The First Prince of Hell is Human?

Hollow Night was a dangerous place, where many early morning hikers had gone missing due to what the town police chief had referred to as 'wild animal attacks'

Because of this, early morning jogs and hikes usually started at 8 am.

Leo had stuck to his early morning routine for over a year and always wondered why he never came across these wild beasts, but now he understood why—his ring.

It protected him from the so-called wild beasts.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

A low, guttural growl escaped Isaiah's lips, and his crimson-hued eyes glowed fiercer than ever. His body trembled with anger, but his rage did not supersede the fear in its eyes.

Isaiah was a Fledgling—a term for newly turned vampires or young vampires. Vampires of this level weren't unique in any way.

They only possessed lightly greater strength than humans and unlimited stamina. Their wounds healed at a moderate speed, and like every other vampire, the sunlight made them feel sick, greatly reducing their effectiveness in the daytime.

Leo knew this more than anyone, that's why he led Isaiah here. He was skilled in kickboxing, fencing, judo, jiujitsu, and many more fighting styles.

His weightlifting capability was currently capped at 135-185+ lbs; this made him considerably stronger than kids his age bracket.

Whatever advantage Isaiah gained from being a vampire was currently reduced by the sun rays filtering through the fog.

'I can win!' Leo mumbled as he tossed his phone and earphones to the ground and assumed a fighting pose.

Bam!

And so it began!

Isaiah broke into a raged-bull sprint, his belly swaying to the sides as he moved at a speed that left Leo with one thought:

'I miscalculated!'

Leo reacted fast with a side hop while he slashed at the blurred figure blitzing past him.

Swish!

Silence followed, except for the sound of rustling leaves and the blood dripping off the edge of Leo's blade.

"I'm... I'm.... bleeding?" Isaiah's voice carried hints of disbelief, while his trembling hand hovered over the bloody gash wound on his left shoulder.

His facial expression carried a mixture of confusion and pain—like that of a child who got cut and was seeing his blood for the first time.

Leo, on the other hand, was bombarded with a mixture of many emotions. A good part of his life had been dedicated to training just for this moment and now the moment was here, he couldn't help but feel anxious.

He was alone in the woods with a wild beast, and all he had on him was a pocket knife and the burning desire to kill anything non-human.

'This is enough... I am skilled enough to win!' Leo pushed aside the doubt with positive affirmations.

He watched as the shock and terror in Isaiah's eyes turned to pure madness. His crimson eyes were replaced with darkness and the tiny dark pupil was replaced with crimson light.

But it didn't stop there; the darkness within his eyes spread across his eyelids in the form of cracks; Isaiah's fangs grew two inches longer, and his neatly trimmed nails grew into claws.

Watching pulsating black veins bulging all over his body while his skin turned paler than ever sent a cold sweat down Leo's spine.

"Gaa~aah... kikiki~kikiki,"

Isaiah made strange sounds, a crazed smile spreading across his lips as his gaze returned to Leo.

Bam!

Isaiah's movement was a blur this time, barely visible to Leo. He quickly sidestepped, swinging his blade. His eyes twitched with pain as he felt pain on the right side of his abdomen.

Leo landed on his feet but ended up on his knee, his left hand pressed against his wound. A red liquid slowly spread across his tracksuit, and the burning pain intensified.

He gritted his teeth, looking up to see Isaiah's figure froze, and his empty gaze fixated on a small chuck of Leo's bloody flesh.

Its lower jaw slacked, stretching beyond human capabilities as it opened wide, connected by strings of gooey saliva. It let the piece of meat fall and its jaws snapped close like that of an alligator snapping turtle.

Fresh blood rolled down the edges of his lips as Isaiah munched on Leo's flesh with a blissful smile.

"Tasty."

Leo's belly churned at Isaiah's words, while beads of sweat rolled down his face. He struggled to his feet, his pocket knife pointed at Isaiah.

'They can get this strong and fast?'

'How are we supposed to win against something like this?'

Leo mumbled in disbelief. If a fat, unhealthy fledgling can get this strong and overpower him, how are humans supposed to win against these monsters?

His hands were shaky, his body sweaty and his breathing heavy. The pain around his abdomen only got worse with each passing moment, while his body felt heavier.

Yet, Isaiah bubbled with energy...

A reasonable portion of his blue tracksuit had been dyed red with blood, but the gash on Isaiah's shoulder had healed entirely.

'So this is the impossible odds dad always talked about.'

A feeling of realization dawned on Leo. He finally had an understanding of the type of odds Luthor fought against when he left home.

He wasn't discouraged, rather excited. Knowing humans found themselves in desperate situations like this and still fought their way out, gave him something to feel proud of.

Leo wanted to be one of those men who had looked these monsters straight in the eyes and walked out victorious.

"Grin with tears... Gotcha!"

Leo's lips spread unnaturally wide, revealing his perfect dentition yet the terror in his eyes remained. His feet kicked against the forest ground as he assumed a fighting stance, even though his body trembled with pain.