1982: Small Town Bloodline Records

A monster born in darkness.

Ravenna Hicks lay flat on the bed, playing with the lighter in his hand.

In the room of the small hotel, the lights were not turned on, and only the dim light of the sky streamed in through the windows half-blocked by the curtains.

Unlike Antiago Vin, who was actively running around trying to solve the problem of dark creatures in this small town, he hadn't stepped out of the room door for several days.

During his waking hours, he either repeatedly disassembled and reassembled his gun, or did some basic physical training to ensure that he could maintain his best condition at all times.

After a while, when he heard footsteps coming from outside the corridor, he quickly reached under the pillow and touched his gun.

"Aren't you going out yet?"

The door opened, and the people who came in turned on the lights. The yellow light illuminated the room and allowed them to see each other's faces clearly.

Recognizing that this was his companion, Ravenna breathed a sigh of relief, put the gun back, and then lay on the bed as if he had no bones, staring blankly at the ceiling in a daze.

The person who came in was his distant cousin, Hussle Hicks, they came to this town together, apparently to solve a series of murders caused by vampires, but the real purpose was to find someone— — or something.

Husserl put the plate full of food aside, and reluctantly pulled the chair beside the bed and sat down.

The poorly made wooden chair creaked under his weight, and it might fall apart at any time due to the overwhelm. Husserl seemed unconscious, took a piece of oily bacon from the plate, sandwiched it in the bread and started stuff it in your mouth.

"How's it going outside?" Ravenna glanced at him and the chair under his crotch, "Worse?"

"Almost paralyzed."

While chewing, Husserl repeated to him what the hotel proprietress had said.

After that bloody night in the hospital, the town gradually calmed down, so many people felt lucky that such an incident would never happen again.

Reality shattered their fantasy, and the blood-sucking monster reappeared.This time, their scope of activities is no longer limited to hospitals—relying on their natural geographical advantages, they are spreading rapidly like nests of rabbits.

No one knows how many monsters there are. They hide in the dark and may jump out to attack the living at any time. This time, there will be no sunrise to give them a sense of security.

But they finally saw where the problem came from: the holy water provided by the church to ward off evil spirits could not help them stay away from the shadow of vampires, but pushed more people into the abyss.

It's not that they haven't tried to gather at the door of the church to ask for an explanation, but the church is already empty, and there is nothing but the monster with red eyes and sharp teeth and a rotten body.

There are also victims among the police. The government... the mayor, Pegg, still refuses to admit that the town is in a huge crisis. He suppresses the spread of news, insisting that it must be the cause of new drugs, and by the way publicizes the dangers of drugs.

In desperation and panic, people can only lock themselves at home, cut off all unnecessary contact with the outside world, and wait for the long night to pass.

"Aren't you going to solve it?"

Husserl's cheeks were bulging and shiny, and his voice was a little vague, "Isn't this the responsibility of people like you?"

"Too many, let that guy worry."

Ravenna sat up a little bit, looked around the plate with critical eyes, and finally chose the marinated chicken sandwich.

"And there's nothing to solve." He said impatiently, "This matter must be done by the same prisoner. If we can't find the root cause, it's no use killing monsters outside even if we don't sleep every day. Anyway, the Wayne family That kid has almost been investigated, and it will be a matter of time before the real culprit is caught. Didn't you go over and help him?"

For them, a vampire is a troublesome creature, and an easy-to-handle creature.

The whole thing was so difficult because of Brodica's geography.

When the sun rises, all problems will be solved - they have already seen that those monsters are degraded versions of vampires, who have inherited all the weaknesses of vampires, but have no supernatural abilities of vampires, let alone consciousness and emotions.

"Oh, what you said makes sense. I didn't do anything. I just helped to torture a human being. That guy's bones are quite hard. By that time, most people would even tell about their bedwetting when they were young." Hu Searle nodded, agreeing with the statement, licked the oil on his fingers, rolled his eyes and asked, "In that case, what are you going to do?"

"Wait."

As if he didn't understand Ravenna's answer, Husserl opened his mouth wide, "What?"

"Wait until our prey completes its transformation."

