Chapter 1728: Beast Crystals The group stood in a tense, heavy silence, watching the feed on the monitor. They waited as the vampires left the facility, exiting one by one with a terrifying, synchronized grace. Nobody spoke until the last of the black vehicles had pulled away from the dam, their headlights disappearing into the distance. Xin let out a long, heavy sigh of relief. It wasn’t that she feared for her life in a direct confrontation, she had confidence in her own strength and that of her team, but she was terrified of the ramifications. A conflict between the Howlers and the Vampire Families wouldn’t just be a skirmish; it would be a war that could level cities. It was a path they were not yet ready to walk. “Hey, MARCUS!” Olivia shouted, her voice echoing through the hollowed-out concrete halls. “They’re gone! You can come crawling out of whatever little hole you’ve been hiding in now!” While Olivia continued to shout to ensure Marcus could hear her from wherever he had bunkered down, Luzen walked over to Xin. His expression was grim, his eyes fixed on the empty screen. “Did you hear what that man said at the end?” Luzen asked quietly. “Of course I did,” Xin replied, her brow furrowing. “Even though we’ve tried our absolute best to keep it a secret, it’s clear they already know that Gary is missing. My real question is... if they know the leader of the Howlers is gone, why haven’t they made a move against us yet?” She looked at Luzen, her eyes searching his. “You’re the expert vampire-hater here. Do you have any idea what kind of game they’re playing?” Luzen wanted to say he did. In his mind, vampires were opportunistic predators who pounced at the first sign of weakness. If Gary was gone, the Howlers were vulnerable, so why waste the opportunity to dismantle them? The only thing he could think of was a shift in high-level politics. “It’s possible that some of the vampires, particularly the King, don’t actually want a full-scale war right now. But that peace might only last until they learn that the Lupus pack has been absorbed into the Howlers. Once they realize how much our numbers have grown, they might stop being so patient.” Luzen shook his head. “The vampires are never easy to read. Who knows what they are thinking in those ancient heads of theirs.” At that moment, Marcus returned, walking back into the console room alongside Olivia. He looked slightly disheveled but unharmed. “What I want to know is, what was that explosion earlier?” Olivia asked, turning toward Luzen. “Can all of the vampires do that? Just flick their fingers and blow things up?” “No,” Luzen answered. “If you remember, the man introduced himself as being from the Fourth Family. Based on the way the others deferred to him, he’s likely a Knight, one of their higher-ranking warriors. Each family within the vampires has a unique set of inherited powers. I haven’t gone against them all, so I don’t know the full list, but it’s these blood-line abilities that make them so dangerous.” “Unique powers... I guess like what Marcus has,” Xin noted. She had heard from the others that Marcus was capable of channeling lightning, a feat he could perform even though he wasn’t an Altered. “Right. When I fought against one of them before, something strange was happening to me as well,” Marcus added, his voice low. “I can understand why, if you can avoid it, it’s best to stay out of a fight with the vampires.” Marcus tensed his body as he spoke. Every fiber of his being wanted to do the opposite, to hunt down every last one of them for what they had done to his people, but he knew that, for now, it was an impossible task. “I do have some good news, though,” Marcus said, changing the subject to distract himself from the rage. “It seems the vampires either didn’t care about the loot or they never found the hidden armory located deeper in the dam. It ended up being my hiding spot, so I know for sure it’s untouched. Why don’t we see what we can bring back?” The group followed Marcus down through a series of various service tunnels. Along the way, they continued to pass more members of the Dark Guild who had been slaughtered. It was chilling to see the efficiency of the attack; despite the base being a literal maze of concrete and steel, the vampires had managed to find and eliminate every single person. Eventually, they came to a solid, reinforced steel door that required a handprint scan to gain access. “I guess they didn’t smell anyone on the other side, so they didn’t even bother trying to force this door,” Marcus muttered as he pressed his palm against the scanner. The locks disengaged with a heavy thud. When the doors slid open, the group ventured inside and was genuinely surprised by what they found. The room wasn’t just a locker for weapons. There were a number of ornaments that looked like simple decorations but radiated a faint magical hum. There were important-looking paintings and rare jewels that looked like they could be sold for a very pretty penny on the black market. Then, there was what they were truly looking for: beast gear. