“The Shadow of Valerius”

The Prayer Before the Hunt

Gabriel, Raphael & Michael (together):

"Ego vos absolvo…" (I absolve you…)

"Fiat voluntas tua…" (Your will be done…)

"Et in tenebris lucet lux." (And the light shines in the darkness.)

Gabriel

The prayer still echoed within me as my eyelids lifted.

A heavy presence filled the air—not just cold, but something unseen, something dark.

Isaac had led us here, to this abandoned church, without an explanation.

I had learned not to question him immediately, but this time… this time was different.

He didn't seem tense.

He seemed… like he had lived through this before.

And it hadn't ended well.

Raphael

I felt my fingers tighten around my lance.

"Are you sure this is our target?" I asked quietly.

Isaac was still standing at the altar, his gaze fixed on the high windows, where only the pale moon shone through.

He was silent for a moment, then turned to face us.

Isaac: "Sure? No." His voice was calm, but I could hear the undertone in it. "But it's the best lead we have."

Michael pulled his hood lower over his face.

Michael: "This doesn't feel like a hunt," he murmured. "It feels like a funeral."

A crackle in the silence.

Gabriel placed a hand on his sword.

I did the same.

But nothing happened.

Only the wind whistling through the broken windows.

Isaac

The first step made the stone beneath me tremble, as if the building itself was holding its breath.

"There are things worse than vampires."

Gabriel looked at me, his eyes narrowing.

Gabriel: "What do you mean by that?"

I took a deep breath.

It was time.

I spoke the name I hadn't said out loud in years.

"Valerius."

Michael

The word dropped the temperature in the room.

It felt as if someone had drained all warmth from the air.

I didn't know the name.

But I recognized the reaction in Isaac's eyes.

It wasn't just hatred.

It was personal hell.

"Who is Valerius?" I asked cautiously.

Isaac hesitated for a moment.

Then he simply said:

"A king without a crown. And a devil with an angel's tongue."

The Trap

Suddenly, I heard it.

A faint, scraping sound.

Then the silence came to life.

The air vibrated, as if something unseen was lurking in the shadows.

I looked at Isaac—his gaze was sharp, but I saw something in his eyes I had never seen before.

Fear.

He turned abruptly.

Isaac: "Get out. Now."

Too late.

The candles in the church flared up—as if someone had poured oil into the flames.

The door behind us slammed shut with a deafening bang.

As I turned, my body instinctively tensed—as if it had sensed the danger before I even saw it.

We were not alone.

Gabriel

The darkness gave birth to silhouettes, just enough to erase any doubt that this was a coincidence.

I felt the cold grip of fear at my throat, but I didn't allow it in.

Raphael slowly spun his lance, Michael crouched slightly, ready to strike.

Isaac… did not move.

His fingers twitched slightly.

Then a voice spoke.

A voice that cut through the church walls like a blade.

"Isaac Crowe."

Icy silence.

I didn't recognize the man, but Isaac did.

His face remained unreadable, but his posture changed.

I had known him long enough to tell—he was preparing for the worst fight of his life.

"Gideon."

Just a name.

And yet, it weighed on us like a curse.

Isaac

"Valerius sends you to lick the ground for him?"

Gideon smiled.

"You know he's far too busy to deal with you himself."

His gaze drifted slowly toward the brothers.

"But he's heard… that you've taken on new protégés."

I stepped forward, placing myself between him and the boys.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here."

Gideon tilted his head slightly.

"I'm not afraid of you, Isaac. You are not the man you once were."

I felt my jaw tighten.

He knew.

He knew that my time was running out.

Raphael

A glance at Gabriel, then at Michael—we were thinking the same thing.

This was bad.

I gripped my lance tighter as Gideon moved—slowly, like a cat circling its prey.

"You all look like small copies of your old team, Isaac," he said, his smile cold. "But they're just children."

Isaac's stance grew even more rigid.

I had seen Isaac in battle. I had watched him ignore wounds that would have killed another man.

But this?

This was more personal than any fight.

Michael

"Well, then maybe we should send Valerius a message, don't you think?" Gideon said softly.

His shadow flickered—that was enough.

Gideon lunged.

Straight at Isaac.

Isaac dodged, but his step was heavier than it should have been.

Gideon saw it too.

His smile widened.

"Look at you, Isaac."

He drove his fist into Isaac's stomach and then kicked him back hard.

Isaac stumbled.

For the first time, he wavered.

Gabriel and Raphael sprang forward, but Gideon was faster.

He raised a hand.

Something grabbed us.

An invisible force hurled us backward.

I crashed into a pew and spat blood.

Gideon stood over him like an executioner taking his time.

"Valerius wanted me to bring you back alive."

He drew a silver blade.

"But I think a corpse will do just fine."