Book 2: Chapter 52: The Boy and The Girl

“You despicable ant, I will kill you!” Stephen loosened his hands, revealing a ferocious and terrifying face.

Under the corrosion of the Sacred Spirit Potion, the handsome face of the eldest young master Albert became like a lump of white wax melted by high heat. One eyeball hung crookedly at the corner of his eye like a popped fish bladder. The left side of his mouth had completely disappeared, revealing half of his snow-white, sharp teeth.

“Bang!” Before the Vampire ancestor could pounce down from the air, a figure shot out from the Main Keep’s hall entrance. It flashed up into the sky and in an instant appeared before Stephen.

“You will kill no one!” The figure took a deep breath, his chest swelling high. He pulled his fists back to his sides, and in the next moment, countless fist shadows rained down on Stephen’s upper body like machine gun fire.

Lima’s eyes flashed with a cold light. Doctor Stan’s desertion in the Banquet Hall had left him somewhat disappointed. But then everything that happened next in the Banquet Hall filled him with rage. For the first time, he desperately wished he could take leadership of the Odia Demon Hunters.

The black buffalo leather gloves were already torn and tattered, revealing a pair of iron fists tempered to the color of black iron.

“Thump, thump, thump!” The Vampire’s body twisted and contorted like a ragged sack, similar to steel being forged under a hydraulic press. Lima’s iron fists acted like a magnet; after each blow, they pulled Stephen’s body back into the target position for the next punch.

Amid the whistling sound of fists cutting through the air, countless jets of blood shot out from both Lima and Stephen, scattering into a bloody mist in the storm, enveloping the two. Stephen’s blood came from his body being unable to withstand the crushing force of the punches, while Lima’s blood came from his recently bandaged wounds splitting open again.

“Bang!” Just two seconds later, Stephen was sent flying like a cannonball, his demonic face still wearing a trace of stunned disbelief. He crashed violently into a section of the courtyard’s high wall, collapsing it and burying himself under the bricks and rubble.

At this moment, Qin Lun’s attention was not on these two. After dodging Laura’s determined attack, he widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the figure clinging to the Werewolf’s arm.

Katharine? Why was she here? Qin Lun could not understand the innkeeper’s wife’s actions. In the books he had read, there were indeed descriptions of mysterious chemical reactions between female and male beings. But in his view, this was just an additional product of the reproductive instinct of lower life forms, not something worthy of praise.

“Roar!” Laura shook her arm violently in fury, trying to throw off the woman clinging to her. Katharine’s face was pale, her eyes tightly shut, her shoulders trembling slightly. But her hands holding onto the Werewolf tightened even more, sticking to Laura like glue.

“No!” Qin Lun’s face changed. A familiar-seeming image suddenly appeared in his mind. It was the scene of Odo, blind and severely injured, desperately clutching the Witch’s ankle. Even when the Demon Hunter’s head was pierced by the Witch’s Wand, he did not loosen his grip until death.

A flash of murderous light crossed Laura’s eyes. Her sharp claws plunged fiercely into Katharine’s chest, “tearing” the woman off her arm. She had already killed many people. Under the influence of the Werewolf’s violent nature, she adapted very quickly to the adverse reactions after killing. Not even a woman or child could shake her will now.

“Boom!” A surge of heat exploded in Qin Lun’s head. Long-buried memories from the depths of the Serial Killer’s heart surfaced.

The people and events around him instantly vanished. The dripping wolf claws seemed to transform into a strange half-pair of scissors. The tall Werewolf turned into a blurred shadow. The flung Katharine became a petite, delicate figure. And he himself transformed back into a small boy curled up in a corner.

“No…” A sharp pain made Qin Lun feel as if his head was splitting apart. A heart-wrenching scream tore from his mouth, and he immediately held his head, rolling around wildly on the ground.

“Die!” After shaking off Katharine, Laura lunged at Qin Lun again. But just as she took a step, a warning flashed in the Werewolf’s heart, and she forced herself to stop abruptly.

“Bang!” A barrage of steel pellets shot towards the Werewolf’s face. Laura only had time to raise her arms in front of her before countless bloody blossoms burst open all over her body.

“Sizzle!” Unlike when the Militia had hit her before, this time the wounds on her body emitted pungent white smoke.

“Ugh!” Laura grunted. Before she could react, a dark figure had already appeared in front of her. A bright flash of blade light came down on her head like lightning.

“Ah!” Along with Laura’s painful scream, half of a wolf forearm flew into the air.

“Hmph!” Under the Werewolf’s horrified gaze, Meyer, who had rushed to the Main Keep entrance, kicked out, sending her flying.

From chasing Qin Lun to being sent flying by Lima and Meyer, only a few dozen seconds had passed for Laura and Stephen. Seeing the appearance of Lima and Meyer, the Vampires tasked with dispersing and blocking the townsfolk all panicked and flew up into the air.

The Militia and townsfolk steadied themselves again and closed in from all sides. A few brave townspeople managed to loop several more ropes around Laura.

“Stop them!” Stephen’s voice, filled with shock and anger, came from under the collapsed rubble. The Vampires in the air exchanged uncertain looks. But after only a brief hesitation, they shrieked and dove towards the two Demon Hunters again.

