To be honest, Ashley had never seen a battle like this before.
"Raaaahhhh!!"
Duanmu Huai roared as he clenched his fists and smashed them forward, blowing apart the armed villagers in front of him. Then he spread his massive hand, grabbed two of them by the neck, swung them up, and slammed them down hard into the rest. Within seconds, the once-ferocious villagers were reduced to nothing but bloody, mangled piles of flesh.
Now Ashley finally understood how Duanmu Huai had gotten himself so drenched in blood.
"Uuuh… Big guy, couldn't you… maybe be a little less violent?"
Watching those crushed skulls and flattened bodies made Ashley's stomach turn. She had never even seen a corpse before—let alone this many, and this horrific.
"For me, purging these heretics takes priority over everything else."
Duanmu Huai glanced at her coldly.
"Do you remember what I told you?"
"Mm…"
Seeing his gaze, Ashley nodded weakly and miserably.
"Shut up, follow closely, and when there's a fight, crouch down and cover your head."
"Exactly. And if you don't like that, you can leave. Maybe some handsome blond agent will come save you instead."
"Uh…"
Ashley clenched her fists, too angry to speak—but she still obediently kept her mouth shut and trailed behind him. She'd learned her lesson: no more looking around. She kept her eyes fixed on Duanmu Huai's broad back and tried to ignore the slippery, squishy feeling beneath her feet.
They broke through another wave of attackers and climbed up the mountain behind the village. Before them stood a massive castle. But just then, Ashley suddenly doubled over coughing.
"Cough, cough!!"
"What's wrong?"
"Uuuh… I don't know… it hurts… cough… cough…"
As she covered her mouth, blood splattered between her fingers. Duanmu Huai frowned—if he remembered correctly, the plot had Ashley infected with a parasite by these cultists, didn't it?
Oh right, and he was supposed to go cure it later… what a hassle.
Whatever. Let's see if this works.
He furrowed his brow, then suddenly grabbed Ashley by the throat and lifted her off the ground.
"B-big guy, what are you doing?!"
Ashley's face went pale with terror. She knew how strong he was—if he squeezed even slightly, her head might just pop off!
"Don't talk."
His glare froze her in place. The sight of his grim, blood-streaked face filled her with sheer dread, far greater than anything she'd felt looking at the corpses. She tried to struggle, to run—but his grip was unyielding, her lungs screamed for air, and her heart pounded like it would burst through her throat.
"Uuuhh… nghhh…!!"
Her entire body tensed. She couldn't breathe. His fingers forced her jaw open so she couldn't even close her mouth—and then, at the brink of suffocation, a twisted, writhing worm crawled out from her throat. Duanmu Huai's other hand shot forward, pinching it between his fingers and yanking it free before tossing Ashley aside.
"Cough! Cough, cough!!!"
Ashley gasped desperately, sucking in lungfuls of air. She was too shaken to even scold him for his roughness—her eyes were locked on the squirming parasite caught between his fingers.
"Wh-what the hell is that thing?!"
It was the size of her palm, pale and glistening like a shell-less scorpion. Even outside her body, it writhed and twitched, its segmented limbs curling grotesquely. Just looking at it made her skin crawl.
"Some kind of parasite, probably implanted by those heretical cultists."
"Parasite? Right… I think they did inject something into me…"
She instinctively clutched her neck, remembering when she'd been captured—someone had stabbed a needle into her there. She'd been too dazed to realize what it was at the time.
"M-my body… it's clean now, right? The bug's gone?"
Her entire body shivered, goosebumps rising at the thought of a living thing crawling inside her.
"It should be fine now."
Duanmu Huai glanced at the worm—then crushed it between his fingers like pulp. Seeing that, Ashley exhaled in relief.
"Thank you, big guy…"
"It's nothing. You should just be glad it could be removed. Otherwise, I'd have had to kill you."
This was just something he'd improvised. If the parasite wasn't fully fused, it meant it still had independent will—and any creature with a will could feel fear. When exposed to his Aura of Terror, it would either flee or die of fright. Apparently, this one had chosen to run for its life.
"U-uh…"
Ashley swallowed nervously. She knew he wasn't joking. Still, he had saved her life—if not for him, she'd have gone home with that thing still inside her, unaware of what horror waited.
Whew…
A cold breeze swept past—and suddenly Ashley felt something wet and cold beneath her. She squealed.
"What now?"
"Ah, n-nothing…"
She reached behind her and felt her skirt—wet and slick. Thinking back on how terrified she'd been just moments ago…
Her face turned bright red.
"N-no, nothing happened! Let's just go, big guy!"
Soon, the two reached the castle at the mountainside. It was a full-blown medieval fortress, connected to the road by a single drawbridge. There wasn't a soul in sight.
"We're… not actually going in there, right?"
