Vampire Progenitor System

Burnt District – Outer Sector, Just Before Dera's Shot, A Year Ago

The road ahead was dust and ruin.

Cracked concrete. Blasted buildings. Lampposts bent in half like snapped twigs. The stench of ozone and blood clung to everything.

Dera gunned the bike forward, her red jacket billowing behind her like a flare in the smoke. Magic flickered along the ruined skyline—bursts of violet light, infernal flame, and screams carried on the wind. It wasn't chaos.

It was the aftermath of it.

Ahead, a swarm of nightcrawlers twitched through the rubble—eyeless, sinewy beasts with vertical jaws and skeletal arms too long for their bodies. The one in front sniffed the air, twitched toward her, and hissed.

CRACK.

Its head burst in a spray of black pulp. The others screeched and charged. She didn't hesitate—dropped another with her sidearm, swerved between two collapsed cars, and lobbed a rune grenade over her shoulder.

Ping.

BOOM.

The explosion tore through the pack behind her. Gore hit the road like rain.

She didn't slow down.

But as the signal in her comms chimed once—soft, one note only—her expression changed.

She was close.

The battlefield was just ahead. Magic thickened the air like wet smoke. Power coiled under the surface of reality, waiting to burst again. She veered down a broken tunnel, killed the engine mid-roll, and coasted silently to a stop inside.

Time to walk.

She slung her sniper case over her shoulder, stepped out into the dust, and began her climb—up through a broken scaffold, across a fallen mall's remains, past a shell of what used to be a hospital. Her boots crunched glass and ash. Her breath never changed.

She reached the collapsed rooftop at the edge of the crater.

The others were already there—far below. In the middle of it all stood the girl who had nearly ruined them.

Remu.

Alive. Barely.

Her lips were cracked. Blood dripped down her side. Her legs trembled, but her eyes burned with defiance. Even broken, she had that look—the look of someone who'd rather die than give you what you want.

But she was cornered. Surrounded by forces she couldn't outlast. Vampires, wolves, witches. Magic danced behind her back in an unstable sigil—a teleportation glyph, still forming.

Dera dropped to a knee.

Unfolded the rifle.

Set the bipod.

Clicked in the last bullet.

This wasn't war anymore.

This was a sentence.

Through the scope, she saw the glyph stabilize. One more word from Remu's lips and she'd be gone—again. And she wouldn't come back alone next time.

Dera exhaled.

BAM.

Time didn't break. It just stopped.

The spell shattered mid-cast.

Remu lurched as the bullet struck her right shoulder—just left of the heart. Not lethal. But enough.

Enough to end it.

She dropped. Rolled once.

Didn't get up.

Everything below fell quiet.

No one moved.

Ken's breath caught in his throat. Mob's wings froze mid-beat. Ella went pale.

Francisca clenched her fists but said nothing.

Then came the voice from comms:

"Target down."

Dera's voice was flat.

Mob blinked. "She shot her."

Ella whispered, "She didn't have to."

Francisca finally snapped, "That wasn't the plan."

Dera replied, "That wasn't a plan. That was hope."

Below, Greta dropped her barrier, rushed toward the crater, and fell to her knees beside Remu. The girl's pulse was faint. Her breath shallow. But she lived.

Greta said nothing.

She just placed a hand on her daughter's chest, cast a silent spell, and stayed like that.

Elsewhere – Daniel's Private Sanctuary

Dark stone walls lined the silent chamber. Floating sigils drifted above an obsidian altar. This was no throne room—just a room made to feel like power. It pulsed with cold magic. The kind of place built by someone who didn't want worship. Just control.

Daniel stood at the window, arms folded, watching the snow fall over the Demon Realm capital. His coat was open at the collar. His silver eyes unreadable.

Behind him, the doors creaked open.

Ruka walked in, slower than usual.

"You told him?" Daniel asked.

"I did."

"And?"

"He said no."

Daniel didn't react.

"I told him everything. About her. The realm. That you wanted to meet."

Daniel kept his back turned.

Ruka shrugged. "He didn't even let me finish. Just said no. Said he'd only come if she died."

There was a pause.

A long one.

Then Daniel spoke. "Typical."

Ruka stepped forward, brow furrowed. "So what now?"

Daniel finally turned. His voice calm. "Now we find another way."

"You think he'll listen to someone else?"

"I don't plan on asking again."

Ruka hesitated. "Don't do anything reckless."

Daniel tilted his head. "Why would I?"

"…Because you're too much like him."

Daniel gave a faint smile. "I'm worse."

Then he gestured toward the lower chamber.

"Come. There's someone I want you to meet."

Ruka followed him down the spiral stairs that led beneath the sanctuary. The air grew colder the deeper they went. The stone turned black. The light dimmed.

Then the doors opened.

Chains clinked faintly.

A stasis rune glowed in the center of the room.

And in the middle of it—chained, bound, sealed within a silver circle—was Remu.

Her body floated in midair, suspended by magic threads. Her eyes were closed. But she was alive.

Ruka's eyes widened. "You… kept her?"

Daniel walked closer.

"She burned cities, killed thousands. But she's too valuable to waste."

He turned, meeting Ruka's shocked stare.

"I didn't keep her because I need a weapon."

"Then why?"

"I kept her… because Lucifer might come looking for her."

Daniel's voice dropped lower.

"And when he does… we talk."

Ruka stared at him for a long moment. "That's your play?"

Daniel smirked. "It's one of them."

Then he looked at Remu's unconscious form.

"Besides," he said, voice low. "If she wakes up and remembers who she used to be… she'll come to me."

Ruka didn't say anything.

Because for once… he wasn't sure Daniel was wrong.

A/N

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