Three months Later The van rattled through broken streets, tires crunching over glass and bone. Dawn hung low and colorless, a sickly gray light that revealed too much and promised nothing. Milan sat in the back, sword resting across his knees, watching the city rot through the cracked rear window. Buildings leaned like exhausted giants. Fires smoldered without warmth. Somewhere far away, something howled—and was answered. No one spoke.
Scarlet drove with both hands locked on the wheel, her jaw tight, eyes scanning every intersection. Zero sat beside her, unnaturally still, his gaze flicking between mirrors and shadows. Nadia sat opposite Milan, silent now, her hands clenched together, knuckles white. Blood still stained the cuffs of her sleeves despite her effort to clean herself.
They have reached Nottingham
Milan felt something twist in his chest. They drove for hours without stopping.
Eventually, the city thinned into ruins and then into open land—fields burned black, forests stripped bare, villages reduced to skeletons. Cars lay abandoned along the roads, doors open, belongings scattered as if their owners had simply vanished mid-step.
"Someone passed through here recently," Zero said suddenly.
Scarlet slowed the van.
"How do you know?" she asked.
"Tracks. Too organized for scavengers. Too quiet for the infected."
"Vampires?" Milan leaned forward.
"Traveling packs. They're migrating north." Zero nodded.
Milan's head throbbed. A faint pressure built behind his eyes, like invisible fingers pressing against his skull from the inside. He squeezed them shut—and for a moment, everything turned stone-cold and breathless, swallowed by darkness.
"What is it?" Scarlet noticed immediately.
"Nothing. I'm just a little off. I need to rest, that's all."
They stopped near what remained of a service station just before nightfall. The sun was already bleeding out of the sky, and no one wanted to be on the road after dark.
Zero checked the perimeter while Scarlet and Milan unloaded supplies. Nadia stood apart, staring at the trees beyond the station.
"They're wrong," she said suddenly.
"What is?" Milan turned.
"The forest. They're not supposed to feel like this," Nadia whispered.
"You said you were a researcher." Scarlet frowned.
"I am. Botany. Anthropology. I've lived in jungles, deserts, ice fields. Nature has patterns. Even chaos has rules," Nadia replied.
She pointed toward the trees.
"This doesn't?" Scarlet asked.
As if answering her, a branch snapped somewhere deep within the woods.
"We're not alone." Zero returned, blades still in his hands.
The first vampire emerged silently, stepping into view. Then another. And another.
They didn't rush. They didn't hiss or snarl. They simply watched. Milan, Scarlet, Nadia, and Zero froze. Milan slowly stood, drawing his sword.
"Why are they waiting?" he asked.
"They're not hunting." Scarlet raised her weapon. The vampire at the front tilted its head, eyes glowing red. Zero charged without hesitation. Steel met flesh. Scarlet raised her gun and fired. The night shattered into violence.
One vampire lunged for Nadia. Without thinking, Milan stepped between them.
The creature recoiled—not from the sword, but from him. It hissed, backing away.
"They're afraid of you." Scarlet stared.
Milan didn't answer. He didn't understand it himself.
The fight ended as suddenly as it began. The remaining vampires retreated into the trees, vanishing like smoke.
"That wasn't an attack. That was a message." Breathing hard, Zero wiped blood from his blade.
"What kind of vampires are these?" Nadia asked Milan.
"I don't know, But the way they acted—how still they were, studying us, waiting—I think the vampires are developing too. They're changing." Milan said.
"Well, is it just me, or is anyone else curious The vampires were afraid of you, Milan. Why? Tell us what we don't know."Zero spoke.
"I don't know what's happening," Milan said, walking slowly inside. The others watched him in silence.
"Well, welcome to Nottingham," Scarlet said, heading inside as well.
Nadia remained with Zero.
"It's dark. We should go inside," she said.
"I'll keep watch. Thanks," Zero replied.
As Nadia joined the others, Zero looked down at his hand, staring at the bite mark etched into his skin.
