Chapter 21: "THE CALL OF THE DEATH!"

 

The fight itself was simply a disappointing joke for Vlad, who easily crushed the morale of the cannon fodder, making most of them drop off the floor in a surrendering position with their weapons dropped.

Only a group of loyalists to Revil continue to fight against Vlad, but they too were shocked by the unfathomable skills this blind man was showcasing, with a masterful swordsmanship that seemed like he was playing with them.

There was also a humming from Vlad that started brewing inside their minds, turning itself into a twisted shape, amplified by their inability to wound Vlad.

Leaving more of them wounded and surrendering like the rest, only Revil stood inside the bloody and destroyed living room, gathering all his power to stand tall against this tall man with flowing black hair and abyssal eyes that could strike terror in any soul that showed signs of fear.

"How? How? You are nothing more than a blind man? How could you fight this way when you can't see anything?"

"You want to know?"

"FUCK YOU!" screamed Revil, who charged at Vlad, wishing with all his soul to decapitate him in those moments of clashing.

Yet, his attempt and all rowdy screams were for nothing, a hoodlum like him couldn't compare to a man who lived all his life as a soldier. All of Vlad's experiences in fighting, from swordsmanship, archery and spearmanship, even though he was blind, their attacks flowed so slowly his reaction speed could keep up with all their attempts at wounding him.

In a similar state was Revil, who was toyed with each second by Vlad, receiving cuts after cuts, weakening his body and mind, and without even knowing when, a leg kick crushed his balls, dropping him on the ground, screaming from the top of his lungs from the most excruciating pain.

"ARGHHHHHHH! YOU CHEATING COWARD! HOW COULD YOU?"

"Little shit, you are still only a bug to me. Even if my sight was with me, I could fight you easily with my eyes closed. Only my ears are sufficient in crushing all of you."

"I don't believe it!!! You are for sure playing everyone into believing you are blind, so you could manipulate those idiots into showing you more favors!"

"NO BLIND MAN CAN FIGHT LIKE THIS!" shouted Revil, who was washed over by the pain of having his balls kicked by Vlad, who morphed his Kilij back into a Halberd that he used to press the man's throat with the end shaft, still not wishing to kill him, not yet.

"You think I am not blind? Mhm, I wish your words were true, and I regained my sight. I would receive such pleasure in seeing your faces contort to pain, your fearful expressions, tasting your agony with all my senses."

With a deranged smile, he gave off a pleasure sound that creeped out everyone from the ones wounded to the ones unconscious and the ones surrendering.

"This is why I want to regain my sight so badly. To perceive all the emotions of my enemy as I crush them beneath my foot. All I can do is use my hearing to take in this music you swine give to me and my sense of smell to take in your fear."

"You damned monster! You planned everything that happened to this day?" screamed Revil, who felt the heavy shaft of the Halberd crush his chest, watching Vlad use his weapon to support his weight.

*Chuckling* "What can I say? Sometimes I feel bored and decide to play with you. I will never forget that moment 6 years ago between the two of us. The name of that doll you mentioned back then was not of my concern, but you just had to do something stupid."

"Also, to tell you what, I wasn't expecting so many people to welcome me here so nicely."

"It was you who wrote that letter?" asked Revil with a haggard breathing, barely staying conscious from the pain he was experiencing.

"Ohh, I am confused. What letter have you received?"

"Telling me about Mary and her infidelity."

"It is beneath me to embroider such a low-leveled discord. Now that I answered your question, there's one bigger question left unanswered. What was it? If I am not blind? How can I fight while being blind?"

I will show you."

.

Soon a sinister laugh took over the house, and Mary, from a locked room, was trying her best to listen to everything going on inside the room while she was bound on a chair, muffled down, only being able to listen and watch the darkroom she was in.

She heard Vlad's voice and Revil's, where soon it descended into a conflict, with the entire situation escalating quickly, yet she couldn't see what was happening in the living room, but the cries of agonizing pain made her tremble.

'What is happening in the living room? That is not Vlad's scream. It is one of those idiots' screams. His hand? What is going on there?'

Things only got worse and worse, making her drop into a fear bath not knowing what mess she brought herself in for disturbing Vlad. And when the agony grew deeper inside the living room, she also started crying like a little girl, fearing for the unknown.

