Chapter 183: You go in first.
Victor vanished from the rooftop without making a sound. His Mist-Step completely masked his presence as he traversed Bramford via the city’s highest points, using chimneys, roofs, and towers as footholds. Within minutes, he spotted the small square Alexa had indicated. The place was virtually deserted, surrounded by old buildings and a few trees that effectively concealed any movement under the cover of night.
As he landed on a low stone wall, he saw that almost everyone had already arrived.
Natasha stood with her arms crossed before a map spread out on a wooden bench. Alexa stood beside her, maintaining an active communication link while checking notes in a small notebook. Mirella was approaching at that moment with the rest of Squadron Seven. The twins were conversing in low voices as they sharpened their swords. The small healer carried a backpack absurdly large for her size, and Nera rested her massive scythe on her shoulder as if it weighed less than a broomstick. The final member remained silent, observing everything without betraying any emotion.
Victor was the last to touch the ground.
Natasha looked up.
"Report."
Victor pointed discreetly to the north.
"A main warehouse. At least sixty men patrolling the surface alone. There’s an underground facility operating beneath it."
Alexa raised an eyebrow.
"Were you able to confirm that?"
"I saw movement—people going in and out."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"I also saw prisoners."
Natasha’s expression hardened.
"How many?"
"Not many. Three passed right in front of me. Shackled and unconscious, they were taken to another building next to the main one."
Mirella crossed her arms.
"So the intel was right."
Victor nodded.
"Something is going on down there."
Natasha looked at Alexa.
"Did you get that down?"
"Yes."
She closed the notebook. "Now we know where to look."
Mirella spread the map out on a crate and beckoned everyone closer.
"Listen up."
The two squads formed a circle around her.
"We’ll move in from three different directions."
She pointed to the main building.
"Natasha leads the frontal assault."
Then she moved her finger to the left side of the diagram.
"My squad enters from the rear."
Next, she pointed to a small mark indicating an old drainage channel.
"Alexa, you take a small team in from below. If there really is an underground structure, that channel likely connects to it."
Alexa nodded.
"I can do that."
Mirella continued quickly assigning roles.
"The twins stay with me."
The two of them answered in unison.
"Sure."
"Nera stays with Victor."
The young vampire simply spun her scythe once.
"Perfect."
"The healer goes with Natasha."
She simply gave a thumbs-up.
"The last team covers the escape routes."
Everyone agreed.
The plan was simple.
Infiltrate.
Overpower.
Capture Ghideon.
When Mirella finished assigning positions, Victor finally spoke.
"It won’t work."
Everyone looked at him.
Mirella tilted her head slightly.
"What exactly?"
"The capture part."
Natasha replied immediately.
"That remains the priority."
Victor shook his head.
"It’s impossible."
Silence settled over the small square once more.
Mirella gestured for him to continue.
Victor pointed to the map.
"You’re still thinking as if we’re dealing with an ordinary criminal."
He moved his finger across the various marked points.
"We aren’t."
Alexa crossed her arms.
"Explain."
Victor took a calm breath.
"Today, we killed dozens of those clones."
"Yes." "None of them ran."
"Right."
"None of them hesitated."
Natasha began to understand where he was going with this.
Victor continued.
"Because none of them were afraid to die."
Mirella remained silent.
Victor tapped the map twice.
"You’re still looking for an original."
"Maybe it doesn’t even exist anymore."
No one answered immediately.
Victor went on.
"Or worse."
"Maybe they’re *all* the original."
The young healer frowned.
"That doesn’t even make sense."
Victor shrugged.
"I thought so too."
"Until I started facing those monsters."
He looked directly at Natasha.
"Who exactly do you plan to arrest?"
She remained silent.
Victor continued.
"If twenty identical Ghideons show up, which one do you handcuff?"
Alexa opened her mouth to answer.
She couldn’t.
Victor pointed toward the warehouse again.
"If that guy really can switch bodies, split his consciousness, or whatever else..."
"...then capturing him becomes completely pointless."
Mirella narrowed her eyes.
