Chapter 365: Vampire With A Unique Hobby
The Cathedral of Serenity looked particularly beautiful at night. It
complemented the crimson moon high up in the sky that coldly illuminated
the land.
Leonard entered his single room, took off his two red gloves, and tossed
them onto a wooden table.
With a grim look, he sat in front of the patterned glass window, his
back facing out as he bathed in the moonlight.
After ten seconds of silence, he said softly, almost gritting his teeth,
"So you're a Parasite!"
Leonard's voice echoed faintly in his own ears, muffled by obvious
anger, tension, a sense of loss, and fear.
In the blink of an eye, a slightly-aged voice resounded in his mind.
"You can say that."
"What exactly do you want? Are you a being that's leeching my life
through your parasitic means? Or are you waiting for me to become
stronger, so you can directly devour my Beyonder characteristic, just
like cultivating a humanoid potion?" Leonard's voice was suppressed, but
in no way slow.
The slightly-aged voice in his mind laughed.
*"I'm your fortuitous encounter; didn't you always think so? You believe
yourself to be unique and the protagonist of this era...*
*"In fact, you aren't acting as arrogant and self-conceited as you
usually do. Ultimately, you're wary of me. Hehe. After I taught you the
acting method, you didn't even focus on studying it. All you did was a
very superficial attempt at it. You wasted a very long time before you
digested it and even hid it. You didn't pursue the Nightmare
potion.*
*"It was only after you met with the spawn of the True Creator and
suffered a setback were you willing to advance to Sequence 7. Your
regret has made you hallucinate.*
*"Leonard, think about it carefully. Would I not understand the Church
of Evernight? When I dealt with them, even the so-called Chanis hadn't
even been born yet.*
*"Would I not know that the Church of Evernight knows of Parasites?
Would I not realize that the Red Gloves would grasp certain secrets to
prevent the infiltration of High-Sequence Beyonders?*
"But did I ever stop you from joining the Red Gloves?"
After a few brief changes in expression, Leonard finally fell silent,
saying nothing.
The voice in his mind laughed again.
*"Do you feel like you have aged faster than your real age? No, right? I
can live for at least another hundred years. I'm not in a hurry to take
over my host's life.*
*"As for your Beyonder characteristics, humph. We aren't even in a
similar pathway that allows exchanging. If I swallow it, it would be
equivalent to drinking poison, making me half-crazy and increasing my
chance of losing control. Do you think that I would do that?*
*"Evernight is grouped with Giant and Death, while my Beyonder pathway's
goal is that of the Apprentice and Seer."*
Leonard looked at his body which was illuminated by the crimson
moonlight. After some thought, he asked again, "What exactly do you want
to do? What is your purpose?"
The slightly-aged voice in his mind sighed.
"Didn't I already tell you?
*"I've suffered tremendous damage, and I need a host to recover slowly,
and I have to hide from a terrible enemy... The Nighthawks, the Church
of Evernight, is quite a good choice for a host."*
Leonard lifted his head, looked at the ceiling for a few seconds, and
said in a deep voice, "Will you be discovered by the archbishops,
high-ranking deacons, or other Sealed Artifacts?"
The slightly-aged voice replied leisurely, *"If Parasites were so easily
discovered, that high-ranking deacon named Cesimir wouldn't have just
given a warning and not send all of you to be checked.*
*"Of course, Parasites do leave traces. The Church of Evernight has the
means to determine this, but it's relatively complicated and
troublesome. It will cause certain losses and substantial danger. It
might even affect that Goddess, so before you become a high-ranking
deacon, making you qualified to participate in meetings for the upper
echelons of the Church, and interact with Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts,
there's no need to worry.*
*"By then, I should've recovered and embarked on my own
journey."*
Leonard listened with a serious expression. After a while, he said, "You
have a terrifying enemy? Who is he?"
The slightly-aged voice chuckled and said, *"I don't know his name, but
I do know his last name..."*
"What is it?" Leonard asked.
The slightly-aged voice suddenly became low and deep.
"Amon."
The area south of the Bridge, 46 Riverbay Avenue.
The owners of the house that were enjoying their dinner heard the
tinkling of the doorbell.
The only maid came to the door, and through the peephole above the
door's lock, she saw a policeman in a black-and-white checkered uniform.
She opened the door and asked somewhat fearfully, "Sir, is there
anything I can do for you?"
The cop was none other than the disguised Klein, who was attempting to
take the initiative to perform. He was here to confirm that the partners
of the vampire, Emlyn White, the ones living at 48 Riverbay Avenue, and
the people who entrusted Stuart with the mission, were law-abiding
monsters.
*Yes, law-abiding monsters! Although this doesn't sound right and sounds
a little funny, it's how I would react with my true thoughts...*
Klein emphasized in his heart.
The police uniform he wore wasn't a fake that he specially tailored. It
was a product of his ordinary clothes and hallucinatory effects.