Ashley's voice trembled as she stared at the ominous structure. Duanmu Huai glanced around and shook his head.
"Of course not. When have you ever seen anyone crawl into a rat hole to kill the rats?"
"Huh? Then you're not—"
Before she could finish, he strode over to a nearby warehouse, tore the doors off, and carried out two barrels.
"Wait—don't tell me you're going to…"
She quickly realized what he meant.
"That's right. Let's see if their so-called god will put out the flames for them."
He crossed the drawbridge, kicked open the massive doors, smashed the barrels, and drenched the floor with gasoline. Then he threw in a few more barrels for good measure, pulled out a lighter, and tossed it inside.
"Let the flames purify everything!"
BOOOOM!!
The fire erupted instantly, spreading through the castle in seconds. Thick black smoke billowed into the air as the heat radiated outward. Ashley stumbled back, covering her face from the searing wave. Duanmu Huai stood unmoved, gripping a stone hammer he'd taken from the warehouse.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!"
Flaming figures came bursting out through the gates—cultists, judging by their robes. Their bodies were engulfed in fire as they screamed and staggered into the open air. But before they could take another step, Duanmu Huai's hammer came crashing down, pulping their heads into paste. He then batted their corpses back into the inferno like baseballs.
That was his plan all along.
Why should I go in and fight you? I'm not stupid, and I don't need you alive. I'll just burn your whole damn nest and see where you run.
Even if the main target survived, most of his followers wouldn't.
Old castles weren't built for ventilation—most were dark, sealed fortresses with barely any airflow. Even in daylight, you had to light torches just to see. It was no wonder vampires liked them so much: shady, airtight, and sunless.
Put one in a greenhouse and it'd drop dead in seconds.
"I'll check if there's a back door. You stay here and keep out of sight."
After tossing two grenades and blowing the gates apart, Duanmu Huai moved off along the castle wall, hammer in hand. Ashley nodded meekly and ducked behind cover, watching his massive frame disappear around the corner.
Meanwhile, inside the burning castle, a short man was running for his life, flanked by two guards.
"Damn it, damn it! That bastard set the place on fire!!"
This short man was none other than Ramon Zasara, the master of the castle—and one of the key leaders of the Illuminados cult. His spies had already reported Duanmu Huai and Ashley's arrival. Though he'd seen the man's power, Zasara hadn't been worried. The castle was strong, filled with traps—surely no one could survive once they entered.
But he hadn't expected Duanmu Huai to not play by the rules—setting fire to the entire fortress instead of coming in for a duel!
By the time Zasara realized what was happening, the fire had already spread beyond control. Though mostly stone, the castle still had flammable materials everywhere. He had no choice but to flee.
"That bastard! I'll kill him for this!!"
Looking back at the burning hallways, Zasara nearly cried. The castle was his family's legacy, filled with centuries of history—and now it was being consumed before his eyes. The pain was unbearable.
BAM!!
He burst through a hidden door, finally escaping into the open air—only to hear a calm voice nearby.
"Well, what do you know. I was right. No matter where you are, rats always run for their holes."
Zasara froze, then turned his head. A towering, terrifying figure stood before him—Duanmu Huai—staring down coldly.
"You… you!!"
Anger overtook fear. Zasara pointed at him and screamed, "Kill him!!"
At once, the two robed attendants at his sides tore off their cloaks—revealing bodies that were no longer human. Each stood nearly two meters tall, with insect-like limbs and heads. They shrieked, wings unfolding, and dove toward Duanmu Huai.
"Hmph."
Duanmu Huai didn't even flinch. As the monsters lunged, their claws tore through his coat but failed to pierce his skin—their blades simply bounced off his hardened muscles.
Before they could react, his hands shot out, grabbing both their heads and slamming them together.
Crunch!!
Skulls exploded. The two insectoid corpses crumpled to the ground.
Stepping over them, Duanmu Huai advanced toward Zasara, who stumbled backward in terror.
"D-don't come any closer!! Stay away!!"
But Duanmu Huai ignored him. He lifted one foot and kicked hard—sending the man flying like a soccer ball into the castle wall. Zasara hit with a sickening thud and went limp.
Clap… clap… clap…
A slow applause echoed behind him. Duanmu Huai turned—and saw a man in a blue robe trimmed with gold, holding an ornate staff. Beside him stood a soldier wearing a beret.
"You truly are impressive, sir," the robed man said with a smile. "Honestly, it would be such a waste to kill you here."
"With just you two?" Duanmu Huai sneered.
"Oh, please don't misunderstand."
The man snapped his fingers. The soldier beside him turned, dragging a young girl into view—then pressed a gun to her head.
It was Ashley.
The robed man's smile widened.
"I simply wish," he said smoothly, "to make you an offer."
(End of Chapter)