Gothic Realm, near the contact point.
The hunted vampire leaned against a dark wall as he looked at the walking pedestrians. With his dark cloak, he blended into the darkness extremely well. He rubbed the gold-inlaid handle of his cane and looked into the dark, fog-covered sky.
In Gothic Realm's time, it should be nearing nighttime. However, neither the sun nor the moon were going to reveal themselves since the fog cloud was impenetrable.
'I am late for my dinner. But I still have to enjoy this.' The vampire thought as he then saw his food walking down the street while looking around them as though they were looking for someone. The vampire licked his lips and disappeared into the shadows, his crimson eyes glowing eerily.
...
As the light vanished, Jason saw that his vision was replaced with darkness. It wasn't so dark that he couldn't see, but it was dark enough for him to realize that it wasn't ordinary. He looked around and saw himself standing next to a fountain as gothic realm citizens walked about to their destinations.
He then turned to the city that surrounded him and almost whistled to show his appreciation. The gothic city's buildings were dark, with dusted windows that hardly allowed one to see inside. The roofs were pitched as if the buildings had giant pointy hats.
The roads were made of cobblestone, dark cobblestone as if it was painted. Carriages, dragged by horses, wheeled through the streets. The streetlamps placed everywhere, along with light coming from some of the houses, illuminated the streets that would be otherwise utterly black because of the foggy sky.
Jason could appreciate the city's architectural beauty. The buildings and atmosphere were vastly different from Human Realm, which made him appreciate other cultures much more. Even though it was dark and gloomy, he enjoyed this kind of place.
Splash.
"Ah, man." The clown's irritated voice came near him.
Jason turned around and saw the clown climbing out of the fountain with his trousers and shoes drenched. He happened to teleport straight on the fountain, which was rather unlucky.
"How unlucky." Jason remarked with a smirk.
"It was my destiny to get my trousers drenched now." The clown chuckled as if he thought his current situation was kind of funny. "Now, any minute, the two guys who followed the vampire are going to die. That will be our chance. He has to find a quiet place to enjoy his meal."
"So, we should go look for them?" Jason sighed as he looked at the vast city. There were a lot of streets and alleyways where one could go.
"They will come to us." The clown put his hands in his pockets and motioned for Jason to follow as he started to walk down the street that was straight ahead. The buildings had activity even though it felt like nightfall, but all the residents still lived like it was day.
"What do you mean?" Jason walked beside him as he watched a carriage drive past them. The curtains were slightly open, allowing him to see a woman dressed like a nun. She was reading the Bible while murmuring aloud.
"Boo!"
Jason spun his head towards the clown as he suddenly shouted in his ear. However, there wasn't the clown walking beside him, but the vampire with blood-stained fangs!
"What the f—" Jason tried to pull the revolver, but the vampire had grabbed him by his wrist and smirked.
"Calm down; it's me. See." The clown's voice came from the vampire. Then, the vampire's beautiful face changed until the clown-masked man was back.
"Transformation ability?"
"Hehe, sort of." The clown let go of Jason's wrist and looked across the cobblestone streets. "We just have to find the guys before the vampire gets them and then lead them where we want to."
"Trick them with your transformation." Jason nodded. "However, what if the vampire had already struck and we were too late?"
"We aren't late yet." The clown narrowed his eyes behind the mask as he ignored the walking pedestrians and focused on the faraway distance. "The vampires like to play with their food. The vampire didn't only plan to attract food but also have some fun."
"Alright." Jason nodded and then asked as their shoes continued tapping against the cobblestone sidewalk. "Why did you want to work with me? You seem to know what you are doing."
"There is no particular reason." The clown said. "I do what I want to do."
"There isn't any goal in your life?" Jason asked. "Is there nothing that makes you wake up in the morning?"
"There is something..." The clown said before chuckling. "Hihihi, but that shall wait till I am strong enough."
Jason didn't inquire more and looked around the streets as if he were a tourist looking at the locations the realm provided. As he cast his gaze towards a nearby dimly-lit bar, he noticed two familiar-looking outfits that belonged to two men who were sharing drinks.
"Hey, wait." He stopped while the clown looked at him. "Aren't those the guys?"
The clown looked into the bar with narrowed eyes and then chuckled. "Yes, it's them. Let's enter."
"Whoah, are you sure they are the correct ones? I just saw a glimpse of them." Jason followed the clown as they crossed the street towards the bar.
"I have a perfect memory when it comes to appearances. Hehe, at everything else, my memory is not so good."
Jason felt like the clown was becoming stranger by the moment. They stepped into the bar, which was rather busy, with half the stools near the bar counter already occupied and most of the tables already in use.
He and the clown took the table near the entrance for themselves. They ordered drinks, acting as if they had just come there to drink. Soon, a waitress came with two large cups of ale.
