Mina sat upon her throne, waiting patiently when two of her most loyal subordinates entered: Vera, her trusted advisor, and Wolfgang, the leader of her Beowolves.
Wolfgang bowed slightly before speaking. "Your Highness, as you requested, my men are in place and will move when you give the order."
"Excellent. Thank you, Wolfgang. Is Akira in position?" Mina asked.
"Yes," Wolfgang confirmed. "As ordered, he's in an open area, making himself visible. But… are you certain the three lords will go for him?"
"I'm positive," Mina replied, her voice cold yet steady. "There's a high chance their assassins are already in place, waiting for their orders. I have no intention of allowing him to die, but unfortunately, I need those three fools unaware of my trap until it's too late. For now, he must act as bait."
She turned her gaze to Vera. "What do you have for me, Vera?"
"The three lords have docked and are on their way here," Vera reported calmly. "And, as you predicted, they only brought a handful of guards, leaving the rest of their men on their ships."
Mina's lips curled into a faint smile. "Wolfgang, I want you to wait about an hour, and then slaughter their guards. Make sure they can hear it from here."
Wolfgang smirked darkly. "It would be my pleasure, Your Highness." With that, he departed.
Once he was gone, Vera hesitated before speaking. "Princess… are we really doing this?"
Mina's expression hardened. "Those three have done as they please long enough. I am their ruler, not their fiancée, nor a child to obey their orders. I am their master. Their unannounced incursion into my domain is already a blatant show of disrespect. It's time they were put in their place—and time the world learns I am not to be trifled with."
Vera gave a small, approving smile. "As you say, Your Highness. But… may I ask, why are you only trusting the Beowolves with this?"
"It's far more likely there are spies among my own race than among the werewolves," Mina explained coldly. "In this situation, I trust them far more."
"Understood," Vera replied. At that moment, her earpiece crackled to life. She pressed a hand to it, listening, before turning back. "Your Highness, they're here."
The grand doors opened, and the three lords entered, taking their seats at the base of the throne steps. Their jaws clenched in anger, realizing instantly that this arrangement was intentional—an open insult to remind them they were not on her level, especially since they had been told to meet her in the throne room rather than the conference chamber.
Rozenmann was the first to break the tense silence. "Princess, wouldn't our meeting be more comfortable in the conference room?"
"The conference room is for official business planned well in advance," Mina replied icily. "This was neither planned, nor is it official business."
Ivanovich scowled, his voice sharp with disdain. "You will speak to us with respect, child."
"No," Mina snapped, her eyes blazing. "I will speak to you with contempt and nothing more, you walking corpse."
"How dare you!" Li barked, slamming a fist against the armrest of his chair.
"How dare I?" Mina's voice cut through the chamber like a blade. "No—how dare you! How dare you come to my territory, my home, unannounced—and with your soldiers, no less—and then presume to demand respect? The truth is, gentlemen, if you can even be called that, you are not worth my respect. I hate each of you and desire nothing more than your destruction."
Rozenmann let out a low, mocking laugh. "Be that as it may, Princess, you need us. And as long as that remains true, we're here to stay. But enough banter. On to business." He snapped his fingers, and two of his men rolled in a television. When they switched it on, the screen revealed Akira standing in the city square.
Ivanovich leaned forward, his lips curling into a cruel smile. "You see, little one, whichever of our assassins slays your little wolf cub will be given your hand in marriage. Maybe now you'll start learning some respect. After all, once we're wed, you'll learn your place very quickly." He broke out into laughter, joined by the sneering chuckles of Rozenmann and Li.
Mina exhaled a long, tired sigh, resting her chin against her hand as if the very sound of them amused and bored her at once. "I already knew you were planning this, you old fools. I prepared well in advance. Why do you think I ordered Akira to stand in the most visible place on the island, where he's most vulnerable? Are you all so incompetent that you don't recognize a trap when you see it?"
Their laughter cut off abruptly, their smug expressions faltering as the television screen shifted. It now showed Li's assassins—the infamous Corsican Brothers—lying in wait. But before they could strike, a massive iron maiden materialized from thin air behind them. With a screech of twisting metal, it sucked the two brothers inside before snapping shut with a sickening finality.
From behind the dreadful construct stepped an elegant woman. She had long, flowing white hair, red eyes glowing like molten fire, and a sadistic smile stretching across her lips.
Li bolted to his feet, his face twisting with panic. "What—no!"
