Chapter 64: Chapter 64

KAIST:

Dahlly’s dream was to become a doctor. In the past, I had somewhat discouraged her to pursue it because I thought she was frail, and I didn’t want her to waste her health on too much studying.

However, after what happened in our engagement and during our last talk, I realized that I may have been part of the reason why Dahlia felt caged. When we were together, she did not get to do the things she wanted to do. She was always restricted, always controlled.

Perhaps the surest way into her heart was to become a more supportive person to her, and that’s what I shall do starting just about now.

“Come on. Let’s go to the investigation site. I’m sure you can find plenty of clues that could help us there.”

Just as I thought, the smile on Dahlly’s face when I said this was priceless.

It took us less than thirty minutes for me to help her on my horse and gallop our way towards the crime scene.

I took Dahlly to the first site of attack, the one that the peace talk council mentioned before. Since the attack has happened for quite some time already, it has already been cleared away of the gore and filth of the kill. However, this place was where many of the clues had been left.

“This place - did vigilante wolves really attack here,” Dahlia asked.

I nodded. “This was where the first attack was done. They also left their first letter here, the one I had shown you earlier.”

“I see. Looking at it before, the insignia really looked authentic.”

“It’s authentic alright. We have already checked it.”

“Then, does that mean Count Jeteris was really behind these attacks?”

“I’m not sure. I didn’t think the count would be as secretive as this. He always had a bold personality, so I thought that if it was him, he wouldn’t use the guise of a vigilante group at all like this... However, the pieces of evidence that we have gathered seem to point in that direction so far…”

“What other evidence did you find?”

“Well, there are wolves’ furs all around, and since they killed vampires, the clan also gave us these…”

I held the multicolored and translucent vial-like structures up for Dahlly to see.

“Are those -?”

I nodded. “These are the memory projection crystals of some of the vampires who had died here.”

The Vampire clans cannot wield magic and needed blood as their primary nourishment. They compensate with these difficulties by using their speed and great memory as an advantage to their prey.

During the time of the Shadow Rune’s rule, the vampires cooperated with this magic-wielding pack in order to amplify their perfect memories even further. With the creation of memory projection crystals, vampires could also save the memories of their comrades who had perished in battles.

Because of this, the Vampire clan’s abilities during stealth missions became highly priced all throughout the world, all thanks to the Shadow Rune’s help.

In return, they sided with the pack through thick and thin. Even after the fall of the pack, they had so far honored their pledge to never harm a single werewolf for food... Or at least the Apricus Kingdom still honors that part of the deal.

“Were you able to extract the information from them already,” Dahlly inquired.

“Not yet. We are just about to do that…”

I turned to the general who was heading the investigation. “General, can we watch this now?”

“As you wish, sire.”

Several other people, all tied up to the investigation of the attack, joined the three of us in a circle.

Despite the usefulness of memory projection crystals, they have their flaw, and that is that they can only be viewed once. The memory they show, however, would be all encompassing and would never be able to leave the recollection of the viewer.

“Everyone here who needs to see this is present, right? Then, shall we start the viewing?”

With the general’s approval, I raised the first crystal in my hand and broke it into the ground, sending us into an adventure, a journey down a vampire’s memory lane as if it were our very own...

******************************

DAHLIA:

When Kaist first mentioned memory projection crystals, I was a bit scared but excited at the same time. It was the first time I’ll be experiencing how it was to use them.

I heard that memory projection crystals are precious to vampires because they contain the very essence of a vampire’s existence. Thus, I said a quick prayer to the Moon Goddess for the soul of these vampires whose last few moments we were about to witness. Then, as Kaist raised his hand to break the crystal, I braced myself.

After a loud, crashing sound, a thick, white smoke enveloped us all around.

‘What’s happening,’ Eva asked, panicking a bit, ‘I… I can’t see you, Dahlia!’

My heart thumped wildly in my chest as well as the thick smoke fully consumed me and my entire vision and drowned Eva’s voice farther and farther away from me…

*****CORLION’S MEMORY*****

The next thing I knew, I woke up panting in the middle of the night.

I felt at my rib cage. Did I just hear my heart beat?

There was no way that could have happened, right?... Wasn’t I a vampire who has been living for about a century now?...

That’s right… My name is Corlion. I’m am a bartender at the local pub, and I run a small inn here at Lagros, the town given to us by the Hot-bloods, the name we normally call those from the Werewolf clan.

Thanks to the Shadow Rune Pack’s help some years ago, I was able to settle down here with my wife and the darling of my extremely long existence, my Alicia, and my little one, Cara.

Speaking of which, my beautiful baby suddenly stirred by my side.

“Hmm, papa, why are you still awake?”

I froze… Why was I awake at this time? What made me stir in my sleep?

Ah, my rib cage felt funny, that’s why...

Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine… I remembered a story from one of the men who went to the pub yesterday.

Apparently, there were some attacks on the nearby villages occupied by vampires like us. The villages did not seem ransacked, so they couldn’t have been attacked by rogues who plundered for money.

When the victims’ memory projection crystals were retrieved, the authorities found out that they were drugged by a medicine that makes it seemed like their heart was beating. The feeling of having a heart beat becomes too overwhelming that it corrupts their bodies, and the vampires die of some excruciating pain in the rib cage…

“Cara,” I said, waking up my baby gently. “Cara, do you feel something funny?”

“Hmm, papa?... Nothing… It’s just that it hurts a little here,” she said, rubbing her chest a bit.

A thousand and one crazy scenarios flooded in my head!

“Alicia! Alicia,” my voiced boomed enough to wake up the entire neighborhood. “Alicia, we have to -”

I yanked my wife, whose body was turned to the opposite side towards me, and as I did, I saw that she had already stiffened up like a tree trunk. Her face was twisted in an agonized scream that would never materialize.

I heard my little one scream, “No, mama!”

I covered Cara’s face as hugged her tightly into my body. Something inside my rib cage started to thumb wildly once again.

What just happened to my Alicia?! What was happening to me? Are we… Did we just get poisoned?

I pulled the blanket from the bed and wrapped it on my little baby.

“I’ll wrap you here because the air might be poisoned, baby. Keep this on, alright?”

She whimpered, and I proceeded to bundle her up securely.

I quickly looked at the now stiff body of the woman I had loved for centuries. I wanted to stay here and mourn for the loss of my one, true love, but I can’t. I kissed her forehead before turning to leave.

“I’ll come back, darling,” I whispered towards her…

God of Darkness, what is happening?! How can this happen to my sweet and innocent Alicia?

I heard from the man yesterday that werewolves had been suspected of these poisonings and killings. Oh, God of Darkness, why?!

We never bothered them! We were just living our lives in peace!… We kept the oath we had made with them for twenty years. Why then must they do this to us?

I scampered as fast as I could out of the house. The healer – I must get to the healer’s house! I must save my baby!

As I opened the door, the thick smell of blood permeated the air, and I heard several screams.

What is happening? Are we being attacked?!

Before I could even fathom what the matter was, I froze.

Before me, a great, big, and dark werewolf stood, and in the obscurity of the night, the only thing I could see were his dark violet irises and the glow of an equally menacing dark-violet crystal in his forehead…