Vampire Reborn

Alucard exited the guildhall with a headache brewing up in his undead skull.

In spite of the fact that the sun was setting and its light was nowhere near as strong as in the middle of the day, its powers were still felt weighing him down with every step, although it was admittedly not as bad, especially if he followed the path with the most shadows. He could still walk, although it was far less than comfortable and demanded considerable effort.

However, the sun was not the only reason for the strain that festered his mind.

'What's wrong with that girl? Why was she so stiff and apologetic about every little thing,' He thought to himself, shaking his head with his hands grasping his mask.

This was a reminder of how much he despised human interactions. The only times he talked to other people was through his Spaz chat, and when someone would call him.

It was not that he was too shy or introverted, no, not at all, it was rather a culmination of many things that made him who he was today. After he had quit his last job, he had not had proper human contact in many years. In fact, he went out of his way to avoid it, he rarely ever went outside not even for food and shopping which he did online, only when absolutely necessary did he exit the safety of his home.

As such, he doubted his social skills; he needed to try his best to fit into society and not stand out like a sore thumb. Being socially competent was mandatory for his survival; he could not simply avoid everyone around him as he did before.

He only hoped that the reception girl did not pick up anything suspicious from him or god forbid surmise his true identity. In that effort, he tried his best to act as sexist as the other men around him towards her. He had not been around to analyze the crowd of adventurers and their habits other than a few initial glimpses, so, he prayed that he did not come off as something out of the ordinary.

He could not escape the fact that he was not only a foreigner in an unknown land, but an alien from an entirely new reality. But, he could alleviate that shackle with effort, which was what he had planned today.

The upbeat, music-filled central Plaza of the city was where the guildhall resided, it was by far the busiest area in town. Despite the fact that the sun was setting, the bustling, congested nature of the area was not diminished which served as great camouflage within the crowds.

It was natural considering it housed everything from food and clothing to weapons and arms.

Amidst the masses, the shop and stall owners let themselves be known as they energetically shouted their sales pitches over each other, grabbing the attention of the people walking by, while the older women haggled with the merchants as they looked for the freshest of food.

The alluring aroma enveloping the plaza was succulent and by design, drawing men from all corners to drink and consume the warm, succulent skewers of meat on display whilst various armoured warriors were inspecting arms from the side stores, looking at items they in all likelihood could never afford.

"Please… Could you spare 1 copper? 1 copper…"

"Get out of my way! Know your place! Hey! Beast! One apple dropped is one lash! understood?"

From an outside look, all was positive, yet there was much brewing underneath if one kept a closer eye, it was all a familiar sight to when Alucard had first entered this city, the city of Anri which was the major city of the kingdom closest to the border of the Orobonian theocracy.

As Alucard walked, he noticed several stares headed his way. It was to be expected considering his rather flashy, masked attire, that and the probable rumours surrounding him from last night. However, he paid them no heed and moved onwards, not wasting any time.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

However, that was when suddenly, one thing significant enough for him to stop everything he was doing to go and see it occurred, that along with a rather delicious smell to accompany it.

Since first entering the city, he had never seen so many people gather in one area, it piqued his curiosity. Thus, he went to inspect it.

"MY BROTHER!! MY BROTHER!! ALL OF YOU STAY AWAY!!! ALL OF YOU STAY AWAY!! WHO DID THISSSSS!!"

What Alucard drew near, he saw exactly what had happened… In front of his eyes was a short, brown-haired girl that looked no older than fourteen years old, on her knees, crying over a corpse. Her eyes were bloodshot and her body was trembling along with her speech as she looked over at the crowd surrounding her.

The man underneath her, presumably her brother had similar features to that of his sister and seemed to be an adult. The cause of death was evident and clearly fresh, an iron dagger meticulously stabbed into his back, precisely, his heart, the source of blood… Blood that trickled slowly on the ground and enveloped his previously snow-white robe, dying his sister's dress a similar colour…

Blood… Sweet… Succulent human blood…

'Huh?' Alucard shook his head and averted his eyes, cursing at his own weakness. Now was not the time for such things. The fact that this city and land was dangerous came as absolutely no surprise to him, in fact, it should have been expected. It was a simple assassination, it was no business for him to intrude. It was not like he could do anything to help even if he wanted.

He took a deep breath and readjusted his mask before he turned away from the crowd, heading back to his original path.

"HOW DID THIS HAPPEN… We… We were just walking… He's dead… DEAD!!" The girl's screams of anguish echoed in his head, making his eyes soften underneath his mask before he looked up and moved onwards, picking up lingering conversations from the crowds until he was too far and their voices were lost in the wider sea of noises from the plaza.

"Hey… Isn't that saint Rodrick?"

"Yeah, he was a kindhearted man… He was almost on the level of a noble… What happened… Who would have wanted to do this?"

"I'm not sure… But I have my guesses… I've seen this happen before… After all, he was the same saint who entered this city not too long ago and began giving much charity…"

♦ ♦ ♦

The road was tiring, and the path was arduous, but Alucard persisted through the light of the setting sun until he reached his destination…

A place where he would learn the history of this fantasy world and uncover many mysteries unknown to him now. A place of knowledge that would aid him in his path to coexist and learn many things that the residents would think to be common knowledge.

The Library…

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