Chapter 1 Perishing Together

• A solitary island stood alone a distance away from Southport, disconnected from the werewolf continent.
• Beneath the surface of this seemingly unremarkable island, however, lay a hidden, inhumane underground laboratory—one that few knew existed.
• The research lab was filled with vials of potions and advanced technology, while a narrow single bed sat eerily empty. All that remained were bloodstained shackles on each of the bed's four corners, their sinister presence sending chills down anyone's spine.
• "Crimson Shadowblade is gone!"
• The empty bed on the surveillance screen threw the operators into a panic.
• At those words, the entire control room was thrown into chaos. Faces paled as if confronted with a deadly threat, and all eyes fixated on the screen.
• Frantically, they scoured the countless small monitoring screens, searching for any trace of Crimson Shadowblade. However, there was no sign of him anywhere.
• In the hallways, the bodies of numerous guards lay scattered, their sudden demise throwing the team into further disarray.
• "Activate the security system and locate Crimson Shadowblade immediately! If he escapes, none of us will survive."
• The system whirred to life before projecting a massive blue screen mid-air, its web of data flickering like an inescapable net tightening around its prey.
• "Hurry, release the NT34 gas. No matter the cost, use any means necessary to capture him."
• At the command, the seemingly impenetrable walls revealed hidden nozzles, releasing toxic gas into the air.
• Armed werewolves in black, together with their gas masks firmly in place, cautiously advanced through the gas-filled lab with loaded guns.
• Suddenly, the terrifying sound of necks being snapped echoed from the mist. The bone-chilling cracks filled the air, cutting off any chance for screams.
• One by one, bodies began to pile up beneath the thick, poisonous fog.
• "Notify Dr. Saatchi and the others to retreat to the safe zone immediately!"
• Suddenly, a crackling noise and several electric sparks came from the equipment.
• The next moment, every piece of machinery was destroyed, circuits fried by the electric surge. The control panel burst into flames, sending a shower of sparks across the room and filling the air with the acrid stench of burnt metal. The frightened operators jumped back, distancing themselves from the console.
• The surveillance system was completely obliterated, leaving the lab without its critical monitoring and control capabilities. Alarms blared incessantly as fear gripped the room.
• A voice crackled through the communication device, urgently reporting, "All the doctors and research staff have been killed. Meanwhile, Dr. Saatchi is missing."
• "Crimson Shadowblade must've gotten to Dr. Saatchi!"
• "We need to evacuate now! No one here can face him. The gene extraction is nearly complete, so just take the data and escape."
• "We have to decide quickly before Crimson Shadowblade finds us!"
• The control room descended into chaos, and finally, Beta spoke, "Take all the data and evacuate immediately. Prepare to detonate. Alpha has ordered that once the gene extraction is successful, Crimson Shadowblade must not survive."
• Just then, with a deafening boom, the metallic door to the control room was violently blown open.
• The entire laboratory shook violently, the explosion temporarily deafening everyone in the room. Flames mixed with shards of metal flew through the air, forcing the terrified operators to duck and cover their heads.
• The door had been reduced to a heap of rubble.
• And from that pile of ruins, a thin figure stepped forward, leaving a trail of blood in her wake.
• She carried with her an aura of destruction so powerful it seemed capable of obliterating everything in its path.
• As the thick smoke cleared, the group finally saw who had arrived, and it was as if they had gazed upon death itself.
• "C-Crimson Shadowblade…"
• The girl slowly lifted her head, her bloodthirsty eyes locking onto the terrified figures in the control room as they froze in fear.
• Her long hair flowed freely around her, her gaze cold and sharp as a blade. Her once flawless face was now smeared with blood, making her look like a vengeful specter from the depths of hell.
• She was Crimson Shadowblade, the name they feared and whispered about in terror.
• She was a supreme warrior who was unmatched in strength and a predator who thrived on the battlefield.
• Even without transforming into her wolf form, her mere presence struck fear into every werewolf in the room.
• Without a word, she casually lifted her arm and discarded the object she had been holding as though tossing aside trash.
• When the group finally saw what had rolled across the floor, their legs gave out in fear. It was Dr. Saatchi's severed head.
• The Gamma's head had been cut clean off. Wherever his head rolled, blood followed, leaving a crimson trail. His eyes were still wide open, frozen in terror, unable to close even in death. The sight gripped them all with a suffocating sense of doom.
• Beta snapped back to reality, trembling as he pulled out a small black detonator. His voice cracked as he threatened, "We've implanted a chip in your brain, Crimson Shadowblade. The moment I press this button, you'll be reduced to ashes in ten seconds. You'd better not do anything reckless."
• Crimson Shadowblade's icy voice broke the tension. "Ten seconds? That's more than enough time to kill all of you."
• "We were just following orders! It was Alpha's command, not ours!" Desperation flooded the room as they pleaded for their lives, realizing that Crimson Shadowblade was unfazed by the threat. "Spare us! We were only doing what we were told."
• "Alpha?"
