CHAPTER 47: “VAMPIRE COAST” “VIKINGS WAR IN VALHALLA”

BY WILLIAM WARNER

CHAPTER 47: “VAMPIRE COAST” “VIKINGS WAR IN VALHALLA”

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The battlefield outside Ambrogio’s spire had become unnaturally quiet after the plasma fire erupted from Halrick’s rifle. Smoke still drifted between the gothic buildings of Spinewald while fires crackled across ruined barricades and shattered streets, yet the sounds of active warfare had finally died away. Viking warriors cautiously lowered their weapons while staring toward the source of the disturbance near the center of the conquered avenue. Even the surviving Vampires who had surrendered appeared unsettled by whatever had just emerged from Anisia.

I immediately turned and walked back toward the group after hearing the shots, my armored boots crunching across broken stone and spent plasma cartridges. The closer I got, the stronger the uneasy feeling became. Something about the atmosphere around Anisia and Serenity felt wrong in a way I couldn’t logically explain. The warriors surrounding them had instinctively backed away, leaving an open circle around the scene as if nobody wanted to get too close.

Halrick stood near the center of the street with his plasma rifle still raised, smoke drifting from the barrel. Astrid stood beside him equally tense, both of them staring toward the pavement ahead with visible uncertainty.

I approached Halrick first. "Halrick, what the hell is going on?"

Halrick didn’t answer immediately. Instead he lowered the muzzle of his rifle slightly and gestured toward the thing near Anisia.

I followed his gaze. The newborn creature was still alive.

Its pale flesh had been partially blown apart by plasma fire moments earlier, exposing dark muscle tissue and fragments of bone beneath its skin, yet the damage was already repairing itself. White matted fur slowly regrew across the wounds while burnt flesh stitched itself together in real time. The process looked disturbingly unnatural, more like watching an infection regenerate than an actual living organism heal.

The creature itself resembled a twisted mockery of a Wulver infant.

Its elongated limbs crawled awkwardly across the stone pavement while the black spines along its back flexed and twitched independently beneath the pale skin. Red eyes reflected against the burning fires surrounding the battlefield, and every movement it made felt wrong, too coordinated for something that had only just been born moments earlier.

I looked back toward Halrick. "Well, shoot the little bastard."

Halrick’s expression tightened uncomfortably. "I tried that sire."

I stared back toward the creature again while the reality of what I was seeing settled into my mind. The plasma wounds had almost completely vanished now. Fresh white fur covered the scorched sections of flesh while the creature slowly rose onto all fours again as if nothing had happened.

Then something changed. The newborn suddenly stopped growling.

Its posture relaxed almost immediately before turning toward Anisia with what appeared to be recognition. Instead of behaving aggressively, the creature cautiously approached her in a strangely calm manner, moving with slow uncertain steps across the bloodstained pavement.

Anisia reached forward instinctively.

Despite everything that had just happened, despite the horror surrounding the creature’s birth, her expression softened the moment it approached her. She carefully lifted the demonic infant into her arms while the thing curled itself against her chest with unsettling familiarity.

Anisia looked down at the creature quietly before speaking. "I guess he's not so vicious after all."

I couldn’t stop staring at it.

The thing looked like a corrupted reflection of my own species, almost as if someone had attempted to recreate a Wulver using demonic flesh and failed halfway through the process. Its facial structure resembled mine in certain ways, but warped and exaggerated into something feral. Jagged teeth protruded slightly from its mouth even as an infant while the red markings stretching across its pale body pulsed faintly beneath the skin.

The longer I looked at it, the more disgusted I became. "Please tell me that thing didn't come out of you?"

Anisia immediately looked offended by the question. "It is our child."

The statement irritated me instantly. "No! There's something wrong with it."

Her eyes narrowed with visible anger. "How could you say that?"

I gestured directly toward the creature in her arms. "Well look at it, it's hideous! Secondly it didn't come out of the woman I love."

The moment those words left my mouth, the atmosphere shifted completely. Anisia’s expression hardened into something far more aggressive than sadness. The emotional pain in her eyes twisted into frustration bordering on hatred while she clutched the demonic infant closer against herself protectively. Around us, several Viking warriors exchanged uneasy glances while Serenity herself looked deeply uncomfortable standing between both sides of the confrontation.

For several seconds nobody moved. Then the creature reacted.

The newborn suddenly raised its head and emitted a horrifying screech that echoed throughout the ruined streets of Spinewald. The sound resembled neither a child nor an animal. It carried an unnatural distortion beneath it, almost like multiple voices shrieking simultaneously through the same throat.

Before anyone could react, the creature violently leapt from Anisia’s arms. Its movements were impossibly fast.

The malformed infant sprinted across the battlefield on all fours with terrifying speed, claws digging into the stone pavement while warriors instinctively stepped backward to avoid it. Plasma rifles immediately began tracking the creature again, but before anyone opened fire, reality itself distorted around the newborn.

A Wraith portal formed directly around its body.

Black energy spiraled outward from thin air while the familiar dark vortex expanded across the street beneath the creature’s feet. The demonic infant never slowed down. It ran directly into the portal without hesitation while the darkness swallowed it whole.

Then the portal vanished. Just like that, the creature was gone. The silence afterward felt oppressive.

Smoke drifted through the ruined city streets while everyone present tried to process what had just happened. Even Beelzebub appeared disturbed while staring at the location where the portal had disappeared. Serenity slowly lowered her hands while Anisia remained frozen in place, staring blankly toward the empty section of pavement where her child had vanished.

Nobody understood what we had witnessed. Nobody had answers.

I finally broke the silence myself, though I even sounded exhausted by the situation. "We got bigger shit to worry about, than some illegitimate child."

The words lingered heavily in the cold air of Spinewald while crimson storms continued rolling across the sky above us.

And deep down, despite what I had just said aloud, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the creature disappearing into the Wraith was going to become a much larger problem later.

The cold winds of Spinewald swept through the ruined streets as the fires of battle continued burning throughout the conquered city. Smoke drifted upward between shattered gothic towers while damaged fusion pylons flickered inconsistently in the distance now that the planetary signal had been severed. Sections of the enormous metropolis were beginning to lose power completely, causing entire districts to darken beneath the blood-red clouds overhead. Despite our victory, the atmosphere surrounding the battlefield felt deeply unsettled, as if the world itself understood something far worse was approaching.

I turned away from the spot where the demonic infant had disappeared into the Wraith and began surveying the city around us. Viking warriors were already securing the remaining streets while droids hauled away damaged equipment and wounded soldiers. Dead Vampires still littered the pavement near the spire entrance alongside shattered weapons and burnt armor. The aftermath of the invasion resembled a collision between medieval warfare and futuristic devastation, with gothic architecture standing beside wrecked plasma cannons and smoldering drop pods.

That was when I noticed Beelzebub standing alone near the fallen city walls.

The massive humanoid wasp remained unusually still as he stared outward across Spinewald’s ruined skyline. His dragon Spark rested quietly around his shoulders, its glowing eyes fixed toward the distant horizon as though both creatures sensed something beyond the visible world itself. The expression on Beelzebub’s face carried genuine concern, which immediately unsettled me more than the battlefield had.

I slowly approached him while the winds carried ash and embers between us. "We should form a gathering in spire's command center."

Beelzebub kept his compound eyes focused outward for several seconds before finally responding. "What about the illegitimate child?"

His question immediately irritated me, though I understood why he was asking it. The creature that emerged from Anisia had been unlike anything any of us had encountered before. It possessed traits from multiple species at once, combined with regenerative abilities and an apparent natural connection to the Wraith itself.

