As everyone looked at the blazing stone building with eyes as wide as saucers, a figure with blood-red eyes glowing in the darkness emerged from within, black flames blazing all over his body, making him look like a death god who came from the hottest purgatory.
"What....T-This cannot be…" Nyissa, for the first time in her life, was so shocked, she could hardly put into words what she was seeing.
Because what she was seeing shook the very core of her beliefs, especially when she had hunted down vampires before.
Ayana and the others weren't as knowledgeable as Nyissa regarding the effectiveness of the cursed flames against vampires. Still, since they knew what should have happened, they were at a loss for words as well.
If Viktor was at least injured, Nyissa could still swallow what she was seeing, but the man in front of her was not injured in the least!
The flames were simply blazing on his body as if they liked him and didn't want to let go of his body while not hurting him as well.
Viktor thought he was going to be toast once her cursed flames struck him and the whole stone building came down on him.
But to his surprise, the cursed flames didn't even burn a single inch of his skin, though at first, he didn't get a good feeling from these flames.
However, the longer these flames continued to blaze on his body, the more he felt comfortable with these cursed flames, and soon he felt that these flames weren't that bad but quite powerful.
Viktor was confused as well since Nyissa confidently said a vampire's weakness was fire and wondered if it was because he was some special kind of vampire.
'Anyway, thank goodness I am not a werewolf now…' Viktor inwardly sighed.
"Nyissa...I told you the only outcome you will face is defeat. Can you see this? Your flames simply love me too much, heh, " Viktor said, looking at his arms and body which were continuously blazing with her cursed flames, making him astonished at himself for being impervious to this flame.
He wondered why he couldn't put off these flames and how long they would continue to blaze.
Nyissa, for the first time, wasn't feeling confident anymore about how all this was going to turn out or how she was going to defeat this strange vampire who was shockingly impervious to magical flames.
Viktor began to walk towards her while maintaining an intense gaze even though he didn't have a weapon in his hands.
He thought that it was time he showed this woman her place.
"Master...please concede! Y-You can't…I mean, it's not wise to fight him now...How about we make a compromise for now?" This time Ayana was worried about her own Master since it seemed like Viktor was pissed off, and she had no idea how the duel between the two was going to end up.
However, one thing she knew was that her Master was at a severe disadvantage now since her main advantage over vampires was because she was proficient in using the cursed flames.
But if Viktor wasn't getting affected by these flames, how else could she take him down?
"Ayana, stay back!" Nyissa quickly pushed away Ayana and readied her spear, deciding not to give up and fight.
Viktor inwardly was impressed how this woman still didn't seem daunted and was full with battle intent.
Still, he snorted and zoomed forward, deciding to take her on with just his bare hands.
Nyissa was surprised to see him charging towards her without any weapons and said coldly, "How foolish."
She already activated her Odic Vision, and her hands moved on their own right when Viktor appeared before her, stabbing his heart with her blazing spear.
"No!" Ayana involuntarily cried out as she covered her mouth with her hands in shock, wondering why Viktor made such a foolish move.
She knew he was no newbie at all this, considering how old he claimed to be, and every seasoned vampire knew not to rush at someone like Nyissa without a weapon.
Even if Viktor was impervious to the cursed flames, the magical blade would definitely kill him.
"Are you mad? A vampire's other weakness is by stabbing their heart with a magic weapon, especially one made to kill vampires" Nyissa remarked as she saw blood oozing out of his chest, wondering if he was really going to die since she needed him alive for now.
Since Viktor's speed was too fast, she had no choice but to quickly defend herself, and the only way to stun a vampire who was going to attack someone was to stab his heart since it was the only weak point of a vampire.
Viktor felt a sharp stinging sensation in his chest, making him grimace as he looked down at the blazing spear that punctured straight through his heart.
He didn't expect her reflexes to be this fast though he wasn't really worried about his heart being punctured.
Viktor then raised his head and looked at the serious yet confused expression of the beauty before him and said with a smile, "Now...are you satisfied that you killed the evil General Raoul?"
Nyissa's expression flickered since she realized she couldn't understand this man at all and why he was still smiling on the verge of death.
But hearing his words, she also realized she was feeling no joy or fulfillment after stabbing his heart, even though she thought she had just fulfilled her sacred duty and that her clan would no longer have to live under the shadow of General Raoul.
Her clan can finally be free of their centuries-long mission and pursue their own path. She also knew her status would elevate to a whole new level, probably even outshine her own father if she went back with the achievement of killing General Raoul.
But even after knowing this, she didn't feel a single shred of happiness or satisfaction since she felt as if her spear did not stab General Raoul but someone else.
Viktor felt his senses dulling and had a feeling that he would soon die even if he took out the blade of the spear from his heart.
Still, he applied strength on the shaft of her spear and took the blade out from his heart, hoping that his heart would start healing immediately.
But to his dismay, his heart wasn't healing at all, and he realized that her magical blade was no joke and that she wasn't kidding earlier when she said that it prevents healing, especially a vampire's healing factor.
'Oh shit...how long has it been since I died last?' Viktor thought before he felt his surroundings getting dimmer and Nyissa still looking on with a vacant expression, as if she was at a loss, not knowing what to do.
Viktor stumbled backward as he started to feel death enveloping his body in its embrace, making his knees buckle.
Ayana wanted to walk forward and support him before he took his last breath, but the cursed flames were still blazing on Viktor's body, making her unable to even approach him.
Nyissa was still standing, rooted to her spot with a frozen expression, her thoughts in total disarray.
"Ugh!" With a grunt, Viktor succumbed to the ground, feeling the loss of control over his body and finally his thoughts before everything went dark.
"Master...you didn't have to…He never tried to hurt us..." Ayana couldn't help but say aloud with glistening eyes as she looked at Viktor's burning corpse with a pained expression.
"I...I...didn't mean to kill him…" Nyissa said with a disconcerted expression as her gaze was still on Viktor's blazing corpse, wondering why the cursed flames weren't going out nor turning his body to ashes.
However, not long after Viktor 'died', an astonishing change took place in his body, especially his punctured heart, which magically restored itself to its original condition instantly, unlike Viktor's usual healing factor.
But his consciousness was still asleep, and instead, something else...something way darker and malevolent was beginning to stir awake.
"Let's go...we have to find a way to get rid of the evil spirits and get back home," Nyissa said with a heavy sigh as she turned around, feeling that there was no point in staying here anymore.
However, her mind was filled with uncertain thoughts, not knowing whether she did the right thing, and she felt frustrated at herself since this was the first time she was not feeling confident about a decision she took.
Ayana gave one last look at Viktor, feeling that it was a pity he died before turning around to follow Nyissa along with her friends.
Viktor's eyes opened slowly to reveal a pair of burning blood-red eyes, and for some reason, his eyes looked purely cold and dark, making one wonder if it was Viktor indeed.
However, before Nyissa and the others even walked a few steps, she frowned and turned around, only to get startled by a strong hand clutching her neck, "Hrk!"