Diego called everyone else about Harry's situation. He heard the broken windows, which raised his suspicion that something had happened to Harry. Over the phone, they agreed to meet at President Slacovich's office. Together, they went to the lady's house where Harry had dinner. They used three cars, with two people in each. They were all worried for Harry's safety and the family he was helping.
After a few minutes of driving like a racer, they arrived at their destination. The windows on the right side of the house were broken, and the door was clearly forced open with great strength. From the looks of it, the door must have been kicked down. They hurried inside and saw ashes on the floor. Tyler examined the ashes and realized they were the same as those left behind by the people back in the facility when the vampires went on a rampage and drained everyone.
"This isn't right! Who could have done this?" Slacovich gritted his teeth in anger. That's when they heard someone groan in pain from the dining area.
"HARRY!! It's Harry!!" Ara exclaimed.
"Oof! A-Ara, is that… you?" Harry slowly opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but the pain all over his body forced him to lay back down. The others rushed to support him and laid him comfortably on the couch.
"What happened here? Who did this?" Sofie asked worriedly, watching Harry try his best to speak.
"I think they're from the Hellgazers clan. They're vampires. I'm sure of it. They killed her daughter, and now they've taken her. I don't know what they want with her."
"When he said he had an army, I thought he was bluffing. That man's courting death by messing with us." Slacovich carried Harry to Tyler's car. "Tyler, Ara, I need you two to take Harry to the hospital. Take care of him."
"Where are you going? Let us help," Tyler insisted.
"No! You two haven't been recognized as part of the Demonfire clan. I won't risk it. If you get involved now, it might blow your covers. Let the rest of us rescue the lady and teach them a lesson." Tyler and Ara followed Slacovich's instructions. Their friend needed immediate help, and they had to hurry. Even though Tyler didn't want to leave them, he chose to follow rather than object. He knew it was for everyone's good.
"It's not because you're weak or anything. You two have skills we don't have. Don't think negatively about Slacovich's decisions. You know more than us how important your roles are. So please, take care of Harry first. We'll contact you after," Sofie said with a smile. Tyler looked down, embarrassed that she said exactly what he had been thinking. Then he lifted his face and smiled back.
"You can count on us." Tyler started the engine. The rest climbed into their cars, preparing to leave the area.
"Li, any news on the location?" Diego asked as he fastened his seatbelt, along with Li's.
"Almost there," she said, furiously typing on her laptop, tracking the lady's phone. When she got the address, she sent it to Slacovich's phone, and both cars sped toward their next location.
Inside an old cruise ship, unused for decades, was the intruders' current hiding place, a few members of the Hellgazers clan. The lady had been taken there and tied up. She was terrified, replaying the moment her daughter turned into ashes. These weren't humans, they were monsters. That truth echoed in her head.
The leader of the group answered his phone and spoke with his boss. He informed his men that the boss would be coming to interrogate the woman personally. Soon, the one they called "boss" arrived, accompanied by a woman. He sat on a chair facing the tied-up woman and leaned in close, revealing his face.
"IT'S YOU!" she furiously exclaimed.
"What about me?" he said, lifting her chin and leaning even closer, feeling her breath.
"What do you want from me? What would someone as mighty as you want from me?" she burst into tears.
"I need information. You'd better cooperate, or things will get ugly." He let go of her chin and leaned back.
"What information?" she glared at him.
"Who gave you the evidence about the medical accident six years ago?"
"It's none of your business!" she spat on him, the spit landing on his shoe.
"You're trying my patience, woman!"
"Tch. I don't fear death. Your men already killed my daughter. You might as well kill me too. I won't repay kindness with betrayal. You can't have what you seek." She held her breath, trying to suffocate herself.
"Stop that!" He kicked her against the wall. She curled up in pain and coughed blood. Already weak due to her age, the scent of her blood triggered the serum inside him and his men. They lost control. Dr. Spencer quickly escaped the scene before she, too, was drained by those monsters.
"That old man! I was going to get killed in there!" she muttered angrily, climbing into her car just as two cars approached. Calling Volton to warn him was useless now.
Slacovich, Sofie, Diego, and Li exited their car and rushed into the ship. They saw the lady being bitten all over. The four activated their vampire forms and attacked the vampires surrounding her, but it was too late. She turned into ashes.