Still, I didn’t want to focus on it. "What about it?"

Beelzebub slowly turned toward me. "It's not a normal child."

The understatement almost made me laugh despite the grim situation surrounding us. Nothing about that creature had been normal. The thing had regenerated from plasma fire seconds after birth and vanished through a self-generated Wraith portal before most of our warriors could even react properly.

Yet despite all of that, I still couldn’t bring myself to fully view it as an enemy. "I know, but it's just a child."

Before Beelzebub could answer, Droid L-84 approached us from behind while interfacing with several floating holographic screens projected from his gauntlet. The droid’s glowing red eye narrowed slightly as he joined the conversation. "You should consider what he's saying. That child has Shark people DNA, and who knows what else."

I exhaled slowly while looking back toward the battlefield where Anisia still stood surrounded by Serenity, Halrick, and Astrid. The emotional exhaustion was beginning to wear heavily on me. Between the war against the Templars, Bethany’s growing influence, the missing Hive Mind, and now the existence of some demonic Wulver offspring connected to the Wraith itself, my thoughts felt like they were constantly being dragged in multiple directions at once. Still, there were larger priorities demanding attention. "We'll deal with the rat later... I believe the Shark Hive Mind is also on Earth along with the Arckon Sphere."

The moment I mentioned Earth, both Beelzebub and Droid L-84 visibly focused on me more intensely.

The idea itself sounded insane even in my own head, but the pieces were beginning to align too perfectly to ignore. The Hive Mind vanished through a Wraith portal immediately after the Templar alliance formed with Bethany.

Ambrogio fleeing instead of defending Spinewald. The obsession surrounding ancient technology, Talking Trees, and dimensional manipulation. And above all else, Bethany’s apparent interest in humanity specifically.

Earth had become the center point connecting too many impossible events.

Beelzebub rubbed one of his clawed hands thoughtfully against his jaw while considering the theory. "Ah, that makes perfect sense. Yet it doesn't? Bethany isn't dumb enough to put her eggs in one basket?"

That was exactly the problem. Bethany wasn’t stupid.

Everything she had done so far demonstrated long-term planning on a terrifying scale. The Shark invasions, the corruption of the Templars, the manipulation of Ambrogio, the attack on the Hive Mind, and even the pressure being applied against Vikingnar itself all felt coordinated toward a larger objective none of us fully understood yet.

Which meant if the Hive Mind truly was on Earth, it probably wasn’t the only thing there.

I turned toward Droid L-84 immediately. "Can you get in touch with Cybrawl, and send out scouts to Earth."

The droid nodded without hesitation while several holographic communication windows opened around him. "Of course."

As Droid L-84 began establishing long-range communications with Cybrawl’s systems, I looked back toward the towering orbital spire rising above Spinewald’s capital. The structure now loomed over the ruined city like the corpse of some fallen empire, its fusion systems partially darkened after I severed the planetary signal. Portions of the upper levels still glowed faintly against the crimson sky while damaged sections vented smoke into the atmosphere.

The place would serve well enough for what came next. We needed answers. We needed strategy.

And above all else, we needed to decide how we were going to confront a threat that now potentially stretched across galaxies, timelines, dimensions, and even worlds connected to my own forgotten past.

I finally turned away from the battlefield. "Afterwards, we'll get a gathering in the Spires control room."

Beelzebub silently nodded while Droid L-84 continued relaying orders through the fleet network. Around us, Viking warriors began reorganizing into defensive formations throughout the conquered city while surviving Vampires were rounded up and disarmed beneath the shadow of the enormous spire.

And high above Spinewald, our Drakkar fleet remained suspended in orbit beneath the blood-red storms, waiting for whatever nightmare came next.

The upper control room of Spinewald’s orbital spire felt unnaturally quiet compared to the chaos still unfolding below the city. Even after the battle had ended, faint vibrations continued pulsing through the immense structure as damaged systems struggled to stabilize themselves. Emergency lights flickered across the metallic walls while distant alarms occasionally echoed from lower levels of the spire where Viking warriors and droids were still clearing out remaining resistance. Despite the destruction, the command center itself remained largely intact, preserving the vast circular chamber and its enormous panoramic windows overlooking the planet below.

From this height, Spinewald resembled a dying world.

Entire districts of gothic towers sat partially darkened beneath the storm clouds while fires burned through sections of the ancient cityscape. Massive bridges connected towering spires across the landscape like black skeletal limbs stretching through the atmosphere, and beneath them countless rivers of crimson industrial light still flowed between sectors that retained power. Our Drakkar fleet hovered high above the atmosphere beyond the windows, appearing as colossal black warships surrounded by smaller escort vessels and drifting debris left behind from the earlier battle.

Inside the control room itself, everyone important had already gathered.

Mathew, Elizabeth, Cole, Hanna, Halrick, Astrid, Beelzebub, Vafri, Lilith, Lia, Serenity, and Droid L-84 stood throughout the chamber while holographic displays projected fleet formations, planetary scans, and damaged system reports into the air around them. Some were quietly discussing strategy while others simply stared at the orbital view in silence, exhausted from the nonstop warfare that had consumed us across multiple worlds.

I stepped into the room slowly, deliberately avoiding staring too long through the massive windows. Something about views from orbital heights always unsettled me now. Ever since learning how artificial some of these worlds truly were, it became difficult to look at planets the same way anymore. Every beautiful landscape now carried hidden questions underneath it. Was the world natural? Was it constructed? Was it moved here by something ancient? Or was it another manipulated piece in some cosmic machine none of us fully understood?

I pushed those thoughts aside and focused on Droid L-84 standing near the center console. "What's the word on our scouts? Have they reached Earth?"

Every conversation in the room immediately died.

Even the faint hum of holographic machinery suddenly seemed quieter after I spoke the word Earth aloud. Most of the people inside the room understood by now that Earth was not merely my birthplace anymore. It had become the center point around which too many mysteries revolved. Bethany’s plans, the Arckon Sphere, the missing Hive Mind, the strange timeline distortions, and even my own arrival into this reality all appeared increasingly connected to that world.

Droid L-84 turned toward me while streams of data moved across the holographic screens reflected against his metal faceplate. "They managed to reach the coordinates, but there's no Earth?"

Nobody spoke for several seconds after hearing that answer.

Lilith’s expression shifted first, followed closely by Halrick and Cole, both of whom looked completely confused by the statement. Even Serenity appeared visibly disturbed while studying the star maps projected in front of the droid.

But I wasn’t surprised. Not really.

In truth, hearing that Earth was gone only confirmed what I had already begun suspecting.

I folded my arms while staring at the star charts. "That's what I expected."

Droid L-84 tilted his head slightly. "What?"

I slowly walked toward the massive viewport overlooking Spinewald while trying not to become distracted by the endless stars beyond it. "They moved Earth somewhere else."

The silence that followed felt heavier this time.

Lilith stepped forward first, her black and gold armor reflecting against the holographic glow surrounding the room. Despite her vampiric nature, her expression carried genuine confusion rather than fear. "Are you saying planet Earth is artificial?"

I nodded slowly. "Precisely."

Several people exchanged uneasy looks after hearing me confirm it so casually. Even Beelzebub narrowed his compound eyes slightly while Spark adjusted itself around his shoulders.

Lilith continued staring at me carefully. "How would you know?"

