Ethan wasn’t happy to learn that the vampire’s lair was near his base. Apparently, the bloodsucker had been living in an old warehouse near the abandoned factory. He wondered if the Cleaner knew he had a vampire neighbor, but doubted it. The crazy Normalist wouldn’t have moved into the old workshop if he knew about the undead, or at the very least, put up some defenses.

  What bothered Ethan the most was that he still couldn’t tell how strong this vampire was. Yeah, living in an old storehouse didn’t scream ancient bloodsucker, but it could easily be a case of pragmatism. The vampire could know about Poppytown’s hatred of all things Gifted, so she’s staying out of the public eye. It wasn’t a bad idea, and it had the bonus of confusing would-be monster hunters like Ethan.

  Ethan slowly crawled into the decrepit depository as a very small spider, perfecting for climbing up walls, crawling through cracks, and being hard to spot with the naked eye. The villain needed to be cautious because, as far as he knew, the bloodsucker could smell him, even as a tiny bug. Ethan also had his clones surround the place in their bird forms. After the mess with Jack and Neo Spectrum, he wanted them on standby in case anything went wrong again.

  Crawling down through a hole in the ceiling, Ethan found himself in the main room of the warehouse. If the vampire wasn’t a wealthy ancient vampire, she was doing her best to live like one.

  The floor area was decorated to resemble a rich hotel lobby or a palace ballroom. There were fancy rugs all over the floor, and more were used to cover up the windows. Ornate wood tables held baubles of gold, and glass cabinets displayed wine and other traditional delicacies. There were half a dozen men spread through the room doing manual labor like moving furniture or just cleaning the place; those must be the bloodsucker's thralls. There was even a throne of all things in the middle of the room, where the vampire in question sat.

  At first glance, the woman was what you expected a powerful vampiress to look like. Gorgeous, with pale skin, black hair, wearing a tight red dress, and drinking from a glass filled with either wine or blood. However, the more Ethan looked at her, the more something felt… off. The vampiress sat on her throne with the perfect mixture of grace and relaxation. She looked like a confident queen, even though the only people who stood witness was her brainwashed harem.

  Ethan couldn’t help but see her as someone who was trying too hard. The villain didn’t know why the vampire had to act like an evil villainess at all times, but it did give him a sense of how strong the undead woman was. You didn’t need to act like a big shot 24/7 if you were one, after all.

  “Lady Barrasso,” a thrall spoke as he kneeled before the bloodsucker. He was a normal-looking guy wearing what Ethan would call standard office attire. “I humbly beg for a request.”

  “Oh?” Barrasso replied with a smirk. Her voice made Ethan shudder on instinct. “And what is this request?” Her voice was sweet-sounding, but there was an undercurrent of danger in her words. The vampire reminded the villain of Roth, and how he could sound so nice and friendly even when he was threatening Ebenezer.

  “Lady Barrasso,” the thrall spoke again, though with a notable strain in his voice. “I beg you… I need to see Olivia. After the other day… she was taken to the hospital… I-I need to see her…” As the man spoke, he suddenly started choking up, his voice becoming hoarse like his throat chose that exact moment to go dry.

  “You don’t need to do anything for that cow~” Barrasso soothed, petting the office drone’s hair like he was a spooked dog. “You’re place is here, at my feet.” These last words were firm and cold, making it clear she would not be denied.

  “Y-Yes… my lady…” the corpo wheezed out.

  Ethan’s guts twisted in disgust. He knew what that scene was about. Before coming here, he had his clones show him what happened between the vampire and the housewife, and it was even more ugly than the double described it. Watching a woman desperately grab her husband's legs and tearfully beg him to come home was sad enough. But what the clone didn’t tell him was that Lady Barasso decided to force said husband to beat his wife half to death and leave her broken body in the middle of the street.

  Thankfully, the clones called an ambulance and got her to the hospital before anything worse happened…

  ‘It’s always nice to have these scumbags remind me of how evil they are,’ Ethan thought. This Barrasso lady definitely deserved the violent beating Ethan would give her. The problem was how Ethan would deliver it. The issue wasn’t just the vampire’s unknown power level; it was also her slaves, who could act as witnesses.

  The last thing Ethan needed was a bunch of freed thralls telling the press how he saved them. The Wukong needed them dealt with first, or at the very least, make sure they couldn’t see who took down their mistress.

