A Mutant Collector Quest

In the utter darkness, I close my eyes and focus, sensing four more Psionic shields some distance away from me. With careful concentration, I begin to lift them, my own shield included. The shields push through the gravel with deliberate effort.

Ten minutes pass in complete darkness before I finally break through to the surface, where the world remains cloaked in shadows, interrupted only by occasional lightning strikes that briefly light up the sky.

I am the first to emerge, followed shortly by Elsa, Sable, Blade, and the chained woman.

"Wow, Now it is really in ruins …" Elsa says looking around, there is just rocks, piles of fallen stones on the uneven garbage dump. "Oh, My Baby" She says moving towards the open ground in the front where there were still pile of vampires and humans' corpses.

"Well, that was a crazy fight!" Sable says with a tired sigh, the Phoenix Companion still perched on her shoulder. She looks at me and I give her a strained smile in return.

"...Oh, what do you mean? Is it really nearby?" She suddenly starts talking to the hilt in her hand as she walks off in another direction.

Blade digs into the rubble in front of him and pulls out a pair of dark sunglasses, surprisingly intact despite the destruction. He slides them on and flashes me a grin with his white teeth.

I chuckle as I notice that beneath the sunglasses, his full combat gear—guns, sword, everything—was buried just underneath the ground. I am both surprised that the vampires, his kidnappers kept his gear safe, and even more impressed by his unbelievable luck in finding it so easily in the midst of all the chaos.

I leave Blade to his gear and turn my attention to the raven-haired woman, still kneeling on the ground, her hands chained in silver. She is staring ahead with a vacant, almost empty look in her eyes. I step forward, kneeling in front of her, and yank her free from the silver chain.

"What is your name?" I ask, my gaze narrowing. I can't afford to forget that she is still a vampire, no matter how pretty she looks.

She lifts her eyes to meet mine, the blankness in her expression lingering. "I… I have nothing left," she mumbles, her gaze dropping to the ground, speaking in a hollow tone.

I almost offer the classic line about how she at least has her life, but I quickly realize it doesn't quite apply here as she is already dead!

I don't know her story, nor why she seems so defeated, but something about her sadness makes me want to help. Despite her being a creature of the dark, I sense there is something beautiful in her vulnerability.

"Well, cheer up," I say with a soft, reassuring smile. "Things can't get any worse than this now, right?"

RUMBLE! CRACK!

I glanced upwards at the thundering sky, narrowing my eyes. "Did I just jinx us?"

"Hahahahaha!" A booming, arrogant voice echoes above. "You thought I was dead? I have conquered death itself! I... am... Invincible!" I hear the unmistaken arrogant sound once again and sigh, meanwhile the girl in front of me pales looking up at the sky in fear.

Elsa returns with her guitar case in hand, scowling at the stormy sky. "Is this cockroach still alive?"

"Wait here. I will go finish him off," I say aloud, my voice steely as electricity crackles around my body. With a burst of power, I take to the sky, spotting the faint silhouette of a man up among the clouds.

CRACK! BOOM!

Suddenly, a thick bolt of lightning strikes me directly from the clouds!

"Hahahah … This power, this feeling—it is intoxicating—and my strength itself is limitless!" Deacon Frost boasts, hovering in the clouds with the storm swirling around him, lightning crackling at his sides. His laughter falters, however, when he sees that I am still hovering in the air, completely unharmed by the strike.

"You chose the wrong place to fight," I reply with a confident grin. "The sky and lightning are my domain!"

I had absorbed the earlier lightning strike, because of my Power: Lightning Absorption. Its energy replenishing my stamina and making me feel even more invigorated.

I begin to channel my powers—Storm's Embrace and Electricity Manipulation—firing lightning bolts at Deacon Frost. He laughs, effortlessly countering with his own bolts of lightning. This is the first time I have seen or heard of a vampire use lightning!

On the ground, Blade looks up at Deacon, still very much alive. He turns to Elsa and says, "Bloodstone, throw me up"

Elsa looks from Blade to the swirling clouds, then grins. "Sure, sounds fun!" she replies, hoisting her guitar case. Blade stands on top of it, and her Bloodgem flashes red as she effortlessly lifts the guitar case with him on it.

With a mischievous smile, she bends her knees and launches the guitar case skyward with full force. "Homerun!" she exclaims, as Blade's body is sent flying high into the air.

In the clouds above, I keep relentlessly bombarding Deacon with bolts of electricity, but his regeneration continues to keep up with the onslaught. He still hasn't realized that my own body isn't taking any damage from his attacks, so he persists with his lightning strikes, unaware of my growing advantage.

BOOM! CRACK! THUNDER!

Through the flashes of lightning, I spot a speeding black object rapidly approaching our position. My dynamic vision lets me clearly understand what's happening. Without hesitation, I push both hands forward and unleash a massive bolt of electricity straight at Deacon's face. The surge of power makes him stagger, forcing him to retreat, as I successfully line him up for the next move.

"DIE, DEACON!!!" Blade roars in fury. Deacon turns around, his eyes widening in shock as he faces the angry expression of the Black man before him.

STAB!

With unstoppable momentum, Blade drives the wooden stake he had prepared straight into Deacon's heart.

