"They are a failed lab experiment!"

Andrew's voice cut through the chaos, his eyes snapping toward the swarm of disfigured vampires.

"Do any of you have the power to see their Vitalis Core?"

"Failed experiment…"

David's gaze softened with horror as it fell upon the creatures: small, twisted shapes that once resembled children.

"What kind of atrocity did they do to them?"

Their fury wasn't born merely from fear that David's daughter might share their fate, it came from the truth that every one of these broken beings was no older than ten.

"What kind of monsters could do this?"

David's hands trembled before curling into fists.

The vampires shrieked and lunged. Their bodies split grotesquely, limbs tearing and reforming into distorted copies, faces melting into each other like wax left in fire.

The air thickened with the stench of iron, blood, and decay. The ground pulsed beneath their feet, slick with black ichor.

David's blade flashed through the air, but his strikes pulled short, faltering.

He dodged instead, unwilling to bring his sword down on something that once had a heartbeat.

Each fallen creature birthed another smaller, broken shape crawling out from its remains, crying in agony.

One latched onto his leg, its tiny hands clawing weakly before dissolving into ash.

Andrew, however, moved without hesitation. His jaw locked with grim resolve, his eyes steel.

"Lulu! Can you see it?" he barked.

"Ugh, more like feel it!" she shouted over the chaos, sweat glistening down her temple.

"I can sense where their power's circling in!"

"Tell me where. Now!"

Lulu flinched but quickly pointed, naming each spot where the Crystalis Cores pulsed faintly like dying stars beneath their flesh.

Andrew's arm split open like the jaws of a mechanical beast: ropes of silver, thick and gleaming under the moonlight, uncoiled with a metallic hiss.

Each strand sliced through the air with a high, shrill whine, moving with his will like living serpents.

Lulu dashed beside him, cutting down any creature that came too close, her dagger trailing arcs of light through the dark.

The silver ropes pierced through flesh and shattered cores cleanly. A dull, crystalline shatter echoed each time one fell.

The vampires froze mid-scream, their faces briefly serene before their bodies hardened, turned to charcoal stone, and cracked apart into drifting ash.

David stood frozen, his blade trembling in his grip. "Why did you do that?!" he roared, grabbing Andrew by the collar. "What if they could be saved?"

Andrew's face remained calm. "They can't be saved, David. Even if they could, they'd rather die than live like that."

"You can't decide that!"

Andrew chuckled lowly, prying David's hands off his shirt. "So who decides, then? You?"

David's lips quivered, no words forming.

"David," Andrew said softly now, his voice losing its edge, "you once told me you live like you walk in hell. Do you really want them to taste that same bitterness too?"

David's breath hitched. His shoulders fell, fury bleeding into silence. Finally, he nodded.

Without another word, the two pressed onward, toward the place where their child kidnapped, the air still heavy with ash and sorrow

***

"WHAT?! THEY'RE RUNNING AWAY!"

Roanna's shout rolled through the silent hall as she stared at Lucien, disbelief sharp in her voice.

"Where is your sister?"

"She used too much Sanguine Veins, so—" Lucien began.

Roanna cut him off. "You don't have to explain."

She dropped onto the velvet couch, thumb pressed to her mouth as she bit down, thinking. What should she do to be able to make Seamus hers forever.

Her mind raced through traps and punishments: a room specially made for him, sealed from sunlight and breath, a cell where Seamus could rot without rights or mercy.

"Yeah. That might work." Her lips tightened. "I can't let him run like a rat across my halls."

She turned to Lucien. He looked disturbingly calm, as if letting them go had been part of some plan: no panic, no guilt to match the failure.

Roanna's eyes hardened; she would make him pay for this, but not now.

Her followers had thinned, accused her of tyranny, then culled by her or her daughter.

She needed new teeth to bite with; she needed another vampire to shoulder the trouble she couldn't handle alone.

"Search for them. Now. Immediately." Her command left no room for argument.

Before Lucien could reply, the drawing-room door creaked open. An old woman shuffled in, face folded with bad news.