"Oh, too bad, Li." Mina's voice was cold, and mocking. "Ah well. Let's check back in on Akira, shall we?"
The screen flickered again, revealing what looked like Princess Mina herself approaching Akira. Ivanovich's smile returned, dark and gleeful. "So ends the life of the wolf cub."
But before the fake Mina could even lift a hand, Akira thrust his arm clean through her chest. Her body convulsed before collapsing into nothing.
Ivanovich's mouth hung open in stunned silence. "He… he didn't hesitate. Why?"
"Because that isn't Akira," Mina said smoothly.
The imposter's body twisted and warped before their eyes, shifting into the form of a young man—shirtless, his long black hair tied back in a ponytail, his torso covered in intricate tattoos that glimmered faintly under the light. His golden eyes gleamed with mischief as he straightened up.
"Gentlemen," Mina declared with satisfaction, "meet Yan Qing, the shapeshifter."
Rozenmann slammed his fist against the armrest of his chair. "Then where is the real wolf cub?"
"With the other Beowolves, of course," Mina answered, her tone smug and steady. "Now, as for your assassin, Rozenmann… I discovered you were blackmailing Mr. Hama by holding his girlfriend hostage. She's been freed—and he has chosen to become one of my citizens."
Rozenmann bared his teeth, rage contorting his features. "How dare you! What about my men?"
"Dead," Mina replied without hesitation, her red eyes glinting mercilessly. "All of them. And I do mean all of them."
The screen changed once more, this time to a live feed of the docks. Their ships burned, engulfed in fire, while her Beowolves tore through the scattered soldiers.
All three lords widened their eyes in disbelief.
"What is the meaning of this?" Rozenmann demanded, his voice cracking with fury and fear.
Mina rose slightly from her throne, her voice sharp as steel. "I told you from the very beginning that you walked into a trap. It isn't my fault you didn't listen. I intend to kill all of you."
As if on cue, the chamber echoed with the unmistakable sound of slaughter—the dying screams of their guards cut short by the feral roars of the Beowolves. And above it all, rising like thunder, came the guttural, bone-shaking roar of Wolfgang himself.
Mina rose from her throne and flicked her wrist. In an instant, Alucard's longsword materialized in her hand, its dark steel gleaming menacingly in the light.
Before any of the three lords could react, she vanished in a blur.
Ivanovich's eyes darted wildly, his voice cracking. "Where… where is she?"
Rozenmann turned his head in panic. "I don't—" His words were cut short by the sickening sound of flesh being pierced and Li choking on his own blood.
They spun around just in time to see Mina's blade driven clean through Li's chest. His body convulsed, his eyes wide with horror, before his form crumbled to ash and scattered into nothing.
Mina's lips curled into a cruel, satisfied smile as her eyes fixed on the two remaining lords. The reality of her intent finally dawned on them. Terror-stricken, Rozenmann and Ivanovich bolted for the doors.
But when they flung them open, their path was blocked by a towering figure—a massive silver werewolf, its glowing eyes full of predatory malice.
"Well done, Wolfgang," Mina praised, her tone sharp and commanding.
She released her grip on the longsword, letting it hover at her side. With a flick of her finger, she pointed directly at Rozenmann's heart. The blade obeyed her silent command, shooting forward like lightning. It struck true, skewering him clean through the chest. His body stiffened, and with a final gasp, he collapsed lifelessly.
The sword drifted back to Mina, floating faithfully at her side as she strode toward Ivanovich, each step echoing ominously through the chamber.
The last surviving lord fell to his knees, trembling. "P-please, I—"
Mina raised a finger to her lips, silencing him with a mocking shhh. Her eyes narrowed with amusement. "Do you hear that?"
Ivanovich swallowed hard. "H-hear what?"
A heartbeat later, the blade arced through the air, and his head toppled from his shoulders in one clean strike.
Mina tilted her head, feigning curiosity. "Huh. Must have been the wind."
Stretching languidly, she rolled her shoulders as though relieved of a burden. "Wolfgang, call Vera back, please. I have a lot of things to prepare."
The towering silver werewolf bowed deeply and departed in silence.
Once alone, Mina let out a laugh—dark, unrestrained, and full of long-suppressed satisfaction. "Finally… I've wanted to do that for so long."
Meanwhile, in an unknown location, the True Ancestor trembled uncontrollably. His entire frame shook as a boy with stark white hair and mismatched eyes stepped closer. In his hand, he carried a glowing crimson key, its light casting an ominous shadow across the trembling elder.