NOVEL WEB Chapter 208: Chapter 208 : "Interlude on Deck"
Kenthelion
"Lord Corvinus, would you like my assistance in gathering the remaining Vampires and Lycans?" Kenthelion asked, his voice calm as ever, his gaze unwavering.
Alexander Corvinus
"That won't be necessary, Your Majesty. I already have a plan in place to retrieve them. Once they're all accounted for, I'll be leaving. After millennia of walking this Earth… it's finally time for me to depart."
He exhaled deeply, the weight of unspoken centuries flickering in his eyes.
Cleaners 24
"Sir, their wounds have been treated. We're ready to move."
One of Alexander's operatives stood at his side, dressed in a spotless black uniform—a stark contrast to the blood that had soaked the battlefield not long ago.
Alexander Corvinus
"Take them. We leave now."
Cleaners 24
"Yes, sir."
Alexander Corvinus
"Your Majesty, with that… I take my leave. I hope we'll meet again under better circumstances."
Kenthelion
"Safe travels, Alexander Corvinus."
Kenthelion watched as the ancient man and his loyal followers disappeared into the dim corridor of the silent warship's hangar bay.
That day came to an end without further incident. But Kenthelion knew there was still one final matter to settle—his last visit to William's prison.
---
Evening
Selene returned, accompanied by six Ghost Squad operatives. Their faces were drawn with fatigue, their uniforms torn and dirtied by battle—but not a single one had lost their fighting spirit. The battlefield had tested them: tens of thousands of enemies had swarmed them, and though most had fallen to aerial strikes, the remaining numbers still vastly outmatched their force.
Selene
"Kenthelion, I want to deal with those officials myself."
Her voice was firm as she stepped into the tactical chamber, speaking directly to Kenthelion and Amalia.
Kenthelion
"If that's what you want, then do it. Those officials were never saints."
He knew Selene had personal reasons—old betrayals that still bled under the surface. He didn't hesitate to give his approval.
Selene
"Good. I'll finish this tonight."
Amalia
"You want me to come with you?" Amalia asked, turning to her with quiet support.
Selene
"No. I can handle it on my own."
Her response was short, but resolute.
Kenthelion
"How about this, Selene? Take six more operatives from the Ghost Special Unit with you. And be careful."
His voice remained calm, but the subtle thread of concern within it was unmistakable.
Selene looked at him for a moment, then nodded. She understood his worry—and this time, she wouldn't argue.
---
Aboard the Grand Warship of the Imperium
After his meeting with Kenthelion, Alexander Corvinus returned to find chaos erupting in the Medbay.
Michael—previously held captive by military researchers—was in a state of near-complete psychological collapse. Whatever had been done to him, whether experimentation or torture, had left scars deeper than the physical ones. He thrashed violently, teetering on the edge of madness. But with centuries of unshakable authority and mental command, Alexander was able to calm him and escort him to the Battlecruiser's intensive care unit.
Meanwhile, Marcus Corvinus, now recovered enough to walk unaided, refused to stay with his father. He retrieved his key, turned without a word, and walked away.
Alexander didn't stop him—there were too many unspoken histories between them, too much blood and silence.
---
Later That Night
Two familiar figures—Lucian and Kraven—were escorted by Alexander's men into the ship's main chamber.
Alexander Corvinus
"Have you made your decision?" he asked, his tone flat but expectant.
Kraven
"Haven't you already defeated the government's forces? Why should we still leave?"
There was uncertainty in his voice, the kind that revealed both hesitation and pride.
Alexander Corvinus
"Defeated doesn't mean destroyed. As long as they live, they'll come back. If we stay, it's only a matter of time before we become targets again. And you know their spacecraft technology far surpasses ours. We've been offered a new planet—a second chance. That kind of offer doesn't come twice."
Lucian
"Won't Kenthelion and Selene help us?" Lucian asked, weighing the political game behind his words.
Alexander Corvinus
"No. Kenthelion made a deal with me. The forces he deployed this time were part of that agreement—not to save Marcus. Don't be naïve. I only used Marcus as the pretext to get his forces here without raising suspicion."
Lucian
"Is that true?"
Lucian's expression grew serious, and Kraven fell silent, studying Alexander with renewed attention.
Alexander Corvinus
"If I wanted Marcus dead, I'd have killed him from the start. But he's still my son."
Lucian
"Then you're not afraid he'll be killed?"
Alexander Corvinus
"No. My people are tracking him, and I even have agents inside the government. If he's ever in danger, I'll know.
Now… what's your decision?"
Lucian
"I'll take the Lycans and leave. I still have old scores to settle. But no matter where we are—we'll continue to fight."
His words were firm, shaped by years of surviving persecution. He knew that without Kenthelion's protection, extinction was inevitable.
Kraven
"I'm not leaving. But I won't stop other vampires who choose to go."
His refusal was sharp, driven by ego. He had clawed his way to power and wasn't ready to let it go.
Alexander Corvinus
"That's your choice, Kraven. Just don't come to regret it later."
He understood the contrast between them clearly—Kraven remained blinded by ambition, while Lucian had grown pragmatic, even wise.
Alexander Corvinus
"The transport ship will arrive tomorrow night. Gather your people and be ready. Return here before nightfall."
He dismissed them with no further orders, letting them leave in silence.
