The transition from the pristine, glittering porcelain tiles of the 8th district to the suffocating, labyrinthine alleys of the 5th district was like descending straight into an urban grave. To keep my two-month pregnancy entirely hidden from the Luminous Knight Bureau's high-tier holy scanners, we had bypassed the capital's grand medical bays and marched deep into the Tenements.
Our small, heavily armed escort moved like a strike team through the mud-slicked alleys. Alongside Elicia and Evelyn, we were joined by Olive, keeping a low profile after his release, and Alta, the legendary master of the underground who had engineered my gear. Together, they formed a human wall around my petite 5'5" frame, completely obscuring my dark traveling cloak and my tightly compressed crimson blood wings from the desperate refugees and rogue elements lingering in the shadows.
As we navigated the crumbling brick corridors of a dilapidated tenement building, heading toward the specific, unmarked room where the secret hospital resided, Elicia leaned close to me. Her 5'8" frame cast a heavy shadow, her hands gripping her casting staff tightly as she looked around at the damp rot rising from the floorboards.
"I feel so bad, little Ren, To think your child has to be born in a place like this... hidden away in the absolute underbelly of the capital just for their own safety. A Diamond-rank savior shouldn't have to raise a baby in the dark." Elicia murmured, her voice thick with maternal sorrow and a deep, aching bitterness toward the Bureau.
I adjusted my hood, my mismatched jade-green and crimson eyes reflecting the dim, flickering candlelight of the hallway.
"The dark is the only place the Bureau won't look, sister. As long as the baby breathes, I don't care if I have to give birth in a cellar."
We pushed open the creaking, reinforced wooden door, finally arriving at the underground clinic. The sharp, metallic tang of cheap antiseptic and stale blood instantly hit my nose, a familiar scent that made my vampiric physiology thrum with a quiet, predatory focus.
Doctor Bob was already waiting by his rusty examination table, holding a fresh set of alchemical diagnostic sheets. The grizzled, cynical battlefield medic… who was one of the very few people alive trusted with the terrifying truth that I was the "blood-sucking winged demon"... looked up as our formidable party filed into the room. His eyes darted from Evelyn's sharp breastplate to Elicia's high-tier staff, before settling on my alabaster-white face.
"Greetings, Eirene, Well, how is the baby doing? Your unique vampiric physiology operates on a highly accelerated cycle, and that fetus is drawing heavily from your internal reserves. Have you been following the strict, high-nutrient diet I gave you? Plenty of raw proteins and iron?" Doctor Bob muttered, his gravelly whisper perfectly controlled as he adjusted his spectacles.
I stepped forward, my newly healed left hand coming around to rest lightly over the subtle, firm curve of my lower abdomen beneath the clean linen dress, ensuring the thick cloak shielded me from the drafts of the room.
"Yes, I am keeping my child safe. I've been taking exactly what the body demands." I replied, my voice returning to that flat, mechanical, yet utterly fiercely protective deadpan register.
I sat down on the squeaky, rust-stained examination chair, pulling my dark traveling cloak aside just enough to expose the front of my white linen dress. Because my pregnancy was only at the two-month mark, my tummy remained flat and slim, showing absolutely no visible baby bump to the outside world. My unique vampiric physiology was keeping the rapid internal development perfectly concealed beneath my muscles.
Doctor Bob adjusted the metallic dial on a specialized, brass-rimmed magi-tech device resting beside the table.
"I will do an ultrasound scan now, The arcane resonance in my equipment has been upgraded since your last visit. It should easily reveal the gender of your baby today." the grizzled medic muttered, his gravelly voice dropping into a focused, professional register.
He applied a cold, clear alchemical gel to the scanning crystal, then gently pressed the smooth apparatus against my slim tummy. I kept my breathing steady, my mismatched jade-green and crimson eyes tracking the faint, humming glow of the device.
Doctor Bob raised his hand, channeling a focused stream of pure mana directly through the crystal and into my lower abdomen. The magical frequencies pulsed gently against my core, mapping the internal structure of my womb without disrupting the volatile infection humming in my spine.
"The accelerated development is stabilizing nicely, Right now, at two months, your baby is roughly the size of a raspberry. But his internal organs and magical core are already fully formed and functioning." Doctor Bob analyzed, staring intensely at the glowing screen of the device. He turned the display slightly so that Elicia, Evelyn, and I could see the faint, pulsing silhouette projected in the light.
He paused, tracing a specific, distinct arcane line on the magical monitor with his leather-gloved finger. A sudden, rare smile broke through his cynical, weathered features.
"Take a look right here, The physical configuration and the underlying mana signature have completely settled. It appears your child is a boy." Bob pointed out, showing the device clearly to the three of us.
A collective, breathless silence fell over the dim tenement room.
On my right, Elicia gasped softly, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her casting staff, her crimson eyes instantly welling with profound, emotional tears. On my left, Evelyn's posture completely softened, her hand dropping entirely away from her sword hilt as she stared at the tiny raspberry-sized pulse on the screen, her bioluminescent hair tips flaring into a warm, joyful golden hue.
I sat perfectly still, my hand resting flat against my stomach. A boy. A son. The last remaining lineage of the Phantom was growing strong in the dark underbelly of the capital, completely healthy, and entirely hidden from the world outside.
Elicia let out a shaky, emotional breath, her commanding presence completely melting as she leaned over the examination table. She reached out and wrapped her arms gently around my shoulders, her casting staff leaning uselessly against her leg.
"A boy... a little nephew, Eirene, you're having a son. He's going to have your strength, I just know it. We'll make sure he grows up knowing exactly how incredible his mother is." Elicia whispered, her voice cracking with a mixture of intense relief and overwhelming joy.
Evelyn was utterly paralyzed with surprise, her jaw slightly slack as her sharp eyes darted back and forth between the tiny pulsing dot on the monitor and my slim stomach. The rigid, disciplined demeanor of a 7th-place Luminous Knight vanished instantly, replaced by the sheer, chaotic excitement of a six-year-old soul trapped in a warrior's body.
"A little prince… Big sister, I... I have to change all my guard patrol schedules! I need to start practicing how to hold a baby boy without crushing him with my armor! I'm going to teach him how to wield a blade the second he can walk!" Evelyn stammered, her hands flying to her mouth as her bioluminescent hair tips practically strobed with vibrant golden light.
I looked down at my hands, resting over the cool alchemical gel on my stomach, and allowed a very faint, genuine smile to break through my flat mask.
"Calm down, both of you, He's only the size of a raspberry right now. He doesn't need sword lessons or a royal guard just yet. He just needs us to keep this clinic secret." I replied, my voice retaining its quiet, steady deadpan, though a fierce, maternal warmth ran beneath the words.
I looked back at the screen, my mismatched jade-green and crimson eyes locking onto the tiny silhouette. A son. The calculation of our survival had just become infinitely more important, and looking at my ecstatic sisters, I knew the Bureau didn't stand a chance of ever touching him.