I leaned one hand against the control console while old memories surfaced in my mind. Strange memories from another timeline. Another life. A version of humanity that once obsessed over conspiracy theories without realizing how close some of them might have been to the truth. "Back in my timeline origin, people have had conspiracy theories about the Earth. While some fools theorised the Earth to be flat, others theorised it to be hollow, with a bright core resembling an inner sun. Similar in description to Cybrawl & Crimmseed... Isn't that right, Droid?"

Droid L-84 immediately answered. "Yes, that's correct."

Several holographic images shifted beside him, displaying structural scans of Cybrawl and Crimmseed. Their internal systems resembled artificial megastructures far more than naturally formed planets. Fusion cores, internal atmospheres, ancient support systems, and engineered geological layers filled the projections.

The implications unsettled everyone.

If Earth truly resembled those worlds, then humanity itself may have originated from something manufactured rather than naturally evolved.

Or worse. Designed. I slowly looked back toward the stars beyond the spire window. "Bethany is also smart enough to conceal her location, which gives us a new challenge. Finding Earth."

That single statement seemed to darken the atmosphere inside the room further. Up until now, every enemy we had faced still occupied known territory. They controlled worlds, fleets, fortresses, and dimensions we could physically locate and attack. But if Bethany had hidden an entire planet somewhere beyond detectable space, then we were no longer fighting a conventional war.

We were hunting ghosts through the galaxy. Droid L-84 suddenly adjusted several controls across the central console. "Our scouts couldn't find Earth, but may have found something else."

The gold holographic displays shifted instantly.

A tropical world appeared rotating above the center of the room. Vast oceans covered much of its surface while enormous jungle continents stretched beneath bright cloud systems. Orbital scans revealed heavy fortifications surrounding one specific region near the equator where colossal structures resembling data towers extended into the upper atmosphere.

The entire planet practically radiated military presence.

Droid L-84 enlarged the image further. "They stumbled upon a tropical world with a large data center, guarded by a massive enemy Vampire & Templar fleet, with their ground warriors. It seems a bulk of their ranks are on this planet guarding something, like valuable information that can lead the way to Earth. It's a shot in the dark, but it's a risk we should take."

Everyone studied the hologram carefully.

Thousands of enemy vessels surrounded the world in layered defensive formations while planetary shield signatures pulsed across the atmosphere. Ground scans revealed immense fortresses, anti-orbital weapon systems, fusion towers, and military compounds spread throughout the jungle terrain. Whatever existed inside that data center, Bethany clearly considered it important. Very important. I glanced toward Lilith afterward. "I guess we don't need your brother anymore Lilith."

Lilith remained quiet briefly before answering. "What do we do if we run into him there?"

I met her eyes directly. "I'm still going to kill him. I promised you that."

The room fell silent again. Lilith did not argue.

She simply lowered her eyes slightly and nodded once in acknowledgment. Whatever feelings she still possessed regarding Ambrogio, she understood now that the war had escalated beyond family loyalty. Too many worlds had already suffered. Too many people had died. And Bethany’s influence continued spreading deeper into the galaxy with every passing moment.

I finally turned away from the holographic projections and addressed everyone gathered inside the control room. "As for everyone else, get ready to fly out of this dump of a planet. We'll be leaving shortly."

Almost immediately the room burst back into motion.

Droid L-84 began relaying fleet commands across the network while holographic windows filled with navigation routes and deployment orders. Serenity and Lia started reviewing medical supplies and combat readiness reports while Halrick and Astrid prepared themselves beside the weapon racks near the wall. Cole, Mathew, Elizabeth, and Hanna moved toward the exits to begin gathering the remaining warriors stationed throughout the city below.

Beyond the massive orbital windows, our Drakkar fleet slowly repositioned itself above Spinewald like a gathering storm preparing to descend upon another battlefield.

And somewhere far beyond the visible stars, hidden behind lies, artificial worlds, and manipulated timelines, Earth was waiting.

The lower levels of Spinewald had transformed into a massive evacuation zone by the time we returned from the spire’s control room. The conquered gothic city still burned beneath the dark crimson sky while columns of smoke drifted upward around the towering orbital spires and shattered battlements. What had once been a proud stronghold belonging to Ambrogio’s forces now resembled the aftermath of an apocalyptic siege. Entire sections of the city walls had collapsed during the invasion, leaving twisted steel, fractured stone, and burning war machines scattered throughout the streets below. Viking warriors marched in organized formations between the wreckage while combat droids loaded equipment, weapons, and wounded soldiers onto transports preparing for departure.

Everywhere I looked, there was movement.

Drakkar Dropships thundered overhead as their engines illuminated the ruined streets beneath them with pale blue light while larger Drakkar Carriers slowly descended through the atmosphere to receive troops and supplies. Unlike traditional spacecraft from my original timeline, our Viking vessels were built to function both as atmospheric warships and deep-space carriers simultaneously. Their immense graphene hulls were reinforced to survive brutal atmospheric entry without sacrificing maneuverability in orbit, making them feel less like conventional ships and more like gigantic armored predators capable of swimming between worlds.

I moved through the crowded embarkation zone while watching warriors secure cargo crates onto mechanized transport platforms. The cold wind sweeping through Spinewald carried the smell of ash, ozone, and burnt plasma residue from the recent battle, mixing together into a scent that had unfortunately become familiar to me over the course of this war. That was when I noticed Lia and Lilith struggling to move several heavy supply crates toward a loading platform.

The sight almost caught me off guard.

Lilith, despite being one of the oldest Vampires in existence, still insisted on physically helping with labor rather than ordering others around, while Lia looked exhausted from everything that had happened since Samuel’s death and the revelation of the Shark Hive infiltration. Neither of them seemed particularly suited for hauling heavy military equipment across a battlefield, so I walked over without saying anything and grabbed one of the containers myself.

The robotic rover platform hummed quietly beneath the weight as we loaded the crates onto its magnetic locks. For a few moments, nobody spoke. The only sounds came from the roaring engines of nearby ships and the distant movement of marching warriors.

Then Lia finally broke the silence. "I'm sorry about everything."

I kept securing the crate restraints while thinking carefully about her words. Under different circumstances, hearing an apology from Lia might have satisfied me. Earlier in this war I probably would have wanted someone to blame for everything that had happened. The timeline shifts. The lies. The manipulation. The uncertainty surrounding why I had even ended up here in the first place.

But now? Now everything felt far more complicated than simple betrayal.

I straightened myself and looked toward the massive Drakkar Carriers hovering above the city. "Isn't that pointless, after all Yursa stated that I chose to come to this timeline, and allegedly so did you... All I have to say is, once this is over, we should keep detailed records on this timeline. We don't need more amnesia."

Lia lowered her eyes slightly after hearing that. The mention of amnesia unsettled everyone connected to these timeline manipulations because too many of us had experienced memories that no longer aligned properly with reality. Entire events felt distorted now, as if history itself had been repeatedly rewritten by unseen hands.

Lilith remained quiet beside us while studying the city around her. Even though Spinewald had belonged to her brother’s territory, there was no visible joy in her expression regarding its conquest. Only exhaustion.

Once the robotic platform had been fully loaded, the three of us finally proceeded toward the nearest boarding ramp leading into the main Drakkar Carrier. The massive vessel towered above the ruined streets like a floating fortress, its armored hull reflecting the burning glow of the city beneath it. Rows of plasma turrets lined the underside of the ship while hangar bays continuously swallowed incoming Dropships carrying the remainder of our forces aboard.

As we entered the carrier, the familiar metallic hum of the ship surrounded us immediately.

