Vallen

5: Vallen

Was this truly a demon, a jiangshi, or something else?

It mattered less since it was just another evil that could either be eradicated by the Nuns of the Emei Sect or the Taoists of Mt. Qingsheng Sect. All the warriors would do is run away and report to those big sects to take care of it.

Still, this was the worst possible situation in all possible situations.

The rain poured down nonstop and the world darkened. The treeline is where the demon lurks and the clearing is now filled with slippery mud.

No one dared to think "how can this get any worse?" and jinx the whole thing but it was getting a whole lot worse alright. As the eight warriors maintained a tortoise back-to-back formation, they started hearing noises around them.

"No! No! N—AAAAAAH!"

"HELP!"

"MERCY! NO!"

The demon attacked the remaining survivors from the caravan who were hiding in the wagons and the ones who had been wounded before. He seemed to have killed the remaining people before silence fully took over.

"Keep your wits about you!" Bang Su spoke softly, "It's after us."

The warriors were nervous and exhausted but something else weighted them more than just mere nervousness and exhaustion. They were individuals who lived by the sword, risking life and limb, and facing danger whatever or wherever it was. This danger, however, was dreadful beyond words and made them shudder and think how such a being crawled out from the bowels of hell into the world of man and how blind the Heavens were to let such a thing exist.

This was the stage denial that follows traumatic shocks but there is no denying what is lurking around and killing people.

"It's coming!" A first-rate warrior detected a set of footsteps coming from his direction and could barely see a silhouette in the rain.

Still, as he anticipated a claw attack or anything of the sort, he was hit by something he didn't anticipate and lost all balance.

"Shit!"

As he fell down, two warriors behind him tried to support him from the side without breaking the formation but as soon as they turned, one of them was grabbed by his head and was dragged away screaming.

"After him!"

The six standing warriors tried to catch the demon before it escaped with their comrade but they didn't react fast enough and lost sight of the demon and their comrade whose screams died down after a few seconds.

"Retreat back to the vantage point!"

While moving as one, the remaining warriors wanted to go back to their initial position now that their skirmish had failed but as soon as they approached it, they stumbled upon the corpse of the comrade they just lost.

They all looked toward where they were supposed to go and found that the first-rate warrior who was delayed by the corpse that was thrown at him was also killed without making a single sound.

So far, this was the first first-rate warrior to die.

All the warriors now realized one thing. Unless this heavy rain storm miraculously stops as fast as it started and for them to regain vision of their surroundings, there is no surviving this demon. They can try to run in all directions and attempt to hide but in this utter darkness, only the demon is the one that can see.

There is no escaping death!

The ten warriors were reduced to eight and the eight were reduced to six. Those six started a mortal struggle against the demon in the darkness of night as they were gradually chipped off and broken from all directions.

Now the demon that was shying out from direct attacks was coming and going as he pleased and reduced the warriors even more.

A second-rate warrior was dragged by his legs away.

Five remained.

Another second-rate warrior was hit away from the formation by the corpse of a dead comrade and was killed as soon as he was thrown off the group.

Four remained.

A first-rate warrior received a thrown corpse but he didn't budge and blocked it well enough but the spear of a previous fallen comrade was run through his chest through the corpse from an angle he couldn't detect.

Three remained!

The two first-rate warriors were Lee Song and Bang Su, the remaining second-rate warrior was easily picked by the demon in front of the two exhausted warriors.

Two have remained! They are now standing face to face with the thing that killed eight warriors and all the merchants.

Despite the rain, they could now clearly see it and it was standing there looking at them with its fierce red terrible eyes.

The wind passed and the rain cloud was pushed aside for the rain to stop. The sky of Shuangliu started to clear up and the moon shed its silvery beams across the clearing in the forest where a carnage was carried out.

The demon ahead of the two warriors was bald with strange ears and vicious-looking fangs. It had long sharp claws, an unusual posture where it resembled a hunched man, and signs of hunger and starvation all over its body.

"It is here!" Bang Su pointed his sword with shaken hands towards the demon but he dared not to go for the attack.

Lee Song was the same but unlike Bang Su, he was thinking rather than shivering from nervousness.

"It has shown itself. It is underestimating us." He thought.

Underestimating one's enemy is something that killed more warriors than any weapon in Murim. It also means that this demon is not completely feral and relies more than just its instincts to fight.

As it relies on its senses like normal people, its senses can be deceived.

"Brother Bang." Lee Song called Bang Su who didn't dare to look away from the demon, "Watch my back."

"Go!" Bang Su didn't seem to have a plan so he'd go with anything Lee Song does at the moment.

Lee Song charged ahead immediately and Bang Su followed a step behind. The demon seemed to be bending its knees to intercept them but the attack came earlier than he expected. Lee Song managed to skillfully kick up a spear from the ground with his feet and kicked its end with his foot. This made the spear fly at the demon's face.

With rapid reflexes, the demon moved his head aside and his posture was a bit awkward. This bit of awkwardness was the moment Lee Song was aiming for.

A lightning-fast stab from Bang Su struck the side of the demon and started sinking through its body. Lee Song used the fact that the demon was now distracted by the stab and stabbed with his spear from the other side but…

"TOO SHALLOW DAMMIT!"

Lee Song could hear the frustrated voice of Bang Su shouting. As there was no backing down, Lee Song put every last bit of his strength into the attack that would pierce the Demon but it wasn't hitting him.

