The Crimson Reaper-Chapter 83: Back to the Nest

The group was silent as they traveled across the forest - only the rustling of the leaves below their feet as they walked and the hooting of an owl in the distance could be heard.

Gray clouds started to gather. Covering the sky, causing everything to become almost pitch black.

’It’s going to rain...’ Luciel sniffed the air, looking up at the dark sky, ignoring the two hunters behind him who had to cast a divine art to see.

He could smell it, a specific, musky scent.

"Hey... Luciel," Alex whispered behind him, tapping his shoulder.

"Hm?"

Luciel turned his head, looking at his friend.

"Come here for a second, I want to talk to you." Alex waved with his hand, prompting Luciel to get closer.

"What is it?" He asked quietly, now walking beside the two.

Scarlet rolled her eyes after observing Alex. She already told him, but this wasn’t a place to talk. There was a chance that Luciel might lie or withhold some information from Nosferatu.

"Not now." She said through her teeth, punching Alex’s shoulder, now harder than the last time.

"Don’t worry, it’s fine," Alex reassured her, raising his hands defensively and making a small distance in case Scarlet would go for another attack.

Alex smiled nervously before glancing at Luciel. He wrapped his arm around his neck and pulled him closer.

"Say..." He started. On top of everything that had happened, there was only one thing that was going around his mind.

"What did he mean by the future child?"

He finally asked. Scarlet refused to tell him anything, but her reaction told him all. She was definitely hiding something.

She didn’t know if Helen had told him the secret or not, but even then, it was not her place to share it with Alex, no matter how good he was with Luciel.

"The child?" Luciel laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck. Alex is gonna kill when he finds out that he had been keeping this a secret from him.

"It is what it sounds like. I mean, eventually, Helen and me are going to have one, you know." He shrugged, trying to get out of this somehow.

Alex was a good friend, but if he finds out, the whole colony, or... What was left of it, would know the news.

"Oh come on dude, tell me!" Alex nagged him. He knew Luciel long enough to figure out that he was hiding something.

"Is Helen pregnant?" He questioned, whispering into Luciel’s ear.

"No!" Luciel denied, pushing Alex away with both of his hands. Wanting to get him out of his face.

Alex squealed at the high frequency, grabbing his cheeks before taking both of Luciel’s hands.

Foolish as he was, he was observant and while Luciel was telling one thing, he could see another written all over his face.

A tiny smile appeared on the corner of Luciel’s lips when he denied his wife’s pregnancy. It was a dead giveaway for Alex.

"Congratulations man!" Alex exclaimed with a big smile on his face. He was probably the only person who felt so happy at the revelation.

"Thanks," Luciel muttered, taking a few steps back. Alex’s high-pitched voice was hurting his ears.

There was a small moment of silence as the two kept staring at one another until suddenly, out of nowhere, Alex raised his hand.

Quickly, he swung it towards Luciel, going to slap the back of the neck.

"Why didn’t you tell me anything?! I thought we were friends!" He complained, making his voice quiver, pretending like he was going to cry.

Luciel grabbed Alex’s hand before it could hit him, holding it tightly.

"Because I didn’t even tell you, yet you already told everyone here!" He glared at Alex, he was lucky that only Scarlet, Melisa, and Nosferatu were here.

"Oh..."

Alex pressed his lips together. Knowing exactly what was Luciel talking about.

"If you want, you could always delete his memories." Nosferatu butted in. He couldn’t help but listen to the amusing conversation.

Alex gulped at the suggestion. The idea didn’t sound like something that would do him good.

"No! I’m not doing that!" Luciel shouted, but he sounded like he was more on a friendly basis with him.

Luciel shook his head, snarling for a moment as he tried to fight a supernatural thread tying him closer to the collective and his leader.

Whatever he did to him was working. No matter how hard he tried to fight it, he wanted to follow him, despite everything that he had done.

Along with all of that, he could detect the presence of other hundreds of vampires inside the nest, drawing him in.

