Chapter 34. Vampires
"Captain! Did something happen?"
The crew members of the Narwhale followed the mice and gathered. Most of them had put on their clothes hastily and their breath had a hint of alcohol. The collars of their shirts were also stained with various lip imprints.
"Do any of you know where Dipp went last night?" Charles asked.
The skinny cook, Frey, immediately answered, "I do, Captain. Second Mate took the kid with him yesterday. He said he wanted to bring him to a fancier place and let him have a taste of being a man. It's not far from here, just straight ahead."
"Bring your weapons and follow me!" Charles instructed immediately.
Did they get into trouble with a local gang? That was the first thought that entered Charles' head. After all, such industries were usually under the control of specific groups. But that didn't really make sense either. A gang wouldn't take someone away and even follow up with the hassle of sending resignation letters. Such an action was a deliberate attempt to keep the others unaware of their disappearance.
Soon, they arrived at a tavern draped with red curtains. Even a few feet away from the entrance, the scent of a seductive fragrance that stirred the lust of men permeated the air.
Bam!
Charles kicked the door open and dashed in. Entwined in each other's arms, the couples in the hall instantly turned their gaze onto the sudden intruder.
A muscular figure that towered close to two meters stood up with a grim expression. Behind him stood dozens of his subordinates.
"You bastard! How dare you cause trouble in our terri—!" A short man shouted but the burly man sent him flying to the wall with a single slap.
With his visage adorned by rippling, meaty features, the muscular man approached Charles and looked downward at him.
"Someone told me that my crew members are here," Charles said as he remained unflinching and stared into the man's eyes.
Facing Charles' provocative action, the burly man appeared rather composed. "Your two crew members are not here with me. Perhaps they have gone elsewhere."
A cold smirk appeared on Charles' visage as his eyes narrowed into slits. "Did I ever mention that it was two crew members?"
The burly man's expression immediately contorted with a mix of embarrassment and frustration. He had never thought that a human could outwit him. Realizing that he could no longer conceal the truth, he gestured with his hand.
The henchmen around him started to chase the guests out of the tavern. Shortly after, the lively tavern had grown eerily quiet.
"I know that those from the sea are not to be trifled with. But since you are here, why don't you just... stay here?" With those words, the burly man stuck out his scarlet red tongue and licked his lips. He chuckled. "Blessed be the Mother, luck seemed to favor little old Durant to have this batch of humans fall into my hands."
Hearing Durant's ominous words, Charles didn't hesitate for even a single second.
Swoosh!
Charles pulled out his revolver and aimed it at Durant's towering figure. The other crew members also swiftly brandished their weapons.
In the next moment, laughter erupted from the opposing side as though Charles had just told the most uproarious joke.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets struck Durant and blood splattered.
Yet to everyone's surprise, the bullet wounds on Durant's body rapidly healed and within a few seconds, there was no wound to be seen.
"It seems like... you have yet to realize what you've encountered... Humans." The corners of Durant's lips curled into a horrifying sneer.
Snick!
Two sharp fangs protruded from his upper lip. The pale expanse of his eye sockets was slowly replaced with a crimson hue reminiscent of freshly spilled blood.
"A vampire." Charles' pupils contracted.
"Your blood is mine!" With a forceful push of his feet, Durant lunged at Charles. An instant later, Charles was pressed to the ground by a massive force and Durant's sharp fangs pierced into Charles' neck.
The moment Durant made his move, the other vampires also sprung into actions. They shed their disguises and revealed their fangs as they pounced on the crew members.
As Durant was feeding, he started to feel that something was amiss. The human before him with black eyes showed no sign of resistance, which was strikingly contrary to the norm.
Huh. Did I just scare this guy silly?
Just as that thought crossed Durant's mind, a white mask with an ecstatic expression covered Charles' face.
Swish!
A gleaming glint flashed and the black blade was firmly lodged into Durant's chest. He was forced to take a few steps back.
"Tsk, I was still thinking it would be something worthwhile. But hah, vampires. What a pathetic excuse of existence, a miserable joke!"
"Ahhhhh!" Behind them, James stood close to four meters tall. He roared as he grabbed hold of a vampire and tore the being into two halves by sheer arm strength.
The mice swarmed on a vampire and their squeaks echoed in the enclosed space. The trapped vampire's agonized screams could be vaguely heard from underneath the furry onslaught.
The other crew members joined in on the attack as well. They might have shown fear before the colossal butterfly, but supernatural beings like vampires held no power to intimidate people who had a close encounter with a "divinity."
"You!" Durant glared furiously at the man in white mask before him. Things had taken an unexpected turn.
His sharp claws streaked through the air, leaving afterimages in their path, as they threatened to shred Charles' face.
Charles's neck muscles drew taut as he pulled his head back, narrowly avoiding the menacing claws as they grazed past his smooth mask.
"You like biting, don't you? Have a taste of this then!"
Raising his blood-stained black blade, Charles forcefully stabbed it into Durant's mouth, and the tip emerged through the back of the latter's skull.
Enraged, Durant tried to resist, but with a twist of the hilt, Charles exerted force and pushed the blade forward, splitting the monstrous visage with perfect accuracy. He then withdrew the blade and plunged it into the vampire's heart.
The creature that had been behaving oh-so-arrogantly a few moments before convulsed and fell to the floor. Soon after, it turned motionless.
With grim determination, Charles pieced both parts of the bloodied head back together. He then executed a flawless backflip and joined in the battle happening behind him.
Witnessing how Charles had effortlessly slaughtered their own kind like how he was chopping vegetables, the remaining vampires could endure no longer and frantically made a dash for the windows in an attempt to escape.
"What the hell... Pathetic creatures. All that hype for such insignificant existence," Charles scoffed in disdain as he watched them flee.
Charles' ears twitched. Leading his crew members in tow, they crossed the wreckage-strewn hall to arrive before a wooden door.
The door was pushed open and Charles was greeted with the sight of Dipp and Conor hanging on inverted crosses like dried meat. Deep gashes marred their wrists, and droplets of blood dripped into a wooden basin placed beneath them.
Their faces had turned ashen, and it seemed that if Charles hadn't arrived in time, they would have bled to death.
Upon spotting Charles, the two men hanging on the frame thrashed about wildly.
Charles didn't release them from their restraints immediately. He approached Dipp and used the black blade in his hand to tap against the latter's face. "Well? So did you enjoy the taste of a female vampire?"
With his mouth gagged, the young lad couldn't utter a single word but his eyes pleaded with despair as he made muffled cries.
A white glint flashed and the chains restraining the two men snapped apart.
Ignoring the pitiful duo, Charles walked to the side and examined the various bloodletting instruments that were laid out. This seemed to be the place where the vampires extracted blood from their victims. Evident from the crimson liquid with the towering glass jars that were the height of two adult men, Charles knew that Dipp and Conor weren't their only victims. There were likely many more.
The other crew members that disappeared weren't here. It was highly possible that this wasn't the only place where vampires gathered.
"Mr. Charles, what should we do next?" Lily curiously asked
"Isn't it obvious? We killed so many vampires, we have to report it to the authorities."
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