Rias Avalanche

Chapter 34: Rias Avalanche

Heroes often were regarded as humanity's greatest allies. On the other hand, races more intelligent than your typical monsters were known as demons, though no one really called themselves a demon unless they had a demon lord or bloodline, and those always summoned people known as villains.

Most demons were known for their inhumane practices caused by their innate characteristics. For example, vampires loved drinking blood and eating hearts. They rarely sucked off blood from other vampires, and it was more of an act of love between lovers and harem members.

"A woman whose neck has been bitten once will never be able to marry again, forever bound to one," Wolfgang said this interesting tidbit while munching on the meat. "They say some valuable connection forms between vampire lovers as they suck each other's blood."

Continuing with cheeks full, eating like a rogue, Wolfgang said that vampires hunted humans from villages to turn them into farms. First, because of the lovely connection between vampire man and woman, the heart of the deceased vampire can not be eaten, so to get snacks, the vampires enslaved humans to turn their hearts into snacks.

Secondly, drinking blood often came out during intimate acts, so when vampires started turning humans into their farms, they inevitably ended up drinking their blood, turning them into either toys or maids. They extracted those hearts before old age marred the slaves.

"I think some practices have changed nowadays and have different methods, but this is how it started. And now, I will tell you about the best! Heh, listen, Bryce. When humans started fighting back, vampires formed their kingdom and united against them, forming a hierarchy. It's a known fact that vampires love doing their stuff at night, right?

"So when the first vampire king was about to take the throne, the vampires turned the moon into a red half-moon, which was like the vampire's teeth. Blood and teeth, and the cold night, all of that was perfect for a coronation. But at the same time, werewolves also had the coronation. A few minutes after the vampire king sat on the throne, the werewolves howled, shattered the red moon, and turned into a white, full moon. Vampires snapped and ushered all their forces into our lands, starting the first great war between our races. So much blood spilled back then that there's hatred flowing in our blood now." Wolfgang explained without any hard feelings, keeping the far past insignificant.

So many things had changed from that day, and he found hating someone just because he was born a vampire disgusting. Of course, Wolfgang was simply a guy who didn't like getting bossed around, be it his parents or elders. He was also not fond of the traditions in his White Fur Kingdom.

And more importantly, they couldn't fix his issue, the issue that made him embark on the solo adventure.

Bryce didn't know what to say. He had thorns, which helped him turn hearts into instant snacks. It was an undeveloped skill; for now, it could turn hearts into snacks that only regenerate his health points. But if he improved it further, the hearts of his enemies could become a valuable resource to further enhance his other vampire skills.

Moreover, all of that happened in the past.

"We don't know what really changed, do we?" Bryce babbled out, only to find himself trying to defend vampires.

But what was the point, actually? From the skill he received, Bryce knew vampires didn't stop their hunts and farms, and the common knowledge about vampires told him that royalties promised to develop a skin that would protect normal vampires from the sun.

To develop it, they had to keep hunting and enslaving other races, mainly humans.

"Because of what happened to my elder sister, I know that a vampire's woman is still bound to one man, even if that guy dies." Wolfgang brought Bryce back from his thoughts and continued, "She's the best in our generation, but no one takes her seriously because she's a girl. Old Wolf even howled at her, with many of our people and nobles around, saying that she would lose all of her rational thinking once someone pounds her. It was the first time I saw her red-faced and so ashamed."

The more Bryce listened to Wolfgang, the more he treasured his freedom.

Having his life sacrificed for swordsmanship and the odd feeling, Bryce always focused on that, and he was even stubborn enough to leave his family to live on a different continent. He didn't mind celebrating Xmas and others, for those days were good for a break, but he wouldn't allow those traditions to dictate his life.

"The more I adventure, the more I'm happy to be just with Gengo," Bryce sighed, no longer bothering himself with his vampire side, quenching it. But an act of love intrigued Bryce, and he wondered what kind of skills lovers get from it.

"Don't let yourself talk back to you, then. And don't give up on Gengo, for being alone is damn scary." Wolfgang commented, adding that he never was so talkative, but being lost in new lands without anyone left a stamp on him.

Gengo barked.

Wolfgang nodded, "That's good."

Bryce had an inkling these two perfectly understood each other, but first, he checked Wolfgang's map. His new friend went in a slightly different direction than he'd wanted. But as Wolfgang wanted to visit a dungeon, Bryce thought they could team up and enter it together.

