The Record of Unusual Creatures
chapter-105

Chapter 105: Gossip

Perhaps the scrawny werewolf had gone through a little too much today. Not to mention, the shock of a werewolf befriending a vampire had pushed him over the edge; verbal diarrhea came spewing out. Hao Ren could only muster a stunned look and quipped at the end, “….Your Mandarin is pretty decent…”

Casar Ebben glared coldly at his partner’s total lost of self-control and let out a gruff snort. “Ewen, enough! Have some dignity!”

So, the skinny werewolf was called Ewen. He looked at Casar Ebben with resignation and then shifted his gaze towards Vivian. “I admit defeat, kill me if you want to. Werewolves do not negotiate with a vampire… But, I want to know, who in the seven hells are you? There’s little that the two of us cannot defeat. However, we were outmatched by you alone… Bloody hell.”

Hao Ren wanted to retort. What was that, being defeated by Vivian alone?! He also contributed to the fight, a solitary fist on an already beaten sod.…

“The Countess of the Crimson Moon. That’s who she is…” Casar Ebben grunted. He sounded like he was clenching his teeth. “Granted, she didn’t look all that strong compared to the description in the records. But, she’s too strong…”

“That weirdo of a countess?” Ewen Ebben leapt up in shock and he struggled to regain his composure. With weary eyes he looked at Vivian. “One of the oldest vampires….and you’re still alive?”

“Why does everyone I meet want me dead?” Vivian frowned. “And how exactly did you lot record my exploits? I don’t even remember having such a title… Did this one come out of my fight with the Ebbens long ago?”

Ewen’s face was incredulous as he looked at Vivian. “You sure you want to know?”

Vivian nodded with much surety. Ewen gritted his teeth. “Fine, I’ll let you know before you kill me. The records about you say: Dynasty unknown, age unknown, a solitary, ancient vampire and an outcast that mixes around with humans; does whatever she likes without a pattern, seems to have fought with almost every race yet has also made friends with all; does not fear the sun, garlic, holy water or the usual items that will harm a vampire and as such, is thought to be one of the first highborn vampires. Maybe due to her advanced age, she suffers from a severe bout of amnesia, being drowsy half of the time as well as neurotic and manic because she can’t remember her titles. Also, it is not known why she has been extremely poor. There is a tale about her raiding a werewolf’s den to steal a chicken as she was hungry. There, I’m done. Now, finish the deed.”

Hao Ren shook his head. “…If Vivian didn’t plan to kill you at first, she sure does now.”

Angry veins popped out on Vivian’s forehead and a chilly aura formed around her, swirling about. She bared her fangs and stared hard at the werewolf duo. “Are you all crazy? Why do you even chronicle something like this?”

Hao Ren quickly patted Vivian on the shoulder. “Oh, don’t mind them. If you were normal with your exploits, how would you have left an impression?”

Vivian rolled her eyes. She guessed that she could forget about this man who was still learning how to console someone else.

Lily was squatting by the side playing with some pebbles before she suddenly stood up and spoke to Casar Ebben. “You guys can leave. I’m going home.”

Casar Ebben still could not believe that a werewolf would stay with a vampire so willingly. This was against everything he knew. He looked at Lily suspiciously, trying to discern with his eyes if there were any traces of mind control magic at work. “You’re sure about staying with these people? With a vampire to boot?… Are you sure you are not being controlled?”

“I don’t think Battie is that bad,” Lily said as she nodded. “She even cooks for me everyday. I don’t know what’s the deal between werewolves and vampires. I was alone when I grew up. Battie is the first and only vampire I know, and I think she’s okay. Besides, there’s a reason I’m staying at Mr. Landlord’s place. He….I mean, I can’t just leave. It will cause a lot of trouble.”

Lily at this point, was pretty much penning her magnum opus. You would not have expected a husky to have the appetite for such a game of words. Plus, she just skimmed the parts that could not be spoken of. Hao Ren quickly added into the mix, “I don’t see you two as evil. Maybe you were just here to recruit your kin. If you two will stay out of trouble here, we’ll call it even. Sides, in terms of combat ability, my side is way stronger than you think. Vivian is only our second best fighter. The overpowered one is not even here…”

Vivian coughed. “Why are you even telling them that?”

Casar and Ewen Ebben looked at each other. From the gleam in their eyes, they realised the disparate state that they were in. They were covered in blood with their shirts torn and their hair burnt. It was an odd situation that they had never found themselves in before. It was also odd because they ran into a weird vampire and a weird werewolf. They even had a weird human along with them to boot. It was pretty telling that staying would have been a waste of time.

“Geh, I thought this was just going to be a recruitment mission…” Casar Ebben shook his head. “Fine… We’ll leave but, our clan will hear of this. I’ll be frank, the things that happened here, the Ebben Elders will be interested. Especially, the reappearance of the Countess. There may be a few Elders who will be keen to say hi.”

“Oh? That’s fine by me. Haven’t seen any familiar faces for quite some time.” Vivian shrugged. “Half the time I meet them, it ends up in a fight anyway. But just to give Mr. Landlord some face, if those old furballs are willing to talk nicely, I’ll talk. Oh right, how many of those old furballs are still alive?

“Not many.” Casar Ebben smiled bitterly. “The Ebbens are the last of the werewolf clans and we have attracted the attention of the demon hunters. We have been expanding quietly for years and the struggle to do so has claimed many of us.”

Hao Ren was surprised at Casar Ebben’s candor. All of them were enemies just a moment earlier but now, they were talking about their familial matters like nothing happened. A sense of irony lingered but, from Casar’s resigned tone, Hao Ren realised that while it was true that the werewolves and vampires do not see eye to eye, they still retained a rational instinct of self-preservation. Both did not like a battle with nothing to gain. Furthermore, with demon hunters hounding their steps, there would possibly come a time where the two races call it quits and join forces.

Perhaps Hao Ren was naive in his take of things. Surely, a normal person would have struggled to understand the minds of these ancient monsters, shaped by centuries of conflict. Yet, he could sense that even so, it was not as simple as a ‘you live, I die’ sort of relationship. It was much, much more complicated.

“Speaking of which…why did you guys come here?” Vivian suddenly asked. The question had been bugging her for quite some time now. “I remembered that the Ebbens were active in Europe and Latin America. There are very little wild werewolves in Asia to warrant such efforts. Just look at you two, so much effort spent for a half-breed who doesn’t even want to leave.”

Lily’s nosed wrinkled at the word ‘half-breed’, clearly detested at being called that.

“It’s not just us.” Ewen Ebben looked at Vivian. “How long have you not been in contact with your kin? There are plenty of other species who are active now, recruiting their scattered kin. The Ebbens are just one of them.”

Vivian was stunned for a moment. “Recruiting their kin? What for? To build an army against the demon hunters?”

“That, I don’t know.” Casar Ebben gritted his teeth. “I’ve only heard that something big is coming and many are preparing for it. Perhaps it is what you say, a counter-attack…”