Chapter 182: I found it
Victor stood in silence for a few seconds atop the building, looking down at Bramford. The port city remained illuminated by dozens of streetlamps scattered among narrow alleys, dark rooftops, and canals leading to the sea. Even after the massacre that had taken place in the last few hours, few people seemed to realize a military operation was underway. To the average resident, it simply seemed like a few neighborhoods were strangely empty that night.
Inside his mind, Rowena remained silent.
Victor drummed his fingers against his knee as he watched the streets below.
"So?"
"So what?"
"You said you’d find the guy."
"I did."
"And?"
She let out a long sigh.
"You’re too impatient."
Victor shrugged.
"I’d rather get it over with."
"Of course you would."
She remained silent for a few seconds, as if truly focused on something. Victor had learned that when Rowena went quiet, it usually wasn’t because she was ignoring someone. She was simply paying attention to something he couldn’t even perceive.
After nearly a minute, she spoke again.
"I need to step out."
Victor slipped the ring off his finger.
A white mist slowly escaped the crystalline jade before taking shape beside him. Rowena appeared with her usual arrogant expression, stretching like someone who had just woken from a long nap.
She took a deep breath.
A very deep breath.
Victor heard a faint crackling sound from her nose.
Then another.
Next, she closed her eyes.
The wind shifted direction.
Rowena remained completely motionless, inhaling and exhaling slowly as her silver hair swayed behind her.
Victor decided not to interrupt.
Nearly two full minutes passed before she finally opened her eyes.
"Horrible smell."
Victor raised an eyebrow. "Whose?"
"This city’s."
She grimaced.
"There’s fish, blood, rust, sea air, gunpowder, coal, grease, sewage... whoever built this place deserves a beating."
Victor laughed.
"So, you can’t do it?"
"I said the smell was bad. I didn’t say it was impossible."
She took a few steps toward the edge of the building and closed her eyes again.
This time, she inhaled much more deeply.
Victor noticed something curious.
Her energy shifted completely when she used that monstrous sense of smell. Unlike vampiric energy—which was cold and heavy—Rowena’s seemed... alive.
It was hard to explain.
It was as if nature itself were breathing along with her.
The wind began to swirl around the werewolf, almost imperceptibly.
Leaves on nearby trees fluttered.
A few birds took flight.
Victor narrowed his eyes.
’That energy...’
He still couldn’t quite grasp it.
It wasn’t mana.
It wasn’t vampiric aura.
It was nothing like White Fire.
It was something else.
Something completely different.
After a few moments, Rowena smiled.
"Found it."
Victor stood up immediately.
"Already?"
She looked at him as if he’d just uttered the most idiotic thing of the century.
"I said ten minutes."
"It’s been three."
"Better for you."
Victor walked over to her.
"Where?"
She pointed toward the far north of the city.
"There."
Victor looked.
There was absolutely nothing unusual to see.
Just a cluster of old warehouses near the docks.
"Are you sure?"
"Can you see it from here?"
"No."
"I can sense it."
Victor crossed his arms.
"By the smell?"
"By the smell."
She pointed again.
"There’s old blood in that direction." "Old blood?"
"Very."
Victor kept listening.
"It smells like a lab, too."
"A lab?"
"Chemicals."
She took another breath.
"Mercury... alcohol... herbs... flesh..."
Her face slowly grew more serious.
"...lots of flesh."
Victor tilted his head slightly.
"Human flesh?"
"No."
She answered almost immediately.
"Vampires."
Victor fell silent.
That fit perfectly with the reports received by Royal Intelligence.
Disappearances.
Experiments.
Clones.
Everything pointed to some kind of hidden facility.
Rowena kept sniffing the air.
"The leader is there, too."
"Can you sense him specifically?"
"I can."
"Is the scent different?"
She laughed.
"Very."
Victor waited.
"That Ghideon guy stinks."
"Thanks for the description."
"I’m not finished."
She kept looking toward the horizon.
"His scent reminds me of..."
She frowned.
"...rot."
Victor didn’t reply.
