Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls-Chapter 459: Finding Vampires

The silence that followed inside the bar was broken only by the irregular crackling of the candles and the distant sound of the wind hitting the exterior planks. But outside... there was something else.

Something they hadn’t yet noticed.

A few streets away, atop a low building overlooking the outskirts, Kael watched.

He wasn’t hiding.

But he wasn’t visible either.

His presence was... faded. As if he simply didn’t belong there, and therefore wasn’t registered by it. His eyes were fixed on the bar’s dilapidated structure, analyzing every detail—entrances, exits, movement patterns, energy flow.

And, above all... the presences inside.

Six.

Confirmed.

No aggressive movement.

No preparation for attack.

Just tension.

Survival.

"They’re not hunting," Kael said softly.

Beside him, leaning casually against the edge of the roof, Inari observed the same scene, though her gaze was different—broader, deeper. While Kael saw physical patterns, she saw invisible layers.

"No," she agreed softly. "They’re afraid."

The wind passed between them, lifting Inari’s hair slightly, causing her ethereal tails to ripple like soft flames behind her.

Kael narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Fear isn’t enough to cross human boundaries," he said. "Not in this number. Not with this organization."

Inari tilted her head slightly, still looking at the bar.

"It’s not just fear," she replied. "It’s despair."

He didn’t answer immediately.

His eyes continued analyzing.

Calculating.

"They spoke of the princess," he said after a few seconds. "So Elizabeth isn’t an isolated case."

"No," said Inari. "She’s the center."

Kael frowned slightly.

"They’re looking for her," she continued. "Not to hand her over... but to protect her."

This made Kael look away for a moment, thoughtful.

"So there are factions," he murmured. "Or at least... internal dissent."

Inari smiled slightly.

"That’s inevitable."

She took a step forward, standing beside him, looking directly at the bar.

"When a ruler loses their balance... those who still think begin to separate."

Kael let out a small sigh.

"Or are eliminated."

"Also," she said, too lightly for the subject.

Silence returned for a few seconds.

Kael crossed his arms, keeping his gaze fixed.

"They believe someone killed the queen," he said. "And that same person is manipulating the king."

Inari didn’t seem surprised.

"And you?" "What do you think?" she asked.

Kael didn’t answer immediately.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if reorganizing everything he knew up to that point.

Elizabeth.

The escape.

The accusation.

The executors.

The refugees.

The patterns.

And then...

"It makes sense," he said.

Inari raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Explain."

Kael opened his eyes again.

"The king’s behavior isn’t strategic," he said. "It’s reactive. Chaotic. Directed... but not rational."

He tilted his head slightly.

"This might be grief. But grief doesn’t sustain large-scale coordinated operations."

Inari nodded slowly.

"So you believe someone is guiding this."

"Yes," he replied. "Or... taking advantage."

She smiled slightly.

"Ah... that’s more interesting."

Kael looked at her.

"Why?"

Inari turned her face, now looking directly at him. Her eyes had that old, almost playful glint—but there was something more behind it.

"Because manipulating someone powerful in mourning... is much easier than controlling someone stable."

She took a step closer.

"You don’t need to dominate," she continued. "You just need to... direct."

Kael remained silent.

He understood that.

Too well.

"The king loses his wife," Inari said, raising a finger as if constructing a simple line of reasoning. "Becomes unstable. Irrational. Looking for someone to blame."

Another finger.

"Someone offers a culprit."

Another.

"And at the same time... removes anyone who might question that narrative."

She smiled.

"Simple."

Kael looked away again at the bar. "It’s effective."

"Extremely," she agreed.

The wind blew harder this time, making one of the building’s roof tiles creak slightly.

"But that raises a question," Kael said.

Inari tilted her head.

"What?"

"Who benefits from this?"

She smiled more openly now.

"That’s always the right question."

Kael remained silent, observing the dim lights of the bar.

"If the vampires collapse internally...," he began, "...they cease to be an organized power."

"And become fragments," Inari finished. "Easy to eliminate. Or to control."

Kael nodded slightly.

"And at the same time, they create instability in human territories."

"Refugees," she said. "Incidents. Conflicts."

She looked at the city around them.

"A war can start with much less than that."

Kael didn’t disagree.

"So someone wants this," he said.

"Or someone wants to take advantage when it happens," Inari replied.

Silence returned.

But this time, it was different.

Deeper.

More focused.

Kael uncrossed his arms.

"They’re looking for Elizabeth," he said. "If they find her first..."

He didn’t finish the sentence.

He didn’t need to.

Inari didn’t smile this time either.

"You don’t like this."

"No," he replied.

She tilted her head slightly, watching him.

"Then what are you going to do?"

Kael looked at the bar again.

Six vampires.

Tired.

Desperate.

But not hostile.

Not yet.

"Observe first," he said. "Confirm intentions."

Inari raised an eyebrow slightly.

"And then?"

Kael didn’t hesitate.

"Intervene."

The air around them seemed to cool for a moment.

Not because of the night.

But because of the decision.

Inari smiled again, this time with a slight glint of amusement in her eyes.

"You really don’t know how to stay out of it, do you?"

Kael let out a small sigh.

"I try."

She took a step back, leaning against the edge of the roof.

"Doesn’t seem like it."

He didn’t answer.

For a few seconds, they both stood silently, observing the bar.