"You believe the real one could die during the operation without us even realizing it."
Victor answered without hesitation.
"I’m certain of it."
Silence returned.
Natasha stared fixedly at the map.
She clearly didn’t like that conclusion.
But she couldn’t find any arguments to refute it, either.
Victor crossed his arms.
"We capture a clone."
"Then another."
"And another."
"By the end of the night, we’ll have twenty prisoners."
He looked at Alexa.
"And no guarantee that the real one is among them."
Alexa let out a sigh.
"...Damn."
Nera smiled faintly.
"He’s right."
One of the twins raised her hand.
"So, can we kill them?"
Mirella shot her a look.
She lowered her hand immediately.
Victor spoke again.
"The longer this operation drags on..."
"...the greater the chance he escapes."
Natasha finally looked up.
"What do you suggest?"
Victor answered with the same calm demeanor.
"Extermination."
Some members of Squad Seven smiled instantly.
Victor continued before anyone could interrupt.
"Go in."
"Kill any resistance."
"Destroy the lab."
"And look for information afterward."
He pointed at the building.
"If the real one shows up..."
"...great."
"If he doesn’t..."
"...eventually, he’ll be one of the dead."
Mirella thought for a few seconds.
It was a complicated decision.
The Valentine Family’s orders were clear.
Capture Ghideon DuskBlood.
However, those orders had been issued before they discovered the existence of the clones, the underground facility, and the absurd number of people involved.
Natasha slowly folded up the map.
"Rosalyne wants this man alive."
Victor replied immediately.
"Rosalyne isn’t here."
Alexa looked at Natasha.
"If he really can switch identities..."
"...there’s no such thing as a secure capture."
Mirella took a deep breath.
She had already made her decision. "The official objective remains capturing him."
Victor just smiled.
She continued.
"But any target that puts up resistance will be eliminated immediately."
The twins exchanged a satisfied look.
Nera tapped the handle of her scythe against the floor.
Victor simply nodded.
"Better."
Mirella turned back to face everyone present.
"Don’t misunderstand my words."
"The priority remains preventing his escape."
"If a real opportunity to capture him arises, take it."
She paused briefly.
"But don’t put the entire mission at risk trying to spare an enemy who might not even be the real one."
Natasha nodded slowly.
"Understood."
Alexa closed her notebook.
"Do the teams keep their formations?"
Mirella nodded.
"Yes."
She looked directly at Victor and Nera.
"You two won’t be joining the main advance."
Victor raised an eyebrow.
"So?"
"You go in first."
He smiled.
"I like that part."
"While we draw attention on the surface, you head down to the lab."
She tapped her finger on the map.
"If you find Ghideon..."
Victor finished the sentence for her.
"...I decide on the spot if he deserves to keep breathing."
Mirella simply nodded.
"Exactly."
The meeting ended shortly after.
No one had any further questions about what to do.
Now, all that remained was to find out if the man hiding beneath Bramford really was Ghideon DuskBlood... or just another disposable face for something far worse.
The meeting concluded without further discussion. Mirella gathered the map, calmly folded the parchment, and tucked it inside her white coat. There was no reason to drag it out. Every member already knew exactly what their role would be and, more importantly, understood that this mission was no longer a simple capture. The situation Victor had encountered completely changed the gravity of the operation. Natasha looked at everyone one last time.
"No one acts alone once we go in."
The twins exchanged an amused glance, clearly thinking the exact opposite.
She noticed.
"I’m looking at the two of you."
"But we didn’t even say anything."
"You didn’t have to."
Alexa let out a small sigh.
"They get quiet right when they’re planning to pull some shit."
The two of them smiled in unison.
Mirella ignored the brief exchange and turned her attention to Victor.
"You and Nera go in first. Your objective is to locate the lab and figure out where the underground tunnels branch off. Don’t go any further than necessary."
Victor shrugged.
"I’ll try."
"That doesn’t reassure me."
"It never reassures anyone."
Nera rested her scythe on her shoulder.
"If he decides to blow something up, I’ll smack him."
Victor looked at her.
"You’ve already tried."
