What Gie was saying was entirely true, but there was no response from the people standing around the ticket gate. To be more precise, they couldn't respond. In a second, the homeless man moved with lightning-fast speed.
"HUH?!"
The police officers heard the sound of metal slicing through flesh.
"Count of Bruges?!"
A great deal of liquid hit the floor.
The sword had pierced Gie's chest.
"Argh." He was skewered. He reached his hands out to the youth who was dressed as a homeless man. He swiped with his sharp fingernails at the hood. "Wa-Watteau?!"
The last words Count of Bruges managed were the name of his attacker. The blood now leaking from his skewed heart burst from him. It gushed out like a waterfall. A wound like a stab to the heart was not instant death for a Methuselah. There was an extraordinary amount of noise as the blood gushed out of its soulless body.
"Bru-Bruges?!"
"Your Excellency?!"
"Get out the way, Terran!"
The scream and the arm that shoved Marlet and Blunt aside didn't belong to the swordsman. But the sight did make the swordsman grin. It was one of the black-suited men who had been behind Gie. "Vatican scum! I won't let you out of here alive!"
"Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" He kicked at the dead vampire's arm. "And this one..."
Gie covered his face with his hands. It looked a little strange, considering the situation he was in.
"I'll kill every one of you here. I won't let a single one of you go alive!" Hugue said.
"You will not disrespect me!" The manic vampire reached out his claws in an attempt to tear up the Terran before him.
But this swordsman knew no fear. His expression stayed brazen. He smirked. "You're the ones who are disrespectful. Come on, Rodenbach."
In the next moment, there was a huge white cloud of smoke. The young police officer had thrown a match on the newspaper cart, releasing an explosion. The young officer had then pushed the cart and its white smoke at the vampires.
"Crap! Gas!" one of the vampires yelled as they all desperately tried to cover their mouths. The fire had released a powerful tear gas that quickly flooded the area. The gas affected everyone's breathing and sight, so it was very effective. The chemical was very strong and would knock a normal man unconscious. The vampires screamed.
"Hmm, vampires are pathetic." Hugue grinned evilly under his gasmask. Neither Gie nor his men had put up much resistance. It was a bit of a disappointment, considering the preparation that had gone into this.
"Hugue, what are you doing?! Let's get out of here!" Rodenbach, still in his police uniform, yelled at the sneering Hugue. He pulled out his pistols and indicated that they should get a move on. "There's only twenty seconds of gas. We should get out of here before then."
"Twenty seconds, you say?" Hugue's eyes glinted at the sight of the suffering vampires. The plan had been to run when the gas was released, but considering the state that the vampires were in, Hugue didn't see any point in hurrying. "Rodenbach, change of plans. Let's kill them."
"Hugue?!" Rodenbach tried to stop his bold but foolish companion. However, his admonishment didn't reach Hugue's ears. His sword unsheathed, he headed into the smoke and raced toward the spluttering black vampire.
"St-stop it Hugue! Leave them! Let's get out of here!"
"If we kill them, we don't have to run away," the swordsman muttered as he approached the vampire in his blind spot. The vampire finally noticed the approaching danger. Hugue raised his sword, ready to make the final blow. "I'll start with you. Die, vampire!"
The flash of light formed a perfect arc. If the vampire hadn't raised his arm in surprise, his skull would have been sliced in two. Instead of sacrificing his face, he sacrificed his right arm. Blood gushed out in a huge torrent. The swordsman pulled his sword around and moved it up in the same arc as before, catching the vampire's left arm and severing it at the elbow.
"This is it for you." Hugue looked down at the armless vampire and smirked. His victim looked up and saw the fires of hell shining in the man's eyes.
Then there was a sudden change.
"What?!"
The vampire was no longer looking his death in the face. The swordsman was just readying himself to decapitate the man in front of him when he let out a squeak. He hadn't been attacked. Yes, the other vampires had managed to recover themselves in the quickly thinning smoke. The swordsman's face was screwed up at a threat other than them, though.
"Crap. Not now."
Hugue grasped at his right arm, which had started to shake violently. That wasn't all: it was as if his muscles had a life of their own and were now squirming.
"Stop this!"
"Hu-Hugue! Behind you!" Rodenbach's warning was just a moment too late. A flash of light moved across Hugue's vision. The claws of a female vampire cut through the air at a speed faster than the human eye could process. Her target was the side of Hugue's face.
"Ngh?!"
If his reaction had been just a few seconds later, his face would have been sliced straight off. Instead, he had moved his right arm up reflexively. There was now a gaping hole in his arm, revealing his impressive man-made muscles. There were a few sparks; the fingers lost their power. Hugue's long-sword dropped to the ground.
"DIE. TERRAN!"
In a crude twist of fate, the tables had turned on Hugue. He found his words being spat back at him. The scowling vampire's claws came at him from the left this time. Even if he tried to swing the scabbard that was still clutched in his left hand, it wouldn't have done any good. He was caught entirely off-guard.
Seeing that Hugue was having problems, the female vampire took a swing at him with both arms. "This is it for you."
He was going to be killed. He couldn't defend himself.
"Hugue!" A shadow pushed between the swordsman and the vampire.
"Ro-Rodenbach?!"
The two claws were struck in Rodenbach's back, severing several blood vessels. Crimson liquid oozed out of him like flowing red hair.
"Hugue! Get out of here!" The young man's face was covered in blood; more blood oozed out of him as he spoke. "Hugue. Get out of here."
There was the sound of gunshots. Two bullets hit the female vampire at close range. The two claws in Rodenbach's back disappeared in that instant, but a huge torrent of blood replaced them.
"Rodenbach."
"Don't touch me!" Rodenbach screamed when Hugue instinctively stepped forward to hold him.
Like the sun piercing through clouds, little fires were now slowly becoming visible around the tear gas. Rodenbach aimed his pistols at the shapes near the lights. His bloodied face glanced over his shoulder and looked at Hugue. A faint smile formed on his lips. "My time has come. You have to go, Hugue."
"Don't be an idiot! What are you saying?!" Hugue's right arm hung limp and powerless at his side. It looked as if it were close to dropping off. Hugue gritted his teeth in pain and screamed at his friend: "You're the one who should be running! Leave me!"
"Not much of me left to run." Blood was pouring out of his severed artery. Rodenbach was clearly in pain, but still, he smiled. He leaned against the wall and used his pistols to keep the vampires back. "I can't run anymore, and even if I did get away, there's no helping me now. I'm sorry, Hugue. You have to go alone now." "But, I..."
"You must understand, Hugue." The young man turned to look at Hugue again. Hugue was older than him, but somehow, the youth seemed to have gained years in this moment. Each thing he said cut straight through to Hugue's heart: "Darsus is still alive. If we both die here, who will defeat him? Please, Hugue. Don't let me die in vain."
Hugue couldn't say anything now. He sighed and was silent for a moment before replying, "I'll go." Hugue could barely get the words out. "I'll go. I'll defeat Darsus. I'm sorry, George."
"I'll leave it to you, then. You leave this to me," the young man said as blood continued to trickle from his mouth. Finally, he managed a light smile. The two guns were shaking in his hands. He turned back once again and left Hugue with a final thought: "See you friend. Farewell."
His parting words were almost obliterated by the sound of gunshots.