Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls

Kael's gaze slowly scanned each red dot scattered across the darkness, as if meticulously recording them all in his memory. There was no hurry in his movements, no anxiety in his posture, but there was something far more unsettling there, something that began to weigh on the atmosphere like an inescapable presence that refused to be ignored. His eyes showed no explosive hatred, no uncontrolled fury, but something much colder, more calculated, more definitive.

Then he snapped his fingers.

The sound was simple.

Dry.

But the effect was immediate.

An invisible wave of energy expanded from him like a silent explosion, sweeping across the entire surrounding area in an absurd radius. The air vibrated violently for an instant, as if compressed and released simultaneously, and then… it stabilized abnormally. The surrounding trees trembled, leaves were torn from the branches, and a structure began to form.

A barrier.

Not visible like a solid wall.

But undeniably present.

A gigantic dome of compressed wind and arcane energy enveloped the entire clearing and much of the surrounding forest, completely sealing the area like an invisible prison. The air within it became denser, heavier, each breath requiring more effort, each movement carrying a slight resistance, as if the environment itself were now under Kael's absolute control.

The red eyes reacted immediately.

Sudden movements.

Shifting shadows.

Some figures finally revealed themselves completely, emerging from their hiding places with expressions that were no longer merely arrogant.

There was tension.

And, for the first time…

Discomfort.

"What the hell was that—" one of them began, his voice laden with irritation, but also with something more cautious as he took a few steps back, testing the surrounding environment.

Another tried to retreat more quickly, disappearing in a dark blur towards the trees.

He hadn't even reached the halfway point.

His body simply collided with something invisible.

The impact was dry, violent, the sound of the shock echoing through the space as he was thrown back, falling to the ground with an angry grunt, clearly surprised.

The barrier wasn't just a containment.

It was a sentence.

Kael observed this without any apparent reaction.

Then he spoke.

"Children."

The word cut through the air with an almost surgical coldness, interrupting any attempt at organization on their part.

Some fell silent.

Others exchanged quick glances.

But no one responded immediately.

Kael tilted his head slightly.

"You kidnapped children."

His voice remained low, controlled, but there was something different now, something that began to seep into the tone, an invisible pressure that seemed to tighten the air around them.

"You drained them."

One step forward.

Slow.

Heavy.

"And they disposed of the bodies."

The silence that followed was longer.

But it wasn't out of respect.

It was calculated.

One of the vampires finally stepped forward, crossing his arms, a forced, almost defiant smile returning to his face.

"So what?"

The answer came laden with contempt, as if trying to regain control of the situation through arrogance.

"Humans die all the time. Children, adults… what difference does it make to you?"

Kael didn't answer immediately.

He just looked.

Directly at him.

And then—

A minimal movement.

Almost imperceptible.

The vampire's body simply… broke apart.

There was no visible cut.

There was no blade.

Just an absurd compression of air around his neck, like an invisible guillotine formed by pure pressure, separating his head from his body with brutal precision.

The blood didn't even gush out.

It was crushed back by the very force that cut it.

The body fell.

Heavy.

Inert.

Silence.

Another vampire growled, taking a step forward angrily.

"You son of a—"

He didn't finish either.

This time it wasn't his neck.

His entire body was pressed against the ground in an instant, as if an invisible mountain had been thrown upon him, bones breaking with a dry sound, flesh yielding under absurd pressure until nothing remained but an unrecognizable mass against the earth.

Kael kept staring.

Without changing his expression.

"Who did this?"

The question came again.

But now…

There was no room for disdain.

Or there shouldn't be.

Still, a nervous laugh escaped one of the ones in the back.

"You think we're going to answer you just because you killed two?"

Kael tilted his head slightly.

And the vampire simply disappeared.

There was no sound.

There was no scream.

Just a sudden emptiness where he had been.

And, a second later, the body reappeared a few meters above, hurled against the invisible barrier with absurd force, shattering completely on impact before falling to the ground like a shapeless sack of meat.

The silence returned.

Heavier.

More present.

Kael took another step forward.

"I'm not asking out of curiosity."

Another vampire tried to advance from behind, quick, silent, seizing the moment.

Kael didn't turn around.

But the air behind him closed in.

The attacker's body stopped mid-movement, suspended, as if trapped in something invisible.

And then…

It was twisted.

Slowly.

Brutally.

Until it broke completely.

Kael continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

"I'm asking to see if anyone here is still worth the effort of an answer."

The silence was now absolute.

The red eyes were no longer just observing.

They were… tense.

Some retreated slowly.

Others remained motionless.

But the arrogance…

Had not completely disappeared.

One of them spat on the ground.

"You think you can kill us all alone?"

Kael finally stopped walking.

He stood still.

Thoughtful for a brief moment.

As if he were truly considering the question.

Then he sighed.

A light sigh.

Almost weary.

And, for the first time since he arrived there…

There was something different in his expression.

It wasn't anger.

It wasn't irritation.

It was…

Disappointment.

He ran a hand over his face for a moment, as if trying to organize a thought that was no longer worth so much effort.

Then he looked at them again.

At all of them.

"I tried."

His voice was lower now.

More neutral.

"I really tried to make it simple."

He tilted his head slightly.

His eyes fixed on the group.

"But you keep talking as if you're still in control of something."

Another vampire stepped forward.

Desperate.

Angry.

He died before taking the second step.

Kael didn't even react this time.

Death simply… happened.

And then he spoke.

Completely direct.

Without pauses.

Without beating around the bush.

