The war room was smaller than Veyr remembered.
In the original story, this room had been described as the heart of Draeven March.
That description had been generous.
The table was cracked. One of the legs had been repaired with rope. Several maps were missing pieces, and a thick layer of dust covered the eastern wall.
Kaelen stood on one side of the table.
Seris stood on the other.
Veyr remained near the door.
He did not sit.
That would make the room feel too much like a meeting.
At the moment, it was closer to a room full of armed people waiting for a reason to start fighting.
Kaelen placed both hands on the map.
"The royal messenger is still in the guest hall."
"Temporary prison," Veyr corrected.
"He is still being treated better than the wounded soldiers."
"He has not been stabbed yet. That puts him ahead of most people in this castle."
Kaelen looked at him.
"You cannot keep him here."
"I can."
"The king will send soldiers."
"The king was already planning to send soldiers."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it remains true."
Kaelen looked at the map again.
"Then tell me what you plan to do."
Veyr walked to the table.
The map showed Draeven March and the surrounding villages. The western road led toward the royal territory. The southern road disappeared into the monster-infested hills.
The eastern gate was marked in red ink.
The fortress had three gates.
The western gate was the main entrance.
The southern gate led toward the villages.
The eastern gate opened toward an old forest road.
In the original story, the church entered through the eastern gate during the second Chapter.
Odrik opened it from the inside.
The church soldiers killed thirty-seven defenders and took the prisoners.
Then Kaelen arrived too late and found Veyr standing over the bodies.
That was the scene that turned Kaelen against Veyr permanently.
Veyr had no intention of allowing it to happen.
"The church will attack before nightfall," he said.
Kaelen looked up.
"You know that?"
"I know how the church operates."
"That is not the same thing."
"It is close enough."
Seris leaned over the map.
"If the church attacks, it will not come from the western road."
Veyr looked at her.
"Why?"
"The western road is exposed. The fortress can see it from the walls."
She pointed at the eastern forest.
"They will use the trees. The old road is narrow, but it reaches the eastern gate."
Kaelen looked at her.
"How do you know?"
"I was held in the church camp for three days."
"That doesn’t mean you know their plan."
"No," Seris said. "But it means I know where they kept the horses."
Veyr looked at the eastern gate.
"They left the camp through the forest."
Seris nodded.
"Their horses were prepared before the attack began. The church expected to retreat."
Kaelen looked toward Veyr.
"You think they planned to lose?"
"No. I think they planned for the possibility."
"That is worse."
"Yes."
A knock came from outside.
Odrik entered the room.
His beard was still covered in ash, and there was a fresh cut across his cheek.
"My lord."
Veyr looked at him.
"What happened?"
"The eastern gate is secured."
"By whom?"
"Six soldiers."
"Only six?"
"They are the men available."
Veyr glanced toward the map.
"Add ten more."
Odrik hesitated.
"The soldiers are needed on the western wall."
"They will be needed more at the eastern gate."
Odrik looked at Kaelen.
Then at Seris.
Then back at Veyr.
"You expect an attack from the forest."
"I expect an attack everywhere."
"That is not an answer."
"It is the only one you need."
Odrik’s jaw tightened.
"The eastern gate has not been opened in years. It is damaged. If we place too many men there, we weaken the main wall."
Veyr turned toward him.
"Are you questioning the order?"
"I am questioning the decision."
"Then question it after you carry it out."
Odrik remained still.
Kaelen watched him.
Seris watched Veyr.
The room became quiet.
Finally, Odrik bowed his head.
"As you command."
He turned to leave.
"Wait," Veyr said.
Odrik stopped.
"Take Renn with you."
Odrik looked over his shoulder.
"The archer?"
"He knows the outer field."
"He is young."
"He is accurate."
"He was barely able to stand earlier."
"He is standing now."
Odrik’s face changed slightly.
Veyr saw it.
Odrik did not want Renn at the eastern gate.
That was enough.
"Take him," Veyr repeated.
Odrik bowed.
"Yes, my lord."
He left the room.
Kaelen waited until the door closed.
"You’re sending a wounded archer with a captain you don’t trust."
"I’m sending a captain who wants to know whether I trust him."
"You don’t."
"No."
"Then why keep him alive?"
"Because he commands the soldiers."
"You could replace him."
"With whom?"
Kaelen did not answer.
Veyr pointed toward the fortress map.
