Chapter 116

The dagger flew through the air as if it were in slow motion for all three observers. Julia was already tearing up from the many lethal wounds Kaiden suffered, while the man in question eyed his enemy with so much concentration one could think it was he who had telepathic powers, not Nyx. Andre, meanwhile, had his entire wretched life pass before his eyes. The knife landed in the man's eye socket once it finished traversing its path.

"Shit!" Kaiden cursed as he fell to his knees. His strength was rapidly being depleted with every drop of blood he lost. He was shot at least four times.

"No, no, no, no!" Julia wept as she rushed up to him and tried her best to keep him from falling over. She was unsuccessful due to her severely weakened physical state. The mother fell to the floor together with Kaiden.

"Stop… crying… help me… get to… Andre…" Kaiden said with extremely pained gasps in between the mouthfuls of blood he had to spit.

"O-ok!" Although Julia was entirely lost, she felt she could trust this young man. Even while bleeding to his death at a rapid pace, he was giving off the vibes of a man who was in control.

She exerted every ounce of power she could to help him crawl to Andre. "Is he… alive?" Kaiden's strange question made Julia listen to the man's ragged breathing. "Yes! But barely… I don't think he has long left!"

"Cut… arm cloth… use… knife… Mode: Gluttony…" Kaiden's next set of instructions came with even more difficulty as he started choking on his own blood. His bright red eyes shifted in color to orange.

The color of consumption in excess which perfectly conveyed a burning, insatiable appetite that devoured all in its path.

Julia diligently did as told. She almost pulled the knife from Andre's eyes, but she managed to catch herself. The man, whose name she didn't even know, wanted Andre alive. Pulling it out would only make him succumb to death faster, so she ran to the man Kaiden had killed earlier and pulled the blade from his chest with much difficulty.

It was a sharp knife; cutting Andre's clothes on his arm was easy. The dying man was seated on his chair, and Kaiden could only crawl at best, so he reached up for his arm and pulled it down.

"," he cast his spell.

Kaiden's teeth elongated into razor-sharp fangs that were perfect for blood extraction, while his orange eyes started glowing brighter, pulsating with the rhythm of his ragged breaths.

Kaiden sank his fangs into Andre's arm, piercing through flesh and veins like a starving predator feasting on its prey. Warm blood flowed into his mouth in a torrent. Its metallic taste sent a wave of primal satisfaction through him. This was no ordinary bite—his devoured more than blood. It siphoned life force itself, pulling vitality from the trembling man into Kaiden's damaged body.

Andre's weakened gasps turned into desperate, gurgling screams as he felt his very essence being drained. His arm quivered uncontrollably while his body jerked in agony. The veins around the bite darkened before they began spreading farther as though corruption itself was consuming his body from within.

Kaiden could feel the searing pain in his abdomen where the bullets had torn through flesh and muscle begin to dull. The warmth of life coursed into his veins, knitting together wounds that moments ago were fatal. His breathing steadied, his heart pumped with faster and stronger beats, and his blurred vision sharpened once more. In a supernatural turn of events, even the bullets were pushed outside of the flesh they were lodged in.

Andre's struggle weakened with every passing second. His screams faded into a faint whimper before ceasing entirely, after which his head slumped. He never moved.

By the time Kaiden released his hold and pulled away, Andre's arm was a grotesque black thing.

Kaiden let out a deep sigh of relief before wiping his bloody lips on Andre's clothes. His wounds had stabilized, his breathing was no longer labored, and while he wasn't at full strength, he felt much better. Kaiden was still wounded, but the critical bleeding had stopped, and his body wasn't trying to shut down any longer.

"Are-are you okay?!" Julia asked with great concern. She had long since given up on trying to understand the situation, she just wanted her daughter's partner to survive. If her daughter received even more grief than she already did because of her, Julia didn't know what she would do.

"He died before I could finish draining him… I'm not going to die, but it still hurts like a bitch."

"Then you should take my blood!" Julia offered as she parted her robes on her shoulders, but she was stopped.

"You would die if I took a single drop. Instead, tell me, is there a customer who is as bad as these people? I would rather not prey on innocents."

Julia started thinking, but before she could reply, another voice sounded. "No need. Take from me."

"I can also do it! It's like a romantic vampire movie!"

"Did he really kill Andre?!"

Numerous voices sounded as the prostitutes stormed into the room. 'Ah, the gunshots… the shouting probably didn't help either…' Kaiden realized their fight had ended up being rather loud.

He selected one of the plumper ones who offered her blood to him. When Kaiden drained Andre of his life, he allowed his insatiable hunger to overtake his mind, but this time around, he remained in control of his feelings. As a result, he could take in measured sips instead of all-consuming excess. There was no corruption of the body, no dark veins. She remained fine throughout the event and even seemed to be enjoying it, though that might've been because of a romantic vampire movie she saw.

Kaiden noticed that this gentle method was a lot slower in replenishing his health than when he forcefully drained Andre of all his life force.

Just as he finished healing himself, a shout sounded. "Police! Freeze!"