This wasn’t simple. Calling it simple was a complete miscalculation.

“Sato, do you have it handled, or do you want us to intervene?” Erebus called out.

“Does it look like I have it?” I snapped just as my body slammed into the ground, the impact knocking the air from my lungs. A fist came down hard, and I felt the sharp crack of bone before it began to form itself back together.

I caught a quick glimpse of Erebus and Atash, both occupied with their own Lycoris vampire. That left me with this one.

The plan had seemed straightforward—track the two Lycoris vamps who attacked the human medical center, detain one for interrogation, and test Wren’s theory on inducing sun sensitivity onthe other.

Four gunshots rang out in quick succession. Each impact jolted the Lycoris pinning me, buying me just enough time to get the upper hand. I hooked my legs around him, using his own momentum to flip him onto his back. My fists drove into his chest, tearing through flesh and muscle.

“Ash,” I growled. Another round of gunfire followed. That was my cue.

I sank my fangs into his throat, puncturing skin with a force I would never use on a human.

The taste was vile. Wren hadn’t been exaggerating. My body reacted immediately, a biological defense mechanism firing off in protest. My immune system likely recognized the lack of functional hemoglobin, the corrupted plasma, the absence of the proteins necessary for sustaining vampiric physiology. It was like swallowing something my body knew wasn’t meant for consumption—triggering nausea, an almost allergic reaction. My throat felt tight, itching as if it were swelling shut.

I forced myself to keep going, gagging down the rancid blood even as bile rose in my throat. My claws drove deeper into the Lycoris’ body, tearing through muscle and bone as I drained him. His body fought to heal, but I wasn’t letting up.

Then, the smell hit me. That acrid, chemical stench of cellular breakdown—the distinct signature of flesh burning from the inside out.

Burn, you bastard.

There was no spray of blood, no final gasp—just a sudden collapse into nothing. Ash filled the air, and I was left kneeling in the remains.

“Don’t.” I held up a hand without looking. I knew it was Atash approaching.

I stayed there, eyes shut, the warmth of the sun pressing down on me. My chest rose and fell in steady breaths as the adrenaline bled out of my system.

That’s when I noticed it—my side, clawed open. The Lycoris had torn through my vest, dug deep into muscle. My body was healing, but sluggishly. The contaminated blood still coursing through me had slowed the process.

The stench of it still clung to my skin, thick and suffocating. My lips were sticky with it. My instincts screamed for a way to purge it, to fix myself. I wasn’t human anymore, but I was still a predator, and two sources of fresh, clean blood stood right beside me.

My body warred with itself—hunger battling sickness, the need to heal scraping against revulsion.

Wren done this? More than once? Willingly?

I shoved my fingers down my throat. The reaction was immediate. The tainted blood came back up in thick, black rivulets. Only then did the nausea ease, and my wounds began to heal properly.

“Wren was telling the truth,” I said finally, my voice steady. “All things that live can die.”

If the sirelings could die, then so could Callum.

Erebus knelt in front of me, extending a blood bag. Their gaze swept over me, assessing, before their fingers brushed through the ash on the concrete.

“This tells us a lot about what to expect when we approach Subject 32,” they said. “We’ll need an additional squad. Right now, you’re our greatest weapon, Sato. We need to make sure you have adequate support—especially since we won’t have sunlight on our side in the Under Cities.”

Atash let out a slow breath, hands resting casually on the top of his vest. “It took an S and A rank everything just to take down one Lycoris. And we had the element of surprise. Our goal was incapacitation, not a kill.” He shook his head. “Incapacitation with the Genesis knockout drug could buy us time for you to kill them but… Who knows how much we’ll need when we go after 32. Bulwark’s supplies are limited, we won’t be able to spare it on the Lycorises.”

I glanced at the unconscious Lycoris as I brought the blood bag to my lips, biting through the plastic. Cold blood flooded my mouth, dull and metallic. At least it didn’t taste like wet cardboard. But it didn’t taste anything like Ash.

“Sounds like a lot of negativity being passed around,” I muttered, standing and wiping my mouth with my sleeve. My gaze found Erebus. “Be honest with me, Captain. Do you think we can actually pull this off?”

“The odds aren’t in our favor,” they admitted, tone measured, expression unreadable. “But if we play our cards right, at the right time, the probability of success with minimal casualties is… plausible.”

Not exactly reassuring.

“This is what we signed up for when we joined Bulwark.” Atash exhaled, forcing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “If we don’t do it, then society’s chance of surviving Songbird is zero.”

I exhaled, glancing at Atash. We both knew the predicament we were in.

“What if… Wren helped us?”

Erebus didn’t hesitate. “She’s a liability. The Nocturne Division is still in trial stages, and she’s unqualified for the program considering—”

“She’s batshit crazy,” Atash cut in. “Did you not read her file?”

I crossed my arms. “The fact that a freshly sired C-rank hunter in an experimental program is our best option is batshit crazy. So why not level the playing field? I’m the only one in Nocturne, and as you said, Captain, it’ll take more than just human efforts to stop the next phase of Dr. Marelli’s plan.”

“Shit. He has a point.” Atash looked to Erebus, expectant. “We could hold the cat hostage unless she kills her brother?”

“That’s fucked up, even for you,” I said dryly.

“But it might just work,” Erebus mused, already stepping away. They gestured toward the Lycoris. “Kaveh, wait with him until cleanup arrives to transfer him to a holding cell.”

“Captain, where are you going?”

“To talk to the board about granting 37 temporary leave and licensing.”