1982: Small Town Bloodline Records

Everything will end, in the evening bell.

Today is January 1982, 12.

Brodica, a small town in the north, has modern public facilities and an ancient and desolate atmosphere.

Everyone who lives here is aware of the unsolved case at Webster Manor, but few people know that this is just the beginning of everything.

In its history of about 50 years, every minute and every second has been soaked with the blood and tears of humans and vampires. They are hidden under the white snow, frozen into ice, and gradually numb the pain in their hearts.

And the instigator of all this is a vampire named Ignatz Dulles.

In order to seek the secret of immortality, to desecrate the realm of the gods, and more importantly, to satisfy the thirst for killing in his cruel nature, he caused all the tragedies.

At this moment, all the actors have finally arrived, in order to seek justice, and to correct all the mistakes that should not exist in the world.

On Barcelo Avenue, a huge shadow covers the ground, and the world is exposed in a wide obtuse angle.

It didn't take much time for Edgar to find the right location - an abandoned entertainment mall with three floors above ground and an even wider underground area.

The street was empty, and occasionally one or two passers-by pulled up their collars and walked quickly, as if they were indifferent to all these abnormalities.

Edgar quickly found the reason why people ignored it in the corners of the surrounding buildings: the lampposts of the street lamps, the walls of the abandoned buildings, and the floor tiles at the entrance, all of which were engraved with strange hieroglyphics, just like children The pranks are generally unobtrusive.

He recognized the true meaning of these words and symbols.They herald expulsion, and are generally used near the fence walls of those old spellcaster's houses, to expel those impolite outsiders and wild beasts, and to ensure the safety of the occupants of the house.

As long as these characters are still exerting their original effects, ordinary people will automatically stay away from this area because of their instinct to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages.

As for those intruders who are less sensitive to danger, at best they will become another delicious meal for vampires, at worst they will fall into the hands of Ignatz to endure his crazy and useless experiments again and again.

During Edgar's hesitation for a few minutes, two or three other vampires who had the same destination as him also spotted him.

"I don't seem to have seen you before." The big man at the head put his hand on his shoulder casually, "Your smell seems to be slightly different from ours."

He was about to answer when he heard the woman behind him say with a smile: "Apart from us, who else can you recognize? Well, let's all go in. It's rare that the lord is not here. We have to have some fun for ourselves."

Being pushed into the building by this group of vampires, in human terms, it must be the heart beating violently due to tension and unknown fear, but Edgar knew that his heart had stopped beating many years ago.He acted flawless, like he really was an unremarkable newborn vampire under Ignatz's rule.

The interior space is even wider than he guessed from the outside, probably after remodeling.

In the dark underground, dim red lights can be seen everywhere, like pairs of eyes watching for new intruders.

They walked through the narrow corridor that should be the entrance, and the world in front of them suddenly widened.

The groans of dying women, the hoarse cries of children, and the giggling of vampires formed a terrifying symphony.

— This is where people who are casually classified by the police as missing or suicides really go.

The air was warm and stale, with the sweet aroma of blood.The sound of sucking was pervasive, and Edgar exhausted all his strength just to control the expansion and contraction of the fangs.

"Are you new here?" The female vampire saw that something was wrong with him, "Shh, relax, relax, this is our routine."

"Rule?" Edgar suddenly stopped being so tense.

He was actually used to this sinful and depraved atmosphere, but he didn't want to lose himself again.

The joy brought about by indulging desires is temporary, but the pain after awakening is endless.

"Our master, during the two days when he is away, we can do whatever we want."

After the female vampire finished speaking, she walked towards the place where the same clan gathered, and when she came back, she already had a glass of blood in her hand.

"That's it." She pouted her bloody red lips, "Enjoy today, otherwise you won't be able to survive the days to come."

It didn't take long for the vampires to be satisfied.

There is a very vivid metaphor for the scene in front of Edgar, that is, a group of drunks who are drunk.

There are vampires walking around with squinted eyes. They wantonly kiss the same people they can catch around them, and put their lips on each other's necks to make some obscene movements.

Seeing this scene, Edgar didn't waste any more time.

He had to find that person, otherwise it would be difficult for them to have another chance.

Away from the main store where vampires lived, he walked in a corridor that should be a fire escape. Because there were no lights on both sides, even a vampire who was born to adapt to the dark was a little lost.