  Ethan glanced at the lights on the ceiling and then at the covered windows. They were thoroughly enveloped; not a single inch showed, meaning there was no natural light in this building. So the weakness to sunlight was true at least. And, if a certain someone were to find the breaker and cut the power, then the brainwashed simps would be completely blind.

  ‘But so would I,’ Ethan realized. ‘I can’t see in the dark… Or can I…’ There were plenty of animals that had night vision, and Ethan could turn into any animal he wanted and have all their abilities. Could he do a partial transformation?

  Deciding to test it out, Ethan, who was still in his spider form, tried to sprout butterfly wings. He closed his bug eyes and concentrated on doing only a partial shift. He struggled against his body’s desire to change everything, but it still complied with his request. A pair of blue shimmering wings grew from the spider’s back, but something was off.

  The stretching sensation that came with shifting his body was much more intense than usual, like when you move your body in ways it’s not used to. And when the wings were out, the feeling didn’t disappear when the change was over. Instead, it lingered, and when Ethan tried to move his new wings, the sensation grew stronger and became painful.

  With a grunt, Ethan forced the wings back into his body, and the strain was finally gone. Ethan took a moment to breathe and calm himself down as he took in the new information. So Ethan could turn himself into a chimera if he wanted, but it would be difficult. That meant his idea to take on the vampire in the dark was out. He couldn’t properly fight her if his body couldn’t handle having night-vision in his normal form. But if that idea didn’t work, then what did that leave him?

  Ethan took stock of the room and the people inside. There were seven people in total, six slaves and one vampire. They outnumbered Ethan, but it shouldn’t be hard to take them out if he managed to separate them. If Ethan couldn’t give himself night-vision, he could turn into an animal that did. His old plan wasn’t bad; he just had to modify it.

  “Hey, guys?” Ethan called out to his clones. “What animal has the best night vision?”

  “Hang on,” a double replied. Ethan somehow knew this was the Homework Clone he left back home. The one currently hiding in his room has access to his computer. “Owls.”

  “Awesome. Do you know where most warehouses keep their fuse boxes?”

  “Most warehouses have an electrical room. Not sure where it is in that specific place, but you should be able to find the breaker there.”

  “Got it, thanks.” With his new plan in motion, Ethan started scuttling around the area. He wasn’t sure where to go, but it shouldn’t be hard to find that room.

  The villain made sure to keep an ear out for any suspicious movement coming from the vampire. From his research last night, nobody could tell what a vampire’s powerset truly entailed. For all Ethan knew, Barrasso could hear his tiny legs crawl across the carpet, or she could somehow sense an intruder entering her domain.

  But nothing happened. The wukong snuck across the storehouse floor without issue. A few minutes later, Ethan found a door in a corner of the building, hidden by a staircase labeled “Electrical Room”.

  Ethan crawled underneath the door and entered the closed-off space. The area was smaller than he expected, and the room was barely bigger than a walk-in closet. Though it made sense in a way, how much electrical equipment did one warehouse need?

  The room was spartan in appearance, no posters or anything, just a beige-walled room filled with metal boxes and tubes attached to the wall. Ethan had no idea what any of them did, and he couldn’t tell which one was the fuse box. Shifting back to his human form, the boy started opening panels to see what the boxes were for, but it didn’t help Ethan all that much.

  He had a general idea of what to look for, thanks to the circuit breaker back home, but that was also no help. Ethan found what he was looking for, only for there to be two boxes with switches that could be the switchbreaker.

  Ethan couldn’t tell which was which, or maybe the warehouse needed two fuse boxes for some reason. Either way, the villain had no idea what switch to pull to kill the lights, and he couldn’t just flick them all to find out. If he edidn’t find that perfect switch that turned off everything and just killed a noticable piece of electronics, the vampire would have her minions investigate, and then Ethan’s plan would be ruined.

  Then again… Ethan could make that situation work…

  With a quick pluck of his hair, Ethan made another before leaving the room as a spider once more. If he couldn’t find the right switch, then he could take advantage of the distraction he’d make. Crawling back up the wall and returning to his vantage point, Ethan looked back down on Barrasso’s would-be court and waited.

  “Flipping a switch now,” the electrical room double reported. Ethan was surprised to see a section of the room suddenly plunged into darkness. The copy made a lucky guess but it was still a far cry from the total darkness Ethan wanted.

  “Oh for the love of-!” Ethan heard the vampire groan. “Liam! Go fix the lights!”

  “Yes, Lady Barrasso,” the corporate slave from earlier said before walking towards the electrical room.