Thousands of warriors, droids, engineers, and crew members moved throughout the corridors preparing for departure while intercom systems echoed with deployment instructions and navigation reports. The atmosphere inside the vessel felt tense but focused. Everyone understood we were approaching something significant now. Bethany’s operations were no longer random attacks scattered throughout the galaxy. We were getting closer to the center of her plans.

Our fleet, along with our armies, slowly ascended back into the stars once more.

The sensation of leaving the atmosphere aboard a Drakkar Carrier always felt strangely smooth despite the vessel’s immense size. Through the corridor windows I watched Spinewald gradually shrink beneath us until the ruined world became little more than a dark crimson sphere hanging beneath the stars.

Eventually we stepped onto the bridge.

The enormous command center buzzed with activity as officers monitored fleet formations and navigation systems while holographic star charts rotated above the central command platform. Beyond the massive forward viewport, the rest of our armada moved alongside us through deep space in organized formation, their engines glowing faintly against the darkness.

As we entered the bridge, Lia looked toward me again. "Why don't we use my ability to pinpoint the Hive Minds location?"

I crossed my arms while watching Droid L-84 coordinate long-range scans with the rest of the fleet. "We don't have Yursa here to help utilize your ability, and she was the only material psychic capable of doing so."

Lia looked frustrated by that answer. "Why did you send her away?"

That question lingered heavier in the room than she probably realized.

The truth was I trusted Yursa more than most people around me now, even after everything she had hidden. Maybe especially because of it. Unlike others who manipulated events for selfish reasons, Yursa genuinely seemed terrified of altering the timeline incorrectly. She carried the burden of knowledge in a way that made her secrecy understandable.

I finally answered while keeping my eyes on the stars outside. "I trust her to send me visions in case something goes wrong... Don't worry, we'll get what we're looking for."

The moment we fully entered the bridge, however, I noticed something immediately felt wrong. Everyone was staring at us strangely.

Cole, Mathew, Serenity, Halrick, Astrid, Beelzebub, and even Vafri carried uneasy expressions while Droid L-84 appeared distracted by an incoming communication signal flashing across one of the consoles.

And one person was missing. I looked around again. "Where's Anisia?"

Droid L-84 hesitated briefly before answering. "Yeah, about that..."

Before he could continue, Anisia’s voice suddenly echoed throughout the bridge from the intercom system. "I'm leaving to find my child! Leave me be Droid."

The moment her voice filled the room, my frustration immediately surfaced. I walked straight toward the communications console and activated the microphone manually. "Don't be foolish, that creature you're infatuated with, is not a child. You were inseminated by Shark People's Venom which made a demonic looking Wulver infant. It was a mistake that you gave birth to that thing, and you need to come to terms with that. Now, proceed back to the docking bay, and await further instructions."

The bridge fell silent after I finished speaking. For several long seconds there was no response at all. Then the communication abruptly cut off.

Droid L-84 quickly switched camera feeds across multiple displays until one finally showed Anisia’s Dropship accelerating away from the carrier formation. Moments later the vessel disappeared entirely into a Wraith portal forming directly ahead of it.

She was gone. Gone to search for the creature she now considered her child.

Lilith stared quietly at the empty screen before speaking softly. "I hope whoever made us, didn't view us as a mistake."

Her words lingered uncomfortably throughout the bridge.

Beelzebub folded his arms while Spark adjusted around his shoulders. "Cut William some slack. You didn't witness the horrors that crawled out of that strange woman, Anisia. It seems like Anisia has a paternal bond with the creature, to the point of pinpointing its exact location throughout the known universe."

Lia suddenly looked toward the vanished Dropship coordinates. "We could've used Anisia to find the Hive Mind."

I exhaled heavily while shaking my head. "It's a bit too late for that, we're going to have to proceed with the traditional approach."

I turned toward Droid L-84 afterward. "Does this tropical planet we're traveling to have a name?"

The droid immediately enlarged a star map above the command table. ""Vampire Coast", is the name of that planet."

Even hearing the name sounded ridiculous to me. I stared at the holographic projection briefly before responding. "That's not a creative name."

Lilith surprisingly answered this time. "Vampire Coast also has an illegal blood farm which is valuable to my brother."

Droid L-84 immediately replaced the star map with aerial reconnaissance images gathered by our scouts. Vast tropical jungles stretched across the screen while enormous industrial compounds occupied sections of the coastline. Towering metallic structures rose above crimson rivers that appeared disturbingly similar to flowing blood. Massive storage facilities, pipelines, processing towers, and dark gothic machinery covered the surrounding terrain.

But something about the images stood out immediately. The place looked abandoned. No patrols. No active defense formations. No visible fleets.

Lilith narrowed her eyes at the projection. "Why does it look abandoned?"

I studied the images carefully while the pieces slowly connected in my mind. "I believe it's because your brother is guarding something more valuable than blood... How important is that blood farm to your brother? Would he guard it with his life when there's an army seeking to destroy it?"

Lilith answered almost immediately. "He built that farm to honor our mysterious creators. Of course he would defend it."

That answer was exactly what I wanted.

I nodded slowly. "Perfect, we'll send supplementary force to distract him from our main force ready to attack that data center."

Several officers immediately began adjusting deployment routes across the holographic displays while the fleet subtly shifted formation around us.

And with that, the meeting was over.

Beyond the bridge windows, our vast Drakkar armada continued cutting through deep space toward the tropical world known only as Vampire Coast, where another battle — and possibly the next piece of Bethany’s plan — was waiting for us.

Our fleet emerged from hyperspace above the world known as Vampire Coast like a storm of black steel tearing through the heavens. From the bridge viewport of the Drakkar Carrier, I could see the planet below us in all of its unnatural beauty. The oceans glowed beneath the night side of the world with dark crimson reflections from orbital defense grids, while the coastlines were littered with towering gothic structures that stretched toward the clouds like sharpened teeth. Massive fortress cities lined the shores, each one illuminated with blood-red lights and gold luminescence that reflected across the tropical waters below. Dense jungles blanketed the inland continents, but even from orbit I could see smoke rising from hidden industrial sectors buried beneath the vegetation. Vampire Coast was beautiful in the same way a venomous creature could appear beautiful before it sank its fangs into flesh.

Our fleet formation spread outward around the planet while dozens of Drakkar Carriers deployed smaller escort vessels from their underbellies. The dark hulls of our ships drifted silently against the stars as targeting systems locked onto orbital defenses surrounding the world. Across every bridge screen, tactical overlays highlighted enemy fleets stationed near the coastal fortress cities. The enemy knew we were coming now. There was no point in subtlety anymore.

Inside the deployment bay, thousands of armored Vikingnar warriors stood in organized ranks beside rows of drop pods waiting for launch. Plasma rifles hummed with energy while mechanized loading cranes armed our heavier units with additional equipment. The air inside the bay vibrated from the roar of engines and warning sirens as personnel rushed between ships and weapon stations. Everyone aboard understood that this operation would determine whether we found Earth or lost the trail completely.

I stood beside Serenity and Lilith while black graphene armor folded itself around my body in layers of shifting nanotechnology. The armored plates locked into place over my chest and shoulders while my wolf-skull visor formed over my face. Nearby, Serenity sealed her white armor into place while Lilith adjusted the dark gold plating covering her own body. Unlike our warriors, Lilith’s armor carried elegance to it, almost regal in appearance despite being designed for war. The carved silver face molded into her visor stared outward emotionlessly beneath the red lights of the bay.

Without wasting another second, we proceeded toward our assigned drop pods while the rest of the fleet prepared for simultaneous deployment across multiple targets. The blood farm on the opposite side of the planet would serve as our distraction while the main assault targeted the coastal fortress and its data centers. It was a dangerous gamble, but at this point every move against Bethany and her allies required speed and brutality.

