The Smell of Sulfur and Fire

The reason why Roy wanted to visit Vampire Castle was simply because he was curious.

He remembered the movie Van Helsing. After all, it had werewolves, vampires, and Frankenstein's Monster, a pretty wild combination. Most importantly, Wolverine was in it, so it had left quite an impression on him.

But too much time had passed, and he could no longer remember the details clearly. He only vaguely recalled that Dracula, the vampire in it, was rather pitiful. He suffered from infertility and could not have children, so he began seeking a scientific cure. That was how the story unfolded.

What Dracula did had little to do with Roy, and Roy had no intention of interfering. His main focus was still Lucius's soul, which was about to ascend. However, he was curious to see what kind of species the vampire Dracula actually was.

Roy himself came from the Abyss World. Although Lower Demons had Confused Bloodline, resulting in all sorts of forms, he did not seem to have seen any Lower Demons resembling vampires.

Moreover, according to Lucius, Dracula had existed for more than four hundred years. If he were truly a demon from the Abyss World, then without a contractor, he could never have remained in one world for so long. Thus, Roy was certain that Dracula could not possibly be a demon.

What Roy was curious about now was this: if Dracula was not a demon, then what was he? If he had truly become a vampire by signing a contract with a demon, then by what method had that demon turned him into a vampire?

Roy felt it was necessary to learn about some of a demon's methods. After all, he might be summoned into other worlds in the future. If he had to use the system to consume souls every time to fulfill the various wishes of his summoners, that would be rather unprofitable...

And if he wanted to know what that demon had done to Dracula, he could only ask Dracula himself...

As Roy flew across the pitch-black moonless night sky, Transylvania Town below had also fallen into tremendous chaos.

One of Dracula's Vampire Brides had come out to hunt. Logically speaking, these vampires had appeared from time to time for centuries, and the townspeople should have become accustomed to it. But in truth, no one wanted to be among those taken away. Thus, whenever vampires appeared, the town descended into disarray. They hid the children first, then the women, and only finally the men. Yet the attacks were often so sudden that by the time the women and children were hidden, most men had no time to flee. They could only desperately try to hide behind others.

Better a fellow man die than oneself—this was exactly the situation. The townspeople had experience with this. If a vampire fed on the spot, after drinking the blood of one or two people, it would be nearly full. If it took its prey back to the castle, one vampire could only capture at most two people at a time. Therefore, when a Vampire Bride came out alone to feed, the town would lose only a handful of people at most. All they had to do was make sure they were not among them.

It sounded cruel, but this was also why the townspeople had not been completely wiped out by the vampires. The vampires kept them like livestock and did not drain the well dry.

This Vampire Bride chose to take her prey back to enjoy. She circled above the town, laughing loudly as she watched the people below scramble about in panic. Once she had had enough fun, she dived down, seized a man dressed like a vagrant with her claws, then flew back into the sky toward the castle.

But what this Vampire Bride did not notice was that Roy was above her, watching from an even greater height.

After transforming into her vampire form, the Vampire Bride looked exceptionally ugly. Her skin was so pale it even had a bluish cast, while her strange, mismatched wings made her look neither human nor bat.

Roy followed the Vampire Bride at an unhurried pace from higher in the sky. Before long, he arrived at the Ancient Castle where Dracula lived.

The Vampire Bride landed first with her prey, while Roy waited for some time before descending.

It was an Ancient Castle that looked rather old, with signs of collapse everywhere. Thick moss grew between the castle's bricks and cracks. It seemed the castle's master had no intention of repairing it.

There were no guards outside the castle either. Roy easily entered through one of the passages.

However, once he entered the castle, Roy discovered that the interior was completely different from the exterior. The castle was brightly lit. A grand hall was covered with luxurious carpets, and its ceiling was filled with extravagant European chandeliers. A band played violins and organs, producing melodious music, while Men and Women in gorgeous attire moved about the hall.

There was actually a ball being held here!?

Roy climbed onto the domed ceiling, concealing himself in the darkness, and looked down at the crowd. Most of the Men and Women chatting and laughing at the ball held a Wine Glass filled with crimson "Fine Wine." So many wine glasses filled Roy's nose with a pungent bloody smell. He immediately understood that everyone here was a vampire, and what they held was not Fine Wine at all, but blood!

There were actually so many vampires?

It seems Dracula had created quite a huge number of vampires through blood conversion...

Roy found the bride who had gone out hunting among the crowd. She seemed to prefer fresh blood. The man she had captured had not been killed after she drank from him for a while. Instead, he was carried away by other vampires while barely alive. It seemed they intended to keep him as a blood slave.

There might be many such Blood Slaves. Otherwise, Dracula would likely struggle to support so many vampire subordinates...

Roy had originally thought Dracula would attend the ball, so he searched through the crowd. Yet after observing for a while, he discovered that Dracula was not among them. Just as he was feeling disappointed and preparing to search elsewhere in the castle, the doors to the hall were suddenly blasted open!

The person who entered was Count Dracula, with black hair. Yet unlike what one would expect of a noble, Dracula looked somewhat disheveled. His sleeves were in disorder, and even his collar was unfastened. Even his way of entering the hall was so violent that he had damaged both doors. His other two Brides followed behind him, their faces equally bewildered.

The vampires at the ball stared at the intruding Dracula in astonishment, unable to understand what had happened.

Dracula ignored them. Instead, his eyes swept across the hall as he sniffed the air. In a low voice, he said, "I smell The smell of sulfur and fire. That scent... it is the scent possessed only by true demons from hell!"

The vampires looked at one another, but no one dared make a sound.

At last, Dracula raised his head and looked toward the top of the hall. He roared, "Come out! Demon! I know you're up there!"

Tch, he had actually been discovered?

Roy had not expected Dracula's nose to be so sensitive. He could only crawl out of the shadows above, release his claws, and jump down.

With a thunderous boom, Roy's landing made the entire hall tremble slightly. His appearance startled the vampires present. To these vampires, none had ever seen a real demon before, including Dracula's three Brides. They recoiled in terror, leaving a large open space in the hall, with only Dracula remaining in front of Roy.

The instant Dracula saw Roy, his expression turned alarmed, and his eyes widened considerably.

It really was a demon! This unique demonic aura was exactly the same as that one's from back then...