  “Guy coming your way,” Ethan told the clone. “Take him down.” Ethan focused on the double in the electrical room and watched through his eyes as he hid in the corner of the area, behind one of the larger metal boxes near the door.

  The copy waited until the door opened and Liam stepped inside, then it swung, thrusting out its staff and striking Liam in the side of the head. The man collapsed, and the clone dragged him into the room.

  “Nice work,” Ethan said.

  “Thanks,” the clone replied. “Flicking another switch now.” Another corner of the building went dark, leaving one-third of the warehouse covered in a black shroud.

  “What is that idiot doing?!” Barrasso growled. “Noah, fix Liam’s mess and then bring him here. Failures like this need to be punished.”

  “Y-Yes, Lady Barrasso.” A man wearing a sweater vest replied. There was a slight tremble in Noah’s voice. Clearly, he knew what awaited Liam, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

  ‘Not that it would matter,’ Ethan thought before warning his clone about the second guy. Admittedly, Ethan felt a bit concerned over his willingness to incompasitate the thralls. Mostly because he was worried it was a sign he was changing in ways he didn’t like. Being willing to hurt bad guys like Barrasso was one thing, but her slaves were victims, not the kind of people Ethan should be hurting.

  But the villain powered through knowing what would happen if he didn’t do this. While he couldn’t be sure of Barrasso’s strength, he figure out her character. The vampiress was a cruel woman who wouldn’t hesitate to throw her minions at Ethan to slow him down. If the wukong didn’t take care of her boytoys first he’d end up brawling with them anyway. This path was the lesser evil.

  Ethan focused on his electric room double again, and watch him struggle to prop up Liam behind one of the boxes. The moment he let go, the man’s body flopped to the ground, leaving his legs and arms poking out from the hiding place.

  “I can’t hide him!” the clone exclaimed.

  “Ambush him from outside!” Ethan ordered quickly. The copy shrank down into a bug and zipped out of the room. It and it’s maker both watched from the ground as Noah walked towards the electrical room and open the door.

  When the new man walked in and saw Liam’s body, Ethan’s clone pounced on him before he could cry out. The double locked Noah in a chokehold and dragged him into the room. Noah tried to pry the copy’s arm off his neck but it wouldn’t budge. The clone took the opportunity to kick the door closed to make sure their little struggle wasn’t interrupted. A few more seconds of flailing, Noah fell to his knees, and his movements turned sluggish.

  When the man started slumping, the copy let go of his neck but held onto Noah’s shoulder to ensure he didn’t crack his head on the hard ground. Ethan was starting to get giddy over these well-executed takedowns, but his good mood quickly turned for the worse as he watched his doppleganger press a hand to Noah’s neck.

  “He’s good,” the clone said before Ethan could freak out.

  “Jesus,” Ethan breathed through their connection. He made it a point to look up the safe way to choke someone out without killing them, though he probably shouldn’t it on his home computer. While his parents never checked Ebenezer’s browser history, there was a first time for everything, and the last thing he needed was for them to think he was looking to strangle someone.

  “Should I keep going?” the clone asked. “I’m pretty sure after this, they’ll start to get suspicious.”

  “Might as well,” Ethan replied. “We got a third of the minions taken out with this stunt, let’s see if we can get a few more.”

  “Roger that. Flipping a switch now.” There was the droning sound of electronics shutting down, and the next thing Ethan knew, the entire building was pitch black. Apparently, the clone got lucky and found the switch that turned off everything. Ethan would’ve been excited over their good fortune if the sudden shriek of rage hadn’t shocked him.

  “You worthless sacks of blood!” Barrasso screamed. “How fucking hard is it to flip a fucking switch?!” There was a loud crash followed by the yelps of terrified men. Ethan quickly turned into an owl to survey the scene. It took him a second to get used to the green hue everything was bathed in,and how strangely detailed everything was, but he quickly focused on the vampire that was stomping all over the room.

  In her tantrum, Barrasso grabbed her throne and chucked it across the room, narrowly missing her servants. The boys in question were stumbling away from her; they couldn’t see in the dark, but they knew what place to avoid given the angry stomping.

  The vampire spent a good few minutes tearing through her courtroom, kicking over tables and smashing whatever her high-heeled clad feet touched. Then, suddenly, she whirled around and began stomping toward the Electrical Room.

  “When I get my hands on those little shits, I’ll rip out their throats!”

