Debris rained down from above, choking the Court in dust. Light poured in—unnatural, sharp, and burning hot. A flash grenade detonated midair, searing the ancient chamber in blinding white.
Screams echoed.
Sabastin shouted, "Shields!"
Vampires moved like shadows—fast, fluid. But the hunters were faster.
Figures in silver-lined armor dropped into the Court, wielding blades infused with iron, garlic dust, and blessed silver. Their boots hit the ground like thunderclaps. At the head of them, Agent Killian himself landed with the grace of a man born for war.
Alex shielded his eyes, fangs instinctively bared. "What the hell is this?!"
"Welcome to your coronation," Killian said coldly, his blade already raised. "Or your execution."
Then chaos broke loose.
The Court erupted into screams and snarls as vampires charged, claws gleaming and teeth exposed. But the hunters came prepared. One woman slashed through a lesser vampire's throat—black blood sprayed across the chamber wall. Another launched iron bolts from a wrist-mounted crossbow, pinning a guard to a pillar.
Alex moved to fight—but stumbled. The transformation had changed him, yes—but he hadn't mastered it. His muscles twitched. His bones ached. The blood in his veins boiled too fast.
Adam yanked him back just before a flash-bomb detonated.
"Come on!" Adam screamed, dragging Alex toward cover. "You're not dying in this damn bat-cave!"
Across the court, Lady Nereza fought with elegance and fury. She spun, danced through attacks like smoke, slicing a hunter's throat open with a whisper of her blade. But for every vampire who struck, another fell.
Lord Corvan roared, cleaving two hunters in half with a great black axe.
"This is our Court!" he bellowed. "You want it? Come and bleed for it!"
Killian met him head-on.
Their swords clashed in a shower of sparks. Corvan's brute strength versus Killian's precise speed. One strike missed, another hit—drawing blood that hissed on contact with silver.
Sabastin grabbed Alex and pulled him behind a shattered pillar.
"You have to go!"
"I'm not leaving them to die!"
"You're not ready," Sabastin said, grabbing his collar. "You're powerful, yes—but untamed. They want you dead before you become what they fear."
"And what's that?"
Sabastin locked eyes with him. "A god among monsters."
Another explosion shook the chamber.
Nereza screamed—impaled through the stomach by a blessed spear. Her skin cracked like porcelain, her fangs gritted. But she didn't fall. She twisted the shaft from her gut and drove it through her attacker's skull.
Blood painted the court floor.
Alex couldn't take it anymore.
He stood.
His hands trembled—but his eyes glowed brighter. His hearing sharpened. Every heartbeat in the chamber pulsed in his skull like a war drum. He stepped from behind cover—and a hunter charged him.
He didn't think.
He moved.
The blade came down—and Alex caught it with his bare hand.
The silver sizzled against his skin, burning. But he didn't let go.
He pulled the hunter in—and drove his fist through the man's chest.
The hunter dropped. Dead.
Adam stared, wide-eyed.
Alex turned. "Let's end this."
Together, they moved through the chaos. Alex fought on instinct—slashing with claws, dodging bullets, ripping weapons from corpses. He was learning fast. Every second, the blood in him grew louder. Stronger.
But so did the danger.
Killian had broken away from Corvan. He now stalked toward Alex, wiping vampire blood from his blade.
"You're a mistake," he growled. "A virus in human skin."
Alex raised his sword. "I didn't ask for this. But I'm not dying here."
"No," Killian said. "You're dying now."
Their blades clashed.
The fight was brutal. Fast.
Killian moved like a viper—each strike aimed to kill. But Alex was no longer a student. His body knew how to move now—how to counter, how to flow. He blocked, ducked, lashed out with monstrous strength.
Killian grunted as Alex's strike sent him sliding back.
But the hunter smiled.
"You're still green."
He reached into his coat and pulled a vial glowing white.
Alex froze.
"Sunlight serum," Sabastin shouted. "Don't let it touch you!"
Killian smashed it at Alex's feet.
The light exploded.
Alex screamed.
His skin blistered. Steam rose from his arms. Pain ripped through him like acid, and he collapsed—writhing. The blood screamed with him.
"NO!" Adam rushed forward, pulling him free from the light. "He's not done!"
Killian walked toward the body. "He was never meant to live."
Then—BOOM.
A thunderous howl tore through the chamber.
Lord Corvan tackled Killian like a beast, sending them both crashing into a wall.
"You don't touch the heir," he hissed, fangs soaked in blood.
Nereza limped toward Alex. She poured a second vial—black and thick—down his throat. "Drink. Heal."
Alex coughed. Screamed. Then... rose again.
His skin smoked, but healed. His eyes weren't red now—they were black, rimmed in gold. His veins glowed faintly.
He stepped forward.
And Killian—bloody, furious—backed away, just once.
"Now," Alex said, voice deeper. "Let's dance."
He attacked with fury—inhumanly fast. His blade found Killian's side. The hunter howled, but swung again. They fought like mythic beasts—light and shadow colliding in the ruins of the court.
In the end, Killian lost his blade.
Alex held his sword to the man's throat.
"Do it," Killian spat.
But Alex hesitated.
"I'm not a killer," he said. "Not yet."
He turned—and dropped the sword.
Killian screamed with rage—but Nereza stepped behind him, placing a dagger to his spine.
"Go," Alex told her. "Let him crawl back to his masters. Let them know I'm not hiding anymore."
Bloodied. Broken. But alive.
The Court quieted.
The battle was over—for now.
Alex looked at the throne.
And this time... he sat.