"Who are you?" He felt another female vampire guarding him from afar, and that vampire should have sensed his presence, "This is not where you should come. Go back, go back to where you should be." place, stay with your companions."

"I went the wrong way." Edgar could smell Ignatz on her.

She should be of the blood of Ignatz.

The female vampire looked at him suspiciously, as if trying to tell if he had really gone the wrong way.

"look at me."

The two men's eyes met, and in a flash, Edgar recognized the prying touch—it was the female vampire who had controlled Marmon Croft.

No matter how much a vampire changes his smell or appearance, their spirit does not change.

Seeing that the female vampire was about to find out his identity, there seemed to be some invisible fluctuation coming from behind that door.

"You..." The vampire Melinda Croft only had time to say a single word before falling to the ground and falling into a coma.

The previously closed door quietly opened a crack, through which Edgar could see the never-extinguishing candle——Ignatz didn't trust modern technology, and insisted on using magic to generate it no matter where he went. cold flame for lighting.

It was exactly the same as the scene he saw through Daisy Willard's dream. There were floating candles everywhere, and clusters of faint fires converged into orange rivers.

At the same time, he also knew that there was a reason for the female vampire's coma, and something was luring him into it.

If he didn't hurry, he wouldn't have another chance until Ignatz noticed it.

Edgar, who didn't know if this was another trap by Ignatz, didn't stop.He had a hunch that the person he was looking for was inside.

He walked into the door, as if he had passed through an invisible barrier, his bare skin smelled of burnt paste, and he felt a tingling sensation from his fingers and cheeks.

Entering here, Edgar did not move forward rashly, and looked around cautiously: the layout was simpler than he imagined, and there were built-in bookshelves on all four walls, which were full of ancient books. The bed, the useless brass fixtures, and Ignatz's desk with an old unfinished book and some manuscripts on it.

--I am here.

A man's voice suddenly entered my mind.He was startled, and looked in the direction of the sound—the bookshelf, nothing else.

—Come in, I'm here.

Edgar stabilized his mind, walked to the bookshelf, and stretched out his hand tentatively.

The same burning pain as before spread along the fingertips, he didn't stop, and continued to stretch inside.

His left hand passed through the bookshelf, into the dark room behind, then his arm and body.

When he entered the dark room, he saw the person lying in the black wooden coffin at first sight.

"Are you calling me?"

The person in front of him is not so much a person as a loose leather bag.

The skin, which has lost its elasticity due to aging, sags and cannot even attach to the bones.

He lost all his hair and teeth—although it was rude to say this, but Edgar couldn't imagine that if Ignatz really loved each other, how could he allow him to live in such a miserable and indignified way Woolen cloth?

Is this still the red sandalwood that humans should have?

—touch me, look into my eyes.

The old man in the coffin barely opened one eyelid, and such a small movement almost made him pass out.

Hearing that Edgar couldn't think of any other way, he had to follow suit.

Those eyes were so cloudy that they couldn't see their original color, but they were cold, with a condescending arrogance.

It was as if the person sitting was always him, and the vampire was just a servant at his feet.

Edgar thought he had lost his mind, but the moment he really touched the man's soft and rough skin, he knew he was wrong.This man has been sober all the time.

--I have been waiting for you.

"wait for me?"

Edgar, who was worried about a new threat suddenly jumping out of the darkness, asked subconsciously.

——Yes, I am waiting for you, or someone who can find me and give me relief.

Edgar, who couldn't imagine how many years the other party had been waiting for, fell silent.

—I know your purpose, vampire.You wanted to kill my students, but you knew there was a gap between you, so you came to me for help.

Even such a purpose was seen through, and Edgar simply stopped hiding it.

"Will you help me?" That was all he wanted.

——That depends on whether you agree to my conditions.

"What do you want me to do? What can I do for you?"

—Sometimes what is more terrifying than dark creatures is human ambition.

The moment he left No. 39 Wiggelson Street, Antiago Vien knew that he was being watched by someone—they thought they were doing it very covertly, but they didn't know that they had received professional training in this area since they were young. From my own point of view, the noise they made was no less than thunder on the ground.In order not to startle the enemy, he put his hands in his pockets and walked quickly through the deserted street. When he passed the corner of the street, he quietly took out a mirror from his pocket and looked at it.

It was three men in black.He remembered what the vampire had said to him a moment ago, and the corners of his mouth turned up, stopping at a complex and contemptuous smile.