Rowena seemed genuinely disturbed.
"It’s not rotting blood."
"Then?"
"It’s like..."
She took another breath.
"...something that should be dead."
Victor narrowed his eyes.
"Interesting."
"No."
She shook her head.
"Worrying."
Victor looked in the direction she had indicated.
"Do you know exactly which building?"
"If I get close, I’ll find out."
"How close?"
"About three hundred meters."
Victor smiled.
"That works."
He slipped the ring back onto his finger.
Rowena vanished into white particles.
"Hey."
Her voice echoed in his mind again.
"What?"
"Don’t go dying before I come out again."
Victor laughed.
"Are you worried about me?"
"Of course not."
She answered too quickly.
"I’m bored."
"If you die, I’ll be stuck in that ring again until someone puts the damn thing on their finger."
Victor’s smile widened.
"What a touching sentiment."
"Shut up."
Victor simply leapt from the building.
His body vanished among the rooftops using Mist Steps, crossing Bramford at a speed that would make an ordinary vampire completely lose track of his position.
As he moved, he began to notice details he had previously ignored.
The city seemed normal.
But now that he knew where to look, small irregularities began to appear.
Armed men walking the same streets over and over.
Messengers retracing their paths.
Certain houses completely dark while all the neighboring ones remained lit.
It was a network.
A very well-organized one.
Victor landed silently on another rooftop.
"Anything else?"
"Yes."
Rowena answered immediately.
"And I don’t like it."
Victor kept moving.
"What is it?"
"That smell from earlier."
"The one like a dead body?"
"It’s gotten stronger."
Victor slowed down slightly.
"Can you identify it?"
"No."
She sounded genuinely annoyed.
"It’s strange."
Victor kept listening.
"It smells like a vampire."
"But?"
"Not quite."
Victor remained silent.
"It also smells like an animal."
"But?"
"Not quite."
She took another deep breath.
"...It also smells like a corpse."
Victor came to a complete halt atop a chimney.
"That doesn’t make sense."
"I know." "Could it be some kind of skill?"
"It could."
She paused.
"Or some kind of experience."
Victor resumed running.
With every leap, he drew closer to the indicated area.
A few minutes later, large warehouses began to appear before him.
They were massive, old, and practically abandoned structures.
Most had closed doors and broken windows.
However...
Victor noticed movement.
Subtle.
Very subtle.
Two men were patrolling the roof of one of the warehouses.
Three others remained hidden near the back.
There were even more people in the side alleys.
"This is the place."
Rowena confirmed immediately.
"Without a doubt."
Victor lay flat on a neighboring roof, observing all the activity.
There was no rush.
The longer he watched...
The more guards he spotted.
They weren’t wearing uniforms.
Or armor.
They were dressed in ordinary clothes.
Any unsuspecting citizen could walk right past them without suspecting a thing.
Victor smiled.
"I like it."
"You always like it when you find people to beat up."
"True."
He continued his assessment.
"The patrols are organized."
"They are."
"There are at least forty men."
"More."
Victor remained motionless for nearly a full minute.
His perception expanded.
Red dots began to slowly appear in his mind.
One.
Five.
Twelve.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Forty-eight.
Sixty-three.
Victor’s eyes widened slightly.
"Holy shit."
Rowena laughed.
"I told you."
"They’ve hidden a small army here."
"There’s more."
Victor frowned.
"More?"
"Underneath."
Victor looked down at the ground.
"...Underground."
"Exactly."
He took a slow breath. It had already ceased to be merely the capture of a wanted criminal.
There was an entire operation running hidden beneath that port.
And, considering the clones they’d faced hours earlier...
Victor had a strong suspicion of what he’d find down there.
He smiled.
"I’ll let Mirella know."
"Do it."
"Then..."
Black Ice was already beginning to coat his hand.
"...we go in."
Inside the ring, Rowena let out a low laugh.
"Now it’s starting to get fun."
