8 Mount Diros

The first battle. between a werewolf and a vampire. A thousand years ago.

Vansel found himself to be a spectator.

Vansel recalled hearing stories about the story of Lycaon before in his childhood. A mortal king in Ancient Greece who wanted to test Zeus, the God of the Sky to see if he was genuinely all-knowing by feeding the god the roasted flesh of his own son. The god punished him, cursing him and transforming Lycaon into what people know as the first werewolf.

But none of the stories had ever mentioned this.

Lycaon gave off a strange feral vibe, unlike Woxlife or any of the werewolves he had met, Lycaon looked like he had no sense of humanity. He growled uncontrollably, saliva and blood dripping down his teeth like a wild animal whose only instinct is to kill. He wasn't as bulky and muscular like most of the werewolves of today, he was more like a skinny dog like creature with elongated limbs, arms that supported more of his body than his legs, his fur was ragged and messy and there was blood covering his body.

They were in some...ancient like city. From what Vansel could tell, it fit the description of Ancient Greece that he heard stories about. The architecture of the buildings around him made from the finest marble and stone, Vansel could tell that this town he was in was no doubt once a paradise, however the pillars that once stood around the city was now stained with splashes of blood and cracks, presumably from the battle that this werewolf was having with The Blood Lord,

The Blood Lord himself looked younger, the vampire king holding the bloodied corpse of two men by the head in each hand looking at the first werewolf, clearly confused.

"I don't know what kind of monster you are. But you certainly aren't one of us." Dracula wiped some blood off his lips, throwing the corpses of two women onto the ground when Lycaon leapt at him.

The vision changed as Vansel found himself standing before Woxlife, who was in his room.

"Woxlife?" Vansel muttered cautiously.

Woxlife didn't respond, sitting on his chair overlooking the scenery outside Mount Diros through the one way glass of his private quarters, admiring the sunset. The late king took a sip of his cup of tea in his human form, looking at his own reflection and seemingly, right into Vansel's eyes.

"I know you are probably looking at this memory right now...Vansel."

Vansel looked at the reflection, seeing himself standing beside the old king. Was this what they were talking about, inheriting the memories of the previous kings? Woxlife must have knew something would happen to him for a long time now.

"I am probably...dead. It's okay. I have seen this future for awhile now. I know that you are...unofficially the king now and I know you are not prepared to be thrust suddenly into this role. Do not worry, as time goes on you will learn to utilize the full potential of the King's Rage and powers. You can learn to access our memories, see our past, learn from our mistakes. "

Vansel realized that he couldn't be seen or heard, after all all he was looking at was a memory.

Out of the blue, everything around him dispersed as the scene changed again and this time, he was in someone else's body, looking at a familiar opponent in front of him. Vansel tried to look closely at the hulking winged silhouette in front of him against the raging orange background, The Blood Lord himself, in his hulking monstrous form, his wings spread fully, spanning a terrifying dozen meters or so in total.

Vansel quickly realized that they were at the top of a volcano.

The sky was dark, presumably in the middle of the night but the darkness didn't matter, The Blood Lord and the memory's owner he was looking at was standing at the edge of the volcano's summit, the bright orange glow from the lava had everything around them lit up in a warm color, lava was spewing out bit by bit by the second and from a distance, Vansel could hear the cries of battle beneath the mountain, the clashing of weapons, war cries and more.

"You kings have been annoying me for centuries. It's time I end your crusades on my species. My Blood Knights will wipe your men out so I suggest you surrender the Solar Leafs to me before anymore blood is shed." The Blood Lord growled.

"My warriors have grown strong too. They will bring your Blood Knights down."

Vansel recognized the voice. It was Woxlife's.

"They may have become stronger.I'll give you that, but they are clearly not strong enough to compare against my Knights. None of my Knights have tasted defeat for a long time. The only reason why Knights even fall is because of the power you wield with the King's Rage. Without it, all of you would be dead. So wise up...King." The Blood Lord warns.

"Giving up the King's Rage would mean that humanity would fall to your hands for good. Do not pretend to be the noble selfless being you are. Both you and I know that the humans will be reduced to food stock to you." Woxlife argues, clearly pissing off the Blood Lord who lunged at him.

Vansel could feel an overwhelming power surging through Woxlife's arms, everything felt lighter around him, even his own body felt weightless as a silver aura engulfed him, radiating a dangerous sense of power. This must be it...the sudden surge of strength, The King's Rage.

