The Record of Unusual Creatures
chapter-19

Chapter 19: A False Alarm?

Hao Ren did not know what to feel when he was invited into his own home by Vivian. Sitting on the sofa in the middle of the living room, two unusual creatures stood before him like children who did something wrong. Vivian looked embarrassed whereas Lily was both embarrassed and awkward. “I’m sorry, Landlord. I was quite surprised when this winged-fellow came back out all of a sudden. And that’s why I forgot to give you a call…” said Lily sheepishly.

Rollie was rubbing against Hao Ren’s leg. He was the most at ease among them, oblivious to the events that had happened hours ago. All he knew was to rub against his owner’s legs while he purred wholeheartedly.

Hao Ren waved his hands and the two girls with super human powers sat before him. He could not help but feel proud.

“Although my life is generally a mess, my brain is mostly confused and my future is uncertain… both the legendary werewolf and vampire still show respect towards me.. Ain’t this a sight…”

Although he took a little pride in it, he knew that Lily and Vivian were just being polite plus, both were also feeling a bit apologetic. It was just that both of their identities blew Hao Ren’s mind.

“Why did you fly away all of a sudden?” Hao Ren thought of his newly acquired ‘job’, feeling that it was his responsibility to be aware of the two girls’ whereabouts; in the case of any event, it would then be easier for him to report to Raven 12345.

Hao Ren was completely aware of his limits as a normal human being. He knew that he would not be able to control a werewolf and a vampire by himself in the long run. As he was looking for a solution, a self-proclaimed Goddess announced, “Gods shall be responsible for world peace”. Hao Ren of course had to take the opportunity to let this Goddess be his patron.

He knew that Vivian may not trust a newly acquainted human she just got to know a few days ago. Thus, he continued, “Please don’t mind me. I’m just curious and no matter what, I’m still the landlord. Also, you know you’re different….. At least I have to know where you’ve gone to when I can’t find you right? It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.”

“Well, it’s actually nothing.” Lily bit her lip, looking determined to tell Hao Ren. “It was just a misunderstanding. I thought some obnoxious fellows were tailing me and I wanted to deal with them somewhere further away. Then I realized I was just being oversensitive.”

“Obnoxious fellow?” Hao Ren glanced at Lily. “Some other werewolf?”

He could guess what Vivian meant by “the place not being safe”. It seemed that the vampire had other foes, enemies that held grudges against her from way back in time.

“Not werewolves,” Vivian answered as she threw Lily a dirty look. “We’ve been battling against werewolves for thousands of years and they’ve never had the advantage. Yes, they are a headache but they are still not considered a serious threat.”

“Stick to your own story! Don’t involve me in this!” Lily let out a threatening growl from the back of her throat as she licked her nails. “If you’re looking for a fight, let’s have another 300 rounds somewhere with plenty of bricks….”

“Can you please stop mentioning that brick throwing skill of yours?? Please reserve some dignity for the werewolves!” Hao Ren shouted.

Not paying any attention to Lily, Vivian explained with a straight face, “It’s the demon hunters. Some call them exorcists.”

A blockbuster came to Hao Ren’s mind. Getting excited, he asked, “You mean people like Van Helsing?”

“Stop fooling around. That’s a movie.” Vivian was not in the mood for jokes. She looked deeply troubled. “I’m talking about real demon hunters―fellows who are half human; they are monsters in the eyes of humans and us, ‘mutants. The battle between us and the demon hunters is never ending. We have never been able to completely vanquish the opponent. They worked on their own during earlier times but now, they work through many different religious organizations as well as normal humans…. And this is a problem.”

Hao Ren automatically felt the few sheets of paper in his pocket. A thought then came to his mind. Didn’t Raven 12345 and the Xi Ling Empire give him the task to take care of the ‘mutants staying in his home? On the other hand, it sounded like these demon hunters wanted to protect the human race… It was so horrifying thinking about what was behind all of this and how they were connected !

“Landlord? What are you thinking about, Landlord?” Lily’s voice shook Hao Ren out of his thoughts. “So, these demon hunters are that powerful? Should we be terrified?”

Hao Ren was determined to understand the situation the next time he saw Raven 12345 because he realized that he was treading on shallow waters, very shallow waters in fact. Looking at Lily’s curious expression, he asked, “So, you have no idea about these demon hunters?”

“I have no clue,” answered Lily as she was playing with her hair. “I’ve never met one in person but I’ve seen them in movies.”

Vivian snorted. “I’ve no idea how she was raised. We’ve talked briefly and she does not even have a clue about common facts. She has no idea what demon hunters are, what the different classes of the Blood Clan are and more surprising, she doesn’t have a clue about the different werewolf classes! She does not know about the history between humans and mutants… She’s like a blank piece of canvas. It’s pure luck that she managed to survive this long.”

Lily glared at Vivian furiously but she did not mutter a word, proving what Vivian said was indeed correct.

“It’s true that I don’t know about these things but you can’t blame me for it,” Lily muttered. “Since I was born, I’ve been living with humans. I’ve grown up with humans and what I know about werewolves have been from the humans… I’ve never met another mutant in person apart from myself. I’ve also been looking for other mutants since young but to no avail. I thought I was the only werewolf left. As a matter of fact, all I found were mutant-related clues. Meeting this winged fellow is considered my first encounter.”

Both Hao Ren and Vivian could only stare at Lily. A while later, the vampire muttered to herself, “Such a pitiful person. I’ll try my best not to make fun of you.”

Hao Ren looked at Lily curiously and asked, “So you’ve never met other ‘mutants before? Then you should have nothing against Vivian. Why did both of you get into a fight right after you just met?”

“Well, the TV always shows werewolves and vampires as mortal enemies! I had to make my kind proud!” Lily answered boldly.

Hao Ren and Vivian were speechless.

“Now I am extremely regretful that I took her seriously.” Vivian could no longer hide her thoughts. “I’ve seen a lot of brainless werewolves but it’s a first for me to meet one like you.”

“Hehehe, Lily just had a peculiar life experience. Let’s not dwell on this subject,” Hao Ren answered, trying to ease the situation. He was also getting worried about the demon hunters mentioned by Vivian. “So, you found traces of demon hunters this evening? Was it just a false alarm?”

“Yes, I’ve been dealing with them for many years, at least a few hundred years I would say. So I instinctively know about their presence when the demon hunters are nearby,” said Lily with her eyes closed. “I thought that I had caught their scent nearby in the evening… But when I caught up I found nothing, not even a trace. Hence, I’m sure it was a mistake. I’ve made a similar mistake before. It’s just instincts, it can go wrong sometimes.”

Looking at Hao Ren’s expression upon hearing the above, she gave him an understanding nod. “Don’t worry, if there are indeed demon hunters around… I’ll take this silly werewolf along and leave. We will not give you any trouble. Although demon hunters proclaim that they protect the human race, there are still some extremists and sometimes innocent ones get involved. Although it’s uncommon in this 100 plus years, you can’t change that rabid canine nature of theirs.”

Lily’s ears immediately stood at attention. “That rabid canine you mentioned…”

“It’s none of your business,” answered Vivian while glaring at the werewolf. “You’re so sensitive to irrelevant stuff.”

All Hao Ren wanted to say was, “It’s easy for Vivian to say all that!” If they had really left, it would have been likely that the crazy, five-digit Goddess paid him a visit!