The Third Generation Vampires

Harry is really amazed upon gazing at the captured vampire. The wounds on his body are already gone, there's not even a scar left. They tied him up using silver chains that have thorns which would bury into his skin if he moves. Harry extracts a blood sample from him and studies it carefully. He also asks Sofie if she'll let him get some of her blood as well, just to compare the two samples. After hours of tests and verifying every detail, Harry finally figures it out.

"We've got a serious problem." He's sweating all over his face as he runs towards Queen Sofie.

"What's the rush, Harry?"

"Well, I'm totally sure of it now. Their blood doesn't really match yours exactly, but looking back at Ara's situation, I remembered correctly how the serum in her blood stabilizes when Tyler lets her drink his blood."

"What do you mean? I'm confused."

"The six of you that Carolina described and the second-generation vampires have more control over the serum. Which means all six of you are incomparable to the first generation."

"Wait, there's seven of us."

"Ara's not included. She belongs to the third generation vampires, as well as Volton's army."

"This isn't right. She went through all the pains with us."

"Yes, that's true, but her case at that time wasn't stable at all. Having the blood of the second generation helps them stabilize the serum in their bodies. To be more specific: the six of you are pure-blooded vampires. And what's more surprising is that I tried mixing my blood with yours, and the result was truly unexpected. Your blood devours mine at first, but then when I added the mixed blood to my blood, it ended up with the same structure as the third gens."

"Which means we can convert humans directly into vampires---"

"Exactly. Sucking blood from your victim, then making them drink your blood, changes them directly. But it takes time for your blood to settle inside the victim's body. At first, they may lose control, but slowly they'll get over it."

"Destroy any evidence of this new discovery. We must be very careful. Are you sure the captured didn't hear anything?"

"I put him to sleep while I was working. I'm sure he doesn't know anything."

"To be more sure that not a word will even spread, I'll just end his life."

"Sounds brutal, but it's up to you."

"Let's inform Slacovich and the others first. As for Ara, I hope she won't lose self-confidence when she hears the news."

"Okay. I'll burn all the papers where I took notes, then be right back with you."

Back at Sun University, all the buildings are almost finished, as is the underground headquarters they constructed below the University. Slacovich and the rest are at the gymnasium to have an audience with all the recruited hunters, from students to professors as well as businessmen across the country. The attacks by vampires encouraged them to join, each with different reasons but ending on one main objective: to secure the safety of the human race.

As Carolina discusses basic information on the enemy's identity, Slacovich's phone interrupts. He answers the call and hears Sofie's voice on the other side.

"Hello?"

"Hey, how's it going in there?"

"Well, a new discovery has been made. I'll give the phone to Harry." Harry receives the phone and tells every detail about the third-gen vampires. Slacovich is quite stunned by the news and finds it harder to deal with.

"This isn't good. Having third-gen vampires as an army if enemies will make everything difficult for us."

"Third-gen vampires?" Carolina overhears and stands beside him. Slacovich decides to put it on loudspeaker so everyone can hear. Even the recruits are a bit petrified upon hearing the news of their enemies' identities. Nicholson can see fear and hesitation in their eyes, so he steps up and begins talking.

"Young men and women, if you fear now just by hearing what they are, how can you fight back? Remember why you came here in the first place. We will never enter a battlefield empty-handed. We will train and equip you all with the best anti-vampire weapons. But before you can progress, you must have the strong will to survive and the will to fight back for the sake of your loved ones and yourselves. This is a matter of life and death. If you hold back and stay in the corner waiting for someone to save you, then you're just waiting for death. Why not be confident in yourselves and stand up? Fight the evil and reclaim the peacefulness we all once had." His words of wisdom reach the depths of the hunters' hearts.

"We are fighting against vampires, yet the Demonfire family are all vampires. How can we be at ease?" One of the recruits stands up and stares at them, waiting for an acceptable answer.