The launch clamps locked around our drop pod, and moments later I felt the violent force of deployment slam against my body as we were fired from the underside of the Drakkar Carrier. Through the small viewing slit ahead of me, Vampire Coast rapidly expanded beneath us. Hundreds of additional drop pods streaked through the atmosphere around us like burning meteors while larger Drakkar Dropships descended farther away toward the primary assault zone.

Meanwhile our Drakkar Carrier and accompanying dropships descended directly upon the main fortress city housing the enemy data centers. From above, our distraction at the blood farm proved successful almost immediately. Enemy defense cannons pivoted toward the false assault while our main fleet gained the opening it needed. One of our massive Drakkar Carriers rotated slowly above the city before unleashing its primary laser cannon. The enormous beam of red energy tore downward through the clouds and smashed directly into the city shield surrounding the coastal fortress. The shield crackled violently across the skyline before collapsing entirely in an explosion of sparks and burning energy waves.

The moment the defenses failed, our remaining drop pods began raining from the sky.

Serenity, Lilith, and I remained inside our pod while the violent descent shook the interior compartment. Metal groaned around us while heat from atmospheric friction turned the outer hull orange. The pod slammed through heavy storm clouds before the city beneath us finally became visible. Gothic towers rose from the coastline beside massive industrial complexes while anti-aircraft fire streaked upward from the streets below. Explosions illuminated entire districts as our fleet bombarded defensive positions throughout the city.

Another pod descended beside ours carrying Halrick and Astrid, but before either of them could reach the ground a blast of enemy plasma fire struck the side of their pod. I watched it spiral violently away from formation trailing smoke and sparks toward a distant section of the city.

Our own pod impacted the ground moments later with enough force to crater the street beneath us. Hydraulic locks detonated outward and the front hatch collapsed onto the ruined pavement outside. Smoke poured into the compartment while distant gunfire echoed between the city structures. Lilith stepped out first with plasma rifle in hand while Serenity and I followed immediately behind her into the chaos of the battlefield.

The coastal city surrounding us was already descending into war. Vikingnar warriors poured from surrounding pods while enemy Vampire soldiers rushed through the streets clad in dark armor and skull-faced helmets. Plasma fire illuminated the night in flashes of blue and red while damaged buildings burned across the skyline.

I immediately activated the communications system in my helmet and attempted to reconnect with Halrick. “Halrick, you veered off course.”

Static crackled for several seconds before his voice finally answered through the intercom. “I know, I'll figure out a way to reach back to you soon.”

Even through the distortion of the signal, I could hear battle raging around him somewhere deeper within the city.

The three of us moved quickly through the ruined coastal streets while the battle for Vampire Coast continued outside the shattered city walls. Plasma fire streaked across the skyline overhead, illuminating the dark tropical rain clouds in bursts of blue and red light while distant explosions shook the foundations beneath our boots. Vikingnar warriors continued clashing with enemy Vampires throughout the city, but our objective remained deeper within the fortress district where the data centers were supposedly storing information connected to Earth’s hidden location. Every instinct in my body told me we were getting closer to something important. Bethany and Ambrogio would never defend this world so heavily unless something of immense value was hidden here.

Lilith led us through a narrow street lined with gothic statues and dark glass towers until we finally reached the data center complex. The structure itself looked less like a conventional archive and more like a fortified cathedral fused with industrial technology. Massive black walls towered above us while crimson lights glowed through narrow glass panels running along the upper levels. Several armored corpses littered the entrance from the earlier bombardment, their blackened armor still smoking from plasma impacts. Whatever resistance had been stationed outside the building was already dead. We quickly forced our way inside the facility while distant gunfire echoed through the streets behind us. The moment we crossed the threshold, Lilith sealed the heavy blast doors shut using the internal control panel near the entrance. Massive locking mechanisms groaned as reinforced steel slabs slid into place over every doorway and window. The noise echoed throughout the enormous structure before silence finally settled around us.

The inside of the data center was strangely humid and oppressively warm. Towering black server columns stretched upward toward a ceiling hidden behind tangled cables and suspended machinery. Dim red emergency lights flickered across endless rows of damaged computers and shattered holographic displays. Some of the data towers had been completely ripped apart as though someone intentionally destroyed the systems before we arrived. Sparks erupted from hanging wires while the smell of burnt circuitry filled the stale air.

Unlike Lilith, Serenity immediately powered down her armor the moment we stopped moving. The white graphene plating dissolved away from her body in waves of nanotechnology until she stood there in her white leather outfit again, wiping sweat from her forehead while looking around the overheated chamber with annoyance. “What? It's hot in here,” she said.

I kept scanning the ruined servers around us while the low hum of failing machinery vibrated through the floor beneath my boots. Something about this place felt wrong. Not abandoned. Purged. “The heat is the least of our worries. This data center has been demolished.”

Serenity frowned and immediately began moving between the damaged towers, checking every remaining console and shattered screen she could find. Lilith remained near the sealed entrance with her rifle raised while I continued studying the destruction around us. Entire sections of the archive had been deliberately erased. Hard drives were melted. Data cores were physically removed from their housing units. Whatever information had once been stored here was never meant to be recovered.

Serenity continued checking each terminal one after another, but every attempt ended the same way. Dead screens. Corrupted systems. Empty memory banks. “You're right, I guess we're going to have to interrogate Ambrogio,” Serenity said.

The moment those words left her mouth, the entire floor beneath us suddenly trembled.

At first it felt like a distant explosion somewhere beneath the city, but then the shaking intensified violently enough to rattle loose cables from the ceiling above us. The towering data columns groaned while cracks spread across the black floor panels underneath our feet. Red warning lights flickered harder as dust and debris drifted down through the overheated chamber.

Lilith immediately stepped backward while I instinctively reached for Serenity, but the ground beneath her suddenly split apart before either of us could react.

A jagged crack shot across the floor directly underneath Serenity’s boots, and within seconds the solid surface beneath her collapsed into loose soil and quicksand-like sludge. Serenity let out a startled gasp as her body immediately sank downward. The collapsing earth swallowed her black leather thigh boots almost instantly while she desperately tried to regain balance.

I lunged toward her, but the floor continued crumbling between us.

For the first time since entering the building, I saw genuine panic cross Serenity’s face. Her blue eyes widened while she tried reaching toward me through the collapsing ground.

The quicksand consumed her legs first, her waist, and then her butt. White leather disappeared beneath the unstable earth while she struggled desperately to keep herself above the surface. She reached for my hand again, but the ground swallowed her too quickly.

Within seconds the collapsing soil dragged her completely under. Her terrified blue eyes were the last thing I saw before the quicksand sealed shut over her head and left nothing behind except shifting dirt and cracked flooring. The room suddenly fell silent again except for the distant hum of damaged machinery.

I stood frozen for a brief moment staring at the spot where Serenity disappeared while anger and confusion collided in my chest. That had not been natural. Someone or something had hollowed out the earth beneath the building intentionally.

Then I noticed the basement access door across the chamber near the far wall. The realization hit me immediately. Whatever took Serenity had to be underneath us.

I turned toward Lilith while gripping my chainsword tighter. “Go to the blood farm, and join the others. Something isn't right.”

Lilith stared toward the collapsed floor for another second before silently nodding. Even she looks unsettled. Without arguing, she moved toward the main entrance controls and unlocked the reinforced doors. The heavy barriers slowly retracted while distant battle noises flooded back into the building from outside.

