Semua Bab Crimson Love: Bab 81 - Bab 90

The dormitory had finally settled into silence. The patrol teams had returned only a short while ago, and Zelios had fallen into its familiar post-patrol routine. Weapons had been surrendered. Protective gear removed. The hunters had gone through cleansing and sanitization. The injured had been sent to the medical wing. And now everyone had been given a brief window to rest before submitting their reports.Sera had barely noticed any of it. Her body felt exhausted. Her mind felt worse. She had spent the entire return journey thinking about the civilians they had rescued, the wilds that had taken them, Kael's suspicious disappearance...And Nysera. The name alone made something uncomfortable twist inside her chest. She stepped into the bathroom and turned on the water. Steam slowly filled the small room. For the first time that night, she allowed herself to stop thinking. At least, she tried. The warm water ran over her shoulders. She closed her eyes. For several minutes, there was not

The footsteps remained outside the door. Sera didn't move. Neither did Husen. For several seconds, the room was completely silent except for the faint hum of the electrical lights overhead. The shadow beneath the door remained. Someone was standing there. Sera slowly reached for the dagger hidden beneath the edge of her shirt. Husen noticed. His eyes shifted toward her hand. She raised one finger. Stay. His expression almost amused her. Even now, he looked as though he wanted to make a joke. She glared at him. He wisely remained silent. Another second passed. Then came a knock. Three slow taps. Sera's heart jumped. Husen's eyes immediately sharpened. The knock came again. "Sera?" Jonas. She exhaled. Husen leaned slightly closer. "Friend?" "Yes." "Should I hide?" "You should have been hiding already." He smiled. Sera quietly moved toward the door. Before opening it, she glanced at Husen. He had already moved toward the far corner, partially concealed by the wall besi

The eastern archive had gone silent. Too silent. The alarms had stopped. The lights had returned to their normal white glow. Yet the air still carried the weight of what had just happened. Sera stood before the terminal, staring at the final words that remained frozen on the screen.PHASE TWO INITIATED.Jonas kept his weapon raised. Husen was looking toward the corridor where the mysterious figure had disappeared. Neither man spoke.Then.... Footsteps. Slow. Measured. Coming from the opposite end of the eastern wing. Sera turned. Jonas immediately raised his weapon."Someone's coming."Husen's expression changed. He knew those footsteps. A figure emerged from the corridor.Kael.His coat was perfectly arranged despite the chaos in the rest of Helios. His hair was slightly disordered from moving through the facility, but his expression remained calm. Almost irritatingly calm. His eyes swept across the room.Jonas. Sera. The terminals.Then, Husen.Kael stopped. For several seconds, nei

The silence after the transmission lasted only a heartbeat. Yet, to everyone inside the ruined archive, it felt much longer. Dust drifted lazily through the shafts of white light pouring from the broken ceiling. The communicator in Kael's hand slowly dimmed. His normally composed face had lost its easy smile.Varek noticed. "So..."The ancient vampire tilted his head with faint amusement. "The High Council still fears me."Kael slowly clipped the communicator back onto his belt. "They don't fear you.""No?""They fear what follows you."A quiet chuckle escaped Varek. "I suppose that's fair."His golden eye shifted toward Sera again."They fear her even more."Husen immediately stepped into Sera's line of sight. "You'll stop looking at her."Varek smiled. "You sound possessive.""I sound patient.""And when does that patience end?"Husen's crimson eyes narrowed. "You'll remember why I survived and your followers didn't."The smile vanished from Varek's face.For the first time, genuine

The wind roared. Cold air tore across Husen's face as his body plummeted through the clouds beneath the flying Archive Unit. The mountains below were nothing more than blurred shadows. His coat whipped violently behind him.The world spun. Yet... His mind was strangely quiet.The last thing he had seen was Sera reaching toward him. Her voice still echoed in his ears. "HUSEN!"A faint smile crossed his lips despite the fall. "Still reckless."He closed his eyes. And for the first time in years. He allowed himself to remember.Centuries Earlier. Before the ruins. Before Zelios. Before monsters wandered the world. There had been a village. It lay deep within a green valley surrounded by forests and rivers, hidden from the kingdoms beyond. It was never a wealthy place. Nor a powerful one. But it was respected. Every family possessed knowledge passed down through generations.Medicine. Herbs. Surgery. Poisons. Healing. The people believed life itself was sacred. When neighboring settlement