Chapter 73: Side Effects of the Bond
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: PlumSauce
After Coraci disappeared years ago, the Association faked his death. Legally speaking, “Deville Coraci” no longer existed. On Facebook, people held memorials for the horror novelist, while others claimed he was “Bluebeard who killed his wives and escaped justice, and finally judged by the sword of the avenging goddesses,” leaving readers both laughing and crying.
Now, Coraci operated alone as an exorcist under the alias Coraci Devlin. Sometimes, he even assisted Rangers with casting spells.
What surprised John the most was that Coraci said he now had an illusion over his face — like the spell he once cast on Wu Jiu that made him appear human behind the wheel.
To everyone else, Coraci looked completely different: same black hair and eyes, but his features were entirely altered. Because of their bloodkin bond, only John could see Coraci’s true face.
“This is how I appear to others,” Coraci said, showing a recent photograph of him with several Rangers. In the photo, a long-armed, sharp-toothed Bigfoot-like creature stood surrounded by humans, guns raised, thumbs up.
The “Coraci” in the photo looked a few years older than the real him. His hair, eye color, and skin tone were unchanged, but his eye sockets were deeper, his eyebrows slightly sloped, his face thin and melancholy. He vaguely resembled a certain actor… Adrien Brody. (Note 1)
“Who disguises themselves with a spell…to look like an actor?” John said, staring at the photo in disbelief. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to make yourself inconspicuous?”
“It’s not exactly the same as that actor,” Coraci said. “I’m not a plastic surgeon. I can’t create a face from nothing — I need a reference. Remember Wu Jiu’s illusion? I even made his face look like a young Sean Connery.” (Note 2)
The next day, they left the village to continue their search across the wilderness and forest. John rested briefly in the morning and was surprised to find that Coraci didn’t seem to need sleep at all.
Coraci explained the changes in his body over the past three years. “I can sleep if I absolutely must, though I’m not sure it counts as sleep — more like a temporary pause in activity. I can also go without food or water with no issues, though I can eat. I discovered that after being kidnapped by a spider-creature. I still eat during breaks, out of habit.”
Another baffling fact: “My nails,” he said, holding his hand forward, “haven’t grown at all in three years.”
“I don’t know whether to be relieved or worried…” John admitted honestly.
“I’m not sure either,” Coraci shrugged. “I did a small self-test. From the results, my body now resembles my father’s…or Zoltán’s, something in between. More like a golem than a human.”
“I’m really afraid of the word ‘golem’ now,” John said. “Alette and Mark told me we’re looking for a very powerful golem. Setting that aside, I’ve encountered two in the past three years. Once, a flesh golem — the creator died suddenly from heart failure, and the golem crossed borders on foot, discovered by ordinary people… It took us forever to deal with it. The second was a mud golem, uncontrollable. It destroyed everything in its path. Exorcists’ spells barely worked. It even jumped into a river to kill itself but somehow couldn’t drown…”
“Alright, I won’t use that analogy,” Coraci laughed. “If I had the time, I’m really curious what’s happened in West Bay City these past three years.”
John just nodded, saying nothing. Even though Coraci’s power was now stable and he could hide himself, staying in West Bay City might still be too dangerous. John wished, of course, that Coraci would never leave again. If they could walk side by side forever like this, he would trade anything…yet he didn’t want to risk Coraci’s safety.
Walking behind them, Alette suddenly raised her gun toward the bushes. John called out from a distance, “It’s a large parrot. Don’t worry.” His vision was far superior to a human’s, and he could distinguish the heartbeats of different creatures.
The two from Engrity still kept a cautious distance. After all, John was a vampire.
“Don’t you need it?” Alette asked, pointing at the parrot.
“Why would I need it?” John queried.
“You…don’t need to eat? I heard vampires go mad if they starve too long.”
“Thanks, I’m not that hungry,” John said. “We don’t need three meals a day like humans. Occasional feeding is enough.”
They pushed through the weeds and underbrush. Coraci asked John in a low voice, “Are you still sticking to ‘no using a friend’s blood’?”
“Mostly,” John replied. “Though I’m not as strict as I used to be. Once I used Lathander’s blood — but I didn’t bite him. He used a spell to withdraw a handful of blood and gave it to me.”
“Demon blood… You really are a legendary bloodkin. Not many have drunk demon blood more than once.”
“Yeah…”
“There’s also devil blood,” Coraci said. “I don’t know how long we’ll be here. If necessary, you can use my blood. My blood is naturally more potent than a human’s, and usually, blood of the bonded human is preferred.”
“Not needed yet,” John said, lowering his voice. “If we’re talking about ‘preferred for gaining power’, you might as well give me a deep kiss right now.”
He barely finished speaking when Coraci turned and kissed him, his wrist curling around John’s neck.
Behind them came startled exclamations from Alette and Mark — and a teasing whistle. Flustered, John pressed his hands to Coraci’s shoulders, only to see a resigned look on Coraci’s face.
They offered no explanation, and Alette and Mark didn’t ask. Coraci whispered, “There’s no choice — I will obey all your requests!”
“Not even a joke?” John asked. “I wasn’t serious!”
Truthfully, John wasn’t sure if he had been. When he spoke, he was still savoring yesterday’s kiss and embrace. Sometimes he couldn’t help but wish for more.
“Anyway…the bond’s effect is subtle,” Coraci said, rubbing between his brows. “Even if I question it internally, I can’t resist your command. So don’t joke around.”
“What if I’m just making a suggestion? Not a command — just proposing or asking.”
“Then phrase it as a question.”
Meanwhile, the wild bloodkin Carl pressed a hand to his forehead, letting out a hoarse question.