After eating the sandwich, Ravenna patted the crumbs on his fingers, and lay down again, "Through that girl, we have successfully injected 'that' into the blood vessels of the prey. It will take some time for 'that' to take effect, during this period He will eat crazily, and eating is accompanied by danger, we don't need to take risks at this time. When his strength reaches its maximum value, at that time we don't have to look for him, he will definitely come to us."

"He's gotta be our thing."

What mortals remember most about alchemy is probably the transformation of stone into gold and endless life.

For hundreds of years, countless people have devoted themselves to this industry, but they have lost tens of millions of wealth and failed to understand the true meaning of element conversion.

Ignatz stood in his secret room, the candlelight illuminated half of his face, making the other half in the shadow even more hazy.

His teacher, Ray Hope, is not only an outstanding spellcaster, but also a great master of alchemy. At the age of 30, his knowledge has surpassed what many mediocre people can comprehend in a lifetime. He is Such a greatness, even dark creatures that are inherently hostile to humans can't help but surrender at his feet - he is one of them.

But even such a great teacher cannot stave off death.

He was getting older every day, and every day Ignatz could see he was getting weaker.

Man's time is limited, and he has never been more aware of that fact.

Compared with vampires with eternal life, human beings are really too fragile.

It's not that he hasn't mentioned to his teacher that he wants to transform him into a vampire - he has a very good idea, few human beings can refuse the temptation of eternal life, and his teacher's life is so valuable, it must not be done like this because of aging. Bad reasons come to an end.

"I reject."

Hearing this unexpected answer, his eyes widened.

"I enjoy the sunny day, the taste of food, the beating of my heart, the alternation of hot and cold, these are things that the eternal life in your mouth can't give me." The teacher reprimanded him very rarely, "I don't want to Lose those."

——Since you don't want to lose these, then I will hand them back to you, so that we can be together forever.

"Mr. Dulles?"

The sound of speaking interrupted his contemplation, and he stared wordlessly at the source of the noise.

The man lying on the stone bed writhed uneasily, shivering under his gaze.

"You...you asked me to come here for something?" He bite the bullet and continued, "I...I still have..."

Instead of getting angry, Ignatz smiled, "I'm listening if you have anything to say." His tone was very gentle, like a gentleman.

Being watched by the vampire like this, Peg couldn't help but think of the poisonous snake in the zoo, which stared at its prey coldly, and might pounce on it at any time and inject the venom into the opponent's blood vessel.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." He shook his head hastily, no matter how many complaints he had in his heart, he didn't dare to say it out, for fear that the vampire would cut his throat—it's not like he hasn't seen the fate of those vampires who dared to defy each other.

Being cut off is the lightest thing, and the scariest thing is being dragged into a dark laboratory to conduct inhumane experiments. Even dark creatures can't help but tremble because of those wailing.

"Keep talking, I'm listening." Ignatz didn't care about it, "Say it."

Knowing that things couldn't be so simple, Peg swallowed, "I...I have to go back and deal with those reports."

In his opinion, since the heart has been successfully transplanted, he should enjoy the rest of the time to the fullest.

But the rest of the town, as if determined to oppose him, persisted in claiming that vampires were behind the scenes and demanded an explanation from the government.

—what can he explain?Could it be that you are all sacrifices to vampires?

So he desperately suppressed all the reports, hoping to hide the whole thing for a little longer—a little longer, and when the sun rises, he can start a new life.

"Should I thank you then?"

Ignatz examines the man without emotion.

"Yes..." Pegg quickly shook his head, "No, no, this is what I should do."

His peripheral vision fell on the rubber hose connected to his arm and chest, seeing his own blood flowing into that complicated device, he couldn't help closing his eyes in fear.

Don't blame him for this reaction, he could feel that as the blood flowed, the strength in his body was also being drawn.

Seeing that there was almost no blood to flow in his body, Peg, who realized some kind of crisis, repeatedly begged for mercy, "Please don't kill me, I can continue to serve you."

Ignatz looked at him contemptuously, "Peg, I want to ask you a question."

"What?" Peg replied tremblingly.

"I want to give someone eternal life, but I can't turn him into a vampire, what should I do?"

After hundreds of years of failure, he must think of a new way out.

While deciphering the code of the gods and giving vampires the ability to return to the light, is there any other answer?

