Lady Dhampir
Chapter 306

Perhaps because of what had happened to the Duke, his men were more than fired up and willing to f and driven by anger. Her body's state had become irrelevant, she was as fierce as a huntress about to Milena walked into the next room like she would have walked into a forest, listening out for the faintext any of the remedy- but then again, how would she have imagined their enemy would be mad enough quantities limited, they had done what they could to prepare for anything. Visibly, it hadn't been enou better condition, she would have hoped to use her own blood, but it was madness at such a stage. Sh be able to control themselves before they killed her?

As they kept marching in silence, she tried to think of every possible outcome. Perhaps she was even they have completely emptied the last floors before she could get to them? No one sane would have had definitely hid more of them around. Milena was almost glad Blanche was away; she would have b the Duke, there was simply no telling them to go back now.

"We can't assume only your superiors were transformed," she whispered. "Don't assume six is the max She could imagine the nightmare; hours after the war was over, finding a wendigo had escaped and w were extinct for good, this time... "Watch out!"

She heard an atrocious scream, and turned around to see two men who had just walked into an adjac hand on her g*n. The horrible sounds of suction and a liquid being splattered on the walls left no dou their lungs out in sheer terror.

Milena in her hunt. In fact, they were looking up to the Grand Princess' figure marching ahead, like a warrior on a mission. She was standing tall, determined own her biggest prey yet. Except, they were six preys, and none of them would be of noble hunting.

sounds, the smallest trace of her prey being around. She was ready for anything, her senses on high alert. She knew it wouldn't be so easy. They hadn't brought releasing wendigos inside the building, and in the Capital? She had thought only her husband, and perhaps Alexis downtown would need it. With the lena was just so mad that when she had thought they'd finally get a step ahead, the enemy had gone ahead with an even crazier plan. If she had been in a too little about the circumstances in which those men had been turned, when and how, and she couldn't risk losing blood for nothing - who knew if they'd

tely wrong assuming that those people had placed wendigos to guard the Castle, but the silence of those floors was still quite unsettling. Why else would closest area to them completely defenseless. No, if that unknown enemy wanted to defend themselves and did not care about using wendigos for that, they worried for her companion to be killed in this. The men behind her were also nowhere near experienced enough, but they were all so determined to avenge

number of Wendigos we might encounter. We will need to search every nook and cranny of this place to be sure it's safe."

n nature to attack people. The Church had somewhat been able to control them until now, she had no idea how, but she'd rather make sure those monsters

m to check it were suddenly screaming, desperately, while horrible sounds were coming from behind that door. While the others hesitated, Milena ran first, vas as if a terrible tornado was happening inside the room, they could hear furniture being crashed against the walls, the two men, then only one, screaming

She jumped in front of the open door, her g*n raised, her other hand ready to defend herself; The whole room was in the dark, but she could hear the chaos inside, and the monstrous sound of an enraged beast wreaking havoc. She waited a second, until another horrible suction sound confirmed its location, then she fired; Milena didn't stop, hoping her eyes wou on adjust to the darkness; an inhuman screech let her know she had managed to injure the Wendigo, but it didn't stop her. She shot again, making sure every bullet had a real chance to hit its target. She heard a flat sound, and something dropped on the groungs went strangely quiet inside, but the reek of blood was nauseating.

"G-God..." muttered one of the men behind her.

If God had a say in this, he probably couldn't bear to watch, Milena thought. She cautiously walked into the room, and soon, her feet hit a dead body. She sighed. This man had been torn apart, no way he'd come back as a wendigo... He was alive just seconds ago. Behind her, the other men carefully walked in.

"My Lady."

Their vampire eyes found the bodies faster. Before Milena could say anything, her men cut off their former peer's heads with a solemn expression, without a word. That was it. She felt absolutely disgusted. The Castle had turned into a haunted house, infested with blood-seeking monsters. In just a couple of minutes, she had lost two more men... At this rate, none of them would make it to the very top alive.

Still, she didn't say anything. Each of those men knew what they were here for, the risks, and what to do next. It wasn't about being heroes, or even their survival. It was all about their duty, and finishing their mission. "...Let's keep going," she muttered.

