CHAPTER 191: Blood War-7

CHAPTER 191: Blood War-7

Branches crackled under Selene's and Michael's feet. The dense forest fog enveloped every step, thickening the air with an almost unnatural silence. Selene advanced at the front, moving with millimeter precision, while Michael followed with a mixture of fatigue, distrust, and mild annoyance.

"Do you have any weapons, hybrid?" Selene asked without turning around, scanning the darkness among the trees with her senses on alert.

Michael snorted, exasperated.

"Do you think if I had something I wouldn't be using it already? No, I've got nothing. I'm surprised that you, the great vampire warrior, are so ill-prepared."

Selene stopped short. She turned slowly, fixing an icy stare on him.

"I have one weapon. Just one."

She pulled out a silver pistol from her belt. The metal glinted faintly in the dim moonlight. Then she put it away with a quick motion.

"Two silver bullets. So, if you plan on becoming a problem, keep in mind that one of them has your name on it."

Michael rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for the trust."

"Trust isn't something I have in abundance," Selene stated, resuming the march. "If you want to survive, keep your mouth shut and keep walking."

As they advanced, the forest seemed to go dark around them. The wind stopped. The insects stopped. Life stopped. Only the sound of their footsteps remained, along with an oppressive feeling, as if the trees were holding their breath.

Then, a voice emerged from the darkness. Deep, mocking, steeped in a cynicism that made your skin crawl.

"Well, well… what do we have here? A proud vampire and a hybrid who looks more lost than an abandoned puppy."

They both stopped dead.

It was Marius's voice.

"Show yourself, you bastard!" Michael exclaimed, spinning in all directions.

"Show myself?" Marius's laugh echoed like a malevolent whisper among the trees. "And why would I, when I can have fun from here? But, well… for you, my dear guests, I'll make an exception."

From the shadows, Marius emerged.

His figure appeared as if the forest had spat him out. His eyes glowed with an intense, almost incandescent red. His smile mixed sadism with immoral pleasure. He walked with the calm of a predator who had already decided who would die first.

"Selene, always so elegant. And Michael… the walking miracle. A perfect mix: nature's worst mistake and the vampires' last hope. Walking together. This is even better than I imagined."

Selene raised her weapon and aimed it at his heart.

"What do you want, Marius?"

Marius tilted his head, feigning innocence.

"Me? Nothing important. I was just taking a walk when I ran into you. But since you ask… your blood, Michael. That peculiar, precious blood. I need it. Well, I need you more dead than alive, but I think you get the idea."

Michael stepped forward, tensing his muscles.

"Try it! I'll rip your head off before you lay a finger on me."

Marius smiled, showing fangs as sharp as daggers.

"So brave. But tell me, hybrid… what have you accomplished so far? Survive? Escape? Run like a frightened animal? That doesn't make you a hero. It makes you a cornered animal."

Selene interjected, her voice laced with venom.

"Enough games, Marius. We know what you want, but you won't leave this forest alive."

Marius laughed, lower, darker.

"Alive? Selene… no one leaves this game alive. Not you, not him… not even me. But the really fun part is seeing who leaves more corpses along the way. And believe me, I'm an expert."

The silence became so dense it seemed tangible. The three watched each other, tense, calculating movements.

Marius took a step toward them, delighting in their unease.

"Well, my dears… I'm a generous man when I'm in a good mood. So I'll give you a chance. Five seconds. Run. Hide. Try to prolong your miserable existence. Because when I hit zero, I'll hunt you like the beasts you are."

Michael opened his mouth to retort, but Selene put a firm hand on his arm. She knew Marius wasn't bluffing.

"One…" Marius crooned, as if playing with children.

Selene tugged hard on Michael.

"Run!"

"Two…"

They plunged into the forest at full speed, dodging branches, jumping over roots, while Marius's voice pursued them like an unstoppable shadow.

"This is insane!" Michael growled.

"Shut up and run!"

"Three…"

Each number fell like a sentence.

Selene sharpened her senses, desperately searching for a weakness, an exit, an opportunity.

The fog grew thicker.

The forest, narrower.

And behind them, the monster counting.

"This way!" Selene exclaimed, pointing to an old manhole cover half-buried in the undergrowth.

"Four!" Marius's voice rumbled, drawing closer like thunder.

Selene and Michael lunged toward the cover. With a grunt, Michael used all his strength to lift it. A blast of damp, moldy air, laden with a rancid smell, rose from the dark tunnel opening beneath their feet.

"Five!"

Selene didn't hesitate for a second. She slipped into the tunnel, letting the darkness swallow her. Michael followed hastily, letting the heavy cover fall back over them just as a gut-wrenching howl shook the forest.

The hunt had begun.

The passageway was narrow and oppressive. The brick walls were covered in damp moss, and the constant dripping of water formed puddles that reflected the scant light that managed to filter through. A smell of rust, humidity, and something else —something rotten— permeated the air.

Their footsteps echoed with an unsettling reverberation, as if the tunnel replicated every sound with a ghostly delay. But what chilled their blood most were the noises coming from deep within: growls, metallic scrapes, muffled howls. They weren't alone… and it wasn't just Marius following them.

"Where the hell are we?" Michael panted, feeling his breath hit the dense air of the place.