"Arghhh!" Amelia cried out in pain as she lay sprawled on the ground, a deep sword cut visible on the back of her shoulder.
Still in his vampiric form, Magnus stood a few steps away from the girl as his face contorted in rage as blood streamed from his nose.
As Amelia writhed in pain, the rest of the main characters were also down, their bodies battered and bruised from the vicious fight.
Elijah's back was torn open by another claw wound while William and Ella lay unconscious, their weapons discarded beside them.
Hugh was on his knees, gasping for breath, having fired all his bullets at the enemy.
But it was Grace and Aster who suffered the most devastating blow.
The impact of Magnus' attack had thrown them against the wall with such force that it left a sizable crater behind.
As they struggled to move, their bodies were wracked with pain. They knew they were no match for the powerful vampire.
As Magnus stood over his fallen opponents, a twisted smile played on his lips, his previous rageful expression disappearing.
Seeing Mercy fall, he wanted to avenge his comrade and annihilate them all!
He wanted to show them what happens when they kill one of his kind!
And now, he has almost succeeded.
But as he looked into the determined eyes of the remaining fighters, he knew that the battle was not over yet.
Only three remained standing in the aftermath of the fierce battle.
One was a black-haired boy whom Magnus had clashed with earlier, his fighting spirit still evident in his tense stance.
Another was a black-haired girl with piercing golden eyes that seemed to bore into Magnus' very soul.
The third was a silver-haired boy who had been watching from a distance, focused more on the watch in his hand – Magnus felt uneasy about him.
But this was exactly what Magnus had planned for. He had wanted to face the black-haired boy alone, knowing that he was as strong as himself.
With only three fighters left and one seemingly unwilling to fight, Magnus could finally focus on his true opponent.
The other girl was an archer, so her interference won't mean much anyway.
He readied himself for the coming clash, determined to emerge victorious.
He knew that if the black-haired boy fell here, it would mean a certain defeat for his friends, who were unable to continue fighting.
After all, he had been the one managing to stop Magnus right before he could deal the final blow to any of his comrades.
†
I know what he's thinking.
He's thinking something along the lines of 'if Nero fell here, it would mean certain defeat for his comrades who are unable to continue fighting' right?
After Amelia rushed in for close combat, she managed to land a powerful knee strike to the vampire's face.
That motivated everyone to get back up and charge at Magnus, seeing it as an opportunity to defeat him.
However, their efforts were in vain, as Magnus had planned for this.
He intentionally took the hit to draw them closer, and ultimately, he took them down one by one, leaving them unable to rise again.
Fortunately, Nero was able to intervene each time before Magnus could deliver the final blow to any of them.
The bright side to all this is: Magnus is noticeably fatigued and is unlikely to prolong the battle. This may lead him to act impulsively and make blunders.
The not-so-bright side is: Our group has dwindled to only three members.
Nero, who is almost equally as exhausted as Magnus.
Anastasia, who has significantly depleted her mana reserves by continuously firing mana-infused arrows.
And myself, the charismatic young man who is attractive enough to charm the hearts of even the purest of maidens.
I looked at the watch tightly clutched in my hand and noticed that it was 6:59 PM.
The whole main cast, aside from the two leads of the story, couldn't stop a vampire for at most ten seconds, even after working together.
Yeah, I know that unlike in the novel, they had to fight two vampires and twice the number of mind-controlled minions, but still!
The fact that they couldn't stop a minor villain for even ten minutes made me shake my head.
I had to save this world with these guys.
Thwoosh—!!
Just as I was in the middle of ridiculing the main cast of this story in my mind, Magnus willed mana into his legs and stomped his foot hard on the ground before slightly bending his knees.
"Watch out, Nero!" I yelled. "He's coming for you— Oh?!"
When I tried warning the protagonist, Magnus did something that left me stunned again.
He twisted his strong foot and spun his body toward me.
He wasn't going for Nero. He was coming for me. Maybe he plans to take me out first before engaging with Nero.
But why? Has he sensed that something is wrong?
It's not entirely impossible.
Since all this time, I had been standing far away from him while maintaining a safe distance; it was possible that he had sensed that I was up to something.
Fwish—!!
So with a speed that made him look like a blur, Magnus lunged in my direction, intending to take me out before going for Nero.
But as his body seemingly grew closer to mine, I couldn't help but smirk slightly.
Even if he had sensed that there was something wrong, it was already far too late.
I had already anticipated this.
Well, not this precisely, but I knew something would go wrong, so I installed a backup plan just in case it really did.
I strategically placed a time bomb in the main power circuit and generator of this entire building.
The explosive device is set to detonate precisely at 7:00 PM, causing destruction to both the power circuit and generator.
The resulting power outage will render the CCTV cameras useless, as I had already removed their batteries in advance. This will create a security blind spot.
In addition, I also positioned smoke bombs within the air ventilation system of this banquet hall.
"Die!" the vampire assassin yelled in a mix of rage and disgust, and he swung his sword at me as soon as he entered close range.
"Heh."
He thought he would kill me and take revenge for his comrade, huh?
Unfortunately for him, fate isn't on his side today.
Kabooom—!!
Beneath our very feet, a sudden, thunderous explosion erupted from the basement where the power circuit and generator were situated.
The force of the blast was so intense that the ground beneath us shook violently, causing the lights in the banquet hall to flicker before completely going out and ultimately plunging us into darkness.
In mere moments, the thick smoke from previously placed smoke bombs began to fill the air.
Shing—!!
As I struggled to maintain my composure in the darkness, a sharp blade speedingly sliced through the air and arrived at my throat, the icy steel sending a shiver down my spine.
In that critical moment, I summoned every ounce of the strength within me and unleashed a powerful roar, "Phoenix Embrace!"
