Lucien's body seemed to dissolve into the wind until only his voice circled them, carried on every gust like a whisper from nowhere.

"How's it? This is more fun, right?"

The air darkened, the swirling gusts turning a sickly red-black.

Above the rooftop a vortex bloomed, big enough to swallow the whole space, Diane and Lucien caught at its heart.

Lucien laughed deaminingly while blades of wind split from the funnel, slashing in every direction.

They came not one at a time but in sheets, a storm of invisible knives that were strong enough to slash through the trees not far away from this building or even make trails deep enough in the ground.

Seamus managed to flicker between them with Aetherwalk, but Diane's movements dragged, her steps heavier with every second.

"What the fuck!" she spat, twisting just late enough to catch a blade on her left arm.

Blood splattered across the rooftop tiles, hot against the cold wind.

"Diane!" Seamus blurred forward again, snatching her from the eye of the storm.

Two intersecting blades shrieked past where they'd stood, carving an 'X' into the rooftop that cracked the concrete.

"Damn, annoying asshole! Just fight us with your hands and feet?!" she barked over his shoulder.

"How could I," Lucien's voice drifted, soft and smug, "when there's so much more fun to be had? Besides, I've got other things to do than die for you."

The winds stopped for a heartbeat, then shattered outward like a thousand glass panes exploding at once.

Shards of air cut skin, clothing, hair, Seamus hissed as a line of blood appeared across his cheek. Diane stumbled, her palm pressed to another fresh cut.

"His power isn't just wind," Seamus murmured, holding her back as she tried to lunge forward. "Might be hybrid."

"What? How?"

"You feel slow, right? Harder to move?" His eyes scanned the swirling particles.

"He's tugging your body, Diane. Probably his blood riding the wind and entered ours!"

There was no rule that every Dominion blood style needed visible red strings. What if Lucien's storm carried its leash inside every breath? Like what Isolde dream spores did?

"So you do realize that." Lucien suddenly appeared in front of them, "Hm, as I thought humans can only scream and convulse the moment they are in a death or life-death situation."

"But you are different, Crimson Nectar, make me remember that annoying man that never gives up." he continued.

"Roanna would love you... Well, you will join us sooner or later anyway."

Lucien's eyes gleamed crimson as his shape blurred again. The wind carried the smell of blood and a low hum rolled through the rooftop.

Seamus inhaled once, steady. "Turn Leah's blood style into the third evolution," he whispered.

[The switch has been made]

[Now you can use Leah Velstarth's third evolution: Cryostatis Requiem]

Cold mist came from his fingers. Frost spread under his boots, crawling over the rooftop. The red-black whirlwind shook as ice climbed the walls.

The air dropped cold. Diane's breath came out as fog.

"Oh, so the rumor isn't only a rumor after all…" Lucien tilted his head, still grinning. "So you can do more than tricks, huh?"

Seamus's pupils lit faint blue. The blood style opened fully. Using his skill, 'Predator Oracle', he could see every incoming blade, each path glowing in front of him.

When the next barrage came he raised his hand. The storm stopped for a heartbeat. Blades of wind froze in midair.

Diane's eyes widened. "You stopped it, it's Aunt Leah's power..."

"Move," Seamus snapped.

He flicked his hand and the frozen projectiles turned back toward Lucien.

Lucien spun, body half-mist, letting most of them pass through. A few cut his coat. He grinned.

"Pretty, but slow." He snapped his fingers and the frozen knives burst into red dust.

More gusts roared in. Seamus felt a pull on his arms and legs, like invisible hands.

He pushed the ice deeper, coating vents, railings, even the air itself, but each move drained blood.

"Too slow, Crimson Nectar!" Lucien lunged. "Let's end this!"

A red-black sword of compressed wind formed in his hand. He slashed toward him but Seamus raised a wall of ice.

The impact shattered both and threw Diane across the rooftop.

"Seamus!" she coughed, rolling to her knees.

He staggered, vision flickering. The threads of motion dimmed. He tried to freeze Lucien's next strike, but only slowed it.

The sword grazed his ribs, tearing his clothes and skin. However, instead of panicked, Seamus grinned.