Volton and his men were hurled across the ship. Though outnumbered, Slacovich's team had the upper hand, the Hellgazers were in a berserk state, attacking everything in sight, human or not. Slacovich and the others wouldn't let them escape, not even one.
Volton regained control after drinking some blood, but his men remained out of control, their thirst unquenched.
"Well, well, look who's here," Volton said with a devilish grin, enraging Slacovich.
"How dare you pick on innocent people! You're completely out of control!" In the blink of an eye, Slacovich appeared in front of Volton. Unfazed, Volton grabbed Slacovich by the neck and slammed him into the ground. Sofie backed him up, kicking Volton hard in the face, sending him rolling across the floor until he hit the edge.
"You bitch!" Volton stood and signaled his men to attack.
"You're a failure, Volton Hellgazer! You could never match a successfully mutated vampire!" Slacovich taunted him with a glare.
"KILL THEM ALL!" Volton roared, fully losing control. He and his men mutated further. Their figures became thinner, and the humps on their backs burst into bone-like bat wings. They rampaged through the ship, trying to escape.
"Some of them are trying to get away!" Diego shouted.
"We can't let that happen," Li said, pulling out a remote control. She deployed five drones, each armed with silver bullets. She aimed at the vampires attempting to breach the ship's walls.
"Nice!" Diego grinned, winking at her. Li blushed.
"Tyler invented these. I just programmed them," she said, continuing to fire. One vampire escaped, however, and fled the area. The distraction allowed Volton to snatch the remote and smash it, disabling the drones. His men quickly destroyed what was left.
"One escapee is enough to make the humans you care about suffer. Once they mutate like that, there's no turning back. And I have an army of them." Volton laughed maniacally, proud of the failures he had created.
"You have no conscience!" Sofie shouted.
"I'm no longer human. You should embrace what you are. We're far more dominant than humans, yet you choose to live peacefully among them. I can't stand it!" Volton lunged at Slacovich. The two clashed violently.
Sofie and Li fought the remaining vampires while Diego pursued the escapee.
"You guys take care!" Diego shouted, spreading his wings and flying after the vampire. Volton was stunned to see them using wings with ease and control.
"Envious, President Hellgazer? We all have that ability. What about you?" Slacovich taunted, landing several punches before Volton managed to block. Volton threw him off and straddled him, delivering heavy punches. Slacovich transformed into a snake and slithered away, then reverted back to vampire form. Volton realized just how lacking he was.
"How are you able to control your powers? To shapeshift at will?! Tell me!!" he screamed, swinging wildly as Slacovich dodged.
"Because we were made right. You, on the other hand, are a failure!" Sofie shouted.
Volton snarled and charged at her, delivering a powerful kick to her stomach. Slacovich caught her before she hit the wall.
"Careful. The more we provoke him, the stronger he gets. We can't afford that. Even though we can control our powers, remember, it's been months since we drank pure human blood. That's our disadvantage," he whispered, helping her to her feet.
"I know. I'm sorry," Sofie whispered back.
Li kept the others occupied, buying time for Slacovich and Sofie to regroup. Volton charged her, but she stepped back in time, dodging his wild attacks.
"Any plans? I can't think straight under pressure," Li said with a nervous laugh, though clearly exhausted.
"We can't retreat without taking these monsters down. They're a huge threat to the people nearby," Slacovich said, scanning for any strategic advantage.
"So, President Slacovich, still up to fight?" Sofie smiled at him.
"I won't back down from this." He grinned and attacked Volton again, signaling the others to handle the remaining rampaging vampires.
Meanwhile, Diego caught up with the escapee, who had landed at a cafeteria and was draining a man of blood. Diego grabbed the vampire from behind and flew it out of the area. The creature had already killed six people, and witnesses were everywhere. As its wings flapped, the bodies turned to ash. Diego pulled out a silver dagger and stabbed the vampire in the heart, letting it fall and turn to ashes.
He returned to the cafeteria in human form and pretended to be a witness.
"Monsters!!" he shouted. A trembling man pulled him to safety, clutching a shotgun.
"Keep it low! The monster's still outside!" the man whispered, shaking.
"How many people saw it?"
"Me, and two others who were in the bathroom. It killed my wife and five others."
"Look into my eyes. Everything will be fine." The man obeyed, and Diego erased his memory. He made the man believe his wife had died years ago and that he never wanted to talk about her again. He did the same to the other witnesses.
After completing the memory wipes, Diego returned to the ship to help the others.