On the edge of life and death, Pegg's brain turned rapidly.

He didn't know why Ignatz Dulles asked that question.

"Find an immortal body and inject this person's soul into it, wouldn't that be enough?"

In fact, he himself didn't know whether such an answer could pass the test.

He closed his eyes, and after a long time, he boldly opened a crack and found that the device had stopped.

"Peg, you saved your life."

Ignatz showed a distorted smile, "There is another way."

A half-old map was spread out on the table, illuminated by the light of a candle.

Karl noticed that this was a map of Brodica Town, and it was the latest version released last year.

Every street in Brodika Town is recorded in detail on the map, whether it is the abandoned factories on the outskirts of the town, the mill connected to the waterwheel, or some shelved construction projects are all marked in it.

"What's wrong?" Carl stared at the map, not particularly understanding Edgar's purpose for showing him this.

Through this, it can be seen that Brodica is not a typical tourist town. The town planning is not for aesthetics but for maximum value. But even so, affected by the economic downturn, there are still many unfinished projects.

He noticed that some streets and buildings were specially marked with ink, and the color of the ink was also different, "What is this?"

Most of them are abandoned and uninhabited houses. Carl slid his fingers over them and found that the Webster Manor on the outskirts of the town was also among them—red and green, the ink stains of the two colors overlapped to form a An indescribably strange color.

A vague thought appeared in his mind, and with the traces of his fingers sliding, he felt more and more that he had guessed correctly.

"Are these... strongholds used by Ignatz Dulles?"

Of course he has not forgotten the beginning of the incident: the rumors of the treasure of Webster Manor, the stolen cello, and the exploration in the middle of the night.

If it weren't for this, he probably wouldn't have met the vampire in the moonlight and learned the bloody truth about this town hidden under the snow.

Edgar nodded approvingly, "That's right. These are Ignatz's secret strongholds, used to carry out his inhumane experiments." He pointed to a place marked in red ink, "This is the place that has been Abandoned, although there are traces left, most of them are deliberately left by him, the purpose is to demonstrate to me."

"The green one is..."

This is understandable.

There were relatively few green ink blots, and most of them were concentrated in the middle of the town. He read out the address of the most conspicuous piece of green ink blot, "Barcelo Street...?"

"It's in use." Edgar followed his gaze, "This is the address I found last. I suspect this is their final stronghold."

"I know this place." Carl immediately remembered what he had heard in school.

"I've heard that this place was supposed to build a comprehensive entertainment center, with cinemas, theaters, and large supermarkets. People in the town were looking forward to it, but half of the construction was completed, and the investor went bankrupt and committed suicide by jumping off the building... Here is the It was put on hold. Until a few years ago, after the disappearance case, the adults gave repeated orders to prohibit us from approaching - so far they have not found the missing boy, only know that the witnesses said that the last time they saw him was near Barceló Avenue , he looked in a trance then." He paused, "Vampires did it, didn't they?"

For a small town with a population of tens of thousands, the disappearance of dozens of people every year is like a lake without a glass of water.

Edgar didn't answer his question immediately, "That investor didn't commit suicide, he was murdered."

From the very beginning, the derelictness of the building on Via Barcelo concealed a great conspiracy.

"It was Senator Bessemo who persuaded this wealthy businessman to invest in this town. After being moved by Bessemo's lies, the businessman came to Brodica Town for investigation. The current mayor, Peg's predecessor, That is Bessemo's accomplice, he used a series of preferential treatment promises to make the businessman finally make up his mind to expand the scope of business to this small town that raised his father's generation."

What happened next was very simple: the vampire forced the tragic businessman to death, took control of his only daughter, embezzled his family property, and used it to continue his bloody business.

During the time he came to Brodica, he had been digging for the root of the poisonous vine entwining the town until he revealed all the truth little by little.

Why was this town established, and how many people died in the process due to human greed and vampire madness.

"why?"

"To give someone eternal life."

Just for one person, Ignatz did all these atrocities for just one human being.

Carl showed an incomprehensible look, and after a while, he half-closed his eyes, "I probably understand, but it won't make me forgive him."

Like his feelings for the vampire, Ignatz must be in love with the man too.

