam.]

Steam surrounded the dark brown haired vampire's figure, covering everything in its path. They were unable to see where they were, so they had to rely on their senses, but the steam seemed to be masking their scent as well.

With everything they had, the Vampires pounced right past Xavier and ran down the opposite tunnel. It was easy to determine his location by simply following the blood stream from the blood orbs, but they chose not to.

Even if he could not locate their position, they did not want to risk fighting him. Xavier, who really hadn't expected this development, thought for a moment.

'They didn't run last time... Did something scare them?' He wondered.

Either way, It didn't matter.

"Sangrea." Xavier called out.

"Yes~ Xavi!" Sangrea happily responded.

"Restrain them." He commanded.

*Snap*

[Shadow Manipulation: Shadow bind.]

She snapped her fingers, and with the steam still present, she appeared before Xavier with a joyful look whilst expecting praise.

"How were you able to find me in here?" Xavier asked as he looked at her.

"Love~"

Xavier narrowed his eyes. "Stop joking."

Her cheeks puffed out in a sulk as she muttered. "Shadow... I could feel your location from your shadow."

They were underground, it was dark and a perfect location for Sangrea's ability.

The steam began to fade, Xavier slowly turned his head in the direction he had felt them pass by, the opposite tunnel.

"Did you catch them?"

"Of course. I also made sure to seal their mouths so they won't wake up the ghouls." She replied with a proud look as the steam completely faded.

With his night vision, Xavier saw the two Vampires bound by dark chains sticking out of the tunnel's shadow, down the tunnel as the steam faded.

Xavier was at a loss for words, her ability [Shadow Manipulation.] It was much more powerful than he had expected.

'Bringing her was a good idea.' Xavier thought to himself as he patted her on the head.

"Hehe~" She giggled whilst enjoying his pats.

Xavier leapt onto the tracks before approaching their binded figures down the tunnel.

The hostages watched in disbelief, slowly raising their heads at the sight unveiling before them.

"Who are these people?"

"One is a Vampire and what about that gorgeous girl?"

"Why did they kill the other Vampires? Are they here to save us?"

The brown haired girl with the small hat and bag watched from beside her parents with sparkling eyes.

Her father and mother watched without saying anything as Xavier came to a stop before the two restrained Vampires.

"I'd like to borrow your uniforms if you don't mind."

"And also, a question, what's your squad name?" Xavier asked with a smile as he placed the blade over their necks.

The Vampires glared at Xavier showing signs of retaliation, their mouths were also covered so they couldn't answer regardless.

"You should answer his question truthfully~." Said Sangrea with a smile as she snapped her fingers once more, thus exposing their mouths.