Horrific Fire

Rovan stared at Nathan seriously. "So, how are we going to defeat them?"

Nathan fell silent. He didn't know either.

A silence filled the room, broken only by the ticking of the clock and their heavy breaths.

Suddenly, Diana, who had been listening quietly, spoke up, "Maybe... vampires can be defeated with spiritual power?"

Nathan and Rovan turned to her with surprised expressions.

"Spiritual power?" Rovan repeated, furrowing his brow. "You mean like magic?"

Diana shook her head. "Not magic... more like a power that comes from the human soul. Like prayer, faith, or something deeper than just physical or magical power."

Nathan fell silent, pondering her words. He had never thought about this before. Even in his time, humans only tried to survive with weapons and technology—no one had ever considered spiritual power as a weapon against vampires.

But... maybe?

He rubbed his face, feeling stressed because he didn't know where to start. But in the midst of his chaotic thoughts, something suddenly crossed his mind—a book he had read before.

"Nocturne..." Nathan murmured softly.

Diana and Rovan turned to him.

"What?" Rovan asked.

"The Nocturne book," Nathan continued, now in a more serious tone. "I read it before, but I didn't finish it. The strange thing is, some of the content... matches reality."

Diana and Rovan exchanged looks.

"What do you mean?"

Nathan swallowed. "I mean... if the book really reflects this world, maybe there's information inside that could help us. Maybe there's a clue about spiritual power that can defeat vampires."

Without wasting any time, Nathan grabbed the book he was referring to. He flipped through the pages quickly, reading with intense focus. Rovan and Diana waited in silence, watching as Nathan's expression grew more serious with each page he turned.

Minutes passed... until finally, Nathan stopped.

"Did you find something?" Rovan asked.

Nathan nodded slowly, his eyes still fixed on the text on the open page.

"It says here... seers have a way to defeat vampires."

Diana and Rovan immediately moved closer, trying to see the book.

"But there's one problem," Nathan continued in a low voice. "It can only be done according to their destiny."

They all fell silent, trying to understand what that meant.

"What does... 'according to their destiny' mean?" Diana murmured.

Rovan sighed heavily. "So, now we have to find these seers?"

Nathan nodded. "At least... we have one clue."

The three of them walked through the streets of Blackbourne, searching for information about the seers. But every person they asked either shook their head or gave unclear answers.

Rovan sighed in frustration. "Looks like no one knows about seers in this town."

Diana began to lose hope. "Maybe they really aren't here... or they're deliberately hiding."

Nathan, still feeling exhausted, started to feel desperate. But suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he saw something—an object moving very quickly.

He blinked, trying to confirm, but the figure had already disappeared.

"Probably just a hallucination..." he muttered, trying to convince himself.

But a few seconds later, his body stiffened. An uneasy feeling washed over him, and without thinking, he ran toward the direction the figure had gone.

"Nathan! Hey, wait!" Diana shouted in surprise.

Rovan and Diana exchanged looks, then quickly followed Nathan.

As they ran, a pungent smell, like something burning, started to fill the air.

"What's that smell?" Rovan asked in a worried tone.

Diana looked up at the sky, her eyes widening. "Look! Black smoke!"

Nathan's eyes widened. His heart raced, and he quickened his pace.

When they reached the source of the smoke, they stopped in shock at the sight of a house that had been completely burned down.

Nathan felt his chest tighten. "I'm... too late..." he murmured softly.

Diana froze, her eyes staring at the blood scattered around the house. The sharp, metallic scent filled her nose.

Rovan tried to stay calm, but then his eyes caught something.

In the distance, among the shadows of the dark buildings, he saw a terrifying creature.

The creature had large bat wings that spread wide. Its body was big and frightening, with glowing red eyes that shone in the darkness.

Rovan felt his body freeze. His face turned pale, and cold sweat ran down his temples.

"Nathan... Diana..." his voice trembled, almost inaudible.

Diana, seeing Rovan's expression, panicked. "Rovan! What—"

But before she could finish her sentence, Nathan followed Rovan's gaze.

When Nathan looked...

The creature was right in front of him.

Their faces were so close—so close that Nathan could feel the cold, terrifying breath of the creature.

Nathan couldn't move. Couldn't scream. His body felt like it was turning to stone, his hairs standing on end.

The creature opened its mouth, its voice deep and vibrating.

"Found you."

Then, in an instant, it vanished along with the smoke from the fire.

Nathan stood frozen, his face as pale as paper.

Diana looked at him with concern. "Nathan...?"

But Nathan didn't respond. His eyes were empty, as if his soul was still left back there.

Diana began to panic. Without thinking, she raised her hand and—

SLAP!

The slap made Nathan flinch. He immediately took a deep breath, his eyes refocusing.

Diana stood with her hands on her hips, though it was clear she was still worried. "We need to go home. Now."

Nathan was still trembling, but he nodded immediately.

"Yeah... we need to leave here."

The three of them quickly left the area, their minds filled with fear.

Inside the house, the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.

Rovan sat in a corner of the room, his body slightly trembling, his mind still haunted by the fear from the earlier encounter. Meanwhile, Nathan sat on the couch with a blank expression, his thoughts spinning as he pondered the words the creature had said: "Found you."

