BLOOD & SIGILS

Chapter 68: The Alpha's Trap

The island trembled beneath the sheer weight of mana. The Alpha Mana Beast had fully revealed itself, and now, the hunt was no longer just a test.

It was a massacre.

Across the jungle, students were running for their lives.

Some fought.

Some died.

And others?

They were already marked for death.

Damien Nocturne – The Coward's Gamble

Damien's breath came in ragged gasps.

His uniform, once pristine, was soaked in the blood of others.

Not his own.

Never his own.

He had lost count of how many students he had sacrificed to the Alpha just to buy himself a few more steps.

"It doesn't matter."

"They're nothing but commoners."

"Expendable."

"I am Damien Nocturne."

He tore through the jungle, his legs burning from exhaustion. His mind raced, desperate for a way out.

And then—

He saw it.

The teleportation beacon.

A shimmering blue sigil, carved into the stone at the island's highest peak.

The only way to escape.

"Almost there."

But just as he took his next step—

A shadow fell over him.

The air turned cold.

His heartbeat froze.

He turned—

And golden eyes met his.

The Alpha Mana Beast stood just meters away.

It had let him run.

Let him believe he had a chance.

And now?

Now, it would watch him break.

Damien stumbled back, his hands shaking.

"No—no, I—"

The Alpha did not move.

But its aura crushed him.

His mind fractured beneath the weight of pure, unfiltered terror.

He fell to his knees.

For the first time in his life—

Damien Nocturne was completely, utterly helpless.

Damien's Reflection – A Life of Shadows

"Why is he so weak?"

"He's nothing like his elder brothers."

"Lord Nocturne barely even acknowledges him."

"Such a disgrace to the Nocturne bloodline."

Damien had heard those whispers his entire life.

Growing up in House Nocturne had never been easy. His family was one of the Seven Great Houses, known for their Veilcraft Magic—a legacy of deception, illusions, and mind-breaking sorcery.

And yet—he had never been like them.

His father, Lord Sebastian Nocturne, had barely spoken to him.

His elder brothers? They had never acknowledged him.

Even among his own blood, he had always been an afterthought.

"Maybe if Mother had lived..."

The thought crept into his mind before he could stop it.

She had died when he was five.

She had been the only one who ever looked at him with warmth.

After her death, his father had never smiled at him again.

He had always lived in shadows.

And when he entered Eldoria Academy, he thought—finally.

Finally, he could prove himself.

Finally, he could be more than just an unwanted heir.

But then—

Mira Valcroft.

That filthy commoner.

That nobody.

She had humiliated him again and again.

And no matter how many times he challenged her, he never won.

And now?

He had lost everything.

Not to Mira.

Not to some noble rival.

But to a beast.

A monster that didn't even know his name.

A monster that didn't care who he was.

And he realized something.

It had never mattered.

No one had ever cared about him.

Not his father.

Not his brothers.

Not his house.

And now?

Now, not even the world itself.

The Alpha tilted its head, watching.

Its eyes burned with something almost amused.

As if it was curious—

How long would this weak thing last?

The Final Moments of Damien Nocturne

Damien trembled.

His Veilcraft magic flared around him, his illusions forming half-baked phantoms of himself running in different directions.

It was an act of pure desperation.

The Alpha didn't even bother reacting.

Because illusions?

Didn't matter to a creature with primal instincts.

It saw him.

It always saw him.

Damien took one final step backward.

And then—

The Alpha moved.

A blur.

Faster than sight.

Faster than thought.

Damien didn't even scream.

Because by the time his mind realized what had happened—

His torso was gone.

His lower body crumpled to the ground—his final moments filled with nothing but silence.

The Alpha licked the blood from its jaws.

And then, it moved on.

Because Damien Nocturne—

Had never mattered.

Kael's Arrival – A Predator Answers the Call

Kael moved like a shadow, his crimson eyes locked onto the distant beacon of unstable mana.

The Alpha was there.

And something else?

Something wrong.

He had hunted Greater Beasts.

Faced powerful opponents.

But this?

This was a different kind of danger.

His grip tightened around his blade.

"This isn't just about surviving anymore."

"It's about winning."

As he moved through the jungle, he wasn't alone.

From the opposite side of the island—

Lucian Eldoria and Darius Zephyrion emerged.

Their eyes met his.

No words needed to be spoken.

They all felt it.

The battle wasn't just beginning.

It was about to end.

One way or another.

Mira's Resolve – A Future She Refuses to Lose

Mira's lungs burned as she ran toward the battlefield.

Her thoughts weren't on fear.

Or survival.

They were on Damien.

On every humiliation.

Every time he had looked down on her.

Every time he had tried to break her.

And now?

She wasn't running away.

She was running toward the fight.

Toward the thing that terrified everyone else.

Toward the moment that would define her.

Cassian's words echoed in her head:

"Why do you need to be strong?"

She clenched her fists.

"To never be powerless again."

Selene & Evelyne – The Final Players Join

Selene and Evelyne had seen the beast from afar.

They knew where this was going.

So, they didn't hesitate.

They moved.

Because now?

Now, the battle truly began.

The Last Stand Begins…

The Alpha stood waiting.

It had drawn them all into its domain.

Not by accident.

But by design.

This wasn't just a battle.

It was a trap.

And the strongest students of Eldoria Academy—

Had just walked right into it.