The Nine Heads

Still armored, Leo walked past a shocked Zeke and approached Yvonne. He took her right hand, leaned down, and inspected it.

He had never held a woman's hand before. Even through his gauntlet, he found Yvonne's smaller hand soft and pleasant to the touch. There was something special about holding the hand of someone so beautiful and powerful.

"Are you hurt?" Leo asked.

Idiot! Zeke inwardly scoffed. Lady Yvonne hunted down a notorious vampire household with almost no help. As if dullahan armor could hurt her hand! She's fine! Don't you dare look down on Lady Yvonne, bastard!

"I'm fine, Leo. Thank you," Yvonne replied sweetly.

That lovely tone made Zeke clench his fist. He realized how foolish he was, even though he didn't want to admit it. He stood up and approached Yvonne with the same concern, but while Leo was genuinely worried, Zeke's concern seemed forced.

"Are you alright, Lady Yvonne?" Zeke asked.

Yvonne raised her right hand and faintly smiled. "As you can see, I'm not wounded. Leo already checked on me."

Zeke nodded and gave Leo a curt glance. Leo was still in his dullahan armor, surrounded by darkness. That drew attention from onlookers, who might soon question the heroes about their safety. It was an unnecessary problem, so Zeke decided to target Leo over it.

"Can't control your own power?" he sneered.

Leo waved his hand nonchalantly. "Kinda. I should be able to turn it off at will, but I'm still figuring it out. I also feel more confident this way, you know?"

"Of course a dullahan would feel better in his armor," Zeke scoffed. He turned to Yvonne. "He's gathering attention, so I believe he should turn it off now."

Yvonne agreed with him. The more attention they drew, the worse it would be. They also had to remember the heroes outside who were still handling the situation. Heroes were supposed to be strong and civil, and if rumors spread about hunters beating enemies with abilities to near-death, it would cause controversy and divide society.

"What's your new ability?" Yvonne asked.

As his supervisor, she needed to know everything about Leo. She asked calmly, but he knew he couldn't avoid answering. Besides, he wanted to share information about himself, hoping her curiosity might strengthen their connection.

Leo raised his hand and pointed his palm at a branch overhead. It snapped under his influence and flew toward him. He caught it firmly.

"Anything covered by my darkness bends to my strength and can be pulled or pushed away from me. I can also gather darkness around my hand to boost my damage. I can keep this darkness for around five minutes. I don't know about the armor, though. It seems I can wear it until it breaks."

"Sounds about right." Yvonne nodded. "Let's continue in the car."

Leo wished for his darkness to vanish. It withdrew into him like a pet returning to its nest, and the armor crumbled away. He felt weaker and heavier, which only reminded him of how much the new power had strengthened him.

He and the others left the wooded area and met the heroes, informing them about the dullahan.

"The dullahan has escaped," Yvonne said.

One of the heroes scratched his head. "So much for the renowned hunters. I was told not to piss them off, but..."

Another hero, who knew more about Yvonne, elbowed the loudmouthed newbie and glared at him to keep quiet. He turned to Yvonne and bowed. "Understood. We'll check for any signs of battle and clean up. If we find anything suspicious, we'll contact the hunters."

Yvonne nodded and left with her two teammates.

When they were out of earshot, the experienced hero turned to the newbie. "Remember that woman's face. She's a licensed murderer who killed the man called 'The Second Coming of Dracula' and his entire household, all in one night, in the name of ridding the world of vampires. Over a hundred of them died."

Although they were vampires, some had been humans at birth and tried to live like normal people. In modern society, her actions were horrific. The newbie clamped his mouth shut, cold sweat trickling down his chin.

The experienced hero nodded. "If she says the dullahan escaped, then it did. We have no right to question her."

Zeke spoke up as Yvonne drove away from the urban park. "So we're covering up the dullahan's demise?"

He sat in the back seat with Leo, staring out the window. He was unsure about Yvonne's decision. Leo didn't mind, since it worked in his favor. He just relaxed, watching the metropolis roll by.

Yvonne replied, "It's best to hide Leo's powers until he's strong enough to face the other hunters without my support. He's a rare case who doesn't understand his abilities until they activate on their own. We know now he can single out dullahans in a crowd and grow stronger by defeating them. The higher-ups would only use him as a dullahan radar if they knew. That doesn't help me, because I want to exterminate dullahans, and Leo is crucial for that."

Just don't get jealous, Zeke.

Leo glanced at Zeke, but Zeke didn't seem jealous. Instead, he asked, "Do you think he'll help you defeat The Nine Heads?"

"The Nine Heads?" Leo repeated. "Who is that?"

Yvonne took out her phone, tapped it a few times, then handed it to Leo. "The dullahan who killed my friend."

On her screen, Leo saw a dullahan he never would have imagined in his wildest dreams.