What did it mean?

Had the creature been targeting him from the beginning? Or... did this have something to do with the fact that he had gone back in time?

If the creature could recognize his existence as different from others, it meant that something much bigger was happening.

Diana sighed heavily. She looked at her two friends, who seemed directionless.

"Hey, you can't just keep sitting here like this," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

But no one responded.

Suddenly, the sound of a radio in the corner of the room caught their attention.

"Breaking news from Blackbourne City! A house was severely burned tonight, tragically killing an entire family. Police have yet to find the exact cause of the fire, but initial reports suggest a possible brutal attack before the fire. Residents are advised to stay alert and not go outside at night."

Nathan clenched his fist.

He felt like a failure.

What was the point of going back in time if he couldn't save anyone?

Diana looked at Nathan's increasingly somber expression and Rovan's still pale face, feeling overwhelmed. With a quick movement, she shook Rovan's shoulder.

"Wake up! Don't just sit there like this! We need to think about our next move!"

But Rovan remained silent, his gaze empty.

Nathan continued thinking about the possibility that they could find a seer quickly, but... they didn't even know where to start looking.

Suddenly—

CRASH!

Rovan slammed his fist onto the table.

"We can't just sit here like this!" he shouted with emotion in his voice. "If we don't act fast, more people are going to die!"

Diana gasped, while Nathan stared at Rovan with a tired expression.

"Do you think I don't know that?" Nathan replied.

"Then why are we still here?! Why don't we just find them and kill them before they spread even more?!"

Nathan shook his head, sighing deeply. "Rovan, you don't understand. Vampires can't be killed with normal weapons. Maybe it would work for lower-level vampires, like Rippers, but not for the stronger ones."

Rovan clenched his fists tighter, his jaw tightening. "So we just sit and wait?! Let them kill everyone one by one?!"

Nathan didn't respond right away. He was still trying to think of a way out.

Diana finally spoke up. "We still need information. If there really are seers who can help, we have to find them as soon as possible. We can't act recklessly."

The atmosphere grew heavy again.

They knew time was running out. If they didn't find a way soon, more people would die... including themselves.

Rovan stood up with a frustrated expression, and after a few moments of silence, he spoke in a flat tone, "I'm going home."

Nathan simply nodded wearily, his eyes still empty, trying to process everything that had happened. "Be careful on the way."

Rovan gave a brief response with an impatient expression, then left the house. Nathan didn't try to stop him, even though he knew there were many dangers lurking.

After Rovan left, Nathan felt lonely in the house. Dark thoughts about the creature from earlier still haunted him. There were too many things they didn't know, and he felt trapped.

"Diana," Nathan called, and the girl, who had been sitting in the living room, looked at him with a worried face. "I'm going to take a shower, so I can think more clearly."

Diana nodded, then stood up. "I'll stay on watch. We don't know what might happen next."

Nathan understood. As he walked toward the bathroom, a sense of unease lingered over him. After cleaning himself, he felt a bit better, but the tension remained. His body was tired, but his mind couldn't stop working.

After showering, he returned to the living room and saw Diana already sitting there, her eyes half-closed, exhausted. They decided to sleep that night with a sense of vigilance.

"If anything happens, I'll wake up," Nathan said as he lay down on the sofa. Diana nodded, though she seemed worried.

In a soft voice, Diana said, "We have to be careful. They could come at any time."

Nathan looked at her and gave a faint smile, though his heart was still filled with fear. "Don't worry, we'll survive."

Diana entered her room and closed the door slowly, while Nathan lay on the sofa, trying to calm his mind, full of anxiety.

However, peaceful sleep did not come. When the clock struck midnight, a loud scream startled Nathan.

"Diana!" he shouted, quickly jumping up from the sofa. In an instant, he ran to Diana's room, his heart racing.

He slammed the bedroom door open and found Diana being cornered by a figure that looked like a vampire. Its face was pale, its eyes glowing red, and its body seemed emaciated, as though it had lost a lot of energy. The vampire was aggressive, attacking relentlessly.

Nathan didn't have time to think. He immediately pulled a revolver from his jacket and shot the vampire without hesitation. The first shot hit the creature's chest, causing it to stagger, but it still stood.

"Take this!" Nathan thought to himself and fired a second shot, this time hitting the vampire in the head.

The creature fell to the floor, its body stiff and unmoving. Nathan stared at its lifeless body, panting, his heart pounding heavily.

Diana, frightened, sobbed. She quickly ran into Nathan's arms and hugged him tightly. Her body trembled, her voice shaking as she spoke. "Nathan... I'm... I'm scared."

Nathan held her, trying to calm his own restless heart. "It's okay, Diana. You're safe now."

He continued to comfort Diana, letting the girl cry in his arms, feeling her fear and shock from the sudden attack. He understood how heavy the situation was, but he promised to keep protecting Diana and Rovan.

Nathan stayed awake through the rest of the night, making sure everything was safe. Throughout that night, he kept watch over Diana, ensuring no one disturbed them again, until morning came and the sky began to brighten.