A Magician had to do what a magician would do!
Klein didn't monitor 48 Riverbay Avenue because he believed that Emlyn
White's companions had long since moved away.
As monsters and non-humans, moving to another residence was the most
basic thing to do after a comrade disappears for several days!
They had to suspect that Emlyn White was captured by the Nighthawks, the
Mandated Punishers, or other official Beyonder organizations, and it was
necessary to assume that he might be dead at any moment.
Therefore, what Klein wanted to do was to perform an investigation by
conducting a survey.
He maintained the arrogance of a low-ranking policeman towards an
ordinary citizen. Without taking off his hat, he slightly raised his
chin and said, "I have something to ask your master."
The maid entered in a fluster and quickly brought back a man in his
thirties wearing a thick shirt.
"Officer, what would you like to ask me?" the man asked nervously.
Klein stood at the door and looked inside.
"Do you know the residents of Unit 48?"
"I do." The male owner was stunned for a moment before asking, "What
happened to them?"
"They're involved in a case. You have to tell me everything you know,"
Klein said with a straight face.
His face was also disguised, augmented with slight hallucinatory
effects. It was to ensure that he looked distinct from the great
detective Sherlock Moriarty.
The male owner suddenly came to a realization.
"It's no wonder they moved away so hurriedly more than a month ago...
Most of the residents of Riverbay Avenue and the neighborhood knew the
Whites and their son. He was a handsome but eccentric young man.
"Mr. White is an excellent physician and is good at using all kinds of
medicine and bloodletting therapy."
"Bloodletting therapy?" Klein returned with a question.
"Yes, although this has been regarded by many newspapers and magazines
as an old medical skill that had no effect, anyone who received Mr.
White's treatment were cured. However, Mr. White also said that except
for him, the other doctors who practice bloodletting therapy are
quacks." The owner gave his viewpoint.
*The bloodletting therapy is to accumulate food for themselves, isn't
it? The only thing that is useful was the medicine... This vampire
family relied on bloodletting therapy to help treat patients while
receiving "food" as compensation. If there weren't many patients, or if
their blood was very unhealthy, would they consider going to a distant
hospital to steal blood from a blood bag and drink it? For such
monsters, they really are law-abiding...* Klein nodded in
understanding.
The emotional color changes in his Spirit Vision told him that the man
wasn't lying.
Seeing that the police officer didn't refute him, the man continued,
"Mr. White and his wife are very nice people. Although they can't cure
those who are seriously ill, they're still pretty good doctors for all
the residents who live nearby...
"Was their child, Emlyn, involved in a case? That young man was too
silent, as though he looked down on us. He's always hiding at home, and
I have no idea what he's doing... Officer, are you hot? It's so cold
outside."
He probably just hides in the day and comes out at night...
Klein wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, "I've been walking
around here all day because of this case!"
Next, according to his designed survey, he learned everything about the
Whites and their son.
One family at a time, he knocked on the door, asked questions, compiled
answers, and came to the conclusion that the White family was indeed
kind, amiable, and law-abiding.
It doesn't seem like a description of a vampire... Klein
looked up at the crimson moon which was piercing through the clouds,
ready to make a final confirmation.
He removed the hallucinatory effect from his body and started divining.
After making sure there was no danger, he went around to the side and
climbed into the house at 48 Riverbay Avenue.
Others might not know who had taken Emlyn White away, ultimately afraid
of being followed up by an official "visit" from official Beyonders, but
Klein knew what was going on and wasn't worried about a trap.
As he entered the second floor, he used the moonlight to see that the
rooms were in disarray. Many things hadn't been taken away. Through
these things, he could imagine the haste in which their owners had left.
He even found some precious books on herbs in a study, including some
popular countryside folk recipes.
As he walked, Klein entered one of the bedrooms, and shadows came into
view.
He jumped in fright, imagining that he had been ambushed. He almost
snapped his fingers to light the match that had been thrown outside.
Fortunately, no attacks occurred.
The crimson moonlight shone through the window, covering the entire
room. Klein was finally able to clearly see what those black shadows
were.
They didn't have any spiritual luster, and they were dolls of varying
sizes!
The biggest one was only slightly shorter than Klein. It was a girl
wearing a gorgeous long skirt. Her sleeves and collars were covered with
lace and ribbons.
This female doll was obviously more like one of wax. Her facial features
were vivid and lifelike, and her golden hair and red eyes were alluring
and beautiful.
The smallest one was only the size of a normal person's palm. It was a
woman wearing silver body armor. She looked valiant and heroic while
looking magnanimous and beautiful.
As his eyes swept past each doll, Klein suddenly remembered something.
Under the influence of Roselle, the development of doll art had two
trends: one was the adorable type, allowing them to have a change of
clothes; while the other strove to be more realistic.
Klein looked around and couldn't help but exclaim, "These dolls are not
cheap!
"Don't tell me Emlyn is a vampire who is obsessed with dolls?"