"Is the vampire somewhere here?" Jason whispered as he took a sip of the ale. The foam almost spilled over the edge.
"Yeah, he is somewhere here alright." The clown glanced around without a specific meaning before looking outside through the dusted window. "Somewhere outside. Nearby. Maybe in those dark alleyways, hiding behind those pointy roofs, or even on those buildings."
"How can you use the transformation without exposing yourself to the vampire?" Jason asked as he used a napkin to wipe his lips. "Back door?"
"Yes, but we need chaos first." The clown rubbed his gloved hands. "To ensure that the vampire isn't by chance looking at the back door as well. We need to make sure he is only focused on the front door."
"Alright. You do the transformation, lure those two to follow you, and then I will create big enough chaos." Jason finished the drink with one large gulp and then slammed the cup on the table.
"Very well, hihihi." The clown stood up and slowly transformed into a beautiful vampire. His hair turned dark, and he soon wore a large-collared cloak. He stopped at the bar desk, right beside one of the hunters, and said. "One ale, thank you."
The hunter looked at his side nonchalantly at first before freezing. He slowly turned to his friend beside him and whispered. Soon, his friend also looked over and was utterly shocked.
'Can't you be more discreet? God damn.' The clown didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He soon received his ale and finished it quickly before leaving for the corner of the bar, where the men's washroom was. However, there was a back door as well.
The two hunters looked around before standing up and walking after the "vampire" as if they were just going to the washroom.
"My turn, I guess." Jason picked up the large cup and threw it across the room at the tall, cold-eyed man. The cup hit the back of his bald head and shattered. The man seemed shocked as blood suddenly flowed down his face.
"Who threw that?!" The man roared and looked around in red-faced rage. The bar quieted down as everyone looked around, but they didn't know who threw it.
"Was it you?!" The tall man went to the person who was nearest him and grabbed him by the collar. The person was frightened as he tried to prove his innocence. However, the rage-filled man didn't listen and smashed him into the table, breaking it.
The bar suddenly turned into chaos, and all the bar's patrons fled through the front door. They escaped into the streets as the bar owner tried to calm down the tall man.
Meanwhile, Jason had already walked out of the back door and entered a dimly lit alleyway. He saw a few figures walking down the alleyway before turning right. He drew his revolver and slowly followed behind.
...
"What the hell?" The vampire watched as the bar was emptied of all customers. His eyes quickly scanned everyone, but he didn't see the food he was after. His eyes narrowed as he started to sniff the air before him. He could smell hundreds of different things, but with his excellently amplified senses, he could smell the two men walking away from the bar.
'They are not in a hurry. So, they don't know yet that I am the hunter, not them.' The vampire chuckled inwardly and jumped out of the pitched roof, landed on the bar's roof, and quickly used the roofs to close the distance to his food. The hunt had resumed.
...
The two hunters stood at the dimly lit alleyway as they peeked into the next alleyway, where the vampire had suddenly started to lean against the wall and had lit a cigarette. The alleyway was entirely closed off from any street.
The sounds of fighting could reach the streets, but it would take many minutes before any constable would react to them. It would still take them nearly five more minutes to arrive at the scene.
It was the best possible chance to attack!
The two friends shared a glance and nodded with small smirks. They both drew their strange-looking weapons. They looked like flutes but also had a trigger underneath.
They drew breaths before jumping out of the alleyway and placing the mouthpiece of the flute into their mouths. They then blew air into the flute and pulled the trigger.
Biang...
Strangest gunshot echoed in the closed alleyway.
Two air bullets flew toward the large-collared vampire, who was still smoking the cigarette.
"Stay there as bait, will you, lads?" The clown pulled two joker cards from his pocket and threw them both onto the cobblestone ground. The first one landed next to him and the second behind the two men. The cards suddenly glowed, and from the ground, two dark cobblestone walls rose.
The air bullets struck the cobblestone wall as the vampire suddenly disappeared behind that new wall!
The two men looked around in shock as they were trapped. There were two walls on both sides, blocking their exit. They could only leave if they learned how to climb the building walls and get to the roofs!
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Jason ran out of the alleyway and frowned as he saw the strange wall in front of him. It was made from a different material than other walls, making it look rather odd. Also, he heard gunshots—strange gunshots—coming from here.
At that moment, a long-winged eagle flew past him before circling in the sky and landing on the ground right behind him. The eagle turned into a clown as his familiar chuckle sounded.
"They are trapped; now we wait."
"So, you are the one who transformed this area." Jason nodded in understanding. "Won't the vampire find this odd also?"
"Of course, but he has to be standing right above those roofs to see the strangeness of this situation. When he shows himself, we attack." The clown backed off into the dark alleyway to hide himself. Jason did the same as he placed red-colored bullets inside the cylinder wheel.
They were Regeneration Nullifying bullets!