Bastard Victor

In the blink of an eye, another five days had passed.

Ever since Jabus had gone mad and vanished, Vitalia Island had descended into chaos. Every city had been left leaderless, breeding countless evils.

Though Jabus's rule had been harsh and greedy, it had at least maintained the most basic order on Vitalia Island. Now the island was in utter turmoil, with bandits and thugs springing up one after another. In the end, it was still the common people who suffered.

Moreover, ever since Jabus had gone mad, a kind of monster had appeared on Vitalia Island.

These monsters stood anywhere from two to five meters tall, their bodies covered in thick, long hair. They were impervious to blades and bullets, possessed immense strength, and had an extraordinarily keen sense of smell for blood.

People fearfully called these monsters Long-Haired Demons.

Any village or town visited by a Long-Haired Demon was left shattered, its people dead. Fewer than one in ten survivors remained.

Long-Haired Demons loved to come out at night.

Margaret's Home.

George lay tossing and turning in the wooden loft. He could not sleep.

Yesterday, Victor, that bastard from town, had won over Avril, the girl George loved. The damned bastard had even smugly kissed Avril right in front of him.

"If only I'd confessed earlier..."

George deeply regretted his constant hesitation. If he had been a little braver, perhaps Avril would not have been stolen away by that damned guy.

Avril had not come home tonight. George knew very well what that meant.

Margaret's Home was actually an orphanage. Though George was only fifteen, he already knew everything he needed to know. Every year, girls left Margaret's Home—some becoming nightingales on Red-Light Street, others becoming the mistresses of wealthy merchants.

George knew Victor did not truly like Avril. He only craved her young body.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

The thought of himself lying alone and sleepless in the loft while that bastard might be doing what he himself had not dared to do made him want to smash something.

Seething, he sat up from the bed and pushed open the window. A thread of cool wind blew in from outside.

George frowned and leaned out the window, looking toward where the sound had come from.

It was some distance away, and he could only vaguely make out a huge black shadow crouching on the ground.

"Who's there? I saw you! Come out!"

An old man came out of his house, shouting as he held an iron pitchfork.

The black shadow stood up. The old man's body began to tremble. He let out a terrified scream and turned to flee, but the shadow easily caught him and twisted his head all the way around to his back.

George's mouth fell open, but he quickly covered it with his hand, his eyes fixed on the black shadow.

After killing the old man, the shadow let out a thunderous roar. It seemed to have been driven mad by the scent of human blood.

Boom!

With a deafening crash, the shadow charged into a house. It barreled straight through it, followed by countless screams and cries of agony from men and women.

The shadow came out of the house. Nearby homes lit their oil lamps in response to the screams and wails, and in the dim light, George finally saw what the shadow was.

It was a monster covered from head to toe in long hair, every strand soaked in blood.

A... a Long-Haired Demon!

George worked at a tavern nearby and had heard of these monsters. It was said that whenever a Long-Haired Demon visited a town, everyone in it died.

"No, I have to leave town!"

Then he thought of Avril. If he did not warn her now, she might be killed.

What should he do?

George's expression shifted constantly. His heart ached that Avril had so easily been won over by that damned Victor, but he could not bring himself to abandon her.

"Damn it, damn it, you damned bastard!"

In the end, he jumped from the window, slid along the eaves onto a tree, then leaped down and sprinted south.

Victor definitely would not take Avril home. The cheapest inn nearby was not far from Margaret's Home, and George knew the two of them had to be there.

After jogging all the way there, he arrived at the inn, only to find that it had already closed.

He pounded on the door, panting heavily, but after waiting for a long time, no one came to open it. He hurried around the inn, climbed through a window, and entered from the second floor.

"Avril! Avril!"

He ran through the corridor, calling softly.

But no one opened a door, so he had no choice but to try knocking.

The first door he knocked on opened, and out came a burly man with thick body hair. He looked fierce and vicious from head to toe.

Awakened by the noise, the burly man said unhappily, "Kid, if you can't give me a satisfactory reason, I'll make you regret being born into this world."

"Sir, Long-Haired Demons! There are Long-Haired Demons!" George said quickly, somewhat frightened.

"It's true! They're outside! People have already been killed!" George said, trembling.

The burly man set George down and immediately turned to pack his things. Taking the chance, George went to the next room and rapidly knocked on the door.

Whether it was good luck or not, the person who opened the door this time was Victor, the very man George hated.

