Chapter 141: Allen Encounters Count Dracula
Chapter 141: Allen Encounters Count Dracula
"Maria—what are we doing with the Vampire Bride?"
Allen stared sternly at the Vampire Bride's lower triangle, openly critical, then muttered with disdain, "Damn capitalism. Tch."
"My name is Marianne."
"Got it, Mario. Loud and clear, Mario."
Seeing how Allen was completely impervious to correction and not particularly bright, Marianne gave up trying. He was clearly a hopeless case.
"Dracula doesn't care much for the lives of his brides, but he doesn't make them lightly either. It requires a sacrifice of True Blood, much like how the progenitor Lilith created purebloods—it weakens him."
The Van Helsing family had been hunting Dracula for over a thousand years and had gathered extensive intelligence.
Despite knowing most of Dracula's weaknesses, his immortality meant they could never fully eliminate him. Sealing and suppressing him had worked temporarily, but he always managed to escape in the end.
"How many side pieces does he have now?" Allen asked casually.
"Three," Marianne replied, slightly embarrassed.
Truth be told, Dracula was actually the Van Helsing family's ancestor. He had fallen into vampirism in order to protect his only child.
Calling them "side pieces" was crude, especially when speaking about a family member.
Still, the Van Helsings' efforts to suppress Dracula were to keep him from wreaking havoc on the world.
Back in the day, even purebloods would flinch at the mere mention of the "Impaler," fleeing in terror with puckered rears.
"Damn it. I've only got two."
Allen looked down at his hands, seething with envy. "So jealous even my gallbladder's turning green."
"..."
At that moment, Marianne realized this man wasn't the Batman she was looking for.
According to rumors, Batman was a mature, steady man who never wasted words.
"No clue how many vampire thralls he controls, but Dracula can only share his blood magic with up to three brides."
Marianne pointed at the Vampire Bride. "She likely inherited shapeshifting."
"Shapeshifting!"
Allen puckered his lips, eyes narrowing to slits. He kicked the Vampire Bride and barked, "Turn into a snake with a face growing out of its tailbone!"
"..."
The Vampire Bride looked like she was about to cry—she really couldn't do it.
Too much. Just too much.
Marianne stepped in, explaining, "Blood magic is based on transformation into specific dark creatures."
"Then what's the damn point? I thought it was like a Druid's shapeshifting," Allen scoffed.
Marianne didn't bother arguing. Blood magic revolved around vampiric and demonic transformations—entirely opposed to the nature-based system of Druids.
She then injected the Vampire Bride with a sedative and gestured at a homeless man's pushcart. "Load her up."
Allen kicked the cart over, scattering the hobo's worldly goods.
After righting it, they stuffed the Vampire Bride inside and wheeled her out of the subway tunnel.
"Mario, you know what Dracula's doing in Gotham?" Allen asked.
"According to what I heard from a pureblood, Dracula's after the Blood God ritual. The purebloods came to erase all traces of it."
Marianne added, "That intel came from S.H.I.E.L.D. Since Eric's (Blade) busy dealing with vampire mutations, he couldn't come himself. So they hired me. Can you contact Batman?"
"Forget it," Allen groaned. "Bats ran off again."
Ran off!?
There had to be scandal behind that!
Marianne, always eager for gossip, pressed, "Ran off with who?"
"Aunt Marvel."
"..."
As they exited the subway station, three individuals were already waiting.
All were clad in elaborate medieval European noble garb, with skin as pale as corpses.
"We acknowledge your sincerity," said the man in the black suit at the center, giving a satisfied nod toward the Vampire Bride. He then motioned for the other two to take her.
"They're pureblood aristocrats," Marianne explained. "I came to Gotham and sought them out right away. Catching a bride was my show of good faith."
The enemy of my enemy is my ally.
The Van Helsing family had dwindled to a single surviving woman. Facing Dracula head-on was no longer realistic.
She couldn't even take on all three Vampire Brides by herself. So she hatched a plan to ally with the purebloods.
Besides, the purebloods bore no hostility toward her family—they saw them as a strategic check against Dracula.
This incident had placed the pureblood aristocracy on high alert.
Dracula was already a formidable being. If he successfully merged with the Blood God, he could become a progenitor-level threat.
The purebloods would never sit idly by while their rule was challenged.
"You can take the bride—but I have a condition," Allen said, stepping forward and righteously blocking the path. "You're not to harm innocent people in Gotham. If you want blood, go after criminals or hit the blood banks."
He didn't give a damn about criminals who endangered the public—let them be food. And a little lost blood was no big deal.
Hiss…
The two vampire barons bared their fangs, their crimson eyes fixed on Allen with bloodlust.
With a single word from the vampire count, they would attack at lightning speed.
"I'm afraid we cannot agree. We ask that you do not interfere," the vampire count said with cold elegance, barely concealing his predatory nature.
"So that's a no then."
Allen's expression darkened as he prepared to test the purebloods' strength.
Suddenly—
A cloud of bats swarmed the night sky like a murder of crows.
They gathered atop a lamppost, forming into a tall, muscular middle-aged man with wavy hair, a chiseled face, and an impossibly cool entrance. His presence alone declared he was no ordinary being.
"Dracula, perfect timing. Saves us the trouble of hunting you down."
The vampire count immediately turned his attention to the newcomer. The two barons shifted their stance, now facing Dracula.
"With that kind of shadow step, you must be quite the martial artist," Allen said, pulling out a UV flashlight with a smirk. "Unfortunately, I can only respond with the Tang Sect's signature Rain of Pear Blossom Needles. How do you plan to defend?"
"You're that lunatic Allen, aren't you?"
Dracula had been working with the Court of Owls, and they'd repeatedly warned him to beware of a "lunatic"—someone who had sabotaged their plans multiple times and could not be treated like a typical madman.
"You've heard of me?" Allen asked, suspicious. "Don't tell me you're a fan?"
"Enough talk. Take down Dracula!"
The vampire count wasn't in the mood for chatter.
In an instant, he transformed into a cloud of bats. The two barons followed suit.
Dracula reacted just as quickly, casting the same magic to counter.
The sky above filled with screeching bats locked in aerial combat, their shrieks echoing across the night.
"Mario, is this how the official bloodlines fight? So low-class."
"..."