The Crimson Reaper-Chapter 90: Lesser Shadow Crawlers

"Finally! I thought I was going to freeze to death!" Alex jumped up after Nosferatu finally arrived, stretching his whole body.

"You should have moved around more to warm up your body," Luciel commented, not knowing what Alex expected.

He wasn’t a vampire to be able to endure cold weather. Vampires were hot-blooded, unlike popular belief.

People always believed that they were demons belonging to the undead, but they were actually hot-blooded mammals, just like humans, except that they endured the weather conditions way better thanks to their unique metabolism.

"Easy for you to say, Mr. Vampire," Alex responded, hugging himself as he shook slightly, it was hard to walk around if your legs wanted some rest.

"Then maybe some better clothes?" Luciel suggested, just wanting to help his friend while ignoring his provocation.

"That would ruin my whole aesthetic, duh," Alex rolled his eyes, annoyed that his friend didn’t have the necessary mental capacity to understand the meaning of beauty.

"Then feel free to turn into an ice cube," Luciel facepalmed at his friend’s stupidity, there was no need to argue with him if he wasn’t willing to learn from his own mistakes.

"Girls, are you done?" Melisa butted in while Nosferatu was patiently waiting for them, finding their little exchange amusing.

"Yeah, we are done, there is nothing left to talk about with this unfashionable vampire." Alex waved with his hand, refusing to look at him.

"See?" He added at the quiet growling sounds coming from behind.

"Then we can go," Nosferatu took the lead, remembering very well where they parked their car. He knew this forest like it was at the back of his hand.

Everything went quiet once more. Alex refused to talk while the other members of the group weren’t on the best speaking terms, but Nosferatu didn’t share the same opinion.

"Did you finally manage to access the collective?"

He decided to use this little time they had left to get some last piece of information about Luciel’s progress.

Nosferatu got worried about him when he seemed like he wasn’t going to make it, but all seemed to end well at the end.

"I did," Luciel answered, taking a good look at Nosferatu. He could see his own information, but he wondered if he could see his as well since he was also a part of the collective.

He tried to focus and unsurprisingly, the screen did pop out! But it didn’t seem to be very useful.

<N#%&: No$@&>

<$|tl€: #@#$>

<R@¢3: _____>

When it came to race, it started to flicker uncontrollably before it disappeared, leaving Luciel with a frown. Whatever it was, he couldn’t access the information about him.

"Is something wrong?" Nosferatu asked, noticing a change in Luciel’s expression. Did he do or say anything that managed to upset him? But he doesn’t recall doing anything like that.

"No, it’s nothing," Luciel lied, and even if he asked, he already knew the answer.

"Hm... All right," Nosferatu looked at him with the corner of his eye, "and mind me asking what does it look like for you?"

He was curious, after all, every vampire saw and used the collective in their own unique style that fitted them the most.

"It’s like a system, similar to a video game," Luciel explained, wondering if Nosferatu even knew what a system and a video game meant since he was old like a relic.

"Hm... I see, pretty unique, but I can see how it can be very efficient as well," He commented, smirking at Luciel’s surprised expression, "just because I’m old, doesn’t mean I don’t know a thing or two about the human world. Don’t worry, I even know how to use a modern computer."

He blinked with one eye at Luciel, nudging his shoulder as he grinned, feeling proud that despite his age and aesthetic sense, he was still keeping up with the time.

Luciel glared at Nosferatu, pushing him away a little bit since he wasn’t a fan of someone getting into his face.

"Right, whatever," He rolled with his eyes, muttering under his breath.

The group should arrive soon, but before they would part, Luciel went to ask the old vampire a few more questions.

"Nosferatu..." He started, making eye contact, "How can a vampire gather Qi?"

"Gather Qi?" Nosferatu repeated the question, but not because he didn’t hear well, he was just surprised at the question because he already explained it to him at the start of his Blood Cultivation lessons.

"By drinking human blood, of course," He answered, wondering where this was going.

"Then, if vampires need both Yin and Yang energy to survive, wouldn’t drinking vampire blood be more effective?"

The world went still for a moment when Luciel asked this specific question. Melisa stood still before taking a step back as a feeling of dread and horror took over and Nosferatu’s playful expression turned dark as his red eyes started to glow slightly.

"Don’t do that, not even in your wildest dreams." He growled at him, baring his fangs right into his face, wanting to send a warning.

Luciel gulped after seeing Nosferatu like that, feeling as tiny as an ant.

"Why...?" He finally mustered some strength to ask.

Alex stopped to walk and turned around after noticing a commotion. He went closer, wondering what Nosferatu had to say.

"Vampires can’t achieve a perfect balance of Qi. Drinking their blood will be your downfall. I saw many of them going that path and while it will grant you a boost in power, you are bound to turn into lesser Shadow Crawled, driven by insanity and blood addiction. Once the process starts, it’s unreversable."

Nosferatu’s warning echoed like thunder all across the forest, engraving into Luciel’s mind so he would never attempt to do it.

"Lesser Shadow Crawler?" Alex asked, getting right behind Luciel and placing his hand on his shoulder, using him as a shield.

"Yes, a being worse than a demon. Following a path of mindless destruction, baths in chaos. Characterized by a monstrous form. They do not deserve to be called vampires."

He answered with a strong feeling of loathing and disgust, but it was the only worthy punishment for those who searched a shortcut to power.

Luciel looked behind at Alex, he knew exactly what was Nosferatu talking about.

During their career, they encountered vampires who seemed to be of different shape.

Usually, they took on an appearance similar to that of a bat. Their skin was dry and their bodies looked like someone had sucked all of their blood.

Some of them even had wings, tails, horns, mouth full of razor sharp teeth, slimy skin and so much more.

But their appearance wasn’t the most terrifying thing about them—their personality and aggression were far more fearsome than those of an ordinary vampire.

"Isn’t there any other way to gather Qi?" Luciel asked, not wanting to believe that drinking human blood was the only way. The process of doing that was just too slow.

"Well... There is one way... But I don’t think you are going to like it since you already have a mate."

Luciel stood frozen in place, widening his eyes, he didn’t like where this was going...