After knocking aside a soldier who lunged at him, Adrian's suppressed fury detonated through his "Doomsday" template, his eyes instantly turning a blazing scarlet as intense Heat Vision burst forth without hesitation.
The crimson beams, hot as molten metal, struck the nearest soldier, forcing him flying backward with a sickening impact. The heat cut clean through armor and flesh, tearing open the soldier's torso and sending blood and organs spraying across the ground.
Without pause, the Heat Vision continued its horizontal sweep through the ranks, like a blade forged from pure solar fire cutting through steel cable.
Whoosh!
Even though the soldiers had been transformed into vampires, their bodies — though resilient in some ways — were brittle and fragile against the slicing beams. Wherever the crimson rays passed, bodies were cleaved in half, blood spraying in crimson rivers that stained the earth. The air filled with screams and wails that transformed the battlefield into a hellish vista of carnage and ruin.
After clearing the immediate area with ruthless precision, Adrian surged forward like a phantom of slaughter, closing in on the nearest dodging vampire soldier. As the soldier attempted to jump away, Adrian grabbed him by the throat, twisted with a single effortless motion, and snapped it clean.
With his usual impassive stare, Adrian flung the corpse forward.
Bang!
The body slammed into the fender of a military vehicle, splattering crimson mist across dented metal.
Then the surviving vampire soldiers, barely keeping themselves conscious amidst the carnage, fired a rocket at him.
The RPG‑7, trailing its long plume of exhaust, was overkill for ordinary humans — but in their desperate minds, maybe it could slow Adrian.
When the rocket's trail reached him, Adrian caught it mid‑flight with one hand, holding it as though it were a twig. With a flick, he tossed it back toward the soldiers who fired it.
Boom!
The explosion was thunderous, a violent mushroom cloud blooming where they stood. The force sent shockwaves rippling across the ground, pebbles and dust launching into the air like shrapnel in a quake.
Then Adrian launched himself skyward.
Heat Vision streamed from his eyes like twin columns of celestial fire.
Crimson rays struck the battlefield broadband, tearing apart both the vampiric flesh and any metal equipment that dared stand in their path. Explosions, ruptures of body and machine, reverberated across the field as nothing could withstand the inferno he unleashed.
Inside the combat command center, the officials and military personnel watched in stunned silence. Through shattered screens and static, they saw Adrian — divine in power, terrifying in wrath — obliterating the entire legion of attackers in moments.
The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Officials stared in absolute disbelief.
Meli, the state government official, stood with her mouth agape, eyes locked on the screen in shock.
How could the army stand no chance against this man? she wondered. Could someone like this possibly hijack the presidency with ease?
She looked around at her colleagues, only to find them equally dumbfounded.
Finally, Meli turned to General Ryan, eyebrows deeply furrowed with frustration disguised as disbelief.
"General Ryan," she said, "you need to explain why your soldiers are acting so strangely. Their speed and strength are beyond any trained human's capability. Are these uniforms equipped with unauthorized enhancements?"
General Ryan, cigar in hand, did not flinch. His expression stayed stoic.
"That's classified military information," he said, voice firm. "Miss Meli, I'm not at liberty to disclose such details."
Meli pushed back. "Then at least withdraw and regroup. Whatever this is, it should not be fought with standard troops."
Ryan's eyes narrowed as he stared at her. "I am the commander here," he stated flatly, "and I suggest you cease your baseless complaints."
Seeing others in the room casting unfriendly glances her way, Meli reluctantly fell silent.
At that moment, equipment across the command center sputtered and died. Static overtook the large screen as the live footage disappeared into white noise.
Frustration flickered across Ryan's face.
"Can we switch frequencies?" he asked a nearby technician.
"We're unable to connect," the tech replied, perspiration beading on his forehead. "Signal equipment was overwhelmed by the opponent's Heat Vision interference, and we've lost communication with all active teams."
Ryan remained tensely focused when a radar operator suddenly shouted:
"Unidentified flying object approaching!"
Alarms blared as red alert lights filled the room.