Twisted and suffocating love.

"He will definitely not allow that person to leave his side, so since this underground store is his strongest fortress, then that person must be inside."

"What are you going to do?"

"Ignatz implements tyranny in this town, and there will always be vampires who disobey him and want to overthrow his rule."

Edgar's fingers slid across another piece of green ink, not too far from Barcelo Avenue, "This is another secret base of his, where he raises food and some important experimental objects, every Wednesday and Friday He will spend his time here. Because it was destroyed once, generally only his direct descendants are allowed to enter."

At this point, Karl finally understood what kind of secret activities Edgar was carrying out during those nights.

"You mean you're going to break in?" Even a fool could understand Edgar's subtext.

He planned to sneak into the underground base while Ignatz was going to do the experiment, find the person imprisoned by the other party, and negotiate with him.

But this is crazy.He looked at the vampire in shock, trying to find a hint of playfulness in his expression.

"Have you ever considered, if that man is not conscious... Also, do you know his identity?" He had a lot to say about this plan, but in the end, considering that the other party might have thought about it a long time ago, he could only pick out So many to ask.

"I know, it's Ignatz's teacher, the one who taught him spellcasting and alchemy." Edgar didn't elaborate on what he learned from Eugene.

Carlos Owen had lived long enough, even as a vampire.In order not to be driven crazy by hundreds of years, Owen has forgotten many things, but even so, he still remembers the name of the man who was with Ignatz—Ray Hope, that’s the name, a Although there are not many records in the book, it is undoubtedly a great spellcaster.

"What are you going to say? Will he help you against Ignatz?"

"If it was Ignatz in the past, maybe that man would not give up on him. But as I said, he is already going crazy, and his madness has caused both of them to suffer for hundreds of years——Lei Huan Alive, but only alive, or so."

As early as when he saw the many murders committed by Ignatz, he knew that this guy was about to be driven crazy by his paranoia and frustration caused by failure.

After listening to Edgar's words, Carl stared at the writing on the map in silence.

He should be happy, after all, that Edgar was willing to share his secrets with him and stop treating him as a fragile human teenager in need of protection, but another part of him was angry.

The pain of being imprisoned for hundreds of years, unable to live according to his will, all for some crazy purpose and someone's lust, is etched into his soul even though he no longer remembers himself as Karl Before the resurrection, he would tremble and be furious over it.

"Me too..." I want to go with you too.

——I want to meet this man who has a similar fate to mine.

Someone knocked on the door, interrupting his unspoken words.

Eugene Gabriel poked his head in, looked around first, and then explained his purpose.

"Sorry to bother you, but I have something to tell you about that little girl."

Daisy Willard covered her mouth tightly, but even this couldn't stop the blood from slipping down her fingers.

Will she die here?Thinking of this, there was panic in her eyes—she was in pain, her whole body hurt, especially her throat.

Because Eugene's support staff outside encountered a little accident, they stayed in this big empty house for a few more days.But Eugene assured them that they would be able to leave this town the day after tomorrow, the day after tomorrow at the latest.

Leaving this small town without becoming a burden to Cal, and starting a new life—a new identity, a new city, and a new school, which the vampire named Eugene had promised her.

No one would put her with the serial killer father, no little vampire imprisoned deep in the basement.

But before that, she had to tell Carl the truth.

He told how he left Willard's house with the help of Sheila, and ran towards his friend's house under the bleak moonlight, what the two men encountered on the way did to her, and their terrible purpose.

Through an extremely tortuous way, Eugene, who understood her meaning, pondered for a while, "Let me try to help you cancel the confidentiality agreement." He showed an uncertain look for the first time, "But let me tell you in advance, I will Not very good at these things, so don't count on me too much."

Eugene said that he was not very good at it, and he was really troubled for a long time.

The moment she finished casting the spell, she paused and found that she seemed to be able to really talk about that matter.

"Because I recognized Carl, I didn't pay attention to the leak for a while, and they found out that I knew Carl, and they took me to the hotel in a daze..." Daisy wanted to continue talking, but met the shocked eyes of the vampire. He realized that what was coming up in his throat was not other liquid but his own blood.

"Shut up, don't talk, I'll find Edgar and the others."

