Chapter 38: Crazy Passion

With his motion, over ten emerald figures emerged from the ceiling, walls, and floor. They slowly pulled themselves out of the solid surfaces. Their twisted faces, no longer human-like, and their translucent, sickly green bodies seemed to drop the surrounding temperature by several degrees invisibly.

Constantine felt a shiver run through him… Logically, in this plane, all souled beings who died went to the Deity’s realm if they had faith, or reported to the God of Death if they didn’t. They shouldn’t remain in the Material Plane. But there were always exceptions, like in this situation where souls were bound by supernatural magical forces, thus becoming this special type of Undead.

Most of the time, such ghosts appeared when a Mage killed someone and used Magic to trap the deceased’s Soul, turning it into a ghost. People killed this way naturally carried immense resentment… Moreover, they were imprisoned and bound by their killer, and the Undead’s innate Negative Energy affected any living being, making them evil and extremely vicious. They often completely lost their former minds, killing anyone they saw, becoming unreasonable.

“Now, do you remember? After seeing my lovers?” The Vampire made a sinister sound. Constantine noticed he seemed to be losing control of his emotions, his voice gradually becoming irritable and loud: “Haha… Are they scaring you now? You damn little piglet? But it’s not enough, far from enough! Do you know how much pain my lovely lovers suffered when they died?”

Lovers?

Constantine’s thoughts hit a small snag. He couldn’t help but tremble – not because of the terrifying ghosts or the skin display, but because of the other party’s term for the deceased…

Although the Vampire before him had pale skin and deep, handsome features, exuding a natural, delicate aura, Constantine would bet his artistic career that the other’s skeletal structure was not the softness of a female… Not to mention his Gray Robe’s collar was wide open, his prominent Adam’s apple clearly visible, and his broad shoulders and straight back didn’t look like a woman’s at all.

However, in the youth’s sight, the ghosts floating in the air, and the drifting human skins in the Vampire’s hands similarly showed no female characteristics – even though the ghosts wore the clothes they had on before death, which were the tight-fitting garments and leather armor common among Rogues, Constantine could still tell the difference between being tightly bound and not having any…

That meant… Constantine took a few more steps back. Although the fear in his heart had somewhat subsided, he still felt nauseous.

“Hahahahaha… That damned bastard probably didn’t expect anyone to break into his house when he killed my lovers, did he? Did he think he could play with others’ lives just because he relied on the so-called Imperial Duke? I will kill that bastard with my own hands, but before that, I’ll make him taste the same terror!”

The Vampire’s desolate, mad laughter echoed in the room. The originally comfortable bedroom now felt like a haunted wasteland. Constantine carefully tensed every muscle, guarding against a sudden attack… The youth secretly complained in his heart; he now roughly understood the whole story – judging from the skins of the so-called ‘lovers,’ they were all cut to pieces by some sharp blade… And although this plane was surprisingly vast, Constantine could only remember one person who killed in this way.

That was several years ago. Unable to resist his earnest hope, the Old Steward had once shown him his special skill.

The process was just a moment – six wooden targets, each as tall as two men, hard and huge, were instantly cut into countless pieces before the youth’s eyes, leaving a strong impression on him. Although this time Constantine hadn’t seen the so-called murderer himself, he could easily imagine Walter cutting several people into pieces simultaneously.

“Truly worthy of… the God of Death,” the youth murmured in a voice only he could hear.

Regarding the incident a few days ago, the Old Steward had only mentioned something about assassins while praising the youth. At that time, Constantine was still proud of his achievement of killing two assassins at once… “It’s been found out that those two assassins belonged to a small organization?” For a moment, the youth felt somewhat ashamed. He never thought that stern-faced old man could act so ruthlessly… “It’s been found out”? Probably by then, he had already sent dozens of lives into the embrace of the God of Death…

So when the youth looked at the Vampire again, there was a hint of sympathy in his eyes – No matter how perverted this person was, at least he had feelings for those deceased. Seeing his lover cut into countless pieces, his raging emotions drove him to seek mad revenge. It seemed like a very natural thought.

However, as the target of this revenge, Constantine was in no mood to fulfill this pervert’s passion.

“Despite their formidable power, Vampires also have quite a few weaknesses…” Some information from the guidebook swirled in Constantine’s mind. The same question was passed to his spell advisor. “What are his weaknesses?”

“Dislikes the smell of garlic, fears silverware, Holy Symbols, and sunlight… That’s all there is to a Vampire’s tricks…” Hartdiel sneered disdainfully, though what he provided seemed similar to what Constantine remembered.

