Free Web NovelChapter 235: Chapter 235: Held Hostage by a Monster_1
The next evening, at the black market of Silvertown.
"No way?" Aiden frowned as he looked at the sign in front of him.
The "Phantom Moon" jewelry store, run by the fortune-teller Melissa, was now closed, its doorknob bearing a large sign that read, "Manager away, business suspended."
Melissa, was not there.
From the content of the sign, it looked like she had left the city, and it seemed that she would be gone for a long while.
Just at this time, was it merely a coincidence, or was it... intentional?
Aiden suddenly remembered that Melifilia had mentioned to him; Melissa had the ability to foresee the times when she might be exposed.
Could it be that she sensed some danger and chose this moment to run off to avoid meeting him?
Aiden sighed in his heart.
Whatever the case, it appeared that he could not make use of this source of information this time.
Although Melissa was not entirely trustworthy, suddenly having one less card to play at such a critical moment did make one feel somewhat uneasy.
However, looking on the bright side, it wasn’t necessarily certain that the Blood Moon Cult had monitored the witch gathering and the conflict at the Harvest Mother Cult site; maybe the person arrived at the scene after the fact, to examine Sister Neve’s body...
No sooner had this thought occurred to him than Aiden began to reflect on it.
Being blindly optimistic in such a situation could very well lead to an ugly death, considering there was a murderer on the loose in the city.
If that overseer was truly killing for the power of death as Abigail had said, then the deaths of three people meant that their preparations were likely nearly complete.
The few disposable vampire minions recruited temporarily, including Nos Feratu, were probably just smoke grenades to occupy the Heresy Inquisition, mere pawns.
With this in mind, after the preparations were complete, the overseer might not need these pawns anymore, and the Heresy Inquisition’s stakeout might not catch him...
If he were to strike, it could be soon.
Tonight, he decided to return to the prison and think over the countermeasures thoroughly before heading back to the street and finding a carriage to take him back to the prison.
"Commander?"
Aiden had just stepped out of the carriage at the drop-off point when he saw Veronica, looking somewhat surprised, coming off a public coach.
Veronica often had night shifts in the prison, usually starting in the afternoon or in the evening.
"You’re on night shift today, too," Aiden smiled at her by way of greeting.
"Did you go out, or did you come back after your shift was over for something?" Veronica asked.
"Went out for a bit; planning to work on some things at the prison tonight," Aiden chatted with her as they started to walk together.
"You seemed to have gone out and came back yesterday, too... Has something happened again recently?" Veronica perceptively noticed that Aiden’s movements over the last couple of days had been unusual.
"Well..." Aiden thought to himself, if he said he went to Fireworks Alley yesterday and the black market today, it might lead to some strange misunderstandings.
However, it was harmless to talk to Veronica about the recent vampire murders occurring in town.
As the two approached the intersection, ready to turn into the alley beside the prison, Veronica suddenly exclaimed, "Eh?" fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Aiden followed her gaze and saw a woman in black clutching her stomach, staggering out of the alley to the intersection and leaning on the streetlight to moan.
From between the fingers covering her stomach, dark red blood kept seeping out, staining her hands red.
Aiden paused for a moment, while Veronica drew in a sharp breath and immediately stepped forward, "Hey! Are you okay!?"
Veronica’s reaction was normal, but Aiden, who had been considering the vampire murderer, suddenly had a thought: A trap!
This time had long passed the visiting hours, and there were hardly any passers-by near the prison. How could an injured person covered in blood suddenly appear?
"Don’t go over there yet!"
Just as Aiden was about to call out to stop Veronica, the woman abruptly looked up, stretching out her blood-stained hand. The dark red blood was flung out, transforming into a whip that lashed towards Veronica.
Veronica instinctively dodged, caught somewhat off-guard by the attack. Even with a werewolf’s reflexes, she could barely manage to evade.
By this time, the woman had rushed towards Veronica with a ferocious expression, pounced behind her, and the blood whip she held contracted and reshaped into a dagger.
Aiden quickly drew his gun, but the woman had already pressed the knife to Veronica’s throat and yelled vehemently, "Don’t move, or I’ll kill her right now!"
Aiden’s expression grew grave. This woman, who could use blood magic instinctively without any incantation, was clearly a vampire.
Was this individual the supervisor who had come looking for them?
No, that didn’t seem quite right.
Aiden sensed something off; he had encountered too many criminals before. This woman, from her expression to her voice, seemed extremely nervous, not at all like a hardened criminal capable of manipulating others and killing without batting an eye. She was far from the image of the supervisor he had envisioned.
Nos Feratu had mentioned that aside from himself, there were three other vampires being manipulated by the supervisor. Subtracting the two Viscounts who were already caught, that left one unaccounted for...
And considering Veronica’s physical abilities, a knife to the throat like this was hardly effective. When the woman had placed the knife, although Veronica was a step behind, she still managed to catch the assailant’s wrist in time and could have broken it at any moment. The attacker clearly didn’t realize she was holding a dangerous individual hostage.
An idea formed in Aiden’s mind, and he shot a look at Veronica, signaling her to wait.
Since there was an opportunity to break free at any moment, it might be better to first try to find out the attacker’s purpose.
Veronica was taken aback, not quite understanding, but she put aside the thought of immediate retaliation and relaxed the grip on her hands, pretending to be a weak woman held hostage. In a stiff tone, she said, "You... don’t mess around!"
Aiden glanced back and forth between Veronica and the vampire. Veronica’s acting was so poor that it was laughable, but the vampire was too tense to notice the unnatural behavior of her hostage.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Aiden asked the assailant.
Since the attacker hadn’t immediately acted after taking Veronica hostage, and had instead chosen to shout at him, it was clear there was a purpose other than killing.
The woman responded with a hoarse voice, "Listen carefully, if you don’t want this one to die, then hand over... hand over the vampire princess Ophelia locked up in here!!"