Eugene panicked very rarely, "Don't talk."

Vampires cannot heal wounds other than those caused by fangs.

"It's a curse." He hammered down the table, "It's a curse that looks like a non-disclosure agreement."

"Edgar, we made a fatal mistake."

Eugene pulled them to the other side of the house, and said as they walked, "That little girl is not wearing a non-disclosure agreement but a curse, a real curse, but the caster is very cunning and took a lot of effort to deliberately disguise it. It looks like a non-disclosure agreement, just to trick us into using the wrong method to get in touch with it, so as to trigger the real killing move to achieve the purpose of silence."

"Is there any difference between these two things?"

Carl asked anxiously.During this period of time, he tried his best to protect his friend from the dangers of the outside world, and he did so, but he never expected that the real damage was caused from the very beginning.

It lurks inside her like a bomb, waiting for the unsuspecting to light its fuse.

This also explains why only the vampires came to make trouble - in the eyes of that group of people, Daisy may have been a dead person long ago.

The more they wanted to save her, the more they wanted to know the truth, the more they accelerated her death.

A chill ran down his spine, and he had a terrible premonition.

"These two things have something in common in principle. They both set a prerequisite and cause harm to those who meet the condition, but the latter is far more malicious than the former. The non-disclosure agreement, as the name suggests, was born to keep people secret. As long as It will not actively harm your body if you do not exceed that line, similar to the nature of a warning, and it is relatively easy to lift." Eugene spoke quickly, "The curse is different, as long as the curse is triggered, unless someone knows how to If it is lifted, it will not stop. The good thing is that it will be over until the cursed person dies, and the bad thing will continue to spread along the blood or the body."

What he didn't say was that the most complicated curse he had ever seen lasted for hundreds of years until the last collateral blood of that family died.

In the short time they were talking, they had already walked the not-so-long distance and came to the door of Daisy's room.

Through the open door, they could smell a strong smell of blood.

The hunting instinct made the eyes of the two vampires instantly turn red.

"Daisy."

Regardless of other things, Carl opened the door and saw the girl in a pool of blood.

Blood gushed out continuously along her fingers, taking away her life bit by bit.She knelt down on the floor, her head drooping feebly, and her eyes were very empty, as if only the lingering body was left in this place, and her spirit had already drifted to other places.

"Daisy!" He wanted to touch her, caught sight of those restless tentacles, and could only stand there stiffly.

The two vampires got past him and got busy by her side.

Edgar frowned, and chanted a spell, "It's probably the only way."

The blood flow slowed down, but didn't stop.

Daisy was immersed in the dizziness caused by the blood loss, and she didn't even realize that someone came in at this moment.

In fact, in the suffocation and depression of dying, the surrounding walls rotate rapidly, and the world blurs into a colorful riot of colors.

She seemed to be dreaming, because everything was full of unreal dreams, like being under the water, and like being in a million-flower mirror.

"...Sheila."

She recognized the feeling.

Here's a foreshadowing from Sheila Webster.

Just like the dream many days ago, she saw again what Sheila had seen.

"Where are you?"

She whispered in her heart, hoping to convey it to that pale and thin little girl.

——She asked Edgar Fogelsang to look for her, but the blond vampire couldn't find her, so she just disappeared out of thin air, just like 50 years ago, no one could find her anymore.

Every night, she wants to re-enter the dream at that time - even if it doesn't matter if the vampire finds out, she wants to save Sheila Webster.

They were all victims of the atrocities committed by Hangel Willard, and it was impossible for her alone to have a new life.

In what looked like Sheila's body, she opened her eyes, facing the low ceiling and countless candles floating in mid-air.

She seemed to be lying on a bed somewhere, and she felt ecstasy at the realization that Sheila was alive, but imprisoned by someone.

"Peg, you saved your life."

Hearing someone talking to her, she suddenly became alert.

——she had heard this voice before, the last time she saw through Sheila's eyes, the extremely dangerous vampire wanted by Edgar Fogelsang.

"...Yes, is it?"

Peg?Isn't it Sheila?Hearing the body's answer, she quickly realized something was wrong.

This is a man talking, fearful, grateful, even inexplicable.