"Well, I have inventory, too, because of the vampire royal bloodline," Bryce carefully said, taking a good look at Wolfgang, who laughed and tapped his shoulder as though they were inventory buddies, "And I want to test myself in the dungeon, so we can go together. I want to sell some stuff I picked up on my road, so we would go there first and then straight to the dungeon."

Wolfgang pierced the map with his gaze, and as he found that it was not too much of a distance between the city and the dungeon, he nodded, "Sure, we can team up. I want to enter the fairy's lake. You want to challenge yourself. I guess there shouldn't be any conflicts of interest."

Bryce nodded, then asked, "How many vampire lords have been out there?"

Wolfgang shrugged, knowing this was a clear loss on the werewolves' side, "They managed to give birth to two demon lords. The first one destroyed our kingdom, and my ancestors had to run away underground and to other beast tribes. And the second, one thousand years later, was a woman. She just ensured that werewolves didn't use their summoned hero to start a war against vampires. Well, she didn't mind him killing a few dukes, just not a full-blown-out war. Weird, right?"

"What's her name?" Bryce asked, unable to control his excitement. His sword heated, and it was nearly scalding on his hip, too, as though Sword of Dracula was elated to hear just a little about the second vampire lord.

Wolfgang casually replied, for that name wasn't that old, "Rias Avalanche."

"Rias. That's a beautiful name," Bryce replied with a smile, his friend barked, and Wolfgang admitted it, too. He then asked whether Avalanche was some kind of noble house in the Crimson Kingdom.

But Wolfgang told him that it was the surname the demon lord took for herself.

Knowing a little about his mother, Bryce didn't find her actions weird. In his vision, she gave off a feeling of someone who wanted a cozy house and lazed around in it, and that was one of his goals now. Moreover, Bryce could somehow relate to her leaving her family, for he had flown overseas to find out about himself, which made his heart warmer.

He cared about his family, and she did, too, for she hadn't allowed the hero to cause a ruckus on a big scale.

That was enough, but Bryce wanted to know a little more.

"Any news about her?"

"She disappeared around nineteen years ago, I think. Her castle became ruins, and no one knows what happened to her maids."

"Maids? Just maids?"

"Yes, the vampire demon lord just surrounded herself with cute girls."

Bryce looked at Gengo and narrowed his eyes. Was it because of such a practice that Bryce couldn't turn his friend into some demonic companion instead? Or was there more to it? In fact, Bryce still had no clue why he couldn't turn someone into a loyal demon follower.

Wolfgang surprised him further, though. "Now that you've made me talk about it, I've realized that some of my old men might be right. Vampires are probably at their lowest point in this era. Their demon lord disappeared, and a few years ago, a traitor revealed that the vampire king's been wounded, his life in peril. Some rumors say that the third princess has been either abducted or killed, for no one has heard from or seen her in a long time. If the death of the second demon lord was confirmed, werewolves would attack vampires. Only that stops them, for our hero ended up with a short lifespan, so he's already gone."

Not liking how Wolfgang talked about the possibility of his mother's death, Bryce spoke in a sharpened tone, "Maybe your royalty fucked him too much."

Wolfgang wheeled to Bryce and looked at him oddly, "You grew closer to vampires just from a talk alone?"

Bryce clicked his tongue, looked away, and as he had no proper answer to this question, he remained silent. The camp continued in a stilling silence; even Gengo couldn't utter a word.

But he really wanted them to adventure together, for Bryce had been so happy during his clash with Wolfgang. These two could improve themselves significantly, couldn't they?

He tugged Bryce's shirt and whined(Gengo was already in puppy form).

Bryce stroked his head and turned his eyes to Wolfgang, who seemed irritated for no particular reason. "Hey," he said, crafting words laced with some lies, "I find vampires' act of love sweet. That's it, you know, I'm just a man with no experience. If someone were to accept me, it'd be a vampire girl, no?"

The first and second sentences were the truth, and the last one was a lie.

Wolfgang dispelled his thoughts, and irritation faded off his face; then he replied, "Not necessarily, dude. Anyway, I told you that you are in worse shit than me, didn't I? While my problems are only mine, you are a moving disgrace to the vampires. You will get many vampires on your tail if they find out about you."

Having no enemies in this world yet, Bryce laughed and joked about his situation, "I'd blame my handsomeness instead."

Little did he know…