The vampire king burst into the air, using his wings to boost himself towards Woxlife, releasing a sonic boom behind him.

Woxlife readied his fist, anticipating the attack and as Vansel watched, the two kings clashed fist to fist, both of them unleashing a devastating punch that connected with each other, the shock wave of their clash breaking apart a large chunk of the volcano's summit in an instant, lava erupting out of the broken volcano and shooting into the sky...

Again, the scene changed.

This time, Vansel was in the body of someone else, looking at a younger Woxlife.

Woxlife was a young man, in his late 20s oldest. Woxlife didn't had the scars that Vansel had spotted on him, the soon to be king possessing an athletic build and was clean shaven, almost unrecognizable. "I know most of the werewolves think that Huntus will be the next king. But...he is not." The memory's owner tells Woxlife.

'King Rainstorm, forgive me but...isn't Huntus just a baby? It's way to early to tell." Woxlife answers.

King Rainstorm...the king before Woxlife?

"As you know...Kings have the ability to not only see memories of previous kings, but also glimpses into memories of future kings. Even...alternate futures. Huntus will go down a dark path if he gets hold of the King's Rage. He isn't evil...he has potential to be a great soldier and a better man, being king is just a path not for him."

Woxlife scratched his head, confused. "But he's the only one in this mountain with royal blood, not to mention he's your son. The King's Rage will blossom under him."

"Royal blood never mattered Woxlife. Blood is not the deciding factor when choosing a king. I'm not related to King Bloodhorn and he wasn't related to King Diamondeye. Like you said...Huntus is only a child. Someone needs to become King soon and a child can't possibly do that right?"

"I don't understand." Woxlife admits.

"I don't have much longer left. Mount Diros is still young, but I've seen how it will become in the next three decades. It is beautiful...and I've seen the man that will make that a reality. It's you...Woxlife.

Vansel shot back into reality.

Who...? That memory, it must be from King Rainstorm, the king before Woxlife and the father of Huntus. So it must be true, blood really doesn't matter in the end. Whoever becomes King...it's strictly dependant on an individual's fate...their destiny.

Vansel was back in Mount Diros, at the entrance where hundred and hundreds of werewolves gathered. Only a handful of Red Claws survived the battle, the bodies of the fallen warriors, including that of Rex and Alicia, being carried one after another to a burial site where their funeral preparations were beginning to be held.

Piers himself was there, conscious but bleeding profusely from multiple wounds around his body. Vansel quickly walked to the teenager, getting the attention of several medics:" Over here, he needs help!" Vansel called out.

"It's okay Vansel...you...are king now. Rest."

"I'm not sure about that yet. You get yourself rest, you're the one injured."

A medica attended to Piers as Vansel looked around him. Somehow, all of this felt like it was his fault. Things seemed peaceful and prospering before he arrived and yet within a few days...their King and warriors were dead and the kingdom...now without a leader.

Vansel spotted Xitraq, sitting down at a corner of the room trying to hold back her tears, transforming back into her human form and leaning against the side of a barrel to avoid others from seeing her cry and finally, Grandyll and Huntus along with the remaining Red Claws, carrying the body of Woxlife back into the mountain.

No one was talking.

Vansel could hear sniffs, even distant crying from some of the other werewolves that crowded around the entrance. "Make way please." Grandyll tells the crowd as Woxlife's body was carried towards the graveyard of Mount Diros which according to Huntus, was a door that led to an open field outside near the mountain's summit.

"Vansel, it has been a long day. You should get some rest." Huntus walks up to him.

Vansel couldn't even look at Huntus the same way. That vision...what were they talking about?

"I...I'm sorry." Vansel didn't know what else to say.

"None of this is your fault. From now on things will get...stressful. You should get some rest while you can, or get a bite first before you go to bed. You may not like this but...you are our king for now. Go towards the King's quarters, that will be your room."

"It doesn't feel right." Vansel tells Huntus who shrugs:" I mean...you have to sleep somewhere right?"

"Just any room is fine. You don't have to worry about me. Help the others." Vansel tells Huntus who nods, walking off to aid the injured. Vansel turned to Xitraq who still didn't move, crouching by the corner as he approached her, taking a seat next to the Red Claw general.

"I know this doesn't mean much...but I am sorry." Vansel tells her.

Xitraq paused, hiding her tears and stopping herself from making any more noise. "You don't get to be sorry. I don't know what the hell is your deal, or what you intend to do next and honestly...I couldn't care less. You may not have wanted or expected this, but things has already happened. You need to decide what is your next move." Xitraq tells him before storming off.