  ‘Crap!’ Was all Ethan could think. He quickly dismissed his ambush clone and felt their connection disappear, then turned to the remaining stooges in the warehouse. There were four left, and it wouldn’t be long before Barrasso found her missing pets and realised what was going on. Ethan had to act fast and didn’t have time to think of a new plan.

  Focusing on the nearest guy, Ethan swooped down to his level, but before he reached his target, Ethan turned back to his human form and lashed out with his stick. He couldn’t see what happened, but he heard a soft thud, followed by a slightly louder one as something heavy hit the ground.

  “What the…?” another man muttered. Ethan turned back into an Owl to see what had changed. One of the thralls was down while a second one was slowly moving his way to investigate the noise. Ethan switched to human form and swung his staff in the direction of the approaching servant. There was a grunt and another thud. Switching back to his owl form, Ethan saw that his target was out cold.

  The last two guys were stumbling around in the dark, and Ethan went for them next, knocking them out swiftly with the same improvised shapeshifting combo he used on their fellow slaves. Despite the stress Ethan felt, it was pretty easy to take down the other two since all they were doing was stumbling in the dark. But after the last guys fell, Ethan allowed himself to breath, and it was then that he finally noticed how sore his body was.

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  Ethan felt like he just sprinted through three city blocks nonstop. Every muscle ached, and it was a strain to even breathe. The boy had never rapidly shifted his body like that before, so this must be the cost of pushing his powers. Ethan never thought about his abilities having limits, and right now was not the best time to find them. Unfortunately, this bad luck streak wasn’t over just yet.

  Suddenly, the lights came back on, and Ethan turned to see Barrasso stomping towards him. The vampiress didn’t so much as glance at her downed boytoys; she only had eyes for the wukong intruder. She had her confident smile, but Ethan could feel the raw malice radiating from the undead creature.

  “So you're the one who's been messing with the lights,” Barrasso stated. Her tone was friendly, but her words were strained. No doubt they were itching to be more venomous towards the boy who shoved his nose into her business. “I don’t know who you are, and I don’t much care. I’m going to tear you open and drink every last drop of your blood!”

  Ethan had no time to retort, as Barasso was on him in seconds. Despite being caught off guard by her vampiric superspeed, Ethan’s reflexes had him avoid the first swing. The villain jumped back to put some distance between him and the bloodsucker. His body still ached, but nothing helped him ignore the pain like an angry vampiress trying to kill him.

  Barrasso came at Ethan again, and the boy tried to meet her with his staff, but the vampire easily side-stepped the attack. Ethan swung again, yet with Barraso’s speed and his sluggish body, it was like trying to hit a fly with a baseball bat. The vampire quickly realised the advantage she had over Ethan and eased up on her assault. She gave the boy a cruel smile as she pressed her hands behind her back.

  “What’s the matter?” she cooed mockingly. “You seem tired. Did you wear yourself out playing with my boys?”

  “Just trying to see why a bunch of guys would throw their lives away for the likes of you,” Ethan spat. He could feel his body’s soreness ease slightly as the wukong stopped moving, but it was a slow process.

  Ethan knew he should play along to keep Barraso talking to buy time, but her tone of voice stoked his anger. That was the same tone used by Roth and Pery, along with the other classmates who used him like a slave. They knew what they were doing was wrong, that they were hurting him with their actions. But they did it anyway, and they enjoyed it.

  “Oh, it’s easy when you have all the power in the world,” Barrasso replied smugly. Luckily for Ethan, Barrasso didn’t seem irritated by his slight. If anything, she was even more amused than before. Vampires must be the type of predator that enjoys playing with her food. “All I have to do is bat my eyes, and these boys will know I’m their queen. One that they must devote their entire lives too.”

  “Is that what you call brainwashing? ‘Batting your eyes’? I can only imagine the hateful shrew you were when you were alive if you had to resort to this to become a “Queen”.” That got a reaction from the lady. Barrasso’s smile twisted into a snarl as she stared down Ethan with a burning hatred that seemed centuries old.

  “And what do you know about relationships, you little tramp?!” The vampire snarled as her fingers curled in anger. “You’re practically a child, and yet you think you can judge me on how I search for the love I deserve?! Tell me then, what do you know that I don’t, little boy?!”

  “Nothing,” was Ethan's reply. His voice came out as a dry and bitter rasp as he briefly thought about certain schoolmates. People like Christian, Dream, and even Roth at one time… People Ebenezer wanted to be friends with, people he liked and wanted to get closer to. He tried to be nice to them and offer help when they needed it, and they all ended up becoming part of the thankless burden that was shoved onto Ebenezer’s shoulders.

