By the time the red and golden armor fully enveloped my body, Amelia had already summoned her war bow.
The commotion we caused didn't go unnoticed.
The woman in red quickly noticed us and realized she'd been found out. She quickly rose from her seat, baring her fangs and hissing like a rabid beast.
I summoned my dazzling crimson spear and also lunged forward from my seat in her direction.
To stop my advance, the vampire ordered several of her bewitched customers seated nearby to rush at me and intercept.
However, Amelia reacted faster than them.
She drew her warbow's string and shot an arrow that instantly pierced the leg of a customer closest to me, rendering him immobile.
And just like that, she unleashed a rain of deadly arrows, each finding its mark as if they all had a mind of their own.
Even through the chaos that followed, no one was killed by her arrows.
Instead, her arrows only pierced their legs in a way that would leave them incapable of moving anymore for a long while.
I couldn't help but smile inwardly; her archery had indeed improved a lot.
Of course, I had no time to praise her any more than that. Shifting my gaze, I focused on my own target.
In front of me, the captivating woman in the red dress had already transformed.
Her previously smooth, jaded skin now bore a grey hue like charred wood, and long fangs protruded from her lips, while her fingers ended in sharp obsidian nails, turning her palms into claws.
Her cheeks appeared sunken, and her limbs seemed to grow out a little, giving her a grotesque appearance.
With eyes now shining bright red like two pools of blood, gazing into them felt like I was staring at death itself.
If I remembered the novel's description correctly, it was mentioned that she could trap anyone in a deliberate illusion simply by locking eyes with them.
However, I also knew that there was a small window of time before the illusion would take hold of the victim's mind and she'd be able to use it like her plaything.
Yes, since I had already looked into her eyes, my fate was sealed, yet I had more than enough time to kill her before then.
In fact, I intentionally looked into her eyes.
I wanted her to start creating an illusion for me to be trapped in. I wanted her to take her time and stay still for a moment.
The distance between us was about a meter. The vampire probably thought that it would take a second for me to close the gap.
It would also take a second for her to cast her mind hex on me. By the time I'd reach her, she would've already won.
However, she made a blunder.
Instead of trying to craft an illusion for me, she should've come at me directly.
She thought that I would try to close the distance between us. But I won't do that.
A smug smile adorned my lips as I took a single step forward and pulled back my spear arm, my entire body poised.
Yes, I planned to throw my spear at her. Even if she trapped me in her illusion, she would die in the next moment.
After all, her illusion could stop me but not my spear.
Tendrils of electricity crackled around me as I unleashed my Lightning Aura.
In a heartbeat, my arm whipped forward and my spear was sent hurtling through the air, aimed directly at the vampire's heart.
Like a projectile fired from a railgun, my spear shot forth and pierced the vampire's chest with lightning speed, crushing her heart.
Blood gushed from her mouth as she fell to her knees. With eyes wide in pain and shock, she gazed at me with agony.
Through her ragged breath, the vampire managed to choke out a few words in a hoarsely harsh voice that I barely made sense of.
"Why…? What have I ever done to you…? I only wished to live with my love..."
As she said that, the vampire crumpled down on the floor. Two sharp canines fell loose from her mouth, a clear sign that she was dead.
Letting a sigh of relief, I glanced around and spotted Amelia standing nonchalantly amidst the scattered bodies on the ground.
The patrons in the cafe slowly began to grasp their understanding and regain consciousness.
Some started crying and screaming in agony of getting hit by sharp arrows, while others were utterly bewildered.
Those lucky enough to not get hit by Amelia's arrows stood with confused expressions in their now-awakened eyes.
As puzzled murmurs filled the air inside the cafe, I knew I had to act fast. Unlike Nero in the novel, I was not going to explain the situation to them.
I would finish my task at hand, which is to retrieve the relic that the vampire was using to mind-control these people and get the hell out of here.
Of course, I would anonymously inform the military police about the incident.
With that thought in mind, I walked over to the fallen corpse of the vampire. Amelia soon approached me.
"Do you have a knife?" I asked her.
Without question, she handed me a stiletto knife and I used it to gauge the right eye out of the vampire's eye socket.
Amelia retched in disgust, but I gave no attention to the blood and grime. My mind was focused elsewhere.
After taking out the vampire's eye, I crushed it.
Soon, I saw a small, circular orb embedded within the crushed tissue of her eye. While Amelia was on the verge of throwing up, I took out the orb and inspected it.
It was a clear, shiny violet marble.
The intricate and complex patterns within its glassy interior were so captivating that it felt like I would lose myself if I stared at it long enough.
Haa!
I did it—I finally obtained the relic I had been wanting to get my hands on for so long.
In my hands rested the Divine-ranked relic: [Enigma Sightstone].
"Huaa~" Suddenly, an unbearable burst of lethargy washed over me. It was a long day, and I was reasonably tired.
Letting out another exhausted yawn, I turned to look at Amelia.
Her sparkling green eyes, reminiscent of a lush, sunlit forest, met mine, and she uttered, "Wake up, Lucas."
My eyelids drooped as exhaustion finally took over my mind, and I fell asleep.
