I have an idea...

Even though Cadis and her vampires had lived for centuries, there was one question they had never considered: Why would anyone be able to shoot lasers from their crotch?

No one could explain it, and no one could remain standing. No matter how indecent Jos’s posture, once beams of laser pierced through their bodies, all else lost meaning...

"Today, every last one of you must die! No one who has witnessed this ability will live!" Jos raged as he fired, determined to ensure no one could ever reveal this secret. He unleashed his most powerful force, slaughtering the vampires in a frenzy.

After dozens of lasers fired in the most undignified poses, not a single vampire remained standing in the room. The unlucky ones were vaporized entirely, while those with a bit more luck—Cadis included—were left gravely wounded, with little time left to live.

The lasers from the Flash Fruit inflicted far more devastation than ordinary sunlight. The wounds, scorched and festering, showed no sign of healing, and instead corroded the surrounding flesh like a deadly poison.

Jos, using his flash-transformed limb to burn through the wooden stool, managed to free himself. He glanced at Cadis, who lay dying on the floor, and smiled as he said, "I told you earlier there were two reasons for what I did. Aside from disliking your personality, the main reason is the other one."

"What? What is it? So you are interested in my body after all, aren't you? Aren't you!!"

On the brink of death, Cadis grew unexpectedly animated at his words, her eyes wide with anticipation. Her vanity surprised even Jos.

But he shook his head firmly, denying the last straw Cadis clung to.

"If you want to know why..." Jos flashed a bright, genuine smile. In his clear eyes, Cadis felt she saw a pilgrim, a saint.

In that moment, Cadis was transported back—long before she became a vampire, before she became a model. She had been a perfectly ordinary high school girl, whose greatest wish was to dance with her crush at the school prom.

Yes, just a single dance.

Cadis remembered that her gaze, back then, was just as clear—untainted by desire or greed.

"Ah... yes... after being turned into a vampire, I must have forgotten even the lofty soul of humanity..."

Perhaps as the old saying goes, a dying person speaks kindly; in her last moments, Cadis’s soul grew clear once more, as if she had returned to her innocent teenage self.

"You have ended my sinful life, but you also saved my soul... You are truly an extraordinary vampire hunter..."

Cadis smiled at Jos, a genuine smile she hadn't shown in over a hundred years.

Jos sensed Cadis’s change, knew she understood him, and nodded, smiling as he softly finished his earlier words:

"Of course, it’s because I prefer flat chests! You cow-like madam, please keep your distance!"

Cadis’s eyes widened, and even as she turned to ashes, they never closed.

She died with her eyes open!

...

After dealing with Cadis, Jos encountered little resistance on his way, barely breaking a sweat before reaching the top floor of the ancient building—the residence of the Walker clan leader.

"Hey? Blade, are you done yet?" Jos shouted as he pushed open the door.

Though he asked, Jos had already listened carefully; there were no sounds of fighting inside, so he boldly entered, knowing the battle was over.

After all, Blade was a superhero, and attacking a small vampire base shouldn’t pose any real threat.

Then Jos saw a tall, dark figure, holding the unconscious Blade in one hand, its huge, tooth-filled maw open wide, ready to devour him.

"Sorry to interrupt, wrong door," Jos said blankly, closing the door in the face of the looming shadow.

"Fresh meat!" The creature burst through the wall, blocking Jos’s path before he could escape.

As for poor Blade, it tossed him into a corner, clearly preferring pure human flesh over those half-human, half-vampire hybrids!

Jos watched the creature warily, his body tense.

Black and slimy, with a maw full of sharp teeth and an absurdly long tongue—some find that pleasing, others distressing—Jos recognized it at once.

It was the infamous Venom!

"Tsk... No wonder Cadis mentioned meat-eating after blood-drinking, and how the clan leader hasn’t cared about anything lately... So Venom’s parasitized him..."

Who knows what happened between Venom and its original host, Eddie, or why it ended up in a vampire. All Jos knew was that his troubles just got bigger!

[Main quest triggered.]

[Look, a wild Venom has appeared. Just lop off its head... Wait, you can’t eat it?]

[Quest Objective: Obtain the symbiote. Rewards depend on the state of Venom you acquire.]

[Hidden Quest: Venom looks pretty good, so... would you consider "beeping" it?]

[PS: This quest is just a joke, but if you actually do it... you’ll earn at least 200,000 points of the Source of Recklessness.]

[Failure Penalty: Main quest failure reduces system level by one, deletes five random skills. But before that... let’s see—you’ve offended Venom, you can’t beat him yet, so if you don’t escape, you’re dead.]

"Is it me, or is this system getting cheekier?"

Even while dodging Venom’s attacks, Jos couldn’t help but complain at the sudden quest notifications.

Never mind the main quest, but what’s with the hidden quest? Does the system think he’s the type to sell out for 200,000 points?

Eh? Strangely enough, now that he looked closely, Venom seemed kind of cute...