• The girl let out a cold, mocking laugh, the hatred in her bloodthirsty eyes laced with a hint of derision.
• The Alpha of Shadowfang Pack was an ambitious leader, handpicking the most talented werewolves from his pack and grooming them into Shadowclaws. These warriors were trained for specialized assassination missions, meant to eliminate any werewolf or pack that refused to bow to him.
• He employed brutal and inhumane methods to forge his bloodthirsty soldiers, each one more ruthless than the last.
• Crimson Shadowblade was one of them.
• But unlike other werewolves, she had no parents or pack from the moment she was born—she was a Rogue.
• The Alpha of Shadowfang Pack had taken her in, raising her within the pack and training her from a young age. She became the youngest yet most gifted warrior in the pack.
• After 13 years of brutal, twisted training, she was sent on one extreme assassination mission after another by the time she turned 14.
• At 17, she awakened her wolf, Vali, and officially broke through to Beta-level strength.
• Together with Vali, Crimson Shadowblade quickly ascended to the top of the ranks, securing her place as the number one warrior, a position that remained unchallenged.
• Over the years, she set record after record, earning numerous fearsome titles and becoming a terrifying force not just within the Shadowfang Pack but across the entire werewolf world.
• Thanks to her overwhelming strength, Shadowfang Pack's Alpha conquered pack after pack, cementing his dominance as a powerful leader.
• However, his tyrannical methods also earned him many enemies.
• During a victory banquet, the Alpha of a large pack suddenly rebelled, launching a surprise assassination attempt against the Shadowfang Pack's Alpha.
• The ambush was so sudden that everyone was left in shock. However, Crimson Shadowblade was the first to move, shielding the Alpha in time.
• Yet, her opponent was another powerful Alpha. Even with her Beta-level strength, Crimson Shadowblade couldn't defeat him on her own.
• Just as the other warrior wolves of Shadowfang Pack were about to intervene, something unexpected happened.
• Crimson Shadowblade, by her own strength alone, successfully killed the powerful Alpha!
• The werewolf world was thrown into chaos once again.
• According to the strict hierarchy of the werewolf world, no werewolf could hunt and kill one of a higher rank.
• However, Crimson Shadowblade had done the impossible by killing an Alpha!
• This meant that her strength had far surpassed the Beta level, making her existence even more powerful than an Alpha!
• At that moment, once again, people began to question her origins.
• No ordinary Rogue, no matter how brutal their training, could ever reach Beta-level strength, let alone surpass the power of an Alpha!
• So, what kind of rare bloodline did Crimson Shadowblade possess to wield such overwhelming strength?
• Most were too stunned by her excessive power to care, including the Alpha of Shadowfang Pack himself.
• But her strength was also what sealed her fate.
• The Alpha of Shadowfang Pack began to fear her, worried that she might eventually rebel and overthrow him to claim the title of Alpha for herself.
• Yet, he couldn't bear to lose her immense strength, so he hatched a plan to extract her genes and clone multiple versions of Crimson Shadowblade to serve him instead.
• She hadn't been brought to this lab by force. In fact, she had come willingly.
• Out of gratitude for the years of care she had received from Shadowfang Pack, she was willing to donate a portion of her genes to help strengthen the pack.
• But she hadn't expected them to attempt to extract her entire genetic code in hopes of creating an exact replica of Crimson Shadowblade before killing her to eliminate any future threat.
• Crimson Shadowblade shook her head silently.
• Even though she had long become strong enough to create her own pack or even to take the place of Shadowfang Pack's Alpha at any moment, she had never harbored any disloyalty toward him.
• She hadn't anticipated that her frighteningly rapid growth would plant seeds of paranoia in Alpha's heart, leading him to such extremes of using and discarding her once she was no longer needed.
• The thought brought a bitter smile to her lips.
• Since childhood, Alpha had drilled into her the rule that a Shadowclaw must not have any emotions or mercy. And yet, the only time she had shown mercy was to Alpha himself. Now, it seemed she would meet her demise at the hands of the very man she had trusted.
• For just a moment, Crimson Shadowblade's mind wandered.
• Seeing the opportunity, Beta quietly pressed the detonator in his hand and began to retreat, hoping to escape before the countdown ended.
• Crimson Shadowblade noticed Beta's movement instantly, and with just one icy glance, she threw him into disarray.
• She didn't need to do anything, for her mere presence was enough. As the others watched in horror, she calmly pulled out a detonator of her own.
• "Does this look familiar?" she asked, her voice cold and foreboding. "Dr. Saatchi told me you've buried a hundred pounds of explosives in this lab. Let's all go to hell together."
• Her words sent shivers down their spines, her voice as cold as the grave.
• Under the terrified stares of everyone in the room, she resolutely pressed the detonator.
• If she had a chance to do it all over again, she would never have trusted anyone from Shadowfang Pack.
• With a deafening boom, the explosion tore through the air. Flames engulfed the sky as the cursed island, steeped in sin, sank into the depths of the ocean. Crimson Shadowblade, a girl who had known both glory and tragedy, was gone far too young.