"Half the soldiers here follow Odrik. The other half follow whoever looks strongest. If I kill him now, the castle splits before the enemy arrives."
Seris looked at him.
"You are not as stupid as the old Veyr."
"Thank you."
"It was not praise."
"It still sounded better than most things people say to me."
Kaelen looked toward the door.
"What are you planning to do about the prisoners?"
"Move them to the lower hall."
"The church will attack for them."
"I know."
"Then why keep them here?"
"Because the church is willing to send soldiers to recover them."
Kaelen frowned.
Veyr pointed to the map.
"That means the prisoners are valuable."
"Or they want revenge."
"Church soldiers do not cross monster territory for revenge."
Seris’s expression became serious.
"They were not witnesses."
Veyr looked at her.
"What?"
"The prisoners."
"You said they were witnesses."
"That is what the church told the royal messenger."
Seris leaned closer to the map.
"Their blood was taken before I escaped. Every prisoner had a small wound on the palm."
Kaelen looked toward the door.
"The ritual."
"Not only the ritual," Seris said. "The priest kept the blood in glass tubes."
Veyr remembered the red heart inside the iron cage.
The twenty-seven prisoners were not merely fuel.
Their blood had been used to activate it.
The heart had answered Seris because she had been connected to the ritual.
That was the answer he needed.
"The heart is an extracted core," Veyr said. "The church uses blood as a binding medium. Seris’s blood reacted because they used her during the activation."
Seris looked at him.
"You already knew?"
"I suspected."
"You speak like you are reading a report."
"I like reports."
Kaelen crossed his arms.
"What does that mean for the prisoners?"
"It means the church wants them back because their blood is part of the ritual."
"Can they use them again?"
"Probably."
Kaelen’s expression hardened.
"Then they stay here."
Veyr looked at him.
"That is your decision?"
Kaelen met his eyes.
"Yes."
"You are not in command."
"I know."
"You are also supposed to arrest me."
"I know that too."
"Yet you are choosing to protect the prisoners."
Kaelen’s hand moved toward his white sword.
"I am choosing to stop the church from using them again."
Veyr studied him.
The original Kaelen had always been brave.
That was one of the reasons he had become so dangerous.
He did not need to like someone before deciding to protect them.
That made him difficult to control.
It also made him useful.
"Fine," Veyr said.
Kaelen blinked.
"Fine?"
"The prisoners stay."
Seris looked at Veyr.
"That was easy."
"It was not."
"You changed your mind quickly."
"I changed the plan."
Kaelen continued watching him.
"You were going to use the prisoners as bait."
"I was considering it."
"And now?"
"Now we use the church soldiers as bait."
Seris smiled faintly.
"There is the Veyr I remember."
Veyr looked at her.
"You remember the old Veyr?"
"I remember hearing about him."
"Then forget what you heard."
"That is not how memory works."
"It is if you hit your head hard enough."
Kaelen’s mouth twitched.
Veyr noticed.
"You find that funny?"
"No."
"You almost smiled."
"I did not."
"Your face disagrees."
Kaelen looked away.
Veyr was beginning to understand why people liked him.
He was irritating, but not difficult to read.
A horn sounded from outside.
Everyone in the room stopped.
One short blast.
Then two long ones.
Seris turned toward the eastern wall.
"They are here."
Kaelen reached for his sword.
Veyr walked to the window.
Through the broken glass, he could see the eastern forest.
At first, nothing moved.
Then a branch shook.
Another followed.
A dark shape appeared between the trees.
Then another.
Church soldiers stepped out of the forest in groups of five. They wore gray armor instead of white, making them difficult to see beneath the branches.
At the front walked a woman in black robes.
She carried a long staff wrapped in white cloth.
Seris stood beside Veyr.
"That is Sister Malra."
"Who is she?"
"The woman who gave the order to burn my laboratory."
Kaelen looked at Seris.
"You know her?"
"I know her voice."
Malra stopped at the edge of the forest.
She raised her staff.
Her voice carried toward the fortress.
"Lord Veyr Draven! Release the prisoners and return the sacred heart!"
Veyr stepped onto the outer balcony.
He could see the eastern gate below.
Odrik stood beside it with twenty soldiers.
Renn was on the wall, bow in hand.
Everything appeared normal.
That was the problem.
In the original story, Odrik opened the gate after the church commander called his name.
The church promised to spare his sister.
