The smell of antiseptic and expensive fabric pulled Jin from the darkness.
He opened his eyes. He wasn't in a cell, nor a hospital. He was in a room of stark, minimalist luxury—Italian modernism, all glass, steel, and white leather. He sat up, flexing his hand. The bones he had shattered against the vampire captain's face were knit back together. His skin was smooth. The exhaustion was gone, replaced by the familiar, low hum of his energy returning.
He looked across the room.
Sitting in a high-backed chair, watching him with unblinking crimson eyes, was a girl who looked more like an antique porcelain doll than a living creature. She was petite, barely 150 centimeters tall, with a fragile frame that couldn't have weighed more than 42 kilograms. Her pale blonde hair cascaded in ringlets over a dress that looked centuries out of date.
"My name is Elmenhilde Karnstein," she said, her voice a soft, cultured soprano. "And I am the one who saved you."
Jin swung his legs off the bed, his feet hitting the cold floor. "As far as I remember, I didn't need saving. I killed everyone ."
"You were unconscious among the dead," Elmenhilde countered smoothly, crossing her slender legs. "I 'saved' you from the reinforcements that were two minutes away. If I hadn't moved you, you would be ash right now."
Jin " No. I'd be a corpse."
She smiled, and the doll-like illusion shattered. Her lips parted to reveal needle-sharp fangs.
"And," she added, her eyes gleaming, "I saved you from me. Remember, while you slept, I could have turned you. You would have woken up as my vampire spawn, bound to my will forever."
She didn't mention that she had tried. While he lay comatose, she had sunk her fangs into his neck, injecting her most potent concentrated venom, intending to enslave this weapon for herself. But the venom had sizzled and died in his veins, neutralized by his terrifying biology, and the bite marks had healed also . She swallowed the memory of that failure, hiding her fear behind a mask of arrogance.
Jin looked at her, his expression flat. The steel in his eyes sharpened. "Are you threatening me?"
"No," Elmenhilde said, smoothing her skirt. "But I am making your situation clear. You are in the middle of a war zone. And yet... even after so much fighting, I can smell it on you. You want more."
She leaned forward, her nostrils flaring slightly. "I have always considered humans beneath us. Cattle. But you... you are cut from a different cloth. Such a hunger for violence. It radiates off you like heat."
Jin gruffed, dismissing her psychoanalysis. He stood up and walked to the chair where clothes—washed and folded—were waiting. He began to dress, ignoring her gaze.
"So," Elmenhilde probed, "why did you really kill Silas?"
Jin pulled on pants. Silence.
"You really did it," she pressed. "That's why the Daywalkers went after you. You killed a high-ranking manager in his own home. Why?"
Jin pulled his shirt down. He turned to face her fully. "Stop making small talk. We both know you aren't interested in the story. Tell me what you want."
Elmenhilde's smile vanished.
"A transaction," she said. "Join the Carmilla Faction. Destroy the Tepes family with us."
"No," Jin said immediately. "I won't join you."
Elmenhilde faltered. She had calculated everything—his isolation, his enemies, his nature. She assumed he would jump at the chance for allies. Her mind raced. Should I lock him down? Wear him down? She loathed the brutish methods of her peers, but looking at this specimen standing there, she considered letting her have him.
"And why would I help you destroy Tepes?" Jin asked, pausing at the door.
"You came to Rome and started killing their people," Elmenhilde argued, her composure slipping. "You clearly must have a motive, and the Tepes faction stands in front of your goal . seeing you clash ."
"What if I was just strolling around?" Jin asked, a mocking glint in his eye. "What if I just picked a fight with the wrong guy, things got out of hand, and now I plan to just... walk out of Rome?"
"Then you are an idiot," Elmenhilde snapped. She gestured to the door. "And the door is open. You can walk right away."
Jin put his hand on the handle. "So you're not going to stop me?"
"We are on the losing side," Elmenhilde said, her voice icy. "That doesn't mean we are desperate. I am a Karnstein. I will not grovel in front of a human."
It was a good bluff. But Jin also need her .
He smiled. "You are good. But tell me... if you aren't desperate, then why are you losing?"
The silence stretched thin. Elmenhilde looked at him, realizing her pride wouldn't work here. He saw right through her.
"The siblings," she admitted, her shoulders slumping slightly. "Marius and Valerie. They are the root problem. We can defeat their armies. But we cannot defeat that duo. Marius is a genius researcher with ambition beyond his reach, and he uses his sister like a tool. She possesses the Sephiroth Graal. As long as he controls her, and the research he's conducting... we cannot win."
Jin nodded slowly. "I see. So, if I help you... what do I get?"
Elmenhilde sat up straighter. "What do you want? Money? Territory? A title?"
"Three things," Jin said, holding up three fingers. "I will ask for three things. And it won't be money or land."
Elmenhilde weighed the risk. An open-ended favor was dangerous. But without him, they lost the war. "Okay."
"So," Jin said. "Are you going to go talk to the Carmilla Head and King Tepes now to get permission?"
"No," Elmenhilde said, standing up. Despite her height, she radiated authority. "If I don't look like it, I apologize, but I have full authority in matter regarding this . I have already relayed your achievements to them. They have agreed."
She summon a map on the table. "You destroyed the Tepes elites. Marius is exposed.This is the best time as it could be . Our army is gathering to siege Castle Sant'Angelo tonight."
She pointed to the main gate. "We want you to join the main assault. Break the front gate. "
"No," Jin said, looking at the map. "I refuse to be a soldier in your war. I'm not fighting your grunts."
He traced a line up the side of the castle, toward the highest spire. "We agreed on Marius's head. I will take that."
Elmenhilde frowned.
"It's a surgical strike," Jin corrected. "While your army draws their fire at the main gate , I will infiltrate the tower where Marius resides. I will cut the head off the snake while the body is distracted."
Elmenhilde looked at him, seeing the logic. It was high risk for Jin , but if it worked, the war ended tonight and if not they retreat .
"Agreed," she said.
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Tell me how's the quality of the chapter . i hope quality has picken up from chapter 75 .