The Reapers have arrived.
The Reapers are dead.
Golden light bloomed in Blade's mobile warehouse. Any Reaper illuminated by the light melted like snow meeting the scorching sun, vaporizing instantly without a trace.
Normakus, the King of Reapers, also known as the Vampire Prince, who had been telekinetically pulled over by Hawk, watched his expression shift from shock to profound stupor.
How is this possible?
These were all variant Reapers he had painstakingly created after arriving in New York, by kidnapping various homeless people, capable of killing both ordinary humans and Vampires.
After arriving in New York, Normakus had a plan.
He wanted to conquer the World.
Of course.
This was a dream every villain had, and Normakus was no exception. He had already devised a three-step plan to conquer the World.
Step one: kill Blade first.
Because he knew that the Vampire Council in New York had been wiped out by Blade. The twelve pure-blood Vampire Elders and Deacon Frost had also been killed by Blade.
For the Vampires in New York, Blade was a source of terror.
So... Normakus intended to establish his prestige among the Vampires of New York by killing Blade.
Then, he would kill Vampires, and after that, humans.
His plan was excellent, and the timing was also perfect, because he had received news that not only would Blade be present tonight, but even the Blood Pack Squad from Corvinus's castle, sent to capture him, would also be there.
This would be an excellent opportunity to catch them all in one fell swoop.
So he came.
But before he could even make a move, Hawk, who appeared from nowhere, simply grabbed him.
And it was the kind of grab where he was utterly powerless to resist.
Not only him, but his army of Reapers met the same fate.
As one Reaper after another vaporized, Normakus's expression utterly turned to ashes.
When the last Reaper vaporized, Normakus's heart died completely.
From the Reapers' entrance to their demise.
The entire process took no more than ten seconds. Before Blade, who had just drawn his greatsword, could even enter an attack stance, the battle was already over.
Blade was silent for a moment, then looked at Nyssa, the female Vampire from the Blood Pack Squad, who had just come to him, describing the Reapers as terrifying, as if the World would be destroyed if he didn't act.
Nyssa, with her long dark hair and tattoos on her arms, met Blade's gaze and silently opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something, but nothing came out.
As for the other two Vampires in the Blood Pack Squad, their expressions were the same.
How to put it?
The BOSS they thought they needed to team up against was, in someone else's eyes, just a mere minion.
And the kind of minion that wouldn't even give much experience if killed.
Hawk's current feeling as he looked at the ashen-faced Normakus was precisely this.
But... this guy's body carried a scent that Hawk found both familiar and unusually repulsive.
The scent of a Heavenly Birdman.
And it wasn't just the lingering scent from having encountered a Birdman; this guy's body carried the Birdman's aura.
"Who are you?"
"..."
Normakus, with an ashen expression, glanced at Hawk, then sneered on his pale but cold face and closed his eyes.
Hawk smiled.
The next second.
Telekinesis like a Blade.
"Puff!"
"Puff!"
Accompanied by two flashes of cold light that streaked across the warehouse under the lamplight, Normakus first froze, then seeing his empty arms, instantly roared furiously at Hawk.
It was at the moment Normakus roared that his face blossomed like a chrysanthemum, revealing a terrifying mouthpart, identical to that of a Reaper.
The moment that alien-like tongue of a mouthpart shot out.
A cold glint flashed in Hawk's eyes.
"Puff!"
"Hiss—"
The moment the mouthpart snapped, Normakus's face was split open, and he hissed and roared incoherently.
Hawk then turned to look at the frozen Blood Pack Squad, his gaze falling on the sole female Vampire, Nyssa.
"Who is he?"
"Normakus."
"He is the sole survivor of the pure-blood Kous family."
"Twenty years ago, the Kous family was almost entirely massacred by Corvinus and other families for attempting to overthrow the World."
"Normakus, being an infant at the time, was mercifully taken in by Mister Corvinus."
"A year ago, Normakus's activities of developing Reapers in the Paris sewers were exposed."
"Normakus escaped to New York while we were hunting him down."
"We are here to apprehend him."
The female Vampire, Nyssa, met Hawk's gaze, shivered, and quickly spoke, revealing everything she knew.
Their Blood Pack Squad came to New York precisely for Normakus.
Of course.
Not to kill.
But to capture.
Corvinus also wanted to know how Normakus mutated, and his terrifying abilities after mutation even allowed him to convert Vampires.
If they could master this power.
Then... so Corvinus's order to the Blood Pack Squad was to capture Normakus alive at all costs.
