Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 518

Chapter 518: Hunger

Ironwall

But more kept coming.

"ARTILLERY, FIRE!" Kael bellowed.

The heavy guns roared, shells screaming into the air, detonating among the swarm.

Vampires exploded—blood and gore raining down.

But it wasn’t enough.

They were too many. Too fast.

One vampire dove straight at Kael.

He shifted mid-stride—bones cracking, fur erupting—and met it head-on.

They collided in midair.

Claws against claws. Teeth against teeth.

The vampire was strong—stronger than the ferals, faster, more controlled.

Kael’s jaws snapped at its throat. It twisted away, claws raking across his shoulder.

He snarled, twisted, caught its wing in his teeth, and ripped.

The vampire screamed, spiraling downward.

Kael hit the ground, shifted back to human, grabbed his rifle, and fired.

The vampire’s head exploded.

But three more were already descending.

"FALL BACK TO THE DOMES!" Kael roared. "PROTECT THE CIVILIANS!"

His forces complied—retreating in organized clusters, forming defensive rings around the civilian shelters.

The vampires pursued.

But now they were in range.

Close-quarters. Ground level.

Where Ironwall’s gammas excelled.

Wolves tore into vampires. Claws met claws. Teeth met fangs.

Blood—red and black—sprayed across the grounds.

Kael fought in the center of it all—shifting, firing, commanding.

A vampire lunged at him from above.

He fired. Missed.

It slammed into him, driving him to the ground.

Claws at his throat. Fangs descending—

A gunshot.

The vampire jerked, blood spraying from its skull.

It collapsed.

Voss stood over Kael, rifle smoking. "Get up, Commander!"

Kael scrambled to his feet. "Thanks!"

"Don’t mention it!"

They fought back-to-back—Kael shifting, Voss firing, covering each other as the swarm descended.

And through it all—

Kael felt it.

The presence.

That same overwhelming, crushing weight he’d felt at the border.

He looked up.

And there.

Descending through the crimson sky.

The vampire from before.

The one that had stared at him. The one that had recognized him.

Larger than the others. Darker. Wings stretched wide, blotting out the bloodmoon.

It landed thirty feet away.

Ajax recoiled.

Kael could feel his wolf’s horror in the moment. Because they recognized it.

It was the one that had almost killed him just before they made it home.

Before Kael could shift back to use his weapon, the vampire swung wide with its tail.

The last thing Kael saw was the spiked club before it collided with him.

Pain.

Blinding. Catastrophic.

His vision exploded into white.

He hit the ground—hard—and didn’t move.

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08:12:34

Ironwall 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Kael woke to agony, he had been knocked out absolutely cold.

His head screamed. His ribs felt cracked. Every breath was fire.

"Commander!" Voss’s voice, distant, muffled. "Stay down! Don’t move!"

Kael’s vision swam. He tried to focus.

The sky was still red. Still swarming.

But—

The vampires were retreating.

Pulling back. Rising into the crimson sky. Disappearing.

"What—" Kael’s voice came out as a rasp. "What happened?"

"We drove them back," Voss said, kneeling beside him. Blood streaked his face. His armor was shredded. "The silver-infused rounds—they couldn’t heal fast enough. We killed dozens. The rest retreated."

Kael tried to sit up. Pain lanced through his ribs. He gasped, fell back.

"Easy," Voss said. "You took a direct hit from that thing’s tail. You’re lucky to be alive."

"The vampire—"

"Gone," Voss said grimly. "It left with the others. But Commander—" His expression darkened. "We paid for it."

Kael’s heart sank.

"How bad?"

Voss hesitated. "Forty-three dead. Sixty-two wounded, eighteen critical. And—" He stopped. Swallowed. "Some were taken. Grabbed by the vampires and carried off. We found—" His voice cracked. "We found bodies later. Drained. Torn apart."

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