Third Person’s POV
KYLE obliged to what Nicole wants. All of them inside the room almost held their breath at the unexpected sight. Nicole’s parents couldn’t help but cry. They knew that this would happen, but not this soon.
When Kyle fulfilled Nicole’s request, everyone was startled by a sudden loud explosion from outside.
“What’s that?” Miley asked, her eyes alert.
The door of the room they were in swung open forcefully, revealing Nick— the leader of the Vampire Hunters. “They’re here already. There are too many of them.” His worried expression is evident on his face.
The king simply nodded, clenching his fist. It seemed like their original plan didn’t work. They had planned to attack the place where Hans Croven was conducting experiments on the newly converted vampires. They had known about his resurrection for a while now.
Two can play this game. If he knew about them, they also knew about him. But they were too late. They failed to stop the evolution of the new form of the fledglings.
Queen Cassandra then turned to Kyle. “Son, take Nicole away from here. We’ll take care of the other things.”
Nicole quietly listened to their conversation. She was still weak from being bitten by Kyle, so she couldn’t move much. She remained supported by him.
However, her forehead wrinkled, oblivious to what was really happening. Meanwhile, Kyle just nodded and lifted her without hesitation.
“Wait! Where are we going?” she asked.
Kyle kissed her forehead and whispered, “Somewhere safe, babe.”
Confused by her beloved’s actions, she simply nodded.
“Okay. Now is the time. We need to end this war now,” King Zach said, and they all nodded in agreement.
They started to take action and gather things that would help them in the upcoming battle. However, at that moment, each of them was vigilant, watching each other’s movements, alert for a possible attack from the traitor.
“I’ll take care of Reiri. I promise that I will protect her,” Hiro solemnly assured Vince as he took his sister from his grasp. Her eyes were still closed.
Vince gave Hiro a murderous look. He wanted to be the one guarding his sister as much as possible. He was used to it. But it seems that the situation is different now.
“Okay. I trust you. But if anything happens to my sister, you know what will happen to you, Collins.” His voice carried a hint of threat. Vince knew that the real enemy was just around them. He just hoped it wouldn’t be his close friend.
Hiro locked eyes with him. “I will not let anything or anyone harms her, I assure you that,” Hiro said, then lifted Reiri up. He also took some daggers for her.
After reaching an agreement on what they needed to do, they all left the mansion simultaneously, greeted by a chaotic battlefield. Gunshots from the protectors filled the air, accompanied by flying knives and arrows from the vampire hunters. Some of the royal guards engaged in hand-to-hand combat using their swords.
However, their attention was drawn to the flying fledglings that they had never seen before in their entire lives.
“What the hell are those creatures?” Kira exclaimed.
They all kneeled down as one of the flying converted vampires headed in their direction.
Jacob approached them, gasping for breath. “Our dear king, I received a letter from the royal guards at the palace. They’re also under attack.” Worry etched across his face.
Everyone froze upon hearing the news. They had no choice but to split into two groups. They couldn’t allow the palace to be defeated, nor could they let chaos ensue, risking innocent lives.
“Leave. We’ll handle these creatures,” King Zach said to the young royalties, creating a large hole where he could transport the converted vampires into another dimension. He knew it would consume a great deal of his strength, but they had no other option.
They all nodded. Then he turned to Jacob. “Once I’ve dealt with all the converted vampires, we’ll head to the palace.”
“Understood, Your Majesty!” Jacob gave a quick glance to his daughter, Steph. He didn’t want to leave her if possible.
But they both had their own responsibilities.
Steph nodded with understanding and smiled at him.
The king believed that whoever among those surrounding them was the traitor, they would never succeed.
They can’t outsmart a pureblood, especially this group. He needs to trust them in this battle.
“We’ll join you at the palace,” Nicole’s parents said with determination. Then they approached Kyle with a smile on their faces. “We entrust her safety to you.”
Kyle nodded, his eyes starting to turn crimson red. “I will.”
“I’ll go with you. I’m her protector,” Steph said to Kyle, but he shook his head.
“I’ll take care of her. It will be better that way.”
Steph wanted to protest further, but she knew she had no other choice once the prince had made up his mind.
They had no one else to trust with Nicole except Kyle. That was a sure thing.
