The Heart of the Pact
The first major victory for the newly ascended Lieutenants was securing The Crimson Pact's official base of operations. Lieutenant Keller (The Strategist, Tier 1), operating with relentless efficiency, used the chaos from the Vance financial collapse and Senator Hayes' political maneuvering to acquire a notorious piece of real estate: the Old Veros Bank Vaults.
The vaults, located three levels below the financial district, offered unparalleled protection—concrete reinforced with steel, blast doors, and multiple secure exits. It was the perfect, permanent sanctuary for a growing organization that valued both absolute secrecy and defensibility.
"The acquisition is complete, Master," Keller reported to Vicky later that morning. "It is registered under a ghost corporation we control, shielded by five layers of corporate liability. The vault is yours, a tomb unbreakable by human hands."
Vicky, standing in the center of the massive, cold steel chamber, simply nodded. "Excellent work, Lieutenant. We now have a foundation. The only vulnerability remaining is the loose end still running around my old campus."
Damien's Last Stand
Vicky had chosen the moment for Damien's final, absolute humiliation: the Senior Student Council Meeting at the university. Damien, trying desperately to salvage his public image and secure a loan to cover his family's escalating margin calls, was scheduled to present a proposal for an emergency student scholarship fund, leveraging his family's 'good will.'
Vicky arrived early and took his seat, radiating his Tier 2 confidence. When Damien walked in, he looked terrible—his eyes bloodshot, his movements jerky, the stress of the last two weeks having finally broken his composure.
Damien started his presentation, his voice shaky but trying to sound earnest. He spoke of legacy and community.
"And to show the Vance family's enduring commitment to Veros University," Damien concluded, forcing a smile, "we are prepared to establish a substantial scholarship fund starting today."
Vicky slowly rose, the movement drawing all attention. He did not use theatrics; he used facts.
"A commendable effort, Mr. Vance," Vicky said, his voice calm, carrying effortlessly across the room. "Though I must question the timing. Is this contribution coming before or after Vance Holdings manages to settle the ten million dollars in unpaid liabilities owed to the city's environmental remediation fund, as outlined in Senator Hayes' recent audit?"
The room went silent.
Vicky continued, using the evidence provided by his political asset. "It seems premature to promise future charity when your family is currently facing insolvency due to gross financial mismanagement and ethical failures exposed by the state. Perhaps," Vicky suggested, turning to the committee chair, "the university should prioritize collecting the Vances' existing legal debts before accepting any potential future funds."
Damien lunged at Vicky, his civilized facade finally crumbling. "You—you disgusting leech! You've ruined everything! You're nothing but a poor boy who suddenly made it big just because of some luck. You're nothing!"
Vicky didn't flinch. He let the words wash over him. Then, with a voice colder than the deepest vault, he delivered the final psychological blow, referencing the event that started it all.
"You want to know what I am, Damien? I am the consequence of a man who thought humiliating someone else made him strong. I am the force that will ensure you can never hurt anyone again." Vicky turned to the student body and the faculty. "I will use Nightwatch Holdings to settle the Vance family's debt to the city—not out of kindness, but to ensure this man's entire legacy, his name, and his ability to exert any influence here or anywhere else, is permanently and financially void."
Damien's father, who had entered late, saw the entire room staring in judgment. He grabbed his son's arm and dragged him out, whispering furious, broken words. Damien Vance was defeated, not by a vampire, but by a ruthless display of non-supernatural power wielded with vampire conviction.
Seraphina's Final Appeal
Outside the meeting hall, Seraphina was waiting. The moment Damien was hauled away, she knew the game was over. She intercepted Vicky near the McLaren.
"Vicky, please. It's over. I saw what you did to him. You are brilliant, I didn't recognize your potential before.Please give me one more chance. " she pleaded, her face a mask of desperate sincerity. "I can do anything for you. I know the people here; I know the networks. I can be loyal, Vicky, I swear."
Vicky stopped, looking at her one last time with his now-impassionate crimson gaze. "You still don't understand, Seraphina. Loyalty isn't earned after the victory; it's proven during the struggle and hard times. You are like a weather vane, pointing towards where there's more benefit's and money. And I require a foundation who doesn't gets swayed by wind and money. *Let me give you something, when someone whom you loved more than anything cheats on you, you just don't stop loving them. It's just the amount of hatred and disgust for that person surpasses any other feelings you have for them. I still love you but the pure hatred and disgust surpasses all other emotions and feeling I have for you.* "
He stepped into his car. "Your role is finished. You will stay here. You will watch me take this city, and you will forever remember the moment you chose mediocrity over an empire."
Vicky drove away, leaving Seraphina alone, her desperate appeal met with the final, cold void of rejection.
The Tier 2 Ascendant
That night, alone in his penthouse, Vicky reviewed his status. His initial journey of revenge was complete. The past was severed, Damien was ruined, and Seraphina was justly punished.
He looked at his system status, acknowledging his new, official title.
VICKY THORNE: TIER STATUS
Tier: 2 - Vampire
Level: 5 (65/1200 XP)
Next Tier (Vampire Knight): Level 30
The next target was not revenge, but ascension. He had Lieutenants, he had a base, and he had political control. Now, it was time to level up, expand The Crimson Pact, and prepare for the inevitable threat he felt lurking in the shadows—a threat he still didn't realize was Detective Mila Torres.
( Vicky is fully established as a Tier 2 - Vampire leader with a functional organization. )
(** - This part was personal to me. Those are just my personal feeling as I still love my ex even after 3 years and haven't been able to move on. Maybe I'll never be able to love or trust anyone as love is not something that you can just erase just because you loved the wrong person. If you write something with pencil and put pressure on it, if the writing(your love) is deep then even after erasing it the imprint/marking of what you wrote will still be there. If your love wasn't that deep then you won't have any imprint or mark left after erasing it from your memory.)