  “I don’t like people,” Ethan admitted, more to himself than the vampire. “They’re all assholes, one way or another. So I don’t really give a damn about relationships. But I have enough common sense to know you’re full of shit.”

  “I’m done listening to you,” Barraso sneered. “It’s time to die!” She rushed forward, closing the distance between them in seconds. Ethan had recovered during their trash talk, but not nearly enough to fend off Barraso’s insane speed. He swung his staff wildly in hopes of fighting her off, but Barrasso easily dodged.

  She circled him, no doubt looking for an opening to get to Ethan’s neck. But the boy made that difficult with his clothes and constant turning to match her. The Wukong wasn’t as fast as the vampire, but he could still keep things close.

  Ethan briefly wondered if he should let her go for his neck to give himself an opening to attack. That’d be a dangerous move, but Ethan had some precautions in place. Before coming here, Ethan had his clones grab him a rosary necklace that he wore under his clothes. One of the few confirmed vampire weaknesses was Religious symbols, as their presence often weakened the undead. The finer details were still a bit iffy, but it was the closest Ethan could get.

  Unfortunately, whether she guessed what Ethan was planning or simply got tired of waiting, Barraso had a different idea. She jumped in front of Ethan and smacked his staff out of his hands. Then, with hands as strong and cold as iron, she grabbed his arm and bit into it. Her teeth easily pierced through the fabric of his hoodie and sank into his arm.

  Time seemed to slow down as Ethan stared at he vampire clamped down on his arm. Ethan had expected the bite to hurt, but he didn’t feel any pain, just a strong pressure as if someone was just gripping his arm too tightly. Ethan thought that might be the shock holding back the pain, but then he felt her start sucking. It was like that feeling you got if a vacuum cleaning hose was pressed against your skin, only the suction didn’t get blocked and kept going.

  Panic started to set in as Ethan finally processed reality. His lifeblood was being drained right before his eyes. But before Ethan could think of a plan or even start to struggle, Barrasso suddenly let go. Her head reeled back from Ethan’s arm, and she let out a gurgling shriek of pain.

  The next thing Ethan knew, he was being shoved back, and Barrasso curled up on the ground. The villain stared at the bloodsucker as she writhed on the ground and was seemingly trying to vomit, giving the wretching sounds that emanated from her. Was that smoke coming out of her mouth?

  Ethan looked down at his arm and pulled back the punctured sleeve of his hoodie. Despite his fear, the wound wasn’t too bad. There were two small holes in his arms, each with a small trickle of blood coming out. Ethan simply wiped away the blood and all evidence of the bite was gone. There weren’t even pin pricks like in the movies.

  It was obvious what happened: drinking Ethan’s blood somehow hurt Barrasso. But why? Did the rosary he was wearing give him some sort of protection? But it was only supposed to stop vampires from biting him, right? Was there something about Ethan’s blood that was toxic to vampires?

  “F-Fuck!” the vampiress groaned as she puked up a glob of red liquid. Luckily, most of the carpets were red, so there wasn’t a noticeable stain. “W-What are you…?”

  “What am I?” Ethan repeated, confused. Then everything clicked. “Oh, right! I’m technically a demigod, aren’t I?” Having Religion as a weakness would mean that anything connected to the Divine would be dangerous to the undead, which includes being a part of a God’s bloodline. Ethan wasn’t sure how accurate Journey to the West was, but Sun Wukong was definitely some kind of deity.

  “D-Demigod? …Are you… kidding me?!” Barasso rasped, looking at Ethan with wide incredulous eyes.

  “I’m just as surprised as you are,” Ethan shrugged. He casually placed his staff on his shoulder and walked toward the vampire. “But I’m not complaining.” Barrasso scooted away from him, but her weakened state slowed her down.

  ‘The tables have officially been turned,’ Ethan thought gleefully. It wasn’t hard for Ethan to close the distance with his casual gate. He stood over the vampire and peered down at her. The villain enjoyed the mixture of outrage and terror on her face as she gawked back up at him.

  “So,” Ethan began nonchalantly. “What was that about you killing me before?”

  “Y-You wouldn’t hurt a defenseless lady,” Barrasso countered, shrinking in on herself and giving Ethan a soft look. “Would you?”

  Ethan silently stared at the vampiress for a few seconds, then he kicked her in the face. The sudden snapping of his leg and his foot crashing into her face caused Barrasso to fly backwards. She rolled on the ground, holding her face, and she snarled in pain.

