I was woken by the sound of knocking on the door. Sitting up in bed, looking at Elara's sleeping figure as she lay undisturbed at my side. "Who is it?" I asked.

"It is Eldon, my prince," came his somewhat hurried voice.

"Sorry to disturb you, but a meeting has been called, and His Majesty has requested your presence. It is necessary," he said, making me suspect something important was happening.

"Got it. I'll be there in a moment," I replied, standing and heading to the washroom. After freshening up, I changed into a simple white shirt and pants. Upon returning to the room, I saw Elara sitting up in bed, her sleepy expression laced with concern and unease.

"What happened?" she asked looking at me with her droopy greenish white doe eyes. I explained that Eldon had informed me about a meeting being called and that father had summoned me.

"Something must have happened," she said, standing. "I'll come after changing."

I nodded, "Don't hurry, everything is fine" I said giving her a light kiss before stepping out of the room.

Walking down the hallway, I soon arrived in front of the grand white double doors of the meeting room, familiar from before. The guards stationed there opened them as my presence was announced.

"His Highness, the Prince, is here," a voice echoed as I entered, the heavy doors closing behind me. Before me lay the same high table, the alders seated along its length, with my father and mother at its head. A chair beside my father stood empty as I approached.

Everyone stood and bowed in greeting as I made my way to the seat. "Be seated," I said, taking my place on my father's right, while my mother sat on his left.

"Your Highness, apologies for summoning you so urgently," said an elder from the opposite side of the table.

"I am Victor Maxim, of House Maxim. We've received alarming news from the outer boundary—there has been an attack," he stated, capturing my full attention.

"An attack?" I asked.

"Yes, a large group of the Damned has breached the outer boundary," he said gravely.

"But haven't such attacks happened before? Why the urgency now?" I questioned.

"They have occurred, and typically they are repelled without much concern. However, this time they succeeded in breaching the boundary, and we lost six Knights of Bastion in a single night," he explained, his tone heavy with significance.

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Losing six knights might not seem extraordinary, but for vampires, who are notoriously difficult to kill, it was no small matter. Knights of Bastion were not Nocturnals, merely well-trained vampires. Even so, killing six of them suggested the attackers could have seriously injured a Nocturnal if any had been present.

"A lower Nocturnal—the knights' captain—was forced to intervene to contain the situation. Even he sustained injuries," Victor added, confirming my suspicions.

Nocturnals were considered higher beings among vampires. Even those without special powers held immense status. For one to be injured was an affront to the honor of any house.

"How did this happen? Surely it wasn't just that the attackers were stronger," I said. Such incidents, though rare, usually resulted in casualties only when a Damned Nocturnal was involved.

"There was indeed a Damned Nocturnal present, and he was injured by the knight captain. However, he was not the primary cause of the knights' deaths or the captain's injuries," Victor explained.

"It was a new type of bullet they've developed. Corrosive in nature, it rapidly eats away at flesh upon contact, directly countering our regenerative abilities," he said, revealing the crux of the meeting as a tense silence settled over the room.

A new type of bullet—one that destroyed flesh and essence. "Nocturnals aren't severely affected, but the bullets also drain essence reserves," Victor continued. "The knight captain, who possessed low-level body augmentation powers, reported that the bullet inflicted damage beyond the physical. He described a feeling of his essence being consumed, forcing him to amputate his infected arm to stop the effect."

"How critical are the effects?" I asked, gauging the level of threat.

"Not fatal to Nocturnals—certainly no danger to us—but devastating to the Knights of Bastion, who guard the outer border. They are powerful and trained, but still only vampires," he said.

The immediate challenge was clear: how to protect the Knights of Bastion from this new weapon. "What about the Knights of Aegis?" I asked.

"Aegis Wardens use enchanted armor and weapons. Those above them rely on artifacts or are awakened," Victor replied.

"But even they aren't entirely safe. The bullets could react with enchanted armor, causing adverse effects as they consume essence," he added grimly. This would present a significant problem if enchanted armor proved ineffective.

"Do we have any of these bullets?" I asked, directing my question to Victor.

"Yes, we retrieved some from the dead Damned," he confirmed.

"They are being brought here now, so we can assess their effects," my father said from his seat. It seemed they had been briefing me while awaiting the bullets' arrival.

Elara entered the room as her presence was announced. She wore a simple white-and-green dress, and a guard placed a chair for her beside me. Once seated, I filled her in on the situation. Her thoughtful but apprehensive expression reflected her unease.

"Will everything be all right?" she asked. This was, after all, the first time a Damned had injured a Nocturnal.

"Everything will be fine. Don't worry," I reassured her, though the ominous words of Zephyr Rylan- The old ageless looking man echoed in my ears. They are getting strong 'They are amassing their strength for something big' He had said and it felt like this was the his words rearing their effect.

'The head has never made a wrong prediction' I remembered Vasen's words, Looks like he was about to be proved right once more.

"The subject is here, along with the Prisoner and the bullets," came a weary voice from outside the door, drawing everyone's attention.

"Let them in," my father commanded, as the meeting hall doors swung open.