The wind howled through the skeletal remains of the city, carrying the stench of wet fur and rotting meat. The Alpha Vargulf's howl still reverberated in Lucian's bones, a sound that didn't belong to anything natural something older than cities, older than witchers, older than blood.
Lucian's claws flexed. His veins burned with the aftermath of Crimson Dominion, the power still coiling inside him like a second heartbeat. The dead witcher's blood had gone cold on his tongue, metallic and unsatisfying.
The vampire beside him didn't move, but his posture had shifted—subtle, predatory. Ready.
"Vargulfs don't hunt alone," the vampire murmured.
Lucian's Blood Sense flared. Shadows pulsed with movement. Not just one set of eyes in the dark dozens.
[Alert: Pack Detected]
[Alpha Vargulf (Tier III Nightbeast) + 12 Vargulf Spawn]
[Recommended Action: Retreat]
Lucian spat blood onto the cracked pavement. "Since when do we run?"
The vampire's grin was a blade in the dark. "Since the alternative is becoming a chew toy."
A guttural snarl ripped through the alley. The first Vargulf lunged a mass of matted black fur and muscle, its jaws wide enough to crush a human skull in one bite. Lucian barely sidestepped, the creature's claws gouging the brick where his throat had been.
[Predator's Step Activated]
He moved like liquid shadow, driving his claws into the beast's flank. It howled, thrashing, but its blood was wrong thick, tar-like, boiling with a feverish heat. The moment it splashed Lucian's skin, his vision burned.
[Blood Corruption Detected]
[Effect: Hallucinations (Mild)]
The alley twisted. The walls breathed. The vampire's voice came from everywhere at once: "Focus, fledgling. Their blood is poison."
Another Vargulf pounced. Lucian ducked, but a second one slammed into him from the side. Fangs grazed his shoulder, and white-hot pain seared up his neck. He roared, flipping the beast beneath him and sinking his fangs into its throat.
The blood hit him like a drug.
[Blood Frenzy Triggered]
The world shattered into red.
He lost time. Lost thought. There was only motion, only slaughter. Claws tore through fur and flesh. Bones snapped under his hands. The Vargulfs' howls turned to shrieks, then to silence.
When the haze cleared, Lucian stood knee-deep in corpses, his lungs heaving. The Alpha lay at his feet, its throat ripped out, its yellow eyes still wide with feral disbelief.
The vampire whistled. "Messy."
Lucian's hands shook. His veins were on fire, his skull pounding. The system's notifications flickered like a dying light:
[Blood Frenzy Overuse]
[Penalty: Human Empathy Erosion (12%)]
[New Skill Unlocked: Nightform (Partial) – Claws of the Hollow King]
His claws had changed. No longer just bone and blood now edged in a ghostly black aura, like shadows given teeth.
The vampire's amusement faded. He stepped closer, studying Lucian's hands with something between hunger and wariness. "Well. That's new."
Lucian flexed his fingers. The shadows clung to him, whispering.
[System Notice: Bloodmoon Shift Progress – 45%]
[Next Threshold: Embrace the Hollow Crown]
The vampire's voice dropped low. "You feel it, don't you? The call."
Lucian didn't answer. He didn't need to.
Somewhere in the ruins, something answered the bloodshed a pulse of ancient power, a throne of bones waiting in the dark.
The vampire smirked. "Let's go meet your kingdom,Your Majesty
--