Vampire Reborn - Chapter 41: The Feast of Dread

The sun had long set and the streets were consumed in a thick darkness that was only alleviated by several torches.

Alucard walked back from the library for the last time until the foreseeable future and he had already told Havel that he was going to take a break— he felt like his reading abilities were more than good enough for now.

It was a break not only to find something to eat, but because an upcoming event will soon occur, an event he needed to capitalize on in the guild. his reserve of money was not endless nor would it sustain him much longer— money was a resource he was in dire need to obtain. And in order to do that, a silver rank needed to be attained, two ranks higher than his current copper.

But still, he had his priorities, and his priority now was to make this unspeakable pain aching his mind and body end, like millions of small, lethal parasites gnawing at him from the inside, sucking away his vitality.

He had already derived a plan to feast, but now he felt far too drained that he knew not if that plan was even feasible. His eyesight was growing blurry, and that feeling of pain crawling around his body exemplified.

Those were signs of what happened before, he feared that he would once again be consumed into a blood frenzy, one that would no doubt spell the end of him.

That was when his dull eyes fell upon a certain part of the road on the far-right, deep in an alleyway.

There he saw a young man sleeping, shivering from the cold yet still clearly unconscious. He was sat with his back facing the road ahead, seemingly holding a dark object tightly in his hands.

His limbs were thin as twigs, he doubted there was much separating his skin from his skeleton. His dirt-stained rags that were clearly once white were now a deep, festered brown. His skin was filled with bruises and cuts, crawling with tiny insects; some of whom made their way to his brown hair that was no doubt a nest for their offsprings. And a disgusting smell hovered over him, like the smell of rot and fecal matter.

It was a man that Alucard would see every time he would walk back from the library, yet most of the time he would blend in with the background. But now, he seemed like nothing but a massive sack of fresh, sweet human blood… Blood that he needed for his own survival…

As though his body moved on its own out of pure instinct, Alucard stepped closer to that alleyway.

The roads were empty, and no windows were open in sight, there was no better time than now. A homeless man is a perfect target, the scum of society that no one would bat an eye if they were gone.

[ Nightstalker…] He mumbled, activating a spell in a low breath, a new one from his vampire class that reduced his visibility at night.

It was not long until he found himself at the foot of the alleyway, and the man was soon laid directly in front of him like a full course meal.

He felt absolutely nothing as he looked down, it was nothing but food after all. Alucard was consumed by hunger, but he was more than certain he was still himself. Recklessness was could not be tolerated when any mistake would spell the end for him.

He opened his cloak and brought out his arms, and using his metallic gauntlets, he stabbed through the man’s neck and ripped out his vocal cords as he had done once before, the process was swift and precise, leaving no mess behind other than blood dripping out of his neck.

The man was immediately shot awake. He felt like he could no longer breathe, but when he turned around was when his breath was truly taken away.

*Queeek* *So* *N-* Queeek*

Alucard watched as his pain-filled face turned into pale dread. Fear and bewilderment engulfed him unlike ever before. He tried to scream, but only a pitiful squeal utterly invisible to the ear exited his mouth.

Alucard expected him to panic, so he prepared to kill him on the spot before he could run away or bang the rocky walls to draw attention, but he was surprised to see that rather than that, the man lunged over towards that object he had been hugging from before like it was the last thing he would ever do.

Alucard could not help but smile, even in his dying breath, he wanted to protect whatever money and possessions he had left.

And without a second thought, he wasted no time snapping his neck to reduce the mess of piercing his flesh once more.

[ +2 XP! ]

That was when he finally removed his mask, revealing his fangs and blood-red eyes before he bent down to enjoy the meal.

He watched as the familiar look of his meal shrivelling up into a hollowed husk devoid of liquid, and he relished in the feeling of blood.

The feeling was blissful, better than animal he could have found in the wild, yet something about the taste left much to be desired compared to every other human he had consumed, like a murky taste mixed in with the sweetness. Nevertheless, it was more than enough to nearly fulfill his blood craving.

And as the homeless man stuck between his teeth was nearly sucked completely dry, he heard a slight mumble coming from directly ahead of him, and a feeling of panic and alertness completely overtook his senses.

“W-wha… D-dad…”

“D-dad? What was that sound? Are you okay…”

Alucard watched as a small, humanoid figure no taller than his kneecaps rose out of the homeless man’s hands, wearing a dress-like filthy cloth all over his body.

As he stiffly rose up on two feet, he immediately yawned and rubbed his eyes.

The world slowly set into the boy’s hazy, dark engulfed vision… There was only a slight light coming from the faraway streets, yet it seemed to be more than enough for him to make out what just happened…

His body began to tremble, and his eyes dilated into the size of peas as a feeling unlike any other overcame his trembling, crying body…

“What… Ah… DA—”

However, before he could even finish screaming for his dead father, he found a dagger deeply impaled into his throat, and a pain that put him back to sleep from the nightmare he just witnessed forevermore…