Sensing the moment they were approaching, he squeezed the trigger of the pistol in his pocket with his fingers, and then slowly released it.

If he was attacked by those monsters lurking in the darkness, he would have a million ways to deal with them, but unfortunately, it was human beings who attacked him, the weakest and strongest human beings.

Demon hunters must not harm humans, this is a commandment written into their flesh and bones.

Their power begins with humans and ends with humans, so there are always dark creatures who hate people like them and want to use the power of humans to eradicate them.

In the face of such a crisis, different families have different coping methods: like Ravenna Hicks, their family is to separate some people to deal with those fallen humans alone.

As for their family, it is difficult to find a way to coexist peacefully in the cracks.

They hit the back of his head with a blunt instrument to force him into a coma. Before his consciousness fell into darkness, a cold towel was pressed to his mouth and nose, and he smelled the special sweet smell of ether.

——Actually, you don’t need to take such painstaking efforts, because I can’t touch a finger of you at all.

With such ironic thoughts in mind, he closed his eyes and let himself fall into the hands of this group of people.

When he barely regained consciousness, his headache seemed to burst open at any moment.

Suppressing the pain in his body, he began to look around at the furnishings—his hands and feet were trapped on the backrest and feet of the chair in the most complicated and delicate way, and even a little movement was a problem.

This is a dark room without windows, and there are things that look like instruments of torture hanging on the walls. The air is stale and decayed, and the smell of blood can be vaguely smelled.He moved his fingers tentatively, and a pinprick-like numbness surged up, but he couldn't touch the knot, so he could only give up powerlessly, waiting for the culprit who brought him here to think of him.

Time passed by, maybe it was time to eat, an elderly woman in simple and strict clothes pushed open the door of the darkroom with a tray.

Although it was very faint, he could smell the scent left by the vampire on the woman.

The woman has a face with ordinary features but full of life's hardships. She untied his shackles, and then stared at him with exquisite eyes.

"Keep silent. I'm not discussing anything with you, this is an order." Her voice was rough and harsh, "otherwise I can't guarantee what will happen."

Antiago caught a glimpse of the silver light hidden in her cuff from the corner of her eye, and nodded silently.

Seeing that Antiago understood what she said, she lifted the plate and stuffed the paste in the bowl into his mouth one by one—her movements were very rough and mechanical, as if forcibly filling the mouth. Feed, regardless of the speed of the other party's swallowing, just stuffed a spoonful every few seconds.

Under this kind of treatment, Antiago didn't even have time to chew, so he just swallowed what was in his mouth.After finally waiting for the bottom of the bowl, she packed up the tableware, put the shackle on him again, turned and left mercilessly.

That's it, this woman will deliver the food when the time comes, without saying anything or doing anything else, in order to maintain his state, he will accept the food brought by the other party with peace of mind.

The most unacceptable thing for him is to urinate.

It is impossible for a woman to untie him, so he can only endure shame and disgust, and use a container to solve it under the other party's surveillance.

He didn't know how long he had been imprisoned. In other words, his sense of the passage of time became extremely dull in this extreme environment.

In the maddening darkness and silence he could only keep himself sane by thinking of what Marmond Croft had said to him.

He still doesn't know what happened to the man who lost everything.During the time they worked together, he had overheard him say a lot—mostly about his missing wife and dead child.

"I used to think I was the luckiest man in the world..."

His thoughts were interrupted by footsteps outside the door.

Not that woman.He had been trained to recognize the footsteps as belonging to a man.The man was wandering outside the door, apparently extremely conflicted about his existence in his heart.

Man, the tip of his nose twitched, with a sarcasm in his expression.

When the man outside hesitated enough and was finally willing to come in and face him, Antiago faced a face he had seen more than once on TV and in newspapers.

It was the mayor, Peg Violet, who came.

Peg walked around him a few times, keeping his cautious eyes on him, and finally, just before Antiago lost his patience, he reached out and took off the shackle for him, restoring his language ability.

"You seem to have a lot to ask me."

Antiago moved his jaw, and finally chose a less sharp question, "You brought me here?"

Pegg rubbed his hands, his eyeballs rolled in his eye sockets, "Yes." He smiled cautiously and flatteringly, "Don't be nervous, I don't want to hurt you, in fact I still have something to ask you, I hope we can forge a partnership."

