Blood Hunt : Project Zero

[2] 2. Second Encounter

[Cyrene]

Hunter's reaction is priceless, seeing me stand as if nothing happened with my head still attached to my body.

"H-How-"

I looked at them, eyes dead and cold. I stretched my neck without breaking eye contact.

That fucking hurts.

Nagagawa mang gumaling ng sugat, hindi mawawala ang sakit na naramdaman ko. And because of that, I'm really pissed.

All of their eyes are locked on mine. It's shining under the moonlight, as if it's glowing. Lumabas ang mga pangil ni Hunter, habang nanlilisik ang mga mata sa akin.

"Y-You!" he growled. "I KNEW IT! HOW MANY PEOPLE DID YOU KILLED?! YOU FUCKING NATE!"

Napaismid ako sa narinig. In his state right now, he will definitely won't listen to me. Nga naman, kahit sa mga bampira, madadamot ang mas nakaangat kaysa sa mga mabababa. They won't let a newbie eat, huh?

Even so, I still didn't eat, nor killed anyone. . . yet.

Naging alerto ang mga nasa harap ko. Hindi pa sila kumikilos, alam ko na ang mangyayari. As soon as I felt a small movement, I made the move first.

Para bang may pandikit ang talampakan ko, na kahit saan ako tumapak, hindi ako nawawalan ng balanse. Mapanakatagilid, nakasabit, o nakabaliktad, hindi ako nahuhulog. It's the same thing with them, who immediately became aggressive when I moved.

I'm not even attacking them, even though I already know what their plan is. They're not hiding their bloodlust.

Four of them started attacking me— following me rather. Hindi ako lumalayo sa pagtalon at pag-iwas sa kanila, pero hindi nila ako mahabol-habol. I looked at Hunter at the corner of my eye. He's just watching, reading every move I make.

Muling bumalik ang tingin ko sa mga sumusubok na maabot ako. If Hunter won't make a move, then I'll put my attention on his underlings instead.

Watak-watak ang pagsugod nila sa akin, galing sa iba't ibang direksyon. Pero kahit gano'n pa man, hindi nila ako maabot. I don't know if it's just because they're not connecting with one another, or it's just that, they're too slow.

Maybe both?

I still trained to hunt them, kill them. Before, I can keep up with high ranking vampires. And now, my skills are heightened. . . this kind of attack.

Is more like a child's play.

Sa kabila ng mabibilis naming pagkilos, parang mabagal pa rin ang pagtakbo ng oras. Nakaapak ako sa puno, nakatagilid, nang may isang sumugod sa direksyon ko. Imbis na umiwas, tumalon ako papunta sa kaniya.

He was startled, and acted late. Or I just acted too fast.

Nang magkaharap kami, inangat ko ang katawan ko, dahilan para mapunta ako sa itaas niya. Nasa himpapawid kami nang hawakan ko nang mabilisan ang leeg niya.

I'm just planning to snap his neck, I didn't put enough force.

But for some reason, as soon as I snap his neck. . . his head detached.

As soon as I landed, his headless body dropped too. I stared at his head, dumbfounded.

Pare-pareho kaming natigilan, maski ang mga sumusugod sa akin. It only took a couple of seconds before it turned into ashes and disappeared. I'm still dumbfounded, mouth slightly opened.

I. . . didn't expected that.

"A-ANDI!" Umalingawngaw ang boses ng babaeng bampira na kasama nila. Doon ako natauhan.

Mabilis na napunta ang tingin ko kay Hunter na nag-iba ang ekspresyon habang nakatingin sa akin.

"I didn't mean it-"

Hindi ko naituloy ang sasabihin ko nang sa isang kurap, napunta sa harapan ko si Hunter. Namilog ang mga mata ko sa biglaang pagkilos niya. Kusang gumalaw mag-isa ang katawan ko at umiwas sa matutulis niyang kuko na nakatutok sa akin.

"Wait-"

I maintained my calm voice, despite slightly struggling— avoiding his attacks.

"Hey!-"

Nagtama ang mga tingin namin ng ilang segundo. The look on his eyes, it's the same look of someone who lost it. This guy fucking snapped.

I clicked my tongue. If possible, I don't want to kill you guys. . . yet. I'm trying to save my energy, but oh well-

I was ready to attack back, but my instincts kicked in. My body moved on it's own.

A familiar feeling. . .

For a second, Crown's face popped in my mind.

Mabilis akong kumilos. Agad kong iniwasan ang muling pag-atake ni Hunter bago umalis sa harapan niya. Tumalon ako nang mataas at malayo, halos benteng metro mula sa pwestong tinalunan ko.

Biglang bumilis ang pagtibok ng puso ko at mas lalo akong naging alerto.

I bit my lower lip, enough to make it bleed.

This feeling. . . 

Is it Crown?

No— it's not her. It's familiar, but still different.

A pureblood?-

No.

Its presence is too weak for a pureblood. It can't be compared to what I've felt back then when I first met Crown.

This one. . .

It's weaker than a pureblood.

But I'm sure, it's way stronger for a high ranking vampire.

Naningkit ang mga mata ko. This person is-

"A Nate."

Namilog ang mga mata ko nang marinig ko ang salitang 'yon, mula mismo sa kaliwang tenga ko. Palingon pa lang ako sa direksyon niya, nang mawala siya. 

"What happened here, Hunter?"

Muli kong narinig ang boses, pero hindi na malapit sa akin. Bagkus ay sa pwesto kung nasaan ako ilang segundo lang ang lumipas. Just like that, that vampire was already in front of Hunter, 20 meters away from me.

Hindi ako makapaniwalang napatingin sa direksyon niya, namimilog ang mga mata. Hindi na basta-basta ang pandama ko ngayon, pero ni hindi ko man lang naramdaman ang presensya niya kahit sobrang lapit niya na sa akin.

This vampire-

Tumatama ang sinag ng buwan sa pwesto niya. Humithit siya ng sigarilyo, kung saan kasing kulay ng usok ang nakapusod na buhok niya, na parehong kulay abo at itim sa tuktok. Wearing a black and white yukata, with a sword— katana on her back. And of course, a pair of crimson red eyes. 

The way she stands shouts elegance, and for some reason, her presence is familiar. But, I'm one hundred percent sure that she's not a pureblood.

Still, I'm sure right now. This is my second encounter, of a vampire. . . that I can't kill.

━━━ † ━━━