Amamiya Rin's right foot slammed forward half a step, planting firmly on the ground. Using this as an axis, his core tightened; power rose from the ground, traveled through his lower back, and surged into his right shoulder. His tensed right arm became like a fully drawn bow, channeling the full weight and strength of his body into it.
(Thrust!)
An intent akin to a Kiai exploded within Amamiya Rin's brain, utilizing the hypnotic technique of autosuggestion.
In that split second, the cane transformed into a blurred black shadow, stabbing out with vicious precision. It let out a sharp whistling sound as it tore through the air, its tip grazing the brown-haired girl's cheek and threading through her messy hair. The sharp rubber ferrule aimed straight for the Vampire's right eye, which gleamed with a fierce light in the gloom.
This thrust was fast as lightning! It condensed the fruits of Amamiya Rin's thirty years of bitter cultivation!
The monster obviously hadn't expected this cripple leaning on a cane to erupt with such fierce attacking power. It subconsciously jerked its head, attempting to avoid this strike aimed directly at its vitals.
"Pu!"
The tip of the cane failed to fully hit the monster's eyeball, but it jabbed ruthlessly into the rim of its right eye socket.
"Ah—!"
A dull sound of impact rang out, and the Vampire threw its head back, letting out a howl of pain and fury.
Her pursuit came to an abrupt halt. She slammed a hand over her injured right eye while her left eye stared dead at Amamiya Rin, filled with disbelief, pain, and chaotic killing intent.
Having succeeded with one strike, Amamiya Rin harbored no thoughts of pursuing the attack.
Borrowing the momentum of the thrust, his right foot quickly retreated a step. He sank his center of gravity and steadily retracted the cane with both hands, assuming a Chudan-no-kamae (Middle Stance). The tip of the cane pointed slightly upward, aimed at the Vampire's throat and facial area.
"A-Amazing!"
Having run past Amamiya Rin, the brown-haired girl instinctively turned her head upon hearing that dull thud.
Witnessing Amamiya Rin's thrust, her bright eyes widened, unblinking. Her red lips parted, her mouth hanging open in shock.
She hadn't expected that this sickly-looking young man could force back that terrifying monster with a single blow.
Amamiya Rin did not respond to her exclamation; his entire focus was concentrated on the Vampire before him.
In the state of the [Gate of Contemplation], his perception was amplified to the limit.
The rustling of the wind through the forest, the faint honking of horns in the distance, the Vampire's heavy breathing, and even his own heart beating like a drum... all this information converged, constructing a holographic 3D map within Amamiya Rin's mind.
He clearly captured the Vampire's breathing growing heavier from pain, as well as that trace of instinctual dread within those eyes filled with madness and chaos.
The Vampire did not immediately pounce again. Instead, she crouched slightly low, like a beast, emitting a threatening low growl from deep within her throat.
Amamiya Rin looked indifferent, his gaze sweeping over the Vampire's twisted face.
That blue-gray skin, the unclosable mouth, and the fangs were truly terrifying, but setting aside these inhuman characteristics, the underlying bone structure of her face... faintly revealed a silhouette that was once beautiful.
Inexplicably, she looked somewhat familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.
(Not someone I know personally, nor a common passerby, but someone who could leave an impression on me... An actor or star I saw on the ward's TV?)
The thought flashed through his mind, but now was not the time to delve into it.
"Run toward the main road. Don't look back. Find someone to help," Amamiya Rin ordered the girl behind him without turning his head.
"What about you?" the girl asked hurriedly.
"I can hold on for a while."
Stabbing the eye socket only elicited this reaction? Her strength seemed much greater than the vampires in manga. Amamiya Rin did not believe he could kill the Vampire before him with just a cane.
"Hold on! I'll bring people back immediately!"
Hearing this, the brown-haired girl immediately ran toward the hospital.
However, this action stimulated the Vampire. It let out a low roar, lowered its body, and slammed against the ground. Mud and grass clippings flew into the air beneath its feet as it lunged straight at Amamiya Rin with shocking speed!
Amamiya Rin's pupils constricted slightly. In the state of the [Gate of Contemplation], he clearly captured the subtle shrugging of the opponent's shoulder blades and the forward shift of gravity that telegraphed the pounce.
Before the Vampire had even taken half a step forward, Amamiya Rin had already reacted. His left foot stepped back, and his body leaned to the back-right, lowering his center of gravity. He side-stepped at a precise angle, dodging dangerously close as the Vampire's fingernails swept past his forehead, carrying a foul wind.
Simultaneously, Amamiya Rin's right hand gripped the middle section of the cane, while his left hand stabilized the head. Channeling the torque of his entire body into the tip, the cane struck out like a poisonous snake leaving its hole, stabbing toward the back of the Vampire's knee joint!
"Pfft!"
The rubber tip of the cane sank deeply into the soft hollow of the knee, an area dense with hamstring tendons and nerves. Taking such a heavy blow, the Vampire's right leg went uncontrollably limp. Intense pain caused her leg muscles to spasm, and her body staggered forward, nearly kneeling on the ground.
Having succeeded with the strike, Amamiya Rin did not pause for a moment. He immediately used the twisting momentum to drop to the ground and roll to the side.
The Vampire staggered a step, supporting herself with her left leg. She spun around in a rage, swinging her hand to slap at Amamiya Rin.
Her force was extremely heavy, and her speed was extremely fast, yet Amamiya Rin had predicted it a second before she moved. Although his dodging motion was wretched, he managed to avoid the Vampire's heavy blow just in time.
The Vampire's arm grazed past Amamiya Rin's scalp and smashed into the trunk of a bowl-thick tree nearby.
"Crack!"
Bark exploded and wood chips flew. The hard tree trunk was actually caved in by this slap, and sharp fingernails left several deep gouges in the wood.
(The strength gap is too big... I absolutely cannot get hit!)
Amamiya Rin scrambled up. Seeing the palm print and claw marks on the tree trunk, his heart couldn't help but shudder.
The Vampire, however, seemed unable to feel pain. She retracted her arm, her twisted face full of madness.
But, she did not seem to have completely lost her intellect.
Three failures made the Vampire understand that Amamiya Rin was not as weak as he appeared on the surface.
She no longer charged head-on. Instead, she began to utilize the shadows of the woods, moving slowly around Amamiya Rin. Her gait was strange, carrying the patience of a predator, her blue-gray skin flickering in and out of view under the mottled light and shadow.
Amamiya Rin crouched on the ground, clamping the cane between his arm and thigh to save stamina. The tip of the cane pointed at the Vampire like a gun barrel. He shifted his feet to follow the Vampire's movement trajectory, always keeping the front of his body facing her.
However, his agility was far inferior to the Vampire's.
The Vampire realized this as well. Suddenly, she accelerated, weaving through the shadows and trees of the forest, disappearing from Amamiya Rin's line of sight.
The next moment, a black shadow shot out from the tree shadows to the rear-left of Amamiya Rin. In the blink of an eye, it lunged behind him, sharp fingers carrying the sound of tearing air, clawing straight for the back of his neck!
____
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