  “Argh! You inbred shit-stain son of a whore!” the defenseless lady howled.

  “Such elegance~” Ethan swooned. Then he rushed forward with his staff raised to strike her down. Despite her injuries, Barrasso managed to roll out of the way. She jumped to her feet and tried to gain some distance.

  Given her nimbleness, it looked like she recovered from her accidental poisoning. Fortunately, Ethan also recovered from his overuse of shapeshifting; his body no longer ached with every movement. Round 2 started now, and Ethan had the advantage.

  The wukong advanced, sweeping his elongated staff wide to trip strike at her legs. Barrasso hopped over the attack, but the stick struck a glancing blow to one of her ankles, and she ended up tumbling to the ground. Ethan rushed over to deliver a kick to her side, but the vampire rolled out of the way.

  Barrasso jumped to her feet and ran towards Ethan, her hands splayed with talon-like fingernails at the ready. She nears the Wukong and slashes at him, aiming for his torso and head. Ethan manages to slip away from her attack, her speed much more manageable now that he can move freely.

  The villain swings his staff upward, forcing the vampire to jump back. Then Ethan brought his stick back down as if to bash Barrasso head. The vampire brought up her hands to block, but she was tricked. Ethan shrank his weapon so it never touched her, but when the stick pointed at the vampire's stomach, he extended it again, causing the end to shoot into the bloodsucker’s gut.

  Barrasso grunted as the golden stick speared into her torso and pushed her back. She managed to dislodge the weapon, but the pain caused her to fall to her knees. Resetting his weapon, Ethan ran forward to deliver the finishing blow, but Barrasso suddenly disappeared in a puff of dark smoke. Ethan threw his head around in search of his prey, but then saw something small and black flutter to the ceiling.

  “So that’s how you wanna play it?” Ethan called out. “That’s fine by me!” Ethan rode his staff up to the second-story railing and made for the carpets covering the windows.

  “What are you doing?!” Barrasso screamed as Ethan grabbed one of the rugs and started tugging. The coverings were all drilled into the wall, but with enough force, Ethan could rip off chunks and let in streams of sunlight.

  “This room could really use some natural light!” Ethan grunted as he tore off more of the makeshift cloak. Though as he worked, he had to wonder how well this plan would work. It was still midday, so there was plenty of sunlight out there, but even if Ethan managed to take off all the shades, there would still be plenty of places to hide for a fleeing vampire. But if Ethan got lucky, the stress and fear Barrasso is feeling might drive her to try and stop him.

  Then, Ethan heard the flapping of wings and turned, expecting to see Barrasso behind him and ready to strike. Instead, one of the tables came flying over the railing and struck Ethan’s torso.

  The boy cried out as the metal structure crashed into his side. The wukong collapsed to the floor of the catwalk along with the counter. The attack seemed to reawaken the soreness in Ethan’s body as the pain spread from his side to the rest of his body. He felt himself locking up from the sudden wane of agony, and for the briefest of moments, Ethan felt the all too familiar feeling of terror and helplessness.

  “Serves you right, you worthless bastard!” Barrasso screamed from the floor level. “Coming in here and acting like a hero! Trash like you deserved to be stepped on!” The bloodsucker’s taunt added a touch of shame to Ethan’s cocktail of emotions, but it was just enough to break through his stupor. Memories of his classmates insulting him for even the smallest of slip-ups poured into his mind. Back then, all Ebenezer could do was take the abuse, but Ethan wasn’t going to put up with it anymore.

  The villain forced himself back to his feet, his hands gripping the sides of the table as if he were trying to strangle it. Ethan focused on the pain to push aside the other emotions that kept bubbling up. When the villain stood up, all he felt was hurt and enraged. Then all Ethan could think about was tearing that vampire bitch to pieces.

  Before Ethan knew what he was doing, he cleared the railing and flew towards Barrasso. He saw the vampire’s eyes widen as Ethan threw something at her mid-air. The table was thrown back to its owner and slammed on the ground, narrowly missing her. The throw attack was enough to distract Barrasso and let Ethan land near her. Before the bloodsucker could react, Ethan’s fist buried itself in her cheek.

  Barrasso stumbled backwards and tried to flee, but Ethan grabbed her leg and pulled her back. He vaguely heard something cracking, but was far too angry to listen to anything other than the vampire woman’s screams of pain. Ethan spun around, lifted Barrasso by her now broken leg, and then slammed her down onto the carpeted floor.