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂 The amount was limited, however. As they began picking up the various pieces, it became clear that the gear in this room was no better than what they already had. Compared to the high-tier bow Luzen carried, most of it was fairly standard. “This is still a great find,” Xin said, inspecting a set of reinforced chest plates. “Our regular members can use this. It’ll be much more effective as Anti-Altered equipment than the standard tactical gear they have now.” “It’s a shame about these crystals, though,” Olivia commented, pointing toward a crate in the corner. “There’s a large number of them, and they seem to be high-tier. Definitely not like the scraps we get from that Tier Four city.” The Howlers were secretly partnered with a Tier Four city that supplied them with beast crystals. Gary had been forcing the newer Werewolves to consume those crystals to rapidly increase their strength, trying to get them to a level where they could match the power of the veteran Lupus group. “Right. Stuff like this... it would have been perfect to give to NIRV,” Xin said with a sigh. “They could have turned these into high-grade Altered solutions, but since the facilities have practically stopped production, we’re stuck.” “There’s also another use for beast crystals,” Marcus added. “They can be forged into incredible beast gear, weapons and armor that far surpass this basic stuff. The problem is, almost no one knows the secret of how to forge it anymore. And even if they did, I doubt they’d be skilled enough to handle high-tier crystals like these. But we should take everything we can. Just in case.” The Fallen Heart The world was built on the backs of massive organizations and rigid structures. It was these systems, both those operating in the bright light of the public eye and those pulling strings from the deepest shadows, that kept the gears of civilization turning. Despite the secret wars, the supernatural threats, and the internal power struggles currently fracturing the globe, the world continued its slow, dogged crawl forward. However, some places were being left behind to rot, and nowhere was that decay more evident than in Central City. Once, it had been the crown jewel of the region, a bustling metropolitan hub where top governors, high-ranking officials, and powerful ministers from various nations gathered to dictate the future. It had been a sanctuary of peace, largely because it served as the primary headquarters for the White Rose organization. With the White Rose’s global influence and elite agents stationed on every corner, crime was a concept from a different world. But the White Rose was no longer an organization; it was a ghost. When the Rose withered, the peace died with it. The governors and the ultra-wealthy had long since fled the city, using their vast resources to relocate to safer havens. But not everyone had the luxury of escape. The families of low-level agents, the support staff, and the ordinary citizens who had built their lives around the city’s former glory were left behind in a hollowed-out shell. Without its protectors, Central City had become a carcass for the vultures. To the gangs, it was an attractive resource filled with high-end infrastructure and abandoned luxury. To others, it was simply a place to enact a cruel revenge on those who had once looked down on them from the heights of government service. Don and his few remaining allies had tried their best to shield the city, but their numbers were too small and the waves of criminals too frequent and they no longer were able to help. Along the riverfront, where a line of residential apartments overlooked the grey, sluggish water, the air was thick with the scent of fear. These buildings had once been prestigious housing given to those who served the government. Now, the paint was peeling, and the glass balconies were clouded with grime. Walking boldly across the seafront was a gang known as the Raptors. They had traveled from a Tier 2 city several hours away, sensing that Central City was finally ripe for the picking. They were a group that specialized in reptile-based Altered DNA, vicious, cold-blooded, and incredibly strong. “This city has done a lot of harm to our group over the years!” Rex, the leader of the Raptors, shouted toward the silent apartment blocks. Rex was a massive man, his skin already showing the pebbled, green-grey texture of a lizard. “The Central officials