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Chapter 249 – The Hidden Laboratory (Part One: Battle of Blood)
Chapter 249 – The Hidden Laboratory (Part One: Battle of Blood)
The night air was thick with a sense of unease as Seraphis moved through the dense woods, the moon barely breaking through the heavy canopy. Her senses were razor-sharp, feeling the pulse of the land beneath her boots as she moved with purpose and precision.
Another laboratory, another lead in her pursuit of Dr. Caelum Veyne. But this one… this one felt different. The energy in the air was unnatural, crackling with an eerie static that made her skin prickle.
She wasn’t far from the hidden underground facility when she came upon a shrouded clearing. The stone walls of the laboratory jutted out of the ground, cloaked by twisted trees and overgrown ivy. At first, it looked like an abandoned structure. Yet there was a sense of something waiting, a sinister presence lurking in the shadows.
Seraphis dropped to a crouch, her eyes narrowing. Vampires. She could feel them.
The Ambush Begins
Her instincts screamed danger, and she was already on the move before her thoughts could fully process the feeling.
As she darted behind a nearby boulder, a flash of movement caught her eye. Vampires—at least five—emerged from the trees, surrounding the entrance to the lab. Their pale skin glowed under the moonlight, their crimson eyes hungry and calculating.
One stepped forward, his long fangs glinting as he bared them at Seraphis. "We were wondering when you'd show up," he sneered, his voice low and venomous.
Seraphis didn’t wait for him to finish. She threw a razor-sharp card toward the nearest vampire, slashing across his chest before he could even react. Blood sprayed in all directions, painting the ground in a dark crimson hue.
The others roared in fury, their bodies shifting in the blink of an eye as they charged.
Battle Erupts
Seraphis was already in motion, leaping into the air, her body twisting like a shadow. She unsheathed a dagger mid-flight, meeting one of the charging vampires in midair. Their blades clashed with a resounding clang, sparks flying.
She ducked low, narrowly avoiding the vampire’s counterstrike, before delivering a swift slash to his side, her blade finding its mark. The vampire let out an agonized scream, his body collapsing to the ground in a heap.
But there was no time to relish the victory. The other vampires were closing in.
Tactical Combat
Seraphis spun, her combat cards flying in a flurry of deadly motion. One card embedded itself into the chest of another vampire, while a second flew into the throat of a third, silencing them before they could even let out a sound.
Two vampires remained. One lunged at her with inhuman speed, claws outstretched, but Seraphis rolled under his strike, coming up behind him with a swift, slashing motion that cut deep across his back.
He screamed in pain but quickly regained his composure, whirling to face her, his eyes burning with fury.
The final vampire—an older, more seasoned fighter—watched the battle unfold, seemingly waiting for an opening. He was studying her.
A Dance of Death
Seraphis’s breath was steady as she faced the remaining two vampires. She could feel the energy in her body building, the adrenaline surging.
The older vampire rushed forward, his movements unpredictable. Seraphis’s instincts kicked in as she dodged his first series of attacks. His claws scraped across her shoulder, but she didn’t flinch. She took the hit, then countered with a vicious cut to his side.
His roar of pain was drowned out by the clash of weapons as they locked together. The vampire was strong, but Seraphis had years of experience—experience she was more than willing to use.
With a twist of her wrist, she flung a card at the vampire’s chest. It cut through his ribs with a sickening crack, but he still pressed on, his eyes burning with rage.
The Final Gambit
Seraphis stepped back, her mind racing as she carefully observed her opponent’s movements. His attacks were getting more reckless, more desperate. He was tiring.
It was time to end this.
With a sharp, sudden motion, Seraphis launched a barrage of cards, each one striking the vampire’s body with pinpoint precision. She didn’t give him the chance to recover. The cards tore into his limbs, his chest, his head—until finally, he collapsed, dead before he hit the ground.
The last vampire fell to his knees, gasping for breath. He reached for his fallen companion, but Seraphis was already upon him. She slammed her foot into his chest, knocking him onto his back.
He looked up at her, fear in his eyes. “Please… mercy…”
Seraphis gave him no answer. She plunged a dagger through his heart, and with that, the final vampire was dead.
Breathing Room
The battle was over.
Seraphis stood among the bodies, her heart pounding as the last echoes of the fight faded into the night. Her body was bruised, but nothing too severe. The fight had been hard, but she had won.
She took a moment to catch her breath, her mind already shifting to the next phase of the mission. There was still more to uncover.
The Secret Door
Seraphis turned to the entrance of the laboratory, her hand gliding over the stone wall. She had expected the door to be locked—it wasn’t.
A faint click echoed through the air as the massive stone door creaked open. The air inside was thick with the smell of chemicals and death, a feeling that was all too familiar now.
The vampire corpses in the clearing had been a distraction, a mere prelude to what lay beyond this door. The true answers…
She stepped inside.
Inside the Lab
The laboratory was vast, stretching out into multiple chambers. Strange arcane symbols were etched into the walls, their meanings lost to time.
Rows of shelves lined the walls, covered in glass vials and arcane artifacts, their contents shimmering with an eerie, unnatural light.
In the center of the room, a single table stood—covered in bloodstains and unfinished experiments.
Seraphis’s gaze narrowed. The crimson markings on the table matched the ones she had seen in other labs. It was becoming clear now: this was where the Sleepers had been bred.
More Than Meets the Eye
But she wasn’t alone for long.
From behind one of the shelves, a soft scraping sound echoed. Seraphis tensed, her hand instinctively reaching for another card.
Out stepped another vampire—his eyes wide, frantic. He was clearly not expecting her, and he froze in place.
Seraphis’s hand twitched. Her cards were ready.
"You have two seconds to explain yourself," she said coldly, her voice cutting through the air like ice.
The vampire trembled, his voice shaky. "I—I was a part of the experiments. I wasn’t supposed to… I don’t know anything—please!"
Seraphis’s eyes narrowed. This was no ordinary vampire. She could smell the fear, but there was something else too.
He knows something.
A Silent Agreement
"I won’t kill you," Seraphis said slowly, her voice as sharp as steel. "But you’re going to tell me everything."
The vampire hesitated, and then finally nodded.
The Last Secrets
"I wasn’t supposed to live," he whispered. "I was an accident… one of many."
Seraphis’s brow furrowed. She could hear the sincerity in his voice.
"What happened?" she pressed.
The vampire swallowed hard. "The Sleepers… they’re being constructed. We’re creating them—experimenting on them. They are nothing more than vessels."
He looked around, fear still dancing in his eyes. "But not everyone in this lab was on the same side."