Veyr had never known Odrik had a sister.
He had not yet confirmed whether that detail still existed.
Malra raised her voice again.
"You have until the third bell!"
Veyr looked at Odrik.
The captain was staring at the church woman.
His hand was resting on the axe at his side.
Renn noticed it too.
He raised his bow.
Veyr spoke loudly enough for the eastern wall to hear.
"Odrik."
The captain looked up.
"Close the inner bars."
Odrik’s face remained calm.
"The gate is already closed."
"Then prove it."
Odrik turned toward the gate.
He shouted to the soldiers, "Check the locking chain!"
Two men moved toward the mechanism.
Renn kept his eyes on Odrik.
Veyr did not look away from the church woman.
Malra smiled.
The sound was too far away to hear, but Veyr saw it.
Then a bell rang from inside the forest.
Once.
The soldiers near the gate suddenly attacked their own comrades.
One drove a knife into another soldier’s back.
The second cut down the man beside him.
Renn fired immediately.
His arrow struck one of the traitors through the throat.
The other turned toward him.
A second arrow pierced his eye.
The eastern gate shook.
The locking chain began to move.
Odrik stood beside it.
He had not drawn his axe.
He was simply watching.
Veyr understood.
The traitors had been placed inside the fortress before the battle.
Odrik had not opened the gate yet.
He had opened the guards.
"Kaelen," Veyr said.
The hero was already moving.
He ran toward the eastern stairs.
Seris followed him.
Veyr grabbed her arm.
"Stay here."
She looked at his hand.
Then at his face.
"You’re worried?"
"I’m calculating."
"That is not the same thing."
"It is today."
She pulled free.
"I’m going."
"You have no weapon."
Seris lifted her hand.
Blood ran from her fingertips.
The red liquid formed thin blades around her knuckles.
"I have enough."
Then she ran after Kaelen.
Veyr looked at the eastern gate.
The inner chain dropped.
The gate opened three feet.
Church soldiers pushed against it from outside.
Odrik turned toward Veyr.
For the first time, the captain drew his axe.
"My lord," he shouted, "the mechanism is broken!"
Veyr walked down the stairs.
"Is that so?"
Odrik lifted the axe.
"I tried to hold it."
"There are twenty men around you."
"They are dead or traitors."
"Convenient."
Odrik’s face hardened.
"You don’t know what you’re talking about."
"I know about your sister."
The axe stopped.
Odrik’s eyes changed.
Veyr was correct.
He had a sister.
And the church had her.
"You should have asked me before using her name," Odrik said.
"I already knew the answer."
The gate opened another foot.
Church soldiers pushed their shields through the gap.
Odrik stepped backward.
"You think this castle can survive without me?"
"No."
Veyr drew his sword.
"That is why I’m not killing you yet."
Odrik swung his axe.
Veyr blocked the blow.
The impact forced him back two steps.
Odrik was stronger than he looked.
His next strike came toward Veyr’s shoulder.
Veyr turned aside.
The axe cut through his coat and opened the wound again.
Blood ran down his arm.
Odrik attacked a third time.
Veyr caught the axe shaft with his left hand.
The captain leaned close.
"You have no idea what the church will do to my sister."
"I know exactly what they will do."
"You don’t."
"I know because I read the report."
Odrik’s expression changed.
Veyr drove his forehead into the captain’s face.
Odrik staggered.
Veyr kicked his knee.
The captain fell to one side, but he rolled and recovered quickly.
He was trained.
He was not merely a traitor.
That made him more valuable.
Odrik struck again.
Veyr stepped backward toward the gate.
The church soldiers were forcing it open.
If the gate opened fully, the eastern yard would be lost.
Veyr needed to end the fight.
He raised his right hand.
The ring beneath his glove grew warm.
A red screen appeared before his eyes.
Predator’s Claim is ready.
Target: Odrik Vale.
Enemy rank: Bronze.
Strength insufficient.
Claim unavailable.
Veyr almost laughed.
Even the system considered Odrik too weak to reward.
Odrik swung at his head.
Veyr ducked beneath the axe.
"Don’t take it personally."
"What?"
"You’re not strong enough."
Veyr drove his sword into Odrik’s thigh.
The captain screamed and dropped to one knee.
Veyr pulled the blade free and struck the axe from his hand.
Odrik reached for a dagger.
Renn’s arrow struck the ground beside his fingers.
