Lucien's breath was still uneven, his muscles aching from the relentless battle against Red Fang's forces. His wrists burned where the ropes bit into his skin, but his sharp eyes remained fixed on the man before him—the leader of Red Fang.
The man stood tall, his presence exuding an air of command and calculated authority. His attire was unlike the others—a black combat suit, reinforced with what seemed like advanced armor plating. A mask covered his face, sleek and featureless except for a crimson engraving running down its center.
Lucien narrowed his eyes, his instincts screaming that this man was different. More dangerous.
The leader raised a gloved hand to his mask and, with an eerie calmness, removed it.
Lucien's breath caught in his throat.
Raven-black hair. Sharp jawline. Grey eyes.
It was like looking into a mirror.
Lucien's world stopped.
"…No way." His voice was barely above a whisper.
The man—no, the legendary warrior who had vanished fifteen years ago—stood before him.
Darius Falkner.
His father.
Lucien's mind reeled. Why? This wasn't possible. Darius Falkner had been one of Vermilion Oath's greatest soldiers, a figure of loyalty and discipline. So why was he standing here, alive, leading Red Fang?
His blood boiled. "You… Why the hell are you here?" His voice came out sharp, demanding, despite the exhaustion weighing down his body.
Darius studied him with an unreadable gaze, then spoke.
"It's time you learned the truth."
---
Darius's voice was calm, but beneath it lay years of bitterness.
"Fifteen years ago, before I disappeared, Vermilion Oath approached me with a mission. Not just any mission… but an order."
Lucien said nothing, his mind already preparing for the worst.
"They wanted my DNA," Darius continued, his grey eyes locked onto Lucien's. "They wanted to perfect their super soldier project."
Lucien's jaw clenched. The Perfect Soldier project. The same twisted experiment that had created him.
"I refused." Darius's tone was sharp. "I was loyal to Vermilion Oath, but I was not about to let them use my own blood for their twisted ambitions. Viktor Echelon—the same man who still leads them today—tried to convince me. When I still rejected him, he turned on me."
Lucien's chest tightened at the mention of Viktor Echelon. The man at the very top of Vermilion Oath. The one pulling the strings.
"I became a target. They hunted me down. But I had a secret—one I never told Vermilion Oath. A secret they never knew."
Darius's gaze hardened. "I had a family."
Lucien's fingers curled into fists. His father's family. His mother.
"There was only one person I trusted," Darius said. "One person I told everything to. My junior. Damian."
Lucien's eyes widened.
Damian knew. Damian had always known.
---
"But then I disappeared," Darius continued, his voice dropping lower. "And my secret was exposed."
Lucien didn't need to hear the rest. He already knew how this story ended.
"Viktor ordered a massacre."
A heavy silence filled the air.
"They wiped out the entire town. Every. Single. Person." Darius's fists tightened. "Viktor's orders were simple—erase every trace of my bloodline."
Lucien felt his heartbeat thunder in his ears.
"Damian… begged Viktor to let him lead the mission."
Lucien's breath hitched. Why?
"So he could find you."
Lucien's eyes widened.
"He was too late to save Sarah," Darius continued, his voice shaking slightly at his wife's name. "But he found you. A small boy, barely five years old, hiding in the ruins of his home."
Lucien's vision blurred for a second. The memories… flashes of fire, screaming, blood.
That was the day he lost everything.
"That's why he took you in," Darius said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Because he couldn't save her."
Silence stretched between them, suffocating.
"And where were you?" Lucien's voice was low, dangerous.
Darius's expression darkened.
"I was too late." His voice cracked, just for a moment. "By the time I arrived… she was already gone."
A flicker of emotion passed through his normally cold grey eyes. Pain.
Lucien remained silent. His entire world had just been shattered.
---
Lucien exhaled slowly, trying to suppress the storm raging inside him. His thoughts were a mess. His father had been alive all this time. And he had been fighting for one thing.
Revenge.
"I rebuilt Red Fang," Darius said. "I used everything I knew about Vermilion Oath against them. I forged an alliance with Daggerbone, strengthened our forces, and now…"
His gaze locked onto Lucien's.
"…we are the deadliest force in the underworld."
Lucien stared back, his mind still racing.
So this was it.
Red Fang's goal was simple. Destroy Vermilion Oath.
---
Lucien felt something inside him snap.
Everything—everything—in his life had been manipulated.
His childhood.
His training.
His existence.
And now, the father who had abandoned him stood before him, speaking of war.
Lucien's fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palm.
His voice was cold. "If you knew about me… why didn't you come back?"
Darius's lips pressed into a thin line. He didn't answer.
Lucien's body tensed. A storm of emotions threatened to consume him, but he forced himself to remain still.
Then, Darius moved closer. His voice was quieter now, but filled with something dangerous.
"You have two choices, Lucien."
Lucien exhaled sharply.
"Join me… or die with them."
---
End of Chapter 58.