The Villains Must Win-Chapter 283: Vampire Hunt 43

"You’re insane!" Selis shouted. "This woman is our chance to end the war with the vampires once and for all!"

"You’re the insane one!" Lucian’s roar echoed through the chamber. "Naïve, blind! As long as vampires exist, there will never be peace!"

Their eyes locked, fury clashing as hard as their swords.

"Then what are you going to do?!" Selis demanded.

Lucian bared his teeth, voice low and deadly. "I’ll kill this woman. And then I’ll kill every last vampire left breathing—even if I have to do it myself."

The words hung in the air like a death sentence.

Selis’s blood ran cold. For the first time, she realized the terrible truth: Lucian wasn’t just fighting for peace. He was fighting for extinction.

The wide stone chamber groaned as if the walls themselves were holding their breath. The torches sputtered, casting their light over the chained woman at the center—the infamous Emerald Blood.

She watched them with her haunting ruby eyes, her smile half-sweet, half-knowing, like a mother who had seen countless children quarrel at her feet.

But the real storm brewed between Lucian and Selis.

Lucian’s sword hummed with restrained fury, its tip lowered but ready, his stance poised for the strike he believed would end an era. His dark gaze was colder than Selis had ever seen before, an abyss in which mercy no longer existed.

"Selis," his voice was steady, almost frighteningly calm, "step aside."

She shook her head violently, her blade already drawn, the steel trembling from the pressure in her grip—not from fear, but from the weight of what she was about to do.

"You can’t," she shot back, her tone ragged with pressure of choice. "This is Emerald Blood—the key to ending the war!"

"As long as vampires exist, war will not stop," Lucian growled. His boots scraped as he advanced, each step echoing like the toll of a funeral bell. "So long as she breathes, they’ll bleed her dry. They’ll churn out more vampires. And when that fails, she’ll charm them all—just like she almost charmed you."

Selis flinched, remembering the honeyed lull of Emerald’s gaze. For a moment she had wanted to kneel, to protect her, to worship her. Only Lucian’s cold steel had broken that spell.

And yet—

"That doesn’t mean she deserves to die!" Selis snapped, thrusting her blade up to block his advance. Her voice trembled with both pressure and desperation. "Damn it, Lucian! Don’t you see? We finally have a chance to end this war—and yet you’d rather spill more blood? How long until it ends, huh? Until there are no humans left standing? Until the only thing left is ashes and corpses?"

Lucian’s jaw tightened, the muscles ticking. His sword rose an inch higher, like a predator lifting its head to strike.

"You don’t understand." His tone was sharp, clipped, as though every word was carved from stone. "I didn’t drag you here to argue philosophy. Humanity’s survival isn’t a debate. It’s a knife’s edge, and I’ll cut through anyone who pushes us closer to the fall. Even you, Selis."

The words struck her harder than his blade ever could. For a heartbeat, her vision blurred. Even you . . .

Emerald tilted her head, amused, as if savoring a fine play. Her soft laugh slithered across the hall. "Ah, how tragic. The lovers, split by my chains. It’s almost poetic."

"Shut your mouth!" Lucian barked at her, his aura flaring with the force of his anger.

But his fury only fueled Emerald’s smile. "You see, Selis, he would rather hold a corpse in his arms than risk a world where I breathe. Tell me—how long before he deems you too dangerous to live?"

"Stop it!" Selis snapped at both of them, the tension tearing her chest apart. She tightened her grip on her sword and planted her feet firmly. "If you want her head, Lucian, you’ll have to go through me."

Lucian froze for a fraction of a second. His eyes narrowed, pained—no, betrayed.

"Don’t do this," he said quietly. There was no threat in his voice this time, only a raw plea buried deep under his steel.

Selis swallowed hard. Her heart was breaking, but her body refused to move. "I love you, Captain. More than I ever thought I could love anyone. But this—" she jerked her chin toward Emerald—"this isn’t justice. It’s slaughter. And if I have to fight you to stop it . . . then so be it."

Her goal was to make the villain win . . . no matter what.

For a long, heavy moment, the chamber was still. The torches flickered, crackled, then settled again, as though waiting for the inevitable clash.

Lucian exhaled, slow and steady, his expression turning from wounded to resolved. "So it’s like that. I should have never taken you with me." He adjusted his grip on his sword, bringing it to his side in a stance that Selis knew too well—the one he always took before finishing an opponent.

Her stomach twisted. She had sparred with him dozens of times, admired the way he cut through enemies like a storm. She had trusted that strength to save her life.

But now, that same strength was about to be turned against her.

Emerald’s eyes glowed faintly red, delighting in the scene. "Yes . . . fight for me. Spill blood for me. It is only fitting." she had grown bitter and resented humans for her years of captivity.

Lucian lunged.

Steel met steel in a burst of sparks as Selis blocked his strike, her arms trembling under the sheer force. He didn’t hold back—not an ounce.

"Lucian!" she cried as their blades locked. "You’re really going to kill me for this?"

"If it means humanity survives?" His voice was grim. "Yes."

He shoved her back, spinning his sword in a deadly arc that forced her to duck. The edge of his blade sang past her ear, slicing a few strands of her hair. She countered with a thrust, but he parried effortlessly, his footwork fluid, merciless.

Each clash rang out like thunder, shaking her bones. Selis fought with every ounce of strength, every bit of skill she had honed under his command—but against Lucian, it was like trying to dam a raging river with bare hands. He was faster, sharper, utterly relentless.

Yet she did not falter. She couldn’t.