  Barrasso hit the ground with a soft thump, and then Ethan ran to her side and kicked her in the kidney. Barrasso tumbled to the side, landing on her back, and quicker than he thought possible, Ethan was on top of her.

  His fist slammed into her face before she could so much as grunt. Then he hit her again, causing Barrasso to spit out a dark fluid that might have been her blood. Ethan didn’t notice, his attention was on the girl’s skull and how it was stubbornly resisting his attempts to cave it in.

  Then Ethan was raining blows down on Barrasso’s face. He punched as hard as he could, with each attack increasing his anger. He watched her eyes swell shut, her nose break and bend, her face getting covered in that dark liquid, but Ethan’s rage wouldn’t be sated. The boy was vaguely aware of voices in the back of his head, telling him to calm down or begging him to stop. Ethan ignored them, his task wasn’t finished, and his anger wouldn’t let him go until he had ki-.

  The warehouse doors let out a rattling screech as they were forced open. Ethan’s head snapped over to the opening and stared at the newcomer.

  Standing between the warehouse doors was a man in a grey longcoat. It covered his entire body, save for his hands and feet, which were covered in what looked like black leather gloves and shoes. He wore a matching grey fedora over his head, and at first glance, it looked like the shadow of the hat was covering his face, but Ethan could see he was actually wearing a black veil. It was like a ski mask, but there were no holes for the eyes.

  The figure simply stood in the doorway. Despite his covered face, Ethan could tell the man was staring at him. The boy stared back, the man’s sudden entrance taking his attention and forcing him to snap out of his furious stupor. Ethan found himself breathing heavily as the heavy use of his body finally caught up to him.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Ethan wheezed out.

  “Call me Vlad,” the man answered casually. He stepped into the room, as if Ethan’s question was an invitation to enter. Vlad made his way over to Ethan and Barrasso, causing the wukong to jump to his feet and back away from the approaching stranger. Ethan reached back for his staff, only to realise it wasn’t anywhere on him.

  Now that the villain was thinking straight, he remembered dropping his weapon on the scaffolding when the table hit him, and he didn’t pick it up. That was bad enough, but Ethan’s newfound clarity also made him finally register Barrasso’s condition. It was like with Jack earlier that day, the woman was lying on the ground, not moving, and coated in her dark blood. And also like with Jack, Ethan was hit with a torrent of disgust and self-reproach.

  ‘She deserved it,’ Ethan told himself. The villain forced himself to remember Barrasso’s horrific treatment of Olivia, but that didn’t ease his guilt. Mostly because that guilt wasn’t directed at the damage he caused, but at how he acted.

  There was no sugar coating it; Ethan went berserk. He’d noticed he was getting angrier as the days went by, but the boy never thought he’d lose his mind like that. Yes, there was that episode with Jordan and his gang, but he assumed that outburst was due to extenuating circumstances. Barrasso wasn’t like any of his enemies, yet Ethan went nuts all the same.

  ‘It had to be a coincidence; this was only the second time this had happened. There was that old saying for a reason…’

  Vlad was now standing over Barrasso, reaching into his coat and pulling out a large black bag.

  “What are you doing?” Ethan barked at him.

  “Collecting a stray,” Vlad answered without hesitation.

  “Stray…?” Ethan stared at the man as he lay out the large bag on the floor next to the unconscious woman. It was then that the boy finally noticed how unusual Vlad’s clothes were in the current weather. It was a warm autumn day, so a normal person wouldn’t need to be bundled up from head to toe. But a vampire would need Vlad’s ensemble to stay covered from the sun. “She’s with you?”

  “She was,” Vlad corrected. He dragged Barrasso into the bag, and as the man started zipping it up, Ethan realised it was a body bag. “One day, Shelley here decided she deserved more than what she was getting and went out on her own.”

  “Where are you taking her?”

  “Home. There we’ll hold her, discipline her, and hopefully make her see the error of her ways. Though it shouldn’t be too hard, I’m sure the beating you gave shattered the arrogance that warranted this behavior.” Vlad closed the bag with Barrasso inside. Then he stood, but instead of picking up the bag, he simply turned to face Ethan. The villain noticed Vlad deliberately placed himself inbetween him and his fellow vampire. “I trust that won’t be an issue.”