"I can try again."
"It still doesn’t work."
Before the conversation could go any further, Natasha raised her hand.
"Quiet."
Everyone turned their attention back to her.
She opened a small case attached to her belt. Inside were several black spheres, each the size of a fingernail.
"Blood Bombs."
Victor took one as she handed them out.
The object was surprisingly heavy.
Alexa began to explain.
"Only break them as a last resort."
Victor rolled the small sphere between his fingers.
"What does it do?"
"It explodes."
"I figured."
She rolled her eyes.
"The explosion releases compressed blood mixed with vampiric energy. It’s used to destroy barriers, block corridors, or create distractions."
Victor pocketed the sphere.
"Interesting."
Natasha continued.
"Don’t waste them."
Everyone nodded.
The last, silent member of Squad Seven finally spoke for the first time that night.
Her voice was low.
"Tunnels."
Everyone looked at her.
She pointed to the map still spread out on the bench.
"The construction is old."
Mirella made a slight gesture for her to continue.
"The city was built over drainage galleries."
Victor listened closely.
She kept speaking without changing her tone.
"If there is an underground lab..."
"...there are escape routes."
Alexa quickly drew a few lines on the map.
"Here."
Then two more.
"And here."
Natasha studied the drawing.
"Can you say that for sure?"
The woman shook her head.
"No."
"But that’s how I would build it."
Victor smiled.
"She thinks like a criminal."
"I think like an engineer."
"It’s practically the same thing."
No one laughed.
She didn’t either.
Mirella looked at the drawing for a few seconds.
"Let’s consider those possibilities." Alexa marked the potential tunnels with red paint.
Victor immediately memorized the location of each one.
If Ghideon truly intended to escape, he would likely use an exit no one was watching.
And that was exactly the kind of detail that interested Victor most.
He never liked chasing after anyone.
He preferred to wait where the target would inevitably step.
Natasha closed the map for good.
"That’s it."
She looked at Mirella.
"We begin."
Mirella nodded.
"The teams move out now."
Without further orders, the entire group began to disperse across the square.
The twins vanished, practically sprinting across the rooftops.
The small healer followed Natasha.
Alexa walked toward the opposite side, accompanied by two members of her own squad.
Within seconds, only Mirella, Victor, and Nera remained.
Mirella looked at the two of them.
"You two go in from the west."
Victor nodded.
"The back wall."
"Exactly."
She took a deep breath.
"And Victor."
"Hm?"
"Control your impulses."
He smiled.
"I can’t promise that."
"I know."
She simply turned her back.
Victor watched as she disappeared among the buildings.
Beside him, Nera let out a small yawn.
"Shall we?"
Victor looked up at the sky.
The moon remained partially hidden by clouds.
The sea air carried a constant scent of salt, damp wood, and fish.
Amidst it all...
...there was another scent.
Rowena spoke immediately.
"It keeps getting stronger."
Victor’s smile faded.
"The corpse’s?"
"Yes."
"And now I can sense something else."
"What?"
She remained silent for a few seconds.
"...fear."
Victor raised an eyebrow.
"You can sense that?"
"Werewolves hunt."
She answered matter-of-factly. "We learn to distinguish fear the same way you distinguish blood types."
Victor kept listening.
"The whole lab reeks of fear."
Nera noticed he had stopped moving.
"What is it?"
"Nothing."
Victor started walking again.
"Just thinking."
She muttered something unintelligible before following him across the rooftops.
The two of them moved in complete silence.
Neither of them cared to talk while closing in on a target.
Victor used Mist Steps to vanish completely between leaps.
Nera was different.
She simply ran.
Her speed was incredible.
Despite her childlike appearance, her movements possessed a frightening precision. She made virtually no sound as she touched the rooftops, carrying that massive scythe as if it were made of light wood.
Victor watched her for a few moments.
"You really are strange."
She didn’t even look at him.
"Are you starting up again?"
"I’m paying you a compliment."
"Doesn’t sound like it."
"You run faster than a lot of people fly."
"I train."
Victor smiled.
"I like that answer."