She could hear the conversation between Vlad and Revil, and from what it looked, Vlad defeated everyone, giving the feeling that everything was over, however, her skin shriveled up in fear when she heard the others scream, with the sound of bodies collapsing on the ground, soon to follow with Revil scream in pain that was a nightmare-inducing cry.

"MY EYES! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!"

"Child, I gave you the opportunity to experience what I have lived for almost a decade. Do you also want to experience what I lived for 2 years?"

"GIVE ME BACK MY EYES!"

"Tsk, I've blessed you with such a gift. I am not God to give back the things I've taken."

"ARGHHHH! YOU MONSTER!"

"Sure, yet I did more good in my life than your entire bloodline actually did, bug. Sigh, I got bored. Stop shrieking. Are you a pig?"

She then heard a hard sound, a body hitting the ground hard, followed by Vlad's sinister laughter, and then the same nightmarish humming accompanied by his steps. Gulping in fear, she then heard the door of her room beginning to open.

On the other hand, Vlad, who put everyone to sleep after breaking their bodies, opened the door. Those guys kept Mary locked, after picking the key from a random body of a henchman, he broke both legs.

Before stepping inside, he heard her muffled screams, which were quite alert, and once he stepped inside, he could sniff out that it was indeed Mary inside this room.

Walking closer and closer to the bound woman, he remains silent while grabbing both of her cheeks into his large hand.

"How badly did they hurt her?"

Mary could only hear Vlad's questions which sounded as if he was checking on her health which made the initial perception that she had in front of herself a dangerous predator vanish.

He continued asking questions, nodding his head as if receiving answers that she couldn't hear, and not long after Vlad stopped asking questions with a caress of her head, he took out the linen stuffing her mouth, and while she called out his name with a lot of emotions, Vlad cut the ropes tying her down.

"Vlad! Are you alright? Sorry! I am so sorry for getting you into this conflict that shouldn't be of your concern."

"I am sorry!"

She kept apologizing and crying while genuinely hugging Vlad, clearly, the stress she suffered only today was enough to be concentrated for an entire year, and without saying anything to her, he heard her apologize until he asked her.

"Apologize for what?"

"For trying to harm you and bringing you to them for my own gains. This is why I am sorry! You've suffered more than anyone could in this city, yet I am selfish."

"Hah, calm down, Mary. I will not hurt you like those stupid fools. When have you seen me treat you badly? I doubt I ever raised my voice, even against those foolish guys, I don't have to raise my voice."

"You've killed them? Right? I heard all those screams and cries! You didn't have to kill them since most of them are innocent and just want to follow that pig for the adventure. What now? You'll get in trouble and become a criminal, the guards will be forced to apprehend you and place you in prison."

Mary voiced concern for Vlad's well-being, which was a surprise for Vlad, yet it wasn't enough to impress him.

"What you've heard wasn't me killing them. Instead, I've disabled them so they wouldn't be a nuisance. There's only one guy who I've gifted him something, and now that I know what happened to you, maybe I should go and break all his bones."

"Nooo! Don't! They paid enough." replied Mary, stopping Vlad who turned his body to walk to the exit.

"I'll stop if you cease crying. It has started to annoy me."

"You are colder, far colder than when you were with me. Does this mean this is your true face?"

When hearing that question, Vlad found it rather amusing, and while caressing her bruised face as if he was playing with a doll, and after a while he kept silent, then began laughing, which reminded Mary of the same laughter that turned creepy.

"My little Mary, there's no need for the beast inside of me to even get out. To take care of some stupid brats who don't know how to wield a sword properly. This is a joke in of itself. I could beat those guys with my hands amputated, using only my legs."

"... I didn't know this. Can you even see something when fighting?" inquired Mary when Vlad stopped laughing, to which she felt her ears being played with.

"This is all I need to guide myself. This and this." ended Vlad by playing with her ears and nose, and as he was doing this, Mary felt security in this act.

"Besides Mary, how did you end in this way? I was expecting you to visit me at night to meet your parents. Instead, I was invited by some little kid to this welcoming ceremony."

"Don't remind me. I want to cut the dick of that stupid pig. He hit me without holding back. It is good that you didn't kill him."

