Reuel studied Selene, who now wore a mix of curiosity and confusion. Her icy expression had softened slightly, though her eyes remained sharp, wary. His voice was calm, yet carried a logical weight that was hard to deny.
"Bullshit. You're lying to me. Who the hell are you, really?" Selene demanded, her tone sharp.
Reuel didn't answer right away. He simply held her gaze and replied gently, but firmly,
"Then let me ask you this—are you still willing to hear me out?"
Selene hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah... explain it to me."
Reuel exhaled slowly, then began to speak. His voice remained composed, each word deliberate, like a teacher unveiling a hidden chapter of history.
"In the 5th century AD, a man named Alexander Corvinus became the only human to survive a great plague that wiped out nearly everyone. But he didn't survive by chance—his body carried a rare genetic mutation. The virus didn't kill him... it fully assimilated and transformed him into the first immortal being," Reuel explained, voice steady and clear.
Selene said nothing, but her posture tensed. Reuel went on,
"Corvinus's blood held extraordinary power. It neutralized the virus's destructive effects, slowed aging, and gave him physical strength far beyond human limits. He had three sons. One of them was bitten by a bat—Marcus, the first vampire. The other, William, was bitten by a wolf and became the progenitor of the Lycans."
Selene's eyes narrowed, her jaw clenched. She slowly shook her head, refusing what she was hearing.
"No… That's impossible. You're lying. The father of our kind is Viktor. He led us—he was our ruler, not Marcus!" she shouted, her voice rising with emotion and denial.
Her fists clenched. She glared at Reuel like she was demanding he explain the gaping crack that had just appeared in her lifelong belief.
"Viktor lied to you, Selene. That's exactly what he wanted you to believe," Reuel said patiently. "Viktor used Marcus. He rewrote history. They made a deal—Marcus wanted to save his brother William, who had lost control and was spreading the infection savagely. Anyone William bit became a permanently feral beast: the Werewolf Lycans."
Reuel leaned forward slightly, his voice heavier but still measured.
"Marcus didn't have the military power to subdue his own brother. But Viktor and Amelia had armies. So Marcus submitted to Viktor in exchange for help—under one condition: William was not to be killed."
Every word he spoke felt like a slow blade peeling back centuries of buried truth. Selene remained silent.
"How do you know all this? Who are you, really?" Selene asked. Her tone had softened, though her gaze was still guarded.
"Me?" Reuel gave her a faint smile. "Just an ordinary man. Or… maybe a man who might one day be your husband."
Selene tilted her head, looking at him like he was the most absurd puzzle she'd ever encountered.
"Ordinary? Don't fuck with me. I can feel your power. Even ten of me attacking at once wouldn't land a scratch. And you still dare call me your wife? Do you have a death wish?"
Reuel shrugged casually, his expression shamelessly teasing.
"Then maybe you need to redefine what 'ordinary' means. Extraordinary people often look very... average."
He threw her a sly smile, as if daring her—calmly, playfully—to lose her cool again.
Selene sighed slowly, her eyes still locked on his. Her shoulders eased slightly, though her weapon remained in hand.
Reuel knew she didn't trust him yet. But he also knew one thing: she hadn't pulled the trigger. And for a warrior like her—one known for killing without hesitation—that was already a major victory.
One wrong move... and I'll be torn apart. This woman isn't just beautiful—she's lethal. In the Underworld, she hunts her enemies down one by one, without mercy.
With a calm expression, though eyes still alert, Reuel spoke again.
This time, his voice was more serious as he met Selene's gaze.
"I mean you no harm—not to you, not to the vampires, not to the Lycans. But don't misunderstand me. That doesn't mean I'll show mercy. As long as none of you get in my way, I won't interfere. Live or die... that's your kind's business."
Selene stared at him intently. A flash of memory—of the battle in the underground station—crossed her mind again. This man wasn't the type to strike first, but if attacked… he retaliated with deadly precision—efficient and brutal.
Reuel stepped forward slowly, then gently touched Selene's waist, pulling her into what almost seemed like a friendly embrace… or at least, it appeared that way.
"So, you don't need to know who I really am. After all, I'm neither a vampire… nor a Lycan," Reuel said, his voice calm, almost teasing.
But Selene immediately slapped his hand away and struck his shoulder sharply.
"Don't touch me. Then tell me—why did you come here?" she snapped coldly.
Reuel didn't respond to her anger. He simply raised both hands in a peaceful gesture, then sat back down calmly.
"I already told you," he said, locking eyes with her. "Alexander Corvinus had three sons. Aside from Marcus and William, there was one more… who didn't change. He remained human. The bearer of the pure bloodline."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Michael Corvin… he's a direct descendant of Alexander. I came for that blood—the perfect blood. I want to study it. Analyze it. Research it and maybe… replicate its power."
Selene's expression shifted instantly—caught between shock and anger.