"Whatever you say, young one." Nosferatu chuckled, waving behind before continuing to walk, chatting with Melisa.

The atmosphere got a lot more relaxed after Nosferatu changed his tone. He acted like the stuff from earlier never happened, acting like a completely different person to the point it felt easy to drop one’s guard around him.

The group went silent after Nosferatu spoke. They just didn’t know how to continue the conversation.

As they continue to travel, a drop of water slid down Luciel’s raven-black hair, falling onto his nose.

Looking up, he could see more incoming drops of water getting closer to the ground.

"Ah come on, and this is my only clean suit left!"

As soon as Alex complained, he heard a strange, rumbling sound behind him.

Everyone turned around to see what was going on, widening their eyes after seeing a huge wave made of earth coming at them, but it stopped after coming right above them.

"Don’t worry about that..." Nosferatu reassured them, glancing behind.

As they walked, so did the wave follow them, leaving a trail wherever it went.

"This guy is something." Alex whistles in awe, continuously looking up at the earth wave.

"Let’s just make sure we don’t make enemies of him," Scarlet commented. She didn’t want to follow the guy, but it felt like she didn’t have a choice.

Killing Nosferatu should be humanity’s next priority, but she was afraid that currently, they don’t have enough resources.

Besides, Nosferatu didn’t look interested in their colony too much, not counting gathering people for his farm, but as long as they didn’t push his buttons, he should leave them alone.

That is... If something wouldn’t click in that crazy head of his. Never trust a vampire.

"We are here," Nosferatu announced, stopping in front of a long rift in the ground, barely wide enough for a person to squeeze inside.

Alex and Scarlet continued to inspect the area, but except for a huge crack in the ground surrounded by dead bushes, they couldn’t see anything.

They expected something big and grandiose given his power, but they were in the middle of the wilderness.

’Did he go crazy?’ Alex scratched the top of his head.

’What is he up to?’ Scarlet narrowed her eyes, observing Nosferatu’s action. He wasn’t stupid. ’A trap?’

"Wait, how are they gonna get inside?" Luciel asked, getting stares from the hunters. It was weird to see Luciel act so comfortably around him after everything.

Nosferatu hit the ground with his crane.

There was a loud sound like thunder echoing from the ground, followed by vibrations.

After some time, the vibrations had stopped and nothing seemed to change.

Nosferatu hit the ground with his crane again, causing Alex and Scarlet to exchange looks.

Once a few seconds had passed, the earth started to shake violently, like it was an earthquake.

A loud, rumble started to echo as trees started to shake. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The quake was so strong that Scarlet and Alex could barely stand.

After a few minutes that seemed like hours, the rift in front of them started to split apart, forming stairs made from stone.

"This is a bad idea..." Alex whispered to Scarlet, feeling a lump forming inside his throat.

They are about to walk deep into the unknown vampires, hidden behind a border, a place where they were forbidden to cross.

"I know..." Scarlet acknowledged his worries. She didn’t feel whatever either. This was real and they could be walking straight into the trap.

Going back was out of question, who knows what might be lurking in the forest and how Nosferatu would react if they were to leave.

"Don’t worry, no harm will come your way, my dear humans." Nosferatu reassured them, humming to himself before starting to walk downstairs.

"You can relax, he won’t hurt you." Melisa said to the hunters, "We came to get Kai, remember? And Luciel got what he deserved. Besides, it was about time for Nosferatu to put him under control."

’Control huh...’ Scarlet thought to herself before staring at Melisa. Everything felt confusing and she knew where to get them.

"Hey, isn’t Luciel acting a little bit odd?" Alex whispered to Scarlet, wondering if she also spotted the difference. You don’t act like that towards someone who just threatened to turn your family into vampires.

"He does, but don’t worry, I have a plan, now shhh." Scarlet pushed away Alex slightly. She couldn’t explain anything right now since Nosferatu would hear it.

Scarlet took a step forward, hesitating for a moment before finally walking down the stairs, with Alex right behind her.