The battlefield was scorched, broken asphalt and shattered metal glowing under the moonlight. Smoke curled upward, carrying the acrid stench of burned blood and iron. Valken was cornered, his monstrous form still writhing even as his body split open from the relentless strikes of Ravenfall. His chest heaved like a furnace, glowing faintly with the blackened rhythm of a heart that should not exist.
ARGUS’s voice crackled across every visor, calm but dire.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3m5AbXjtQH
“Warning. Subject Valken will regenerate. Probability: 96%. Directive: cardiac termination required. Immediate action necessary.”
The words hung like a death sentence. Everyone froze for a fraction of a second—then their focus sharpened.
Sayaka’s hand trembled as she reloaded her pistol, blood dripping from her lips, bruises spreading along her ribs. But her eyes burned. She took one step forward, her voice slicing through the silence.
“How many hearts have you eaten to stay alive?” she hissed. “How many lives did you destroy to keep breathing?”
Valken’s grin split his distorted face, teeth glinting like knives. “Enough. And yours would have been… perfect.”
Her finger tightened on the trigger, but instead of firing, she dropped the gun and drew her blade. With a scream that carried rage, grief, and defiance, she drove the blade deep into Valken’s chest.
The monster roared, his body jerking as the steel pierced the grotesque cavity. Black blood spewed, and for a heartbeat—literally—his body resisted. But Sayaka twisted the blade, ripping the organ free with her bare hands.
“No longer,” she spat, holding the grotesque, writhing heart aloft. “You’ll eat no more. You’ll live no more.”
Valken’s form convulsed violently, shrieking in an inhuman pitch. His body collapsed inward, flesh withering into dust, bone cracking like brittle glass. And then—silence.
The night was broken by Ishaan’s voice, rough and shaking with anger. He kicked Valken’s remains once, though there was little left to strike.
“I hate the fact you were once our instructor,” he growled. “For God’s sake, you taught us how to fight. And this is what you became?”
His blade dropped to the ground, clattering loud in the quiet.
No one answered him. Not yet.
Instead, the attention turned to Veer. He lay slumped against rubble, pale, blood soaking his uniform. His chest was torn open where Valken’s claws had nearly claimed his heart. Every breath rattled like a dying engine.
“Medic kit, now!” Damien shouted, ripping open his pouch and pressing gel against the wound. Saira and Dev dropped to their knees beside him, stabilizing his vitals while Avni and Lev relayed emergency protocols through ARGUS.
Luce knelt close, gripping Veer’s hand tightly. “Stay with us, brother. You don’t get to check out now.”
Veer managed a weak smirk through the pain. “Takes… more than that… to kill me.”
But his voice faded quickly.
Within minutes, Ravenfall had him secured in a med-stretcher, vitals stabilizing. He would live—but only barely.
Hours later, the team stood before Elda through the secure holo-comm channel. Their faces were grim, exhausted, but alive. Veer remained under treatment, monitored by ARGUS systems and Ravenfall’s field medics.
Elda’s eyes, stern but carrying an undercurrent of relief, scanned them each in turn. “Report.”
Avni stepped forward first, her tone firm. “Valken is confirmed terminated. Cause of death: cardiac extraction. The mysterious deaths of the three heads of Valgrave, Kaia, Professor Valgrave, and Elior… all tied back to him. He was the one behind it.”
Isolde added quietly, “And it’s done. The monster who betrayed everything he once was is gone.”
But Damien shook his head, gaze hard. “It’s not that simple.”
Saira picked up his thought. “The real issue is Seraph Falk Draganov. He’s still out there, and he’s nurturing the Sleeping Gate. That’s bigger than Valken. Much bigger.”
Silence stretched. Everyone felt the weight of her words. Valken had been a nightmare, a monster that nearly destroyed them. But Seraph was deliberate, cunning, and far more dangerous.
Elda finally nodded. “So the Mysterious Death mission is concluded. Valken is no more. That chapter… is closed.” Her eyes softened slightly. “But the real war continues. Seraph Falk Draganov and the Sleeping Gate remain our highest priority.”
Her gaze fell on Veer’s unconscious form in the background. Tubes fed into his arm, his chest rising and falling in slow, fragile breaths.
“He took the worst of it, didn’t he?” she murmured.
Sayaka answered, her voice breaking. “He almost lost his heart. Literally. If Damien and Luce hadn’t held Valken back…” She couldn’t finish.
Elda’s tone gentled. “You brought him back alive. That’s what matters. He’ll need time, but he’ll recover.”
Luce’s eyes burned with quiet determination. “And when he does, we’ll all return. Together. Stronger.”
Elda gave a single nod, her sternness returning. “Then this is my directive. All of Ravenfall—return to COMA. Effective immediately. No missions. No operations. Take the rest you’ve earned, and recover your strength. You’ll need it.”
Her hologram flickered once, then faded.
The silence in the room was heavy. The weight of survival pressed on all of them.
Raiden broke it with a sigh, dropping heavily onto a chair. “So… rest, huh? Been so long I almost forgot what that feels like.”
Erik leaned against his shoulder, exhaustion plain in his smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll remind you.”
Avni glanced at Lev, their hands brushing. Neither spoke, but the bond was clear.
Saira lingered beside Dev, whispering softly, “He’ll be okay, right?” Dev nodded, though his eyes betrayed his worry.
And in the corner, Ishaan stared at the empty space where Valken had fallen, jaw tight. His words came low, almost to himself. “Instructor or not… you deserved worse.”
Sayaka sat beside her twin, Raiden, leaning lightly against him, her hands still stained with Valken’s blood. “We ended him,” she whispered. “But Seraph… he’s just beginning.”
No one argued.
For now, Ravenfall had won. But even victories carried shadows.
And somewhere, in the dark places Seraph haunted, the Sleeping Gate stirred faintly, its hunger waiting to awaken.
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and then Add to home screen.