“…Gods, am I still alive? Or…am I dead?”
Carl was in a cave. A bull’s-eye lantern rested on the stones nearby. His head throbbed, his vision taking half a moment to focus, his entire body feeling as if it had been shattered and reassembled wrong.
In fact, he had been shattered: his joints were twisted, several bones fractured, internal organs damaged. Being bloodkin, he wouldn’t die from it — his injuries were mending inch by inch, but the process alone was agonizing.
He remembered following John and Lathander into the basement of a building on Peren Street. Something was off — the lower levels seemed to connect to another space. He inadvertently opened a door, and a flash of white light later, he was hanging from a branch outside a treehouse.
He hung like that for over ten minutes. Beneath him, three or five jungle wolves appeared. At first, they were curious. But when he bared his red eyes and fangs, the wolves panicked and fled.
After hanging a while longer, he struggled and finally fell. Dizzy, he wandered through the woods, worrying about Carolyn. She was tough, but still human. And Liz, who was with her, was fragile — unable to protect her. What if she had also ended up dangling on a branch? Did she also come to this strange world?
Carl called her name as he slowly emerged from the forest. Moonlight washed over the fields, waves of grass rolling gently along the hills.
He had likely lost his phone in the woods; he couldn’t tell direction or time. After walking a long while, he spotted movement in the distance. Lowering himself like a stalking leopard, he used the cover of night and the tall grass to silently approach.
When he got close enough, he realized the creature was massive and unusual — like an African buffalo, but with a horn like a rhinoceros. Moving even closer, he was stunned to see it had beastly claws instead of hooves.
A horned creature with claws? As Carl struggled to process the sight, the beast noticed him and charged.
This time, the vampire’s usual intimidation had no effect. He ran as fast as he could, the creature hot on his heels, until he reached the edge of a high cliff. He tried to glance back, to gauge how far behind the monster was. The moment he turned, the beast lunged. He stumbled and fell over the cliff.
Carl’s misery was compounded by the fact that he couldn’t turn into mist, couldn’t even become a bat — he could only shrink into a tiny mouse. Maybe the lighter weight would help, but fear had already paralyzed him, leaving no time to react.
What happened afterward was a blur. Judging by his pain, he had taken a heavy fall; even sitting up hurt like hell.
He lay there for a long time, thinking about how to find Carolyn. Every plan he conceived he immediately dismissed. Eventually, he felt a little better. He wobbled to his feet and followed the cave passage outward.
Outside, a campfire burned. Meat roasted over the flames, and around it lay scattered corpses. Carl’s eyes locked on the horns — the very horns of the creature that had chased him!
On the other side of the fire, a figure sat. Towering and muscular, long hair hanging past the chest.
“Hi… Hello?” Carl greeted cautiously, edging closer.
The figure’s race was impossible to discern. Dressed in tattered leather pants and a fur cloak, the chest and arm muscles stood out. Its dark, mottled skin bore countless scars.
Carl kept his distance, wary. The figure lifted his eyes. “You’re a vampire?”
Carl hunched his shoulders and nodded, too afraid to ask, And what are you?
The figure pointed to a water bag dangling from a nearby branch. “Not sure if you’re hungry. That’s beast blood. I know you can’t drink from corpses. I took it while it was still alive.”
Carl hadn’t wanted beast blood. He wasn’t even sure if it had truly been taken from a living creature. But his head was fuzzy, his injuries severe. He needed sustenance; his body was a mess from the fall.
He reached for the bag. The liquid smelled far more pungent than human or ordinary animal blood. Though unpleasant, it gave him strength — less than human blood, but stronger than livestock blood. He drank a few mouthfuls and sat down next to a boulder, eyes fixed warily on the figure.
From his internship with the Association, Carl knew this wasn’t human. But he couldn’t tell what it was. And the beast — the one the figure was now eating — was another mystery. Carl had never seen such creatures.
The silence was frightening. He tried to show friendliness. “Thank you… Did you save me? How did you know I’m bloodkin?”
“Someone taught me,” the figure replied. “They even left books — I can read.”
Carl thought, Heavens… Is this a chimera created by the Arcane Covenant?
“I’m Carl. And you?”
“I don’t remember my name,” the creature said, eyes reflecting the firelight as it considered. “You can call me… ‘Monster.’”
“Call you ‘Monster’? That’s…kind of rude.”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s just a title. I can’t remember my real name.”
Carl asked again, “Have you seen any of my companions?”
“I’ve only seen you, a vampire,” the creature replied. “I have seen humans, but that was a long time ago. What are your companions like?”
Carl described John, Lathander, and Liz, emphasizing Carolyn’s features. He was certain the creature had never seen Carolyn — if it had, there was no way it could forget such a cute girl.
“I can take you to find her,” the creature said. “You identify her, and I’ll guide you.”
Carl hadn’t expected such enthusiasm. “Really? That’s…amazing. When can we leave?” He felt the effects of the blood. His wounds had healed faster than before; he could now stand without support. “This place is too dangerous. I’m really worried something might happen to her. She’s brave, and strong, but she’s still just a human. I have to find her… Make sure she’s safe.”
“Do you love her?” the creature asked.
Carl touched his nose. “I do care about her safety… She’s beautiful and her personality is charming. But I can’t call it love… We’re just ordinary friends.”
“Oh. Then she doesn’t love you back.”
How could this creature be so blunt? Carl spread his hands, trying to come up with a reply that sounded cool or suave.
Before he could speak, the creature chuckled softly. “I understand. I once loved a human very much too. But now…I don’t even remember who it was.”
Author’s Note:
- The actor from The Pianist.
- The first James Bond.
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