Through the man's eyes, she could see exactly what this place was: low ceilings, bookshelves built into the surrounding walls, floating candles, and an extraction distillation device that looked very old.

"Peg, I never thought that a vulgar man like you could have such wisdom."

The green-eyed vampire stared at him, as if he could see another consciousness hidden in the man's body, "No, who are you?"

Daisy wanted to run away immediately, but the sight of the green-eyed vampire was like a spear, nailing her firmly in place.

"Sheila Webster, are you so haunted even in death?"

These were the last words she heard.

Then she returned to the real world again, and the pain returned to her body—she was hurting all over, as if everything under the skin had been crushed.

She struggled to get focus, and saw Cal's anxious face, and the red eyes of the vampire.

"Do you want to take her to the hospital?"

It's Carl.

"Don't move her, her internal organs may be completely shattered at any time, if you move her she will die immediately."

It's Edgar.

"Edgar, do you know how to lift the curse?"

It's Eugene.

They surrounded her, trying every means to make her feel better.

At that moment, she forgot Eugene's warning and wanted to call out her friend's name, but what came out was more blood and internal organs.

Blood filled her throat like a water-soaked sponge, choking her feeble voice.

She was going to die, going to die like Sheila.

Despair enveloped her heart, just like when her father found her hiding behind the door.

This time no one can save her.

Carl, Edgar, and Eugene all surrounded her, desperate to save her from this terrible ordeal.

"She looked as if she had something to say."

As expected of her friends since she was a child, Carl was the only one among them who correctly understood what she meant.

She opened her mouth, and the blood flowed out again.

Carl held her body in panic to keep her from collapsing in pain.

"Daisy, don't talk, if you have to tell me something, just write it down."

She glanced at him gratefully before being distracted by a more terrifying pain.

Her bloodstained fingers slid with difficulty on the unstained floor, and she had to work very hard to suppress the thought of falling asleep.

Carl stared at the movement of her fingers and slowly read the words she had scribbled in agony.

"Sheila, die, vampire..." His voice was very soft, for fear of disturbing her if he spoke louder, "Green eyes, basement, collusion with Peg, a good idea..."

Daisy coughed twice and couldn't write any more.

"Is that Sheila Webster?"

Hearing someone ask this, she nodded feebly, but it could only make the blood flow out even more—the blood gushed out frantically from her mouth and nostrils.

She asked the blond vampire to find Sheila, but since that night, no matter how she felt, she could no longer sense Sheila's existence.

The female vampire who came in the dusk, the crazy bloody feast after being first embraced, and the guilt of killing her parents with her own hands.

Sheila Webster died without getting the salvation she wanted.

Just like her, she should be dying soon—even if she has no common sense, she knows that broken internal organs are not a serious injury that can be easily cured.

"Is there really no way?"

Carl stood up and handed the scene back to the two vampires.

Edgar shook his head heavily.

Realizing the cruelty behind the silence, Karl bit his lip.

Why are they so negligent?

"Don't blame Edgar, the curse is a very troublesome thing..."

No curse caster would want their curse to be easily touched, so lifting the curse is a long and complicated process. Generally speaking, it is necessary to prepare quite a lot of equipment and raw materials, and then perform different rituals according to the type of curse. To obtain the caster's hair or blood as a medium.

At this moment, the whole purpose of this sinister curse is to take the life of the subject in a short time, and it is too late for them to start preparing the materials immediately.

Not to mention that they had to look for the spellcaster hiding in the dark—daisy might die because of the inability to support them just by the time they walked out of the house.

Daisy was still bleeding, although the speed of the bleeding had slowed down a lot, but they all knew that it was because she was almost out of blood.

Just when despair was about to envelope them all, Eugene wiped the blood from his finger and said in a deep voice, "We still have one last resort."

"What is it?"

Carl asked without thinking.

The silver-haired, dark-skinned vampire pointed to himself and then to the dying girl, "If it's just alive, I still have a way to keep her alive. But you guessed it, the way is to embrace her and turn her into mine. similar."

In other words, Daisy Willard will still die, but instead of going to heaven after death, she will continue to exist as a walking corpse.

Eugene lifted her slender body and looked into her pupils.

"Daisy Willard, would you like to be our companion?"