Maria escaped through the sewers beneath the Bronx and made her way to Manhattan. Along the way, she didn't encounter any pursuers—nor did she sense anyone tailing her.
Now she huddled in the shadows of a stairwell, her entire body burning with heat. Whatever Lynn had concocted was hitting her with some serious side effects. It had restored her human senses—but brought back pain she hadn't felt in ages.
She changed into fresh clothes, drenched in sweat, feeling as if a blazing fire raged inside her, her mind teetering on the edge of delirium.
At this moment, Maria had only one thought: get back, find Lynn, and beg him to save her. She wasn't ready to give up this fleeting taste of a life she hadn't had in so long.
Once she'd reclaimed her human senses, the vampire existence she'd clung to felt like nothing more than a mouthful of dry hay.
She made her way through the shadows of Manhattan, finally returning to the familiar den she remembered from before. The place had been renovated—on the first floor, shops had been carved out, and above, panes of pitch-black, light-absorbing glass shielded the building's interior from prying eyes. She couldn't see what was going on inside, but she knew: it was full of her own armed subordinates—and the one person she feared most, who was now her only hope of survival.
Maria couldn't muster up a shred of resentment. After a month like this, she fully understood that Lynn was someone she could never truly fathom.
"One more step… just one more…"
Sweat dripped from her chin onto the floor as she staggered and crawled her way into the building.
The cool air inside helped a little. Maria got in the elevator, punched the button for the top floor, and finally slumped to the floor, closing her eyes to catch her breath.
—
At that moment, Lynn was already back on the tower's top floor. He'd just closed the hidden elevator that led to the underground laboratory when he sensed something different.
"She's back, Doctor—and she brought some guests."
"Carla, get some people ready. We've got a few visitors to entertain."
"I'll handle it."
"Good."
Maria stumbled out of the elevator, collapsing as soon as she hit the hallway—her whole body felt swollen and about to burst. She scrambled toward Lynn's room as if fleeing a disaster, flung the door open, and saw him sitting at his desk, watching her.
"What happened to the subordinates you took with you?"
"They're all probably dead, Doctor—please, save me, I feel like I'm about to explode!"
Maria could sense that her body was reaching some kind of limit, about to turn into a mass of dark energy at any moment.
"Come here. Hmm, the instability is worse than I thought. After all, I tuned your blend specifically for adaptation to dark energy. This outcome was within my calculations."
Maria crawled over and collapsed at Lynn's feet. He placed his palm—radiating a violet energy—against her face, and the roiling dark energy inside her finally subsided. It felt as if her pain, her consciousness, and even her spirit were being drawn out of her. For a few seconds, a sweet, intoxicating sensation filled her mind. Then Lynn withdrew his hand, patted her cheek, and said:
"Step aside."
Maria, with a fleeting hint of reluctance, quickly did as she was told. Lynn closed the book he was reading and looked up.
"I do appreciate you not causing any extra losses among my staff. Now, shall we have a word?"
Lynn had sensed someone trailing Maria. Honestly, it would've been weird if she'd managed to escape in her condition without attracting any tails. Still, nobody showed themselves right away.
"Really…"
He sighed. Maybe they thought he was bluffing. He wasn't. If they wouldn't come out, he'd have to bring them out himself.
All at once, violet flames ignited throughout the room, lighting up the empty air. Several figures instantly appeared, dissolving from shadows to corporeal forms—one even tried to retreat through the doorway, only to find a wall of violet psionic energy blocking the way.
"So? Ready to talk now?"
No response. The vampires, clad in tight-fitting combat suits, silently drew their weapons and trained them on Lynn.
"Tough crowd. Looks like you didn't send anyone important."
"Do it."
At Lynn's command, gunfire erupted. The vampires hidden in Lynn's room unleashed a terrifying crossfire, bullets crisscrossing in lethal patterns. But these special ops vampires weren't ordinary grunts—their fingers flashed, and the rings on their hands gleamed with dark magic. Arcane runes sparked into being, repelling the incoming bullets and imbuing the intruders with protective enhancements.
Deadly bullets bounced off the magical wards. Meanwhile, the invaders struck back—firing their own weapons and drawing crimson magic-infused blades. Those blades not only cut bullets out of the air, but sliced through Lynn's vampire guards with disturbing ease, their body armor offering about as much protection as butter.
One swing, and a guard was cleaved in two.
Lynn could only shake his head—his own vampires were serviceable, but up against faction elites, they were about as useful as cannon fodder.
"Maria."
In the midst of gunfire, Lynn issued his order. He wasn't interested in getting his hands dirty every time. He got up and walked out of the room, leaving the mess behind.
"Make sure at least two of them live."
But the intruders knew their best shot was to go for the boss. Once the fight stabilized, one of them transformed into a cloud of swirling crimson mist, materializing beside Lynn and reaching out to seize him.
