CHAPTER 196: Blood War-12 END

CHAPTER 196: Blood War-12 END

Selene managed to cling to the edge of the platform with a bloodied hand. Her fingers slipped, but she managed to push herself and, with an almost desperate effort, finally climbed back up. She remained gasping, kneeling, watching the scene, without the strength or opportunity to intervene.

Lucian continued beating Michael with growing fury. Each impact resounded on the metal, accompanied by grunts and groans. Michael, exhausted, seemed about to faint, until he found an opening.

With a desperate burst, he extended his wings and thrust his body forward. His claws reached Lucian's neck, tearing it. The wound spat dark blood.

"Damn insect…" Lucian growled.

Michael gathered all his strength and shoved him violently against the enormous metal door. Lucian hit the steel wall, laughing between gasps.

"Not even that will work against me."

At that moment, a deep sound resonated throughout the structure: DONG.

The enormous doors began to open slowly. A beam of warm light filtered in from the underground exterior. Dawn, at last, was breaking through the darkness of the maritime tunnel.

Lucian laughed again, confident.

"Do you really think that affects me? I am more than a simple vampire."

But the smile froze immediately. His skin began to tremble, as if something were bubbling beneath it. The hybrid features began to retract; wings, fangs, and musculature slowly returned to their original vampire form.

"What… what's happening to me?"

The light embraced his body completely. His skin began to crack, carbonizing from his face to his torso. First came superficial burns, then black cracks that opened like branches on marble. Within seconds, his hands turned to ash that crumbled in the salty wind of the tunnel.

Gray smoke began to rise from him as his bones creaked and shattered. Each second made him more fragile, as if his body were sand escaping from itself.

Lucian looked up and, from the shadows of a corner, saw Marius lying there, nearly dead, but watching him. The dying lycan smiled with what little strength he had left.

Lucian extended a hand toward Selene, desperate.

"Help me… please…"

His voice broke. His throat disintegrated as he uttered the last syllables. In a final burst of light, his body turned to dust, leaving only a gray trace that the wind carried into the void of the maritime tunnel, as dawn finished consuming him.

Michael fell to his knees, gasping, as his wings and hybrid skin began to retract. His breathing was heavy, but within seconds his body returned to human form. His wounds burned, though adrenaline still coursed through his veins.

Selene watched him, still shaken.

"Michael… what happened?"

He slowly stood up, leaning on the now-open enormous metal door.

"He just… he just ingested a bit of my blood," he explained, trying to catch his breath. "It was like a test, a momentary boost. But it wasn't enough to maintain the transformation. As soon as the sun rose, his powers faded. It was a matter of minutes… and that was it."

Michael looked away toward the platform, noticing something among the dark puddles. He approached cautiously. There, lying down, was Marius, his body practically motionless, soaked and pierced by silver nitrate bullets.

He knelt beside him and placed two fingers on his neck. He remained for a few seconds checking for any sign of life. He felt nothing. Not a heartbeat, not a vibration, not the slightest signal.

He looked up at Selene with a slight shake of his head.

"There's nothing left. He's completely dead."

The tunnel water crashed against the metal structure, pushing the dawn light inward. Amidst the distant echo of the underground sea and the dust-laden air, only absolute silence remained.

For years, the conflict between vampires and lycans had been a silent war, fueled by ancestral mandates and inherited hatreds. But the dawn that witnessed the fall of Marius and the disintegration of Lucian marked an unexpected turning point. Without leaders to maintain the balance of fear, both worlds were plunged into a void that no one was prepared to face.

The vampire hierarchies, built on ancient lineages and ironclad rules, began to fragment. Many clans, unable to maintain their cohesion without a dominant figure, dissolved within weeks. Old pacts were broken, and the shadows that dominated entire cities lost their structure. For the first time in centuries, vampires no longer knew whom to obey or what future awaited them.

Among the lycans, something similar occurred. Marius, despite his brutality, had been a symbol, a unifying force that kept their savage nature in check. His death left entire hordes without guidance, driven only by instinct and survival. Many groups hid in distant forests, fearful of a new extermination; others wandered aimlessly, becoming wandering specters without territory or mission.

And so, in the world hidden beneath the surface of humanity, a silent mourning reigned. It was not the end of a war, but the beginning of a deeper uncertainty. A time when monsters did not fear the enemy, but the void that awaited them on the other side of the night.

Hours after the battle, the base remained in complete darkness. The emergency lights flickered erratically, and the echo of underground water was the only thing breaking the silence. No one remained, not a recent gunshot, not a sigh. Everything seemed dead.

From one of the hallways flooded with shadows, a solitary figure advanced with firm steps. He wore a long, dark coat, and his face remained completely covered by a black mask. No sensors activated, as if the base didn't detect him, or perhaps, as if he knew exactly how to move to remain unseen.

He walked to the area where Marius's body had been left lying, inert, carried by the current to an auxiliary platform. The stranger stopped in front of him, tilted his head, and remained silent for a few seconds, like someone contemplating something long awaited.