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Chapter 247 – The Laboratory Battle
Chapter 247 – The Laboratory Battle
The night air was thick with the scent of damp earth and metal as Seraphis stood before the hidden laboratory. Nestled deep within an abandoned mine, the facility was camouflaged against the rocky terrain, its entrance barely distinguishable from the jagged cliffs around it. But Seraphis knew better. This was one of Elias Verrick’s secret sites—and inside, answers waited.
And so did monsters.
She could feel them.
A cold, unnatural presence seeped through the air, sending a sharp chill down her spine. Vampires.
Her grip on her metal cards tightened.
There was no need for subtlety.
She was here to kill.
Breaking the Gates
Seraphis darted forward, her movements a blur as she approached the heavy steel doors guarding the entrance. A lesser assassin might have searched for a hidden key or waited for an opening.
She had no patience for either.
She raised a single card, infused it with power, and flicked it toward the seam of the doors.
CRACK!
The explosion ripped through the metal, sending shards flying. Smoke billowed from the shattered entrance.
Alarms blared.
She stepped through the wreckage. Let them come.
The First Wave
The first vampire lunged, a blur of black robes and elongated fangs.
Seraphis sidestepped, flicking a card mid-spin—the razor-thin metal sliced through the air, severing the creature’s arm at the elbow.
It shrieked, a guttural sound filled with rage and agony.
Another vampire rushed from the shadows, its claws aimed for her throat.
Seraphis twisted her body low, sweeping a leg beneath it—the creature lost balance just as she launched a second card straight into its chest.
THUNK.
The card pierced its heart.
The vampire erupted into blackened dust.
They Keep Coming
More figures emerged from the corridors—ten, no, fifteen of them. Their eyes glowed crimson, bodies tensed with unnatural hunger.
One of them sneered. “A foolish girl walks into our den?”
Seraphis didn’t respond.
She let her cards do the talking.
She swiped her hand forward, and a storm of spinning metal ripped through the air.
Three vampires collapsed instantly, throats slashed, hearts punctured.
But the others dodged, faster than humanly possible.
Seraphis barely had time to react before one appeared behind her.
A clawed hand swiped for her spine—she twisted sharply, barely avoiding the fatal strike.
She lashed out with a dagger—but the creature caught it mid-air.
A smirk curled its lips. “Not bad, little hunter.”
Then it vanished.
The Leader Appears
The remaining vampires withdrew slightly, forming a perimeter around her. Their movements were calculated now—no longer reckless.
Then, he stepped forward.
A tall figure, clad in dark crimson robes. Silver hair. Piercing red eyes.
Seraphis could tell he was different.
Stronger. Older.
"She reeks of blood," he murmured, tilting his head. "But not just human blood... Assassin blood."
Seraphis stayed silent.
He smiled. “I am Lord Varion. I guard this place in Elias Verrick’s name.”
Seraphis flicked a card into the air, catching it between her fingers.
"Then you die first."
A Duel in Darkness
Varion moved like a specter, closing the distance between them in the blink of an eye.
Seraphis barely had time to dodge before his claws slashed across her arm—a thin line of crimson marked her pale skin.
He was fast. Too fast.
She retaliated, unleashing a dozen cards in a wide arc.
Varion merely laughed, weaving through them like mist.
Then he struck again—his hand a blur of shadows.
Seraphis raised a card just in time, using its hardened edge to deflect his attack. The force sent her skidding backward.
This wasn’t going to be easy.
The Battlefield Shifts
Varion vanished into the darkness, his voice echoing around her.
"Do you know what vampires truly are?"
Seraphis kept her breathing steady.
"We are hunger. We are eternal. And you—" Varion’s voice whispered at her ear, "—are already dead."*
Seraphis reacted on instinct, twisting her body and slashing out—her card met flesh.
Varion hissed, blood spilling from a cut along his cheek.
He grinned. "Oh... I like you."
Fighting in the Shadows
The battle intensified.
Seraphis danced between attacks, her blades singing through the air.
Varion countered with relentless speed, his claws grazing her skin every time she barely managed to evade.
The other vampires circled like wolves, waiting for a moment of weakness.
Seraphis wouldn’t give them one.
She focused her energy, her cards glowing brighter.
Then she launched them forward—a barrage of steel slicing through the air.
This time, Varion didn’t dodge.
He caught them.
One by one.
And then he crushed them in his palm.
A Dangerous Enemy
Seraphis felt it before she saw it.
A shift in the air.
A sudden, crushing force pressing down on her chest.
Magic.
Varion raised a hand, and the shadows coiled around him like living creatures.
"This is the difference between us," he said, his voice laced with amusement. "You are a blade. But I—" his eyes flashed, "—am a storm."*
The shadows exploded outward.
Seraphis barely moved in time, twisting her body mid-air to avoid the attack.
But she wasn’t unscathed—dark tendrils lashed across her back, searing into her flesh like fire.
She gritted her teeth. Pain was nothing.
She had endured worse.
She would endure again.
The Final Strike
Seraphis pushed forward, her body moving faster than before.
She closed the gap between them—this time, Varion wasn’t expecting it.
Her blades flashed in the moonlight—
And then—
A sickening crunch.
Her final card embedded itself in Varion’s chest.
He staggered, crimson spilling from his lips.
His eyes widened in disbelief. "You... wretch—"
Seraphis twisted the blade deeper.
"Your storm ends here."
With a final push—Varion’s body collapsed into ashes.
The remaining vampires snarled—but their leader was dead.
And now, Seraphis turned her gaze to them.
One last battle remained.
And she was far from finished.