Chapter 1764: The one and only. Upon entering the secret room, Layla's eyes widened when she focused on the injured vampire on the ground. Then, without hesitation, she quickly ran forward and kneeled beside the vampire. Taking a peak, Xander could see that the scales of her horns were changing colour. First, they looked like clouds that were changing to a purple fog, and the next second they looked like they were made of red lava. Due to her being a vampire sub-class, it was hard to hide her emotions, and ever since getting a permanent set of large horns on her head, it had become more challenging for her, especially in a situation like this. She placed her hands over the hole on Vincent's chest, and in the next moment, her palms ignited in Green flames. Sweat trickled down her face as she tried to pour as much power as possible to heal the wound. "How could this happen? After so long, how could this have happened to him? Xander, explain!" Layla shouted, her voice shaking near the end, fear had shouted, gripped her heart with fear, and panic filled her expression. Her breathing was out of control, and the Qi zapping out from her body seemed to be affecting her actions. Even talking was difficult. "Don't use your life force!" Xander snapped back and placed both hands on her wrist, attempting to lift them off. "Layla, I mean it. If you do, I will do everything I can to get your hands off his body... and besides, he's not Quinn." Hearing the last sentence, the intensity of the flames started to dwindle, but she kept them lit up. After recalling the red heart in Laxmus's hands, Layla had a good idea of who was in front of her as she realised who this could be if not Quinn. "Why...why would he come back at a time like this, after he had been hiding for so long?" Layla asked. Unsure her powers were doing anything, she continued using her energy, and eventually, the stream of energy healed the wound somewhat. Although vampires have pale skin, there was a unique shade in their skin, and it was beginning to return to Vincent's skin. "I don't think he's completely gone yet." Layla guessed. "I can only think of one reason why Vincent came back. Is he here? Is Quinn actually back?" She asked. Shaking his head, Xander turned away. It was hard to see the emotions on his face since Layla could not look directly at him. "What is this? I thought you said you moved on from him?" Xander finally managed to smile back. "Now, when you see someone who looks like him, all these feelings for him come rushing back?" Although Layla's face had stayed red, for a second, Xander saw both of her horns turn slightly pink as if she was embarrassed, even though there was a different story in front of him.𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢 "It's not that... you know, my past with Quin is complicated," Layla replied. "I never lied to you, Xander. But, either way, we must deal with what is in front of us. I don't think Qi or my powers will do anything else for him right now." "Are you able to place him in your shadow? That will buy us some time." It was then that Xander pulled out a crystal from his robe. It was quite large, around the size of a water bottle, maybe a little larger, and inside the crystal, there was a dark shadow moving about. "I don't have much shadow left," Xander explained. "I can put him in but not for a long time. So if I don't use the shadow powers, then we should be okay, or the other option is to get more shadow," Xander gulped after saying the last sentence. It was the last thing he wanted to do. "I understand, but I know you brought him here, and it was the right thing to do. You must have thought I would have a plan, and well, I do. But first you need to help me out." Layla replied. Then without saying another word, Xander used the crystal to use some of his shadow powers. It wrapped Vincent from head to toe, and his body sank into the shadow, going into Xander's very own shadow space. "Now, tell what happened and how Laxmus got the Red heart, and then we will devise a plan to help Vincent." Xander explained everything about the grand event and how Laxmuis had somewhat summoned them all without any prior information. Xander was unaware this would happen and found himself in a complicated situation with no initial plans. This was why he wasn't able to do much. "I'm sorry, I didn't think Laxmus would do that. I thought he would have at least let Vincent live to find how to use the Crystal from him." Xander clenched his fist. "Don't worry about that. Although I hate to say it, it probably worked out in our favour that he has such a bad temper." "If Laxmus had decided to capture Vincent, we would have to rescue him before any details of how to use the Red heart leaked." "Now, somehow, Vincent has managed to buy us some time even in his state. Anyway, we might still be able to stop Laxmus." "From what you described, Vincent had managed to place the Red heart into his own nest crystal, right?" "What was actually keeping his body alive before was the Nest Crystal, not the Red heart." After saying these words, Layla was already standing up, and it looked like she was about to leave. "What are you planning on doing?" Xander asked. "From the sounds of it, are you planning to steal this settlement's Nest crystal? We only have one, and we used it for the blood supply. If you get caught, everything we have done will be for nothing." "Don't forget, there isn't just us that you have to worry about anymore." Layla stopped for a second, pulled out her black sword from her back, and held it in her hand. "The Red heart is in Laxmus's hand. We joined to stop this form from happening, and on top of that, there is something else as well." "I went out to try and stop the dhampirs from advancing. And, it seems like they know about the location of this base." "And they are not planning a small invasion either, it will be an all-out war. Xander, the dhampirs are too strong." "I believe Laxmus is underestimating them a lot... especially Erin. I couldn't even properly hurt her." This had come as quite a surprise to Xander, especially since Layla was one of the strongest people he knew. She was strong enough even to make Laxmus see her as someone he needed and someone on equal ground with her. "So it doesn't matter. Right now, either Laxmus will find out how to use the Red Heart, or the dhampirs will attack this place." "So I need to do everything I can before things get out of hand, and the least I can do is bring Vincent back!" "Tell me something. You said you met Erin?" Xander said. "Did you actually fight her, or did you just try to speak to her." Layla chuckled when she heard this comment, and Xander didn't know if he was hallucinating, but it looked like a teardrop trickled down Layla's face. "Both... l don't know why but Erin despises vampires. Maybe it's because it made her become what she is now, I don't know, but I tried fighting her when she wasn't willing to talk." "In fact, I even used the black sword, but it was all useless." Hearing this, Xander knew his answer. If the dhampirs attacked, there was little chance they could survive. Moreover, Erin was now a force that was possibly a threat more significant than Graham. Not saying anything else, Layla left to get the nest crystal. Meanwhile, Xander was left to his thoughts, recalling the fight with Vincent. "You were right about everything. You knew what Laxmus would do, so does that mean you are right about the other thing as well?" In the middle of their fight, Vincent had agreed to turn himself in, but he also said a few more words. "Quinn has returned, I know he has, and although I hate to put all the pressure on the boy, his return means he's needed... find the boy, find Quinn." "And how am I meant to do that?" Xander said aloud, recollecting those words, "No one knows where he is at the moment."