1982: Small Town Bloodline Records

This time it's your turn.

You can't escape.

In Brodica, a desolate northern town, sunshine becomes an elusive luxury this time of year until the following year.

In the thick night that cannot be melted away, shadows are everywhere.On the empty street, only the dim lights of the street lamps are struggling to support, falling on the knee-high white snow, with a faint tobacco color.

It was such a scene as usual, but it was different because of the shadow that passed by quickly.

Under the lonely sky, the blond vampire was running fast.

He ran so fast that his figure was blurred into a phantom, even if someone saw him, he would just rub his eyes thinking he was dazzled.

Just a few minutes ago, he had read Daisy Willard's dream, in which he was in a large and luxurious hall surrounded by countless floating candles.The orange candle flame swayed with the invisible breeze. Unlike the cold wind howling outside, the house was so warm that it could even be called hot and dry. The abnormally high temperature catalyzed the fermentation of the bloody smell. He, or she fell on the ice-cold On the hard wooden floor, breathing the putrid smell mixed with blood, not only did not feel disgusted, but was a little fascinated.

Sensing that there were other people in the room, he raised his head and caught off guard a pair of cold green eyes.

The owner of the green eyes has a handsome face, messy brown curly hair, honey-colored skin and a pair of green eyes as bright as new green pine needles. He always looks at people with a cynical smile, just like a A rich and dissolute playboy, only to find that the smile does not enter the eyes, his eyes are always so cold and emotionless, like a piece of clear green glass.

The cold green eyes were exactly the same as in his memory, he thought, even if he died one day and turned into ashes, he would not mistake the owner of the eyes.

Ignatz Dulles.Ignaz whispered to the girl he was possessing in a sweet tone, and the next second, his gaze was suddenly raised, followed by a sharp pain that almost smashed his brain.

Accompanied by this severe pain, came the memories of Sheila Webster as a human being: the mysterious messenger who visited around Easter every year, a large number of gold jewels were taken away, and the young girls thought they were in need of rescue Homeless people, asked if they would like to stay for dinner, the mother immediately covered her mouth and told her not to say anything.The gloomy, tall, thin, handsome black-haired man turned his head and glanced at her. Judging from his facial features alone, he looked like an adult version of Carl—about 30 years old, well-dressed, with little expression on his face—but Such a man made even the powerful Websters in the mall have to treat him respectfully.

"No need," he coughed twice, "thank you for your kindness, my wife and I have to hurry back, after all, 'God' never waits for anyone."

The girl holding the doll asked ignorantly, "God?"

Seeing that his wife had already put on the cloak, the black-haired man smiled slightly, the smile didn't enter his eyes, it was as cold as the clear winter sky, "Oh, we are used to calling it like this, or in your words, it is a A true angel."

"..."

He blinked and found that Ignatz was looking at him in the same way, and his lips moved, as if calling someone's name.

Relying on a little understanding of lip language, he recognized the girl's surname, Willard.

Later, the dream was forcibly interrupted, and after leaving the dream, his face was pale, and he couldn't even check the condition of the girl whose memory he had read.

"I know where Ignatz is now." He said to Carl quickly and solemnly, "Don't allow any strangers to enter this house, neither humans nor dark creatures. Protect her."

At the end of the dream, Ignaz realized that she had an extraordinary connection with Sheila, and with his character, he would never allow such unstable factors to exist.

It was foreseeable that the blood of Ignatz would find her and kill her in the most brutal way-as long as she was alive, this horrific pursuit would not stop.

Carl, who knew how serious the problem was, nodded, "I will protect her." This time, it was his turn to take on the role of protector.

After coming out of Morrison's house, he ran towards that place without stopping.He knew where Ignatz was - once he had seen it, no one would forget how luxurious and beautiful the banquet hall on the second floor of Webster Manor was supposed to be.

Leaving the edge of the town, he was already very close to his goal for tonight.In the darkness, the outline of Webster Manor stood like a terrifying beast in the shadow not far away.I don't know if it's an illusion, but the wind blowing from there is mixed with an extremely ominous smell of blood.He glanced at the sky, and there were dense clouds with red edges, and sunrise was still a luxury.

