Maike moved through the aftermath with sharp purpose, her voice steady as she brought order to chaos. Even though the undead had retreated, she wasn't taking any chances. Makeshift healing stations had sprung up across the square, not just for the fighters but for everyone—civilians, support staff, even children who had seen too much.
The air reeked of smoke and blood, tinged with the tallic tang of a battle hard-won. Here and there, a few vampires still lurked within the city’s shadows, but escape was impossible. Despite their speed and unnatural talents, they would be hunted down swiftly. There were simply too many humans stationed here for them to remain hidden long—unless soone helped them. But who would side with the undead? The living had few allies, and the undead had none.
Kaldrek had rejoined the others, retrieving his longsword from where it had fallen during his vicious duel with a vampire. Though his left arm remained wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, the bleeding had stopped, and he claid the pain was tolerable. Still, he insisted others be treated before him. Maike admired the sentint—it was noble, in its way—but also foolish.
This was a volatile phase. Tensions still simred, and with people roaming freely, all it would take was one well-placed knife in the dark. His safety depended entirely on Thalion's patronage. And while that offered protection, it didn't make him invincible. Not when so many in the base had proven themselves dangerously competent in battle.
The recent fight had drawn a stark line between the elite and the rest. The common defenders fought bravely, but they simply weren’t in the sa league. Then there were those like Thalion and the master vampires—warriors of such caliber they seed almost mythical. Their strength dwarfed all others. How Thalion had stood his ground against not just one, but several of the vampire elites, was still difficult for her to comprehend.
It wasn’t raw power alone that set him apart—it was precision. The way he moved, the way he read his enemies before they even struck. Every motion was calculated, deadly, and impossibly fast. His awareness was uncanny; he countered ambushes with the ease of soone who had already lived them in a dream.
And then there were the vines.
Crimson tendrils had burst from Thalion’s body like sothing out of a nightmare—alive, ancient, and crackling with raw energy. His armor deflected claws like they were re twigs, while his blade sliced through the undead as if drawn by vengeance itself. She had heard tales of these vines from the young family who had fought beside him before, back on the fourth stage. But the ones they described had been… different.
These vines were no longer re tools—they were a force. The ones the vampires used had once struck fear into every fighter. Thalion’s vines made those look like roots in a garden. Their presence radiated terror, and even the master vampires hesitated when faced with them.
That battle had made one thing undeniable: Thalion stood above them all. And with power ca attention—attention that would inevitably fall on her and Kaldrek as well. Yet there he was, injured, still trying to help, still refusing full treatnt. It was reckless. Worse, it was the kind of heroism that could get them both killed.
Thalion, anwhile, was relentless. Bloodlust still glead in his eyes as he stalked through the ruins, the only one who had managed to capture any vampires alive. Despite the brutal conflict, he looked like he was just getting started. The scale of the undead swarm had been staggering—sowhere between one and two thousand vampires, by her estimate.
Yet only a few hundred had been killed. Over four thousand humans had fallen, most of them the weak and untrained. The stronger combatants had pulled back when wounded, but the weaker ones had no such luxury. They died quickly and without ceremony.
The true price of this attack had been steep. Maike could only assu the vampires had been provoked. Whatever Thalion had done to that one captured vampire must have enraged them. She only hoped it hadn’t been too much. The thought of losing Kaldrek—or Lucan—gnawed at her. Most of the council were vipers—ambitious, manipulative, and utterly indifferent to the suffering of the people. But Kaldrek and Lucan were different. Trusted. Human.
Strangely enough, the elite fighters she had briefly spoken with after the battle surprised her. None of them bore blessings, and all shared Thalion’s disdain for the so-called “blessed.” They kept their distance from them, much like she wanted to. But avoiding the blessed was easier said than done—they always ca to her. If they couldn’t recruit her, they threatened her.
Her organizational role granted her access to every resource in the base—but that access ca with risk. Her class wasn’t suited for direct confrontation; it was designed to find, retrieve, and escape. Gaining real experience was a struggle.
The sky had long since gone dark. Stars hung high and cold above the wounded city. They had, at best, two more days until the catacombs opened. Two days to locate and destroy all the remaining pillars. If there were more than a few, they were dood. Ti was slipping through their fingers, and Maike could only hope Thalion would extract useful information from the captured vampires before it was too late.
In the distance, she could hear Kargul and his group finishing off the last of the fleeing undead. Jack and Josh moved like reapers, cutting through their enemies with frightening speed and never once slowing. If the rumors were true, they now held the highest kill count in the entire base. The ssages flying into her terminal seed to support it.
She had no ti to rest. Everything had to be ready the mont Thalion was done. The next target was likely the Black Castle, and Maike needed to stay one step ahead. Until then, her eyes would stay fixed on the so-called blessed gathered under Thalion’s banner—watching, waiting, preparing.
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