17 Arc 1; Subject 002

Gen X Labs, Transylvania

"Your majesty, We have lost the blood tracking spell implanted in Experiment Subject 002. He can no longer be tracked.", A man in a white lab coat said to a muscular man while holding a notepad in his hand.

The muscular man appeared to be in his early forties, handsome with a beard and well-defined jawlines. He had red eyes with black long hair extending to his broad shoulders.

He asked, "Dr. Andre, how could it be? It is impossible to remove the spell once it is cast on to the body."

The man named Andre replied, "He transferred the spell to his Nosferatu and diverted us, Sir Michael."

"Oh? Is he already capable enough to make his own Nosferatu now? Even vampires need a subsequent amount of special blood to create a Nosferatu. He is growing at a faster rate than we imagined."

"Yes sir. He is indeed evolving at a faster rate than we calculated. We believe that the vampire gene has already integrated completely into his genome. Though the werewolf gene would take some more time."

"Where is Subject 001 then?"

"He is still in his deep slumber, Sir Michael. At the moment, we have tried all the possible methods at our disposal to wake him up, but to no avail."

Michael pondered over some time and asked the doctor with his hands behind his back,

"What do you think of our subject 002, Dr. Andre?"

"Subject 002 is the most advanced organism we have seen up to date. We believe that he is capable of integrating any DNA into his genome and retain their characteristics to use. The blood from Subject 001 is the perfect example. He took only a few months to adjust to it."

"Then you should have known that he was the best bet we vampires have, on negating our weaknesses and rising back to our prominence. How could you allow him to escape?", Michael asked calmly, but one could notice the deep wrath in his tone.

" Tha...That Sir Michael. He is extremely intelligent or he possesses some unknown powers. We don't know how he escaped since he was created and grew up in the lab all along. The most plausible explanation is some kind of blood memory from subject 001." Andre replied trembling from the aura surrounding him.

"All the more reason to find him. This is your last chance, Dr. Andre. You should remember how much the royal family invested in this project and how much importance it has." Michael withdrew his aura and calmed down. He then asked him,

" What about the Nosferatu then? Have you managed to capture him? We could trace him back by the blood bond they share."

"No..no Sir. Someone killed the Nosferatu before we reached it. The only thing we manage to retrieve was ashes." Andre's complexion turned awful.

Michael shouted in rage, "You useless piece of shit!!!! You lost our only hope to evolve and now you even got killed the only thing we had to trace him back. Now get out of my face before I blast you out!!!"

The doctor quickly scurried out of the room with a pale face, leaving the furious Michael alone in the room.

Michael took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Brother, we have lost Subject 002. He is highly dangerous and adaptive. Even though he is young, we need to mobilize our entire forces and even some of the royal guards!"

"Okay, I can spare Abel and Marwin. Anymore is impossible."

"Those two are the best out of the royal guards. They are enough. The subject is still in Transylvania according to our latest reports."

"Okay."

After the call ended, Michael let out a deep sigh. He was relieved that his brother was still in a good mood.

Otherwise, bloodshed would have spread throughout the world in his rage. After all his brother was one of the 9th circle blood mages still alive.

People still believed that the vampires withdrew due to the fear of human mages. But what they couldn't have possibly imagined was that the vampires were still strong as ever and bidding time to perfect themselves. They minimized their exposure to the public to avoid any unwanted attention to their actions.

***************

Somewhere in Transylvania

A forty-year old man moved quickly through the bustling crowd, navigating skillfully, with a piece of bread he stole from the market earlier. After leaving the crowd, he walked straight down the road leading to the outskirts of the city.

Soon after he reached an idle road, he came to a stop. He scanned his surroundings for any activity. After making sure they are no people nearby, he swiftly dashed into the nearby alley.

"Transformation is a great power but it requires a lot of energy. I need constant vitality to sustain it. Is it because I am a kid that I have little vitality to store? "

The man murmured as he transformed into a 12y old kid. The kid looked pale and skinny. He had an emotionless expression but with a hint of fatigue all over his face.

" I can't always depend on human flesh. It is too risky." He slowly ate the bread with satisfaction.

"It was worth escaping the lab. The outside world is too pretty. I won't go back there anymore. I want to live."