Edgar didn't go through the door, relying on the vampire's outstanding physical fitness, he jumped directly onto the window sill on the second floor with a few stress points, smashed the glass and passed through.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor, and he found the banquet hall on the left side of the manor following the fragmented picture in the dream.

The carved copper door was tightly closed, only a faint light leaked from the gap at the bottom.

The vampire has no breath or heartbeat, but for him, holding his breath and pausing the heartbeat is a good description, he reached out and slammed the door open——

The hot and dry air was blowing in front of us, and Edgar was sure that he hadn't missed anything, no, nothing.

There is nothing behind the door, whether it is the female vampires standing side by side, Ignatz sitting on the chair, or Sheila Webster who is half dead due to mental damage, they are not here. There was only the lonely corpse on the ground—drained of all blood, with eyes widened in fear, looking towards the ceiling.

He let Ignatz escape again.

It was very late at night, and the lights in a certain office in the town police station were still on.

"Take a break." Although he had white hair, he came in with two cups and said to the man who was leaning over the table, "You haven't rested for more than a day, even at my age Can't stop, let alone you..."

The man he preached raised his head, and it was Sergeant Croft.He frowned, and didn't choose to follow the other party's suggestion, "What about what I want?"

"Okay, here you are." Antiago Venn reluctantly handed over a porcelain cup, "I only found this. I suggest dawn... oh no, after the restaurant outside opened, we Find something to fill your stomach before continuing to read this pile of files." He wrinkled his nose and complained softly, "Did I tell you that I am allergic to dust and mold?"

The cup contained strong black coffee. Sheriff Croft took a sip, fell back on the chair, and let out a long breath of stale air.

As a person who sleeps only three hours a day at most and stays up all night, he has big dark circles under his eyes and an unhealthy pale complexion.He ignored Antiago's nagging, just quietly waiting for the caffeine to burn in his veins, like oil, and then take away the drowsiness and pain, so that he can continue to draw energy to deal with the piles of piles on the table and the floor A dossier as tall as a person.

Originally, after contacting this self-proclaimed professional witcher, they planned to search Hanger Willard's home together, find conclusive evidence that he killed a prostitute and a homeless man, and then convict that vicious beast—it turned out to be In this way, until the day before yesterday, they received an unsigned encrypted letter, which briefly described a series of actions of Representative Bessemo.

As someone who grew up listening to Senator Bessemo, Sergeant Croft naturally refused to believe that the establishment of this town was for such an evil purpose.

For the sake of the truth, he decided to personally investigate all the recorded cases of abnormal death and disappearance in this town—even if most of them have passed the time limit for prosecution, but if he doesn't find out clearly, he is likely to take this case with him. Mystery goes in the coffin.

Almost only this time, if he was going to reveal the evil of the dark creatures and bring justice to all the dead, he must not rest in this place.

For his dead child, and for his wife whose whereabouts are unknown at the moment... Demon hunter Antiago didn't say anything, because he was equally curious about all of these.

"I want to know for what purpose this town was established."

Sheriff Croft rubbed his eyes and picked up the file in front of him again.

He was looking at the profile of a man named Benson Mullen.

14 years ago, this man was accused of killing his own aunt - no witnesses, no conclusive evidence, only people saw Mullen enter the room of the poor lonely lady before and after the murder and looked hurriedly to leave.

Mullen, who has a history of abusing alcohol and drugs, testified inconsequentially. He said that he saw a devil for a while, and that he saw a bat for a while. Of course, it is impossible for the judge to believe his nonsense.

Although there is no evidence that he killed the poor lady, he was eventually sentenced to ten years in prison for theft - he took all the jewelry and cash that the family of the deceased could loot, and then squandered it within a week Exhausted.

Many people insisted that Mullen killed his aunt, but at this moment, in the eyes of Sheriff Croft, the case was full of doubts.

Why was the case closed so hastily?Is it really to punish the murderer severely, or to find the best scapegoat for the crime of another creature.

"I noticed this too." Antiago leaned over and took a look.

"No, that's not the point."

Sheriff Croft sighed and gave an address.

As it happened, Mr. Mullen, who insisted on his innocence, was living at the moment in an apartment three blocks from the police station.

"I have something to ask him face to face."