In just a few hours, those men had gotten more experience than most knights did in ten years. They seemed to have aged mentally, and were now following the Grand Princess like one man, ready for anything, preparing themselves not to make the same mistake again. They were more prudent than before in every room they checked, going in small teams and listening for any sound. Twice, they actually found bodies instead of the monster who had murdered them. Milena couldn't help but feel disgusted, again, at the lifeless bodies of the poor servants; They had probably found themselves in the wrong place, at the wrong moment.

They managed to get one floor above without encountering another Wendigo, which was making Milena even more nervous. The upper floors were in the dark, too. Someone had deliberately extinguished every source of light... The only ones coming through were the lights of the battle, far down below. Fires lighting up the dark sky in alarming stripes of orange and red, like a warning of danger floating around. The whole Kingdom was overtaken by war. If she really listened closely near the windows, she could somewhat hear the clamors of the battle getting closer and closer. Rayan wasn't too far off. She hadn't heard any more cannon shots, so she held the hope that this was another good sign of Blanche and Ruby succeeding. Because her White One companion wasn't there, Raelius couldn't come back to her just yet. She truly was on her own until Rayan made it to the Castle. It wouldn't be long now.

A violent noise had her whole group freeze. There was no possible doubt. In the Hall ahead of them, there was definitely more than one of those atrocious creatures waiting. Milena's blood went cold in her veins. ...Behind that Hall was one of the King's private areas. She had only gone there twice, but she knew this would have been the perfect room for someone to hide in. It had heavy doors and reinforced security mechanisms. Whoever was hiding past that Hall had to be important, even more so if they had Wendigos guarding it...

Milena glanced back at the now small group of men following her. They all had determined expressions, they wouldn't go back no matter what she said. They had seen and experienced too much already to go back. She simply gave them a little nod. "...Get ready." They all answered with silent words and nods, swords drawn, even guns for the lucky ones who had found some while searching. Milena felt that knot in her throat again, but she turned around, facing those doors in front of them, and prepared herself too. The darkness welcomed her once more. For someone who had been quite used to it her whole life, she was starting to get tired of this. At the very least, this time, she was familiar with that Hall. It wasn't used much, only for more private events like a Queen's tea party or informal salons, but she had been there enough to know where the windows were, though they were currently covered. She stepped forward, listening to the echo of her own steps. From what she heard, the furniture hadn't been moved, so those creatures were probably lying in wait somewhere... Behind her, her men slowly closed the doors. Either they would come out of this room alive or not, they had to make sure those wendigos didn't. She knew they were there. Hidden in the darkness, she could feel them lurking at their new prey. Her senses on high alert, she could guess at least two of those things were close, and looking down on them. She raised her head, her purple eyes trying to find them fast, within those short seconds before it all began. "Up left, my Lady!"

The vampire soldiers had seen them first, of course. Milena raised her g*n without thinking, and fired. Everything began at the same time. As soon as she had shot one Wendigo, hearing it's body fall with broken bones sounds, another screech on her right, and she spun around to raise her sword, just in time. Those things attacked savagely, relentlessly. For a few seconds, all she could see were shiny fangs, ghostly eyes, and the sparks of gunshots lighting up the room. Soon, her back hit a wall, and she ran until she could get her hands on the curtains. She ripped them down, finally throwing some light into the room. By luck, she had found the one that was best hit by the moonlight, suddenly enlightening the whole area; Milena turned around again, to finally discover the whole scene; three furious wendigos, and her men desperate to get rid of them. There were already two bodies lying on the ground, the ones who had been attacked first. One of the Wendigo was still on one of its prey, eating the vampire flesh with the most gruesome sounds, like a voracious beast. Milena ran to that one first. The beast was too distracted by its meal, and turned its head one second too late, only to witness her blade suddenly impaling its horrible head. Milena's sword pierced the head through, and she used her strength to violently slice it open. The thing fell flat on the side, next to its dead victim. The soldier was already way past salvation, but she still struck his heart, to at least let him find a quicker death.

She didn't have a single second to mourn. There were two left, and in such an enclosed space, her men were completely overwhelmed by the violence of those creatures. She raised her arm and shot one that was seemingly making the most damage, having killed one more of her men already. Her bullet hit the head, but that thing still suddenly turned its head to her, despite having one blasted eye. Milena suddenly felt the horror of facing one of those monsters. Visibly furious, the creature threw the man it was holding, the body cracking with a fatal sound against the wall. Then, the Wendigo slowly walked towards Milena, its fangs and mouth still covered in blood. She retreated, and tried to shoot again, but she had emptied her g*n already. She put it back, grabbing her dagger instead. Behind the wendigo, she could hear her last men struggling against the other, screaming and shouting. She couldn't even spare them a glance. The monster was getting closer, on all fours, its one eye set on her. She was ready to face it. For some reason, this one seemed even fiercer than the others, perhaps had it been a mighty soldier in its previous life. Either way, she knew this Wendigo was going to be a tough one... It growled, and got closer, and Milena kept herself ready.