"Amusing, if it wasn't for me, you'd be probably whored to that shits entire group. Anyway, continue with the story about how you got to this state. Don't worry. Those guys have a big concussion that rivals mine when I was only 10 years old."

With Vlad placing the reins on Mary, constraining her to only his questions, she started opening up to Vlad about how Revil wanted to use her in bringing him so they could hurt him. Nevertheless, things turned sour for her without expecting the outcome of her actions.

She continued on for about 30 minutes, filling Vlad with many details, even about herself, but not a lot because, from the house's entrance door, Vlad heard a commotion outside, propping him up from the seat he took, holding him a lot Mary in his lap.

"Vlad, you should hide! It is most likely the guards who were alerted by the commotion inside. They will chain you up if you don't hide. Let me help you with at least this much for helping me."

"Mhm, don't worry. Let's get to the living room, act pathetic, shed some tears. It always works on men when seeing women in peril."

"This personality of yours is far better than the previous one you treated me."

"Ohh my? You don't like my innocent side? It worked wonders with many girls. It even got you in my bed.."

The two walked toward the living room, where the door of the house was heard being opened by force, where the guards stormed the house in an amusing fashion, guns blazing with their firearms and swords raised just in case a killer was inside or as if there was some big threat to the safety of the city

However, once inside the house, they saw the guys planted on the floor. Some were still bleeding, while others were unconscious. For certain, there was a big conflict inside this house.

"What the fuck just happened here? Aren't those the idiots from Revil? Gosh, so much blood. *Sniff* There is one idiot with his chest pierced, probably dead. Someone check it."

"Captain, give us a break. I'll not touch some dead guy. What if it turns out to be a sham just to get us?"

"Maybe even a zombie. There's a lot of weird stuff in Picodras, such as the Guardian."

"Stop complaining, and find out what happened here. That's an order from your superior."

Still unsure of what happened in the living room, they could only check each of the guys and ask themselves the big questions about what happened until they got tensed for a brief moment when Mary and Vlad appeared from the room she was held in, not giving them any time to explain themselves, barely able to see inside the living room.

"REMAIN RIGHT THERE! ONE MORE STEP AND I'LL BURST YOUR BRAINS OUT!" shouted a guard, who took out his pistol, pointing in the newcomer's direction.

"Pete, it is me, Vlad. No need to get heated up. I am unarmed."

"Wait, wait, that voice. Vlad, what are you doing here, in this filthy shack? Could it be those damned bandits harmed you?"

"Young Vlad, have you been harmed by those parasites?" asked the Captain of the Guards, Barton, lowering his weapons down, stepping on one of the unconscious hoodlums to reach Vlad.

"My friend has been held hostage against her will and they blackmailed me. I can explain to you everything that happened in this building, Captain Barton."

"Young Vlad, don't worry and take your time."

"No need. It's been a while since the entire conflict ended. Your arrival is just spot on since I wished to call you guys and take care of those criminals."

The guards could only nod their heads in agreement with what Vlad mentioned, still surprised to see him here, fully knowing that he was a blind and a doctor, making things even more shocking when taking into account how badly wounded each individual grouped with Revil were.

Their approach was respectful, fully knowing about his credentials in the city, and his important role for the Guards and Sailors of the City, acting as the main supplier of healing concoctions from his alchemical potions.

It was very unlikely that the entire guards and sailors for them not to get inside Vlad's hands or one of his potions, which healed their wounds to a normal state.

Such was that Vlads conversation with the guards was smooth sailing, even incriminating Revil for raping Mary, telling them exactly word by word what Mary told him, Revil planned to do next to her if he wouldn't give room to his invitation.

Which the guards take it literally, not even bothering to doubt Vlad's words, especially when they saw the wounds on Mary's face and neck, along with the ropes marks on her tanned skin, and Captain Barton without being able to hold his disgust on, he sent a kick to one bastard, waking him up in the process.

"ARGHHHH! THE MONSTER IS STILL ALIVE! LEAVE ME ALONE! I SURRENDER! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

"Shut that bastard. Young Vlad has more to say."

Then, Vlad continues on with his story about how those hoodlums, pirates wannabe, forced Mary, threatening her life and future, while also what they planned to do against himself, wanting to take revenge on him, filling them with more details until the guards heard enough, starting acting on Revil and his bastards, waking each of them up inside chains.

