Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 479: Interview with the vampire
As Uriel approached the broken door a foul stench filled his nostrils. It was so powerful and pungent it made the sewer smell seem like a breath of fresh air, but that wasn't enough to stop him.
However, the piles of hunter bones that served as a warning, the medieval building style and the absence of cryptids gave Uriel an ominous feeling completely unrelated to his mystical sense, it was pure dread.
Uriel's legs were shaking involuntarily and the hairs on the back of his neck were bristled like those of a scared cat. The worst part was that he could still feel the jaguar's presence signaling that it was still alive, but he couldn't feel any emotion coming from their bond which indicated it might be unconscious or worse, it could be under the effect of an entity nosferatu's glare.
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Everything, from the building style to the dark ambience, gave Uriel the feeling of approaching a boss fight in a retro video game.
"If someone starts singing in latin, I'm out of here." He joked in a whisper to himself, not expecting to receive a reply.
"If you were my guest I would consider it, but you're an intruder in my home." A nasty voice worthy of the creature that muttered them came from a dark corner prompting Uriel to activate his Dash skill and scan his surroundings and he spotted a pair of velvet eyes shimmering in the darkness like those of a wild beast, only it was thousands of times worse.
When he wanted to realize, he was already sitting on a long table in front of the horror rank nosferatu itself. The odd experience felt the same as though he was watching a movie, especially since he couldn't move no matter how hard he tried.
"Let me go!" Uriel demanded.
"They always start with that. Our time is limited, so please spare me the pleads for your life and the crying." The nosferatu replied.
"Why are you doing this?" Uriel's mind struggled to move his body, but he couldn't so much as lift a finger.
"And the questions. They too are bothersome." The horror rank cryptid replied.
The situation was beyond terrifying as Uriel couldn't so much as move a muscle other than to speak. Thankfully, that left him with his best weapon available and he was going to make good use of it. He calmed himself down and racked up his brain to understand the situation.
One moment he was entering a chamber, then the next one he was sitting in what seemed to be an old dining room. There were paintings on the walls and tapestries hanging, his lantern was nowhere to be seen but there were some lit candles.
Obviously, he fell under some sort of ability similar to that of an entity rank vampire and he assumed the reason why the cryptid was in a rush was due to the ability's short duration.
'When feeding, some high level cryptids need to meet special requirements to gain the most flux out of a hunter. A skinwalker needs to use its ability to impersonate hunters and trick them into killing each other, it should be safe to assume that a vampire needs to use its ability to feed too.
I need to gain time and figure it out, but if I make a mistake...' Uriel inwardly thought, but the nosferatu didn't appreciate him spacing out and continued speaking.
"I remember you. I saw you before in the dungeon, but your blood tastes different. I must say, I'm quite ashamed of the way I acted that day, I get moody after not drinking blood for a couple centuries," The nosferatu said as he took a sip from a wine glass that most certainly didn't contain any wine in it, but another type of red liquid.
"if at all possible, I would like to have a chat with you while we have dinner."
"You sound really polite for someone who's holding me here against my will." Uriel wanted to glare at the unsightly creature, but kept his gaze low not to fall under the effect of its ability again.
"I am not like the rest of my kin, I may look hideous to you, but I'm not actually the monster you think I am."
"Now you're going to say you only drink blood because you need to and try to convince me you're innocent." Uriel scoffed.
"Oh! I love drinking blood, I can't get enough of it. Even back when I didn't need it for sustenance, my lust for blood was unparalleled." A fanged grin appeared on the nosferatu's face, then he clapped his hands and two maids came in. They were dressed in simple old fashion cotton dresses, which Uriel recognized to be an exact copy of medieval age dresses.
"You lived among humans during the obscurantism, did you not?" Uriel asked.
"Wonderful! This is so refreshing, instead of crying and begging for your life you're actually trying to learn about me. This is promising to be a most entertaining dusk." The nosferatu nodded at the maids and they started serving the meal.
"Maybe for you, how do you expect me to eat if I can't move?"
"I can command them to feed you and if they're to your taste, you may take whichever you choose back to your chambers," The nosferatu snorted when he noticed Uriel's discomfort and continued. "Such a prude civilization! You made so many wonderful advances in science, but you lost sight of what truly matters."
"And that is?"
"The pleasures of the flesh, of course." The vampire's eyes lit up with lust and power for a second, it was the first time Uriel felt the horror level cryptid's intense energy signature and all he could do was to close his eyes and wait for it to end.
Every fiber on his body was shook by the brimming power of the creature in front of him, though it was nowhere near to what he experienced when he spoke to Water warlock.
"I'm not interested in such things, all I want is knowledge." Uriel replied by waving his hand dismissively, realizing now that he was no longer paralyzed.
"Knowledge... I have some and I'm willing to share it with you. I must warn you, the more you learn, the more insignificant you feel. Although this universe is endless, there are deeper fathomless 'things'. I too sought for knowledge once, but knowledge is just as vain as beauty.
Such a shame you lost him, I would have loved to taste his blood again." The nosferatu let out a wishful sigh that came out as a nasty snort.
"So, you know about Water warlock?" Uriel replied.
"Finish your meal, give in to the pleasures of the flesh and enjoy yourself, for tomorrow by dawn only one of us will be alive."
Uriel wasn't thrilled to participate on a meal with a horror rank cryptid, but he had to admit it was way better than the last time. At least now there weren't any entrails on the table, there was proper cuttlery and everything was clean. Even better, there were two beautiful young ladies serving them.
At first, Uriel just assumed they were hybrids, but then he realized they had to be humans since the nosferatu needed human blood. Just by seeing them it was obvious they were heavenly rank hunters, though it was clear they were chosen by their looks rather than power.
How did such a nasty creature got them to serve him with a smile rather than kicking and screaming was a mystery, but Uriel kept himself busy gobbling up the food in front of him.
"Wonderful, this is wonderful! You have an appetite almost as big as mine." The nosferatu cackled and drank until the glass became clear again, prompting the maid to swiftly refill it.
Uriel paid no heed to the cryptid's words and he focused on regaining his strength rather than having a good time, but that wasn't the case for the nosferatu who 'smiled' the whole duration of the meal. To an ancient creature like the nosferatu, seeing someone so young enjoy his meal was an ecstasy as it reminded it of the time it used to be a human and he was able to enjoy food just like that.
The nosferatu insisted of treating Uriel like a guest when he noticed he knew him from before and that he was the former host of Water warlock. Though, that wasn't the only reason why he acted so nice to him.
After centuries trapped in the dungeon, his dinner with Uriel was the peak of its undead life. Although the young hunter lacked table manners, he behaved properly and provided a nice conversation. He also didn't attempt to attack or escape, which was refreshing to say the least.
But the best part was that Uriel acted completely unsurprised when the cryptid spoke human language, which meant he didn't think of cryptids as mindless creatures like most hunters he encountered.
When the strange feast came to an end, Uriel was presented once more with the invitation to take one of the girls to his chambers and this time he agreed.