"Carl, I have something to tell you."

Daisy was lying weakly on the sofa, her face was pale, her eyes were half closed, she was very different from the lively and cheerful one at the previous birthday party.

Carl was just returning with hot instant soup and bread.He put the tray aside and didn't answer her question directly, "Eat something first."

If she followed her usual temper, she might directly refuse to eat this bland and sticky food, but after encountering so many things, she no longer cared about these pickiness, picked up the bread, broke it and soaked it in the hot soup, After stirring twice with a spoon, I wolfed down the whole bowl of vegetable soup.When her hunger was relieved, she raised her head and found that Carl was slowly chewing the cold and hard sandwich on the plate, but her eyes didn't know where to go.

"Are you worried about him?" She timidly tugged at the hem of his clothes, wondering if it was her illusion, she saw Karl's shadow move obviously, "... the wind?"

The subtle whistling, similar to the flapping wings of a bird, waited for her to concentrate and listen carefully, but she didn't hear anything.

Finding that Carl was staring at her intently, she patted her cheek shyly, "It's nothing, maybe I heard it wrong."

"Then what do you want to tell me." Carl didn't ask her what those previous actions meant. "If it's that, forget it. I don't want to see you get hurt."

None of them knew exactly what was covered by the non-disclosure agreement, and in what form it would be reflected. More importantly, Edgar didn't tell them how to cancel it.

Recalling that she seemed to have swallowed a box of razor blades in her throat a few hours ago, Daisy was silent for a while, "Carl, have you found Todd? Or... have you tried to find him since he disappeared?" As if she was afraid that Carl would not believe it, she stretched out her hand indiscriminately, "Don't laugh at me, that night, I heard Todd's voice from... I really think I heard Todd's voice. It's not an auditory hallucination, I swear, I must have heard it Todd's voice."

Carl's expression became very subtle, "Which night?" He tried his best to sound the same as usual.

"A few days ago, the moon was very round, and there was no snow in the sky. I ran out of the house, stumbled and ran without stopping, and then I met..." Her voice stopped abruptly, and Karl thought she was at first Forgot what I was going to say later, and realized that she had violated the taboo of the non-disclosure agreement when she saw her expression was wrong, and quickly changed the topic to another direction.

"Todd..." What was he supposed to say, that if they met that day, he would take her to see Todd, who had turned into a vampire?

"What's wrong with Todd?" Daisy kept asking despite her throat still hurting.

"He's dead." Carl said quickly, "He became a vampire, and he wanted to kill me... I had to kill him."

Omitting a lot of key information, he summed up Todd's death in this one sentence.

He wanted Daisy to curse at him, to hate him, even, because that was exactly what he deserved.

Daisy covered her mouth in disbelief, and tears welled up all at once—although she had already had a premonition, she still couldn't accept this cruel fact suddenly.

"I'm sorry, Daisy..."

His eyes widened as he realized he was being hugged.

Daisy hugged him and pressed his head on her shoulder, "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened." There was a tear in her voice, and she said as she sobbed softly, "But it must have been a difficult decision .”

He wanted to break free from her embrace, but he was afraid that he would hurt her, so he lowered his raised hand, "No, I..."

"It's not your fault. Even if I haven't seen it with my own eyes, I know it's definitely not your fault." Her wet cheeks almost broke his heart, "You and Todd are as good as one person And his shadow, sometimes I can't help but feel jealous... How could you hurt him? I'm sorry, I have not been by your side, so many terrible things have happened to you. And yesterday morning, I didn't want to hurt Yours, I don't want... sorry, Carl."

She cried for so long that Karl felt that the little piece of fabric on his shoulder was soaked.

The fire in the room dimmed, and Carl slowly pushed her away, stooping silently to collect the bowls and plates.

"What are you going to do next?"

Daisy clasped her hands together and looked up at him, "Will you go back to school?"

Even though she didn't know what happened to Carl, the sensitive part of her was aware of something.

"I don't know, probably not." Carl put away the dishes, planning to soak them in the kitchen sink temporarily, "I don't know what I'm going to do in the future. But Daisy, my most important thing right now is to protect Hello, and Dad."