"MY EYES!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!"

"What you deserve happened to you, fucking bastard. You've evaded our search quite a lot, don't think we don't know what messed up things you've done, especially to those small orphans." replied Guard Borton hitting Revil on his face with a straight right.

Like this the Guards began taking the bastards, not caring about their wounds or broken bones, while Captain Barton assures Vlad that Revil and his henchmen will stay for a long time inside the prison since they have other incriminatory documents that could put more fire to the burning wood.

"Captain, you do you. However, I don't wish to ever hear about those fuckers threatening Mary or those close to her. If I ever see her crying because of those guys, I will kill them with my own hands. I doubt Elder Dugar ever wants to hear about what I will do to those fuckers."

"Young Vlad, don't worry. I will tell Lord Dugar in detail everything that you've told me today. We, the City Guards, are forever thankful for your assistance and treating the wounded boys. However, we still have to act according to the Law of the Island.

If Lord Dugar would wish to hear your story himself, please give in to the invitation. I hope you have a pleasant night, young man."

"Thank you for helping us guards even with catching those parasites of the City." concluded Barton, picking up the blinded Revil in a cold way, dragging him around the city straight to the prison, while the rest of the guards formed an area where they chained Revil's henchmen who dropped on the floor once looking at Vlad.

This reaction made Vlad do the humm that he was singing since he was younger in the first life, the tune that would make his life easier even inside the Jannissary Camp where he would be tortured day in and out for his prideful and arrogant self.

*Humming*

"MAKE HIM STOP!!!! STOP IT YOU MONSTER!

"Stop what?" inquired taking a break from humming, while walking closer to the man whose arm and leg was broken.

"THE CALL OF THE DEATH!"

The man said it with a despairing voice which had the guards stationed in the building to look confused, not finding anything weird with Vlad's humm, instead it had a sorrowful tone to it, and they also received Vlad's clearance.

"Hahaha, don't worry guards, this is not a call of death. I call it the Dragon's Sorrow. It will not bring anything ominous to you."

He was not wasting more of his time listening to the hoodlums crying in pain or screaming in fear at first sight, making it awkward because he didn't even do much to those guys.

Knowing that the guards would continue with their job, Vlad didn't linger for too long in the house, and taking Mary by hand he moved first to the Docks Headquarters, the place of residence for most of the sailors in the Picodras.

"Nelson, I want you to help me with something." mentioned Vlad, after stepping inside the large building, passing by the sailors who checked on him, but for the most part ignoring them.

"Sure, Vlad. I got free time right now. What do you want from me?"

It was a simple reply, and soon Vlad began filling in Nelson with details about what happened to him, which made the sailor to laugh at the misfortune of Revil and his guys.

"And I told that idiot to mind his business in his slum. Yet he viewed himself as some great pirate. Serves him right. So you want to take his possession for you?"

"Mhm, take only the ship for me and give it a total repair and fill it with some decent furniture. Who knows when I might require a ship. Besides, those fools will not be needing a ship anytime soon."

"Hah, sure Vlad, but the bill will be on you. The furniture and repairs. Don't try to extort us of money because it will not work. You might be able to manipulate those foolish young ones who only joined us, but old wolves like Jervis and me. No chance."

"Pff, calm down. Your debt isn't that big anyway. You'll pay it with time."

"Ahem, brother, we are serious. You'll have to pay the repairs and furniture yourself."

"... Fine, I am not that broke from my adventure to Galena. Just give me the final price when everything is finished, and I will pay you but don't make it reach 500.000 𝔅, or we'll be in a conflict of interests."

"Deal. I will not take the cost of recovering that ship and getting in our hangars. Do you even know what the ship you'll take is like?"

"Not really. I heard from the mice in the slum that it is a lightship able to house a small crew of people. Nothing big in particular like the old man's heavy ship. Just good enough to move around different locations."

"I see. Those are important details to be noted. No more than 500.000 you say you are willing to pay?"

"I only have 600.000 𝔅. Give me a break. I am not as rich as the people in the city make me out to be."

"Good a new target. I am sure I will leave you satisfied with our services, dear customer."

"Piss off. Don't you make it too expensive. I will not go around attracting mermaids on the sea if I ever set sail."

"Hahaha, I've got you."