The atmosphere around the mountain they had been before was bleak due to the dark clouds looming around the sky, hiding the sun.
The rain drizzled ever so slightly, wetting the dirt of the mountain as Kai and Liliana traveled on the wet tracks. The five vampires that Grigori sent to help were spread around the mountain to look for a different clue.
"Ugh… This is gross. My shoes are covered in mud now!" Liliana whined as she raised her legs, looking at her black shoes that got covered in dirty mud. "I shouldn't have worn my favorite shoes…"
Looking at her, Kai chuckled. It was clear that they were going to a mountain, but she wore her favorite shoes. Even her outfit, sexy red clothes with detached sleeves and a red pencil skirt, wasn't something fit to be worn when they traversed a mountain.
That was why Kai also wore a long-sleeved shirt this time so his arms wouldn't get scratched by branches, even though his wound would get healed in less than a few seconds. His mask was used to filter some dust in case he needed to dig the dirt or something.
"You're free to return to change your clothes if you want to. I can investigate this part by myself." He said to Liliana as he stopped. "There are 5 other vampires who helped, too, so feel free to change your shoes first."
"No." Liliana shook her head and stopped, looking at Kai. "If I return now, my father would get mad and blame me. My job is to follow you, so I can't return without you."
Even though her job was to follow him, as she said, it didn't seem like she intended to talk politely to him. Since yesterday, Kai had noticed her bratty personality.
It wasn't like he cared about that, but Liliana was also headstrong, which made him uncomfortable asking her for something. The fact she protected him when he replenished his Spirit Power was maybe due to her being thankful he protected her from the Jack-o'-lantern.
'As long as she doesn't try anything to stop me, I will try to keep up with her behavior. The Vampire lord also promised to lend me his manpower, so I can't complain.' So Kai thought as he continued walking deep into the mountain. 'Besides…'
Kai turned to Liliana, who followed him closely from behind while grumbling about the dirty mud. She had a displeased and disgusted expression but didn't complain verbally against him.
Their search continued in silence. The mountain was quiet; it was eerie. Not even an animal was spotted when Kai walked deeper. The sound of the bird was gone, only the sound of water dripping from the high place on puddles and leaves.
When he noticed such an abnormality, he stopped and looked around.
"It's strange." He muttered to himself, turning to Liliana. "There is no animal noise." He continued with a higher volume.
"Hmm?!" Liliana raised her eyebrows and looked around; her nose moved slightly. Her expression then turned to horror, and her face paled even further.
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom "This?! W-What the hell is this?! The rain has washed some away, so I couldn't notice it. But when I concentrate, I am able to pick the blood scent that spreads around the forest!"
"Are you serious?" Kai asked, furrowing his brows.
The blood scent spread around the forest, and even Liliana didn't notice it before concentrating and going this deep.
Due to the rain, the scent was washed away. There should be a center of it, the place where the massacre happened.
"Can you pinpoint the place with the thickest blood scent?" He asked, concentrating on feeling the presence around him. However, he currently couldn't do that. He saved his strength and energy for his plan.
At this moment, he couldn't even feel the 5 vampire's presence unless he closed his eyes and concentrated on finding them. So…
"Make sure to locate your subordinates too. It would be bad if they got caught by whoever did the massacre to fill this forest with the smell of blood."
"I know!" Liliana raised her voice and closed her eyes. Her red Spirit Power leaked a little from her body, enhancing her senses, especially her sense of smell and sight.
When she opened her eyes again, the previous golden eyes had a tint of red, flashing like a neon light. Her eyes looked like she could gaze deep inside him, sensing the secret he hid from her.
And as expected, she found out about it. Her eyes widened when she looked at him. "You?!" She raised her voice but was interrupted by Kai.
"Focus on finding them first. I will explain later."
Liliana nodded, albeit a bit hesitant. She knew that the priority right now was to find the source of the blood scent.
"I will need your explanation later." She said before she looked around, narrowing her eyes. The veins around her eyes popped up slightly, showing the blood vessel under her pale skin.
It was the technique often used by vampires to increase their senses. When they used this technique, they could smell a drop of blood from 3 KM away, but it had a side effect. It would increase their bloodlust and make them thirsty.
That was why they usually only used this technique when they were cornered or in a fight that could lose their life.
"I found it. Unfortunately, the five vampires had… been killed. I smelt their blood mixed with the one I smelt earlier." Liliana exclaimed, deactivating the technique.
She gasped for breath as her fanged teeth were exposed. Thirst attacked her, so she pulled out the emergency blood capsule she had brought with her from between her cleavage.
Opening the capsule, she drank the content in one go. Her complexion recovered a little bit as her breath turned normal.
"Where is it?" Kai asked, raising his guard.
"That's…" Liliana pointed to the ground with a pale face. "It's here… And…" She looked around.
A rustling sound suddenly appeared from around them. The bushes moved around, and then a few figures appeared. All of them had similar stature of 2 meters, with dirt as their main body and tree branches as their clawed hands.
Kai recognized them, and he smiled bitterly under the mask he wore. The head of five vampires from earlier was held, paraded like a prize.
"We are surrounded." Liliana finished her sentence, gritting her teeth in frustration.
"I can see that."
This situation wasn't what he had expected. A big surprise for him, who tried to find their trace but was unable to find them.
"Khisisisisi."
The figures around them, around 20 humanoids, simultaneously let out a unique laugh that he was familiar with. The previous quiet forest was filled with laughter, a burst of eerie laughter that didn't belong to this world.
Among them, one figure really stood out. Perching on the thickest branch of the tallest tree around the area was a figure with a ragged face and clawed wooden hands. Then that certain figure's face created a grin.
"We found you!"
At that moment, the other figures' mouths filled with sharp rock teeth opened at once, laughing loudly. Their voice thundered across the whole forest, shaking the ground.
"Kishisisisisisisisi."
Normal people or even a Slayer would be afraid if they were surrounded by such creatures. Liliana's body was shaking uncontrollably. She knew that each of these figures could easily rival even a skilled fighter.
However, Kai had a different thought. He had confirmed it, his feelings. Why was he so fixated on finding this unknown creature he had met only once?
The answer was simple. He somehow hated this creature. He hated Boogeymen for some reason he didn't find out yet. However, that reason wasn't important. He would find out in the future.
"No." His voice rang from under his mask in a lower tone than usual. It was deep and intimidating. Then he declared. "I found you."
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