Since the tense, heavy discussions seed to finally be coming to a close, Gary realized they were standing at a precarious crossroads. He decided to take the initiative and had a simple, yet monuntal, question to ask them.
“Well, if that’s the case, I have absolutely no problem with that,” Gary said, his voice steady as he looked at the three ancient beings. “The truth is, we were already planning to head to Centrefield anyway. We knew there was trouble brewing there, but obviously not to this apocalyptic level. So, are you guys ready to leave right now, or do you need so ti to prepare yourselves?”
The three Vampire Leaders were genuinely taken aback. A flicker of shock crossed their usually impassive faces at how quickly things were moving, and how easily Gary had accepted their direct involvent to co with them on this dangerous mission. They had walked into this territory expecting a grueling territorial dispute, or perhaps even a fight to the death to secure cooperation.
They were absolutely sure that if this was Lupus they were currently talking to, there might not have even been much of a civilized discussion to begin with. Lupus would have likely attacked them for simply stepping foot in his domain.
This interaction was certainly painting a very clear picture in the vampires' minds: these were very different people standing in front of them right now. They were pragmatic, fiercely loyal, but reasonable. Therefore, the old, bloody norms of the historical relationships between Vampires and Werewolves couldn't simply be treated the exact sa way anymore. A new era was forming.
On top of that, however, even Gary knew he had to be incredibly careful. While he was agreeing to the alliance, he was actively hiding the real reason why the Howlers were heading to Centrefield in the first place: to look for one of their own. They were going to rescue Midwak and the missing Strike Force.
If the Vampires did find out that their group was potentially the cause of this outbreak, whether through so type of mind control by Unzoku or not, it would give a clear, undeniable reason for the Vampires to pin the bla entirely on the Howlers. Gary couldn't risk letting them know that his own pack mbers were trapped inside that infected quarantine zone.
“We can leave now,” Haylock answered, recovering from his mild surprise. He adjusted his impeccably tailored suit jacket. “The issue is rather urgent, and as you can imagine, there is nothing physical we need to bring with us. Our strength is our weapon.”
The newly ford, uneasy alliance then ventured back outside the manor. As they walked out onto the driveway, their heavy footsteps crunched against the gravel, heading toward where the mundane minivan was parked.
Park, who had been anxiously waiting inside the driver's seat this whole ti, gripped the steering wheel tight. Through the windshield, he could see Gary and Kai approaching, but his eyes were drawn to the three imposing newcors walking alongside them. Even from inside the sealed vehicle, his heightened senses flared. He could practically sll the ancient, suffocating aura radiating off the three n.
Before opening the doors and entering the minivan, though, Gary stopped and turned around to face the three Vampire Leaders.
“There is one more thing we need to address before we hit the road,” Gary said, his tone turning serious again. “We Werewolves naturally have a very good sense of sll. And I know that a Vampire's sense of sll is incredibly sharp as well. But I think, if we are being completely honest, you would have to agree it’s not quite as good as ours when it cos to tracking.”
The Vampires remained silent, but they knew this was biologically true. Apart from when it ca to the specific scent of human blood, which they could detect from miles away, they were outclassed. There was more to their heightened senses than just sll, but in terms of actively tracking different, complex scents through a ruined environnt and telling the minute differences between them, the Werewolves certainly had them beat in that specific departnt.
“Well, because of that, there is one specific person we absolutely need on this trip to help us track down these creatures and navigate the city,” Gary explained. He narrowed his eyes, issuing a firm reminder. “But rember what I said in there. You are not to attack or fight each other. Otherwise, I will protect my pack regardless of the consequences. And this person is now a permanent part of our family.”
The Vampires didn’t say anything to object. They simply stared back, their expressions unreadable. Gary took this silent acknowledgnt as a signal that it was okay to proceed.
“Luzen!” Gary shouted into the air.
It took a few agonizing seconds of silence, but monts later, a shadow detached itself from the architecture above. Jumping down from the high rooftop of the Howlers' manor, Luzen landed on the gravel with a heavy, crouched thud.
He didn't look relaxed. He had his large, recurve bow gripped tightly in his hand rather than slung casually across his back, clearly ready to draw an arrow and use it at a mont's notice. Another striking addition to Luzen’s appearance was that he was now proudly wearing the official Howlers colors.
He just wore the gang's signature jacket draped over his broad shoulders, leaving the front completely open, still showing off the scarred chest and defined abs on his torso. His wild eyes imdiately locked onto the three vampires.
“It’s him,” Jin said, his eyes widening a fraction. Clearly, the other vampires were slightly taken aback by the sudden appearance of this specific individual.
“Isn’t he a high-ranking part of the Lupus pack?” Rowa asked, his red aura threatening to flare up again as he looked at the archer. “The Ironfang? Surely you should know so of the bloody history between us and him.”
“I heard a bit about it,” Gary said, stepping smoothly between Luzen and the Vampire Leaders to physically block any sudden movents. “I heard that Luzen was a person that gave you vampires a massive amount of trouble in the border scuffles that you had. But I also heard that the vampires have killed plenty of Werewolves in the past as well. The blood runs both ways.”
Gary stood tall. “We are moving forward from here. We leave the past in the past. And besides, Luzen right now is a core mber of our pack. He is part of our family, exactly like I just said.”
“When we defeated the Lupus pack, we absorbed so of their surviving mbers into our own ranks,” Kai added, stepping up beside Gary to present a united front. “Luzen being one of the most prominent ones. Since you already know his strength and his history, you should know exactly how much of a valuable ally he will be to our tracking team in Centrefield.”
Internally, Kai thought what Gary was doing right now was the absolute right call. Luzen was desperately needed on this mission. As one of the strongest Ironfang mbers of the forr Lupus pack, he provided them with a crucial layer of safety against the Vampires if things went south, and they really did need his unparalleled tracking skills to navigate the apocalyptic city.
At the sa ti, Kai felt that they needed to make the Vampires acutely aware of a significant part of their total strength. It was a very careful, high-stakes balancing ga.
If they appeared too weak, the Vampires would simply try to eliminate the Werewolves once this ss was cleaned up, viewing them as easy prey. But if they appeared too impossibly strong, they would be viewed as an existential threat that needed to be eliminated imdiately through a preemptive strike. The balance of power had to be displayed just right, to the exact point where a full-scale war simply wouldn’t seem worth the massive casualties it would cost the vampire families.
“I have a question to ask as well,” Luzen spoke up, his rough voice cutting through the tension. He gripped his bow tighter as he looked directly at the three ancient lords. “If we actually et with this Unzoku... will you actively help us eliminate him? Or will you just stand by in the shadows while watching us fight, and possibly wait for us to get killed so you can pick off the survivors?”
There was a long, heavy pause. The wind howled softly around the tense group until Rowa eventually spoke, his voice dripping with cold pragmatism.
“We will eliminate anyone who we deem as a threat to us and our survival,” Rowa answered cryptically.
And with that chilling declaration, the doors to the minivan slid open, and the new, highly volatile joint task force was officially ford, ready to head straight into the nightmare of Centrefield.
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