Unexpectedly, Antiago raised his eyebrows, "Oh? Really? Then what do you want me to do? Let me explain in advance that I can't help you kill people. No matter what level it is, I will I won't help you kill."

Politicians usually have just a few requests: Someone wants to frame them, or they want to preemptively frame their competitors.

"I heard you, what kind of hunter are you... a hunter?"

Pegg didn't get the name right after he said it for a long time, so Antiago could only help him fill it up kindly, "Demon hunter, or to put it more simply, you can think of me as a vampire hunter."

Although his business scope is not limited to this, but at present, the words "vampire hunter" are completely sufficient.

Peg responded oh-oh-oh, and then changed the topic to the beginning, "Why do you say you can't hurt human beings?"

"We cannot harm human beings in the physical range. That is to say, ordinary people can beat or even kill me. We are bound by the commandments and cannot resist at all."

"What will happen to the resistance?" Peg, who was interested in this, continued to ask.

"There is a high probability that you will die." Antiago's tone was cruel, "Which hand you use to hurt humans, that hand will be broken. The damage received by the other party will be returned to our body ten times or twenty times. I I know a man who just punched the man who sold his soul to the devil in anger. It was just a punch, and he didn't even use [-]% of his strength, but his internal organs ruptured, and he was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment and removed. The spleen and half of the liver barely survived."

After hearing it, Pegg tried hard to control the smile on his face, which made his facial expression extremely distorted.

"It's such a pity, I hope your friend is well." Even if he didn't think so at all in his heart, he had to express his sympathy verbally, "but please rest assured, I will not let you kill. I I would like to ask you to destroy the vampires that brought disaster to this town, would you like to wish me a helping hand?"

"Vampire?" Antiago looked up at him, as if hearing something funny, "I'm very interested. Go on."

"Yes. A vampire." Fear appeared on Peg's face. "A vampire named Ignatz Dulles. He will destroy this town. As the mayor, I am sincerely afraid."

Antiago tilted his head back, avoiding Pegg's fingers, "How did I hear that you colluded with vampires?"

"That's what he made me do!" screamed Peg, "he'll kill my family if I don't do what he says!"

In fact he almost died several times.

Antiago withdrew his gaze, "Okay, I see, you want to ask me to eliminate Ignatz Dulles, right?"

"Yes."

Peg, who thought he had found a savior, put away his hypocritical grief in a blink of an eye, "I will tell you where he is, and you can ask me for anything you need. As long as you can eliminate him, you can decide on the reward." ……What are you doing?"

Antiago was muttering words—Peg couldn't understand what he was saying, but instinctive fear told him that he'd better turn around and run now.

A dazzling white light came out from Antiago's body.

This light is getting stronger and stronger, just like the sun at noon, it can burn all darkness.

By the time he finished the last syllable, his body was already submerged in white light.

Or he turned himself into the sun.

Pegg raised his hand to cover his eyes, but felt pain all over his body as if he had been burned by fire.

"You... what are you doing?" Didn't you promise to cooperate with me?

"I did come to this town to destroy the vampires, not only Ignatz Dulles, but also you, you are all my prey, don't even try to run away."

All the strength in Pegg's body was taken away, and he knelt down on the ground unconsciously, "Didn't you say..."

"...Mr. Mayor." Antiago, who was still tied to the chair, showed unconscious sadness, "You don't think you are still human, do you?"

As if hearing something ridiculous, Peg opened his eyes wide.

"I..." Am I not?

"How could you be a human being? You have sucked the blood of the woman who delivered the food." Antiago shared his findings, "Red eyes, sharp teeth, bloodthirsty, photophobia, what? The same is the characteristic of human beings, you tell me?"

Peg opened his mouth.

He wanted to say that he had just transplanted the organs of a vampire, but when he raised his hand, he found that the skin was cracked, and pieces were broken into ashes.

——I used to think that I was the luckiest man in the world, with a loving wife and lovely children.I have only loved one woman in my life, and this woman became my wife and gave birth to my children. This is the greatest honor in my life.Even though he is not a healthy child, I still love him. In order to prevent him from being taken away by the god of death, I am even willing to sell my soul to the devil.Until one day, disaster struck and I lost everything.The rest of my life is meaningless. I just hope that before I die, I can see my enemies die and give them justice.

Peg was dead, burned to ashes by the sun's rays, a death fit for a vampire.

