NOVEL NEXT Chapter 156: I found her
A few minutes ago,
"Huff—Huff—Huff."
Leo panted heavily as he ran through the underground sewage, his footsteps splashing against the damp stone as he followed the last seen location marked on his map… when he arrived at the spot… he only saw.
Bodies of humans, torn apart, bitten through and chewed into lumps of raw meat… His stomach churned, and he almost vomited just looking at them.
His face twisted into pure horror. He staggered back, his skin turning pale as if the blood had drained from his body.
"R-Raphael?" His voice cracked as he muttered, legs trembling. His breath came in sharp, uneven bursts, haunted by the thought that something similar could have happened to his only family.
He… he wasn't sure he could live with that. All of this… because of his mistake. All of this… because of his damned ego, his pride that had blinded him and led to this nightmare.
He knew Raphael wouldn't abandon her work in the middle of the night… she must have come back because of him!!
His trembling fingers, slick with sweat, reached slowly toward the mangled flesh as if searching for anything... any sign of his... his....
He couldn't even think that!!
When his hand brushed against the torn chunk of flesh, the cold, slippery texture sent a violent shiver through his body... And in that instant, Raphael's cute smile flashed before his eyes, mocking his fear and breaking his heart.
He gulped, his throat tight and wet, his chest shaking uncontrollably. His vision blurred with misty tears as he whispered, "I… I am sorry… I am so—"
BANG!
The sudden explosion of sound echoed through the tunnel. Leo flinched, snapping his head around, his heart thundering in his chest.
It was sharp, metallic—like a gunshot or something far worse. His eyes widened instantly, trying to trace the source, but the echo made it nearly impossible to pinpoint.
Leo inhaled deeply, forcing air into his lungs as he steadied himself.
His chest glowed faintly as he channelled the filtered mana into his bloodstream, pushing it toward his… ears.
After the battle with Dracula, he had been practising endlessly, refining his breathing techniques, desperate to master his own body.
Through that painful practice, he discovered something new—that if he directed his energy into specific parts of himself, he could sharpen and heighten their sensitivity.
If he poured it into his eyes, he could see across vast distances, clear as through binoculars... even looking at the dark... though not master that yet but still he good a hang of his technique.
And of course… like any man, his curiosity had led him to test something ridiculous, hoping for a different kind of "enhancement."
But no! "The Size" didn't increase!
That's not how it worked!!
Anyway…
Leo focused, funnelling the energy deeper into his ears. His body tensed as he moved faster, his senses sharpening with each step. Every sound came alive—the sharp crunch of rats gnawing bones, the dry flutter of cockroach wings against damp walls, the endless dripping of sewage water echoing through the darkness… and then…
BANG!
Leo's ears twitched, his head snapping to the right. The sound struck clearly this time. He poured more power into his legs, surging forward with speed, running faster and faster as his eyes glowed with an eerie, unnatural light.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Suddenly, three consecutive bullets rained. Leo's head snapped sharply to the left at the sound.
Not too far ahead, he exhaled a deep, heated breath, his pace slowing as his legs steadied. Step by step, he walked toward three shadowy figures gathered near the manhole ladder.
He saw a monster leaning dangerously close to a woman, its jaws trembling with hunger. The woman seemed to have given up, her shoulders slumped, her eyes dim with despair. With a deliberate step forward, Leo flicked his fingers.
From his hand, a single card slipped loose and cut through the air, flying between the woman and the monster.
Flick~
Thud!
The monster moved back instantly, pulling back from the woman.
Leo couldn't help the smirk that stretched across his lips. His voice carried a low, murderous tone as he muttered,
"Hah… a bat, traumatised by a simple card."
Everyone's gaze turned instantly toward him. Leo stepped forward, expression blank, his hand waving lazily through the air as he greeted,
"Hello… Bloodbeggar~"
"YOU!!" Dracula's voice cracked like thunder. His eyes burned with a dangerous glow, his expression twisted in fury.
Beside him, Nergal frowned, his lips curling into a scoff. "Why are you getting worked up over a pathetic human?"
The woman flinched, eyes darting between them in panic, unable to understand what was unfolding.
To her, the boy standing there looked far too young, far too fragile for this nightmare. "O-Oi… what are you doing? Run, brat!!" she shouted, her voice breaking. "These monsters will eat you alive!!"
But when Leo turned his gaze on her, her words choked in her throat. His reddish-black eyes locked onto hers, and for an instant, she froze. She flinched back as if staring into a pit of darkness, as if she had seen a monster lurking deep inside that boy's eyes.
This wasn't normal... She swallowed hard, her throat dry.
Leo's focus shifted back to Dracula... A mocking grin curved on his lips.