The captain froze.
Renn stood on the wall above them, bow drawn.
"Move," Renn called, "and the next one goes through your hand."
Odrik looked up at him.
"You serve him now?"
Renn’s eyes remained fixed on the captain.
"I serve the castle."
Veyr looked at Renn.
Good answer.
The church soldiers forced the gate open wide enough for three men to enter.
Kaelen reached them first.
His white sword flashed.
The first soldier raised his shield.
Kaelen cut through both shield and armor.
The second attacked from the side.
Kaelen blocked the blow, stepped inside the man’s guard, and struck him with the pommel of his sword.
The soldier fell unconscious.
The third tried to stab Kaelen from behind.
Seris’s blood blade pierced his wrist.
He screamed and dropped the weapon.
Kaelen turned and finished him with one clean strike.
He looked at Seris.
"You could have warned me."
"You were doing well."
"That is not a reason."
"It is today."
Kaelen shook blood from his sword.
More soldiers were coming through the gate.
Seris’s blood blades trembled around her fingers.
Her face became pale.
Veyr noticed.
"Your power has limits," he said.
Seris glanced at him.
"Everything has limits."
"How many more?"
"Enough."
"That wasn’t my question."
"It was the answer you’re getting."
A church knight entered through the gate.
He wore red armor and carried a heavy hammer.
He swung at Kaelen.
Kaelen blocked the weapon, but the force drove him backward.
The knight raised the hammer again.
Veyr moved.
He reached the knight’s side and cut across his knee.
The knight dropped.
Kaelen drove his sword through the gap in the helmet.
The body fell.
Kaelen looked at Veyr.
"You helped me."
"I helped myself."
"You could have let him kill me."
"You’re too expensive to replace."
Kaelen stared at him.
Then he looked toward the gate.
"More are coming."
"I noticed."
Veyr turned toward Odrik.
The captain was still kneeling, one hand pressed against his thigh.
His eyes remained fixed on the eastern forest.
Sister Malra had not moved.
She was watching him.
Veyr followed his gaze.
A woman stood beside Malra.
Her hands were bound.
Her face was bruised.
Even from the wall, Veyr could see the resemblance.
Odrik’s sister.
Malra had brought her to the battlefield.
"You wanted him to see her," Veyr said.
Malra smiled.
"Captain Odrik has served the church before."
Kaelen looked at Odrik.
"You betrayed the castle for your sister."
Odrik’s face twisted.
"She is twelve."
"And the prisoners are children too," Kaelen said.
Odrik stared at him.
Malra raised her staff.
"Open the gate fully, Odrik, and your sister lives."
Odrik looked at Veyr.
"Give me your word."
Veyr did not answer.
Odrik’s hand tightened around his wound.
"My lord."
Veyr looked at the girl outside.
Then at the soldiers entering through the gate.
Then at the wounded defenders behind him.
The original Veyr had killed Odrik here.
He had ordered the soldiers to close the gate, leaving Odrik’s sister in the hands of the church.
Kaelen had hated him for it.
The fortress had fallen two days later.
Veyr had a different plan.
"Kaelen."
The hero looked at him.
"Get the girl."
Kaelen glanced toward the church line.
"That is impossible."
"Then make it possible."
"You’re asking me to run into the enemy formation."
"Yes."
"And what will you do?"
Veyr looked at the gate.
"I’ll keep it open."
"You’ll be trapped outside."
"Probably."
Kaelen’s eyes narrowed.
"You’re planning to die."
"No."
"Then what are you planning?"
"To make them believe I am."
Kaelen stared at him.
For a moment, he seemed to realize something.
Veyr was not asking him to follow an order.
He was asking him to choose.
Kaelen turned toward the church formation.
Then toward the girl.
Finally, he tightened his grip on the white sword.
"I’ll bring her back."
Veyr nodded.
Seris looked at him.
"You trust him?"
"No."
"Then why send him?"
"Because he will do it."
Kaelen charged through the gate.
The church soldiers shouted and turned toward him.
Veyr stepped onto the eastern wall.
"Renn!"
"Yes, my lord!"
"Shoot the men carrying the white flags."
Renn looked toward the church line.
"There are six."
"Then shoot six."
Renn drew.
His first arrow struck a priest in the throat.
His second hit a soldier carrying a banner.
The church formation broke.
Kaelen moved through the confusion.