Meanwhile, the other royalties and their friends still had lingering doubts, especially since they no longer knew who they could trust.
However, they soon went their separate ways to finish what the enemy had started. They needed to split up. That way, they could easily identify the traitor.
VINCE and Steph faced the attacking rogues together. Fortunately, Steph always had her gun with her. The bullets were specially designed so that when they hit a vampire, it gradually weakened their systems until they turned to ashes.
Three rogues approached her, and she quickly ducked under them while firing shots one after another.
She didn’t mind the blood splatters on her anymore. But when she stood up and looked up, she realized that there were still two opponents waiting for her.
She quickly lay back down and grabbed another gun. As they approached, she immediately thrust both guns into the mouths of her adversaries. Simultaneously, she pulled the triggers, causing the heads of the rebellious vampires to explode.
ON HER back is Vince, who is concentrating on controlling all the arrows scattered from the sky and aiming them at the enemies around them.
With the multitude of arrows raining down from the vampire hunters, many of the rogues were killed. However, there were still a few who managed to get closer to them.
Vince swiftly ran and struck the back of a converted vampire who was with the rogues. In one fluid motion, he turned its head and beheaded it.
Their eyes briefly met. He was momentarily taken aback when he noticed that Steph’s gun was aimed at him.
“Steph? Don’t tell me...” He couldn’t finish his sentence as she suddenly began firing shots.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard what sounded like someone falling behind him. “I thought...”
He shook his head and chuckled. He didn’t think he could handle being betrayed by the woman he loved for the second time.
Steph’s face twisted while she blew the top of her gun. “To be honest, I already have a suspicion about who it is.”
Vince’s demeanor darkened. “I think we have the same suspect in mind.”
HIRO continued his relentless attacks against each rogue in front of him, while protecting the still unconscious Reiri, who was lying on the ground behind him and oblivious of the battle. He couldn’t allow her to be captured or harmed by the enemy. Besides, it was the promise he made to Vince.
He couldn’t leave her safe at home or even in the secret room. He had no idea what might happen.
But there were too many enemies. Far more than they had faced in the past. He wondered who their master was now.
“Shit!” Ten rogues were about to attack him. With all his strength, he leaped into the air and spun around before kicking them all at once. Because of the force behind his kick, they flew into the others who were charging forward.
But he paused when he noticed scattered daggers around. He turned his back and saw Reiri giving him a weak smile. She was slowly getting up.
“Sorry. Am I too late?” She chuckled.
Hiro winked at her. “You just woke up in time.” They continued fighting back-to-back.
REIRI discarded the three daggers, and they flew straight towards the three rogues, hitting their hearts with precision. She had trained herself to be proficient in various weapons, and she had developed a fondness for daggers.
As she brought down the three rogues, the daggers swiftly returned to her direction. She deftly caught them and held them between her fingers. She was now prepared to throw them again for another round of attacks.
But Hiro quickly pulled her down when he saw a converted vampire about to land near them. He swiftly pursued it and struck it down.
Using his strength, Hiro pulled the vampire’s wings and extracted its heart from behind, causing it to turn into ashes instantly.
Hiro leaped back, but due to the force, the ground beneath him cracked open.
“Well, what can you say?” Hiro wiggled his eyebrows at Reiri.
But before she could respond, Reiri slowly sat down, her expression changing.
“Rei!” Hiro hurriedly approached her. “Are you seeing something again?”
A tear unexpectedly fell from Reiri’s eye. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing, and she never expected that the traitor would be someone they trusted the most.
“I-I already saw it. I saw who betrayed us.” Her voice trembled with a mix of emotions.
“Who?” Hiro tightened his grip on her shoulders.
But before she could even answer, something fell near them and caused a massive explosion.
“Rei!” Hiro quickly moved her away. He held her tightly as if afraid she would disappear.
Both Hiro and Reiri looked up and saw the converted vampire retreating. It was likely the one responsible for dropping the bomb towards them.
Gradually, Reiri’s eyes turned a crimson red. It was an unusual sight for her, as she had never displayed such a form to anyone before.
She broke free from Hiro’s embrace and stared at him intently. “We need to catch up with Kyle.”
MILEY and Kira held hands as they approached the beach. Miley took out her knife and threw it into the wind. It spun in the air and caused all five fledglings surrounding them to fall simultaneously.
