Chapter 79: Monster in nature, humane in life

The tension between the two started to grow when August's eyes were slowly shrinking, and the grip on his sword was getting tenser, indicating the soon use of the weapon.

Regis didn't know that August didn't intend to attack but test something.

Their eyes were looking right into each other. Neither of them dared to blink. Every second of time that passed made the silence in the hut heavier.

August tensed his muscles and did a dash towards Regis, who almost I'm instantly reacted. The sword made its way towards Regis, slicing through the air and creating a slight whistle.

August dashed close almost enough to touch Regis with his sword, while Regis took a defence stance and tried to defend himself instead of attempting to counter-attack August.

Nobody knew, but Regis was not a fan of fighting. It all happened because of the incident seven decades ago when he was met with bad luck and lonely slumber while being conscious for 50 years.

When the sword stopped, it was an inch away from the face of Regis, who stood there with his hand, defending his face. August didn't proceed with a fight since he saw that Regis didn't fight back but only defended himself.

Regis looked at August with a frown inquiring, "You came for me?"

"Depends", shortly replied August, closely observing Regis. "You are not a normal human, but I don't see a monster in front of me. But at the same same time, your fast reaction and how you hide your emotions, or maybe you don't feel threatened enough by my presence? You are living in the middle of nowhere. This all is too suspicious."

"You said you were a monster slayer. Does it matter to you if you see a bad monster or a good one?" inquired Regislooking at August without much of an expression

"Depends", replied August.

August took a small knife and slid it right across his palm, making it bleed.

Blood slowly started to drop on the floor while Regis's attention switched to the blood. With his eyes turning wild for a fraction of a second before returning to normal, however, this change was noticed by August.

August hummed, getting no clear indication of the man in front of him, so instead of farting around, he asked him straight, "Who are you?"

Regis smiled with a smile that didn't express any happiness or excitement. "Why do you want to know?"

August mused for a second before replying, "You are different, I can see that you are not a monster, but for some reason, you treat yourself as one."

Releasing a small chuckle, Regis replied without many initialisms, "Well, I used to be one."

"Who" once again inquired August since he had never heard of monsters that were such abnormal.

"High Vampire I am", replied Regis without many emotions displayed.

August's eyes enlarged as he realized who he was talking with.

True higher vampires can look exactly like a human being and can even evade detection from a witcher's medallion, only revealing themselves at their own convenience. Higher vampires are also incredibly intelligent and possess numerous - and often unique- abilities. Unlike their lesser cousins, higher vampires do not need to drink blood to survive; however, the consumption of blood offers an experience, not unlike the consumption of alcohol. Creatures that were an embodiment of immortality and power. Those that, upon meeting, end with a stroke of bad luck. However, this one seemed different to others.

August's entire body tensed up, preparing to run away or fight. Killing a vampire was something out of order for anyone but gods themselves. There were no known ways of killing one, which especially bothered August.

To add to that, August has a problem with his magic that he doesn't want to use since it will only bring harm. So he was running out of options to fight someone like a high vampire, especially if this man in front of him was older than 200 years old.

But Regis surprised August. He said, "I don't want to fight, "Waving his hands. I would better share a cup of tea with you and talk about our lives. What do you think about that?"

August mused for a second before agreeing to the vampire's offer "Alright."

They took a seat behind the table, slowly drinking their drinks while remaining silent. August decided to ask a question first since he was curious about the reasons why Regis lived with her in the first place.

"What are you doing here?" inquired August, looking around the hut that barely held together.

Taking a sip from the mug, Regis replied with a smile, "Living a quiet life. Enjoy the small things and help others by staying close. "

"Why?" inquired August.

Regis replied, looking at the floor with a sigh, " I made many mistakes during my long life. One of which cost me 50 years of thinking. Now I want to live in peace, without harming others, but rather helping travellers that pass by."

August inquired, asking about the accident that happened. "What happened?"

Releasing a small chuckle, Regis started, "I was young and naive." He closed his eyes, seemingly recalling the young days. "I followed the tendencies that all young vampires did. Slew for pleasure, drunk blood till I couldn't walk and enjoy my life. I didn't even notice when I started to lose my mind over the drop of blood, craving for it every second of my existence. I would usually just lose my mind completely and hunt for several days without any signs of stops."

August listened to Regis and inquired about the reason for the change he decided to take. "What changed now?"

"Ha-ha", laughed Regis and replied, "I changed" Regis looked at August and asked, "Please, I don't want to talk about that experience. All I will tell you is that I got taught a lesson by powerless yet very eager humans." and then inquired "Why did you arrive here?"

August replied, "To kill a monster."

Regis inquired, "Who?"

"Don't know, there is someone in the middle of 2 forests, in some kind of abandoned village. I need to slay the beast that lives there," replied August.

"Mind if I join?" inquired Regis. Right now, he had no idea what to do. He was travelling across the world, taking small stops, helping some people, and travelling the world again. He didn't stop anywhere for a long time, but he appreciated a nice company. So meeting someone like August, who is a witcher, and someone that Regis never had the luck of encountering, was quite interesting.

"The monster I'm hunting might be a strong one. He can kill both of us," said August and continued, "I saw that you don't like fighting. Why would you want to follow me?"

Regis released a chuckle and replied, "Monster won't be able to slay me, I might not be a fighter, but I will fight when needed. However yet, don't expect a lot from me, but I will save you if it is needed."

"So this is how it is?" inquired August looking at the man in front of him.

Regis nodded without saying any words. He then looked toward August and inquired, "What was your bad experience?"

August sighed and shortly explained, "I'm just a man that tries to search for freedom that I lost long ago."

"Haha", chuckled Regis ", Freedom", with a small frown. "Something that I saw nobody achieves in their lives."

"Why?" inquired August.

Regis shortly explained, "Because there is nobody that deserves such a privilege. We all have paths that we can choose to walk on, but the rest are the flings of our destiny, not our own choices."

August frowned and replied, "That is what you think. I dream of being free from shackles that are holding me down."

Regis replied with a somewhat sad face, "There are lessons we learn through life, those destined to happen. But one needs to take a lot of effort to walk down the path that will grant you an illusion of freedom rather than looking at your cell from the sidelines having no way out."

"Yes, that is what I figured out during my life", replied Regis.

They finished their drinks before going back to the road towards the village where the monster resides.

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