The price of using this power is huge, Antiago sighed in his heart recalling what Marmon Croft said.

The only executioner left was Ignatz Dulles.

—Enjoy your last moments, Carl Morrison.

When this strange feeling came to his mind, Carl was in a daze on the second floor, so that if something happened to Eugene, he would be able to feel it immediately.

He heard a bang downstairs, as if something heavy had fallen to the ground.Out of caution, he went downstairs to check and found that it was his father lying on the ground, so he rushed to check his breathing and heartbeat.

Thankfully, Dad has a rhythmic heart and even breathing.He was just lethargic, and no matter how much Karl shook, he never regained consciousness.

The sense of crisis made him use his abilities unconsciously—if he hadn't been so nervous, he would have noticed that the shadow on the wall was thicker than any he had seen before, and was about to condense into a solid body.

"... Eugene, are you listening?" He dragged his father's unconscious body upstairs, calling out the name of another vampire as he walked, "Eugene, Eugene, are you listening? We seem to be Attacked."

The weird gray mist, like the ashes left after something was burned, drifted in through the gaps in the doors and windows, blurring the existing boundary between reality and illusion.

Carl opened his eyes wide, and subconsciously wanted to cover his mouth to prevent himself from inhaling the problematic mist.

But the mist was everywhere, and after a few seconds, he put down his hand.

"Eugene, if you can hear what I'm saying, don't come out." Knowing that this is the time to panic, he forced himself to calm down, "Protect Daisy. As for other things, I will take care of them." .”

But no matter how much he shouted, the vampire behind the door didn't give him the slightest response.

He must leave this room.This thought came out of nowhere, as if he had thought this way from the beginning.

No, I can't leave.He wanted to fight against the will in his brain that didn't belong to him, but the problem was that it was too strong, too strong for him to resist.

His pupils completely diffused into a deep black, turned mechanically and went downstairs, opened the door, walked through the deserted garden and the black iron gate, and came to the deserted street.

At this time, his expression returned to normal again.He quickly looked around, and found that the surrounding was a bit abnormally quiet-this was still different from the usual silence.

On weekdays, even if no one passes by on the street, he can still feel those subtle movements, such as people peeping in the windows, the small air current blowing by the wind on the ground, and some noisy sounds.

At this moment, everything was still except him.

Being far away from his family and friends, he no longer has other worries—usually he is always worried that he will lose control and hurt them again, so just being patient will exhaust him.

The shadow that was no longer restrained quickly spread across the snow, stretched out its greedy tentacles, and opened those creepy eyes.

Among them are the sharp buzzing of birds' wings and the fluttering of tiny feathers.

The feathers fell on the white snow, and the stark color contrast was viscerally terrifying.

"Come out."

The fog was still spreading, and the visibility was less than ten meters, and it was getting thicker and thicker.

The shadow stopped on the ground less than five meters away from him, and he stared at the void, "I know you are here."

The air twisted a few times, and the figures of two men emerged—one was a large man with a conservative estimate of 180 pounds, and the other was an ordinary tall and thin man.

"You did all of this?"

"Yes."

The big man admitted it surprisingly readily, and then said rather flamboyantly: "It's pretty good, I spent a lot of effort to set up this simulation sandbox, as long as people here and outside won't know what happened .”

The mean-faced young man beside him frowned, "Stop talking nonsense, don't delay the business."

No matter how dull he is, he should know that these two people are here for him.

Carl recalled what Edgar had said in the past, and anger burned violently in his chest.

"You guys hurt Daisy?"

Manipulating her, using her, and finally putting such a vicious curse on her.

He couldn't imagine what would have happened to her if Eugene hadn't been around.

Ravenna put on a cold expression that didn't know what you were talking about, "Daisy?"

"It's the little girl, the little girl who should be dead."

"It's her." Ravenna seemed to remember, but said nothing.

"It can only be her bad luck." Husserl explained to Karl patiently with a troubled look, "She said she was being hunted down and asked us for help. We wanted to save her, but who would want to save her?" She knows you and is still your friend. We have no choice but to do this. You are the one who is wrong. If you come to us obediently, or don’t be friends with that little girl, she won’t. will die."

"She... was unlucky?" Karl repeated his words. "My fault?"

His facial expression was cold and nervous—he had never been this angry, not even when Rooney and Ronald beat him up.