When Dad gets back, he'll have a good talk with him—mainly for Dad's safety.

He won't go back to school, he won't reconnect with his past classmates, in fact he doesn't know the future at all.

How would a creature like him, born out of a dark experiment, find where he was supposed to be?

"What happened to you?"

"You can't imagine," he whispered, "a cruel, hopeless fate, and I am its prisoner, and I can't break free from it."

Daisy bowed her head sadly, holding back the tears that welled up again.

Carl like this made her feel strange.

What she was familiar with was the always gentle and shy Carl, not the inexplicable cold and sharp temperament in his every move.

"You've changed a lot."

"Maybe." Carl couldn't help but smiled wryly, "Too many things have happened, too many."

Even though it had only been more than two months since he was forced to explore the Webster Manor, he seemed to have experienced two lifetimes.

——Perhaps it is true to say that, his soul has indeed lived for a long time, going back hundreds of years.

He lost his mother, lost Todd, and lost his seemingly ordinary identity as a human being.

"Sleep for a while." Carl pulled the blanket for her, "You are too weak."

He went to the kitchen to tidy up the tableware, and then returned to the living room to find Daisy rolling up the blanket and looking at him with her eyes open.

"What's your relationship with that vampire?"

Carl, who was sitting next to her, didn't speak.

"Probably a partner..."

"That's not it." Daisy's voice was full of sleepiness, "I can tell that you like him."

"...Is it so obvious?"

And that was the one thing that worried him the most.

If Daisy and Todd both figured it out, what about Edgar?He wondered what the vampire would think of him if he found out.

"Todd and I have long realized that you have no impulse towards girls, it's just for your reputation and the opinions of outsiders, neither of us said anything." Daisy pulled his hand from under the blanket, "Chelsea likes you It's been a long time, almost sitting on your lap, do you have any thoughts about her?"

Carl opened his mouth in surprise, "Is this...really?" He couldn't remember what the girl named Chelsea looked like at all.

"Come on, I've been with Todd for so long, what did you find?" Daisy giggled, "You probably never noticed the way you looked at that vampire, just like Todd looked at me... Her voice trailed off, "Okay, let's not talk about Todd, talk about you and him."

"Actually, there is nothing to say." Carl knew he was lying.

The matter between him and Edgar is difficult to explain clearly in one or two sentences. The only thing that is certain is that none of them can be discussed here.

"How romantic." Daisy's voice was almost inaudible, "breaking free from barriers of race and worldliness..."

Carl patted her on the head helplessly, "It would be nice if it was so good." He was also warning himself that many things could not be as good as she said.

"But you're right, I do love him."

Daisy was not sober anymore, "Have you considered telling him? He is a vampire, so he shouldn't have so many restrictions in our human society, right?"

She closed her eyes, not noticing whether Karl was nodding or shaking his head.

When she was fast asleep, Carl heard someone knock on the door, tiptoed over, looked through the peephole, and found Edgar standing outside.

After exchanging codes and confirming that Edgar was really outside the door, Karl opened the door.

The things he had said to Daisy before were still in his heart, which made him not dare to look into the eyes of the vampire.

Cold hands pressed on his shoulders, and he was forced to lift his head.

"Edgar?" He didn't know why Edgar did this, but he just had some bad premonitions in his heart.

"Is what she said true?"

The vampire's blue eyes were his blank reflections.

"You... did you hear that?"

For the vampire's excellent hearing, it's a piece of cake to hear the conversations going on in the house.He took a step back in confusion, "Yes, that's right, I am to you..."

He loves the vampire in front of him and wants to develop a lover-like relationship with him, but he also knows that maybe the vampire just treats him like a child.

"To be honest, I haven't loved anyone for a long time." The vampire's tone made his heart hurt. "I used to have a fiancée, but she betrayed me..."

This Karl can guarantee, "I won't." Even if he dies, he will not betray the vampire's secret.

The vampire smiled, "Carl Morrison, I'm here to ask you a question."

"what?"

His heart hung high.

It was an ordinary winter night, the fire was dim, and he and the vampire stood by the door talking, looking foolish.