Garlic? The Governor’s Mansion was too big; the kitchen was farther from his bedroom than escaping to a safe place… Forget it. Holy Symbols were out of the question, not to mention these two only made Vampires uncomfortable and couldn’t really destroy them. There were a few silver items in this room, but things like teacups and kettles didn’t seem capable of harming this Mage-abled Vampire… Put that on the secondary list. Sunlight… Constantine glanced at the gloomy sky outside the window. Although he didn’t have a precise timekeeping tool, waiting until dawn would probably take at least a few more hours. The other party’s actions were clearly calculated, so that was even less likely.

“Your Excellency, as a Vampire, you actually dare to use your abilities in the central street district of Hayton. For that alone, you deserve some respect…” Thoughts raced in Constantine’s mind, but his mouth threw out another time-wasting, boring question: “But I still don’t quite understand. If your target is everyone in this mansion, why not come when they are all here? Catching them all at once would be easier, wouldn’t it? Moreover, I must say, your way of seeking revenge doesn’t seem very smart. You must know this is the central street district. Although in this long-peaceful era, launching a sudden Undead assault is a creative idea, but after all…”

“So what? Hayton’s central street district isn’t an impenetrable fortress, nor is it the Celestial Realm’s Sanctuary. It’s just a gathering place for a bunch of fat-headed, pampered Noble scum… What makes you think a graceful race like mine cannot set foot in your filthy, dirty place?” A bit surprisingly, this boring question received an answer – The gay man shrouded in the Gray Robe gracefully performed a Mage’s salute, but his ferocious grin, combined with his crimson lips and tattered Gray Robe, looked even more chilling. Especially after the youth learned of his special orientation.

Constantine shrank his neck.

In response to the youth’s reaction, the Vampire let out another series of mad laughter: “Are you trying to say that because this place is too close to various Temples, I will run into those arrogant priests in a short time? Haha… You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve been preparing for this moment for a long time. These past few days have been enough for me to gather far more subordinates than those priests – Although, due to attribute restrictions, these guys are no match for those priests, but if it’s just about buying time, it’s more than enough! I placed dozens of Zombies around each house. It will probably take them a long time to clear them out, and those stupid Noble pigs would likely be happy to have the Temple’s big shots stay in their pigsties a bit longer, right? Not to mention, many of my new subordinates are happily increasing their numbers throughout the city!”

The youth didn’t reply, just listened quietly, but he didn’t stop his movements. While the other was laughing madly, he had quietly moved two or three feet –

The ghosts had blocked most of his escape routes. Although there were still some gaps, Constantine knew that given these things’ speed, gaps of that degree should be considered traps. Moreover, a normal person would immediately become weak just from a slight touch of a ghost’s attack, let alone while carrying someone.

Therefore, Constantine’s only option now was to attack. Although this guy before him seemed extremely capable and was definitely a qualified Mage, Constantine still had a chance to win – if he could press that Soul Amulet onto the other’s body, then the Lich could pull the other’s Soul into the Amulet. But this seemingly simple action wasn’t easy to achieve – A being who could kill without batting an eye was obviously terrifying. You couldn’t expect such a guy to have any mercy. More importantly, such beings often had considerable combat experience. Some said killing seemed to accumulate experience points for leveling up. Although literally, that sounded ridiculous, from certain perspectives, like psychology, it actually made some sense.

Wait… It seemed there was still something to consider? The youth’s gaze lingered on a certain spot in the room for a moment!

“And I said I wanted that guy to feel the taste of everyone around him being killed! And you, you will also die in a special way… Originally, the mission requirement was just to cooperate with those unlucky fools for an assassination… Regardless of whether the assassination succeeded or not, our mission would be declared over!” The Vampire’s expression became increasingly ferocious, as if he wanted to vent his long-held depression all at once. Although the youth didn’t ask anything more, he kept talking: “But, you damn bastard killed him at the last moment! You killed Ennis! So, you are also someone I must kill! But of course I won’t let you die easily! You damn bug should be hanged… No, you should be burned at the stake amid everyone’s Curses! Only then… only then…”

“You killed him, you killed my lover! Anyone who kills my lover… must die, you must, must die!” The voice suddenly became high-pitched and hysterical! Clearly, this guy’s remaining sanity had collapsed!

“Based on my understanding, among bisexual creatures, males with such sexual orientation always accompany severe violent tendencies,” the Lich’s voice suddenly rang out, carrying disdain for this fellow practitioner. ‘A Mage’s greatest weapon is their wisdom. A mad Mage’s threat level is at least halved…’

“I find your words reasonable, but… he doesn’t seem to think so!” Constantine’s face grew three shades paler. He noticed the tip of the other’s Staff, where rolling Black Mist extended uncontrollably, wrapping around the hand holding the Staff, emitting a heart-gripping creaking sound, like a monster chewing on a human body!