Victor didn’t move immediately. He remained lying on the roof, watching the warehouse for nearly a full minute. The men below kept up a steady patrol rhythm, but it was precisely that regularity that gave away the fact that this wasn’t just some makeshift hideout. There were set shifts, fixed positions, and blind spots covered by another guard a few meters ahead. Whoever had organized this knew exactly how to set up a clandestine facility without drawing attention.
Victor touched two fingers to the small metal ring issued before the mission.
"Alexa."
The reply came almost immediately.
"Go ahead."
"I found it."
There was a few seconds’ silence.
"The target?"
"I think so."
"What do you mean, ’think so’?"
Victor kept watching the rooftops.
"I found an entire complex. A huge warehouse with at least sixty men on the surface. There’s something running underground, too."
On the other end, Alexa remained silent for a few moments.
"Are you sure?"
"I am."
"Hold on."
Victor heard muffled voices through the Thought-Link. Alexa had clearly covered the ring while speaking to someone nearby.
A few seconds later, another voice came through.
It was Natasha.
"Victor."
"Hey."
"Explain."
Victor quickly summarized everything he had found. He spoke of the patrols, the approximate number of soldiers, the building’s location, and the impression that there was a massive underground structure.
Natasha didn’t interrupt once.
When he finished, she simply asked:
"How did you find out?"
Victor looked at his ring.
"Instinct."
Rowena snorted inside his head.
’Instinct, my ass.’
Victor ignored it.
Natasha didn’t seem to buy it either.
"Are you sure you weren’t spotted?"
"Not yet."
"Keep it that way."
She took a slow breath before continuing.
"Don’t move in."
Victor grimaced.
"No?"
"No."
"But..."
"That’s an order."
Victor stared at the warehouse for a few seconds.
"Will you guys be long?"
"We’re gathering the two squads."
"How long?"
"About fifteen minutes."
Victor looked at the patrolling men again.
Fifteen minutes.
It wasn’t a long time.
But it wasn’t short, either.
"Okay."
Natasha seemed surprised that he accepted it so easily.
"You’re really going to wait?"
"I am."
"Without doing anything stupid?"
"Without doing anything stupid."
The connection ended.
Inside his head, Rowena started laughing.
"Liar."
Victor smiled.
"I really am going to wait."
"For five minutes."
"Maybe."
"You’re terrible."
Victor ignored the comment and went back to watching the warehouse.
The more time passed, the more details he noticed. Two men were carrying large crates into the building.
Three others came out pushing a cart covered by a tarp.
An ordinary carriage arrived along the main street.
No symbols.
No identification.
But no one searched the vehicle.
The gate opened immediately.
Victor narrowed his eyes.
"They’re taking a delivery."
Rowena replied.
"And a heavy one."
Victor watched the carriage disappear into the warehouse.
"No one hides sixty men just to transport boxes."
"I agree."
He remained motionless.
Five minutes passed.
Then seven.
In the eighth minute, something different happened.
The warehouse’s huge side door slowly opened.
Four men emerged carrying a sort of metal stretcher.
On it...
There was someone.
Victor frowned.
"Looks like a person."
"It is."
"Alive?"
Rowena took a moment to answer.
"...Yes."
Victor discreetly activated his enhanced vision through the Black Ice.
The distance was great, but close enough to make out some details.
It was a woman.
She was unconscious.
Her arms and legs were bound by chains.
Her entire body bore reddish marks.
Like cuts.
Or experiments.
Victor felt his smile vanish.
Two more stretchers came out right behind.
Then a third.
All occupied.
All with unconscious people.
Rowena took a deep breath.
"...Now I can sense it."
"What?"
"Fresh blood."
Victor kept watching.
The prisoners were being taken to another, smaller building, practically attached to the main warehouse.
Once they went in...
No one came back out.
Victor breathed slowly.
"I don’t like this."
"Neither do I."
A few more minutes passed.
Then...
Alexa’s voice returned to the ring.
"We’re arriving."
Victor stood up.
"Where?" "In the square to the south."
"Five minutes."
"Understood."
He took one last look at the complex.
Then he disappeared among the rooftops.