It jumped so fast, she barely saw it move. One second later, that thing was on her, and she could just raise her sword to defend herself as she was violently pushed down. That thing's mouth opened right on her sword, ready to attack the metal to get to her, it kept biting and biting, slicing its own lips on the blade. Milena felt its horrendous breath right above her face, and struggled to maintain keeping her sword up. She used her dagger to stab that thing once, but it only attacked more violently, keeping her pinned down. She could feel one of its limbs pushing against her leg in a horribly painful manner, keeping her pinned there. It was even scratching the ground around her as if frustrated not to get to its prey, not thinking about actually scratching her. Milena groaned and abandoned her dagger to hold her sword with both hands, or she was going to give up. She grunted, her arms sore from the pain, but if she dropped that sword, she was dead. That thing was getting even more violent, droplets of blood falling on her face. She had to think quickly. When that thing moved its head back a little bit to attack again, Milena quickly changed her sword's position. Too late.

The fangs violently bit her shoulder, making her scream in atrocious pain. She could feel them, sharp as daggers piercing through her skin, her flesh, down to the bone she heard c***k. She felt like her entire shoulder and arm had just exploded, she could taste her own blood in her mouth. The pain was threatening to make her pass out, so she f****d herself to move quickly. She bit her lip until it bled to stay awake, and using the creature's clutch on her shoulder, she violently chopped its nape, as far as she could. She got half-way through the creature's neck, and it was somewhat enough. It stopped moving, making a horrible sound. Milena tried to move, to push the horrible body off of her, but the fangs were still biting through her shoulder, and the smallest move was sending horrible waves of pain throughout her body. By pure survival instinct, she moved her sword to keep cutting through the neck. Despite being out of strength, she felt her sword finally touch the ground and her arm, meaning it had cut entirely through the head. With a groan of pain, she moved. The head was still horribly attached to her, she couldn't take it. So she grabbed it, and with another painful scream, ripped it off her shoulder, her flesh still in that thing's mouth. It had bitten and ripped most of it, but the little bit left still almost made her pass out in pain again. When she was finally able to throw that thing away, her shoulder and arm were covered in an atrocious amount of blood. She was going to pass out, not because of the pain this time. Still, her fighting instincts had her glance around the room. There was only one soldier left standing, and the other wendigo was visibly dead. She gasped. At least, those were put down... She tried to focus. The man's silhouette was just a blur. She saw him take a couple of steps, and then he fell forward, and stopped moving. Milena let out a bitter cry. They were all dead...

She lay back down, out of breath. She knew she had to stay awake and stop the blood loss somehow. She had to make it to the other room... Suddenly, she remembered her bracelet. She moved her trembling wrist to her line of vision. Her grandmother's bracelet. How ironic that she was going to use that thing now. She had only retrieved it for the final battle, almost like fate. She brought it to her lips, using her teeth to open the little part she needed. The painkiller first. Then, another compartiment, with a single pill to bite. It was like an energy pill. Something that would keep her awake, increase her heartbeat and her consciousness. She took a deep breath, giving it a few seconds to take effect.

"....Rael," she muttered. "...Raelius."

She waited. What was she hoping for? Without Blanche with her, it would take him a while to find her... She couldn't count on him. Nor on Rayan. Milena glanced up at the door ahead. she had been so close... Who knew what was behind that door? She glared at it, furious to have failed so close. At least, she had gotten rid of most of the Wendigos. Rayan would come next, see what had happened, understand, and take care of the remaining ones. She hoped she had been right, that there were only two of those monsters left... or less, if fate was on their side.

Suddenly, she heard a sound. The door she had been staring at opened, and a silhouette appeared, a halo of light behind them. Steps came towards her, slowly, calmly. Milena was struggling to stay awake. She kept her bracelet by her face, pretending not to move anymore, but opening one last compartment. She heard them stop right next to her, and chuckle.

"...Quite impressive, Princess. You made it this far. Now... isn't it just about time for the big finale?"