Another five days passed in the blink of an eye.
Ever since Jabus had gone mad and vanished, Vitalia Island had descended into chaos. Every city was leaderless, breeding countless evils.
Although Jabus's rule had been harsh and greedy, it had at least maintained the most basic order on Vitalia Island. Now, however, the island was in utter disarray. Bandits and thugs sprang up one after another, and in the end, it was still the common folk who suffered.
Moreover, ever since Jabus had gone mad, a kind of monster had appeared on Vitalia Island.
These monsters ranged from roughly two to five meters tall, their entire bodies covered in thick, long hair. Not only were they impervious to blades and bullets and possessed boundless strength, but they also had an extremely sensitive sense of smell for blood.
People fearfully called these monsters Long-Haired Demons.
Any village or town visited by a Long-Haired Demon would be 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 attic room. He could not sleep.
Yesterday, Victor, that bastard from town, had won over Avril, the girl George loved. That vile bastard had even smugly kissed Avril right in front of him.
"If only I'd confessed earlier..."
George deeply regretted his endless hesitation. If he had been a little braver, perhaps Avril would not have been snatched away by that damned man.
Avril had not returned home tonight, and George knew full well what that meant.
Margaret's Home was really an orphanage. Though George was only fifteen, he already knew everything he should know. Every year, girls left Margaret's Home—some became nightingales on Red-Light Street, while others became the mistresses of wealthy merchants.
George knew very well that Victor did not truly like Avril. He merely lusted after her young body.
"Dammit, dammit, dammit!"
At the thought of himself lying alone and sleepless in the attic while that bastard might be doing what he himself had never dared to do, he could not help wanting to smash something.
Seething, he sat up from the bed and pushed open the window. A cool breeze drifted 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 dark shadow crouching on the ground.
"Who's there? I saw you! Come out!"
An old man came out of a house, holding an iron pitchfork as he shouted.
The shadow rose to its feet. The old man's body began to tremble. With a terrified scream, he turned to flee, only for the shadow to catch him with ease and twist his head around to his back on the spot.
George's mouth fell open, but he quickly covered it again, his eyes fixed on the 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 wails from men and women.
The shadow emerged from the house. Oil lamps lit up in the surrounding homes in response to the screams and wails, and under the dim light, George finally saw what the shadow was.
It was a monster covered from head to toe in long hair, every strand stained with blood.
A... a Long-Haired Demon!
George worked at a nearby tavern market 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 get out of town!"
Then he suddenly thought of Avril. If he did not warn her now, she might be killed.
What should he do?
George's expression shifted between light and shadow. His heart ached that Avril had so easily been won over by that damned Victor, yet he could not simply leave her behind.
"Dammit, dammit, you damned bastard!"
In the end, he jumped from the window, slid along the eaves onto a tree, then leaped to the ground and ran swiftly south.
Victor would certainly not have taken Avril home. The cheapest inn nearby was not far from Margaret's Home, and George knew the two of them had to be there.
He jogged all the way to the inn, only to find that it had already closed for the night.
Panting hard, he knocked on the door, but after waiting for quite a while, no one came to open it. He hurriedly ran around the inn, climbed through a window, and entered from the second floor.
"Avril! Avril!"
He ran down the corridor, calling in a low voice.
But no one opened a door, so he had no choice but to try knocking.
The first door he knocked on opened, revealing a burly man with thick body hair. He looked fierce and vicious from head to toe.
Having been awakened, the burly man said displeasedly, "Kid, if you can't give me a satisfactory reason, I'll make you regret ever coming 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 released George and immediately turned to pack his things. George took the chance to move to the next room and knock rapidly.
Whether it was good luck or not, the one who opened the door this time was Victor, the man he hated.
Victor opened the door, and upon seeing George, immediately revealed an amused smile. "George, what is it?"
"Where's Avril?" George demanded at once.
Victor wore a smug smile. "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 ever coming into this world."
"Kid, why haven't you left yet?" The burly man came over just then.
Victor's expression changed slightly. George said to the burly man, "I have to take Avril away. Sir, you go first."
"You mean the woman brought here by this piece of dog shit?" The burly man looked at Victor.
Victor swallowed and forced himself to act 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 knocked into the room and fell over. The burly man led George inside, where they saw Avril had been awakened and was staring at George and the burly man with a frightened expression.
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's face flushed red as he shouted excitedly.
Avril turned her head aside and ignored George completely.
"Kid, since she doesn't want to go with you, what are you still standing around for? Let's go," the burly man said.
George was heartbroken, utterly heartbroken. He took a deep breath, retreated two steps, and said, "Then be careful. I wasn't lying to you. There really are Long-Haired Demons. Sir, let's go!"
The two swiftly left the inn. Victor got up while holding his face and asked, "Avril, are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Avril replied softly.
Victor hurriedly put on his clothes. He had only been wearing underwear moments ago.
"Victor, do you think George was telling the truth?" Avril asked.
As Victor dressed, he analyzed, "Probably. That kid's been lusting after your body all this time, so he shouldn't be lying."
"What do we do, then?" Avril was at a complete loss.
Victor picked up the scattered clothes from the floor and placed them on the bed, smiling. "Of course, we run. Get dressed quickly. We're leaving!"
Meanwhile, George followed the burly man as they rapidly ran toward the edge of town. Strange sounds rang out from the town from time to time, making their scalps tingle. Especially after one house caught fire and many people ran out, the Long-Haired Demons' ferocity was immediately stirred, and their killing speed rose dramatically.
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 for sure!"
A townsman saw dozens of Long-Haired Demons ahead. The luggage on his shoulder slipped to the ground, and he immediately collapsed onto the street.
But even more people refused to sit and wait for death. They turned and fled at once, yet those who ran seemed more likely to draw the Long-Haired Demons' attention. In an instant, several Long-Haired Demons passed the townsman slumped on the ground, caught up to those fleeing, and began slaughtering again.
The burly man and George passed through a narrow alley and immediately saw many townspeople running back. The burly man made a snap decision. "We can't go this way. We'll go that way!"
He turned and kept running, with George hurrying 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 in their wake. 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. He looked around before saying, "We'll go that way, to Harbor Village!"
Though he usually did nothing proper, he knew the situation around town like the back of his hand.
Long-Haired Demons could appear anywhere around town, but Harbor Village lay behind it and was built by the sea. Unless the Long-Haired Demons could swim underwater, Harbor Village had to be their only road to survival.
Victor was gambling too—gambling that the Long-Haired Demons could not swim!
The two fled amid the chaos and then spotted the burly man and George. George happened to spot Victor and Avril as well.
"Avril, over here!" George shouted immediately.
But his voice caught the attention of a Long-Haired Demon in the distance that was torturing townspeople to death.
Victor pulled Avril along as he ran, saying calmly, "Ignore him. Let's go. The more people there are, the easier it is to attract the Long-Haired Demons' attention. Look, the Long-Haired Demons are all gathering where there are more people!"
Yet though Victor and Avril did not want to approach George, George took the initiative to run toward them, leaving the burly man no choice but to follow.