Then, Constantine moved. He let go of the Elf he had been supporting. With a wave of one hand, the Battering Ram’s force field once again shot directly toward the other!

Such a small spell was useless against a well-protected Mage, and the youth was just providing secondary cover – While the force field stirred the air, he himself had already darted out!

The reason madmen were called madmen was because their actions couldn’t be explained by normal logic; no one could understand their thoughts. The counterattack came much faster than Constantine expected. Just when Constantine thought the other was about to cast a major spell, the Vampire Mage simply raised his hand and pressed it down. A translucent ghostly hand detached from his palm and flew toward Constantine at high speed.

So in his haste, the youth only had time to raise an arm to block, preventing the icy ghost hand from grabbing his throat, instead letting it seize his arm. But the Dark energy contained in that ghostly hand flew up Constantine’s arm straight into his body. Although it didn’t cause external damage, it made him suffer great pain, as if a thousand needles were piercing his heart. Only through long-term, hard training did he maintain his mental clarity and not disrupt the action he was preparing. With a gesture made, the Vampire who had just cast the spell suddenly stiffened!

The youth secretly rejoiced; this ability obtained from an unknown entity was quite good for ambushes. But before his joy ended, a force came from under his feet. The youth actually stumbled and fell uncontrollably! Although he agilely rolled over and stood up again, his charge stalled! “Damn it!” the youth instinctively swore. The smooth oak floor had no obstacles; it was the other using a Mage Hand to trip him. This showed the difference in their power. If Constantine used the same spell, forget about tripping someone… he probably couldn’t even move the other’s robe.

But at that moment, a dark brown ray of light shot from the tip of the other’s index finger!

Constantine was shocked and instinctively rolled on the ground. Fortunately, his reaction was quick. While rolling, he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye as the black light barely grazed past his body, hitting the ground and creating a circle of black ripples!

But clearly, this reflex action had a problem – Normally, although the “dastardly roll” move was undignified, it was a good way to save one’s life. But now he was in a room… Even though the Duke’s Mansion’s rooms were quite spacious, the youth’s sudden, unprepared movement made him collide hard with a piece of furniture!

Then the other slightly raised his finger, and the black light hit his body! Constantine clearly felt that ray. Like a cold hand, it passed over his entire body from bottom to top. So he fell heavily to the ground! Muscles and bones simultaneously signaled danger, as if all his strength had been taken away by that light!

“I really can’t be careless… you little bastard!” the Vampire roared! “But such petty tricks are useless against me! It seems you want to taste the feeling of having your internal organs crushed, right? Well then! I’ll grant you that wish!”

“Seems like gay guys really enjoy crushing internal organs… Right, they often crush internal organs. If I remember correctly, it’s the intestines, right?” Constantine suddenly gave a weak smile.

In fact, Constantine wasn’t as relaxed as he appeared. He was secretly gathering strength, preparing to counterattack or escape, but the Necromancer’s spells were too troublesome. The youth found every part of his body aching, his limbs completely disobedient. What was worse, the other seemed much clearer-headed now. Although he kept talking, those dozens of ghosts kept appearing and disappearing on the walls and ceiling, forming a three-dimensional encirclement. Even if Constantine were completely unharmed, he couldn’t withstand an attack from so many ghosts!

But this provocation clearly worked. The Vampire’s roar suddenly increased a notch!

“You dare insult our…!!”

The Vampire went completely crazy. He seemed unable to wait to use a spell – He rushed forward fiercely and kicked hard at Constantine’s waist!

Even though he was a Spellcaster, a Vampire’s strength far surpassed a Human’s. The youth’s body was kicked several feet away! But the layer of Mage Armor on him protected him, preventing injury. He himself used this motion to change from lying prone to half-kneeling!

So, the mocking curve on Constantine’s lips grew wider. He raised a piece of fabric he had somehow pulled down.

“Hey, gay guy, look behind you! My reinforcements are here!”

“Such nonsense, trying to trick… Aagh!” The Vampire sneered, but then let out a roar like a wolf hit by a shotgun! He turned around in terror, looking at what had suddenly appeared in the room, then stumbled backward violently! Completely forgetting there was still an enemy behind him!

He seemed to only see now that in that spot in the room, there was originally a mirror covered by a felt cloth.

“Go thank your relatives in another plane! You dead gay guy!” A hand reached out and pressed a beautifully decorated silver Amulet onto the Vampire’s body!

Then, rolling Black Mist, green halos, and the Vampire’s furious roar all began to swirl in the room at the same time!