Humans had abandoned them. There weren’t many of their own kind left. Moreover, Miss Laura usually treated all the castle servants like family. No matter what, they could not stand by and watch Laura die at the hands of the Demon Hunters.

Taking advantage of the Vampires desperately and recklessly entangling the two Demon Hunters, Stephen finally broke through the townsfolk’s encirclement again. He scooped up the unconscious Laura and flew up into the air, slowly disappearing into the far end of the night amidst the storm.

“Lima, don’t chase them. We don’t have wings!” Meyer looked up at the night sky and called out wearily to stop his companion.

“Hmph!” Lima’s face was livid. His split open wounds had dyed his martial attire a blood-like crimson. Yet his body remained straight as a flagpole, standing tall. He clenched his iron fists unwillingly, his eyes revealing a firm and unwavering belief.

The trials of this night seemed to grant this young Demon Hunter a rebirth. No one knew yet that the flames ignited in Lima’s heart would, in the distant future, stir up a storm affecting the entire world.

“Hey, where did Doctor Stan go?” As the fight ended, the Saint Healer Totti also arrived beside the two Demon Hunters and began re-bandaging their split wounds.

Lima and Meyer started in surprise at his words. They scanned the courtyard and indeed did not find Qin Lun, who had just been rolling around screaming.

The townsfolk who came to Albert Castle were now split into two groups. Those with the courage to fight the Vampires and Werewolf were mostly gathered in the castle courtyard. The others had fled into the woods on the hillside, hiding in fear from those terrifying creatures.

Qin Lun carried Katharine, walking alone on the stone bridge. His gaze calmly fixed on the pale face of the innkeeper’s wife. The innkeeper’s wife had her eyes closed, her breathing barely perceptible.

The doctor glanced at the wound on the woman’s chest. Although Katharine’s heart was unharmed, her right lung was completely shattered, and she was bleeding heavily internally. Not even World Tree Dew or the Sacred Spirit Potion could save the innkeeper’s wife from this injury.

“Why did you come back?” Qin Lun asked quietly.

“I… wanted to… see you… again!” Katharine’s eyelashes fluttered lightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.

“We only met a few days ago. You have no idea what kind of person I am!” Qin Lun shook his head gently. “Do you regret it now? Katharine!”

“I… don’t know!” Katharine’s gaze was slightly confused. Then, an unnatural flush rose on her face. Ignoring the blood welling in her mouth, she choked out, “If… cough… I changed the inn… into a clinic… would you… marry me?”

Looking into Katharine’s shining, expectant eyes, a strange feeling suddenly rose in Qin Lun’s heart. Different from the anger he felt when Frank died, this was another entirely new experience.

“Of course, Katharine. You are now Wellington Stan’s wife, forever!” A gentle smile appeared on Qin Lun’s face, as warm as the first time he saw Katharine.

“Cough! Cough! Live… live well, my… Wellington!” Katharine’s eyes brightened. She trembled and reached out a hand, wanting to touch Qin Lun’s face, but it fell back powerlessly halfway.

Qin Lun stopped walking. He grabbed Katharine’s hand and pressed it against his face. He closed his eyes, buried his head in the woman’s chest, and his shoulders trembled slightly…

Joey, I don’t like this feeling. Can you help me hide it away? For the first time in twelve years, Qin Lun felt as if he was still that little boy curled up in the corner.

…

“Bonnie, the rain will stop soon, right?” In front of the Banquet Hall’s shattered French window, Elizabeth leaned quietly against the blond young man’s shoulder.

“Elizabeth…” Bonnie went down on one knee, letting the Albert family’s little princess rest her head on his lap.

“Hehe, don’t look so glum. You were much cuter when you were little!” Elizabeth turned her head to look at the faint light of dawn appearing on the horizon. “Bonnie, do you hate me? I destroyed everything about the Alberts. Your father, Laura, Stephen, Nina, Little Miller, and all those castle servants…”

Bonnie’s gaze dimmed. He was silent for a while before speaking. “No, Elizabeth. Without you, the Albert Family could not have shone for over three hundred years. They made their own choices. This sorrow shouldn’t always be borne by you. You only destroyed yourself.”

“Xixi, Bonnie, you’ve grown up.” Elizabeth’s clear, tinkling laughter rang through the empty Banquet Hall.

“Elizabeth, let’s go inside. You’ll catch a cold out here.”

“Xixi, that sounds familiar. I think Doctor Stan said something like that on his first night at the castle!” Elizabeth said playfully. “Bonnie, I’ll tell you a secret, only you… Do you know why I dislike rainy days, yet always go out in the rain at night?”

“It seems… that’s true! Why?” Bonnie frowned, asking curiously.

“Because… the sun after a storm is the most beautiful. I can even see Father waving to me!” Gazing at the slowly rising morning sun on the horizon, a look of happiness suddenly appeared on Elizabeth’s face. She pushed Bonnie away. “It’s been over three hundred years… This… is the first time. Let me have a good look!”

Watching Elizabeth transform into a torch before his eyes, Bonnie wept bitterly.

Through his blurred vision, Bonnie seemed to see the little girl mischievously make a face at him. Then, holding the hand of a tall figure, she walked further and further away…