"That's right, it's your fault. You were made as a weapon, so you shouldn't have these human emotions. Friends, isn't it ridiculous? If it is not used properly, things like you will only kill those around you Everyone." Husserl was persuasive, seemingly oblivious to the approaching shadows, "It doesn't matter, you have met us now. I swear to you, we will definitely use your power to destroy the dark creatures , That’s what those people created you for.”

The sharp blade protruding from the shadow aimed at Husserl's neck and stabbed at the speed of light, but lost its direction the moment it touched his skin, and changed back to that soft and slender posture again.

Carl fell to his knees in the snow, panting violently.

He couldn't move, neither his own body nor the darkness under his control.

Was it the fluid that had been injected into the body earlier?

"Am I right?" Husserl's tone was soft, like a devil's whisper, "You know, it's your fault, you killed all of them. We came here to help you atone for your sins. "

"Don't provoke him anymore." Seeing that Husserl's words became more and more excessive, Ravenna finally stopped, "Check the target's physical condition, and then take him away."

As long as you leave the town with the boy in front of you, their people will meet you not far away.

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Husserl shrugged, saying that he didn't care.

"It seems that it is still a little bit mature."

Ravenna stepped forward, lifted his chin critically with his gloved left hand, and found that there was still a line of white around the edge of the eyeball.

"Aren't you going to be very hungry?" He withdrew his hand, "Didn't you eat well?"

The reddish liquid will speed up the assimilation of his weird soul and body, and in order to complete this process, he needs to eat a lot—not only limited to dark creatures, but also those human souls with innate power.

Eyeliner This town is full of vampires, he didn't take energy properly?

"No, just right."

Husserl grinned and shouted something to his companion.

"Is the sandwich delicious?"

"It's okay...what's the matter?" Ravenna, who didn't know why the other party said such an irrelevant topic, subconsciously replied.

"Go, my partner."

Sensing the approaching danger, Ravenna turned his head abruptly.

Husserl was still laughing.He recognized that it was the dangerous smile that the other party used to face the prey.

"You're too vigilant, I can only give you medicine little by little." Husserl watched him fall limply to the ground, surrounded by those confused and weak shadows until he couldn't move.

"This is also..." Ravenna wanted to draw his gun, but his strength was completely deprived, just like their prey who fell to the ground.

"Yes, that's what your uncle meant." Husserl took out a silver whistle from his pocket, wiped it and put it in his mouth, "He said, if necessary, even you can be sacrificed, as long as you can He brought it back. Have you forgotten? What he needs are not only dark creatures, but also human beings like you who are born with power."

A high-pitched whistle sounded, like the birdsong that had escaped Carl's throat a few times earlier.

Husserl whistled in some eerie rhythmic rhythm,

Karl's pupils are dilated again - this is one of the means the Dawn uses to control the terrible weapons they have created.

They put so many hints and spells on him, it was like putting a hemp rope around his neck.

After a long study, the Hicks family finally found the other end of the rope.

"Dinner's ready, good boy." He pouted at the collapsed Ravenna, "We'll leave this town when we're full. In order to atone for your sins, don't let me live up to my expectations."

Half of Ravenna's body has been melted into the shadows.

His mouth grew wide, and he couldn't speak no matter what. Only the pupils shrunk to the size of pinpoints and the distorted facial features showed his fear.

The ruthless tentacles greedily sucked and chewed his flesh.He wanted to say that he regretted it, that he didn't want to die at all... Soon, his vision was completely enveloped in darkness.

he died.

……

Carl gasped.

He has no control over his body and behavior.

His own consciousness was imprisoned in a certain corner of his body.

Blood color floated in front of the retina, staining everything red.

Then there was the auditory hallucination - although the surroundings were so quiet, he could hear a huge noise.

What did he hear?

The evening bells, one after another.

"Burn him, burn him!"

There was a lot of voices, they shouted this sentence in unison.

Who are they going to burn?Thinking of this, he raised his head and saw that the person tied to the stake was also looking at him.

He was covered in blood, and his moonlight blond hair was the color of fire in the afterglow of the setting sun—fire, yes, fire, and tongues of fire leaped from his toes, greedily licking his grease-soaked clothes.

His pale skin was devoured by the flames, and his heart suddenly ached violently.

—I want to save him.I must save him.

Black flames burst from inside his body.

—Even if it hurts myself, I must save him.

Husserl took two steps back, and muttered to himself in shock, "He actually... lost control."