HELL UNIVERSITY

The Hunter's Secret

The rain outside intensified, hammering against the stone foundation of the university like a barrage of iron needles.

Deep within the Hawthorne lab, the air remained heavy with the lingering scent of ozone and iron. Rowan stood over the unconscious lead hunter, holding the glowing brass cylinder stamped with the double-crossed swords of the Global Hunter Council.

Gideon kicked a fallen silver sword out of the way, stepping up beside Rowan. "If the Global Council is involved, Hale isn't just trying to purge the local campus. A Council seal means an official execution order."

"Which means Hale has already reported to his superiors that a high-threat entity is active on school grounds," Selene said, her hands trembling slightly as she tucked her silver dagger back into her coat. She looked at Rowan, her dark eyes filled with deep apprehension. "Rowan, if the Executioners arrive, they won't care about rules or student identities. They will burn the entire university to the ground to wipe out the supernaturals."

"They won't get the chance," Rowan said, his voice flat and unyielding.

He closed his fingers around the brass cylinder, channeling a micro-pulse of blood mana into its intricate surface.

[Skill Activated: Monarch Eye (Level 1)]

[Decrypting Hunter Encryption...]

[Access Granted: Reading Internal Mana Transmission]

A faint, blue holographic projection erupted from the top of the cylinder, shimmering in the dim light of the catacombs. Lines of glowing text and a detailed blueprint of Hell University hovered in mid-air.

Briar leaned in, her wolf senses alert. "Is that... a subterranean map?"

"It’s the campus ley-line grid," Rowan analyzed, sweeping his hand through the projection to expand the lower levels. "Hale has been placing dark-mana siphons at five key structural nodes beneath the school. Each time a supernatural student uses high-level magic on campus, a fraction of that energy is redirected straight into the catacomb core."

"He's using our own magic to weaken the First Hybrid's seal," Gideon growled, his jaw tightening. "Every spar in the arena, every spell cast in class... it’s all feeding the prison."

"And look at the fifth node," Selene pointed out, her pale finger tracing a glowing red dot near the eastern boundary of the map. "That's not in the catacombs. That's inside the East Library."

Rowan’s eyes narrowed instantly. "Where Declan went to drop off Hale's notes."

Without another word, Rowan turned and began marching out of the lab. "Briar, Gideon, search these hunters for any additional comms devices, then bind them using the blood wards in the vault. They don't wake up until I say so."

"Where are you going?" Briar asked, stepping forward.

"The East Library," Rowan replied without breaking his stride. "Hale isn't just using Declan as a target. He's using him as an anchor."

The East Library was the oldest structure on campus, a towering cathedral of dark mahogany, towering bookshelves, and ancient stained-glass windows that stretched four stories high. At this hour, the massive reading hall was completely empty, bathed in the eerie blue glow of moonlight filtering through the storm clouds outside.

Rowan glided through the shadows of the ground floor, his footsteps making zero sound against the polished marble floor.

[Monarch Domain Activated: 10-Meter Radius]

[Scanning Environment...]

[Target Detected: Declan Mercer (Vital Signs Stable, High Pulse)]

[Secondary Energy Detected: Silver Mana Suppression Array]

Rowan rounded a massive archway into the Restricted Archives section.

In the center of the room, Declan stood near a heavy reading desk, staring blankly at a massive stone slab embedded in the floor beneath a Persian rug he had pulled back. The slab was covered in glowing silver runes that hummed with a low, vibrating pitch.

In Declan's hand was a small, silver-rimmed compass Hale had given him earlier that week—a device meant for "cataloging historic stonework."

"Declan," Rowan called out softly from the shadows.

Declan flinched violently, dropping the compass onto the carpet. He turned around, his face pale and drenched in sweat under the dim library lamps. "Rowan! God, you scared me."

"What are you doing here, Declan?" Rowan asked, walking slowly toward him, keeping his hands visible to avoid startling the human.

"I... I came to drop off the logs like I said," Declan stuttered, pointing nervously toward the stone slab on the floor. "But when I walked past this section, this compass Hale gave me started buzzing. I pulled back the rug and found this. Rowan... these runes... they look like the same symbols that were on those crossbow bolts last night."

Rowan stopped a few feet away, looking down at the silver array.

[Analysis: Node 5 Active.]

[Function: Human Vital-Blood Trap.]

[Warning: Stepping on the Array will Trigger Automatic Hunter Signal.]

"Hale gave you that compass because your blood carries a specific frequency, Declan," Rowan explained calmly, locking eyes with his friend. "He needed a human with ancestral blood to unknowingly activate the fifth node."

