Chapter 10 Crimson Funeral

Leon POV

Blood, that's was all I could see.

Bright red blood poured from Seraphine’s throat like a river I could never stop. Her body collapsed in front of me so suddenly that my mind refused to understand what had happened.

One second she was standing there, The next, she was falling.

“Seraphine!” My scream tore through the mansion.

Time slowed violently.

I saw her trembling fingers reach toward me weakly before her body hit the marble floor. Blood spread under her instantly, staining her white coat crimson.

No. No no no no-This wasn’t happening.

Varies stood behind her calmly, the blade in his hand dripping with blood. His dark coat swayed slightly as smoke and dust moved through the ruined hall.

I knew that face, cold eyes, cntrolled smile.

The man Ravenport whispered about in fear.Varies.

Manipulator of politicians. Master of Ravenport’s underground.

The invisible hand behind the Council of Shadows. And one of the monsters responsible for my parents’ deaths.

“You…” My voice cracked. Varies tilted his head slightly, watching me almost curiously.

“So this is the famous Crimson General,” he murmured. “I expected something more terrifying.”

Rage exploded through my body so violently I thought my bones would break apart.

The Crimson power erupted beyond anything before. The floor beneath me cracked open instantly.

Red energy flooded the mansion like wildfire. Every chandelier exploded overhead.

Glass shattered across the hall as every window burst outward at once.

Walls trembled. The entire mansion groaned like it might collapse.

Council soldiers screamed in panic and stumbled backward.

Even the Heir stepped away quickly now, shock flashing across his face.

But the power hurt. It burned too hot.

It was too wild, too unstable. Because all I could see was Seraphine lying in her own blood.

The pain broke my control. My knees slammed against the cracked marble floor.

The Crimson energy flickered violently around me before weakening.

“No…” I whispered weakly. My chest tightened so painfully I could barely breathe.

Seraphine wasn’t moving, she wasn’t breathing. She looked so small lying there.

So fragile, so lifeless. The Heir suddenly laughed. A cold, cruel laugh that sounded through the ruined mansion.

Vincent Korr joined him seconds later.

“You see?” the Heir mocked while slowly clapping. “The great Crimson General brought to his knees by a woman.”

Korr smirked viciously. “Pathetic.” I tried to stand.

My body refused. The Crimson power kept slipping from my control like fire burning through my veins.

Varies watched silently from the shadows. Studying me and learning me.

The Heir suddenly grabbed an AK-47 from one of the fallen guards and walked toward me slowly.

“So your strength lies in the hands of a woman,” he sneered. “You’re weaker than I thought, Leon.”

I glared at him through blurred vision. He crouched directly in front of me.

“And now,” he whispered darkly, “you’ll pay for every humiliation you caused me.”

I tried reaching for my Crimson energy again.

Nothing. Pain ripped through my skull.

The Heir smiled. “Oh?” he mocked softly. “Can’t use your power now?”

Then— BANG! The rifle smashed against the back of my head.

Pain exploded through my skull. Blood instantly poured down my face.

My vision blurred violently. Another strike came immediately. BANG! I collapsed fully onto the floor.

The world spun around me. Warm blood dripped into my eyes.

I could barely hear Seraphine’s name inside my own head anymore.

“You challenged the Council,” Vincent Korr spat while stepping closer. “And now everyone connected to you dies beside you.”

He kicked me hard in the ribs. Something cracked.

Pain shot through my chest. For the first time in years…

I felt fear, real fear. Not fear for myself. Fear of losing her.

Fear of failing again. Fear that everyone I loved would always die because of me.

The Heir grabbed my hair violently and forced my head upward.

“Look at her,” he hissed. I didn’t want to.

But he forced me to. Seraphine’s body remained motionless near the shattered staircase.

Blood everywhere. Too much blood. My breathing broke.

“No…” I whispered weakly. The Heir smiled cruelly.

“Yes.” Varies finally stepped forward. Unlike the others, he wasn’t smiling.

His cold eyes stayed fixed on me carefully. “You truly loved her,” he murmured quietly.

I glared at him with every bit of hatred left in me. “You killed her.”

“No,” Varies replied calmly. “You did.” Those words shattered something inside me.

“You brought her into this war. You made her a target the moment you returned to Ravenport.”

“Shut up…” “But perhaps this was necessary,” Varies continued softly. “Pain creates monsters. And Ravenport needs monsters.”

Rage surged weakly through me again. But my body was failing.

The Heir suddenly stepped back laughing. “He looks broken.”

“Good,” Korr sneered. “Break him completely.”

Vincent Korr grabbed a thick wooden plank from the wreckage nearby and walked toward me slowly.

“This,” he growled, “is for ruining our operations against the Vale family.”

CRACK! The plank slammed against my skull.

I screamed. Fresh blood exploded down my face again.

CRACK! Again. CRACK! Each strike blurred my vision further.

Blood soaked the floor beneath me.

My hearing faded in and out strangely. The mansion sounded far away now. Like I was sinking underwater.

I collapsed completely onto the cold marble floor.

The Crimson energy faded into faint sparks around my fingertips before disappearing entirely.

“That’s enough,” Varies said suddenly.

The Heir frowned. “Why? Let me finish him.”

“No.”

Varies looked down at me thoughtfully. “If Leon Hawke dies now, he becomes a martyr.”

Korr spat on the floor near me. “Then what do we do with him?”

Varies smiled slightly. “We destroy him slowly.” The Heir grinned again.

“I like that idea.”

Everything around me faded in and out. I heard distant voices and footsteps shouting.

But none of it felt real anymore.

Then—A strange sound filled my ears. A loud ringing siren high-pitched and unnatural.

Like death itself screaming beside me, It grew louder.

And louder, and louder. My body felt numb.

I could faintly feel someone grabbing my arms. Dragging me across the floor like trash. Blood trailed behind me.

I tried to move but nothing happened. My fingers wouldn’t respond. My body was shutting down.

Through blurred vision, I barely saw the Heir standing b

eside Seraphine’s body.

A black coffin had been brought into the hall.

No… No no no “She belongs to the ritual now,” the Heir said softly while staring down at her lifeless form.