Lilith gave me one final look before leaving the data center entirely.

The moment the doors sealed shut behind her again, I was alone inside the ruined archive with nothing but flickering red lights, broken machinery, and the massive hole where Serenity vanished beneath the earth.

I moved quickly across the ruined data center toward the basement access door while the unstable floor continued groaning beneath my boots. Red emergency lights flashed through the dark chamber in uneven intervals, illuminating the cracked ground where Serenity had vanished only moments earlier. The entire structure felt hollow now, like the building itself had been resting on top of a massive underground nest ready to collapse inward at any second. Somewhere deeper beneath the city I could still hear faint vibrations echoing through the walls, slow movements traveling underneath the earth like gigantic creatures tunneling through soil and stone.

The basement access hatch slid open with a violent metallic screech, revealing a narrow stairwell descending into darkness below the facility. Hot air poured upward from beneath the structure carrying the smell of wet dirt, machine oil, and something rotten that made the fur along my neck instinctively rise beneath my armor. I tightened my grip around Slayer and descended into the lower levels while the sound of the battle outside faded farther behind me.

The basement beneath the data center looked far older than the structure above it. Thick support beams lined the walls beside ancient pipes and fusion conduits that pulsed faintly with dim red energy. Water dripped steadily from the ceiling while dust drifted through the air in slow clouds. Some portions of the basement had completely collapsed inward from the sinkholes forming above, leaving jagged openings where entire sections of dirt and concrete had fallen through.

Once I reached the lower level, I immediately spotted where Serenity had fallen. A large mound of disturbed dirt and broken flooring sat directly beneath the collapse point above. Loose soil still shifted slightly as if whatever dragged her downward had only recently passed through. The deeper I looked into the basement, the more obvious the destruction became. Entire walls had been torn open from beneath, not blasted apart by weapons but physically burrowed through. Massive claw marks stretched across the stone while enormous tunnels disappeared into the darkness beyond the facility foundations.

Whatever dug these tunnels was very big.

I lowered my head slightly and focused on Serenity’s scent beneath the overwhelming smells of mud and machinery. Even with the humid air and disturbed earth masking everything around me, I could still track her. The scent trail led directly toward the freshest tunnel carved into the basement wall to my left.

Without hesitation, I stepped inside.

The tunnel was enormous, easily large enough for armored vehicles to pass through side by side. Fresh dirt covered the ground while jagged roots hung from the ceiling above me. The walls looked shredded rather than excavated cleanly, as though something enormous with claws had simply forced its way through solid earth at tremendous speed. Every few seconds I could hear dirt shifting deeper within the tunnel system, followed by low vibrations that traveled through the floor beneath my boots.

I kept walking carefully while sniffing the air for Serenity’s location. The farther I traveled underground, the warmer the tunnel became until sweat began forming beneath portions of my armor. My visor lights illuminated endless stretches of churned earth ahead while pieces of broken infrastructure protruded from the walls where the creatures had tunneled directly beneath the city foundations.

Then finally I noticed something partially buried in the dirt ahead of me. The sole of a boot.

I immediately rushed forward and dropped to one knee beside it. It was Serenity’s boot sticking upward through packed dirt near the tunnel wall. Most of her body was still trapped beneath the earth.

I began clawing away dirt with my armored hands as quickly as possible. Soil and rocks scattered across the tunnel floor while I uncovered more of her leg. Once enough was exposed, I poked her foot lightly to check for movement.

She was still awake. I felt her try to move beneath the dirt.

Without wasting another second, I dug farther downward until both of her booted legs were uncovered. I wrapped my hands around one leg and started pulling carefully, but the dirt around her body held tight like wet cement. More soil collapsed around us while I continued digging and pulling simultaneously.

Eventually her lower body shifted slightly.

I uncovered her second leg completely and pulled harder this time, dragging part of her body free from the packed earth. Dirt slid away from her white leather outfit in heavy clumps while she struggled weakly beneath the surface. I repeated the process several more times until I finally realized what had trapped her. Serenity was wedged halfway inside a narrow sinkhole shaft leading farther downward into the tunnel network.

I wiped loose dirt away from her thighs and lower back before bracing myself properly. Then I grabbed her thighs and butt firmly and pulled with all the strength I could muster. The compacted earth around her finally gave way.

Serenity slid free from the hole all at once, collapsing backward onto the tunnel floor while dirt and rocks spilled around both of us. She looked exhausted and shaken, strands of black hair covered in dust while mud streaked across her white leather clothing. For a moment her blue eyes remained wide with panic until she turned her head and realized I was the one holding onto her ankles. “Oh, it's you,” she said.

I helped Serenity sit upright before pulling her fully to her feet. The tunnel continued vibrating faintly around us while distant noises echoed somewhere far deeper underground. Serenity immediately threw one arm over my shoulder for balance as she steadied herself against me.

Even now I could feel how tense she was. “Do you know what dug these tunnels?”

Serenity looked around uneasily at the enormous burrow surrounding us before slowly shaking her head. “All I did was take cover. Whatever dug these tunnels, was big enough to bump their heads onto the surface.”

That explanation alone was enough to unsettle me further. The sinkholes upstairs suddenly made perfect sense now. Something enormous had been moving directly beneath the city streets.

I glanced deeper into the tunnel darkness one final time before deciding we needed to leave immediately. Whatever lived down here clearly wasn’t finished tunneling. “Let's get out of here, and power your armor on.”

Serenity nodded immediately. White nanotechnology spread across her body once more as her graphene armor sealed itself around her from head to toe. The glowing blue eyes of her visor illuminated the darkness while environmental systems hissed back online around her suit.

Now fully armored again, Serenity no longer looked vulnerable buried beneath the dirt. But neither of us ignored the low vibrations still echoing through the tunnel beneath Vampire Coast. Something massive was still moving underneath the city.

I turned to Serenity and said, “Let’s follow the tunnels, they lead to the blood farm.”

Serenity then said, “How do you know?”

I then say, “I just know.”

The underground tunnel trembled softly around us as distant shockwaves from the surface battle echoed through the packed earth overhead. Dust drifted down from the ceiling in thin streams while the stale underground air carried the scent of wet soil, blood, and burned plasma residue. The tunnels were massive, far larger than anything natural, with claw marks gouged deep into the walls from the enormous Strigoli creatures that had burrowed beneath the battlefield. Their tunnels twisted beneath Vampire Coast like the veins of some monstrous organism hidden beneath the planet’s crust. Even with Serenity safely beside me again, something about the darkness surrounding us felt wrong, almost alive, as though the earth itself were hiding secrets older than the war consuming this galaxy.

I patted Serenity’s butt, she didn’t seem to mind, and we walked through the tunnel towards the exit. The further we traveled, the more the distant sounds of battle grew louder until eventually the dim natural light ahead of us widened into a massive opening torn through the earth itself. Serenity and I finally emerged from the tunnel entrance and stepped back onto the surface world of Vampire Coast. The sight before us looked even worse than before.

The blood farm had become a slaughter ground.

Gigantic glass canisters that once stored harvested blood had shattered across the fields, their contents spilling out over the yellow grass like rivers of crimson paint. Entire sections of farmland burned beneath scattered plasma fires while smoke drifted across the coastline in dark rolling waves. The nearby ocean reflected the burning battlefield in distorted shades of red and orange beneath the cloudy skies overhead. Destroyed drop pods smoldered throughout the fields beside mangled corpses belonging to both our warriors and the enemy Vampires. The once organized agricultural complex now looked like the aftermath of an extinction event.