Somewhere in the woods, a vampire stood watching. The same red eyes. Late that night, Milan fell into another nightmare. He stood before the same six coffins. His eyes filled with darkness.
"You have to find the one with the blood. Find my heart and wake me up." Victor's voice echoed from his coffin.
"Find the Herald and the Binder. My time has come." Milan woke with a sharp gasp.
Morning had already arrived. The sun rose with perfect, fragile light. Zero, Scarlet, and Nadia stood watching him.
"What now? What did you see?" Scarlet asked.
"The same," Milan said.
"He told me to find the Herald and the Binder. I don't even know what that means."
"You're leaving us in the shadows," Nadia said. "We need to know what's going on."
They sat in silence as Scarlet began explaining everything—Victor, Dracula, Milan's dark eyes, the past she had inherited.
"So this isn't a coincidence,It's happened before."Zero said.
"Do you think the Herald and the Binder are the five loyal servants?" Nadia asked.
"It's a lot, And we don't have any clues. As I told you, my bloodline's destiny is to find the one with pure blood—the immune one—and fight alongside her, protecting her. We don't even know who she is. But all signs point to Ayanna, whom I've never met."Scarlet replied.
Milan looked at her.
"She's my sister."
"Six coffins. One is Victor himself, right?"Nadia leaned forward.
"In the middle, yes."
"Then the remaining five must be his servants. Somehow, they didn't truly die. Maybe they're alive somewhere." Nadia spoke
"What are you talking about?" Milan asked.
"Think about it, According to Scarlet's story, the five loyal servants helped kill Dracula—the most powerful creature of all time. Do you really think they did it without something dark involved? They were ordinary vampires. Something must have happened."Nadia said.
"You're saying Victor used powerful magic to change them," Scarlet said.
"I don't know, But I think your father didn't tell you the whole story. There's another part missing. And if I'm right—then among those five loyal servants, Milan is one of them."Nadia replied.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"I think we should keep moving,We still have a long way to go."Milan said, standing.
Outside, they climbed into the van.Zero turned the key. Nothing.
"What now?!" he snapped. Scarlet opened the bonnet. The wires were cut.
"You guys… we have a problem."
They stepped out, leaving their gear inside.
"Who the hell did this?" Scarlet asked.
"As I said,The town may be quiet, but we're not alone."Zero replied.
Nadia noticed figures behind them—people wearing terrifying masks, clothes filthy and torn.
"Guys…" They turned. Fifteen of them surrounded the group.
"They're not vampires," Nadia whispered.
"No," Zero said. "But they have knives. And there are fifteen of them."
"We can take them," Milan said. "Slowly—grab your weapons."They all froze. The weapons were still inside the van.
"What's the plan?" Nadia asked.
"Fight," Scarlet said.
She moved—but they were faster.She was struck hard, blood spilling as she collapsed.Nadia was next.Milan and Zero stood back-to-back.
"Can you call it?" Zero asked.
"Call what?"
"That dark thing you talked about. It's powerful. We could really use it."
Before Milan could answer, they were struck down.
The attackers dragged them away, leaving the van behind with everything inside.
Minutes later, two women emerged from the shadows. One was Raven.The other wore clothes like Scarlet's, carrying a sword and a familiar necklace. Raven approached the van, noticing the open bonnet. Inside were weapons and bags.She opened the door as she opened the bag and saw aThe teddy bear.
She also found Scarlet's swords.She smiled.
"Hey, Nutaila. Get over here."
Nutaila stepped closer. Raven handed her one of Scarlet's swords. Nutaila froze seeing Two long samurai blades, real steel, marked with the silver wolf—just like hers.
She searched through the gear and found the wooden knife. Her smile trembled.
"It's her," she said softly. "My sister."
"Looks like we found her," Raven said. "The bad news is—they've been taken by those bastards."
Nutaila's eyes darkened, filling with the same shadow that lived in Milan's gaze.
She gripped her sister's swords tightly.
"Then we go back for them," she said, her voice burning with fury.