Vansel didn't even blame her for that reaction.

"Vansel, if you don't mind. Follow me." Feroz, the leader of the blacksmiths tells him. "It's time for you to meet the Council of Diros."

Feroz, Grandyll and two other wolves, Uri and Duncan, leaders of the technological and farming areas of Mount Diros gathered in a meeting room near the top of the mountain, all of them in their human forms. Uri was of an African race, with snowy white hair tied up, dressed in a purple robe with silver piercings across her ears while Duncan was a fairly muscular man of Irish descent, in a sleeveless tank top, long sweat pants and boots.

Vansel saw Feroz for the first time in his human form as well, a grumpy looking bearded man in his 50s, brown almost orange hair, dressed in full blown knight like armor.

The meeting room was fairly unlit, primarily built with a combination of smooth bricks and marble with it's only source of light being a faint chandelier that hung on the ceiling. A steel triangular table standing in the middle of the room, decorated with carvings and pictures of werewolves and vampires alike, depicting them in battle. This was first time Vansel had been introduced to Uri and Duncan, both of whom were clearly distraught by Woxlife's death as well, taking their seats on opposite sites of the triangular table beside Feroz and Grandyll respectively.

The leaders of Mount Diros had gathered. He was their King.

"You are new to this...obviously so we'll guide you. Take a seat." Grandyll tells Vansel who took his as he was told. The vibe he was getting from them wasn't a friendly one, he didn't want this either. Maybe Woxlife did make a mistake after all.

"Where's Xitraq?" Duncan asks.

"I think we all know why she can't be here. Give her the time she needs." Grandyll tells the group.

"My team and Uri's will be preparing the funeral. The ceremony will take place from tomorrow afternoon onward. We will have the ceremony done before the evening." Feroz started the conversation first, looking directly at Vansel.

"In case you do not know Vansel. We are the ones who lead this mountain's operations, everything that happens within the werewolf community, we are aware of and we decide what to do with. Woxlife used to lead us in a general direction, to tell us how to improve the quality of life here. Even with his absence, we intend to move on with his ways "Uri tells him.

"We will function while the rest of the wolves grief. Only when everything is settled, then...we may shed a tear in private on our own accord. We cannot let our emotions interfere with this mountain's progress because if we do...that is when the vampires will truly have an edge over us." Feroz explained the purpose of the group.

"I understand. You may continue. I will not interfere." Vansel tells them.

"I want to get down to business. Vansel. Pass the King's Rage to Grandyll." Feroz shot out his honest opinions. Grandyll stopped him, his comment surprising even Uri and Duncan. "I think you are being too rash here Feroz. There must be a vision that Woxlife saw in order that made him choose Vansel to be the next king. Doing that would straight up be ignoring Woxlife's wishes." Uri spoke up.

"I have no wish to be King either. Woxlife did has his reasons." Grandyll agreed.

"No. I agree with Feroz. I'm not the right man for this job. I'm just a guy who stumbled into this mountain purely by chance. Grandyll, you were his advisor for the better part of two decades. You deserve this." Vansel tells the council.

"You are being rash Vansel. You may have already seen some of this in the King's memories, but no king has voluntarily taken the role of King, Woxlife included. He was thrown into this position of power. The only difference now is that you...you aren't even one of us until recently. My suggestion is this...give yourself a chance, try and find out why Woxlife trusts you. When you do that...and you still believe that you aren't the right man then by all means...we will find a successor for you." Grandyll tells the ex marine.

"Is there anything that you have seen so far? From the memories?" Uri asks softly.

Vansel recalled the visions he had earlier.

"There was a battle. The surroundings looked ancient. I believe it was the myth...Lycaon...the first werewolf's first fight with Dracula." Vansel revealed. "That battle...okay. Anything else?" Feroz analyzed him, studying Vansel's every move.

"A battle...at the summit of a volcano. Woxlife's fight with The Blood Lord."

"That was the fateful battle that brought us the peace for the past ten years, the first time The Blood Lord was defeated in combat." Grandyll confirmed when Vansel recalled the conversation between King Rainstorm and Woxlife.

"I saw Rainstorm. The King before Woxlife." Vansel revealed.

The council members all silenced themselves." Rainstorm? It's been awhile since we had any new information from his memories. What did you see?" Uri asks. "He was talking to a young Woxlife...on why Huntus cannot be King."

