Chapter 2118: Vampire Beast
When Shard returned home from the north of the city, it was half past one in the afternoon. Mia, who lived a very happy life with nothing to do all day, had already eaten the high-grade cat food Shard had left for her and was now lazily napping in the sun on the windowsill. Although she was startled awake by Shard’s footsteps upstairs, she only ran up to him for a couple of pats before he marveled at "how warm and soft this cat is," and then she jumped back up on the windowsill to continue her nap.
Thus, Shard followed what Luvia mentioned in the morning and visited Miss Belindel at Belindel Estate in Moon Bay City. But unfortunately, the witch wasn’t in the estate this afternoon. Fortunately, the maids at the estate knew of Shard as "the cousin," so they informed him that Miss Belindel had gone to the city council to attend a meeting.
Since she had matters to attend to, Shard planned to come back for a visit at dusk. Meanwhile, he took advantage of the afternoon to head to the morgue in Spider Alley, intending to inform the vampire kind’s "Magician Sean" about yesterday’s visit to the coroner, but at the same time, he also wanted to probe for information, to see if Mr. Benhart’s investigation had any progress as well.
Unexpectedly, as he reached the end of Spider Alley, he saw Mr. Benhart coming out from the adjacent Spider Inn, looking somewhat displeased:
"Good afternoon, I’ve just come out from Ptolemy’s place, he’s dissecting the corpse right now, I advise you not to go there... Even if next time it’s hard to refuse for the sake of face, I absolutely won’t be observing his work again."
Still feeling uncomfortable in the stomach, Mr. Benhart didn’t mind returning to the Spider Inn to have a drink with Shard. Once seated, Shard began sharing his findings from interrogating Hawthorne on the ship yesterday, discussing those dragon egg fossils and the erased memories. Mr. Benhart nodded; his side of things seemed similar:
"I’ve already contacted Georgia Black, and it’s the same situation. I didn’t even discover any traces of memory erasure, yes, not a single trace, but my instincts tell me his memories are definitely off. This is not a normal technique; I suspect it’s the power of a relic at play."
He gulped down a mouthful of wine:
"However, I didn’t encounter the circle sorcerer with dragon scales you mentioned. I checked around Georgia Black and didn’t find any signs of contact with circle sorcerers. Also, my contact at the church informed me that the church has already confirmed the true identity of that corpse, and they are likely to soon investigate the four individuals we are tracking."
Shard furrowed his brow:
"This indicates the opposing side is truly confident, perhaps even inducing the church to investigate how the deceased was attacked on the way home... I will think of a way to handle the memory issue, I know a girl who excels at arcane techniques related to memories. We shouldn’t touch Georgia Black and Freeman Hawthorne anymore. Now, only Herman Wood remains. I will meet him tomorrow night."
"Tomorrow night?"
Mr. Benhart thought for a moment and then sounded a bit surprised:
"He’s attending a card game with Earl Edington and Earl Belindel tomorrow night."
"Yes, Miss Belindel asked me to substitute her in the game."
"You really are... just as capable as ever."
Mr. Benhart praised, clinking glasses with Shard:
"The opponent is hiding deep, and the situation is worse than we imagined. Ptolemy just told me that last night, there was a vampire kind attack and injury case in the city. Yes, this time it’s confirmed to be a vampire kind, but not our humanoid vampire kind, it was those hybrid mongrels, vampire beasts."
Shard was somewhat surprised:
"I thought having werewolves here was already magical enough, how could vampire beasts appear in a densely populated place like Moon Bay?"
"Vampire beasts" are also members of the vampire race, but unlike the advanced vampires, who can stably switch their forms, such as Mr. Benhart and Mr. Albert, the vampire beasts’ body state and mental state are extremely unstable, and they must frequently consume blood to maintain their survival.
During the day, they also appear as humans but fear sunlight greatly. At night, once transformed into a massive bat-like creature, their combat power far exceeds that of ordinary low ring vampire kinds.
As for Mr. Benhart’s statement about them being "hybrid mongrels," it’s because most advanced vampires believe that "vampire beasts" are a race formed through human alchemy experiments, blending advanced vampires, bats, and beasts together. However, this idea lacks evidence, as "vampire beasts" have had clear records since the Third Era, traditionally considered a degraded vampire race.
Due to the chaotic nature of vampire beasts, they are rarely seen in human-populated cities. It’s said that they can only be found in large vampire beast settlements in the New World, the northern ice regions of the Old Continent, and the Rommel Mountains spanning the central eastern parts of the Old Continent.