Serenity and I continued walking through the chaos until we noticed the rest of our forces standing further ahead within the wheat field near the coast. Vikingnar warriors armed with plasma rifles had formed defensive lines while surviving Vampires loyal to Lilith stood beside them. The atmosphere was tense, almost eerily quiet for a battlefield that moments ago had been consumed by violence. Even the ocean wind felt heavy as it swept through the wheat around us.

I walked up to Droid L-84 and said, “How come everyone is here?”

Droid L-84 pointed in front of us at a large enemy Vampire army with its troops and large beastly Strigoli variants that were most likely responsible for digging those tunnels.

Only then did I fully see them.

An enormous enemy formation stretched across the opposite side of the fields beneath the darkening sky. Thousands of Vampiric soldiers stood in disciplined ranks wearing dark gun metal armor with glowing crimson visors while towering Strigoli creatures prowled between their lines like living siege beasts. Some of the monsters still had dirt and roots hanging from their claws after tunneling beneath the planet’s surface. Their elongated skulls and pale stretched flesh made them look less like animals and more like failed experiments dragged from some biological nightmare. The sight of them instantly explained the tunnel system beneath the data center.

Then I saw Ambrogio standing in the distance.

Despite everything, he still carried himself with the confidence of a ruler who believed he could not lose. His damaged armor reflected the fires burning throughout the battlefield while black blood stained the remains of his severed wings. Yet even from this distance I could sense the change in him now. Beneath the confidence there was hesitation. Beneath the arrogance there was fear. I knew he was beginning to become a coward.

I’ll make sure Ambrogio doesn’t run this time.

Our Viking and Vampire warriors got into formation quickly, and faced Ambrogio and his enemy vampires. The wheat fields bent violently beneath the rising ocean winds while plasma rifles powered on all across the battlefield in glowing flashes of blue light. Both armies stared at one another for only a brief moment before discipline gave way to pure aggression.

We quickly charged in a free for all, with very little planning but strong determination, we clashed head on with their forces.

The battlefield immediately descended into chaos.

Plasma fire tore through the air while armored warriors slammed into one another throughout the fields. Vikingnar soldiers hacked through enemy lines with energized axes and swords while enemy Vampires countered with brutal precision strikes aimed directly at the gaps in our armor. The Strigoli beasts charged into combat beside them, their massive claws ripping warriors apart as they barreled through the crops like monstrous living tanks. The sound of screaming metal, roaring creatures, and exploding plasma weapons merged together into one continuous wall of violence beneath the burning skies of Vampire Coast.

Serenity used her wind magic to tear through enemy rank while I managed to kill a few large Strigolis with my chainsword. Invisible currents spiraled violently around Serenity as she thrust both hands forward, unleashing devastating waves of pressure that hurled entire groups of enemy soldiers through the air like broken dolls. Some of the Vampires smashed against shattered blood containers while others disappeared beneath the feet of charging warriors. Nearby I buried Slayer deep into the skull of a charging Strigoli beast before ripping the chainsword sideways through its neck. Black blood sprayed across the wheat as the creature collapsed heavily into the field, crushing several enemy soldiers beneath its weight.

I then spotted Ambrogio, and I attacked first. We clashed violently in the center of the battlefield.

Our weapons collided with enough force to send sparks exploding outward around us while nearby warriors instinctively backed away from the duel. Ambrogio swung his heavy mace toward my skull while I intercepted the strike with Slayer, the impact shaking my entire body. He immediately followed with a strike from one of his vampiric wings, but this time I was ready for it. I ducked beneath the attack and swung upward with my chainsword, carving directly into the base of his wing. Black blood exploded into the air as the severed appendage crashed heavily into the wheat behind him.

Ambrogio roared in fury and tried attacking again with his second wing, but I surged forward before he could recover. Slayer screamed violently as I hacked through the remaining wing with another brutal strike. The second wing collapsed beside him in a spray of blood and torn flesh.

He couldn’t escape now.

I then say to him, “Look around you Ambrogio. You have an impressive army that fought like feeble apes. In fact I've seen Trolls fight better than you.”

As I said those words Ambrogio’s army fell one by one until the enemy vampires were no more.

The battlefield surrounding the blood farm had become a wasteland of smoke, fire, and death by the time the fighting finally stopped. The yellow wheat fields near the coastline were flattened beneath thousands of armored boots, stained dark by blood and ash while shattered glass canisters continued leaking crimson fluid across the scorched earth. Black smoke rolled upward into the dim skies of Vampire Coast where our Drakkar Carriers hovered like massive iron predators over the conquered landscape. Broken bodies belonging to Vampires, Strigoli beasts, and Vikingnar warriors alike littered the battlefield in every direction. The ocean wind carried the scent of burned plasma, wet soil, and death through the ruined fields while distant thunder rolled over the dark sea beyond the cliffs.

After the battle, Serenity and I chained Ambrogio tightly against a thick wooden stump near the center of the ruined blood farm while Cole and Mathew dragged over three surviving enemy Vampires they had captured during the final push. Two males and one female were forced to kneel several feet away beneath the watch of heavily armed Vikingnar soldiers. Their armor had been stripped away after capture, leaving them bruised, exhausted, and visibly terrified now that their army had been annihilated. Nearby, Lilith stood silently with dried blood covering portions of her gold and black armor while her glowing eyes remained locked on her wounded brother. Despite everything Ambrogio had done, there was still visible conflict buried deep within her expression.

The battlefield had grown strangely quiet now that the violence was over. Fires crackled throughout the fields while damaged machinery sparked beside shattered blood tanks. The surviving warriors from both factions watched cautiously from a distance, uncertain how far this interrogation would go.

I slowly approached Ambrogio with Slayer still growling violently in my hand. “I am going to make you talk Ambrogio.”

The Vampire lord lifted his head slowly to glare at me through strands of blood-soaked hair. His severed wings had left black blood running down his back while deep cuts from our battle covered his chest and shoulders. Even restrained and defeated, there was still arrogance burning behind his pale eyes.

To make my intentions clear, I turned toward one of the captured male Vampires. Without hesitation, I swung Slayer downward in a brutal execution strike. The energized chainsword tore through armor, flesh, and bone with horrifying force, splitting the prisoner apart in a savage spray of blood across the dirt. The battlefield around us immediately fell silent except for the grinding roar of the chainsword itself. The second male prisoner recoiled backward in terror, shaking violently as blood splattered across his exposed chest and face. He even pissed himself.

Ambrogio then said, “You think raping is me going to get me to talk?”

I laughed darkly while lowering the chainsword toward the dirt beside him. “In your dreams sir. I guess you don't know what rape means. In order for my torture methods to be considered rape, I'd have to use my cock in order to sodomize someone. And the only person I would even consider sodomizing with my cock is the half naked vampiric female, standing over there. She looks so sexy... So now you know I get a limp dick around other males. I guess it has some benefits.”

Even chained to the stump, Ambrogio managed a weak sneer through the pain. “What benefit is that?”

“Well having an erect penis would get in the way of war. The struggle is apparent especially with all of these vixens around... But to get to the point, no, I have no desire to rape you, but you better tell me the exact location of Earth.”

The moment Earth was mentioned, Ambrogio’s expression changed. Beneath the arrogance and hatred, I could finally see genuine fear hidden inside him. “No.”

The answer came immediately. I stepped closer until I was directly in front of him while smoke drifted between us from the burning battlefield. “Why not dammit!?”

Ambrogio then says, “It's too risky.”

