Chapter 50: Beneath The Setting Sun

It had been a few hours since they had first set off, and the sky had turned into a warm, bright gradient of orange with peace emitting through the air around the large, setting sun. The sound of chirping birds along with the blowing wind tugged upon the surrounding tall grass and leaked into the carriage for an ambient breeze, adding to the all too calming atmosphere.

For Alucard, what was a ride that took several hours felt like minutes. For indeed, he managed to extract a hefty amount of information from them and immensely broadened his knowledge of the world. However, there was something beyond that.

The ride itself was not as bad as he expected, especially for the Alucard that absolutely resented human interactions.

The hollow slayer's hospitality was more than adequate. Their teamwork and absolute love and trust for each other were very clear with everything they did. Even if at times they yelled and complained to each other, it was mostly done in a jesting or friendly manner, and the few times that it wasn't, it never escalated beyond that.

It was an odd sight to just quietly coexist amongst them, in fact, it had been years since he was ever in a similar environment, and from memory, it was completely unlike this, especially at work…

He could not help but smile, one that was hidden under his mask, but completely sincere nonetheless.

"Hey, Alucard! you wanna eat with us? There's a lot of food to go around!" Lisven smirked towards Alucard who was looking out in the distance, slightly startling him.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm quite alright," He kindly declined.

"Oh come on! You haven't eaten since we left! Why not have a little snack before we reach the village?" He threw an apple in his direction, and the still startled Alucard caught it out of reflex.

He took a quick glance at the apple in his hands before inwardly chuckling at himself and throwing it back towards its sender.

"Keep it, I really don't need it. I'd rather you donate it to a hungry child in the village instead. Really…" He laid back in his seat and casually looked away.

"Oh… Okay… Suit yourself," His face turned immediately from confusion to astonishment as he beamed bright, storing the apple in a pouch.

Alucard sighed under his mask, one so faint that it could not even be heard. It was not like he didn't want to eat the apple, or that he was so selfless to the point he would go hungry for homeless and poor children, but more like he couldn't.

It was a lesson that he quickly learned upon entering this new world… He had not tasted any real food so good since that first apple he ate upon his arrival. Forever since he first tasted the flavour of human blood, his tongue had been tainted, and everything else slowly began to taste worse and worse to the point that in his current state, he would have most certainly threw up from that apple.

It was yet another sacrifice that had to be made by choosing to become a vampire— one that he was always reminded of yet had already accepted as part of his new reality.

"Hey! Vernon!" Lisvern called out, looking at the ceiling of the carriage. "You still sleeping?"

"Yeah! I was, until you just woke me up with your yelling! What do you want!?" He yawned, scratching his eyes and stretching his limbs in the breeze, looking up towards the orange sky from where he slept on top of the carriage, his rapier at arm's reach.

"Sorry bout that! We're almost there! You wanna join us for a little snack?"

"Come on Lisvern! We haven't seen you for so long now!" Taylor added in a cheering voice.

"Hmph," He shrugged while yawning. "If Taylor is asking me then I really don't have a choice now do I?"

"Nope! You don't! Now come here and eat with us!" He asserted.

"Stop nagging! I'm coming, I'm coming!" Vernon stretched once more and grabbed his rapier before he hopped back on his two feet with fatigue written all over his face as he prepared to drop down into the main tent.

And drop he most certainly did, although it was not at all where he intended…

*CEEERRRRKK*

"W— What was that!?"

All of a sudden, a crunching sound filled their ears, and the entire carriage shook heavily, now rocking back and forth frantically as it veered off-road.

Vernon lost his footing and nearly slipped off towards the hard, rocky ground, looking over with eyes wide-awake at Adam trying his best to steer the panicked, naying horse as it went out of control.

"Adam! What's going on!!"

"We've been attacked from the tall grass! I'm not sure where!" He responded as he struggled to control the horse, only for it to break loose out of its leash and gallop away, leaving the carriage tumbling and skitting into the dirt, wooden shrapnel exploding through the cracks and grain bags erupting and pouring down like rain before the carriage finally settled with no movements.

"HEY!! Are you guys alright!! Answer me!" Vernon shouted at the top of his lungs, his eyes quiveringly staring upon the remnants of the broken carriage from above, and the relief on his face when he saw movement spoke volumes.

"Yeah! We're all fine!" Lisvern spoke with his sword in hand, clearing away all the rubble until he and Taylor broke free into the open, while Adam came from ahead, perched upon the rubble next to Vernon with a bow in hand, looking out.

Alucard seemed nowhere to be found, but that was until they realized that he was walking behind them completely unscathed, yet heavily panting from his mask as though he was in deep pain. He must have jumped out through the opening before impact.

They all seemed to be safe, but now was most certainly not time to celebrate or grow careless….

"Damn! You guys ar— "

Suddenly, a barrage of arrows emerged from the shaky tall grass, aimed directly towards them breaking the silence of the whistling wind. It was all unexpected, and it would have hit them all had it not been for Taylor's foresight, creating a barrier of green light around them.

The shield cracked upon the arrows' impact, to the point of shattering, it was clearly not going to hold out for long, yet it gave them ample time to react and dodge the attack.

"Don't grow careless!" Adam shouted, loading several arrows into his bow, trained towards where that volley arrived. "Show yourselves, coward!" He shouted, yet his provocations were only met by laughter…

"Kukukukukukuku—"

It was child-like and raspy… One Sinister and inhumane in nature. A sound etched into the mind of every adventurer and bore an unmistakable wretchedness.

One by one, they stuck their wicked, arched noses out of the camouflaging grass, their laughter growing ever more…

What emerged were tiny, monstrous creatures… Their attire was minimal, shambled, and mismatched; their pimple-ridden green skin oozed of dirt, grime and rot. Their ears were pointy and bat-like in nature, several piercings through each one filled with rust. Their open mouths were disgusting and had their own miasma of rot, revealing crooked, sharp, spaced-out teeth as yellow as sand. And a matching colour was the yellow, slit-like pupils sat upon their wide, gaping eye sockets, trained directly on them as though they were prey ready to be eaten…

"Goblins!" Lisvern cried, pulling out his massive greatsword from his back, tightly grasping it ahead of him with both hands, his eyes trained viciously on his beastly, laughing foes.

There were seven of them, each with either a sword, spear, or bow in hand.

"Kukukukkkaaaakkuuuukukuuukkua!!"

"Don't get careless! They have human equipment! They're no ordinary goblins! They're small in number, but they seem well-armed! Everyone stay calm, and—"

As Lisvern spoke and gave his orders, the hollow slayers prepared for battle, yet Alucard's breathing grew far heavier and more drastic as the clouds began to clear from the setting sun…

And all of a sudden, seemingly unprovoked, he ran off to their right at top speed in an abnormal, almost frantic manner, heading towards the nearby, thick forest, leaving them all speechless, absolutely stunned with many thoughts going through their minds, but Vernon was the only one able to voice his own out in the open.

"WHERE ARE YOU RUNNING OFF TO YOU TRAITOROUS COWAAARRRDDD!!"