"Michael? He… he's a descendant of Alexander Corvinus?" she repeated, almost in a whisper.
Her mind raced. This stranger had dumped too much information on her in too little time. And some of it contradicted everything she'd ever believed.
"So… all the chaos the Lycans have caused—it's just to capture him? For that blood?" Selene murmured, still trying to process it.
She let out a long breath. Now it was starting to make sense. She had never understood why the Lycans were so obsessed with Michael—a seemingly ordinary human, with no apparent value in the war between races.
But now, the pieces were beginning to fall into place.
"Yes," Reuel answered. "If a Lycan drinks the perfect blood and then drinks vampire blood, they become something new—a hybrid. Their strength increases drastically, and both their physical and regenerative potential surpasses the limits of their original race. The same applies to vampires."
Selene nodded slowly. Bit by bit, the puzzle was coming together.
"Perfect blood… could unlock incredible power. A vampire could also become a hybrid, if they first receive the perfect blood, then merge with Lycan blood," Selene said, her low voice carrying the weight of newfound understanding.
Reuel lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, then exhaled the smoke into the air calmly.
"And that's why Lucian wanted him," he said. "He knew who Michael really was. He knew the potential of that blood. So he rallied his entire clan to capture him. Even caused chaos in public places like the subway station."
"Lucian…?" Selene murmured, her eyes widening. "Impossible. He's dead."
Confusion clouded her face. She felt like she was watching her own reality crack apart, piece by piece.
Everything she thought she knew—about history, about her enemies, about who she could trust—now felt like a grand illusion, carefully orchestrated by unseen hands.
"Of course not," Reuel replied calmly. "All the information you've received has been manipulated... carefully disguised. Not just Lucian, but many others. They've all been pulling strings from the shadows."
His gaze lingered on Selene, this time with a hint of pity—like he regretted that this strong woman before him had been deceived for centuries. Living a lie wrapped in the guise of 'nobility.'
"What exactly do you mean?" Selene asked sharply, her brows narrowing. There was disbelief in her voice, but also a curiosity she couldn't suppress.
"Long ago, Marcus allied with Viktor and Amelia to capture his brother, William, who had lost control. Marcus spun a story—that he was killing humans to protect his brother," Reuel began slowly.
He paused for a moment, making sure Selene was listening.
"But Viktor wasn't that stupid. He knew William was an existential threat. So he took an extreme step: not to kill, but to imprison him—forever. Because if William died... all his descendants, the Lycans, would perish. And if Marcus died... the vampires would die too."
Selene frowned. She had heard whispers of such things—about the connection between the progenitor and their bloodlines. But she'd never imagined that their entire species hinged on the lives of two immortal beings.
Reuel continued.
"To ensure William could never be freed, Viktor ordered the construction of a secret prison. A location undetectable. Unreachable."
He looked Selene dead in the eye.
"And I'm sure you know who built it."
Selene froze. A chill ran through her.
"What?" she gasped.
Reuel saw the change in her expression. Old memories began to stir—hazy, fragmented, but forming a shape.
"After the prison was completed, Viktor killed the architect. To protect the secret. But when he was about to kill the architect's daughter… he saw something—something in her face that reminded him of his own child."
Reuel stepped closer, his voice lowering to a near whisper.
"And that little girl… was you, Selene."
"Impossible…!" Selene screamed.
In a flash, she leapt at Reuel and slammed him to the ground with overwhelming force. Her legs locked around his waist, fangs bared, her pale face hovering over his—an image of death itself: beautiful, but deadly.
Reuel stared up—Selene's fierce and stunning face mere inches from his. But something about this position... made him hesitant to move.
"You lied to me, didn't you?" Selene growled. "Tell me! You're just playing with me!"
Her icy eyes burned with fury. It was the same look she gave her enemies—right before she tore them apart. But Reuel remained calm.
"We haven't even known each other long enough to lie," he answered, still rational. "This is the first time we've met. What would I gain from lying to you?"
"You're still lying!!" Selene shouted, her rage exploding.
She grabbed his collar hard, her body trembling with fury and shock. Her breathing was sharp, chest rising and falling with the pounding of her heart.
Then—rushed footsteps echoed from outside the door.
Selene instantly released him. She jumped up, alert. She quickly raised her pistol and fired into the ceiling—one shot, one signal.
Reuel understood immediately.
"Lycan…" he muttered.
Without hesitation, he drew his bolter pistol and fired toward the door just as it began to shake violently.
Screams rang out behind the door. Several Lycans dropped before they could even break through. The room filled with the stench of gunpowder and blood.
"Go! Now!!" Selene shouted.
She turned briefly to Reuel, her voice cracking like a whip.
But Reuel kept firing, unmoving, holding the line as the wave of enemies pressed in.
Selene glanced at him—frustrated, yet grudgingly impressed. She shouted again, louder this time, more commanding.