  Ethan was about to object, but stopped himself. He felt his body grow sluggish, the exhaustion from the battle was setting in, so it wouldn’t be the smartest move to pick another fight. And even if he did and won, what was Ethan going to do afterwards? It felt wrong to let Barrasso get taken by the other vampires, but Ethan didn’t have any alternatives to hold her, as detaining the vampiress was never part of his plan. He couldn’t imprison her in his base, which only left two options that Ethan refused to consider. Calling the police or killing her.

  The first option was outright laughable; the other was problematic. Ethan was sure some people would argue that Barraso wasn’t human, so it wasn’t a bad thing to kill her. Ethan was also sure those people included his enemies and people with like minds, so fuck them. But even if Ethan were inclined to think that way, he doubted he could bring himself to do it. Barrasso had looked far too human lying on the ground with her mangled face…

  “I’m sure you want Shelley to face justice for her crimes,” Vlad said before Ethan could make up his mind. “But I assure you that she will be thoroughly pun-”

  “I’m not a fucking Hero,” the Wukong snarled when he realised what the bloodsucker was implying. Vlad stared at Ethan in stunned silence for a moment before speaking again.

  “Really?” he asked cautiously. The boy could feel Vlad’s gaze examining him from head to toe. Ethan couldn’t tell what the vampire was thinking, but he was sure the villain was a sight to behold. Still huffing slightly from the exertion and no doubt having Barraso’s blood on his gloves. It should be obvious that Ethan wasn’t a hero, but maybe Vlad just expected brutality against his kind. “Then why are you here if not to save the men Shelley enthralled?”

  “I came here to get stronger,” Ethan replied. It was true in a technical sense, but Vlad didn’t need to know what kind of strength Ethan was building. “Not just anyone can beat up a vampire.”

  “No, they can’t,” Vald agreed. “So if you aren’t a hero, you’ll have no issues with me killing Shelley’s slaves?” Ethan didn’t respond; he just stared at Vlad in silence as he racked his brain on what to do next.

  “Should I take your silence as a ‘no’?” Vlad asked coily.

  “You can take it as me refusing to play whatever mind game you're setting up,” Ethan shot back.

  “Pardon me?” Vlad asked, sounding more amused than confused. It confirmed Ethan’s guess, though it annoyed him that this… whoever he was felt the need to test him.

  “It doesn’t matter what I say, since you're not going to kill anyone,” the villain stated, crossing his arms. “I don’t know how long your vampire group’s been in town, but with the lack of people freaking out over deaths related to extreme blood loss, I’m sure you know the value of keeping your head down. In a town of hornets that are just itching for a reason to defend their nest, suddenly having five missing men show up dead would be one hell of a kick.”

  “...You’re not as brutish as you look,” Vlad stated with a note of approval. Ethan wasn’t sure why, but he had the urge to run over and punch that vampire in the face. His voice and attention put the boy on edge in a way he couldn’t explain.

  Without another word, Vlad turned and hefted the body bag over his shoulder and began walking out of the warehouse. Ethan watched him go, wondering if he should say or do something, but coming up with nothing.

  “I do hope we’ll meet again,” Vlad said before walking out. “I can tell you and I will have a lot to discuss.” Then he was gone, leaving Ethan behind to catch his breath and wonder just what the vampire was getting at.

  “Boss?” a hesitant voice echoed in his mind. It took Ethan a second to register one his clones trying to reach him, but the moment he did was the moment he realized the voices calling out to him during his rampage belonged to them. His doubles must have been trying to reel him in, and he just ignored them.

  “I’m fine,” Ethan said firmly. He wasn’t sure what compelled him to ignore the shame and aches in his gut, but Ethan had a strong urge to just keep moving lest he break down. “Head to the cop’s house and wait there.”

  “You… want to keep going?” a copy asked hesitantly.

  “Yes!” Ethan almost shouted. “I want all of you to watch the place and tell me when he’s home. I just need… a minute.” The clones didn’t respond, but Ethan felt them move. The distance between him and his dopplegangers created the illusion of privacy that Ethan needed to let out a shaky breath that was almost a whimper.

  He was about to cover his face and let out more almost cries, but stopped when he noticed the dark moisture that coated his gloves. Ethan knew what it was, but decided it was best to shut his brain down for a time and focus on getting his gloves cleaned.

  Summoning a cloud, Ethan made a quick trip up to the scaffolding to retrieve his staff, then floated out of the warehouse and into the sky. Ethan vaguely remembered his reason for not cloud-riding during the day, but at that moment, he couldn’t bring himself to care. All he could think about was getting his gloves clean and maybe washing away this awful moment, too.