The katana blade whistled just a couple of millimeters from the tip of my nose. I deflected my left hand, holding a silver-colored dagger, and jumped back.
"What the hell are you doing?" I shouted indignantly. "You could kill me like that!"
My opponent didn't respond. Raising the katana high over her head, she charged into another attack. I had to squeeze every last bit of strength from my temporarily vampiric body, but even so, I stayed alive only thanks to my extensive combat experience and ability to predict my opponent's moves.
By pure physical standards, she was far stronger than me! It's actually amazing how a half-vampire can be stronger than a full-fledged two-hundred-year-old vampire, which I was now partially. Logically, a full vampire should surpass any half-breeds, but we all know how fantasy genre clichés work, right? Blade is a unique half-breed, and I wouldn't be surprised if she were also immune to sunlight and had no other vampire weaknesses!
Why am I so sure I'm facing Blade? Well, first off, as I said, my new acquaintance looked very much like the actor Wesley Snipes. Not exactly a twin, thank goodness, but she could easily pass for his daughter. Hmm, for those who didn't get the reference, it was Snipes who popularized the Blade character, starring in the eponymous movie trilogy. Ha! He made Marvel popular long before your refined Avengers came into the picture!
Second, she introduced herself that way. Yep, she actually said, "You can't escape Blade!" Ugh, that pompous attitude is going to be the death of me…
"Stay away from him, bitch!" Jubilee yelled, raising her hands and releasing a burst of sparks and small glowing balls toward the temporarily distracted Blade.
The short-haired brunette shielded herself with the hem of her long firefighter coat and withstood the attack stoically. Meanwhile, I decided to increase the distance further.
"How clever!" Blade remarked, almost spitting. "Hypnotized a mutant? You think she'll protect you? You're wrong!"
"Just wait! I didn't hypnotize anyone! I'm not even real…"
I didn't have time to finish the sentence. In the blink of an eye, Blade was next to me and struck with a horizontal slash. I couldn't fully evade it. My chest ached unpleasantly, my white shirt reddened, and an unplanned hole appeared.
Fortunately, the cut wasn't deep, and my vampiric regeneration kicked in immediately. I didn't even notice how the wound on my pale body completely healed. Hmm, this accelerated regeneration is handy, though my thirst for blood suddenly intensified, as if hinting that I wouldn't last long without a refuel.
Mentally shaking my head, I dodged another strike and, finally, decided to launch a test counterattack. After landing a solid punch to Blade's jaw, she was pushed back a couple of meters from me.
"Goddamn it! Can you stop for a second and listen to me?! What's with the racial discrimination? Just because I have fangs, you immediately try to kill me? Have you looked in the mirror lately? Don't you want to commit seppuku or something?"
"Don't talk to me, vampire!" Blade growled, spitting blood onto the asphalt.
"Marius isn't a vampire!" Lee exclaimed, nearly causing me to burst out laughing.
"You're an idiot," the brunette said benignly. "He hypnotized you. You have to resist his sweet words."
While she was distracted by the short conversation, I was desperately trying to think of a solution. I couldn't just neutralize Blade like that; she was a strong and skilled woman. So far, my experience in combat was the only thing keeping me afloat. But as soon as the time limit for the vampire abilities I took from that fangy lady runs out, I'll be completely helpless. If I can barely hold my own against Blade now, without those abilities, I'm done for!
"Why do you even think I'm a vampire?" I tried one last time to reach her reason.
"Don't take me for a fool. Your abilities don't work on me. Since birth, I've been able to sense people like you—vampires, demons, and other filth."
Ah, I see now. This must be one of her abilities that lets her identify me as an enemy. For a vampire hunter, that's undoubtedly a useful skill, but as I can see, it can also be tricked.
"Really? So, you 'sense' that I'm a vampire? Honestly, I was hoping for something more accurate."
Well, since we're on this topic, I might as well try to convince this lady. Fortunately…
"Stop talking nonsense!" Blade started raising her katana again.
Shit, the time I had for the vampire abilities I took from that lady was almost up! If she attacks seriously, I won't be able to dodge!
"Wait! Five seconds! Just five seconds! Now, listen up, or whatever you do, look at me—do I look like a vampire?"
Blade froze, sniffed the air, furrowed her brow. The katana blade lowered.
"What the hell?" she asked, puzzled and cautious. "You've turned human, but how is that possible?"
"Ah, thank goodness," I sighed with relief. "I was originally human. I only became a vampire temporarily…"
"Bullshit! That's not how it works! Vampirism isn't something you can just catch 'temporarily'! It's a curse that's almost impossible to get rid of!"
Cosmic whales! This lady is stubborn! She's fixated on the laws of this world and doesn't even want to consider that there could be other principles at work!
"You don't get it. I didn't catch vampirism in the way you think. I only became a vampire thanks to my own mutant abilities."
It took quite a while to convince Blade that I wasn't feeding her a line. The stubborn brunette refused to accept my story, trying to find a catch in every word.
"I'll pretend to believe you," the vampire hunter finally said. "But next time, be more careful with absorbing vampire abilities. You might not be able to control your thirst and end up doing something you'll regret later."
Blade sheathed her katana, turned, and headed toward her car.
"Hey, bitch!" a displeased Jubilee shouted, like a sleepy sloth waking up. "No desire to apologize?"
Blade stopped, turned her head toward the teenager, and stretched her lips into a bloodthirsty smile. Her fangs gleamed too long for a human under the headlights.
"No," she smirked, then continued walking.
Lee clearly wasn't satisfied with that response, but she didn't escalate the conflict. After all, her survival instinct wasn't completely atrophied yet. But you know what? Jubilee's words had some logic to them.
"Documents."
"What, sorry?" Blade asked, stopping right by her car.
"Can you get me some good documents?"
I can't believe such a person wouldn't have the means to order high-quality documents that could pass a quick check. Blade didn't look too happy when she heard my request, but she didn't immediately dismiss me either.
"Hmm, I'll see what I can do," she said finally, quickly dictating her phone number and hopping into her car.
Does she think I won't remember the number? Hope and wait, as they say!