Ryan dropped his cigar and rushed into the corridor, his mind racing.
Just as he stepped away from the command center, a thunderous boom echoed above. The ceiling crumbled, raining debris down with violent force. Panicked personnel scattered as concrete and steel collapsed behind Ryan as well.
Outside, standing in the air above the ruined base, Adrian hovered with unblinking scarlet eyes. With sweeping Heat Vision targeting what remained of the temporary military base, he executed a devastating bombardment.
Rather than true clones, the four identical images of Adrian were afterimages created by his super‑speed, each firing beams from different angles — northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest. The coordinated onslaught reduced the four‑story base to nothing more than rubble and dust.
Rumble!
The building crumbled entirely.
Meli, having barely escaped, had no time to react before General Ryan tackled her to the ground to avoid falling debris. They landed with a bang! against a wall, knocking Ryan unconscious instantly.
A boulder crashed down where Meli had been standing moments ago. She swallowed fear as dust choked the air. Struggling upright, she saw something that froze her in place.
In mid‑air stood a figure with glowing crimson eyes — like some night‑born predator.
Inside the collapsing building, a colleague struggling to escape suddenly revealed long fangs and red‑luminous eyes as he leapt from a window.
Before he hit the ground, a scorching beam of laser‑like heat struck him mid‑flight.
Thud.
He fell in an unmoving heap, a pool of befouled blood forming beneath him.
Meli blinked, stunned beyond belief. Vampires… in the air… laser beams tearing them apart?
Dazed, she seized a moment to think. There must be a shelter nearby.
Dragging Ryan's unconscious body, she smashed the glass to a fire‑lock corridor and retrieved a fire axe. With trembling strength, she pried open a safety shelter door just before the final collapse of the building's structure. The partial collapse left a triangular space where she and Ryan were mostly shielded from total burial, though debris still pressed in crushingly close.
Outside, after Adrian had decimated the military base with Heat Vision, he slowly descended in controlled flight, impassive as witnessed ruin stretched out before him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three figures materialized before him in flickers of motion.
Supergirl (Kara), Wonder Woman, and Zatanna stood silently, watching the devastation.
From Adrian's hardened gaze, he initially assumed they had been infected — like the rest — their wills compromised.
"It seems your will is not strong enough to withstand the vampire virus mutation," Adrian stated blackly.
Zatanna stepped forward, face shadowed but determined. "We do not regret becoming stronger or embracing what we are now. Adrian, will you not stand with us?"
"I'm certain," Adrian replied with flat indifference. "I have no desire to become an infected creature. I protect women, respect strength, but I feel no sympathy for those whose minds have been broken by this virus."
Crimson light flared in his eyes as he lifted his gaze toward them, Heat Vision igniting.
"Wait," a voice said behind him.
Batman stepped forward from the fringe of darkness, his silhouette jagged and severe against the carnage.
"To deal with them, Adrian, you must understand the threat," Batman said coolly, stepping beside him.
"They are not ordinary vampires," Batman continued, voice low and measured.
"You…" Adrian looked at Batman with complex disdain. "Are you infected too?"
"More or less," Batman admitted with a gravelly tone. "I experience both the physical and mental effects. I can help you fight them, not for my sake, but to stop this crisis."
Adrian gave a shrug that was all contempt. "Whether I trust you or not, do not slow me down."
Without hesitation, Adrian turned toward Wonder Woman and launched himself at her.
She raised her forearm to block his brutal advance, and their clash echoed with crushing force.
Still infected, her body fought back, but Adrian was relentless. He redirected his Heat Vision and blasted her away.
Supergirl rushed in, attempting to grasp Adrian's arm, but Adrian twisted her neck, slamming her to the ground with brutal precision.
At this moment, Adrian's power, amplified by moonlight and infused with his brutal template, surged beyond ordinary comprehension.
Meanwhile, Batman engaged Zatanna, using his enhanced physical prowess and tactical edge to match her magic‑assaults. Evading her spell with a swift motion, he retrieved a bottle of yellow reagent, activated a filter mask, and readied himself for the fight ahead.