"From now on…"

The wind around him began to intensify again.

But unlike before.

It wasn't increasing pressure.

It was preparation.

"…I will kill every single one of you."

The sentence was spoken with the same calm as always.

Without raising his voice.

Without altering the rhythm.

But there was something about it that completely changed the atmosphere.

Because it was no longer a warning.

It was no longer an attempt at dialogue.

It was a final decision.

Kael kept his gaze steady.

"I hope you understand that it's not personal."

A brief silence.

Almost respectful.

"It's only fair."

The wind didn't move as before.

It didn't grow gradually, didn't gather around Kael waiting for a clearer command or a more defined gesture. It simply… exploded. As if all the invisible currents that had been compressed in that space had finally been released all at once, sweeping through the forest with a brutal force that made the trees groan, the ground vibrate, and the very air seem to tear under the pressure.

The vampires reacted.

Instinct.

Survival.

Some advanced at once, trying to overwhelm Kael with sheer numbers, their forms dissolving into dark blurs that crossed the space with supernatural speed. Others retreated, seeking distance, trying to escape through the barrier they had already realized wouldn't yield. And some, the most experienced, remained motionless for a second longer, analyzing, calculating, trying to understand what kind of monster they were really facing.

None of them had enough time.

Kael didn't run.

He didn't dodge.

He didn't fight like someone who was outnumbered.

He simply… existed amidst the chaos.

And the world around him responded.

The first group that advanced was dismantled before even reaching half the distance. The air ahead of them solidified into multiple invisible layers, and when their bodies collided with it, it was as if they had struck a wall made of compressed blades. Flesh ripped open, bones cracked, and the impact threw them back in different directions, already lifeless before they even touched the ground.

One of them managed to get around to the side.

Quick.

Precise.

He appeared behind Kael with his claws already raised, aiming directly at his neck.

Kael twisted his wrist slightly.

That's all.

The vampire's body was ripped from the air as if pulled by an invisible force, the movement abruptly interrupted before being hurled against a nearby tree with enough force to split the trunk in two. The impact was followed by a dry crack, and the body slid to the ground completely inert.

Another tried something different.

He didn't advance.

He raised his hands.

The energy around him began to concentrate, a dark beam forming, charged with destructive intent, aiming directly at Kael's center.

He fired.

The attack crossed the space in a straight line, tearing through the air with absurd speed.

It stopped a few centimeters from Kael's face.

Suspended. Immobile.

As if frozen in time.

Kael stared at it for a brief moment, his expression neutral, almost disinterested.

Then he clenched his fist.

The beam imploded.

The energy was compressed upon itself into a tiny point before disappearing completely, leaving only a slight distortion in the air as a trace.

The vampire who had fired didn't even have time to react.

The same force that destroyed the attack returned to him.

His body was compressed from the inside out, as if something invisible had squeezed every part of him simultaneously. The sound was grotesque, damp, and when the pressure ceased, there was no longer a human form there, only an unrecognizable mass on the ground.

Kael took another step forward.

With each movement, space seemed to give way.

The control he exerted wasn't explosive, it wasn't chaotic, it was absolute. Every air current, every pressure variation, every minute displacement of the environment was under complete control, responding to the slightest intention.

Two vampires tried to attack together from opposite sides.

One was pulled upwards, his body spinning in the air before being crushed against the ground with absurd force.

The other managed to get closer.

For an instant.

Enough to reach out.

To almost touch him.

Then his arm simply… disappeared.

Torn off.

Not cut.

Not lacerated.

Removed from existence at that specific point.

The scream that followed was short.

Because, in the next instant, the rest of his body was divided into multiple parts by invisible cuts that traversed the space around him like blades of compressed wind.

The ground was already covered.

Blood.

Fragments.

Silence broken only by the brief sounds of impact and destruction.

Some still tried to run. Desperate now.

No arrogance.

No provocation.

Just survival.

One of them lunged against the barrier again, with more force, more speed, trying to force his way through.

The impact was worse this time.

The barrier didn't just stop him.

It responded.

The reflected energy coursed through his body like a shockwave, breaking every bone, destroying every internal structure before hurling him back down, already dead.

Another tried to climb the trees.

To disappear into the height.

The wind around Kael changed direction.

An updraft formed and, in the next instant, violently reversed, pulling his body back to the ground with crushing force, the impact creating a small crater where he fell.

Kael didn't accelerate.

He didn't need to.

Every movement of his was enough.

Every gesture, minimal.

Every decision, final.

One of the last ones still standing looked around.

He saw what remained.

Bodies.

Parts.

Silence.

And then he looked at Kael.

For the first time…

Without arrogance.

Without defiance.

Just… fear.

He tried to speak.

"W-wait—"

Kael didn't answer.

The air around him contracted.

And the vampire simply collapsed.

As if he had been crushed from all sides at once.

The sound was muffled.

Final.

And then…

Silence.

True silence.

No movement.

No breath.

No eyes watching from the shadows.

The forest, which before seemed alive with hidden presences, was now empty.

Heavy.

Marked.

Kael stood still in the center of it all for a few seconds.

The wind began to slow down.

The currents slowly dissipated.

The pressure decreased.

Until the environment returned to its natural state.

Or as close as possible to it.

He looked around.

One last time.

Confirming.

Thirty-three.

None remaining.

Kael let out a light sigh.

He ran a hand over his face.

Kael looked at the bodies and… "Rise." He spoke, and all the souls were bathed in the power of the umbral and joined the army.

He then simply turned and left.