"Monster? Hahahah… so pathetic! What even happened to you? You look like my annoying old man who couldn't keep his head straight." His voice dripped with scorn as he mocked Dracula's appearance. "Those wrinkled folds of skin… like dried grapes. Disgusting!"
Dracula's eyes snapped wide in rage. "YOU MONGREL!! DON'T LOOK DOWN ON ME!!" His roar shook the tunnel as he leapt forward with terrifying force, claws stretching long and sharp as they slashed down toward Leo.
Tang!
Sparks screamed into the air. Dracula's eyes widened when he saw his strike blocked—by a dark, long katana gripped firmly in Leo's hands.
Leo smirked. "I poured every bit of my savings into this." He tilted the blade before slicing. In an instant, Dracula's hand was cut away as cleanly as butter.
Before Dracula could even begin to regenerate, Leo moved again. His breath deepened, his body brimming with energy as he channelled mana through his veins. His legs surged with power, carrying him forward like a shadow, and with another swing, he cut at Dracula's other hand.
But Dracula was fast... fast enough to block before Leo could press the attack further. Their clash cracked through the tunnel, a blur of strikes and counters. Leo narrowed his eyes, channelling his energy into them, sharpening his sight for a split second.
In that brief flicker, he caught Dracula's form moving above him. Leo slid to the side, body twisting low against the ground, before snapping his leg upward with a brutal kick, every muscle strengthened with mana, aiming to shatter Dracula's balance.
BOOM!!
Dracula zoomed down the tunnel, his body blurring with monstrous speed.
The woman… utterly shocked, stared with wide eyes. 'W-What is going on here? How could that brat defeat that thing?'
Leo exhaled hard, his chest burning as his breathing grew faster. His throat went dry. He shifted his gaze toward Nergal, who was staring at him with deadly eyes.
"You… really are a strange one," Nergal muttered, his expression a mix of confusion and menace. His eyes glowed an eerie blue before his body blurred, vanishing and reappearing right in front of Leo. His hands clenched together, swinging down in a brutal slam.
Leo flinched. He didn't even have time to breathe again. 'Shit!' His arms tightened around the hilt as he raised the sword, bracing for the impact, but then—
BANG!!
Headshot!
The woman had fired. The bullet struck Nergal's temple, making him stagger and collapse sideways, his body twitching violently as he hit the ground.
Leo blinked, stunned, and turned to look at the woman. Her hands trembled around the weapon as she furiously muttered, "Take that, b-bastard!!"
Leo shook his head, then immediately walked toward her, sword still in hand. The woman flinched, fear flickering in her eyes, as he asked in a low, strained voice, "H-Have you seen… a woman with glasses, black hair?"
The woman blinked before shaking her head. "No… I don't think I've seen—wait! I need to save my friend! Please, help her!!" Her voice cracked as she looked at him with desperation. "T-That bat… that big bat monster is going to eat her… please." She started to beg.
Leo frowned. 'Does that mean… Raphael isn't here? Or…' His mind raced through the possibilities before he asked, "Where is your friend?"
"They escaped through the manhole, but that bat must be there," she pointed frantically toward the opening above them.
Leo looked up and understood—they had tried to escape. "Can you tell me… how many women you saw here?"
"Three, including me."
"Three? Did the other two escape as well?"
She nodded quickly.
Leo sighed, but the tension in his chest refused to ease. He reached into his pocket and pulled out something.... a walkie-talkie.
For what?
Because… Leo wasn't an idiot who would roam around here alone searching for 'her'.
He had someone watching, protecting, not too far from him.
"Essa…" Leo muttered into it, his eyes falling on the wall near the ladder where words were etched: "Sector 3."
"I'm on it," a gentle, womanly voice replied through the static of the walkie-talkie.
Far above, in the city night, a cloaked figure darted across rooftops. Her movements were swift, silent, leaping from one building to another.
She moved with bird precision, diving from high to low before halting on the edge of a building. Her gaze locked downward... on a monstrous bat clawing into a man's body, while a horrified woman screamed in its grip.
The cloaked figure raised her walkie-talkie, "I found her." Then, without hesitation, she unsheathed two curved blades, their steel glinting under the moonlight, and leapt toward the beast.
Meanwhile, Leo exhaled slowly, as if a heavy burden had lifted from his shoulders. He turned back toward the woman, a tender smile briefly softening his face.
The woman froze. She didn't understand why, but that smile—gentle amidst such horror—made her heart skip.
He was… cute.
'No, no! Now is not the time!!' she shook her head violently. "W-We need to leave before they come back!"
"No one is leaving alive."
Dracula's voice boomed through the tunnel, dark and thunderous.
Leo's smile vanished... His brows furrowed as he raised his sword with a clenched fist, "Come on, Bloodbegger!"