He cut down one soldier, blocked another, and reached the girl.
Malra raised her staff.
White fire gathered around it.
Veyr saw the spell forming.
He had read about Sister Malra.
She used a binding spell that froze the blood in a person’s body.
Kaelen did not know that.
Veyr did.
"Seris!"
Seris looked at him.
"Stop the staff!"
She lifted both hands.
Blood left the wounds on her wrists and formed a long red chain.
The chain wrapped around Malra’s staff.
Malra pulled.
Seris cried out.
The red veins beneath Seris’s skin darkened.
Kaelen grabbed Odrik’s sister and turned to run.
Malra broke the chain.
The white spell exploded.
Seris was thrown against the gate.
Veyr jumped from the wall.
He landed between Seris and the spell.
The light struck his body.
Pain tore through his chest.
His vision turned white.
He felt something inside his blood begin to burn.
The ring answered.
The heat spread from his hand to his shoulder.
The wound in his arm opened.
Blood ran down his fingers.
Veyr remained standing.
Malra stared at him.
"You are using the heart."
Veyr looked at the white fire covering his body.
"So it seems."
"The relic will consume you."
"Then it should hurry."
He raised his hand.
Cinder Vein answered.
Red light spread through his veins.
The white spell cracked.
Then it shattered.
The explosion threw Malra backward.
Veyr dropped to one knee.
His heart beat once.
Hard.
The third pulse came from the ring.
Then the burning stopped.
A red screen appeared in front of his eyes.
Cinder Vein activated.
Foreign energy detected.
Temporary resistance acquired: Light Suppression.
Warning: Host stability reduced.
Veyr looked at the message.
He had not taken Malra’s power.
But he had survived it.
That was enough.
Kaelen reached the gate with the girl in his arms.
Seris pushed herself off the stone wall.
"You’re bleeding again."
Veyr looked at his hand.
The blood was dark.
"I’ve had worse mornings."
Kaelen looked at the girl.
"She’s alive."
Odrik stared at his sister.
His face broke.
For one second, the captain looked less like a traitor and more like a frightened man.
Then he looked at Veyr.
"You saved her."
"No."
Veyr raised his sword toward the church army.
"She saved your life."
Odrik understood.
Veyr had not forgiven him.
The church soldiers were regrouping.
Sister Malra rose from the ground.
Her staff was broken, but the white cloth around it had caught fire.
She looked at Veyr.
"You cannot protect them all."
"No."
Veyr turned toward the eastern gate.
"But I only need to protect the ones inside."
He looked at Odrik.
"Close the gate."
Odrik stared at him.
"You’re ordering me?"
"I’m giving you a chance."
Odrik looked at his sister.
Then at the church soldiers.
Finally, he grabbed the locking chain.
He pulled.
The gate began to close.
Malra shouted an order.
The church army charged.
Kaelen carried the girl through the opening.
Seris followed.
Veyr remained outside.
The church soldiers reached him before the gate had closed.
He raised his sword.
The first soldier attacked.
Veyr blocked the blade and cut his throat.
The second swung a mace.
Veyr stepped aside and stabbed him beneath the arm.
The third grabbed his coat from behind.
Veyr drove his elbow into the man’s face.
The gate continued closing.
Five feet.
Three feet.
Two.
Veyr could see Odrik pulling the chain from inside.
He could also see Malra raising her broken staff.
White light gathered around her hand.
Veyr’s body was already damaged.
Cinder Vein had been used for the third time.
His veins were burning.
His heart was beating too quickly.
The next spell would kill him.
He had one option.
He looked at the church soldiers surrounding him.
The red screen appeared again.
Predator’s Claim is available.
Stronger enemy detected.
Choose a target.
Veyr’s eyes moved across the battlefield.
The ordinary soldiers were too weak.
The red-armored knight was already dead.
Sister Malra was wounded, but she was still standing.
Her rank was higher than his.
Her power was dangerous.
Her spell was already forming.
Veyr smiled.
"Finally."
He pointed his sword at her.
"Predator’s Claim."
The system responded.
Target selected: Sister Malra.
Enemy rank: Silver.
Claim will activate after a decisive victory.
Malra raised her hand.
The gate was almost closed.
Veyr stepped toward her.
The white spell flew across the battlefield.
He did not dodge.
He charged straight into it.
And this time, the fire inside his veins did not belong to the heart.
It belonged to him.