"Go! There are too many of them!!"
Still, Reuel returned fire. His gaze was sharp, steady. But Selene knew—this wasn't the kind of man who left a fight. He would stand his ground… until everything around him burned.
Meanwhile, in the midst of the brutal firefight between Reuel, Selene, and the Lycans—something happened.
Michael suddenly woke up.
The perfect hybrid blood coursing through his veins began to boil. His consciousness surged back violently—wild and purely instinctual. He shot up and sprinted out of the room, as if every survival instinct in his body had merged into a single, unstoppable force.
Reuel and Selene immediately gave chase.
(Reuel's thoughts)
Oh, great… this guy's running like a damn action movie protagonist. That fast—and with that, so comes the trouble.
Michael sprinted down the corridor, and in a panic, started slamming the elevator button repeatedly. The doors opened. He rushed in and jabbed the "down" button frantically.
But just as the doors began to close...
Reuel's hand caught the metal gap with unnatural force. The steel bent slightly before the doors slid open again. Reuel stepped in calmly, as if time itself had slowed for him.
A faint smile spread across his face—but every movement of his radiated something terrifying.
"Who the hell are you?! Why are you chasing me?!" Michael shouted, his body shaking, breath ragged.
Reuel stared at him blankly, then replied in a low, steady voice:
"Relax. I don't intend to hurt you. I just need a little… of your blood."
That smile—subtle, almost imperceptible. But behind the calm expression, his mind was racing—cold, sharp, visionary.
This DNA… it's biologically ideal. Belisarius Cawl on Terra Aeterna would be obsessed with this. Ah yes, that oil-slick priest is a massive biotech and gene-manipulation junkie. The mastermind behind the Primaris Project—perfecting Space Marine geneseed after millennia of stagnation. This would blow Mars apart.
If I can combine vampire and Lycan DNA, and I have the Primarchs' geneseed... I could forge an elite Space Marine army. Human warriors that might even rival the avatars of Chaos themselves.
Would the other Tech-Priests approve? Doesn't matter. I'm the Master of Mankind now. I rule the Imperium—in this Resident Evil universe. I'm rewriting history.
Suddenly, Selene snapped her head toward the hallway. Her breath caught.
"They're coming…" she said quickly.
Four Lycans appeared, gliding rapidly across walls and ceilings like living shadows. Their movements were fluid, deadly, silent.
Selene raised her weapon and fired in rapid bursts. But they were too fast. The bullets ricocheted uselessly off metal and concrete.
"Selene! Get in now!" Reuel shouted.
Selene sprinted toward the elevator, and the four Lycans lunged from the walls, chasing her in a killer formation.
But before they could reach her, Reuel stepped out of the lift. He raised his hand.
Reuel's eyes blazed bright—like twin miniature suns detonating inside their sockets.
"BOOOOOOOMPH!!"
One strike—an incredible psionic punch—slammed into the lead Lycan. The explosion of energy sent a shockwave that hurled all four of them like ragdolls, smashing them through wall after wall behind them.
"FWWWWOOOOOSH—"
"BOOM! CRASH! THUMP! KRRRAKK! DHOOM!"
The sounds of destruction echoed from one city block to the next. Panic swept through Budapest. Sirens began to wail in the distance. Smoke billowed into the sky.
Reuel stood calm, watching the aftermath of his strike. He felt... satisfied.
That was only 5% of my full power. I've only accessed about 50% of the Emperor of Mankind's strength. If this can throw Lycans through five buildings in a row… then imagine what Big E's true power looks like, fully unleashed.
He hit the "close" button on the lift. The metal doors began to slide shut.
Just then, Selene fired her last bullet and leapt into the elevator, landing gracefully just as the doors sealed.
Inside the confined space, only the sound of their breathing remained. Tension crept in like a cold mist.
Michael stared at the two figures before him—Selene, still on edge with her pistol aimed forward, and Reuel, standing steady, untouched by time or chaos.
Reuel looked at Michael. His eyes narrowed slightly.
This specimen… is perfect. This might be the key to humanity's next evolution. What a waste it would be to kill him now.
But beneath all of that, Reuel felt something else. The Emperor's consciousness was digging deeper into his soul. He was beginning to see the world with a different lens—sharper, more absolute. And that was dangerous.
Every time he looked at non-human creatures—vampires, Lycans, mutants—there was a disgust rising from within. A burning instinct to purify, incinerate, and annihilate anything that didn't fit the ideal human form.
Is this a side effect of the Emperor's power? Reuel wondered.
But Reuel wasn't just Big E's shadow. He was still human. He had lived as a gamer, a writer, an ordinary man. And he didn't want to lose that.
Even though I admired the Emperor of Mankind in Warhammer back in my old life… now I live in the real world. I'm going to hold onto myself. Stay sane… to the very end.