Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Scarlet Threads
"The blood bags."
Ryan’s voice was hollow. He was staring at the wreckage of the van — specifically, at the ground beneath where it had been parked before the Late Neophyte sent it flying. Dark puddles soaked into the asphalt, and the torn remains of plastic bags were tangled around the rear tyres.
"Someone set them up," Ryan said, turning to Lucian with wide eyes. "They busted them under the tyres when we parked. The scent—"
"Drew every zombie in the area," Lucian finished.
The group of survivors in the side street had already vanished, melting into the shadows of Vienne City like ghosts.The whole thing had been bait — the blood bags, the coordinated attack, the clean escape route they’d left for themselves.
They’d used Lucian’s group as a distraction to clear the street.
"Ryan." Lucian’s voice was flat. "Take the kids and go."
"What? No—"
"Ryan." Lucian’s crimson eyes shifted to the children. Mei was shaking, arms wrapped around the youngest boy. The others were frozen, faces pale, tears streaming silently down their cheeks. "Look at them."
Ryan looked. His jaw tightened.
"I’m sensing a Peak Neophyte realm zombie coming from the north," Lucian continued. "It’ll be here in less than a minute. You can’t fight that, and neither can they."
"But you—"
"I can." Lucian met his gaze. "The academy isn’t far. Run northeast, stick to the side streets, and you’ll hit the outer wall in twenty minutes. The students there will have organized a defense by now."
Ryan’s fists clenched. Ice crackled around his knuckles. "Lucian, I’m not going to just leave you to—"
"You’re not leaving me. You’re protecting them." Lucian jerked his chin toward the children. "Take them and go."
Ryan stared at him for a long, tense moment.
Then he turned to the kids. "Mei. Everyone follow me. Now. Don’t look back."
Mei grabbed the youngest boy’s hand. The children fell into line behind Ryan, and they ran disappearing into the dark streets, their footsteps fading until silence remained.
Lucian turned north.
The Peak Neophyte zombie was close now — a massive signature in his Blood Sense, moving with a purpose that normal zombies lacked. It wasn’t shuffling. It was hunting.
But it wasn’t the only one.
The blood from the busted bags had spread through the street, and every zombie within range was converging. Normal ones first — dozens of grey bodies lurching toward the scent. Then the stronger ones. Mid Neophyte. Late Neophyte.
Lucian drew a pistol.
PAM. PAM. PAM.
Three normal zombies dropped, bullets through their skulls. He switched targets — PAM. PAM — two more. The pistol was efficient, precise, each shot accompanied by a small mana discharge that punched through grey skulls like paper.
╔══════════════════════╗
║ Normal Zombie slain: +10 EXP ║
║ Normal Zombie slain: +10 EXP ║
║ Normal Zombie slain: +10 EXP ║
║ Normal Zombie slain: +10 EXP ║
║ Normal Zombie slain: +10 EXP ║
╚═══════════════════════╝
More came. Too many for the pistol.
Lucian holstered it and formed a Light Blade.
Schlick. Schlick. Schlick.
He moved through the horde like a scythe through wheat, each swing precise, each kill clean. The blood scent was drawing more — he could feel them in his Blood Sense, a tightening circle of grey signatures closing in from every direction.
Schlick. Schlick.
╔══════════════════════════╗
║ Normal Zombie slain: +10 EXP ║
║ Normal Zombie slain: +10 EXP ║
║ Early Neophyte Zombie slain: +50 EXP ║
║ Normal Zombie slain: +10 EXP ║
╚══════════════════════════╝
The Peak Neophyte hit him from behind.
BOOM.
The punch caught him in the center of his back and launched him forward into a building. His body smashed through a wall of brick and plaster, tumbling end over end until he crashed into a kitchen.
Pots and pans scattered. A table splintered beneath him. He lay there for half a second, ribs screaming, before the Eternal Regeneration kicked in and the pain began to fade.
He rolled to his feet just as the Peak Neophyte filled the doorway as it charged forward.
Lucian didn’t dodge. Instead, he dropped low and drove his Light Blade upward into the zombie’s descending fist.
CRUNCH!
The blade punched through the knuckles and buried itself in the zombie’s palm. The creature howled — a sound of rage rather than pain — and its other fist swung in a wide arc.
"Light Burst!"
White light exploded from Lucian’s body at point-blank range. The Peak Neophyte’s head snapped back and Lucian used the opening.
He pulled the blade free and punched.
His vampiric fist connected with the zombie’s face — a straight shot that deformed its cheekbone, caved in its left eye socket, and sent the creature flying backward out of the building. It crashed through the opposite wall and vanished into the street.
Lucian didn’t wait to see if it would get up.
He sprinted for the hole he’d made entering the building, burst through it—
And a fist hit him in the ribs.
CRACK!