"Those demon hunters won't let you and me go. When I finish my revenge, are you willing to leave this town with me?" Edgar lowered his head and pressed his forehead against his. "In order to escape the pursuit, we I will go to every corner of the world, and maybe I will never live a normal life...but it is only me and you, do you want to?"

The dying logs in the fireplace radiated the last of their heat.

Carl felt like he could hardly breathe.Edgar asked him if he would leave the town with him when the conspiracy and revenge came to an end.

Does this count as the other party accepting his feelings?But even if he was immersed in this joy and shock, he did not forget all the other person gave him.

"Dad, he..." He wanted to say that he couldn't leave Dad behind, but he stopped as soon as he started.

Edgar was quite right, the witcher would not let them go.

Even if the words "can't hurt human beings" have been engraved into their souls, it's limited to the fact that they can't hurt each other physically - they still have so many means to ruin the life of the Morrison family.

"I've already talked to him." What Edgar said surprised him. "That night, when you fell asleep, I talked to him for a long time about you."

"What did you talk about?"

Remembering what day it was, Carl was really curious about the content of their conversation.

"The status quo, and the future." Edgar narrated calmly, "The status quo is that there are two groups of demon hunters in the town, one group really wants to arrest the real culprit and solve the incident, and the other group just wants to solve the case." As a gimmick, the real purpose is to find your trace."

"Me?" He pointed at himself incredulously, "Why?"

"Yes, it's you." Edgar nodded, "Do you still remember what you were made for?"

Even if he didn't want to admit it, Karl still remembered the content of the conversation that night, "In order to clear the shadows in the night, they need a god."

Recalling the details of the experiment, his soul almost boiled in his body with hatred, until Edgar put his hand on his shoulder and shook his head slowly.

Now is not the time, if he loses control here, then he will face the end of hurting those he loves.

"That night, I only told part of the truth." After making sure he was listening, Edgar continued, "Ten years ago, my friend Eugene and some less radical demon hunters teamed up to wipe out the demons of Daybreak." The underground fortress, which saved me and you."

Daybreak has hurt countless innocent people, and they are just one of them, but as an organization that has existed for hundreds of years, its strength is beyond doubt. Erosion started from the inside.

"You mean... someone helped you?"

Edgar admitted, "Yes, her name is Dolores Reilly."

Hearing this surname, Carl's pupils tightened suddenly, "She...she is..."

"You're not mistaken, it's her." Edgar saw all his reactions in his eyes, "She came to me three months before the dawn and destruction. At first I didn't trust her, but she took the initiative to say It was only when Eugene’s name was mentioned that I became alert. She said that Eugene joined a group of witch hunters outside to track down their tracks, and it was very close to the truth. I asked her why she said this, and she asked me if I wanted to If you want to be free, just promise her a condition, then she will take the opportunity to help me contact Eugene."

"What conditions?"

"Take you away."

Carl couldn't believe what he heard, and screamed out, almost startling the sleeping Daisy, "What?"

"After I promised her, she helped me send a letter to Eugene, confirming the next plan. When that day came, she unshackled me and took me to a room with a huge painting I thought she was going back on her word. She glanced at me to remind me to remember my promise, and then plunged the silver dagger into her chest. Her blood flowed out without forming a pool, but along the The stripes of the magic circle flowed and finally gathered on your body. I saw with my own eyes that those non-human qualities on your body disappeared little by little, and you became no different from ordinary children—you know, delaying this power in your body What wakes up in your body is your biological mother. I just erased all your memories of the underground world."

Hearing this suddenly, Karl couldn't react.

In those vague dreams, he did see his own mother.

Most of the time, she is calm and rational like a programmed machine. Even when she used him to do some cruel experiments, her brows did not frown. Only once, she seemed to have something to say My husband said, but swallowed hard after listening to his speech about justice and destiny.

As a member of Dawn who should hate vampires and dark creatures the most, why would she make an agreement with vampires?

He didn't know what she thought of him, but judging from the whole thing, she undoubtedly still had the last trace of tenderness for him.

"She still hates vampires very much, but her conscience does not allow her to go on wrong. Probably so."

Edgar didn't explain too much what is conscience and what is right and wrong, but Carl recalled the story told by the vampire, the innocent girl and her family were cruelly and mercilessly tortured just because of their relationship with the vampire. The "law enforcer" took his life away, and he couldn't tell what it was like for a while.