Inside, the figures were still arguing.

Still planning.

Still trying to survive.

Unbeknownst to them...

They were being watched.

Inari tilted her head slightly, her eyes shining again with that heightened perception.

"They aren’t the main problem," she said.

Kael looked at her.

"I know."

She smiled softly.

"But they could lead you to him."

Kael nodded.

"Exactly."

Time seemed to stretch for a few moments at the top of the building, as if the world itself were holding its breath along with them. The decision had already been made—and, as always, when Kael decided something, there was no hesitation, no second thought. Just execution.

He took a step forward. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

And then disappeared.

There was no sound.

No visible movement.

Just... absence.

Inari remained where she was, observing the spot where he had been a second before, and then her lips curved into a slight smile, almost satisfied.

"Let’s see how you handle this..."

...

Outside the bar, the door creaked softly as it opened.

Four figures emerged.

Silent movements.

Controlled.

They didn’t speak.

But they were alert.

The air around them carried that same metallic smell that permeated everything involving vampires—blood, survival, constant tension. Their eyes swept the street, alert to any abnormality, any presence out of place.

And, for a moment...

There was nothing.

The street was empty.

Dark.

Too quiet.

The kind of quiet that shouldn’t exist in that part of town.

One of them stopped.

He raised his head slightly.

Something was wrong.

"Do you feel it?" he murmured, almost inaudibly.

The other three tensed immediately.

Yes.

They felt it.

It wasn’t a clear presence.

It wasn’t an overwhelming aura.

It was... absence.

As if something were there, but undetectable in the usual way.

Danger.

Pure instinct.

And then—

"You take too long to decide."

The voice came from behind.

Low.

Calm.

Unhurried.

The four turned at the same time.

And there he was.

Kael.

Standing in the middle of the street, a few meters away, as if he had always been there.

No fighting stance.

No released aura.

No apparent threat.

But... wrong.

Completely wrong.

The vampires’ eyes narrowed.

Instinct screaming.

"Human...?", one of them murmured suspiciously.

Another stepped forward.

"No," he replied. "Something different." Kael didn’t move.

"I have a question," he said, with the same calmness as before.

No answer.

They were already positioning themselves.

Discreetly.

Surrounding.

He noticed.

But he didn’t react.

"Which side are you on?" he asked.

Silence.

One of the vampires smiled slightly, showing his teeth.

"That’s none of your business."

Kael tilted his head slightly.

"Wrong answer."

And then—

They moved.

There was no warning.

There was no hesitation.

Four blurs advancing simultaneously, from different directions, with surgical precision. This wasn’t an impulsive attack—it was coordinated, trained, efficient. A movement designed to eliminate before there was even a reaction.

Vampiric speed.

Explosive.

Lethal.

One came from the front.

Two from the sides.

One from behind.

Simultaneous attack.

Fists, claws, short blades.

All targeting vital points.

And Kael...

Didn’t move.

The first blow struck his torso.

The second hit his shoulder.

The third attempted to cut his throat.

The fourth aimed at his spine.

Impact.

Contact.

And then—

Silence.

For a fraction of a second, everything stopped.

The vampires’ eyes widened.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

There was no blood.

There was no normal resistance.

There was...

Cold.

An absurd cold.

Instantaneous.

Their muscles locked up.

Their bodies froze.

Literally.

Ice began to spread from the points of contact, like a living disease, consuming their hands, climbing up their arms, seeping into their flesh, freezing muscles, nerves, circulation.

One of them tried to recoil.

He couldn’t.

His arm was trapped.

Immobile.

The ice wasn’t superficial.

It was internal.

Invading every muscle fiber at the exact moment of contact.

Kael hadn’t reacted afterward.

He had reacted before.

The instant they touched.

He raised his gaze slightly, now staring at them closely.

Emotionless.

Effortless.

"I told you," he murmured, "that I only had one question."

One of them tried to forcefully break free.

The sound was grotesque.

Flesh trying to move against solid ice.

Nothing happened.

Another tried to activate his full strength.

The ice advanced faster.

Rising to their shoulders.

A third growled, trying to pull his arm back—

The sound of something tearing echoed.

But even that wasn’t enough.

Kael took a step forward.

Calm.

As if none of this mattered.

As if they posed no threat at all.

"You are not hunting humans," he said. "Nor are you attacking indiscriminately."

He stopped before the first vampire, whose fist was embedded in his body, now completely frozen up to the elbow.

"Then I’ll ask again."

Their eyes met his.

Absolute cold.

"Which side are you on?"

The vampire gritted his teeth.

Silence.

Resistance.

Pride.

Kael sighed.

And then...

He moved his arm slightly.

A dry crack echoed.

The vampire’s frozen arm... shattered.

Not like flesh.

Like ice.

Fragments scattered across the floor, breaking into jagged pieces, while the rest of his body froze even more, the ice advancing to his shoulder.

The scream came next.

Belated.

Cruel.

Brutal.

Kael didn’t even blink.

"I don’t have time for this," he said.

Another vampire tried to speak, his voice trembling with pain and panic.

"W-Wait—!"

Kael turned his gaze slowly. "Then speak."

The vampire was breathing heavily.

Ice was already creeping up his neck.

"No... we’re not with the king," he said. "We escaped."

"Oh, that’s good," Kael said, grinning like a demon.