John burst into the room like a gale, his heart hammering against his ribs from the horrifying scream. He shoved the door open—
And froze, utterly stunned.
An unbelievable scene unfolded before his eyes.
Jack was pinning Mira to the floor, one hand tangled in her hair, his mouth pressed against her neck, draining her blood. The silver knife lay discarded on the ground. Blood dripped, a dark crimson against the old stone tiles.
Mira lay motionless. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her face deathly pale with terror, her body stiff. Perhaps she had already lost consciousness from sheer fright.
Jack raised his head, and his grin—unmistakable—was the same face that had haunted nightmares in the shelter. Eyes burning red, wild and inhuman.
John roared, desperation lacing his voice. "Jack!? What the hell is happening!? Let her go, now!!"
Jack released Mira, slowly standing up, licking his lips as if savoring a rich feast.
"Oh… you must be John?" He bared his teeth in a smile, blood still staining the corners of his mouth. "I have some unpleasant memories of you… Last time we met, you stabbed me with that sword—right in the heart, remember?"
John stood frozen. His heart felt like it was being crushed. Everything he had believed in—hope, light, Jack—was shattering into pieces before his very eyes.
His voice trembled, disbelief heavy in his tone. "You… is it you…? The one in the shelter… Jack the Butcher?"
But then John stopped. He remembered clearly—that light, the moment when Jack had shielded him and Mira from the storm of thunder and lightning. Those burning amber eyes… the belief… And he knew this definitely wasn't the Jack he had placed his hope in.
"If you're looking for that weakling, he's not here!" He sneered, taking a step closer. "Here, there's only me. Jack the Butcher, an Elite Vampire serving the Empire, not some… 'hope for humanity'! Don't be ridiculous, old man!!"
He erupted in laughter. A burst of scornful, insane glee.
John swallowed hard, his gaze flicking towards the corner—where the sword lay. The Last Light Blade.
He frowned. That sword… was glowing red. No longer the warm gold. It vibrated gently, emitting an almost whispered hum.
It was a warning.
"Planning to touch it again?" Jack sneered, following John's gaze. "This time… you won't get the chance."
He tossed Mira onto the floor, her body rolling to the side like a discarded doll.
John stood motionless. He understood all too well. Now, the distance between him and the sword was too great. And Jack could kill him in the blink of an eye.
No room for error.
No light.
No hope.
Only Him remained.
Suddenly, John bellowed, "JACKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!"
John's scream echoed through the room like a desperate cry into a bottomless abyss.
"Are you still in there!?"
Only silence answered.
The burning red eyes still stared at him, cold as ice, indifferent as a stranger.
Jack—it wasn't him.
"We've only been traveling together for a few hours, kid… wake up! You promised me we'd go to The Mountain, have you forgotten?!" John trembled, sweat beading on his forehead.
But all he received in return was… a scornful laugh.
"Hahahaha—hey old man, scared out of your mind, are you? Who are you calling?" He paused, then continued with chilling finality. "That guy isn't here anymore. There's only me. And it will always be me."
Jack the Butcher laughed maniacally. John stared straight at him, a flicker of final hope still in his eyes, but his mouth was dry. What was John planning? Just screaming in vain?
John continued, as if clinging to the last vestiges of humanity within Jack. "Jack…! Your wife and children… they're not dead. They're still alive! You have to wake up—you have to come back!!"
It was his last gamble. John bet everything on those words. He looked at Jack, silently pleading for them to work. Awakening the human Jack with words was perhaps the only option left.
Jack faltered.
Just for a moment.
But then he moved. His steps were heavy, as if dragging the weight of his bloodlust.
SMACK!
He swung his hand, slapping John hard across the face. Without Last Light, John had no strength to resist. He crashed against the edge of the bed. Blood began to trickle from his temple—a blow from a Vampire was likely beyond his endurance.
"Wake up, old man. Accept the truth. Both of you… are going to be my dinner tonight."
Jack walked back to Mira, who still lay unconscious. He bent down, lifting her into his arms as if cradling prey. He bared his teeth, his neck straining, horrifying red veins pulsing across his face—a nightmare made real before John's eyes.
"I'll show you what despair truly is. This little girl—she waited so long for revenge… only to die by my hand." He sneered. "You humans… always believing in foolish things like 'hope'."
John, lying on the floor, struggled to push himself up, his voice a final, ragged whisper. "Jack Van Helsing… Wake up… Remember who you are…"
"You have to wake up…"
Jack froze.
Van Helsing.
That name—reverberated like thunder in his mind.