Feroz's eyes widened, turning to Grandyll. " Did you know anything about this?"

Grandyll nods.

"We were told by you...that Woxlife and Rainstorm both wanted to hide Huntus from knowing his true heritage. I guess now we will finally know why, tell us, Vansel." Feroz asks the former marine.

"I was told...that if he were to become King...it will lead him down a dark path of evil."

"That's it?"

"For now." Vansel confirmed.

"What else are you hiding from us..Grandyll?" Feroz demanded.

"I was merely obeying our King's orders." Grandyll calmly explained. "All he told me was that he was dying soon...and that no one else must know the secrets of Huntus until Vansel becomes King. He mentioned that in his glimpses of the future, Vansel will play a vital role in helping humanity survive the next ten years. What that means exactly...I do not know. But I know Woxlife knew what he was doing, which is why I spilled no secrets up till now." Grandyll defends himself.

"Okay...it's been a long day. A ton has happened and I don't think none of us are in the mood to discuss any of this further. We'll rest for today, we can talk about this another time. For now, at least all of us know what to do right?" Uri suggests.

"We'll get the funerals done. Get Vansel's son the Solar Leaf. Vansel, when are they arriving?"

"I have to check my phone later on for the exact date but, probably tomorrow evening."

"Protocol states that two Red Claws must follow the King wherever he goes. We will deploy two with you to the airport tomorrow." Uri suggests when Vansel stops her:" No...It's okay, I can do this myself."

"We're not letting you walk away alone with two of our biggest assets." Feroz comments.

It's not like Vansel had any choice now. "Okay...fine." The ex marine reluctantly agreed.

Vansel didn't know how to feel.

A room was given to him among the Red Claw's barracks where now, only twenty eight of them were left alive. Their numbers had literally fallen by half overnight and the mood there was...depressing. Xitraq had shut herself off in her room and the Red Claws, exhausted and tending to the wounds of their fellow soldiers.

The ex marine grabbed his phone, managing to check his first messages from Amy since the bank.

I booked a flight already. We'll arrive at the airport in the evening. 5:45pm.

Vansel closed his eyes, finally managing to get some rest knowing that Demi now had a genuine chance at surviving past next week.

"Vansel? Vansel you in there?"

Fire. Blood. Dust. Dozens and dozens of gruesome imagery shot through his head, corpses of humans, vampires and werewolves. He knew this wasn't the future he was seeing, he could recognize the surroundings of each vision. From ancient British cities to human soldiers, riding on horses into battle. These were all memories from the past Kings.

"Vansel?"

Vansel yelled out in terror, each memory felt more real than the one before. He could feel everything, the heat and pain of each battle, the smell of blood in the air. "Vansel, open up!" Vansel could hear Piers knocking at his door. The ex marine walked over to the door to see the teenager, fully bandaged up and dressed waiting for him.

"I thought...shouldn't you be resting?" Vansel asks.

"I...no. I was defeated when I shouldn't have. I do not need to rest."

"You're being way too hard on yourself kid. The only way to improve is to ultimately let your body keep up with your goals. You have to rest. Don't worry about me." Vansel tells Piers who shook his head:" You're King now. Like it or not. I cannot rest knowing that Woxlife is dead, let me do something...please."

"Why are you here?"

"You're King of this mountain. You have to know this place. Let me show you around."

"Kid..."

"Vansel. Please." Piers begged. Vansel sighed, nodding his head.

Mount Diros.

An ordinary mountain located in North Carolina from the outside but on the inside...an entire mountain that has been carved up by werewolves, creating entire indoor communities, towns and farms. Most people would reject the idea originally but the wolves had designed their living space to not only be self sustainable, but not claustrophobic and hot, providing cool fresh air through strategically placed air vents and one sided windows that allow natural light to seep into the mountain.

"Let's start with the bottom. Basement 2." Piers led the way.

Basement 2- Prisons and Military Inventory. Vansel looked around the massive basement which he was surprisingly familiar with. The prisons were here, rows and rows of jailed rooms including the one he broke out of two days ago. Rows and rows of cannons, building materials, storage shelves that had all sorts of weaponry stacked on them along with gigantic machines, constructed out of wood and metal that he had never seen before.

Basement 1- Naval Fleet. Vansel found himself looking towards a massive open lake easily the size of a town that flowed into the bottom of the mountain. A massive one sided window showed the outside of the mountain, the lake flowing out into the open river beside Mount Diros. Dozens of wooden cabins stood by the lake, along with harbors and wooden bridges that connected the entire place together.