His Blood Sense had caught it — a massive signature, different from the Peak Neophyte, stronger, but too late to fully dodge. The impact sent him flying again, and Lucian twisted mid-air, slamming both palms together.
"Blood Sphere!"
A sphere of hardened blood formed around him and when he hit the building across the street, the sphere absorbed the impact. The wall behind him crumbled, but his body remained intact.
He hit the ground, rolled, and looked up.
"Come on, you’ve got to be kidding me."
Eyes of the Eternals activated automatically, golden light flooding his vision.
╔═══════════════════════════╗
║ ◀ EYES OF THE ETERNALS ▶ ║
║ Early Core Realm Zombie ║
║ Threat Level: HIGH ║
║ Physical Stats: Enhanced (Zombie Buff — approximately 1.5x normal Core Realm baseline)║
║ WARNING: Host cultivation (Mid Neophyte) is significantly below this target. Retreat recommended. ║
╚═══════════════════════════╝
Early Core Realm. I will be more than happy to run but these guys don’t seem to be about to let me go anytime soon.
The zombie was a former hunter wearing the tattered remnants of a Guild combat suit, its body larger and more muscular than any zombie Lucian had faced. Core Realm cultivators were in a completely different league — twenty to fifty times more mana, physical stats that could punch through steel.
And this thing had been buffed by the transformation.
It walked toward him slowly.
Then it picked up pace.
Lucian met its fist with hardened blood.
BOOM.
The impact shook his arms to the shoulders. His feet skidded backward, tearing grooves in the street. The zombie’s strength was absurd — even with blood-hardened defenses, he was being pushed back.
It threw another punch. Lucian ducked, countered with a Light Blade slash across its ribs. The blade cut shallow — the zombie’s hide had thickened, Core Realm density reinforced by death — and the creature retaliated with a knee to Lucian’s stomach.
Gah—!
Lucian doubled over. The knee had been hard enough to crack his ribs through his hardened blood defense. He staggered back, gasping, and the regeneration started working immediately.
Light Steps.
He vanished from his position, reappearing three meters to the left, and drove his Light Blade toward the zombie’s eye.
The zombie was quicker.
Its arm swept out and caught him in a backhand that sent him spinning. Before Lucian could recover, its fist buried itself in his stomach.
BOOM.
Lucian’s feet left the ground. He crashed through a parked car, denting the door, and hit the pavement on the other side. His blood pooled beneath him.
More zombies were closing in. Normal ones, Early Neophyte, drawn by the blood.
Lucian kicked the nearest one in the chest — PAM — and sent it flying into two others. Then he raised both hands.
"Blood Swords."
A dozen crimson blades materialized in the air around him, then launched — slicing through the encroaching zombies in arcs of red.
Schlick. Schlick. Schlick. Schlick.
╔═══════════════════════════╗
║ Normal Zombie slain: +10 EXP ║
║ Normal Zombie slain: +10 EXP ║
║ Normal Zombie slain: +10 EXP ║
║ Early Neophyte Zombie slain: +50 EXP ║
║ Normal Zombie slain: +10 EXP ║
║ Normal Zombie slain: +10 EXP ║
║ Normal Zombie slain: +10 EXP ║
║ Early Neophyte Zombie slain: +50 EXP ║
╚════════════════════════════╝
The Core Realm zombie attacked again.
This time, Lucian was ready.
"Scarlet Threads!"
Dozens of crimson threads shot from his fingertips — thin as spider silk, sharp as wire — and wrapped around the zombie’s body. Arms, legs, torso, neck — the threads coiled and tightened, binding the creature in a cocoon of blood-fiber that pulled taut and held.
The zombie strained against the bindings. Its muscles bulged. Threads began to snap.
But it was stopped. Even if only for seconds.
╔═══════════════════════════╗
║ ⚠ NEW SPELL CREATED ⚠ ║
║ ◀ SCARLET THREADS ▶ ║
║ Type: Blood Manipulation Derivative║
║ Rank: B-Rank (Estimated) ║
║ Creates ultra-thin threads of hardened blood that can bind, cut, or restrain targets. ║
║ Strength depends on blood density and host cultivation. ║
║ Reward: +100 System Credits ║
║ Current Credits: 1,100 ║
╚═══════════════════════════╝
Lucian didn’t wait for the threads to break. He turned and ran — cutting down the remaining weaker zombies in his path with casual Light Blade swings — and put distance between himself and the Core Realm zombie.
The threads snapped behind him. He heard the creature roar.
But he was already gone, weaving through side streets, putting buildings between himself and the threat.
Then his Blood Sense pulsed.
Behind. The Peak Neophyte.
The one he’d punched in the face. Its signature was ragged — injured, half its face caved in — but it was moving, and it was heading straight for him.
Lucian’s eyes narrowed as he ran.
Do these things have some shred of intelligence?