"AAAAARHHGHH!" Deacon screams in agony, his body seizing up as paralysis takes over. His flight stops abruptly, and he begins plummeting downward.

I quickly create a Psionic Forcefield Platform to stop Blade's fall, ensuring he doesn't crash to the ground as well. Both of us watch as Deacon's body free falls towards the earth below.

BOOM!

His body crashes in the pile of rubble, sending a shockwave that rattles the surroundings.

"You are a crazy man," I say to Blade with a grin as I guide both of us down towards the spot where Deacon had fallen. Blade simply smirks, drawing the sword strapped to his back. Now wielding two silver blades, he focuses intently on the rubble below. It is clear he shares my belief—this cockroach still isn't dead yet!

Meanwhile, on the ground not long ago, Sable had been sifting through the debris. Following the guidance of the Old Man Silver, she unearthed another fragment of her broken blade. To her surprise, the piece floated towards the hilt in her hand and magically reattached itself, seamlessly restoring part of the sword. It now resembled a short silver blade, gleaming faintly in the dim light.

"Hmm, memories I had long forgotten are returning to me now," the sword speaks aloud for the first time, its voice resonating in the air.

Sable raises an eyebrow, a small smile forming on her lips. "Oh? Old Man Silver, so others can hear you now? Good—I would rather have Luke not think I am completely mad talking to myself." She chuckles, noting mentally that the sword's voice sounds just as ancient and weathered outside her mind as it does within.

"Beware, child. That vampire still lives," the Old Man Silver warns, his tone grave. Sable abruptly turns her attention to the rumbling clouds above.

"Good," Sable mutters, gripping the hilt tightly. "Let's see how powerful this sword has become."

As they walk towards the source of the commotion, the figure of someone plummeting from the sky becomes visible through the stormy haze.

"It is that vile vampire. Child, prepare yourself," the Old Man Silver instructs firmly. "As I taught you, channel all the Silver Mana into the blade and release it in a single strike!"

"Understood," Sable replies, her voice filled with resolve. Her body begins to glow faintly with a silvery light as energy floods into the sword.

BOOM!

Deacon Frost's body crashes into the ground, forming a massive pit.

"Arghhh!!" he growls in pain, clutching the wooden stake embedded in his chest. Slowly and with visible agony, he begins to remove it. Blood surges within his body, forcing the stake out inch by inch.

"AAAH!" he gasps in relief as the stake finally dislodges. Panting heavily, he tosses it aside. "That literal son of a bitch. Looks like I, as his creator, will have to end his miserable existence myself," he mutters with a resigned sigh, climbing out of the pit.

"SILVER STRIKE!"

Before he can react, a massive silver crescent beam slams into him.

"ARGHHH, IT BURNS!" Deacon screams, writhing as the searing light scorches through him.

"This is payback for slapping me!" Sable shouts, her grin brimming with satisfaction as the beam slices cleanly through his body at the waist.

Her triumph is short-lived, though.

"Don't celebrate yet. A Vampire as powerful as him won't die this easily," the Old Man Silver warns somberly.

As if to prove his point, Deacon's upper and lower halves refuse to separate. The blood in his body surges violently, pulling the severed sections back together as if stitching him whole once more.

"It looks like it's my turn," Elsa's voice rings out from behind Sable.

Elsa strides forward, her body streaked with dried blood, though she appears unfazed by the carnage.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

She unloads entire clips into Deacon's regenerating body. Each bullet impacts with a dull thud, but the vampire remains standing, his unnatural vitality mending the damage almost as fast as she can inflict it.

Elsa's frustration boils over as the Blood Gem around her neck begins to glow hotter.

"DIE, YOU MONSTER SCUM!!" she roars.

With her cry, the gem releases a concentrated beam of crimson light, piercing straight through Deacon's chest, directly into his heart.

"AARGGHHHHHHHH!!!!" Deacon screams, his voice echoing across the battlefield. The pain is unlike anything he has experienced before, as if his very essence is being eroded from within.

Elsa staggers slightly, panting heavily as the beam dissipates. "Haaa… haaa… well, that was… new," she mutters in surprise, her eyes fixed on the aftermath of her attack.

The pain finally subsides, but Deacon feels an overwhelming weakness creeping through him.

"Blood…" he murmurs hoarsely, "...Need blood."

The world around him fades to shades of gray, except for one vibrant hue—the deep crimson of blood. His unfocused eyes lock onto the two human women in front of him, their forms bathed in red.

"Pre—" he begins, instinct driving him to lunge toward them.

But before he can take a step, his vision tilts sharply. His body stumbles, and his face meets the dirt. Disoriented, he realizes he has lost motor function.

Then it dawns on him—his head has been severed!

Just seconds ago from above, Blade and I had descended rapidly, only to witness that the fight below is already underway. Spotting his opportunity, Blade had leapt off the forcefield platform impatiently. With both his silver swords glinting in the dim light, he severed Deacon's head in a clean, decisive strike.

"It's over!" Blade declares, his voice steady as he looks down at the severed head with grim satisfaction.

But his confidence is short-lived.

In the next moment, both Deacon's head and his body dissolve into a swirling dark mist, dissipating into the air.

Blade's scowl deepens. "Damn it," he mutters in frustration.