---
The night was too quiet.
Kael haunted in and out of the burnt clearing. His senses were quickened to mutation, but there was something wrong that ran the air.
The book pulsed urgently beside him.
> [Divine Aura Detected Nearby]
▸ Designation: Tier 4 – Hallowed Inquisitor
▸ Combat Readiness: 63%
▸ Warning: Opponent equipped with Hallowed Weapon. Do not allow direct hit.
---
He sucked in through the fangs.
This was not as with the hunter before.
Sure, this was the type who had trodden vampire dens, and left nothing.
---
A soft wind stirred.
Kael turned…
And there he was.
Dressed in robes of silver inscribed with gods emblems. Shouldered and wristed in armor. A long greatsword, with golden runes written over it, fastened on his back.
His face was serene.
Eyes closed.
As if he didn't even see Kael as a threat.
> "Kael Vire."
It was a low voice, calm and cold. The voice of a man. "At the word of the High Flame and the decision of the Seraphic Council you are pronounced condemned to extermination."
---
Kael's body moved before he thought.
His mutation activated.
> [Blood Veins: Surge Active]
▸ +50% Speed
▸ +Reaction Surge
---
He lunged, aiming low.
Fast.
But the inquisitor moved faster.
---
The sword sang as it left its sheath.
A single slash.
Not even aimed at Kael.
The air ignited… holy fire slashing in a wide arc.
Kael twisted aside, barely avoiding it, but the flames grazed his shoulder.
His flesh melted.
Pain exploded through his nerves.
> [Wound: Radiant Burn – Regeneration Suppressed]
---
Kael rolled backward.
Teeth bared.
Steam rose from his skin. The inquisitor stepped forward, still calm.
> "You rely on stolen power. Borrowed instincts. Blood that does not belong to you."
---
He swung again.
Kael ducked, then activated Blood Echo.
A perfect mimic of the inquisitor's slash, copied with precision.
But the divine steel sliced through Kael's mirrored strike like it was air.
---
Kael teleported backward using a last-ditch technique from Predator's Lens.
His final Burn Point gone.
His breath, ragged.
> "He's… reading my rhythm…"
---
No mutation could bridge the gap.
No surge of blood would save him now.
He had to out-think him.
---
Kael closed his eyes.
Let the hunter come.
And just before the final strike…
He dove into the pond.
---
Holy fire splashed against the surface, but Kael was already beneath it.
The pond responded to his blood again, forming a shell around him, resisting the divine fire.
He clutched the book tightly against his chest.
> He gritted his teeth, vision blurring as fire scorched across his arm.
But even through the pain… one thought lingered.
"Why did he call me Kael Vire?"
It wasn't a name he ever remembered choosing.
It didn't belong to the orphan.
It didn't belong to anyone in the orphanage.
So why… did it sound so familiar?
> [Blood Echo Rewrite Possible – Divine Pattern Scanned]
▸ New Technique: Reversal – Hallowed Loop (Unstable)
▸ Warning: May collapse host memory integrity
---
Kael hesitated.
Then accepted.
The book burned in his hand.
The next time they met… he'd be ready.
---
Above the surface, the inquisitor remained still.
Watching the pond glow faintly crimson.
Then he turned away.
> "Let him crawl. His fate is sealed."
But his fingers curled slightly on the hilt of his sword.
Because for the first time in years…
He had missed the kill.
---
End of Chapter 13
---
/>Lore Fragment -The Annals of Light, Church of Ascension
"There are some demons who do not wear horns. Others are red blooded and walk and think as we do. And to these… we made the Hallowed Steel, and it was made of blades tempered in the sunfire, and is it fit to part the unnatural soul threads with one blow."