"You said there are werewolves locally?"
Mr. Benhart raised his eyebrows, and Shard shook his head:
"There are, but they should be irrelevant to our investigation. Speaking of vampire beasts, it can’t be this coincidental, can it? The church just associated the matter of that nameless female corpse with the vampire kind, and now a vampire beast appears in the city."
"It’s certainly another frame-up, trying to firmly establish the vampire kind’s guilt. Even if the church suspects, they still have to waste manpower to capture that vampire beast first. During this period, they can create more evidence to clear suspicions."
Mr. Benhart shook his head, knowing how adept those "same clan" creatures, more akin to beasts, were at hiding in the night:
"According to Ptolemy, the traces obtained from the corpse of the victim indicate that the vampire beast is quite formidable. If you must operate locally at night, be very cautious. Oh, since you can see George Black tomorrow, I’ll leave his matter to you. I need to continue investigating the Crowley Steam Bath; I always feel there’s something fishy about it."
"Alright, be careful with everything. Let’s meet here again on Sunday morning. Currently, surrounding this matter, there are four forces: the Vampire Kind, the Church, the Dragon Feast Cult, and the New World Mutual Aid Society. The truth may far exceed our expectations."
Shard discussed with Mr. Benhart for a while longer before they parted ways. However, due to Mr. Benhart’s kindly persuasion, Shard did not go to visit the coroner.
"Just for your dinner’s appetite."
The Vampire Viscount had said at the time.
Shard then headed from Spider Alley to the Dock Area to inquire at "Princess Trading Partners" about the progress of the investigation regarding the "Mysterious Diviner" on Herring Street.
It was still Ms. Annie Bonnie who received Shard. It had been a week since Shard asked for their help with the investigation, but the Lower District of Moon Bay City, centered around Herring Street, was so vast that the investigation had not made significant progress yet.
Shard wasn’t particularly concerned, asking a few more questions about the three cargo ships’ affairs and then a rather strange question:
"Ms. Bonnie, you have lived in the Dock Area of Moon Bay City for many years, haven’t you?"
"If you count the time before I met Miss Princess, it should be twenty years."
She seemed to have been a pirate before, frequently coming and going from Moon Bay.
Shard nodded:
"Then have you ever heard any strange sounds in the Dock Area at dusk?"
He narrowed his eyes slightly:
"Old, lingering sounds, like those of beasts."
The one-eyed woman thought for a moment:
"I’ve never heard of that, but your question reminds me of a legend on the dock. To call it a legend doesn’t quite fit; it’s more a story and rule circulating among the dock workers. It’s said that if sailors and workers hear strange sounds at dusk, they should immediately distance themselves from the dock and go to the church to pray. However, their version mentions a terrifying Wraith Spirit rather than any beast-like occurrences."
Shard nodded in understanding:
"Apart from this, are there any other oddities on the dock, especially related to sounds or dusk?"
Ms. Bonnie thought again:
"Let me think... No, at least, I can’t recall anything right away. When I was young, the old fishermen who lived here always had all sorts of odd stories, but those people have passed away, and the children who grew up at Moon Bay City Dock never pay attention to these stories. Legends return to dust; we constantly bid farewell to past matters."
Since Miss Eles mentioned that Divine War, it’s been a thousand years, and if there were readily available information Shard could learn about, the local church would have noticed long ago. Actually, if it weren’t for a lead given by Long-Haired Luvia, Shard wouldn’t have thought there might be traces of the Divine War still remaining in the bustling docks.
But as local inquiries yielded no desired information, Shard had to search for it himself. Just before saying goodbye to Miss Bonnie, she mentioned that someone had sent Shard a very thick package.
Upon receiving the package and seeing the address was a bookstore in the city center, sent by Mr. Dylan, Shard remembered he had approached the local Gray Gloves Organization to help clear the way for Lecia’s fleet, creating confusion by asking the local agents to investigate several irrelevant matters. This massive package seemed to contain various accounts and lists of suspicious individuals since the construction of the Bridge of Moon Bay, while other inquiries were still ongoing.
However, Shard wasn’t genuinely concerned about it, so he didn’t rush to open it, instead planning to take it home and look into it when bored to pass the time.
Upon leaving "Princess Trading Partners," dusk shadows were already appearing over the distant horizon. The sails crowded in the port of Moon Bay, with people bustling in their final tasks before dinner.
Seagulls circled above the port, making Shard worry about bird droppings falling. He touched Fiona’s glove in his pocket, thinking that if clues couldn’t be found, maybe he should explore on his own.