Not only did the Demon withstand the attack with an unrealistic physical fortitude, but he grabbed Bang Su's hand and pulled him closer while attempting to switch places with him.

"NO!"

Seeing that their maneuver was about to be turned against them, Lee Song rushed before delivering the attack and received Bang Su with his body while attempting to retreat together.

And that was when tragedy struck…

Lee Song didn't know when or how but there was a somewhat familiar sensation coming from his abdomen. It was just like the feeling one getting stabbed but it felt much worse.

As he looked down at his abdomen, he found a hand coming from Bang Su's abdomen and clutching to the flesh of his.

"ARGH!"

Pain never felt like this before. Lee Song, who was stabbed and cut more times than he could count, was about to cry like a child from this sensation.

He closed his eyes and opened them to see the face of Bang Su still in shock.

Just one look behind Bang Su would reveal the vicious, monstrous, and freakish face of their killer.

The pale bald demon glared like a wolf and revealed his grim dreadful fangs as his face was wrinkled horribly with his snarl.

Lee Song felt the burning sensation running through his body and numbing him but as he felt like he was slipping, an alarm rang through his consciousness and his body moved on its own.

He held the clawed demon's hand clutching his abdomen with his own hand and with the other, he drove his backup blade diagonally through the Demon's palm.

SHRIIIIIIIIEEEEEEK!

It could feel it… pain… it is killable!

Lee Song had one last look at the face of Bang Su went into shock and could finally retreat from the claws of the demon and fall back to the ground.

As for Bang Su, his face kept the same expression as the demon tried to pull its hand back through Bang Su's abdomen but the blade kept it stuck on one side.

Witnessing the death of his long-time acquaintance and somewhat-a-friend, Lee Song felt guilty just for one second. As for the next second, he was already facing the road and running away from the demon, Bang Su, and the failed mission.

His only hope is one of the big three of Sichuan and he didn't look back.

***

He wailed, he screamed, he struggled, and finally, he was able to calm down as the storm went away. He then took the sword away from his hand and his hand back.

After taking it out from the corpse of the martial artist, he could see it stained with blood and he kept just staring at it.

There were a lot of emotions raging through his skull and struggling to be free and devour the hell out of this blood but all he did was to keep staring as the spell on his mind held back those emotions.

He mustn't drink blood, not that he doesn't want to… he just can't.

« Find the best blood you can. Bring it back to me. »

Those were the two thoughts he had after calming down from the fight. Emotions are one thing that he has left but his thoughts are enslaved. He had to obey these thoughts that weren't his and heed the commands given to him.

He had to find the blood, and by blood, it meant the humans he had just slain.

He could tell by the scent of their blood which ones should he pick. Usually, those who are strongest have better blood than most. This meant he should pick the corpse of the man he just drove his claws through and the two other men who were the strongest in the group of warriors.

These were Bang Su and the two other First-rate warriors.

Three corpses this time, he could simply carry them on his arm but it may create a trail of blood even though the ground was still wet. He must avoid that so he started using mud and ripped rags to close the wounds before taking the three corpses with him.

The demon left the forest and started heading to the nearby river beneath a cliffside. After reaching a certain point, he started going down the cliff through a hidden route that only his eyes could see in the darkness of night.

Down there, he arrived at a cave entrance which inside was something waiting for him.

« Vallen… you have come… at last! »

A hoarse voice spoke as if a snake was hissing. It traveled with the wind and sounded like the voice of a ghost but it was lazy, old, and frightening.

Vallen, which seemed to be the name of the demon, walked inside without replying, not because he didn't want to, he just couldn't.

Without acting restless or protesting the labor of his tedious work, Vallen went in and dropped the corpses of the three First-rate warriors before walking in front of the old gothic mirror and going on his knees with his head lowered down.

The figure that appeared in the mirror was a reflection of him yet not him at all. It was that of what seemed like Vallen but stood tall and looked down on the origin of the reflection.

« A Nosferatu is a starved vampire… damned to wander like a Ghoul without being allowed to take a sip of blood. While a ghoul eats flesh, a Nosferatu is sustained by the magic of their master. »

The reflection started monologuing but it seemed those words were wasted on the thoughtless demon… or rather, the Nosferatu.

« You have… done well, Vallen… my servant. Three humans with this quality of blood… you have done what I asked… and a reward is due. »

The hideous Nosferatu was still motionless in front of the reflection in the mirror but then, his senses started to react.

A smell… a sweet smell… a hunger… a harrowing hunger… and thirst… an endless thirst.

Vallen could feel his senses returning back to him after such a long time. He was allowed to feel once again.

A Starved Vampire, a Nosferatu, a being that is as hideous as the demons of hell. Such beings are suppressed by their masters from drinking the blood of mortals. For their masters, they are nothing more than hunting hounds.

As for Vallen here, he was his master's only hunting hound. He was tasked with bringing the freshly dead back to the hidden cave for the master to regain his powers through their blood after Vallen personally drains them on the stone circle.

This time, however, Vallen exceeded his quota and brought three First-rate warriors. Nothing short of a great feat for a Nosferatu. That's why he was getting rewarded with one of the corpses, that's how he was allowed for the first time to drink blood.

Once a Starved Vampire drinks blood, he becomes a Blooded Vampire. He is no longer a mindless half-living monster, but rather a fully awakened being.

Still submissive to the subordination of his Vampire Patriarch but now he is self-aware.

Tang Seong has become Vallen, the Vampire Pawn of an Ancient Vampire.