For several long seconds I simply stared at him while the ocean wind howled through the ruined fields behind us. Every answer we sought continued leading back toward Earth. The Demons. The Shark Hive Mind. The hidden timelines. The artificial worlds. Everything somehow connected to a planet that no longer seemed entirely real.

Frustration boiled over inside me.

I grabbed a long metal rod from nearby battlefield debris and held it tightly in my armored hand. “Consider this the risk!”

Lilith forced Ambrogio downward while I positioned the sharpened rod beneath him. His body tensed violently as the cold steel began piercing into him, and his muffled screams echoed across the ruined blood farm. I slowly forced the rod further upward while Ambrogio convulsed against the restraints, his entire body trembling from agony as the impalement continued inch by inch. Blood poured down the metal while his breathing became broken and ragged. Every movement forced the sharpened rod deeper through his body as the horrific process continued.

The second male prisoner began vomiting beside Cole while the female captive looked entirely on the spectacle. While some of our own warriors turned their heads from the sight. And Lia fainted. The only sounds now were Ambrogio’s agonized choking cries, the crackling of distant fires, and the endless crashing of ocean waves against the cliffs nearby.

I continued forcing the rod upward through his body until blood finally spilled from his mouth in thick streams. His glowing crimson eyes widened with unbearable pain as the upper end of the rod slowly emerged upward through his throat and mouth. The process was grotesque, medieval, and horrifyingly slow, turning the once prideful Vampire lord into a mutilated spectacle beneath the smoky skies of Vampire Coast.

Once the impalement was complete, I unchained Ambrogio from the wooden stump while his body twitched weakly around the rod. I then carried him across the battlefield toward a narrow but deep hole in the earth near the edge of the ruined farm. His blood dripped across the yellow grass beneath us while surviving warriors silently stepped aside to let me pass.

I lowered the bottom end of the rod carefully into the hole before releasing him. Gravity immediately did the rest.

Ambrogio’s body slowly slid downward along the impaling rod under its own weight while his muffled screams turned into wet choking noises. The sharpened steel continued tearing through him internally as he descended inch by inch. Blood streamed from his mouth while the upper end of the rod protruded grotesquely outward between his jaws beneath the burning red skies overhead.

The torture that followed was brutal, ancient, and horrifying, inspired by the cruel execution methods associated with Count Dracula himself. Ambrogio’s screams echoed across the ruined blood farm as the punishment intensified beneath the burning skies of Vampire Coast. Blood ran down the wooden stump while the fires surrounding the battlefield continued crackling through the darkness. Even after enduring unimaginable pain, however, Ambrogio still refused to reveal Earth’s location.

That terrified me more than the torture itself.

Not far from the impaled remains of Ambrogio, Lia had collapsed unconscious from the overwhelming strain placed upon her mind. Serenity and several others had carried her away from the battlefield toward a temporary encampment near the landing zone where surviving warriors were regrouping. While the armies of Vikingnar secured the remaining sections of Vampire Coast, Lia remained motionless beneath layers of blankets and medical equipment inside one of the portable command shelters established beside our dropships.

Yet although her body rested, her mind did not.

Somewhere deep within her unconscious state, Lia drifted through visions that no ordinary human mind was meant to witness.

At first there was only darkness.

Endless darkness stretching infinitely in every direction throughout deep space. Entire star systems drifted silently past her vision while distant galaxies glowed like ancient fires against the black void. The emptiness itself felt cold and unnatural, as though she were traveling through forgotten regions of existence untouched by civilization or life. Time itself no longer seemed linear within the vision. She drifted through stars, nebulae, and empty cosmic wastelands until eventually something massive began to emerge far beyond the darkness.

Earth. But it was not the Earth I remembered.

The planet suspended within the void appeared artificial in nature, almost too perfect to be natural. Its blue atmosphere glowed beautifully against the surrounding darkness, yet beneath that familiar appearance there was something deeply wrong with it. Lia’s vision pierced beyond the planet’s surface itself, revealing the truth hidden inside.

The Earth was hollow.

Far beneath its outer crust existed an immense inner world illuminated by a blazing artificial sun core suspended within the center of the planet itself. Massive continents curved inward around the inner sphere while entire oceans reflected the artificial sunlight trapped within the hollow world. The glowing core burned like a contained star, radiating enough energy to sustain the atmosphere, oceans, and ecosystems both outside and inside the planet simultaneously. Ancient mechanisms far beyond human understanding surrounded the core like colossal machinery maintaining the illusion of a natural world.

The Earth itself was a construct. An engineered planet. And someone had moved it.

Lia’s vision continued deeper into the hollow Earth where the true horror finally revealed itself. Demonic armies and Templar forces occupied enormous portions of the inner world. Vast industrial fortresses, war machines, and military encampments stretched across the inner continents while Wraith portals pulsed throughout the artificial skies like infected wounds in reality itself. Countless Templar warships hovered within the hollow atmosphere while monstrous demonic entities prowled the surface below beneath banners bearing Bethany’s symbol.

At the center of it all stood something far more disturbing. Star Castle.

The ancient pyramidal structure no longer floated inverted through space like it once had. The massive black pyramid had anchored itself directly into the Earth’s surface like a gigantic spear driven into the planet itself. Entire sections of the surrounding terrain had been reshaped around the structure while glowing alien machinery pulsed across its dark metallic sides. The Arckon Sphere floated above the pyramid radiating immense golden energy that illuminated entire regions of the hollow Earth beneath it.

Beside Star Castle rested the ancient monolithic city of the Shark People. Gigantic black structures rose from the inner world like impossible towers built by something nonhuman. The city looked ancient beyond comprehension, its architecture twisted into unnatural geometric shapes that hurt to even observe. Green bioluminescent light pulsed through the cracks of the monoliths while countless Shark bioforms moved throughout the city like insects serving a greater organism.

Then Lia saw it. The Shark Hive Mind.

The immense floating brain-like entity rested deep within the hollow Earth protected beneath layers of fortifications and alien structures. Massive biological tendrils connected it directly into the surrounding city while pulses of psychic energy radiated outward through the inner world. Despite everything that had happened, the Hive Mind remained alive.

Safe and sound. Bethany had successfully taken control of everything.

The vision intensified violently afterward. Lia saw endless fleets gathering near the outer edges of the Milky Way. She saw Wraith portals opening across deep space. She saw entire worlds burning beneath demonic invasions. She saw Earth hidden near the distant boundaries of another galaxy entirely.

The Andromeda. The realization struck her consciousness like lightning.

Suddenly her unconscious body jerked violently within the medical shelter back on Vampire Coast. Sweat covered her skin while her breathing became uneven beneath the blankets. Nearby medical equipment flickered from the psychic energy surging through her nervous system. Serenity immediately called for me once Lia began convulsing in her unconscious state.

I rushed into the shelter and knelt beside her while the storm outside rattled against the metal walls of the command tent. Lia’s eyes moved rapidly beneath her eyelids while her body trembled from whatever horrors she had witnessed.

I leaned closer toward her and shook her shoulder firmly. “Lia, Lia wake up.”

Her eyes suddenly opened.

For several seconds she simply stared upward in terror as though still trapped within the vision itself. Her breathing remained heavy while distant thunder echoed outside across the ruined battlefield of Vampire Coast. Everyone inside the shelter watched her silently, waiting for answers.

Finally Lia turned her frightened eyes toward me and spoke. “The Andromeda. Earth is at the gates of Andromeda.”

---

CHAPTER 47: “VAMPIRE COAST” “VIKINGS WAR IN VALHALLA”