Kira moved with such speed that he seemed like a gust of wind to their enemies. They couldn’t attack him because they couldn’t keep up with his movements.
One by one, their heads fell as Kira decapitated them, his hand dripping with blood from the hearts he tore out.
Their eyes turned red, and their fangs protruded. They rarely took on this form, much like Reiri, but they did so when consumed by rage.
They were about to attack another group of oncoming fledglings when, in an instant, all of them turned to ashes. Kira and Miley paused, sensing an invisible assailant they couldn’t see.
They nearly jumped in surprise when someone appeared before them out of nowhere. Their eyes widened in disbelief. They never expected to see her at this moment.
“Mikan,” they both whispered.
When Mikan had defeated all of the enemies, she faced them. Confirming their conclusion, Mikan smiled weakly at them and said, “I’m sorry.” Those words immediately came out of her mouth.
“Mikan! What are you doing here? And how were you able to fight them without us even seeing you?” Miley asked, confused.
She raised her left arm, where a bracelet was worn.
“Dave gave this to me before. He said that this can help me a lot, since it has the power to make someone invisible. That’s why I was able to escape from him.”
“To whom? Tell us, Mikan! Are there any remaining followers of Marcus from the previous battle? Who is leading the enemies attacking us now?” Kira asked, gripping her shoulders tightly.
Mikan sighed. “Before that, there’s something you need to know. There’s a traitor in your group. You shouldn’t trust that person,” she said straightforwardly before scanning her surroundings as if searching for something.
“I know it sounds suspicious coming from me, but you need to hear me out for now,” she added.
“Who?” Despite feeling doubtful, Miley still wanted to hold onto Nicole’s belief that there was still goodness in Mikan’s heart.
“It’s—” Before she could continue, Mikan slowly collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood.
“Mikan!” Miley rushed to her side, while Kira slowly lifted her gaze to see who had just arrived.
“Victoria,” Kira muttered under her breath upon seeing the woman standing in front of them.
Victoria Seige. She was a black witch known for her strong envy towards Sapphire Almed, who led the black witch coven.
“You’re the—”
“Right. It’s me. I was the one who helped Marcus back then.” Victoria smirked.
“Mikan, hold on!”
Kira’s attention shifted to Miley, who was crying and filled with despair as she saw Mikan’s eyes closing. She knew that Mikan had been stabbed in the back, and the wound seemed deep.
“She deserves it. She’s too talkative and meddlesome. She’s no different from her brother.”
Before Kira could even react, Victoria vanished into the wind. Kira clenched his fist and hurriedly approached the two.
“Mikan, tell me. Who is the traitor?” he desperately asked.
Once again, blood emerged from Mikan’s mouth. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
“Damn! What’s happening to her?” Kira shouted in frustration.
“Mikan is under a dark spell. Victoria muted her.” Miley’s hands trembled with anger.
Yes, Miley had held some resentment towards Mikan in the past. But it doesn’t change the fact that she had been a part of their group too.
Kira lifted the still unconscious Mikan. She knew that Mikan was still alive due to her heavy breathing.
“Let’s go find them. We need to warn Kyle,” he said determinedly.
KYLE was running at full vampire speed. In his mind, he couldn’t let Hans see Nicole, especially now.
This was not part of the plan. He hadn’t expected Nicole’s desire to become one of them again.
Because if he remembered correctly, Nicole had previously wanted to be a human and live a normal life. Especially since she had a significant responsibility as a pureblood princess from the strongest pureblood lineage. So now that she had been reborn as a human, he hadn’t considered the possibility that she might want to become a vampire once more.
“Kyle? Where are we going? We should help them,” Nicole whispered, but he still managed to hear her words.
“Don’t worry. I just need you to bring me to that place,” Kyle reassured her.
But Kyle cursed in his mind when a group of rogues blocked their path. He briefly stopped and surveyed the area. Seconds later, a flame started to spread around them, burning each of the rogues.
Once all the enemies around them were consumed by the flames, he continued running.
However, he stopped again when they encountered something in their way. Throughout his entire run, they were the only ones they had come across. The royalties were nowhere in sight.
He could feel Nicole’s body tensing at what she saw.
“Brother! Athena!” Nicole shouted.
“What happened here?” Kyle asked as soon as he reached them.