"Yes, we are vampires. Yet our hearts are completely human. We feel sadness, sorrows, happiness, and fear. We value what we were before and not what we are now. Putting the interests of humans before ours, giving you all the details about our weaknesses as vampires makes us very open for any attacks from you. We put our trust in all of you. We also have our loved ones we want to protect. If you're still uncertain about us, then you are free to think what you like. Feel free to leave and we won't force you to fight with us." Slacovich stares back at him with unwavering heart.

"All good. I'll pledge my loyalty to you guys. I'll help in any way I can." He then sits back with a sense of relief.

"Guys, what's more, the third-gen vampires aren't as deadly as the first gen that attacked the city previously. The third gen has a sense of humanity within them. They will only act on what they're told and what they believe in. All we have to do is defend ourselves first, because for sure they're going to strike us anytime. We must be prepared for it when the time comes. That's why we're rushing the construction of the headquarters so that we can settle down and start our training." Carolina stands beside Nicholson. They can see the determination in their eyes.

"Also, we have options, but we need to discuss the details very carefully. I'll fill you in once we're back." Harry speaks on the other side.

"Yeah, I'll leave matters to my mom here in the UK. She's going to help us from here and will take over custody of the burned-down laboratory. By then, we'll head back." Sofie seems excited to go back.

"That's good to hear. With the two of you here, it'll be much more convenient for us to stick together." Li speaks up.

"By the way, Queen Sofie, there's one thing only you can do to help with the training of the recruits." Nicholson walks near the phone.

"I think I know what you mean. But I don't really know how to communicate with them yet. I've heard you're a historian; maybe you can help me with the information you have when I get back."

"I'll see what I can do to help you with that. As the new Queen, the heart always matters for them. They will never oppose the Queen."

"Let's just wait and see." Sofie and Harry hang up and tend to their daily routine.

At the gymnasium, the recruits are given forms to fill out. Li and Tyler set up the body scanner in the center, and one by one the recruits step in. The scanner gives complete details of the body structure of each recruit. It will be recorded into their personal files and coded accordingly for their ID cards. It also serves as a detector for unwanted visitors. They filled every corner of the University with sensors and scanners installed on every CCTV, to secure the safety of the people inside and prevent any information leaks outside. They also encourage recruits to install the same system in their homes. It's very costly, but the Demonfire will shoulder half of it while the businessmen who joined will share some of the expenses. The University accepts students who don't know anything about their secret society. The fees to attend Sun University are very expensive, so only the rich can afford to study here. The hunters are all scholars of the school and will be staying in the dormitories together with students who are far away from home.

Volton Hellgazer has them followed all the time. He knows they're up to something but isn't quite sure what it is. He deployed one man to sneak into the University and gather information for him. At the headquarters, the security room detects an intruder coming from the east side of the arts building. The camera captures the intruder's movement even at top speed. It's heading towards Dormitory A, which is currently occupied by girl recruits. Classes will start a few months away, so having no students in the dorm is very easy to deal with such intruders. But to train the hunters, they set up holograms of students staying with them. The hunters were told about it and will treat them like real people to make them act accordingly to the situation.

The alarm at the University is a bit different, it only alerts the hunters within the area. They all have special watches that will alert them every time there's danger coming their way. The girl hunters reach for their silver daggers, which the Demonfire gave them as a token for being full-fledged hunters. This is just their first encounter in a real fight with a vampire. The training they have had for four months will be tested that very night. In just two months, the University will be accepting enrollees. Protecting their roommates and the other students is their top priority. This night will measure their alertness, skills, and the knowledge they gained during training.

Li and Ara are on standby near Dormitory A in case the hunters can't handle the intruder. Tyler keeps an eye on his movements from the security room. The guys are also on standby, they can't enter the girls' dorms. It would only cause panic when the students see them inside. Carolina and the other women professors are on guard; they also stay at the girls' dorm to ensure their security.