The Inquisitor’s Kiss

4 hours.

That was how long the system said Lucien had until the Church's executioners reached Vel Riven. Four hours until holy blades came for his neck, until silver pierced his cursed heart.

And yet… he wasn't running.

He was hunting.

Lucien crouched on a rooftop overlooking the crumbling Royal Blood Crypts, a shattered mausoleum guarded by arcane sigils and whispers older than the Church itself. The scent of dust, bone, and old blood rolled off it in waves.

Beside him, Lilith leaned against a stone gargoyle, her leather corset undone at the top. Her pale chest rose and fell, glistening slightly from their earlier sprint. Her thigh-high boots were soaked in grime, yet somehow it made her hotter.

"You're quiet," she said. "Planning something reckless?"

Lucien's crimson eyes narrowed. "Always."

> [Quest Objective: Enter the Crypt of the Last Blood]

[Warning: Barrier contains remnants of Divine Seal – System support limited inside.]

He flexed his fingers. Clawed tips. Veins glowing faint red beneath his skin. The Scarlet Mark pulsed over his heart like it had synced to something ancient beneath the tomb.

> [Passive Skill Activated: Bloodsense – 3 Unknown Entities Below. 1 Confirmed Female. Danger Level: Fatal]

"Something's waiting for us," he murmured.

Lilith smiled darkly. "Then let's knock."

She jumped first, landing silently at the crypt's front gate, hips swaying. Lucien dropped down beside her, landing in a crouch.

He pressed his palm to the sealed door.

Warm.

Alive.

> [Scarlet Mark Recognition – Access Granted]

The door melted open.

Inside was pitch black. The scent hit him like a punch to the gut—arousal, rot, and blood magic. His fangs elongated automatically. His hunger spiked.

Lilith's breath hitched beside him. "This place... it wants us."

Lucien entered first.

---

The crypts were a maze of broken stone and velvet-lined sarcophagi. Red crystals pulsed in the walls, shedding an eerie light. The silence was too perfect—like sound itself was afraid.

They didn't speak.

Not until they reached the first chamber.

Lucien stopped dead.

A woman lay across a stone altar, body arched in mid-orgasm, her wrists and ankles chained. Her eyes were glazed, lips parted.

But she wasn't alive.

She was undead. Preserved by blood magic.

"Who the hell...?" Lucien muttered.

> [Blood Echo Detected – Play Memory?]

He accepted.

The air shimmered.

Suddenly, the room was full of red-robed vampires—nobility from the old days. A priestess raised a goblet. "To the last Queen of Crimson!" she cried.

They drank.

And then… they tore each other apart.

Blood sprayed across stone. Screams echoed as lust devolved into cannibalism.

The Queen—still alive—laughed as they died. "Better to drown in blood and pleasure than kneel to the Church."

Then the vision ended.

Lilith wiped her mouth. "That queen's presence is still here."

Lucien's Mark pulsed. "She wants to finish the ritual."

> [Mini-Boss Encounter: Queen Elaria's Echo]

[Objective: Survive the Bonding Ritual]

Chains shot out of the altar, wrapping Lucien's wrists.

"Goddammit—!"

He struggled, but the chains were alive, slithering around his arms and pulling him against the altar beside her body. Her eyes snapped open.

Glowing red.

Her voice was velvet and death. "You carry the Mark. You will feed me."

The altar heated. Her body moved, sliding onto him, straddling his waist.

Lucien snarled. "Not like this—!"

> [System Interference – Sexual Ritual Imminent]

[Survival Required: Lust Resistance, Physical Fortitude, and Blood Dominance]

Lilith drew her blade—then froze as dozens of red tendrils erupted from the walls.

"Lucien!"

He locked eyes with her as the Queen whispered in his ear, "Surrender and I'll make you a god."

He bared his fangs and bit down on her throat.

Her blood tasted like fire.

---

> [Critical Action: Asserted Dominance Over Undead Echo]

[Trait Gained: Queen's Blood – Immunity to Lust-Based Mind Control | +15% Blood Magic Efficiency]

[Chamber Unlocking...]

The chains burned away.

The Queen's body collapsed into dust.

Lucien stood, panting, covered in blood and sweat.

Lilith rushed over. "You're insane."

He looked at her, eyes wild. "I'm alive."

> [Warning: Inquisitor's Team Has Entered Vel Riven – Time Remaining: 3 Hours]

---

As they moved deeper, Lucien noticed something strange.

> [Unusual Blood Signature Detected – Familiarity: 99% Match]

He froze.

"Lilith… I think someone like me is inside this tomb."

She raised a brow. "Another vampire?"

He shook his head. "Worse. Someone who was marked before me."

---

They reached the final gate.

A massive obsidian arch covered in glowing red scripture.

In the center, a throne.

And on it—a young man bound in silver chains, shirtless, arms draped over the chair, head tilted back.

He looked exactly like Lucien.

Too much.

Even Lilith whispered, "Is that… you?"

> [Blood Clone Identified: Subject #02 – Failed Host of the Scarlet Mark]

[Status: Brain Activity Dormant | Instinct Active]

[Warning: Hostile Awakening Probability 87%]

Suddenly, the clone's eyes snapped open.

And smiled.

"Found me," he whispered.

Then the tomb shook.

---

Outside the crypt, on the city wall, Inquisitor Seraphiel adjusted her gloves. Her spear glowed with divine runes.

"Target located," whispered one of her hounds, cloaked in holy shadow.

Seraphiel's lips parted into a wicked smile. "Tell the Church…"

She turned her silver gaze to the tomb.

"…the hunt is over."