"My lady—" she began, breathless. "All the scavengers are dead."

Roanna had suspected as much; the scavengers' first purpose had been to seize Seamus. Now, with the Crimson Nectar slipping through her grasp, anger flared hot and ugly.

She rose like a coiled thing and screamed, "YOU ARE ALL FOOLS! SHALL I DECAPITATE YOU ALL?"

She yanked her long black hair loose, fingers tangling through it as she paced a small arc. Fifty years of planning—intrigues and contingencies—had collapsed in a single day.

"This is Velstrath's fault," she growled, eyes darting between the old woman and Lucien. "I should have been the one to take that boy."

"What are you waiting for? Get them!" she barked.

The two attendants vanished without hesitation, slipping away to scour the streets.

Roanna watched them go, her face swallowed by shadow as she considered desperate measures.

She would find them. She would make the boy pay. And if the world itself resisted, she would bend it until it broke.

***

Seamus smiled faintly as he listened to Maria's breathing steady. They were holed up in one of the Velstrath-owned houses in the neighboring town, hidden away from the chaos.

For now, they'd decided to lay low, give Isolde a chance to handle things herself this time.

Because she could. She just didn't want to.

And that was exactly what made him uneasy.

Seamus finally stood and stretched. Glancing at Maria's peaceful, sleeping face, he allowed himself a quiet breath before stepping out of the room where Diane was waiting, worry carved into her expression.

This woman had shown more emotion in half a day than she had during all their time together.

Seamus opened his mouth, intending to tell her that next time, if things went wrong, she should just teleport to the safest place instead of searching for him.

They'd been trapped in that cursed Corvine manor together. They'd searched for him instead of running.

But he closed his mouth and asked something else instead.

"Are you okay?"

Diane chuckled softly. "Why would you ask me that? Maria's the one in a coma."

"Hey, she's strong," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"She'll wake up soon and when she does, she'll be a new vampire. She'll be fine."

"It's you I'm worried about," he continued "Don't blame yourself, okay? If anyone's at fault, it's me."

Seamus lowered his gaze to the white tile floor. "Because of my blood… you—and even Bork—got dragged into this mess."

Her frown only deepened. Then, without warning, she blurted, "I want to have sex with you!"

Seamus froze, blinking at her. For a moment, he wondered if she was joking but her determined eyes said otherwise.

"Why all of a sudden?" he asked, startled.

"We're still in the middle of chaos. The Corvane are out there trying to destroy Bork and drag me back. Isolde isn't even moving—"

Diane covered his mouth with her hand, eyes glassy but refusing to cry.

"I–I'm too weak," she said, voice trembling.

"I can't protect everyone. I can't even protect you. I just… get protected. I'm a burden."

She bit her lip. "If I take your blood more, I'll evolve and be stronger." Her gaze dropped. "I'm sorry. I should've done more to help you."

Seamus sighed. He knew that feeling all too well. Even with the system's help, he couldn't defeat Elle or the rest of the Corvane.

He reached out and ruffled her red hair until it was a tangled mess, earning an annoyed glare and a light slap to his hand. But even then, a faint smile tugged at her lips.

"You've still got a long way to go," he said with a small grin.

"Don't worry too much. I can't protect everyone either not from everything that's coming."

His reassurance seemed to ease her; her shoulders relaxed as he smirked and decided to tease her instead.

"But tell me," he said, "why ask to have sex? You could just drink my blood."

Realizing how that sounded, Diane's face flushed bright pink. "It's not like that! You—you've been touched by that slut, haven't you?"

Seamus's grin widened. "Oh? Are you jealous? It's just sex."

"Jealous?!" she gasped, scandalized.

"Sex is supposed to be a holy ritual! Don't tell me you're the slut here!"

"What? Where did you even get that idea?" He burst out laughing. "I can't believe you're that innocent about sex!"

"Shut up!" she snapped, face red as a rose. "Just—just have sex with me!"

"God, you are so cute sometimes." he pinched her cheek, "Sure, I will do what you want."

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