Hawk listened to the female Vampire Nyssa's explanation, nodded, then looked at Normakus, who, after his mouthpart was severed, no longer screamed after his initial cries of agony.
"Tell me, who made you like this, and I'll grant you a quick death."
"Pah!"
Normakus was unyielding, his eyes blood red: "If you have the guts, then kill me."
Hawk smiled.
"As you wish."
Telekinesis enveloped Normakus's head.
"Puff!"
Normakus's head burst open like a watermelon, and his soul instantly appeared from the shattered skull.
The next second.
Hawk closed his eyes, his consciousness descending, directly entering his Netherworld. Immediately after, he grabbed Normakus, who had just entered his Netherworld and hadn't yet reacted, and brought him to the second prison of the Netherworld, the Torrential Netherworld, where soul-melting acid rain constantly poured down.
The moment Normakus was thrown out and the acid rain touched him, he let out incomparably shrill screams and wails.
Hawk stood quietly to the side, watching Normakus, from whose every corner white smoke emanated in the downpour.
Just then.
An umbrella appeared above his head.
Hawk glanced at the newcomer and smiled slightly.
"Good evening."
"There's no time difference here, so, good evening."
Anna, who happened to be strolling in the Netherworld, smiled as she held the umbrella, then followed Hawk's gaze to Normakus, who was screaming and wailing in the endless acid rain.
Anna's gaze fell on Normakus's terrifying mouthpart.
"What is this?"
"A Vampire..."
"No, that's not right."
"A variant of Vampire and Angel, a Reaper."
Hawk felt a hint of holy light emanating from Normakus in the acid rain and raised an eyebrow.
Indeed.
He hadn't been mistaken.
This Normakus had not only come into contact with a Birdman; even his mutation was inextricably linked to the Birdman.
After being burned to death and revived three times in the acid rain, Normakus, who had been so stubborn, finally screamed: "Stop, stop, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything."
Hawk chuckled softly, unmoved.
Until—
After Normakus had died and revived ten times in his Torrential Netherworld, Hawk's mind stirred, and he temporarily exempted Normakus.
Revived once more, Normakus instinctively shivered, then seeing the acid rain no longer touching him, he plopped to the ground, hugging his knees, curling himself into a ball, and then, with an infinitely terrified gaze, slowly began to speak to Hawk, who stood nearby with a calm expression.
"It was the Blood God Envoy."
"It was the Blood God Envoy who found me."
"I was adopted by Corvinus when I was young. To say adopted is less accurate than to say I was his servant."
"I am a pureblood, but there, I was not even as good as a half-blood."
"The Blood God Envoy saved me."
"He told me that the blood god had returned to Jehovah's embrace, just as the Lord forgave Cain, he forgave the blood god."
"We blood kin are no longer unclean."
"This World is already defiled. Hell is empty, and demons are on Earth."
"The Lord is coming."
"But before his arrival, the World's defilement needs to be cleansed."
"And we shall be the Lord's vanguard to launch a baptism upon the entire World."
"...The Blood God Envoy told me to come to New York and cleanse New York."
"Soon, they will come for me."
"At that time—"
"The World will return to the Lord's embrace!"
Normakus's expression was fanatical. Speaking to this point, he seemed to recall something, suddenly stood up, looked at Hawk, and roared: "I am the forerunner! If you kill me, the blood god will not spare you, nor will the Lord... Ah!"
Normakus, who had been so arrogant moments before, was now utterly disheveled after being re-enveloped by the acid rain.
blood god, indeed.
That guy's pool has been moved to my home and made into a wonder.
As for Jehovah?
Hawk recalled Jehovah, who had projected himself and met him during his godson's baptism.
Jehovah's dark, aged appearance flashed in his mind.
Hawk had only one word of evaluation for him.
Sneaky!
Coward!
Nothing to fear!
Hawk then ignored Normakus, who was wailing in the acid rain, and left the second Netherworld with Anna. Then, his consciousness ascended, and he reopened his eyes.
Time in the warehouse was frozen at the moment Normakus's head exploded.
The moment Hawk reopened his eyes.
With a thud.
Normakus's head exploded, and his headless corpse fell to the warehouse floor with a thud.
Dark red blood began to seep onto the floor.
The next second.
Hawk recalled a sentence Normakus had said.
"...The Blood God Envoy told me to come to New York and cleanse New York."
"Soon, they will come for me."
"..."
Alright!
I'll be in New York, waiting for you all to come.
Or... let's see who's faster.
Let's compete.
Who finds whom first!
... (End of this chapter)
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