---
Elsewhere
Marcus, now nearly fully healed, descended upon a group of humans in a desolate street. Without hesitation, he drained them of blood, rapidly regenerating the last of his wounds. Then, spreading his leathery wings, he launched into the sky—westward, toward the facility where William was imprisoned.
He had only one goal: to free his brother… and reclaim the power that time and betrayal had stolen from them.
------
That night, Selene led her team to execute General Ferenc Veér first. Without delay, she moved on to the villa of Defense Minister János Szabó. After interrogating him about everyone involved in the vampire massacre, she killed him without hesitation.
The Ghost unit deployed a variety of efficient, silent assassination methods, including:
Long-range snipers – targets dropped mid-speech, at windows, or on rooftops.
Poison – subtly injected, smeared on wine glasses, or mixed into meals.
Silenced firearms – quiet kills in hotel corridors, public restrooms, or inside parked cars.
Controlled explosions – booby-trapped vehicles, remote-detonated grenades, bombs hidden in suitcases.
And even "accidents" that appeared perfectly natural – car crashes, balcony falls, or well-planned overdoses.
In one dark, blood-soaked night, the country's leadership was wiped out—from the president and prime minister to generals and intelligence chiefs. Strangely, however, within mere hours, their seats were filled again—as if their deaths had been anticipated all along.
Unbeknownst to most, Kenthelion had secretly cloned the nation's top officials using DNA samples collected during earlier operations. These clones, completely loyal to Kenthelion, now replaced the original figures, ensuring governmental stability—even if full control now rested in the hands of the Emperor.
Two days passed.
Lucian led his people, the Lycans, away from the war-torn zone. Some vampires chose to go with them, leaving behind only a few loyalists under Kraven's command. The Lycans scattered into the outer regions, distancing themselves from human authority and military conflict.
Elsewhere, Marcus had nearly reached his goal. After several days of consuming human blood and restoring his wounds, he was back to full strength—ready for a confrontation with William.
Meanwhile, beyond Earth's atmosphere, Mira Han was preparing for a global invasion. Commanding a fleet of 1,000 battlecruisers, she planned to conquer Earth within two weeks. Ghost Ops agents were deployed worldwide to assassinate heads of state, top generals, and key strategic elites.
Simultaneously, combat assistant robots aboard Mira's ships were hacking into the global nuclear arsenal, ensuring that no country could recklessly launch a nuclear strike when the fleet descended. Nuclear weapons posed little threat to Mira—but Earth was meant to be the future home of her and her beloved husband, Matt Horner. And of course, their home had to be radiation-free.
While Mira's armada waited in orbit, Kenthelion's battlecruiser had already landed in international waters. They hijacked a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. The American troops, faced with a massive alien ship, completely cut off from communication and outmatched in every way, had no choice but to surrender.
On the ship's deck, under the warm sun, Kenthelion, Selene, and Amalia looked at peace. Lately, Selene and Amalia had been sunbathing almost every afternoon.
This was a calm interlude—the quiet before the storm that was about to engulf Earth.
Kenthelion
"Heh… I told you, if you keep sunbathing like this, your skin's going to get toasted eventually," Kenthelion muttered, squinting against the sunlight. He clearly wasn't enjoying the moment as much as his two companions.
Amalia
"We're vampires, remember? We never really get to sunbathe for long under the real sun," Amalia replied casually, her face lit up with a bright, almost childlike smile. "I haven't felt sunlight in thousands of years… I'm making up for it today."
Selene
"And this sun… feels so good," Selene chimed in, lounging on an air mattress in her black reflective sunglasses. Her jet-black hair flowed freely, and her face looked more relaxed than it had in a very long time. "I could sleep here all day."
Kenthelion glanced at the two women, both completely absorbed in the simple pleasure of the moment. Defeated, he finally laid down between them, pulling both into a gentle embrace as he closed his eyes with a soft sigh.
Amalia
"Hey, Selene… Do you think there are women in Kenthelion's original world?" Amalia asked, her voice laced with curiosity, eyes still fixed on the endless blue sky above.
Ever since learning Kenthelion wasn't from this world—that he had access to dimensional portals and could travel across universes—Amalia had begun to realize that her feelings for him had grown deeper than she cared to admit. And with that, came the questions.
Selene
"Oh, there has to be," Selene answered instantly, her tone sharp with dry humor but her lips curved in a knowing smirk. "With the way that pervert acts? Guys like him definitely have collections."
Amalia
"Yeah, good point… this bastard probably has a whole lineup." Amalia turned her head slightly, eyeing Kenthelion, who seemed to be fast asleep between them. His breathing was calm, face serene.
Selene
"Doesn't matter how many he's got," Selene said nonchalantly, spinning her pistol in one hand while her finger occasionally aimed it lazily at Kenthelion's head. "He can hop to another universe whenever he wants. Might add another one to the roster by tomorrow."
Kenthelion remained still. But his breathing changed—just slightly.
He heard everything.
And he knew they knew.
They were talking about him on purpose—testing him, teasing him, maybe both. But Kenthelion, with his masculine pride and desperate attempt to maintain composure, chose to keep pretending to be asleep.
Better this way, he thought. Especially considering the "pillow" he was resting on—Amalia's thighs—was far too comfortable to trade for any argument or explanation.