A series of chaotic memories collided within his consciousness…
"Van… Helsing…?" he muttered, his eyes wide.
His crimson pupils began to waver. His breathing became erratic. Sweat poured down his forehead.
A memory flooded his mind—the memory of the human Jack…
"…Release the Vampires… The Van Helsing lineage doesn't deserve someone like him…"
In the fragmented memory, he saw himself lying on the floor, unable to move, paralyzed. Two men were looking down at him, talking…
"Are you sure about this, sir? What about his wife and children?"
"Fool! I've calculated everything. This will look like a normal Vampire attack. No one will know… Take his wife and children to the waiting carriage."
The memory ended with his fading vision following the retreating heels of the two men… but he saw something… a very familiar symbol… it was a sun… unmistakable… the emblem of the Vampire Hunters' Guild, the Solar Order…
Then the memory shattered…
=====
Back in the present…
"I…" He gritted his teeth, his body contorting, his pupils constricting and dilating rapidly as if fighting an agonizing internal battle.
"AAAAAGHHHHHHHHH!" he roared, clutching his head.
Then, suddenly…
His eyes slowly began to change color.
From blood red… to a burning amber, the color of twilight, the color of humanity, the color of memory.
Jack… had returned.
He released Mira, collapsing onto the floor, gasping for breath like someone who had just escaped hell. His chest heaved, his lips trembled…
Fifteen minutes.
In just fifteen minutes, a bloodthirsty Vampire had been reborn. But now, it was certain. Jack had returned… the human Jack.
================================================================== Back in reality…
"It's you… isn't it, Jack?" John's hoarse voice echoed in the blood-soaked room. "Those eyes… it's definitely you… ugh… hrrgh…"
He struggled to push himself up from the cold floor, his hand clutching the wound on his temple.
Jack stood there, kneeling, his hands clutching his head, his face contorted in pain. Tears—the tears of a Vampire—streamed down his cheeks.
"What… what have I done? What is happening…?"
The hazy memories, as if Jack the Butcher had poured them into his mind, flashed through him. Every image of him as the Butcher was like a knife twisting in his heart.
"I… I'm not him… John… please… believe me…"
John grabbed onto the doorframe, pulling himself upright, his voice hoarse but firm. "I believe you, Jack. But now isn't the time for remorse. We need to save Mira… if she was bitten, she's likely starting to turn. Or she'll die from blood loss before she even becomes a monster."
Jack froze, then sprang to his feet. "Right… Mira! Mira is what matters now!"
John pointed towards the door. "Carry her! Quickly!"
Jack immediately scooped Mira into his arms, her face icy cold, her breathing so shallow it was barely perceptible. They rushed through the dilapidated corridors of the Solar Order base, each crumbling wall, each echoing footstep pounding against their hearts.
They stopped before a room with a faded medical symbol. The door shrieked in protest as it was forced open. Inside, everything was covered in dust, cobwebs clinging to every surface.
Jack gently laid Mira on a rusty iron bed. She was still unconscious.
John didn't hesitate. Ignoring the decaying machinery, he immediately began to feel along the walls. Switches, hidden compartments—he knew what to look for.
CLICK! A hidden wall cabinet swung open… empty.
"John, please… Mira is getting weaker!" Jack cried out in panic.
"Can you just be quiet!?" John gritted his teeth, his dust-covered hand still sweeping across the cold wall. "There has to be something here… there has to be…"
CLICK!
Another secret compartment opened. But… there was no time-freezing enchantment. Everything inside—medicine, vials, equipment—was rotten, broken, useless.
Sweat poured down John's face. A flicker of panic crossed his eyes. He was experienced, had witnessed countless life-and-death situations. But now, he felt truly helpless.
"No… it can't be…"
Suddenly—
Mira convulsed.
Her hand unexpectedly clamped down on Jack's wrist.
"No… Mira, no… don't change…" Jack's voice trembled, almost a sob. "If you change… then the real Mira will be gone. Her memories will be erased, her soul burned away… You'll become someone else…!"
"Please, stay with me! Mira!!"
Jack screamed, tears falling. But…
Mira's eyes snapped open.
Her pupils were changing. Red veins spread like wildfire around her irises.
"No… no… NOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Jack collapsed, cradling her body as if holding a piece of his own soul fading away. To Jack, Mira was just a girl he had recently met… but he never imagined that he himself was the enemy she had sought her entire life, the one who had murdered her entire family… That realization tore at Jack, filling him with agonizing remorse…
Mira is dying… dying from within her soul.
A human being about to turn into a Vampire. Not just any bloodsucker… but one with no past. No humanity. No her. No Mira…
To be Continued