Victor opened the door and, upon seeing George, immediately revealed a teasing smile. "George, what is it?"

"Where is Avril?" George immediately asked.

Victor smiled smugly. "She's already asleep. Whatever it is, come back tomorrow."

"Move aside. I need to see Avril." George immediately tried to force his way inside, but Victor stopped him.

Victor's smile vanished. "George, I know you like Avril, but Avril is my woman, understand? If you keep pestering her, I'll make you regret being born into this world."

"Kid, why haven't you left yet?" The burly man walked over at that moment.

Victor's expression changed slightly. George said to the burly man, "I have to take Avril with me. Sir, you should go first."

"You mean the woman brought here by this piece of dog shit?" The burly man looked at Victor.

Victor swallowed and tried to sound tough. "Don't try anything. I'm the mayor's cousin. If you dare touch me, you'll definitely regret it."

"Get lost!" The burly man slapped him directly.

Victor was sent flying into the room and fell to the floor. The burly man entered with George, and they saw Avril had been awakened. She looked at George and the burly man in panic.

George turned to Avril. Avril fearfully glanced at the burly man, then whispered to George, "I'm not going with you."

"Avril, this isn't the time to throw a tantrum! There really are Long-Haired Demons! They'll kill everyone!" George roared excitedly, his face flushed red.

Avril turned her head aside and ignored George completely.

"Kid, since she doesn't want to go with you, what are you standing there for? Let's go," the burly man said.

George was heartbroken, truly heartbroken. He took a deep breath, stepped back twice, and said, "Then be careful. I wasn't lying to you. There really are Long-Haired Demons. Sir, let's go!"

The two quickly left the inn. Victor got up clutching his face and asked, "Avril, are you alright?"

"Yes," Avril replied softly.

Victor hurriedly got dressed. Just moments ago, he had only been wearing underwear.

"Victor, do you think George was telling the truth?" Avril asked.

Victor put on his clothes and analyzed, "It was probably the truth. That brat has always lusted after your body, so he probably wouldn't lie."

"Then what do we do?" Avril was at a complete loss.

Victor picked up the scattered clothes from the floor and put them on the bed, smiling. "Of course we run. Get dressed quickly. Let's go!"

On the other side, George followed the burly man as they rapidly fled toward the edge of town. Strange sounds rang out from time to time, making their scalps tingle. Especially when one house caught fire and many people rushed out, it instantly stirred the Long-Haired Demons' ferocity, greatly increasing the speed of their slaughter.

They were incredibly fast, and their strength was beyond human imagination. Even fully armed soldiers could be sent flying with a single punch.

"It's over. We're dead!"

A townsman saw dozens of Long-Haired Demons approaching ahead. The luggage on his shoulder slipped to the ground, and he collapsed onto the street.

But more people refused to sit still and await death. They immediately turned and ran. Yet those who ran seemed more likely to draw the Long-Haired Demons' attention. In an instant, several Long-Haired Demons passed the townsman sitting on the ground and directly caught up to the fleeing people. The slaughter began anew.

The burly man and George passed through a side street and immediately saw many townspeople running back toward them. The burly man made a snap decision. "We can't go this way. We'll go that way!"

He turned and continued running, and George hurried after him.

Dozens of Long-Haired Demons charged into town at once. The strength and speed of these monsters were beyond anything ordinary people could match. They rampaged all the way through, leaving townspeople's corpses wherever they passed. In the blink of an eye, those corpses were trampled into pulp by other Long-Haired Demons.

At that moment, Victor pulled Avril out of the inn. Victor looked around and said, "We'll go that way, to Harbor Village!"

Though he normally had no proper occupation, he knew the area around town like the back of his hand.

Long-Haired Demons could appear anywhere around town, but Harbor Village lay behind it and had been built by the sea. Unless the Long-Haired Demons could swim underwater, Harbor Village had to be their only way out.

Victor was gambling. He was betting that Long-Haired Demons could not swim!

The two fled amid the chaos and then spotted the burly man and George. George happened to see Victor and Avril as well.

"Avril, over here!" George immediately shouted.

But his voice caught the attention of a Long-Haired Demon in the distance that was slaughtering townspeople.

Victor pulled Avril along and said calmly as they ran, "Ignore him. Let's go. The more people there are, the easier it is to draw the Long-Haired Demons' attention. Look, the Long-Haired Demons are all gathering where there are more people!"

However, Victor and Avril did not want to approach George, but George instead ran toward them on his own. The burly man had no choice but to follow.