'What a fool...' he thought acting as if he was cornered.

Lucien laughed. "Your eyes can see me, but your body can't keep up."

Seamus dropped to one knee, palm on the tiles. As Diane looked at him full of panic, wanting to approach him but Seamus gazed at her, signaling that she didn't need to move.

"You almost had me," Lucien whispered in his ear, suddenly in front of him.

His breath smelled of iron. "But you're still human."

Seamus's fingers twitched. A faint red glow crept from his sleeve under the frost. He let his head hang like he was beaten.

Lucien crouched, shadow over him, clawed hand ready to strike. "Any last words?"

Seamus lifted his eyes and smirked. A line of crimson slid from his palm up to Lucien's nose. "Got you."

Lucien blinked. His blood pulsed and turned into a fine mist. Dream spores hidden in Seamus's blood went straight into Lucien's breath.

"You—" Lucien choked.

His body flickered between wind and flesh. He tried to step back but his limbs stuttered.

Seamus rose slowly, wiping his mouth. "You're not the only one with tricks."

Lucien's eyes went wide. He swung his sword but it dissolved into smoke. His knees buckled.

"What… did you… do…"

"Sweet dreams."

The vampire convulsed and then collapsed on the ice. His body twitched as his mind sank into the trap.

Seamus staggered as the frost retreated from the rooftop, exhaling slow, controlled breaths. He rolled his neck until it cracked, the stiffness fading as his body finally obeyed him again.

Leah's bloodstyle had been a smart choice, he didn't need to move like a berserk mutant to use it and Lucien couldn't control him.

His eyes fell on the vampire sprawled on the ground.

"Should we kill him?"

Diane crawled closer, blood soaking through her torn sleeve. Her gaze flicked between Seamus and Lucien.

"Of course! That man's too dangerous to be left alive."

Seamus rubbed his chin. It was a shame, he'd wanted to see more of Lucien's unique bloodstyle. For someone who'd just evolved dying so easily felt… off.

"We still don't know why he suddenly evolved like that," he muttered, squatting beside Lucien's body and scanning him carefully.

"His power's gone now. I can't feel that evolved bloodstyle anymore," Diane said with a sigh. "It's probably the Crystal Void."

He glanced up at her. "What's that?"

"It's a condensed form of multiple Vitalis Cores fused into one. Rumor says it can trigger temporary evolution."

She narrowed her eyes. "But until now, it was only a whisper."

"Vitalis Cores fused into one…"

Seamus murmured, recalling David's explanation when he'd first met him as a vampire hunter rather than a chef and how he'd been named temporary chief.

***

That day, Seamus remembered how absurd it had been when Isolde handed him an ID card for a vampire hunter. He'd stared at her like, Seriously?

Isolde only nodded. "You'll like it here. And besides, it's a legal way to kill scavengers."

"Legal way?" He chuckled, slipping the ID card into his pocket. "No one cares about monsters' corpses rotting in the forest."

"The media says otherwise." She flicked on the TV.

[Breaking News: Corpses have been found inside Bork's Forest, not far from a civilian settlement—]

It was the same old story: serial killers, government labs, conspiracy theories.

"So just go and join them," Isolde said, shaking her head. "We're working with them now, Seamus. So be nice."

He hadn't had much choice. The next day, he went to meet the temporary chief.

Everyone greeted him warmly, calling a new recruit a blessing, though their bloodshot eyes and sagging faces told a different story.

He'd already begun regretting it.

When he finally entered the chief's office, he froze. The man behind the desk, head bent over a stack of documents, was someone he had known and worked with for three years.

"David?"

The man's head snapped up. "Seamus? What are you doing here?!"

"What do you mean what am I doing here? What are you doing here?"

Seamus glanced around, making sure he wasn't in the wrong office. The nameplate on the desk confirmed it.

"You…" David rose, gripping Seamus's shoulder.

"Don't tell me you're the 'helping hand' Isolde promised me! Are you turning into a vampire?! Does your father know about this?!"

Seamus shoved him off. "Calm down! You're the one hiding your identity. I'm the one who should be asking questions!"

David pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ugh. We don't have time for that. We need to track down the Vitalis Core Hesse is selling."

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