No chance.
A flash of violet light—the attacker was knocked back by a crushing force, sent sprawling as psionic flames erupted around him. He felt the energy draining from his body, as if something was sucking his life away. Before he could react, specially designed bullets tore through him, setting his body ablaze from the inside out. In seconds, he was reduced to a pile of ash.
After that, nothing stood in Lynn's way.
Maria had already unleashed her true form—a massive tail buzzing through the air and slicing enemies in half, taking down intruders and unlucky guards alike, impaling hearts in one sweeping motion.
The intruders, once dead, turned to ash. The guards, bisected but with heads and hearts intact, kept twitching on the ground.
Thanks to Lynn's energy extraction, Maria was feeling better than ever. The gleaming blue blade that extended from her arm hummed as she cut down enemies at lightning speed. Their dark magical defenses crumbled under attacks of equal power, offering none of the protection they'd had against bullets. Maria cut them down like wheat.
Lynn closed the door behind him. Carla stood outside, with a squad of vampire soldiers stationed in the hallway—clearly, Lynn had contingencies. But these were the only intruders.
Carla handed Lynn a moist towelette. He wiped his hands and said, "Prep the implants."
"Understood, Doctor."
Maria's rampage lasted barely five minutes. After that initial stalemate, all that was left inside were screams. The intruders' modern weaponry, magic blades, and spells were useless. Facing an unstoppable monster, their morale broke quickly.
Finally, when only two were left, both dropped their weapons, tore off their tactical helmets, and shouted:
"Commander Zoya wants to talk! Stop! Please stop!"
They surrendered with the universal gesture—hands up, no resistance.
"Why talk now?" Maria's voice was warped by the chaotic energies in her body, echoing ominously.
"Because she has information about Brutus. If you want to destroy Nosferatu, you'll need what she knows."
Maria returned to normal form. Carla opened the door and motioned for Maria to get dressed again.
"The Doctor will spare your life. Have your commander meet us in the conference room."
They assembled in a separate room, which looked like the same conference room where Daiken had slaughtered the other vampire clan elders—a huge round table dominated the space.
Zoya and Lynn sat on opposite sides of the table.
"I'm happy to talk, but first, care to explain yourself?" Lynn asked.
"You have plans for Nosferatu, don't you?"
"That's beside the point. I want to know why you'd betray your master."
"There's no betrayal here. I was never one of Brutus' people. If it weren't for my two smart subordinates being the last ones standing, I wouldn't have bothered to save them."
Zoya pulled a sigil from her waist pouch. "This is the Keeper's sigil. My people and I are not Brutus'—your loyal dog over there is with the Blood Covenant, so she should recognize this emblem."
Lynn gestured to Maria, who nodded after inspecting the sigil.
"Interesting. But I'm still not convinced. Let your subordinate talk to me alone—I have my own way to verify your story."
Zoya looked back at her survivor, then nodded. She was confident she could escape if needed, but she couldn't bear to abandon the two she'd raised herself.
"Herman, go with him."
"Please."
A short while later, Lynn led Herman, the male vampire, into an adjacent chamber. As the vampire worried about what was coming, psionic tentacles locked him in place.
"Now, let's see if you're telling the truth."
Lynn's psionic tentacles reached into his skull, probing his brain and extracting the memories he needed.
"Herman Heinrich, vampire spy of the Keeper's Blood Covenant… Hmm…"
Lynn quickly found what he was after. He wasn't gentle—he pulled the memories roughly, not bothering with precision. The vampire began to twitch uncontrollably.
"So that's how black magic works. You're siphoning off power from the Dark Dimension and Xithorn, dodging your creditors by preventing the convergence of the Dark Grimoire. Let's dig a little deeper… Oh, some memories are sealed. That's enough."
Lynn ended the probe. Herman collapsed, vomiting the contents of his stomach, visibly shaken.
The most terrifying part: he remembered nothing of what had happened.
All he saw was Lynn's back as he walked out.
"I've confirmed your story. So, what do you want to say?"
"You want to take down Nosferatu, right?"
"That's right."
"Then our interests align. Lord Elaine of the Keeper's Blood Covenant doesn't want to see Nosferatu push too far down the path of magic. I can help. I know where Brutus' catacombs are and how to break the magical seals. Let my people go, and I'll tell you right now."
Lynn verified her words against Herman's memories. When Herman returned, he was clearly worse for wear.
"Tell me part of what you know, and I'll decide."
"First, the catacombs are in the Bronx. The entrance seal is primarily…"
Zoya shared some intelligence, which Lynn cross-checked with Herman's memories. The details matched up.
"Alright. I accept. You can send one of your people away now."
"Herman."
She nodded, and Herman left the conference room—soon vanishing into the Manhattan night.
"Now, tell me everything else you know."
Lynn glanced at the other surviving vampire.