Published at 27th of August 2026 7:16 pm

Chapter 1964: Toward the Mountains

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"Luca! Luca!"

Valerian called out excitedly as he stood proudly over the ravaged corpse of the ghouls.

"Look! Look! I’m so mighty!"

He then let out a threatening roar that sounded quite adorable to the Paladin’s ears. Luca stepped forward and reached out to pat Valerian’s head.

"You did well, Valerian... ehm, okay. As you wish."

Toward the end, his words came out a little awkwardly since the armored panther had turned away, clearly uninterested in getting a head pat.

The corner of Luca’s lips twitched. He turned his gaze toward the distance, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

When he saw the remains of the third ghoul, he couldn’t help but think, That was quick.

Too quick!

And when he shifted his gaze toward Adam, who carried Genevieve in his arms, he couldn’t help but ask Valerian, "Who is that woman?"

"That’s Brother’s friend, Genevieve."

Valerian excitedly ran toward them, transforming into a little cat on the way.

"Genevieve! Genevieve!" he called out.

Hearing her name from the other familiar voice, Genevieve finally snapped out of her trance. She had really thought she had begun hallucinating because of the mind-numbing drugs.

She swallowed subconsciously and whispered, "I’m not dreaming, am I?"

Adam said with a smile, "No, it’s real, alright. You’re safe now."

"Genevieve!!"

The little grey ball of energy had finally arrived.

Adam gently laid Genevieve down. She hadn’t even had the chance to properly plant her feet on the ground when Valerian jumped right into her embrace.

She let out a soft yelp and stumbled half a step back. A gentle hand pressed against her back, helping her anchor herself to the snowy ground.

"Genevieve, I missed you!" Valerian exclaimed in delight. He fondly licked Genevieve’s cheek, causing her eyes to tear up slightly.

"I missed you too, little Val." Genevieve hugged the little fellow slightly tighter.

She had really thought that the ghouls would succeed in kidnapping her. Never in her wildest imagination did she think Adam and Valerian would save her.

She found it difficult not to break into tears.

Right at that moment, the sound of footsteps approached, and an unfamiliar voice sounded.

"We need to leave, Constantine."

Genevieve turned toward the newcomer. When she saw his imposing figure and the wolf hide languidly sprawled across his broad shoulders, she quickly recognized him. She had seen him once before, albeit very briefly.

"You’re the Lone Wolf," she murmured.

Luca quirked an eyebrow as he turned toward her. "The Lone Wolf?"

His grey eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he couldn’t help but reveal a toothy grin.

"I like it!"

Adam carefully observed Genevieve. There were deep marks around her wrists and ankles. Her clothes were caked with dirt. Dark circles rimmed her eyes, and her pupils were strangely dilated.

"Can you move?" he asked. Though he already knew the answer.

Genevieve hesitated. She clearly couldn’t. She was too exhausted to. But she nodded nevertheless. "I can—"

"I don’t think so." Adam interrupted her.

"We’ve found a safe place to rest," he continued. "It’s an hour away from here. I’ll carry you. Let’s go."

Genevieve wanted to refuse. But another part of her didn’t. And it wasn’t the part that thought that she was too exhausted to move around on her own. No. It was the part of her that needed an excuse to stay close to Adam.

"Okay," she softly murmured.

Luca watched the exchange with a strange look in his eyes. Clearly, Adam was weakened as well and was in no state to carry another person for an hour straight. If anything, he should have carried this woman, as he was more than able.

But judging how Adam had reacted earlier upon seeing the woman hostage, as well as how things were unfolding before him now, Luca had an idea about what was going on. He was amused, really.

Shaking his head, he turned around and hid the smirk on his face. "Let’s go," he said as he prepared to leave.

Valerian had slipped back into Adam’s spirit, satisfied with the destruction he’d wrought earlier.

Adam crouched slightly in front of Genevieve and positioned himself so she could hop onto his back.

Genevieve’s cheeks flushed a faint shade of red as she climbed onto Adam’s back and gently wrapped her arms around his neck.

It was only then, when the two of them were so close to one another, that she could truly feel just how drastic a transformation Adam had gone through.

Her heart ached to see Adam reduced to barely a husk of what he used to be. Upon seeing the deep scars around his neck and collarbone, she subconsciously winced. Her lips opened and closed several times as she struggled to speak.

"You okay?" Adam asked softly.

"...Yes." Genevieve nodded. "Let’s go."

***

The trio reached the cave before sunset.

Adam finished carving the defensive and concealment runes just in time. After confirming everything was in order, he slumped against the cave wall and finally heaved a long sigh of relief.

Carrying Genevieve for an hour straight had taken a toll on his already frail body. But he wouldn’t voice his complaints.

He was fine now, wasn’t he? That was what he kept telling himself.

Across from him, Genevieve seemed like she had countless questions she wanted to ask him.

What had happened to Adam in the time that they were away?

Why did he have so many scars on his body?

Why had he lost so much weight?

How did he end up working with the Lone Wolf?

Why were the two of them headed deeper into the mountains?

But before she could ask even one of those questions, Adam’s hardened gaze locked onto hers.

His lips parted, and he said in a solemn voice, "What happened to you? How did you get caught?"

How did she get caught?

The question thundered inside Genevieve’s mind, and the answer to that brought about complicated emotions within her heart.

Shock. Helplessness. Betrayal. And finally...

Anger.

Her eyes turned red with unshed tears and barely concealed fury.

"I was betrayed!"

Luca, who was preparing the food for the night, sharply turned his head toward her.

Adam’s brows furrowed. "How?"

Genevieve’s following words struck Adam and Luca like lightning.

"The City Hall isn’t what I thought it was," she said indignantly.

"The higher-ups, at least two of them, are in league with the vampire king!"

Meanwhile, outside the cave, night fell over the land, and the monsters came out in droves.

Unbeknownst to the group, a raven perched on a nearby tree. Its intelligent, crimson eyes seemingly pierced through the rune magic and stared at them inside the cave.

The raven’s eyes focused on Genevieve. It gazed at her for a long moment before finally flapping its wings and flying away.

It flew toward the mountains at astonishing speed.

Then it crossed the vast mountain range, gliding through the skies above the human settlements.

Finally, it flew toward the ancient castle perched atop a hill.

There, a vampire waited for the raven.

A vampire known as Jacob de Vile.

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