Declan blinked, utterly bewildered. "Ancestral blood? What are you talking about? I'm just a normal guy from the suburbs! My dad’s an accountant!"

"Your family lineage traces back to the Mercer Hunters," Rowan revealed softly. "You carry dormant hunter blood, Declan. Hale knew it the moment you enrolled here. He’s been using your passive aura to align the siphons without alerting the campus wardens."

Declan took a staggering step back, shaking his head in total denial. "No... no, that's crazy. I'm not a hunter! I don't kill people! I don't even like hunting animals!"

"It's in your veins, Declan," Rowan said, stepping closer. "Just like vampire blood is in mine. But carrying a lineage doesn't mean you have to be Hale's pawn. You choose who you are."

Declan looked down at his hands, trembling as the weight of the realization crushed him. "He... he manipulated me from the start. Every assignment, every errand... it was all to build this thing under the school."

"Yes," Rowan said. "And right now, Hale thinks you're standing on that node, waiting to complete the circuit."

Suddenly, a cold, mocking applause echoed from the high balcony overlooking the archive room.

"Brilliant, Mr. Hawthorne. Truly brilliant," Professor Victor Hale’s voice echoed through the vast library hall.

Rowan looked up slowly.

Hale stood on the second-story wrought-iron balcony, flanked by two tall men clad in full silver plate armor—the executioners of the Global Hunter Council. Hale was no longer wearing his academic suit; instead, he wore a high-collared hunter trench coat lined with silver mesh, holding a dark wooden staff topped with a glowing crimson crystal.

"Professor Hale..." Declan breathed, staring up in betrayal.

"You performed admirably, Declan," Hale said, his voice dripping with condescending pride. "A true credit to the Mercer name. Your ancestors would be proud of how effectively your blood opened the fifth seal."

"You lied to me!" Declan shouted, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling. "You used me!"

"I used a tool for its intended purpose," Hale replied coldly, dismissing Declan entirely as his sharp gaze locked onto Rowan. "And as for you, Rowan Hawthorne... or should I say, the dormant Blood Monarch?"

Rowan didn't flinch. "You brought two Council Executioners to a library, Hale. You must be terrified."

Hale let out a dry, chilling laugh. "Terrified? No, Mr. Hawthorne. I am delighted. I spent three years searching for the key to unlock Adrian Crowe's prison, assuming I would need to harvest a dozen noble bloodlines. But having a true Monarch fall right into my lap? It’s a gift from God."

Hale raised his dark wooden staff, slamming its base against the iron balcony railing.

CLANG!

The silver array on the floor beneath Declan suddenly erupted into brilliant, blinding crimson light.

[Warning! Node 5 Overcharged!]

[Ancient Miasma Leaking from Catacombs!]

[Catacomb Seal Integrity Dropped to 85%!]

The floor beneath them began to tremble violently as an ancient, terrifying roar echoed from deep within the earth beneath the library—a sound so dark and primordial that the stained-glass windows cracked instantly under the acoustic pressure.

Declan fell to his knees, clutching his head as the raw, unrefined magical pressure washed over him.

"Declan! Get behind me!" Rowan commanded.

Rowan stepped directly onto the glowing silver array, taking the brunt of the dark energy himself. His eyes flared into brilliant, crimson fire as he activated his system at full power.

[Skill Activated: Monarch Domain (Level 1)]

[Absorbing Faultline Mana Surge...]

[Monarch Purity Increasing: 16%... 18%... 20%!]

[Rank 1 Monarch Ability Unlocked: Sovereign Command]

The crimson light erupting from the floor was forcibly pulled toward Rowan, coiling around his arms like spiraling fiery serpents before being absorbed directly into his skin.

Hale’s eyes widened in sudden, absolute shock as he watched Rowan forcibly absorb the siphon’s energy. "What... what are you doing?! That is raw corrupted mana! It will shatter your blood vessels!"

Rowan slowly lifted his head, looking up at Hale on the balcony. His voice echoed with a terrifying, double-layered acoustic boom that shook the very dust from the library chandelier:

"You built your traps out of blood, Hale," Rowan spoke, his voice vibrating with the absolute authority of a Blood Sovereign. "And in this world... blood obeys me."

Rowan raised his right hand, making a sharp crushing motion toward the balcony.

[Skill Activated: Sovereign Command]

BOOM!

The iron balcony beneath Professor Hale and the two Executioners collapsed instantly, crushed inward by an invisible, gravitational fist.