Obscure War (5)

"Isaac!" Gabriella shouted, trying to wake him up.

The wolf-masked vampire looked at her for a split second, but he lost no more time as he pushed his dagger to Isaac's neck. The vampire's surprise attack happened in mere seconds.

Jenna Angel and Luo Ren didn't even have time to move their heads toward Isaac, but the attack felt much longer to Gabriella Rivampe, a vampire. She tried to run in her vampiric form yet wasn't quick enough to get to Isaac in time.

-Bang!

Despite her best efforts, she couldn't save him. "Wait! A 'bang?'"

The vampire's dagger slid out of his hand before his body began rolling on the cold concrete ground, stopping a step away from Gabriella. He looked up at the queen: The right half of his face had fallen apart, his brain hanging down, and the left side hid underneath his cracked mask. He failed to breathe, making a noise easily mistakable for laughter as he passed out.

Gabriella approached Isaac. He hadn't been hurt more than before, still breathing, in a coma.

She quickly pieced things together. Someone had shot the vampire and saved Isaac. She looked at Jenna and Luo; they had already found where the shot originated from, a balcony on a building next to the arena.

Flying over there, she quickly realized the room was empty. 'Who was it?'

A few streets away from the arena stood a tall, sleek vampire in a dark alleyway. He was alone. His watch lit up as he answered a call. "Hello?"

The vampire was calmly dismantling his sniper rifle as he spoke with a proper, distinguished accent. "To the South Continent? How much time do I have? Very well. I will contact them when I've departed from the Obscure Guild."

Looking at the busy street filled with vampires running to the town square, he laughed silently. "I hope to have the privilege of meeting you again in the line of duty, milady."

He heard a distant shout as he left for the South Continent.

"Gabriella Rivampe is the rightful Vampiric Queen. Are there any more objections?!" Luo asked the ever-growing crowd. To which no one complained.

...

"Did we win?" Isaac found himself in a hospital bed, alone. There weren't any other patients since vampires were immune to most diseases.

'I hope Gab's okay. My body's still aching. It feels like it's falling apart.'

He noticed tubes in his skin that went up to a cylindrical component filled with a red liquid. 'They're giving me a blood transfusion.'

He saw how pale his skin was and knew he hadn't recovered yet. 'I have to circulate more red magic to heal quicker. Huh, there still isn't a trace of electricity mana within me.' He closed his eyes and focused as sweat ran down his face.

His heart started beating quicker. "It's working. I still have a lot of red magic, but there's a limit to my healing speed. It all depends on concentration and control."

After meditating all day, his wounds had recovered, and he had only lost a tenth of his mana points. Healing himself didn't take as much mana as fighting with red magic, but his injuries were grievous.

At last, a single doctor arrived. It was a lady in her sixties, a human. She led Isaac to one of the tallest towers in Vamp City, the Rivampe Tower.

At the reception, Luo and Jenna had told him Gabriella was on the highest floor. The elevator was out of order, and, uncomfortable with asking a vampire to fly with him, he chose the stairs.

After a quarter-hour, Isaac had arrived at the highest point. Looking back at the stairs, he had difficulty finding the bottom, and the stairs were very narrow.

There was a single door. As Isaac went through it, he saw the entire night city in a 360-degree view. There weren't any windows as the top floor was an open area. A few metres above, another staircase went through the concrete roof that confined the city. 'It's probably a way to get above the roof,' he judged.

Finally, Gabriella was on the ledge, her feet dangling above the void.

Isaac walked towards his friend. "There's no moon to contemplate here, so why are you staring at the ceiling?"

"We're supposed to free this place, the Obscure Guild, because everyone is entitled to freedom, right? To go to other cities, other guilds, without any worries?"

Isaac looked at Vamp City in confusion, "Well, yes? That's why we're here."

"But, this city… It's during the night that most of us are awake and hungry. If the ceiling and walls were to crumble, if the gates that confine vampires collapsed, they would take advantage to fulfil their dark desires even more so than now."

The red magic mage gently tapped her shoulder. "No, Gab."

She looked at Isaac, confused.

"You've changed. Why can't they? My red magic used to trigger rage attacks in me. I'm fine now. All it does is suppress my feelings and emotions only when using it. I never see you rage anymore, either."

…

A few days later, on September first, 2220.

Gabriella had kept her title as Queen and was now the direct ruler of the vampires. However, the two remaining Seats refused to grant her an audience or a spot. They knew what she was trying to do.

She had tried to employ regulations reducing crimes in the city, but it wasn't perceived well. While vampires could survive by drinking blood, it wasn't enough to satisfy most. They wanted to kill and suck on human souls, refusing to comply with her on those terms.

Luo and Jenna were discussing in a conference room, alone, around a digital screen presenting the guild's map.

"This is where we are," Jenna pointed at the map. "Vamp City, the vampiric capital. We have control of the hierarchy, but Gabriella should visit Syphon City to take control of the vampires and gain their support."

"Is Syphon City the biggest city in the fourth layer?" Luo asked.

"Yes. Most vampires live in the fourth layer since it was under Theodoric's jurisdiction. Mostly aristocrats live in Vamp City, one of the five cities in the sixth layer: the inner layer."

Luo looked at the ceiling. "So, if Gabriella affirms her rule over there, the vampires will naturally accept her… But will they be ready to start a rebellion, though? It feels a bit far-fetched-"

Someone knocked on the door. "It's me."

"Come in," Luo said indifferently.

Jenna greeted the vampire. "Hey, Victor. Thank you for all the support you guys have been giving us."

The red-haired vampire bowed gracefully and removed his top hat. "We, loyalists, follow the pure bloodline, Gabriella Rivampe."

He put his hat back on. "Someone wants to meet you. He claims to be from outside."

"Alright, let him in," Luo ordered.

It was a short man in a formal black and white suit with a blue tie. He was a Northerner like Jenna and Luo, but his more pigmented skin hinted that he came from the central continent where both Northerners and Southerners were omnipresent.

"Who are you?" Luo asked as he sat down in front of them.

The human brushed his light hair. "I am Stephen Cure, a professional hacker and strategist for the central DA."

"Do you know Seth?" Jenna tested him.

"Yes, I met Seth Rayn at the Lope military base. I bring news from outside: we've come up with a plan. I travelled all the way from the Central Continent with a few friends for this mission. There are seven of us; four are mages."