The Paladin in the Abyss

Chapter 38 - 33 Vampires’ Nature

The night descended upon Twin Bridges Town, yet it remained as bustling as ever. The streets were crowded with laborers out to unwind after a day’s work, mercenaries in search of amusement, and demons who seemingly had no concept of rest. Torches were lit along the streets, primarily for the sake of the pitiful mortals, as most demons possessed excellent dark vision.

But this did not mean that the pedestrians could afford even the slightest drop in their vigilance.

Quasimodo Demons weaved through the crowd, punishing those careless enough not to watch their wallets; the passersby would sometimes get into fights over mere shoves, with the guards enthusiastically joining the onlookers before dragging away the losing party; horrific screams would occasionally rise from dark alleys only to stop as abruptly as they started, but no one was interested in taking a closer look.

"It’s just like Twin Bridges Town to have such good public order," Lancelot remarked as he walked down the most bustling Chaos Street in the mercenary quarter.

His comment was not without reason. The standard of comparison matters. In a city of the Abyss, it was an achievement to keep the streets free of fresh corpses, and petty thievery and public brawls were completely normal here.

Moreover, because of Dingke’s influence, no Quasimodo Demon would trouble them. The enhanced Dingke was overwhelmingly powerful against ordinary Quasimodo Demons. According to it, it was now the boss of all Quasimodo Demons in the East City District, though this "boss" title seemed to serve no actual purpose.

Lancelot took Isabella shopping with the intention of helping these Quasimodo Demon thieves recognize who to avoid, though he wasn’t very confident in their observational skills. Luckily, being a vampire, it wasn’t that easy to be killed, and even if they were reduced to nothing but a cloud of mist, a night’s rest in the tomb chamber back at Hagrid Manor would likely be enough for recovery.

Little Isabella remained agape throughout the experience. The inhabitants of the lower planes were always whimsical in appearance, and the chaotic power of the Abyss twisted things to the utmost, while Twin Bridges Town, as a neutral city, included all kinds.

Here one could see beautiful women who, if placed in the Mortal Realm, could cause a rift between father and son, as well as repulsive monsters that made one feel like bugs were crawling out of their pores.

The more approachable Kalalin was bombarded with questions by the curious vampire, while Lancelot and Bruto eavesdropped nearby, taking the opportunity to familiarize themselves with a host of new species.

Having passed through the mercenary quarter, they arrived at the market district. As a maid, Isabella would likely have to shop here in the future, so it was necessary to familiarize herself with the area beforehand.

After several rounds through the market district, they found a few shops selling food for the Mortal Races. The prices were obviously exorbitant, with a piece of ham costing ten Gold Coins, which made Bruto curse the rip-off, but in the end, they still bought some bread and dry rations to have a supply of food.

Incidentally, the city was equipped with coin-operated water dispensers, which produced two gallons of pure water for one Gold Coin. These fixtures solidified the Water Conjuring Spell of the Druids, though it was unclear where Tijana had sourced them from. Vampires were allergic to running water, but ordinary purified water had no harmful effects on them.

While passing a magic shop named ’Arcane Brilliance,’ Kalalin seemed to suddenly remember something, ran inside to chat with the owner, and then came out looking regretful.

"What’s wrong? They didn’t have what you wanted?"

"Hmm, I remembered a magic spell called ’Turn Wine to Blood,’ and asked about it. They don’t have it now, but they’ll send a message to their headquarters to order it and told me to come back next week to check," he explained.

"Turn Wine to Blood?" Lancelot also realized something, "Is it for little Isabella?"

"For me?" the young vampire asked with a look of surprise. "What is this spell for? Why would I need it?"

"Have you ever felt hunger and thirst, a desire to drink fresh blood?" Kalalin asked seriously.

"Ew!" Isabella looked disgusted, "Absolutely not, I don’t want to become a criminal who harms others."

"Good," Kalalin nodded, "Unlike the general perception of people, vampires are not all born evil, especially those who were transformed from ordinary humans. But the thirst for fresh blood is one of the prices of immortality; some indulge their desires, and fall into depravity in a feast of slaughter; while others find the act of feeding revolting and strive to combat this nature.

But as hunger can turn mortals into beasts, a prolonged absence from that sweet red can drive a vampire insane."

"How could this be…" Isabella’s face stiffened as she trembled at the horrific prospect painted by Kalalin. "I don’t want to turn into such a terrifying beast, maybe you should just kill me..."

"Things aren’t that bad, you’re not the first of the Blood Race to struggle with this; they’ve made many attempts," Kalalin quickly explained, "The most common is to draw blood from non-sentient creatures, which is no different from ordinary people eating livestock meat, but in the Abyss, it’s rare to find a beast whose blood isn’t toxic."

"Turning wine into blood is the solution offered by magic. As a second-tier Transformation System spell, it can change a bottle of wine into the blood of an ordinary animal, enough to satisfy a vampire’s craving for fresh blood.

Of course, the higher the quality of the wine used as a material, the better the taste of the transformed blood," Kalalin’s face became serious again, "Your craving for blood has been suppressed while you were controlled, but starting from the day the vampire who controlled you died, you can probably go about two weeks without thinking about blood.

After that, you must feed on fresh blood, or you’ll gradually experience withdrawal and slowly lose your sanity. Right now, I happen to be able to cast second-tier magic, and once I learn this spell, I’ll be able to solve your ’eating’ problem."

"Phew, that’s such a relief," Isabella sighed, then looked embarrassed, "Thank you, Mr. Kalalin, I will be in your debt from now on."

"Haha, no trouble at all, no trouble at all, we’re fellow villagers after all, helping each other is only right," Kalalin laughed happily, while Lancelot and Bruto moved slightly away from the two.

After a short stay in the market district, the group headed to the blacksmith district.

From a distance, they could feel the heat emanating from the blacksmith district, and after entering, it was like being in the desert at noon. Even at night, the blacksmith district showed no sign of rest, with every forge radiating intense heat and the sound of hammering metal ringing nonstop.

It seemed to be a shift change, as Smithy Street was crowded with bare-chested workers. Dwarves were undoubtedly the main force, but there were also men and other races easily identified by their stature. They joked with each other, or cursed loudly about something. Though it seemed chaotic, the atmosphere was full of vitality.

Bruto quickly led the group to the place where his father worked. New craftsmen would be assigned to respective positions, and Barrend had been appointed as the manager of a larger blacksmith shop. Tijana said that Barrend had proven his worth, which seemed no lie.

"Dad!"

Bruto found his father, who was working hard at the forge, and ran over happily. The father and son embraced each other tightly, a scene that reminded Lancelot of two black bears wrestling.

"It’s great that you’ve come back safe and sound, and you’ve made so many new friends," Barrend’s eyes were slightly moist as he looked at the three people behind Bruto. "Give me five minutes to hand over my work, and then we’ll go for a proper drink!"