The most notable sight, a massive ship was in the lake, resting by the harbor, one that looked straight out of a pirate movie, it's foundations made of wood but decorated with beautiful patterns made up of different types of metal. The ship's size, easily able to fit hundreds to thousands of werewolves on her and her most distinct features, an iron carving of a wolf's head at it's front and two claw patterns by its side, resembling the posture of Egypt's Sphinx.

"That's the Queen of Claws. Our battleship." Piers introduced.

"Why do you guys even need this?" Vansel asks the teenager.

"We have werewolves everywhere in many countries .They have their own families outside. It just happens that a majority of us live in the mountain. The Queen of Claws has the ability to avoid radar detection which allows us to travel freely to get resources from our allies outside." Piers explained. "How many of us are there?" Vansel asks.

"In the mountain? About 9,000 of us. In the outside world, 2,000 plus."

The duo moved to the next level.

Level 1- The Main Entrance into the mountain where enormous automatic doors, disguised as rocks could open up a 10 meter high doorway into the werewolf kingdom. The throne room located at the end of the level, a massive hall that shot up multiple levels in height where balconies stood to allow the wolves to listen to their king from multiple floors. The first food court was there as well, eight different food stalls that each served a different cuisine.

Western Stews, Chinese Cuisine, Japanese and Korean, Muslim Food, French, Mexican , American and lastly, drinks.

According to Piers, the food was completely free for everyone to eat at anytime as long as the chefs were working.

Level 2 & 3- A massive hallway that led into a bigger warehouse like room, hundreds if not thousands of furniture sized shelves that each houses dozens of boxes. Vansel took a closer look at each of the boxes to quickly realize that they were all food supplies of all kinds of variety. From fresh vegetables to supermarket products.

Both of these levels had entire stretches of massive fields, each with dozens of farmers tending to the many different crops they had grown. Sunlight was given to these crops via mirror like machines that reflected entire areas of light directly from outside the mountain and water, flowing from Mount Diros' natural streams to feed the crops.

Carrots, cabbages, onions, fruits, Vansel spotted many crops that one could easily find in any supermarket. There were even livestock, cows , pigs and sheep roaming around in fields that were easily the size of a football stadium and coups that housed chickens and ducks.

Level 4- Schools and Military Quarters. Where Vansel had slept last night. Rows of wooden bunks carved into the wall of the mountain, each with their own window to the outside world and beyond the barracks, small houses that acted like classrooms. Vansel could see gardens, decorating the corridors with greens and playgrounds, right outside the small houses where he spotted dozens of children playing.

"Are these...schools?" Vansel asks.

"Yeah. Some of the wolves have kids and don't feel safe living in the outside world. These kids are of course, wolves as well. We do have teachers, like actual ones teaching proper outside world education and of course, teach these kids about who they are and how to use their powers eventually when they grow up." Piers explained.

Level 5- Medical and Blacksmiths. The first half of this level, entire cabins constructed out of wood and metal where the bigger werewolves were at, including Feroz. Lava and molten metal being poured and the echoing of hammers filled the whole place with a powerful surge of...strength. There were dozens of werewolf blacksmiths, using their supernatural strength to forge things that an ordinary human would need a machine to accomplish such as gigantic swords, shields and crossbows.

A massive iron wall separated the two areas as Vansel was led to the second half of the same level which had a completely different vibe. Marble flooring, gardens that had flowers of a wide spectrum of colors and around them, more wooden cabins. "Each of these cabin can house five patients. We have a team of 20 doctors in this mountain, tending to the injured. "

Level 6- Sports.

One of the wider areas of the mountain where large areas of sporting arenas stood. Vansel could spot tennis courts, badminton courts and sparring arenas alongside training dummies and mannequins that had dents, arrows and spears in them.

To the end of the enormous open area, a full length swimming pool.

"How...?" Vansel's jaw dropped. "The blacksmiths and technology of our mountain has improved significantly over the decades. I'm sure you've met Uri right? She's the brains behind Mount Diros. Even I don't know how she managed to pull all this off."

Level 7-10. Living Quarters. Where majority of the population lives.

Rows of two storey houses were built alongside one another, totalling hundreds of these houses. At first glance, the quarters would easily look like any other town in places like Greece. Beautiful European architecture made the whole place feel lively and the layout, smartly spaced from each other to completely eliminate any sense of claustrophobia.