were always sticking their noses into our business, trying to cause problems even in our territory! But fear not! We aren’t here to kill everyone... yet.” He let out a raspy, hissing laugh. “All we want is some volunteers to help us with a few chores. You see, we have a personal hit list of people associated with the old regime. Whether you’re on that list is hard to say until we check your IDs, so why don’t we save time? Do we have any volunteers!” High above, the only response was the frantic closing of curtains. People peaked through the gaps in their blinds, their hearts hammering against their ribs, but no one dared to step out. Rex’s expression soured. He walked over to a large ornamental tree that was deeply rooted into the sidewalk, its trunk thick and ancient. He gripped the wood with his bare hands, his muscles bulging as his Altered strength kicked in. With a guttural roar, he wrenched the tree upward, uprooting it from the concrete in a shower of dirt and stone. “I said... are there any volunteers!” Rex screamed. He hurled the massive tree with the force of a catapult. It sailed through the air and crashed into one of the apartment buildings, the impact shattering the concrete facade and smashing through several third-story windows. The sound of splintering wood and breaking glass was immediately followed by the high-pitched screams of the families hiding inside. The city had suffered from gang attacks before, but never so openly. Never during the day, as if the law no longer existed. People wondered where the police were. Had they already abandoned the city? Or was there simply so much crime occurring simultaneously that the authorities had been forced to choose which neighborhoods were worth saving and which were to be left to the wolves? Although the creation of new Altereds had been strictly banned by international law, the current state of the world left those who were already transformed in a position of absolute power. Against an Altered like Rex, the ordinary citizens were defenseless. Rex, seeing that his display of strength still hadn’t brought anyone out, grew frustrated. He turned to another tree, his reptilian eyes glowing with malice. “Fine! If there are no volunteers, that just means we’ll take you all in as slaves!” Rex claimed. He lifted the second tree high above his head, his legs bracing against the pavement as he prepared to hurl it at the same spot. This time, he intended to bring down the entire support structure of the floor, causing the building to collapse on itself. The people inside the apartments could only huddle together and brace for the end. They watched the massive trunk leave Rex’s hands, but before it could strike the building, a flash of black and gold descended from the sky. A man slammed into the flying tree from above with powerful force. There was a thunderous CRACK as the man’s feet hit the wood, pinning the tree directly into the ground before it could reach the apartments. Dust and debris swirled around the newcomer as he stood calmly atop the trunk. The Raptor gang froze, their reptilian instincts screaming at them that something dangerous had just arrived. This wasn’t a regular human being. “Wait... that uniform!” one of the gang members shouted, his voice trembling. “Those colors... isn’t that the Howler gang?” “You mean the Kings of Slough?” another whispered, backing away. “What the heck are they doing all the way out here in Central City?” “Calm down, you idiots!” Rex barked, though even he looked wary. “There’s only one of them. If we take him out quickly and bury the body, the Howlers will never know it was us. Right now, this guy is just a piece of meat in our way!” The man stood on top of the uprooted tree, his black and gold jacket hanging open to reveal a toned, scarred chest. He didn’t look like he was in the middle of a war zone; he looked bored. He raised a hand to his mouth and let out a long, exaggerated yawn. “You know, when they told me I was being sent here to play babysitter, I was pretty annoyed,” Midwak said, his eyes snapping open to reveal a predatory, devlish glint. He cracked his neck, a sound like snapping dry kindling. “I’ve got a lot of pent-up anger in me from the trip. I’m actually happy I found some trash I can take it out on!” Midwak’s smile widened, showing teeth that seemed just a bit too sharp to be human. The Raptors were about to learn that while they were predators in a Tier 2 city, they were nothing but prey to a Howler. ***** For updates on MWS and future works, follow me on my social media below. Instagram: jksmanga *Patreon: jksmanga When news drops about My Vampire System, My Werewolf System, or any other series, you’ll hear it there first. Feel free to reach out; if I’m not too busy, I tend to reply.