"I took you away, and Eugene was afraid that things would be revealed, so he took us and fled northward without even thinking about saying hello to the others."

The topic returned to the beginning, and Edgar slowly said something that made him feel chilly, "Before your mother died, she set a big fire, starting from the deepest library, and burning to the top. Clear room. She wanted to burn down the city of sin, but she failed to do so. The demon hunters still rescued some books and materials from the fire, and successfully deciphered the secrets within the recent period. They know With your existence, in order to get you, you can even do whatever it takes."

Carl has always been a smart boy. After a brief blank mind, he quickly reacted, "That is to say... Daisy...the things that happened to Daisy were done by them, right?"

Edgar didn't answer his question, anyway he already had his own answer, "I, and your father, we all love you in our own way, so he is willing to let me take you away .”

"In order not to let that cruel fate lead you to the abyss."

He said so.

For something that Karl himself has forgotten, he can even give his life.

The hour hand of the wall clock on the wall points to 9, and the shops on the street open for business one after another, which means that a new day has begun.

Looking at the still dark street, Sergeant Croft did not feel afraid. He picked up the coat hanging on the hanger, checked his appearance in the mirror, and was ready to go out.

"Where are you going?"

Antiago followed behind him like a conscientious deputy, and his voice gradually became quieter after seeing the other person's eyes.He remembered that today they were going to search the Willard family's house to see if there was any missing evidence, but before that, they needed to visit Benson Mullen, who lived nearby, and ask him about the 14 Information about the suspicious murder case years ago—if everything was as they thought, the man's aunt died of a vampire attack rather than murder.

After leaving the police station, they first went to a nearby restaurant to eat something casually.

"You can't drink coffee anymore." This time Antiago put on a serious look and forcibly took away Sergeant Croft's coffee cup, "I don't want you to have a heart attack before the incident is resolved." and died."

Sheriff Croft glared at him, obviously trying to refute his claim.

"In order to give your child justice, please bear with it for a while, okay?" Antiago said in a way that was too serious for his age.

Sergeant Croft raised and lowered his hand. "Well, for now, do as you say," he said gruffly.

After breakfast, they followed the address on the file to find it—it was completely accidental, and Mr. Mullen was complained to the police station last month because of noise nuisance.

On the way they met Mullen's neighbor, a woman as thin as a bamboo pole.

"Have you finally come to arrest the murderer?" Before Sergeant Croft could speak, she began to chatter to herself, "He went out a while ago, and when he came back, he threw things and hit his own baby." Dogs, in short, this is what disturbs us so that we can't even sleep well... God, God, why do such wicked people still live in this world?"

Sheriff Croft put her off briefly—if he told her that he was here to help this man clear his name, she might faint on the spot.

After dealing with troublesome neighbors, Sheriff Croft and Antiago Wayne came to the door of Mullen's house and knocked.

"Mr. Mullen, are you home?" he asked as he knocked. "This is Marmon Croft of the Town Police, and I have something to ask you."

According to the lady, Benson Mullen was a bad-tempered man who wouldn't be so quiet if he didn't answer the door.

According to the experience of the last time he went to the police, he would yell loudly to tell the police to go away, cursing them as a bunch of idiots, and then swearing that he didn't kill the damn old woman.

Perhaps due to alcohol and overwork, Sheriff Croft's sense of touch became very dull, and he didn't notice anything wrong.

On the contrary, Antiago, who was a demon hunter, smelled the vague smell of blood, and instantly became alert.

Knowing how precious time is at this time, he made a decision immediately.

"Get out of the way." He pulled Sergeant Croft away, raised his pistol and hit the door lock twice, "I suspect something happened to him."

As he said that, he kicked open the door and rushed in. The window of the living room was open, and his heart suddenly became cold.

Guided by the smell of blood, he quickly walked around the living room and the corridor, and pushed open the half-hidden door.

Rao was as experienced as he was, and he couldn't help but bend down and vomit the moment he saw the scene in Benson Mullen's bedroom clearly.

Sergeant Croft, who came in later, had all the blood on his face, "This is..." he swallowed, "a reenactment of the Webster Manor case."