Chapter 123: Vampire

Michael picked up a stool and walked over.

"So, you're a councilman, huh?"
"A councilman, you say? Let me show you what a councilman is. Do you think you're special?"
"Damn you."
"Go to hell."

Michael carefully controlled his strength. As long as the chair didn't shatter, the force remained within a tolerable range for the human body, and he meticulously avoided striking any lethal pressure points. After a long while of beating them, the two councilmen were bruised and battered beyond recognition.

Michael handed the nearly dismantled chair to Felicia and said, "Do you want to take a few swings to vent your anger?"

Felicia took the stool, feeling a bit embarrassed, and walked over.

"No, please, don't!" the councilman begged desperately.
"Just one hit."

Felicia swung the stool at the councilman's head, knocking him out instantly. She looked at the councilman in horror and turned to Michael, asking, "Did I kill him?"

"It's fine, he won't die." Michael could hear the clear rhythm of a heartbeat; he knew there was no cause for concern. Originally, he had intended to interrogate them, but it seemed unnecessary now.

Hearing that he wasn't dead, Felicia ran over and kicked the councilman in the crotch. Councilman Stane woke up instantly from the agony. Felicia cursed, "You bastard, go home and rape your own mother!"

Even Michael felt a phantom pain on his behalf.

"Um, Michael, I'm sorry."
"It's alright."

Michael heard footsteps approaching and immediately shielded Felicia behind him. "Someone's coming."

A group of men walked in, led by the bartender. Lexis was furious; he couldn't believe someone would dare to cause trouble in his facility. It was sheer audacity.

Seeing that the newcomers meant trouble, Michael conjured a portal and shoved Felicia through it. "Wait for me safely."

Felicia landed on a comfortable, large bed. She stood up and realized she was in Michael’s room. She couldn't help but feel a bit shy, accompanied by a mix of anticipation and nervousness. She walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, where a chair and a small round table sat, complete with unfinished red wine and a book left open. She poured herself a glass and picked up the book. It contained records of strange and bizarre things that left her deeply puzzled; she could only interpret them as myths, though the magical arrays depicted within were quite intriguing.

Michael looked at Lexis and asked, "Are you the one in charge here?"

Lexis had already learned Michael's name from his subordinates. "Yes, I am Lexis. I apologize for not welcoming you sooner, Dr. Morbius."

Michael smiled. Was this man ignorant, or just fearless? "You're certainly polite." Michael straightened his suit and continued, "But unfortunately, your politeness won't stop me from beating you to death."

"Arrogant! Do you think you're so powerful?"
"More than enough to take care of the lot of you."

Lexis could no longer restrain himself; he revealed sharp fangs and claws, lunging at Michael like a blur. Michael, however, saw his movements with perfect clarity. During his sprint, he used his hands to stabilize himself, much like a feline.

"Interesting."

His speed exceeded the reaction limits of an ordinary human, but Michael was no ordinary man. He tilted his body slightly to dodge, swung his arm wide, and slapped Lexis across the face. The *thwack* was incredibly crisp, sounding out of place in the dark, silent night; anyone who heard it felt a phantom sting on their own cheek.

And indeed, Lexis's entire face had been mangled by Michael’s blow, and he collapsed to the ground in an awkward heap. Michael looked at the splattered blood and felt a sudden, strange craving. He swallowed hard and looked back at Lexis. His facial bones were shattered, his teeth were gone, and his neck was twisted at an unnatural angle—it had clearly been broken.

Even so, Lexis was still alive and swiped a claw at Michael. Michael had been slightly careless and failed to dodge in time, resulting in a bloody scratch on his chest.

"Not dead?"

Michael didn't care about the wound on his chest. While his body hadn't reached the level of limb regeneration like Deadpool, he was at least half as resilient as Wolverine. The wound healed rapidly without leaving a single scar, but his suit was ruined—and that was unforgivable; it was a limited edition.

Lexis looked at Michael and said, "You are stronger than I imagined, but you underestimate the capabilities of us High Vampires."

Michael curled his lip in disdain. *High Vampires?* "Vampires are vampires. Why all the pretentious nonsense?"

"Tell me, what other tricks do you have?"

Lexis returned to his companion, bit into his throat, and drained his blood. Soon, Lexis returned to his original state, even his bones knitting back together.

*Interesting.* A powerful self-healing ability. If they could feed on fresh blood, their healing rate multiplied several times over.

Lexis, fully recovered, said fanatically, "We noble vampires are immortal beings. No matter what you do, you cannot kill me."

Michael smiled and said, "Is that so? I'd like to test that."

In the next instant, Michael appeared beside Lexis, punched him in the stomach, and then knocked the others to the ground. They were all severely injured, yet none had died.

Michael chuckled. "If your heads were crushed, would you still be alive?"

Lexis saw the devilish smile on Michael's face and couldn't help but feel a surge of fear. "Wait—"

Michael did not stop; without hesitation, he brought his foot down. However, he didn't stomp on Lexis, but on the bartender instead. The bartender's head burst like a smashed watermelon, scattering red and white matter across the floor.

"This melon wasn't ripe," Michael remarked with disgust.

Seeing Michael's nonchalant attitude, Lexis grew even more terrified. "We can negotiate this."

Michael ignored him, looking down at his soiled suit pants with annoyance, and immediately cast a minor spell to clean them. Seeing the bartender's brains had triggered a hint of hunger in him. How could he put it? He seemed to have a strange sensation toward these vampires. His body felt an instinctive excitement at the sight of their flesh and blood. Michael wondered if he had been watching too many American TV shows; was he turning into Hannibal?

Looking at the bartender's lifeless body, Michael sighed helplessly. "Isn't the heart supposed to be a vampire's weakness?" He looked at Lexis, a sudden realization dawning on him. "I see. Those movies were made by your kind, weren't they? Of course you wouldn't reveal your true weaknesses."

Michael drove his soul staff through a vampire's heart, but the creature didn't die immediately. It only meant the vampire healed the heart much slower than other parts of its body. This only served to confirm Michael's hypothesis.

"You really are crafty."

In movies and stories, a vampire's weaknesses were listed as the heart, garlic, crosses, holy water, silver bullets, and so on. He wondered how much of that was true and how much was fiction. Ignoring their wails, Michael pierced the hearts of the vampires repeatedly until they finally lost their regenerative ability and died.

"It seems I misjudged you. The heart is indeed one of your weaknesses."