Quest for the Ultimate Artifact

The sun was out, covering Cairo, its brightness over the river Nile and covering the city with its warmth. The scent of spices filled the city, mingling with distant traffic and the melodic call of prayer echoing from the mosques. Protesters filled the streets because of the economic crisis in the country, Egypt. It was the year 1984 during Mubarak's presidential regime. Despite the protesters terrorizing the streets and the police subsiding their violence, the street sellers kept displaying their jewelry and goods and also being very vigilantly aware of when the protesters violence might increase.

Somewhere in the city stood a gigantic structure. A bank known as Al Masry PLC

Inside the bank, the customers were busy with their transactions with the bankers. The activities in the bank were heavy. Behind the public spaces, deep inside the building, a thick and steel vault was hidden, guarded by numerous security measures—laser grids, cameras, and electronic locks. The treasures it held aren't just monetary; among the gold and currencies were ancient artifacts of immeasurable value, protected by scholars who sought to keep them safe from dark forces.

As the sun sank below the horizon, the city energy and protest violence faded, replaced by the quietness of the night. The police had checkpoints on the city's dark roads, with only the occasional car horn breaking the silence when they were stopped.

The bank was already bathed in the glow of street lamps. The night shift has taken over. Guards patrolled, but a figure was watching from the shadows, and the guards were not aware of this. The figure lit up a cigarette; the faint glow illuminated a pale face, his long, dark, and wavy hair covering one side of his eye, the open eye was blue and bright. He watched intently like an owl, his thin lips curled into a faint smirk as he studied the bank surveillance systems.

Suddenly, he moved with supernatural speed and appeared inside the bank. He raced deep inside the bank; his unseen footsteps were silent on the marble floor, but he was caught.

"Hey, stop there!" A security guard shouted, pointing a sharp and bright flashlight at the intruder, who was dressed in a black suit, wearing dark leather gloves. Before the guard could pull out his handgun, the intruder was prepared. A flash of his fangs was the last thing the guard could see before he could feel life draining away from him. He collapsed at the intruder's feet after the intruder had drunk his blood deeply. The dying guard tried to stand up, but he couldn't.

 "Y...you can't get in there," the dying guard murmured. "You... You will surely get caught."

Leonardo Vega, the intruding vampire, glanced down at him, his lips stained red. This place is a fortress, heavily guarded, but there is nothing I can't handle," Leonardo replied.

Suddenly, the alarms blared, and cameras pointed at this scene. "Go, go, go!", The remaining guards started rushing to where this was coming from. The vampire immediately destroyed the cameras in a blink of an eye, and the guards fell one by one as he hunted them down; the bank was stained around with their blood. The security system shut down, and the laser grid guarding the vault flickered and disappeared.

Leonardo approached the vault, satisfied. Placing his gloved hand on the electronic lock, it buzzed and clicked with a spark, and the heavy vault groaned to the side. Inside the vault were glittering gold and piles of cash and rows of ancient artifacts glowing in dim lights. Leonardo stepped in, his eyes searching for the ones to steal first until another shadow moved.

Lucian emerged,He was taller than Leonardo and looked much older in his face, dressed in a long black cloak that moved behind him as he walked. His long hair was packed behind his head, his face was wrinkled, and his eyes burned with anger as he stared at Leonardo.

"Leo boy, Leo boy," Lucian's voice was cold and low. "You are always too reckless for these kinds of stuff. I didn't think you would get this far".

"You again, isn't it?" Leonardo said and offered a slow, mocking clap with his gloved hands as he walked around him. "Wow! You got here before I did; not bad, old man. You've always been a tough opponent in ages, haven't you?"

Lucian's anger made his fangs elongate and glitter in the low light.

"You've no right to be here." He said,Get out of here before you regret this, or I'll crush you!"

Leonardo's eyes flashed back to retaliate."I guess you have grown old, Lucian; you have forgotten that you also don't have any right to be here. You are not even my maker nor my lord; you are not even the guardian of these treasures. Step aside and let me take the artifacts, or I'll end this now.

Lucian growled. "You've forgotten your place, Leonardo; you are no match for me, and you don't belong here."

"So do you, bastard," Leonardo hissed as his fangs extended. The two vampires rushed to each other and collided with extreme speed, their strikes a blur of claws and snarls. 

They fought savagely, their blood splashing across the artifacts, pile of cash, and gold as they tore into each other, each blow echoing in the vaulted chamber. Leonardo was ruthless in the fight, but Lucian's strength was beyond his.

"You can't win this battle," Lucian growled, delivering a massive crushing blow that sent Leonardo crashing into piles of cash and gold.

"You've been wounding me," Leonardo said, his lips cracked open, and he wiped the blood from his mouth, smirking through pain. "Fuck you, Lucian, how in the world do you have such strength?"

"Don't blame yourself for not being able to defeat me, Leo; you can run if you like, but I'll still catch up with you and kill you."

With a growl of fury, Leonardo transformed into a bat, vanishing into the shadows. Lucian's sharp eyes began to scan the darkness.

"You fool, the artifacts will destroy you, Leo; you don't need them." Lucian warmed with his thick voice.

"So why do you need them?" A voice echoed from the shadows. "Aren't we having the same will?"

"You can never control their power."

"You are underestimating me, old man; don't you ever do that!"

Suddenly, with a swift and deadly move, Leonardo reappeared behind Lucian and sank his fangs into Lucian's neck, tearing it open. Lucian's body went limp and crumpled on the ground.

"Curse you, Leonardo...curse you!... Lucian whispered as life left him.

"Farewell, old man," Leonardo said as he stood over him, blood dripping from his lips.

Victory at last as he turned towards the artifacts that were pulsing with soft and eerie light. Their faint hum filling the air. Leonardo lifted them with his gloved hands, a small smile curling on his lips.

"Oh finally, one step at a time, "he murmured.

After gathering the treasures, Leonardo walked out of the bank into the night, disappearing into Cairo's shadowy alleys, knowing there was more to look for.