1774 The Red Split

Xander was nervously pacing back and forth. It hadn't been long since Layla had left, and Vincent was in his shadow space, but then again, it wasn't really his shadow space. Anyone who had access to the crystal he was using would also be able to use the shadow space, as long as they knew how to operate it, and quite a few people in the Red Vampires knew how to handle it.

'Will Layla have trouble? Should I have gone with her?' Xander thought. 'I know she's strong and shouldn't have any problems getting into the facility. Of course, no one would stop her from walking in there, but I feel like once the nest crystal is gone, everyone will notice it, right? How will she escape after that?'

Several thoughts went back and forth through Xander's head since too much time seemed to have passed for such a simple task. So now he was debating whether to leave or not.

Having made his decision, Xander walked towards the exit of the cave, and as he was about to push it open, he could hear the mechanism going off and part of the wall starting to move. Then, when Xander saw the two small horns he had come to adore, he could finally breathe a massive sigh of relief.

"What took so long? Don't tell me there's a bunch of people behind you or something?" Xander asked, peeking his head out to look behind Layla and sighed in relief upon noticing there was no one else.

From underneath the black robe that she was wearing, she pulled out a crystal that looked like it had space directly inside it. This was the space crystal. It was clear that it was a type of nest crystal, and with only one in the whole settlement, Xander realised that what they had been planning for so long had become a reality.

"I needed to talk to them…we have to make them aware of everything going on. We brought them along into this mess. Anyway, bring Vincent out now. Let's see what we can do." Layla said.

Xander did as was told, and in the next instant, a shadow emerged out of Xander's crystal, leaving Vincent as it slowly dispersed. At the same time, the crystal became slightly lighter in colour.

Layla kneeled beside Vincent's body and placed the space crystal on the latter's body around the wound. The crystal stayed in place, but nothing was happening. There was no reaction from the crystal, nor was there a reaction from Vincent.

She closed her eyes and used her ability, enveloping her hand in green flames. This time she placed the crystal and her hand onto the wound, hoping for something to happen. Still, there was no effect. Again, she tried to gather her Qi to drain the energy out of the Nest crystal, but nothing seemed to be working.

"Don't tell me...you jumped the gun and just got the Nest crystal hoping something would happen?!" Xander asked, already slapping his hand on his forehead.

"Look, I thought he had a nest crystal before, and we have one now that it would just do its own thing or something!" Layla replied. "I panicked. I know we need to save him and what will save him, but I just don't know how this thing works and thought we could figure it out."

Seeing how Layla was panicking, Xander felt like he should have noticed it before, but Layla wasn't acting entirely like herself. And it was clear it wasn't because of Vincent or LAxmus, but the most likely reason was to the face of the person she was trying to save.

'There were a lot of sleepless nights for her back then….'

"Then, how about we go back to the laboratory? But this time, we will go back together," Xander said. "There should be someone that knows how the crystal works in that lab if they use its energy on the clones, but we have to act now before Laxmus finds out. He hasn't found out already, has he?" He asked as a worrying expression appeared on his face.

Layla shook her head and was already leaving the room, with Xander tailing not far behind her.

"So what exactly did you say to June and Kev?" Xander asked.

"They know what our goal has been since day one. They have managed to enjoy their life here for a long time already. You and I should have also left this world a long time ago. Whatever happens to them or us, they will understand." Layla replied.

Not sure whether he liked the answer or not, Xander said nothing because he knew this day would come. He just never thought it would be so soon. Both Xander and Layla were no longer in disguise as they walked through the settlement.

It was easier for them to travel with their ranks of Guardian and Leader of the Red Vampires, respectively, especially to the lab where they were heading, and up ahead behind the main castle, they could see the lab where Layla had been not too long ago.

"So, what will we do if no one knows how this thing works?" Xander asked.

"Well, then I guess we just need to leave this place. Of course, Laxmus will chase us, and we might not even make it far, but maybe we can meet someone who can help, or maybe the Dhampirs will end up attacking this place before we get caught."

Layla and Xander only needed to show their appearance to get into the lab, and the guards didn't ask any questions as to why Layla had returned after leaving so soon. They noticed everything in the laboratory seemed to be working as they walked through the facility and its metallic hallways.

"I'm a bit worried," Xander whispered. "Even though you stole the crystal only ten minutes ago, everyone inside here is acting so…normal. Don't they have a mechanism that tells them when the nest crystal is in use and when it stops?

"Or wouldn't they notice that a large energy source suddenly disappeared? So why isn't there an alarm? And why did they just let us in as if nothing happened and everything was normal."

Although Xander was thinking with his head, Layla was quickly pacing through to where she had stolen the crystal, hoping to find someone or a few people they could ask questions to. Finally, they had reached the main door, which someone had already opened.

It was a large, heavy metal door that required access to open from the staff. Walking into the place, they could see the several giant containers of blood, and finally, they had reached the main lab where the staff would be looking after and operating the Nest crystal.

"Damn it." Upon entering the lab, Xander couldn't help but curse because the last person they wanted to see in the world right now — Laxmus — was standing there with his hands behind his back.

Based on a staff member's body lying ripped apart on the floor and the blood spilt all over the floor, they knew Laxmus was already aware of the situation.

"This is interesting to see," Laxmus said, looking at the two, being already aware of their presence. "I just received news that someone has stolen the Next Crystal, and now my whole mood is ruined. Also, I have yet to alert the entire base to let the thief think they're safe.

"But you see, these workers here told me that a woman had entered here not too long ago, and it seemed like the crystal went missing around the same time that woman entered. So this makes me wonder why the female in question returned to this place. Was it a coincidence?" Laxmus asked as he walked toward the two of them.

Seeing this, Xander took deep breaths in and out due to fear and panic.

'Calm down, we can get out of this situation. He has no proof right now and is just bluffing. We can get out of this if we say the right thing.'

From the corner of his eye, he glanced toward Layla and could see she had already pulled out her black sword and was holding it in her hands, while her horns now appeared to be made of lava. She was ready for a fight.

'I forgot, with her here, it's impossible to talk it out.' Xander thought.

*****

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