Street lamps, alongside the huge windows lit the whole area up with natural light and the werewolves, all looking at Vansel who couldn't help but admire the resilience of the mountain and it's people. The town felt not only cozy and welcoming, but surprisingly spacious and cooling.

There were trees and gardens that gave the indoor area a natural scent of fresh air and even cafes and shops that the civilian population of werewolves set up. There wasn't really a big difference between the towns of Mount Diros and the outside world.

Finally, the last level. Level 11.

The King's Quarters and Royal Space.

The first thing Vansel was greeted by, statues of the previous Kings in their full combat armor. A new one of Woxlife was being constructed by Uri and a team of wolves alongside the rest. Vansel recognized the first statue, Lycaon, the one he saw in his memories.

A total of 6 statues, excluding Woxlife's.

"If you end up being our permanent King, this is where you will be staying." Piers guided.

The ex marine looked at the gorgeous sight in front of him, the golden marble combination that made up the walls and flooring, a calm white marble fountain in the middle of the corridor and carvings of an ancient language, lining up the walls with each of the ancient alphabet, glowing a cooling blue. "I'll show you the room." Piers tells Vansel who stopped him.

"It's okay....it doesn't feel right."

"Well..." Piers could understand his position. "It's alright. You can come back to see this place anytime you want anyway. We actually have no restrictions here but...most wolves don't come up here just out of respect for the King."

In the distance, Vansel spotted a pair of Red Claws standing at the end of the corridor, guarding a large tree, one that was easily over a few dozen feet tall, the bark of the tree, a light shade of brown along with streaks of glowing gold patterns growing up it. Most notably, the tree's leafs, glistering gold...the one item he was looking for.

Solar Leafs.

"That must be it right?" Vansel asks Piers.

"Yeah...the plant that's keeping us from being demolished by the vampires. Honestly, none of us know what will happen when you give your son the Solar Leaf so..." Piers tried to warn. "At this point, nothing worse can happen. Might as well try." Vansel says, walking up to the tree and plucked one leaf out. "So...how do you guys normally handle this? If this leaf is what will win the vampires the war, why not just destroy it anyway? I know it gives you immunity to silver but..."

"The vampires used silver weapons against us before. It completely stops our regenerative abilities. That's why we need it. Normally each of us has to just ingest one leaf orally once a year to maintain immunity. I guess you can just feed it to your son." Piers tells him.

Hours passed, Piers bringing him to Grandyll who explained everything he needed to know about the rest of Mount Diros.

Amy and Demi were at the airport soon.

Vansel, Huntus, Grandyll and Piers all sat down at one table in the food court with their respective dishes. There were many eyes on Vansel, curious civilians all looking at him while the supposed new king awkwardly sat at his own table, his head buried within his hands.

The funeral proceedings for Woxlife was in an hour.

"Will you be there?" Huntus asks Vansel who shook his head. "I can't. My son will be arriving in the evening soon. I'm leaving for the airport after this meal."

"Oh yeah...Mika and Unika are waiting by the entrance. The two Red Claws." Piers reminded.

Vansel remembered the last time two Red Claws had followed him. Rex and Alicia didn't even stand a chance against the Blood Knight. He couldn't help but feel like a liability to these amazing warriors now.

"I'll go with you, along with two Red Claws." A female voice behind him muttered.

Vansel turned around to find himself facing Xitraq, whose eyes were swollen red, standing behind him, emotionless. "Xitraq...get some rest. You're not in shape." Grandyll tells the Red Claw general who glared at him:" I'm the next best fighter in this mountain other than the King. Are you really going to stop me?"

"You look you're gonna murder him." Piers pointed out.

"I want to. But that will kill our chances of wiping out the vampires." Xitraq whispered.

"Okay so why do you want to go?" Huntus asks.

"Look at what happened the last time Vansel went out. Is it not the best thing to do to have capable fighters going with this dumbass. I dare you to tell me I'm wrong." Xitraq tells the group who all knew that she was dead on right.

Vansel could sense her eagerness...an agitating feeling to do something, anything useful in order to distract herself from the immense devastation within her. A feeling that himself had once experienced before as well. He had seen Xitraq fight as well...she managed to survive fighting the Blood Lord himself. She was actually his safest option.

"Are you sure you are in the right mind for this?" Huntus asks her.

"A kid's dying right? I'm not going to stop being a warrior just because I'm...just...just let me go." Xitraq convinced the group.

"Alright, let's go." Vansel accepted her offer.

Next Chapter- Calm Before The Storm